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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.
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WASHSQ_031007_18.JPG: This is the Washington Square Arch which was under a 16-month restoration project. There were signs describing the history of the arch:
History:
The Washington Square Arch is a defining feature of the Greenwich Village Landmark Historic District, the emblem of New York University, and the heart of an international tourist mecca. Designed by Stanford White and dedicated in 1895, the triumphal arch was an expression of the City Beautiful movement, which sought to create structures and public spaces in America whose beauty and stature would rival those of the European capitals.
This arch was preceded in 1889 by a temporary triumphal arch of wood and paper mache spanning Fifth Avenue, 100 feet north of the square. Designed also by Stanford White, it commemorated the centennial of George Washington's inauguration in New York City.
The temporary arch was so well received that plans were immediately made to erect a permanent structure built of Tuchahoe marble. Nearly $122,000 was raised through private subscription.
David H King Jr, who constructed the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, was hired as builder. Most of the ornamentation on the Arch, including the spandral panels, was designed by William MacMonnies, and crafted by the Piccirilli studio, a shop of Italian master carvers. The two marble eagles were designed by Philip Martiny. Construction began on May 30 1890, was completed by February 1895, and the Arch was dedicated on May 4th that year.
A later campaign funded the statues of Washington. The eastern statue depicts George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by Fame and Valor. It was designed by Herman Atkins MacNeil and installed in 1916. To the west, Washington as Stateman, accompanied by Wisdom and Justice, designed by Alexander Stirling Calder, was installed in 1918. Both were carved of Dover marble by the Piccirilli studio.
The Washington Square Arch has attained iconic status, appearing frequently in the work of artists and photographers, including Edward Hopper, Ernest Lawson, William Glackens, and Berenice Abbott. In 1917, as Greenwich Village was becoming a center of bohemian and intellectual life, a group of artists and actors led by Marcel Duchamp, John Sloan, and Gertrude Drick, illicitly camped atop the Arch and declared Greenwich Village an independent nation.
Conservation:
The ravages of time have had their effect on the Washington Square Arch. Not long after the monument was completed, Stanford White observed cracking in the marble, but decided that it was not a significant threat to the structure. For over 60 years, cars and buses ran through the Arch; beginning in 1958, traffic was phased out after protests led by Shirley Hayes and other Greenwich Village activists.
Weathering, pollution, water seepage, roosting birds, vandalism, and inappropriate treatments (including sandblaster and over-painting) contributed to widespread deterioration of the masonry surface, and to the erosion or loss of sculptural elements. In 1997, the Arch underwent an interim stabilization. Systematic examination of the Arch between 1992 and 1998 revealed crumbling stonework, surface "sugaring," brittle ornament, vegetative growth, and general soiling and decay. These assessments included extensive on-site and laboratory testing of cleaning methods and stone consolidants.
This project will restore the Washington Square Arch to its rightful grandeur. Conservation treatments for the Arch were established based on the recommendations of a panel of experts from here and abroad that was assembled by Parks for consultation. Loose pieces of marble will be secured, detached pieces salvaged by Parks will be reattached, select sculptural and decorative features will be recarved, and fissures filled with an appropriate mortar compound. The statues of Washington will be repaired, using 3-D laser images as models.
The marble masonry is being carefully cleaned using a low-velocity micro-abrasive system, and the Arch is being treated with a chemical consolidant that strengthens the stone and protects against weathering. A new roof will be built. Select joints on the exterior walls will be repointed, and cracks in interior walls repaired. The rusting steel elements of the Guastavino terra cotte tile staircase within the east pier will be replaced.
Efflorescence (surface crystallization of salts) will be removed from the interior brick masonry. Nylon mesh bird proofing will be installed, and the Arch will be fully illuminated.
Wikipedia Description: Washington Square Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Washington Square Park is a 9.75-acre (39,500 m2) public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's 1,900 public parks, it is a landmark as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. It is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Park is an open space, dominated by the Washington Square Arch at the northern gateway to the park, with a tradition of celebrating nonconformity. The Park's fountain area has long been one of the city's popular spots for residents and tourists. Most of the buildings surrounding the park now belong to New York University, but many have at one time served as homes and studios for artists. Some of the buildings have been built by NYU while others have been converted from their former uses into academic and residential buildings.
Location and features
An aerial view of Washington Square Park and the start of Fifth Avenue, as seen from New York University's Kimmel Center on Washington Square South.
Located at the foot of Fifth Avenue, the park is bordered by Washington Square North (Waverly Place east and west of the park), Washington Square East (University Place north of the park), Washington Square South (West 4th Street east and west of the park), and Washington Square West (MacDougal Street north and south of the park).
While the park contains many flower beds and trees, little of the park is used for plantings due to the paving. The two prominent features are the Washington Square Arch and a large fountain. It includes children's play areas, trees and gardens, paths to stroll on, a chess and scrabble playing area, park benches, picnic tables, commemorative statuary and two dog runs.
Those commemorated by statues and monuments include George Washington; Italian patriot and soldier Giuseppe Garibaldi, commander of the insurrectionist forces in ...More...
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I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com
and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
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2003 photos: Equipment this year: I decided my Epson digital camera wasn't quite enough for what I wanted. Since I already had Compact Flash chips for it, I had to find another camera which used CF chips. That brought me to buy the Fujifilm S602 Zoom in March 2003. A great digital camera, I used it exclusively for an entire year.
Trips this year: Three-week trip this year out west, mostly in Utah.
Number of photos taken this year: 68,000.
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