At the southeast corner of Madison Square Park stands a statue marked by a laconic plaque: Roscoe Conkling. A towering figure in 19th-century politics, Roscoe Conkling owes this monument to a mighty nature calamity that led to his untimely demise. March 12, 1888, started as an ordinary spring day but ended as a major climate…
Category: NYC Sculpture
Lions, books, and philanthropy
One of the most significant national treasures, the New York Public Library, was not created by the government but was a product of philanthropy. Hard to imagine, but there was a time when New York City did not have a library. By the second part of the 19th century, New York was emerging as one…
Prometheus – giving mortals “a Means to Mighty Ends”
The Aeschylus quote, carved in the granite wall behind the massive gilded statue of Prometheus in the heart of the Rockefeller Center, says: “Prometheus, Teacher in Every Art, Brought the Fire That Hath Proved to Mortals a Means to Mighty Ends.” But who was Prometheus? And why is he the focal point of the Rockefeller…
Rockefeller Center Atlas or how to locate the North Star in New York City
Standing on Fifth Avenue, right across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, is not a Christian deity, but a mythological titan named Atlas. A part of the overall artistic plan for the Rockefeller Center with sculpture and artworks integrated into its design, the seven tons Atlas is the largest and one of the most prominent. According to…
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