Results tagged “civicfame”

Last year WNBC got up close and personal with the Civic Fame statue atop the Municipal Building, and this week The NY Times looks at the woman who modeled for that statue, and many others -- Audrey Munson, "a long-forgotten New York celebrity whose face and figure continue to grace the contours of statues all around Manhattan."It was Ms. Munson’s eyes that stared stoically from the marble forms of the Firemen’s Memorial on Riverside Drive,...

From 1910 until 1963, when New York actually had a Pennsylvania Station instead of a dingy 1960s subterranean rat warren beneath a hockey rink and office towers, twenty-two stone eagles stood guard over the McKim, Mead, and White masterpiece. The eagles themselves, along with almost all the other stone artwork on the station were the work of artist Adolph A. Weinman, who among other things created Civic Fame atop the Municipal Building and the Walking Liberty half dollar coin.

Augh! The NY Sun reports:

Speculation is heating up that the Municipal Building, the soaring limestone landmark that overlooks City Hall, could be among the government real estate assets to be sold off and converted to residential buildings as municipal employees prepare to move into a new, privately managed office building planned for ground zero.

Why? Because the city signed an agreement with World Trade Center developer to assume 600,000 square feet of space at Tower 4. City Councilman Alan Gerson says that while he hasn't heard anything official, rumors about selling the Municipal Building arise from time to time. Plus he added, "There is something to be said about the government holding on to a great iconic civic building in addition to City Hall."

WNBC's Chopper reporter Dan Rice has been doing a Friday feature of certain buildings and landmarks. Last week, he focused is the largest statue in the city after the Statue of Liberty: Civic Fame, which is perched on top of the Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street. Rice wrote a post about the statue on the Today in New York blog and marveled at the detail he's able to see from the WNBC 4 chopper:

When we took a closer look at the statue from the helicopter, many of the details became very visible. In her left hand she cradles a crown with five peaks. Each peak represents each of the boroughs. What I did not mention on the air this morning was that each peak looks like a city wall. Below the peaks, around the rim, are dolphins. They acknowledge New York City as a seaport. On her right arm is a shield. Zooming in on the shield reveals the seal of New York City. In her right hand she holds a laurel branch and wears a crown of laurel on her head while she is draped in a robe, standing barefoot.

And even better, here's the video of Rice's story.

Over the weekend, the Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street had a fire break out on its 20th floor. Luckily, firefighters were able to control the fire (seven had minor injuries), and the FDNY is still investigating its cause - only maintenance workers were around on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We're glad that the Municipal Building is okay, because it is easily one of the most awesome buildings in the city. Designed by McKim, Mead and White (the firm's first skyscraper), the 34 floor building was completed in 1914 and now houses various city offices. For instance, the Marriage Bureau is there, so that's where the marriages are performed; the Borough President and Public Advocate also work out of there, along with 30,000 city employees. And at the top is the Adolph A. Weinman-designed Civic Fame, which is the tallest statue in the city after the Statue of Liberty. Gothamist's favorite view is from the west, when we walk on Chambers Street and see the building at end. The City Store, which is located in the Municipal Building, has a cool Municipal Building ornament.