Results tagged “tonyrosenthal”

Incase you missed it, yesterday we ran a post about a standoff at the Alamo between a group of kids with chalk and the cops. The story was pretty simple: Saturday afternoon a number of kids decided it would be fun to chalk up Tony Rosenthal's recently returned sculpture the Alamo, often referred to as simply the Cube. The kids, some of whom apparently had just finished their SATs, chalked away to their hearts content and were joined in by passersby. All was merry untill the police showed up and started arresting the chalkers and then some of the folks who were chanting in support of the chalkers (see Adam's photo above).

If all has gone as planned, the Alamo cube should have returned to Astor Place at precisely 8am today. Has anyone been by to see it in person?

It feels like a thousand years since the beloved Astor Place cube (full name: Alamo, by Tony Rosenthal) disappeared, but a quick consultation of the Gothamist archives reveals that the abduction occured on March 9, 2005. Following months of speculation, New York Magazine reports that the cube is supposed to be back in place by 8am on Monday morning. And there's more! The cube has been somewhat spiffed up for its return:

Right when Gothamist had given up hope that the Cube (er, Tony Rosenthal's The Alamo) would ever return to its rightful place in Astor Place, instead to be replaced by that very unspinnable building the Sculpture for Living, comes word (third to last item) that it will eventually return. Warner Johnston, a Parks Department spokesperson, reports that the Cube, which was supposed to return 60 days after it was removed in March, is undergoing extra renovation thanks to new funds from the Department of Transportation (who actually owns the sculpture). "We will do a complete restoration taking it apart, replacing the axle, ball bearings. It will be spinnable and will be back in a couple of months." reported Johnston. Let's hope so, we miss it.

After giving us the scoop about removing the Astor Place cube for some repair, The Parks Department sent Gothamist a photograph of the removal process. Clearly, if a bunch of ambitious kids wanted to steal it, they would have needed a crane. In the Village Voice's follow-up article, Gothamist learned that the cube's rotating power used to be great: Artist Tony Rosenthal said, "It used to have a bearing inside so it would spin very fast, but we had to take it out because we were afraid someone would get hurt." We also now realize why few photobloggers had evidence of the removal: The cube was taken away between 6-7AM. Darn you, efficient city services, realizing that they couldn't block morning traffic!

The City Parks Department contacted Gothamist to set the facts straight about the disappearance of the Astor Place Cube, the rotating sculpture beloved to New Yorkers. Director of Public Information Warner Johnston told us that the cube was removed last night for repairs: One of the four large bolts that attaches the cube to the base was missing! When people would try to rotate the cube, the cube would tilt, so the Parks Department decided that the 2500 pound cube needed to be repaired for everyone's safety. Good call! The Parks Department is working with the artist, Tony Rosenthal, as well as conservationists who worked on the cube in the 80s, to fix the cube. The Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe issued this statement:

The City has not forgotten The Alamo. With the assistance of the Mayor's Office and the Art Commission, we are working to give it emergency stabilization with funding provided by DOT, the custodian of the artwork. It will be returned to Astor Place better than ever.

Additionally, the pivot that allows the cube to be rotated will be repaired, so the cube will turn once again. The Park Department said we should expect the cube to be back in several weeks. Gothamist appreciates the speedy response from the Parks Department. If only the Mayor would reply to our email.