Grand Central to Herald Square

Above, glare bounces off a rooftop west of Grand Central on 42nd St.  Below, first-light seeps into Herald Square.

Surrogate's Courthouse 2

Earlier, statues like new teeth buried in braces

Just above, the scaffolding's come down and, after their whitening, the statues have sunk back into their surroundings on Surrogate's Courthouse at Chambers & Centre Sts.

Earlier, from the Municipal Building across Centre St.

Cold Comfort Saints

Above and just below, frigid figures on St. Thomas' Church on 5th Ave. at 53rd St.


Below, looking warmer in spite of the snow, the spires of St. Patrick's Cathedral two blocks south.


[ St. Thomas Church Statues ]

St. Thomas Church Statues

Unlike a lot of buildings (and churches) around New York, every slot on the face of St. Thomas Church (5th Ave. & 53rd St.) that looks like it should contain a statue actually does contain a statue.

Above, the top of the 5th Ave. entrance.  When I looked at the closeup below left I thought "They look way too grim to spend eternity with."  You would have to visit hell every so often just to thaw out from their icy glare.


Above right, the massive tower's clean lines look almost calligraphic, and the emptiness of the "statue slots," like the little huts on the corner, looks intentional.  Maybe it's meant to suggest missing persons, or vacancies in heaven?

And the statues below, just above the entrance, look warmer and less stern -- in spite of the spear and sword -- than the bookish ones above them, on top here.  Maybe the builders didn't want to scare parishioners on the way in?