Old Smoky 8th & 37th

Maybe it's steam not smoke, but "old smoky" sounds more mountain-like, and 550 8th Ave. is a mountain of a building, at least from the side and to the south.  The bluish building past it is NY Times HQ.

I've noticed a few older buildings in NYC with similar designs -- like 1385 Broadway, aka the Bridal Building, and 14 Penn Plaza -- so the "decorative columns up-top" formula was common at some point.


Above and below left, more cliff-dwelling smokiness.  Below right, the symmetrical, stepped top corner at 37th St.


And below, an intimate shot of the corner columns and the dark castle they pretend to support.

Fresh Pearl Window

In the window at Lucoral & Lupearl at 246 W 38th St.

They sell Masami "First Lady Pearls," as advertised on the placard above.  From Michelle Obama, up there with Eleanor, Mamie and Martha, to Nancy Reagan way down there by Queen Elizabeth I, all the First Ladies are wearing Masami pearls!

They also sell "wish pearls," just below, that appear to have been blessed by Pope John Paul II.  The pink gift box is labeled "White for wisdom.  Cream for success.  Peach for health.  Gold for wealth.  Lavender for love."


You could probably sneak anything in to get blessed by the Pope back then -- your cat, a sandwich you were especially fond of -- but I doubt he approved the labeling.

Then there's the big goldfish and turtle tank, below, which features fake turtles to keep the live ones company while they watch the computer screens, waiting for something exciting to appear.

Potter's Red, Park Row

The very red Potter Building at 38 Park Row, across from City Hall.  Even the "plain part," below right, is rich enough to warm the heart and help it survive all the brutal boxes put up since it was built.  More on the Potter Building from
Lost City.

Majestic 8th Ave Scaffolding

Scaffolding on the 36th St. side of 519 8th Ave; the building's unveiled 8th Ave. face is below left.  There's scaffolding on the building just south, too, but I decided it's not up to my majestic standard.

Heads Out on 5th Ave

Figures stick their heads out of 411 5th Ave., at 37th St.

Queens Clutter

Slightly dated photos of Queens I like a lot.  Above, from Greenpoint Ave. where it passes over the LIE.


Above, on Van Dam just west of the LIE.


Not so cluttered above, on Thomson Ave. over the LIRR tracks, looking toward Queens Plaza.  "Gotham Center," on the right, is just about glassed-in now.