Chrysler building

Bottom: Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc. The Mount Everest of Manhattan: The Silvered Peak of the Chrysler Building. 1930. Gelatin silver print, 8 3/4 x 6 13/16" (22.3 x 17.3 cm). The New York Times Collection. http://moma.org

Top: Probably a famous photograph, I don't have the credits.

This building is a concrete manifestation of fantasy. Does it represent the power and masculinity of modern USA in the 1920s? I don't know. It's amazing that such an art deco masterpiece got made and is still there.
http://moma.org

Alwyn Court Apartments

Photo by Berenice Abbott. This building built in 1909 is still there, an extravaganza of Victorian and Moorish elements. Alwyn Court, 174-182 West 58th Street and 911-917 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan (1938).

Berenice Abbott (II)

Abbott took this eerie photo of a Victorian mansion, probably about to be demolished. Wheelock Mansion, 661 West 158th Street, Manhattan (1937). At the NYPL Digital Gallery.

Berenice Abbott

There is a treasure trove of photos by Berenice Abbott in the NYPL Digital Gallery. This is Murray Hill Hotel, from Park Avenue and 40th Street, Manhattan (ca. 1935).

Coney Island of the Mind

I've never been to Coney Island. An American, noir, surreal place. The names of the amusements parks are evocative: "Dreamland", "Luna Park", "Steeplechase". There was once a PBS special on Coney Island that I've never seen repeated. Did I imagine it?

New York Public library

New York Public library
Originally uploaded by Lukz.

I've never been to this paradise on earth. It seems unimaginably delightful. I'm so envious of these people studying. Can you believe the painted and carved ceiling?