Thursday, October 3, 2024 – A NEW ATTRACTION ON THE HIGHLINE THIS MONTH
WE ARE GOING TO THE BIRDS:
AN EAGLE AT THE NATIONAL ZOO
A PIGEON ON THE HIGHLINE
AND
ROSIE OUR ISLAND TURKEY
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Untapped New York
Judith Berdy
ISSUE # 1321
AN EAGLE AT THE NATIONAL ZOO
The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. is home to many species of birds, including a special eagle from New York City. You will find it perched outside the birdhouse. This stone monument is a remnant of the original Penn Station, designed by McKim, Mead, and White. It was one of 22 eagles that lined the cornice of the colossal train station. When the station was demolished in 1963, the eagles were scattered throughout the country.
Pennsylvania Central Railroad donated the eagle to the zoo after encouragement from Smithsonian Secretary Dillon Ripley. According to a sign located next to the statue, the eagle arrived in D.C. in 1965. It temporarily moved to Montreal for the Expo 67, where it was on display in the U.S. Pavilion. You can see it from above in this photo!
The eagle at the zoo is made of Tennessee pink marble and was designed by German-born sculptor Adolph Weinman. You may think it resembles the eagle on the Walking Liberty Half Dollar, also designed by Weinman. In addition to the stone eagles, Weinman crafted four pairs of allegorical figures titled “Day and Night” for Penn Station. One of those pairs, along with a pair of eagles, serves as the centerpiece of a fountain in Kansas City.
A PIGEON ON THE HIGHLINE
A giant pigeon will soon be keeping watch over 10th Avenue. Iván Argote’s sculpture Dinosaur lands on the High Line this October as the next High Line Plinth commission. Perched atop the intersection of 10th Ave and 30th Street, Dinosaur is a colossal, hyper-realistic sculpture of a pigeon, cast in aluminum and hand-painted. “The name Dinosaur makes reference to the sculpture’s scale and to the pigeon’s ancestors who millions of years ago dominated the globe, as we humans do today,” said Argote in a press release. “The name also serves as a reference to the dinosaur’s extinction. Like them, one day we won’t be around anymore, but perhaps a remnant of humanity will live on—as pigeons do—in the dark corners and gaps of future worlds. I feel this sculpture could generate an uncanny feeling of attraction, seduction, and fear among the inhabitants of New York.” Dinosaur will be in view through Spring 2026.
ROSIE
ROSIE J-WALKS AND NOW WE HAVE SIGNS FOR DRIVERS TO BE WARNED OF HER VENTURES AROUND THE ISLAND.
Roosevelt Island: Art, Memory, and Community | Panel Discussion
Tuesday, October 8th @ 7 PM, RIVAA Gallery
Join us for a discussion in conjunction with the current photographic exhibition, Roosevelt Island: The Vision Revisited. RIVAA will bring together three distinguished panelists, who through their talent and remarkable efforts, have contributed to the beauty and quality of our built environment on Roosevelt Island.
– Amanda Matthews is a sculptor and creator of The Girl Puzzle, a tribute to groundbreaking investigative journalist Nellie Bly. Through her reporting, Nelly Bly changed how mental illness was treated in this country.
– Gina Pollara, Executive Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park from 2006-2013, oversaw the construction of the memorial designed by architect Louis I. Kahn to commemorate the 32nd President of the United States.
– Susan Rosenthal, President and CEO of Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) from 2016-2020, conceived the idea of a monument to Nelly Bly.
– Chris Vail, exhibiting photographer of Roosevelt Island: The Vision Revisited will moderate.
CREDITS
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
JUDITH BERDY
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Copyright © 2024 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com
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