Michael Ancher – A stroll on the beach – Google Art Project
Capri, Marina Grande (1880), by Rubens Santoro
Toile du peintre Charles Hoffbauer, présentant, à la Belle époque, une partie de plage en Normandie. 1907. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Roubaix (Musée d’Art et d’Industrie de Roubaix, La Piscine)
Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida – Strolling along the Seashore – Google Art Project
PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE OF OHER RED BUS PASSENGERS DOGS DO NOT BELONG ON THE BUS SEATS SOME PEOPLE ARE HIGHLY ALLERGIC TO DOG FUR AND THIS COULD CAUSE A TERRIBLE MEDICAL EPISODE
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
700 DAYS ROOSEVELT ISLAND WILL CELEBRATE 50 YEARS SINCE FIRST RESIDENT MOVED IN
LET’S COMPILE A LIST OF THE BESTS
THE BEST OF THE ISLAND
THE BEST PEOPLE THE BEST ADMINISTRATIONS THE BEST SERVICES THE BEST INNOVATIONS THE BEST ART THE BEST DECOR THE BEST TRANSPORTATION WHAT WOULD YOU IMPROVE? AND ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT MAKE THE ISLAND SPECIAL
How to Turn a Church Full of Cats and Raccoons Into a Coveted Wedding Venue
By Clio Chang, a Curbed writer who covers everything New York City Photo: The Sanctuary
The new “destination wedding” is on Roosevelt Island, per the New York Times “Style” section. The Sanctuary, a former church on the island’s north end that dates back to the 1920s, is now a go-to venue for New Yorkers looking for something a little more creative than the Prospect Park boathouse. But before any of that, it was overrun by cats and raccoons.
The cats were part of an existing sanctuary run by the Wildlife Freedom Foundation on the lot, while the raccoons were interlopers nesting in the attic. It took a full year of cajoling the property’s 15 cats to move them to a new spot nearby. (“They come to sleep at our sanctuary, but they still go visit the church every single day,” says Rossana Ceruzzi, the founder of WFF.) Left unaddressed by the Times: How one goes about relocating a cat sanctuary, ushering out said raccoons, and getting rid of the smell. I called up co-owner Frank Raffaele, who oversaw the renovation, to talk about how he turned the space into one where only humans are allowed inside.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Tell me about the renovation and relocation. There was the church portion and a large house that’s still there, and the cats were living in what is now the backyard, with full access to the inside of the sanctuary. They were inside and outside, pretty much all around the place. The cats and raccoons were living in harmony from what I can tell. They were in some sort of symbiotic relationship. When we took it over, we needed to have a cat free environment — and I say that as someone who loves cats. We worked closely with the Wildlife Freedom Foundation and found a location for the new cat sanctuary super close to us, probably 50 yards away. The WFF dealt with the lion’s share of it. Cats are super-smart, they go where the food is, so it wasn’t hard for them to realize when they had a new place to camp out in.
Now raccoons are a different thing. I really had no experience with raccoons beforehand;
I was a little bit jarred
.
Photo: Frank Raffaele
Oh no. It was a hard effort. The main thing we had to do was close off all spots of entry. They would go into the steeple, the attic, the rafters of church, they were living in the bedrooms — they pretty much had free rein around the entire facility. I’m from Queens, so I knew nothing about raccoons before this. But every day around dusk, when the sun went down, the raccoons woke up and left the house — you would see a procession of raccoons walking on the roof of the church, leaving the steeple.
Okay, this sounds like a fairy tale. It was incredible! We had to wait for them to leave every day to close the holes. We did it piecemeal. Every night they’d be gone for hours so we had plenty of time. They’re still on the island doing well — we see them around.
Was the raccoon smell hard to get rid of? Yes, we had to completely mitigate it. They can climb anywhere and get in anywhere. You can’t clean it. The only way you can do it is to replace the walls and floors.
What did it smell like? Very wildlife-y. I’m a vegan, I love all animals, but people often refer to meat as gamey, I think it was a sort of very non–New York City wildlife smell. Here you’re in a different world with different wildlife. I didn’t know this going into it, but Roosevelt Island is known for its wildlife.
Cats and raccoons seem like a nice change for your clientele, who I assume are more used to rats and pigeons. This is incredible, but I’ve never once seen any sort of rodent. I don’t know if it’s because of the cats, but it could be. The new cat sanctuary that’s just a stone’s throw away from the human Sanctuary. Photo: Rossana Ceruzzi
Do the cats still visit? The new home is a stone’s throw away. They come around the outdoor areas, but not indoors anymore. I’ve seen brides take pictures at the new cat sanctuary in their wedding dresses. But the indoors is closed off for all wildlife except for human beings — that’s the only species allowed in currently.
TUESDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
FORMER HOSPITAL STEAM PLANT ARON EISENPREISS GOT IT RIGHT
WEDNESDAY PHOTOS OF THE DAY
PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE OF OHER RED BUS PASSENGERS DOGS DO NOT BELONG ON THE BUS SEATS SOME PEOPLE ARE HIGHLY ALLERGIC TO DOG FUR AND THIS COULD CAUSE A TERRIBLE MEDICAL EPISODE
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
700 DAYS ROOSEVELT ISLAND WILL CELEBRATE 50 YEARS SINCE FIRST RESIDENT MOVED IN
LET’S COMPILE A LIST OF THE BESTS
THE BEST OF THE ISLAND
THE BEST PEOPLE THE BEST ADMINISTRATIONS THE BEST SERVICES THE BEST INNOVATIONS THE BEST ART THE BEST DECOR THE BEST TRANSPORTATION WHAT WOULD YOU IMPROVE? AND ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT MAKE THE ISLAND SPECIAL
After it was decommissioned in the 1950s and partially demolished, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Power Station standing at the edge of the Gowanus Canal was abandoned for decades. Opened in 1904, the 8-story brick building designed by Thomas Edward Murray helped to supply power to Brooklyn’s growing transit system. In the 2000s, the derelict structure became known as the Batcave and was home to a community of squatters. Now, after more than five years of restoration work, the Batcave has transformed into Powerhouse Arts, an arts center with manufacturing, exhibition, and educational spaces.
Sitting at the intersection of Red Hook, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope, the historic building has seen much change and development in the surrounding neighborhoods in recent years. Plans for the conversion of the building were first announced in 2017 and the project broke ground in 2018.
When restoration began, only half of the original structure, the Turbine Hall, was standing. The Boiler House had been demolished. As part of the building’s renewal led by Herzog & de Meuron in collaboration with PBDW Architects, the Boiler House was reimagined and rebuilt. The adjoining historic Turbine Hall building was stabilized and preserved. All of the work done to the structures pays homage to the building’s original purpose and design, as well as the gritty and creative spirit it acquired while abandoned.
The reconstructed Boiler House contains fabrication spaces to support the production of print, ceramics, and public art. There are more than 170,000 square feet of fabrication shops stacked vertically within the building. Public art workshops, which require the highest ceilings and best access to loading areas, are located on the ground floor. Above, there are workshops dedicated to print and ceramic production, disciplines that require strict exhaust specifications and access to the building’s rooftop extraction units.
The Loft, Photo by Albert Vecerka/ESTO
Public programminging inside the Boiler House will take place at the Loft, a double-height room that can function as both an exhibition space, staging area, and fabrication workshop. When functioning as a BRT power plant, this space produced and supplied the steam that was funneled into the turbines in the adjacent Turbine Hall.
In the adjoining Turbine Hall, the iconic uppermost floor has been transformed into the “Grand Hall,” a forum for multi-use and public programming. This flexible community gathering space with host exhibitions, large installations and art staging, performances, art fairs, events, and more. This space is where the turbines were once located, producing power for Brooklyn’s above-ground train system.
Grand Hall at Powerhouse Arts, Photo by Albert Vecerka/ESTO
Outside, work by the project’s landscape architect, Ken Smith Workshop, has helped to make the building more resilient in the face of climate change. The Powerhouse site was raised 13 feet to protect the building from flooding mand a new sheet pile sea wall was installed alongside the waterfront walkway.
The debut exhibition now on display is Hive Mind. This group exhibition showcases the work of 26 participating artists from across the Powerhouse Arts organization, a not-for-profit organization that “hosts an extended network of art and fabrication professionals and educators who work together to co-create and share artistic practices vital to the wellbeing of artists and the communities to which they belong.” Some of the participating artists include Andrea DiStefano, Biata Roytburd, Chris Kinsler, and others.Among the preserved graffiti that has been worked into the new design, you’ll also find a newly commission mural by Brooklyn-born, New Orleans-based artist Ellery Neon tilted Flying Home. Neon actually lived in the Batcave with friends in 2002 and used the side of the building as their own “personal billboard” for graffiti. The new mural depicts a pigeon in flight and pays homage to another mural Neon created. Neary’s “You Go Girl” mural, which was created when the building was abandoned, has been preserved and is on display in the lobby. Also currently on view at Powerhouse Arts is a duration performance and installation by Miles Greenberg titled TRUTH. This piece is the first part of a trilogy that takes its name from a scene in the novel Orlando, by Virginia Woolf: TRUTH, CANDOUR and HONESTY. In this work, Greenberg “creates a portal into an alternate reality through which viewers are encouraged to leave the real world behind as they experience a utopic, watery landscape, populated by mysterious, silent avatars.” Check out more photos of the new Powerhouse Arts center in the gallery below!
CBN OLDER ADULT CENTER VOLUNTEERS GETTING READY FOR THE EILEEN FISHER GENTLY USED CLOTHING GIVEAWAY ON SATURDAY. THE EVENT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS.
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
WEEKEND PHOTO SHELTON HAYNES SHOOTING HOOPS AT THE SPORTSPARK OPENING
MONDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY CBN OLDER ADULT CENTER VOLUNTEERS GETTING READY FOR THE EILEEN FISHER GENTLY USED CLOTHING GIVEAWAY ON SATURDAY. THE EVENT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS.
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Japanese contemporary artist, Yayoi Kusama, will return to Chelsea’s David Zwirner art gallery, featuring an all new twist on her iconic infinity mirror rooms
Yes, Yayoi Kusama has been taking over NYC (and the world) for years. Her signature dotted pattern and her Instagrammable infinity mirror rooms have made her work quite recognizable
According to the Smithsonian Institution, Kusama created her first infinity room in 1965 called Phalli’s Field. The “kaleidoscopic environments” challenge onlookers’ perception and creates an illusory reality.
*Entry in the infinity mirrored room will be timed due to the high volume of visitors expected to attend.
Can’t afford Yayoi Kusama’s collaboration with Louis Vuitton but still love the design? Her upcoming exhibit will highlight her renowned dot pattern on pumpkins and flowers.
The Yayoi Kusama exhibit will be entirely free to the public, so no tickets or reservations are required. However, her work is known to attract a line—some as long as two hours!—so be prepared to wait. The gallery recommends coming early on weekday mornings.
And of course, you’ll want to take all the selfies and photos for the feed possible, but just note that flash is not allowed at the exhibit.
Yayoi Kusama merchandise will be available for purchase at the David Zwirner bookstore, located at 535 West 20th Street, during the duration of the exhibit.
Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity.
–Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama
Guided by her unique vision and unparalleled creativity, critically acclaimed artist Yayoi Kusama has been breaking new ground for more than six decades. In 1993, she became the first woman to represent Japan at the Venice Biennale, and last year, Time magazine named her one of the world’s most influential people.
Born in 1929, Kusama grew up near her family’s plant nursery in Matsumoto, Japan. At nineteen, following World War II, she went to Kyoto to study the traditional Japanese style of painting known as Nihonga. During this time, she began experimenting with abstraction, but it was not until she arrived in the United States, in 1957, that her career took off. Living in New York from 1958 to 1973, Kusama moved in avant-garde circles with such figures as Andy Warhol and Allan Kaprow while honing her signature dot and net motifs, developing soft sculpture, creating installation-based works, and staging Happenings (performance-based events). She first used mirrors as a multireflective device in Infinity Mirror Room—Phalli’s Field, 1965, transforming the intense repetition that marked some of her earlier works into an immersive experience. Kusama returned to Japan in 1973 but has continued to develop her mirrored installations, and over the years, she has attained cult status, not only as an artist, but as a novelist.
FRIDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
BEACON THAT WAS ON TOP OF THE ORIGINAL TRAM TOWERS- 1976-2010
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
SECRET NYC
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
8. The Visitors Center Was Part of a Lost Trolley Line
The adorable Visitors Center tucked at the base of Queensboro Bridge has a fascinating history, and secrets of its own. The tiny structure dates back to 1909 when the Queensboro Bridge had a trolley line that went to Astoria, Flushing, College Point, Corona, Steinway and Queens Boulevard. There were originally five kiosks located between the inbound and outbound lower level roads between 59th and 60th Street. After the last trolley ran on this line in 1957, three of the five kiosks were demolished. One was moved to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in Crown Heights where it functioned as the entrance to the museum.
When the museum was redesigned in 2003, the Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS) wanted to bring the kiosk back to the Manhattan side of the bridge. After a four year effort, the kiosk opened in 2007. It is run by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society today and serves as resource point for those looking for more information about the island. Inside, look up and you’ll find Guastavino tiling, the familiar herringbone patterened arch system found in Grand Central Terminal, Ellis Island, the decommissioned City Hall subway station, and many more places. Learn more about the Visitors Center here!
9. Roosevelt Island’s Tramway Was Initially Temporary
The bright red tramway system carrying commuters from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island and back was established in 1976 as a temporary means of transportation for island residents while they awaited the completion of the island’s subway link. By this time, the trolley tracks connecting Roosevelt Island with mainly Manhattan had been slowly deteriorating beyond repair. However, by the time the link was there, the tramway had already become an integral mode of transportation, so it continued to operate and became permanent.
The tram was built by Swiss company Von Roll, though the current tram is the second iteration; the tramway underwent a major renovation in 2010 that added a dual-hall system and new cars. Today it remains a crucial part of New York City’s transit system which has carried well over 26 million passengers, serving as North America’s first aerial tramway used for commuter transit. The tram was notably the last mode of transportation in New York City to adopt the MetroCard, doing so in 2003.
10. FDR Four Freedoms Park Is Louis Kahn’s Only New York City Work
The FDR Four Freedoms Park, which was finished in 2012, took 40 years to finally complete. Over the years, economic crises and political sensibilities halted progress on the park until architect Gina Pollara revived the project. As such, Roosevelt Island’s Four Freedoms Park is the only establishment designed by Louis Kahn in New York City. The city commissioned architect Louis Kahn for the memorial, which was his last major work before his death in 1974. Kahn died of a heart attack in Penn Station, with a final rendering of his completed design for Four Freedoms Park in his briefcase at the time.All materials for the memorial were shipped in via barges, which were loaded up in New Jersey and sent down the East River. An excerpt of Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union speech outlining his Four Freedoms is inscribed on the back of the stone frame that holds up his bust, Each granite paving stone is a cube and measures four feet by four feet by four feet. Four Freedoms Park also neighbors a cat sanctuary just to the north inside Southpoint Park, At the opening ceremony, Governor Cuomo said the park was a testament to Louis Kahn, whose design lay “dormant for years but could be picked up and be as vital and current as it was when he designed it.”
11. Roosevelt Island Was Once The Equivalent of Riker’s Island
Many have probably heard of Nellie Bly, a woman who pretended to be insane in order to write a breakthrough investigative piece on the cruelty of the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. This asylum was run inside Octagon Building which still stands on Roosevelt Island. The asylum opened in 1838, and rumors quickly spread about its brutal abuse of the inmates. In her expose, “Ten Days in a Madhouse,” Bly called the asylum a “human rat-trap” with staff who “choked, beat and harassed patients.”The asylum moved to Ward’s Island a little while later, so this building became the Metropolitan Hospital, which then moved to Harlem in the 1950s. The asylum’s original octagon still stands as a classy apartment complex near a beautiful community garden, quite a contrast to what it used to be. Visitors are generally welcome to enter the octagon, which serves as the lobby, and look at the old photographs on display.
On the island, Bly’s legacy is remembered with a public art piece called The Girl Puzzle. This piece consist of a series of faces that depict women who have endured hardship in their lives and were made stronger because of it. In the center of the monument is a Bly’s face cast in silver bronze. Bly’s face is flanked by the four bronze faces meant to represent Asian American, Black, young, older, and queer women, each rendered in partial sections to appear like giant puzzle pieces.
12. The Blackwell House Is One of the Only New York Farmhouses From Immediately After the American Revolution
A descendant of Robert Blackwell, James Blackwell, built a house called the Blackwell House, now on Main Street, in about 1796. When the city bought Blackwell’s Island, the island became less agricultural and more institutional. When a penitentiary was erected in 1829, the wooden house became a residential place for institutional administrators. The house was abandoned during the 1900s and restored in the early 1970s.In addition to being one of the few New York farmhouses from the period immediately following the Revolutionary War, it is also the only surviving building on Roosevelt Island from the time period when the island was still private property. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
13. Roosevelt Island Used to Have An Artificial Geyser
The Delacorte Fountain was dedicated in 1968 by George T. Delacorte, who wanted New York to have an equivalent to Switzerland’s Jet D’Eau. It sprayed East River water hundreds of feet into the air across from the United Nations on the southern edge of Roosevelt Island. However, the New York Timesreported in 1987 that the city’s Parks Commissioner had fears that “liquid waste was being flung 400 feet in the eyes and faces of people who lived on Sutton Place.”In response to this, the water was chlorinated, which lowered its height to 240 feet. During the later drought years, people worried the fountain would represent overconsumption of water, so it was turned off. In 1985, the powerful streams of water washed off the topsoil from some newly planted trees and crushed a car roof. The next year, the geyser stopped working.
THURSDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
GLASS SCULPTURE AT R.I. SUBWAY STATION GLORIA HERMAN , NINA LUBLIN AND ALEXIS VILLAFANE GOT IT,
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Untapped New York has written a lot of articles on New York City’s islands, both abandoned and in use. While the city’s mainland is filled with cool history and things to do, its islands, such as North Brother Island, Hart Island, Governors Island, and Rikers Island, also have some intriguing sights. Now, it’s time to rediscover New York City’s Roosevelt Island – a residential, two-mile-long island packed with interesting secrets.
1. Roosevelt Island Has Had At Least Six Different Names
Though Roosevelt Island is now named after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, people have called the island quite a few different things before. The Lenape tribe, who first inhabited the island, called it “Minnehanonck.” According to the New York Times, this name is commonly thought to be translated as “Long Island,” or “It’s nice to be on the island.” When the Dutch purchased Roosevelt Island from the Native Americans in 1637, they renamed it “Varken Eylandt,” or “Hogs Island,” for all the hogs raised there. A little while later, a British captain named John Manning lived on the island in shame after surrendering New York to the Dutch, so it became known as “Manning’s Island.”
2. Roosevelt Island Has the Country’s Only Automated Vacuum Collection System Serving a Residential Complex
Operated by the New York City Department of Sanitation, it is only one of two such systems in the United States at this scale (the other being at Disney World). For nearly half a century, the island’s residential trash has been handled without curbside truck pickup, limiting the need for workers to be out handling the garbage. The waste stays in an inlet until a sensor notes the garbage has reached a certain level. The AVAC system automatically opens the valve and sucks garbage at 60 to 70 miles per hour through 20-inch underground tubes to the central facility.
3. The Octagon Building Used To Be An Infamous Lunatic Asylum
Many have probably heard of Nellie Bly, a woman who pretended to be insane in order to write a breakthrough investigative piece on the cruelty of the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. This asylum was run inside Octagon Building which still stands on Roosevelt Island. The asylum opened in 1838, and rumors quickly spread about its brutal abuse of the inmates. In her expose, “Ten Days in a Madhouse,” Bly called the asylum a “human rat-trap” with staff who “choked, beat and harassed patients.”
The asylum moved to Ward’s Island a little while later, so this building became the Metropolitan Hospital, which then moved to Harlem in the 1950s. The asylum’s original octagon still stands as a classy apartment complex near a beautiful community garden, quite a contrast to what it used to be. Visitors are generally welcome to enter the octagon, which serves as the lobby, and look at the old photographs on display.
On the island, Bly’s legacy is remembered with a public art piece called The Girl Puzzle. This piece consist of a series of faces that depict women who have endured hardship in their lives and were made stronger because of it. In the center of the monument is a Bly’s face cast in silver bronze. Bly’s face is flanked by the four bronze faces meant to represent Asian American, Black, young, older, and queer women, each rendered in partial sections to appear like giant puzzle pieces.
4. The Ruins of a Smallpox Hospital Remains on Roosevelt Island
If the lunatic asylum and prison weren’t enough, another former, creepy institution on Roosevelt Island can be added to the list: a smallpox hospital. By the end of the 1800s, it was common to isolate patients suffering from contagious diseases like smallpox on islands, like North Brother Island, Hoffman and Swinburne Islands, and of course, Blackwell’s Island. The island’s Gothic Revival-style Renwick Smallpox Hospital was designed by James Renwick Jr. (who designed St. Patrick’s Cathedral), built using labor from the lunatic asylum and completed in 1856.
It functioned for 19 years and treated about 7,000 patients. Many of these were impoverished immigrants or Union soldiers who needed curing. In 1875, the hospital moved to North Brother Island when it became too crowded, but the original building remains today and is the “only landmarked ruin” in New York City. During the construction of FDR Four Freedoms Park, the organization behind the park hoped to use the hospital as a visitor center, but funds and interest petered out after initial stabilization. Recently released is the new short film Unforgotten: Renwick Ruin by artist Aaron Asis, Untapped New York’s Artist in Residence. Asis and his team at Green Ghost Studios were given special access inside the abandoned structure, and the film showcases perspectives of the Renwick ruin that are rarely seen by the public.
5. What’s With the Boat Prow Jutting Out of Roosevelt Island?
It might seem like the large boat prow sticking out the side of Octagon Park is some intriguing, ancient remnant of a ship washed ashore. However, turns out it’s an art project. There actually used to be a boat landing in this location, and in 1997 a performance stage and observation platform were built in the shape of a boat prow.
According to The New York Times, there are only two “nautical embellishments.” The Times writes of “Two small slots near the tip–presumably for imaginary anchor chains… though a few heavy mooring posts have been placed nearby.” The prow has become somewhat of a popular graffiti spot, though it is regularly cleaned and maintained. The Prow is currently closed due to deterioration of the steel structure.
6. There are Benches Shaped Like Roosevelt Island on the Island
Along Main Street, at The Shops on Main, you’ll find wooden benches that are shaped like Roosevelt Island. On a tour of the island back in 2020, David Kramer, President of The Hudson Companies, the developer behind numerous projects on Roosevelt Island, including Riverwalk and The House at Cornell Tech, told Untapped New York, “the impetus behind the design was to be, well, fun and terrific. There’s a history of interesting, design-oriented, whimsical details on Roosevelt Island.”
Jonathan Marvel of Marvel Architects said the mahogany benches with stainless steel support are a “signature moment” and that the design team “didn’t want to do a normal New York City park bench because we’d be losing an opportunity to make something distinctive.” The long slender shaped of the island made it perfect for a bench seat. Other benches on the island are in the style of the 1939-40 World’s Fair benches, originally designed for Central Park. Learn more about the Roosevelt Island-shaped benches here!
7. Quirky Tom Otterness Statues In the East River
If you were to stroll along the western promenade of Roosevelt Island, you might want to peer over into the East River: there are small, funny-looking, green statues in the water. These quirky sculptures were created by Tom Otterness in 1996, and the installation as a whole is called “The Marriage of Real Estate and Money.”
The series consists of three bronze sculptures by the Brooklyn-based artist, whose works often include large pennies and other money caricatures. He is also known for “Life Underground” at the 14th Street subway station, which depicts various scenes including an alligator reaching out from underneath a manhole cover to snatch a man for dinner. The three Roosevelt Island sculptures depict respectively, a coin attacked by a moneybag coming out of the mouth of a man, a house wearing a skirt attacked by a money-inspired lobster, and a house and coin getting married.
UPPER LEVEL PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY AT THE NEWLY OPENED QUEENSBORO BRIDGE IN 1909 DAVID JACOBY, ANDY SPARBERG, ELLEN JACOBY GOT IT RIGHT
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
For years we have been trying to get RIOC to preserve two benches that have been part of the island for almost 75 years.
The benches probably were first used at the Central Laundry that was across the street from the Tram. The workers would take their breaks outside on these benches. The laundry, garage and firehouse building were demolished in the 1980s.
The benches probably ended up in one of our community gardens. for years.
In recent years the benches have been on the Senior Terrace at the CBN Older Adult Center.
We asked RIOC to refinish them since they are part of the island history and would be a great addition to the terrace. After submitting photos the project was never approved by the RIOC staff. It took over a year to get this done. Finally the benches were seen by Shelton Haynes and he agreed to get them repaired and refinished when Lisa Fernandez told him of my trials and tribulations to get these benches preserved.
Lisa Fernandez enjoys the bright addition to the terrace.
Judith Berdy, President of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society checks off one more accomplishment for historic preservation on the island.
Former gas station at the corner of Broadway and West Houston Street. Today, the corner is home to a giant Adidas shop.
There is little left of the old neighborhood. This proves it!
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Between teaching classes for election workers today, I had plenty of time to roam the neighborhood. After starting at Chrystie Street I was back on 2nd Street, east of where I strolled last week.
On the corner of Avenue A, is the Berlin Bar, situated in a former dry goods strore.
At 113 East Second Street, this grand iron fence shelters a wooden structure. The sign on the lower corner advises to all that a rodent station is inside. Do the rodents seek sanctuary here?
Gringer has been a place for all home appliances for decades and still is going strong on First Avenue.
Up the tree lined street is Marble Cemetery. I have heard about if for years, and there it was in all it’s glory, a sanctuary for all who pass. In summer there are days when the grounds are open.
Right up the street is the Nord Anglia International School. It’s wonderful graphics enliven the facade of the building.
Across the street are the Archives Film Archive. The building was originally the Third Magistrate Courthouse.
Just off the Bowery and First Street is Extra Place. Unfortunately, 2 of the three restaurants there are shuttered. The place leads to a new Avalon apartment house so it is not an alley, just an entrance to a building now.
Back on the Bowery, a few of the restaurant supply dealers remain.
Time to get back to work and just a quick glance at the Liz Christy Garden. It is amazing what you can spot in one hour as you look up from you phone and take in the wonders of the City. I am so glad to work at this site, the Chinatown Settlement/YMCA at East Houston Street. It is only an 18 minute subway ride from Roosevelt Island!!!
Former gas station at the corner of Broadway and West Houston Street
FROM JENNIFER DUNNING And thanks for all the goodies, especially the one about the serendipitous (sp.?) Second Street. I loved wandering, on foot or on my bike. I was in love with the Red Hook waterfront area years ago, before it got tarted up. So comfortably worth, costly utilitarian, even a bit Italian uturistic in spots. I discovered it when I went to an outdoor danceus performance. The warehouses, silver sugar uprooting like some giant happenstance sculpture, the dark little bar, the little row houses. I wanted to buy one and I probably could have then but it occurred to me that since I didn’t drive I’d h0ave to go through that then-dangerous housing project to get to work by public transportation. And I was often assigned to write advance pieces on historic NYC walking tours. The guides were sometimes endearingly nutty, too. One of my favorites, Margot Gayle, kept backing into traffic on a SoHo tour she took me on.
Thanks again, Judy
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Swann’s annual Graphic Design auction gets better and better with each passing year. As more people find interest and delight in the material, still others bring us wonderful material to offer. Thisyear’s is one of the strongest auctions we have ever assembled. On offer are standout items from across the globe with a myriad of art movements, including Jugendstil and Secession, Art Deco, Futurism, Mid-Century Modernism and Swiss Realism. Two large archives of ephemeral material lend to the sale an angle that it has seldom had, but one that is of great interest to the market:ephemeral design such as postcards, books, magazines, pamphlets and beyond.
ULIUS KLINGER (1876-1942)
FLUGPLATZ JOHANNISTHAL / FLUGWOCHE. Circa 1910.
26 1/2×17 1/2 inches, 67 1/4×44 1/2 cm. Hollerbaum & Schmidt, Berlin. Condition B: creases and restoration at edges, in image and along vertical fold; repaired tears at edges.
Advertising a National Flying Week event, Klinger has created an unforgettable image of four anachronistic orange men in identical ruffled collars, their heads, and noses, pointing straight up to the sky, watching the (unseen) activity over head. One of several variations used in different years, always advertising a flying exhibition. Klinger 74, Rademacher p. 106 (var), Kunst Kommerce Visionen 253.
GREAT GRAPHIC DESIGN UP FOR AUCTION AT SWANN GALLERIES***
LADISLAV SUTNAR (1897-1976) VYSTAVA MODERNIHO OBCHODU / [MODERN COMMERCE EXHIBITION]. 1929. 18×24 inches, 45 3/4×61 cm. Melantrich, Prague. Condition A-: minor repaired tears and creases in margins; minor restoration in image. Matted. Ladislav Sutnar was both a professor and practitioner of design. In addition to teaching at Prague’s State School of Graphic Art, he was also a pioneer in the fields of informational graphics and corporate identity and was the official designer of the Czechoslovak Government’s exhibitions in foreign countries (winning several awards for his work in this field). His ground-breaking Functionalist work was largely a fusion of Bauhaus ideas and typography, Constructivism, and his own work with photomontage and design. In the mid 1920s he is believed to be the first Czech designer to have incorporated photomontage into poster design (Sutnar p. 305) and by the 1930s, photomontages figured prominently in many of his book jacket designs and were a hallmark of his work. This poster promotes one of three trade fairs occurring in Brno, Czechoslovakia’s second largest city, in the late summer of 1929 (the other two, a Brewery & Malting exhibition and an exhibition on Modern Women are mentioned at the bottom of the poster), The image boasts three of the city’s newest and finest functionalist architecture projects: the Avon Hotel (seen at left), the Commercial and Industrial Palace and the Commercial Tradesmen’s Pavilion. Universally considered to be one of Sutnar’s finest designs, this poster “poetically cumulates current communication symbols [into] something of a Functionalist version of the ‘pictorial poem’ . . . [it reflected] the approaches of Cubist and Constructivist pictorial collages” (Sutnar, p. 305). Writing in 1961 in Visual Design In Action, Sutnar stated: “In our ‘visual civilization,’ words are superseded by images, drawings, graphs and other visual symbols which convey the message faster, more reliably and more convincingly than verbal descriptions.” This is the Czech version. Rare. We have found no other copy at auction in over 20 years. Sutnar 546, Avant Garde p. 142, Weill 460, Czech Functionalism 271, Czech Avant Garde p. 61, Modernism 129, Trade Fair 61, Berman / Juan March p. 142, Clash of Ideologies p. 82, Witkovsky pl. 44. Art Institute of Chicago 2009.297.
Ludwig Hohlwein, Zeiss / Feldstecher, 1912. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.
Vic, Shell Oil & Petrol / For Quick – Starting, 1930. Estimate $1,500 to $2,000.
Massino Vignelli, Knoll Au Louvre, four-part poster, 1972. Estimate $2,500 to $3,500.Another long-standing design relationship was between Knoll and Massimo Vignelli. Massimo and his wife Lella formed their own design firm, Vignelli Associates, in the 1970s, with such notable clients such as Bloomingdales, IBM, American Airlines, and Knoll. Their designs for Knoll included many projects based on a simple grid concept—from stationery to brochures, to posters. Vignelli Associates even designed the posters and exhibition space for a Knoll retrospective in France. The posters, shown here, were printed in four parts, and in at least two sizes.
Paul Rand, Ford / Signs That Say Safe Driving, circa 1966. Estimate $700 to $1,000.It is impossible to explore the history of corporate branding without thinking of Paul Rand. A modern master of design, Rand is responsible for the visual identities and logos for companies such as ABC, American Express, UPS, and perhaps most famously, IBM. He designed IBM’s logo in 1956, then consulted for the company for over 30 years. His famous Rebus poster was devised in 1981, and has since become one of the most famous and recognizable corporate identity statements of the twentieth century. One of his lesser known posters, but for an equally identifiable company, is that of Ford, shown above.Related Reading:
Edmond Maurus, Chrysler, circa 1930s. Sold May 2019 for $13,750.While very little is known of Edmond Maurus, his graphic legacy is defined by a stylized Art Deco sensibility. This is one of his most dynamic images, a masterwork of perspective and suggestion. It is a fascinating concept to only show the grill of the car and leave the rest to the imagination of the viewer. What is seen is the verdant country route the automobile has taken, and what is implied is the speed of the vehicle via the streaks in the road and the thinly visible dust cloud extending back down the road.
At Auction May 19: Javier Gómez Acebo & Máximo Viejo Santamarta, San Sebastian / XI Circuito Automovilista, 1935. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.
WEEKENED PHOTO DRAPER HALL – NURSES RESIDENCE AT NORTH END OF THE ISLAND
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
SWANNA AUCTION GALLERIES
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
