PIV

This water pipe, called a Post Indicator Valve, or PIV for short, stands askew in the grass outside the Music Hall building at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island.

A PIV is a valve used to control the water supply to fire protection systems in large buildings. It's the connection and control between the private and the public water system. One of the things I enjoy doing with these urban sketches is the subsequent research, either to discover the history of a particular building, or just what the heck it is that I drew, like these random water pipes sticking out of the ground. Very often, I come across some website that tells you more than you ever wanted of needed to know about the subject at hand. Like this site, which not only tells you all you need to know about Post Indicator Valves, but about fire hydrants in general, and even about the history of the Kennedy Valve Manufacturing Company, which is still in the hydrant business in Elmira, NY. So now I not only know what a Post Indicator Valve is, but that this one  is a P027 Model 541.

Seville Studios

This may look like it's someplace in Spain, but it's in Greenwich Village, on Cornelia Street.

It has a plaque on the façade which reads "Seville Studios," but that's just a marketing gimmick. The building was built in 1850, and was a tenement building at the turn of the century. The façade of the lower two floors was redesigned by architect James H. Galloway to reflect a Hispanophile trend in the culture at the time. Residences, businesses, and products were given European names and faux-European design in order to convey a sense of Old World elegance and sophistication. In fact, a 1928 New York Times advertisement for this building promised "Old World atmosphere, New World conveniences."

The renovation of this building was part of the revival of Greenwich Village, during the late 1920s into the '30s, which yielded the charming and famous neighborhood it is now. Old, decaying brownstones were renovated, or "upgraded," and reimagined with Spanish-like stucco fronts and tiled roofs, or other European motifs.

In the process, a community of actual Spanish immigrants was displaced, as well as many bohemian-type artists and other minorities and ethnic groups. For example, the 1910 census shows 11 residents in this building, all of whom had ;blue-collar and working class jobs, and 9 of whom were listed as "colored." The 1930 census - after it had been transformed into "Seville Studios" - listed a college professor, an ad salesman, and an aviation draftsman, all of whom were white. I don't think the term "gentrification" had been coined at that time, but the pattern should seem familiar to anyone living in most cities today.


Research on this building from NY Times: "Which to Preserve, the Chicken or the Egg?" and Espanyu: "Eleven Cornelia Street: Too Spanish for Spaniards?"

Chrysler Building

I don't usually do sketches of famous buildings and landmarks unless I can find an unusual or unexpected view, because, really, does the world need more images of the Empire State Building or whatever? And I generally find the back wall of some old warehouse or the water pipes of an old tenement building to be more interesting subjects anyway. But the Chrysler Building is my favorite skyscraper . . .

NYPD Light Tower

Lafarge Plant

Industrial plant on the New Jersey side of the Kill van Kull strait, seen from the Snug Harbor Dock in Staten Island.

I believe the tall towers belong to a company called Lafarge, which makes construction materials like ashpalt and concrete. Their website says, "Lafarge is committed to providing products using sustainable manufacturing practices and improving the environment in and around its plants. Through myriad projects at locations around North America, Lafarge has worked to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, restore wetlands for native plants and animals, and identify waste materials that can be recycled and used at Lafarge plants." I didn't see much evidence of that around this particular plant, which is just one of doszens along a stretch of the New Jersey coast which is miles and miles of giant industrial plants.

That's the World Trade Center in the distance.

Farrell's

Farrell's Bar & Grill, in Windsor Terrace. The business was founded in 1933, the year Prohibition was repealed, when the neighborhood was mostly working-class and Irish, and it remains an authentic old-man, blue-collar bar. Women weren't allowed until sometime in the 80s, though Shirley MacLaine famously forced her way in while filming some movie in the neighborhood. It was also famous for serving Budweiser (apparently, they only serve Bud) in giant styrofoam cups. New York City outlawed styrofoam cups last year; it's unclear if they've phased them out yet. It really doesn't look like the sort of place where someone like me would be welcome, but that's OK. Not everyplace has to be for everyone.

Ride The Snail

Because what child doesn't dream of riding a giant snail?