The Flatiron Building in NYC has been posted here a few times. I really admire this building, and now, even more, since I just discovered the beautiful architectural details at the top!
Any idea who these fellows are? Cain and Abel? Romulus and Remus? And who is that egg-shaped guy on the throne?
Great picture, I never knew this was up there.
When I was looking for pictures, I found an article that described them as “two pouty cherubs”… which doesn’t exactly describe what I see.
But they are much shorter and pudgier than it looks in Stel’s picture… you can see in my post to Happy³.
…
It also said the original cherubs were made of terra cotta.
I guess they’re anonymous, like most decorative cherubs.
In the late 1980’s they starting cracking and falling down in chunks, and were removed.
But early this century, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said they needed to be replaced, so a sculptor created a replica, following an old photo… and they’re now cast in concrete.
And unless we’re looking at different things, … that’s a fleur-de-lys in a sort of egg shaped cartouche, not anybody on a throne.
I looked it up last night after seeing Happy‘s post and found the same result. I was too tired and not feeling well, so I put off responding until today. Thanks, Susan, for doing that for me.
I wish I had looked at the picture more closely before posting it. I can’t understand why anyone would tamper with the real image. To me, it actually looks better with the properly-sized cherubs and not the elongated versions.
Still, I am pleased to discover the extra decoration at the top that I didn’t know even existed!
The center section at the top of the photo has been sliced and pasted, in two places, with the pieces roughly stacked, as though to make the sculpture taller.
Each leg has two thighs and knees… the center medallion is also doubled.
Why would anyone do that? To make it look like grown men, maybe? But why?
…..
I roughly cut and pasted it back together… very quickly, cos it’s late.
One piece seemed to have been enlarged a bit, and I didn’t take time to get it exactly matched
Here is (at least in part) the New York Times article about your observation which Susan has ably illustrated.
I’ve provided a LINK TO THE NEW YORK TIMES STORY HERE, and a copy I made of the text is in the spoiler box.
The reason for that is the Time’s website will sometimes allow a “story sample,” and sometimes won’t. I’m not sure what I was allowed access to is the whole story; it ends a bit abruptly, but that could be newspaper page space limitations.
New York Times article regarding the Flat Iron restoration
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT:
FLATIRON; Little Lost Angels Reborn Atop the Flatiron Building
By Lauren Wolfe Sept. 2, 2001
Twenty stories above 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue, atop the Flatiron Building, two pouty cherubs once again watch over the city.
When the Flatiron was built, in 1902, its top was adorned with the cherubs, sculptured in terra cotta. But 13 years ago, the figures disappeared.
”There was a frankfurter guy here on the corner,” recalled Sonny Atis, the building’s superintendent. ”The thing started falling down on him in pieces. The old super went up there and started pulling down all the loose chunks with his hands.”
Last week installation of a replica of the sculpture began. It is scheduled to be completed this week. But no one seems to know where the fragments of the original are.
A few years after the sculpture vanished, Miriam Berman and Jerzy Koss, longtime residents of the Flatiron area, complained to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which issued a notice requiring that the owners of the building put back the sculpture or replace it.
James Kuhn, president of Newmark & Company Real Estate, an owner of the Flatiron since 1997, said he did not know what happened to the fragments. ”When we bought the building, it was already gone,” he said of the sculpture.
The reproduction was designed by Betty Martin, 33, who modeled her work on what she called a ”bad photograph” from the 1920’s. Ms. Martin, a theatrical set designer and painter of what she called ”rich people’s rooms,” said she ”banged out” 6,000 pounds of clay in eight weeks. The piece was cast in concrete by Towne House Restoration.
Ms. Martin’s cherubs appear 7 or 8 years old, slightly more mature than their predecessors, which were baby-faced. As before, the pieces flank a shield decorated with fleurs-de-lis. The identity of the original sculptor is a mystery. Neither the owners of the building nor the landmarks commission, which designated the Flatiron as a landmark in 1966, knows who the artist was.
Ms. Berman and Mr. Koss like the replacement but rue the loss of the original.
”When they took it out, it was like a wound,” Mr. Koss said, speculating that the fragments were discarded, ”moved to a garbage dump.”
Ms. Berman had another idea. ”I’m sure it’s in some backyard somewhere,” she said. LAUREN WOLFE
Continue reading the main story Special offer: Subscribe for $5 $0.50 (Cdn) a week. Thanks for reading The Times.
If you haven’t already read it at YouTube, this is Jennifer Hager on her creation.
Jennifer Hager
14.8K subscribers
This was my 3rd year, junior film at Calarts from 2004. I wanted to tell some kind of story with
stuffed animals come to life. I remember doodling all kinds of random ideas in my cubicle when
the idea of a stuffed toy defending his owner from a monster popped in my head. My favorite toy
when I was a kid was a stuffed dog. I based the main character off of that stuffed dog! I had
soooo much fun designing the monster. I looked up every scary thing I could think of on the
internet for reference. After a bunch of exploration I ended up with this pitbull-hyena-rat looking
thing.
Making a film with the intention of scaring people is super fun! When this screened in the end of
year Calarts student showcase, The Open Show, people were screaming and getting startled. Haha
it was so rewarding!
I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
To her last statement.
I did enjoy it.
The car in the tree was a lovely touch.
Last edited 2 years ago by Alexikakos
Liverlips McCracken
Guest
2 years ago
Stel Bel: I am so honored! There are no words good enough …
I’m so grateful to Susan for her clear and concise review of Big Trouble in Little Cleveland. The whole cast and crew were delighted to read all about it! I’m only disappointed that Rottie Tailwagger has been incommunicado for so long. We can only hope that his long absence will finally end. I, for one, look forward to his next project.
[Susan: reading this had me in stitches!! Thanks so much!]
what a fun movie to work on! Stel has outdone herself AGAIN! we’ll have a real Hawlywood premiere just before the fireworks next Monday. thanks for the great collaboration of this C & C Family, Stel. it’s always an honor to be in this company.
I had a vertigo attack today. I’m noticing a pattern of sorts.
Tomorrow i’m going to finish what i started today.
I’m buying a used Leaf. It still has a 60 mile range on a full battery.
That’s better than the 50 i was hopping for.
They cleaned it up nice. i hope that they remember to charge it for me. 🙂
The Flatiron Building in NYC has been posted here a few times. I really admire this building, and now, even more, since I just discovered the beautiful architectural details at the top!
Wow ! ! !…and thanks.
You bet!
Any idea who these fellows are? Cain and Abel? Romulus and Remus? And who is that egg-shaped guy on the throne?
Great picture, I never knew this was up there.
When I was looking for pictures, I found an article that described them as “two pouty cherubs”… which doesn’t exactly describe what I see.
But they are much shorter and pudgier than it looks in Stel’s picture… you can see in my post to Happy³.
…
It also said the original cherubs were made of terra cotta.
I guess they’re anonymous, like most decorative cherubs.
In the late 1980’s they starting cracking and falling down in chunks, and were removed.
But early this century, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said they needed to be replaced, so a sculptor created a replica, following an old photo… and they’re now cast in concrete.
And unless we’re looking at different things, … that’s a fleur-de-lys in a sort of egg shaped cartouche, not anybody on a throne.
I looked it up last night after seeing Happy‘s post and found the same result. I was too tired and not feeling well, so I put off responding until today. Thanks, Susan, for doing that for me.
I wish I had looked at the picture more closely before posting it. I can’t understand why anyone would tamper with the real image. To me, it actually looks better with the properly-sized cherubs and not the elongated versions.
Still, I am pleased to discover the extra decoration at the top that I didn’t know even existed!
Another interesting view that most of us sightseers would never see from the street level:
In this picture, it looks to me like Humpty Dumpty, but I can see in the close-ups that it is not, in fact, a creature.
I can easily see a face in it… Not a body, but a Humpty Dumpty sort of face …
Perhaps wrinkling his nose disdainfully, which pulls up his upper lip to show his two teeth.
But then, I’m oddly wired.
Something is wrong with the guys in the photo.
They have been manipulated somehow.
Boo it up to see what i mean.
Yes… you made me curious…
The center section at the top of the photo has been sliced and pasted, in two places, with the pieces roughly stacked, as though to make the sculpture taller.
Each leg has two thighs and knees… the center medallion is also doubled.
Why would anyone do that? To make it look like grown men, maybe? But why?
…..
I roughly cut and pasted it back together… very quickly, cos it’s late.
One piece seemed to have been enlarged a bit, and I didn’t take time to get it exactly matched
This is more or less their actual shape.
…
They’re chubby young boys.
That looks much better! 😀
Chubby cherubs!
Here is (at least in part) the New York Times article about your observation which Susan has ably illustrated.
I’ve provided a LINK TO THE NEW YORK TIMES STORY HERE, and a copy I made of the text is in the spoiler box.
The reason for that is the Time’s website will sometimes allow a “story sample,” and sometimes won’t. I’m not sure what I was allowed access to is the whole story; it ends a bit abruptly, but that could be newspaper page space limitations.
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT:
FLATIRON; Little Lost Angels Reborn Atop the Flatiron Building
By Lauren Wolfe Sept. 2, 2001
Twenty stories above 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue, atop the Flatiron Building, two pouty cherubs once again watch over the city.
When the Flatiron was built, in 1902, its top was adorned with the cherubs, sculptured in terra cotta. But 13 years ago, the figures disappeared.
”There was a frankfurter guy here on the corner,” recalled Sonny Atis, the building’s superintendent. ”The thing started falling down on him in pieces. The old super went up there and started pulling down all the loose chunks with his hands.”
Last week installation of a replica of the sculpture began. It is scheduled to be completed this week. But no one seems to know where the fragments of the original are.
A few years after the sculpture vanished, Miriam Berman and Jerzy Koss, longtime residents of the Flatiron area, complained to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which issued a notice requiring that the owners of the building put back the sculpture or replace it.
James Kuhn, president of Newmark & Company Real Estate, an owner of the Flatiron since 1997, said he did not know what happened to the fragments. ”When we bought the building, it was already gone,” he said of the sculpture.
The reproduction was designed by Betty Martin, 33, who modeled her work on what she called a ”bad photograph” from the 1920’s. Ms. Martin, a theatrical set designer and painter of what she called ”rich people’s rooms,” said she ”banged out” 6,000 pounds of clay in eight weeks. The piece was cast in concrete by Towne House Restoration.
Ms. Martin’s cherubs appear 7 or 8 years old, slightly more mature than their predecessors, which were baby-faced. As before, the pieces flank a shield decorated with fleurs-de-lis. The identity of the original sculptor is a mystery. Neither the owners of the building nor the landmarks commission, which designated the Flatiron as a landmark in 1966, knows who the artist was.
Ms. Berman and Mr. Koss like the replacement but rue the loss of the original.
”When they took it out, it was like a wound,” Mr. Koss said, speculating that the fragments were discarded, ”moved to a garbage dump.”
Ms. Berman had another idea. ”I’m sure it’s in some backyard somewhere,” she said. LAUREN WOLFE
Continue reading the main story Special offer: Subscribe for $5 $0.50 (Cdn) a week. Thanks for reading The Times.
That’s the same article I summarized in my reply to Dennis.
I didn’t link because sometimes access is blocked on NYT…
and because I shortened the pertinent information anyway.
I agree ~ WOW!!
Totally scary angle. Seeing this photo first, I think I’d be scared to go up to the 20th floor.
Then again… it has stood since 1910… so it probably wouldn’t fall down on my visit.
Probably.
…
BTW, I got curious…
Happy³ is right… the photo has been crudely altered to change the sculptures at the top.
I posted pics in my reply to him.
these guys look a lot more like cherubs. thanks, everyone!
.
Speaking of cherubs.
.,
Sweet face.. he’s like a live cartoon.
Who sang the “Queen of the Night” staccatos the best?
That is quite a collection. I could not choose.
Nor could I!
Great poster! Brings back memories. I always enjoyed being directed by Rottie Tailwagger. He brought out the best in a dog.
It was fun doing the writing, especially with that charming Lady from Montana.
and i was going to say that we make a great team of writers, Tigressy. thankfully, we were able to collaborate via the internet.
You and ML made a terrific team! Looking forward to future collaborations!
I agree! You played an award-winning great role!
that was fantastic.
Jennifer Hager
14.8K subscribers
This was my 3rd year, junior film at Calarts from 2004. I wanted to tell some kind of story with
stuffed animals come to life. I remember doodling all kinds of random ideas in my cubicle when
the idea of a stuffed toy defending his owner from a monster popped in my head. My favorite toy
when I was a kid was a stuffed dog. I based the main character off of that stuffed dog! I had
soooo much fun designing the monster. I looked up every scary thing I could think of on the
internet for reference. After a bunch of exploration I ended up with this pitbull-hyena-rat looking
thing.
Making a film with the intention of scaring people is super fun! When this screened in the end of
year Calarts student showcase, The Open Show, people were screaming and getting startled. Haha
it was so rewarding!
I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
To her last statement.
I did enjoy it.
The car in the tree was a lovely touch.
Stel Bel: I am so honored! There are no words good enough …
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Your involvement was very much appreciated! Hope we all work together again!
Whew…I’m sure we all have fond memories of working together on “Big Trouble in Little Cleveland!”
Some of the memories are fond now… others will be uh.. fonder … when the dust settles, and in years to come.
…
What a convoluted movie… lots of Cleveland themed supernatural stuff, lots of jumping, chasing, clawing, and biting…
It all kept a large cast of dogs at a high level of excitement for weeks…
so you can imagine the chaos on set.
Good thing Rottie was mostly able to control the whole pack.
…
If I weren’t the producer I probably would have needed a program to follow who was biting whom in scene after scene…
Actually, I did need one… I just called it a cast list and an outline.
…
My thanks to all the rest of the gang for the hard work and happy mood on set.
Rottie, as I said, kept all the pups in line, and provided his vision.
The music was great, Liva and Perky… it made a great background for the antics.
Dennie is a natural, and Plods did some expert camera work.
The original writing was smooth, thanks to Tigressy and Montana Lady, with some polishing by StevieBoy to adapt the scenes to the actors.
…
The energy and hi-jinks did make it fun… but a calming down period
had to follow every day’s shoot, with lots of treats and belly rubs.
We were able to bring it in on budget, which meant GerardDog and AlexHound didn’t mind me splurging at PetSmart.
Those dried liver treats and real beef jerky strips don’t grow on trees, you know… but the bonus satisfaction and camaraderie was worth it.
….
Then of course, the humans had to try to copy us.
What a joke.
Why were they trying to film it in little china, anyway?
A movie with all that action? They were bound to smash all those tiny cups and plates to bits.
Even big china would have broken…
Why didn’t they film it in big Tupperware instead?
I’m so grateful to Susan for her clear and concise review of Big Trouble in Little Cleveland. The whole cast and crew were delighted to read all about it! I’m only disappointed that Rottie Tailwagger has been incommunicado for so long. We can only hope that his long absence will finally end. I, for one, look forward to his next project.
[Susan: reading this had me in stitches!! Thanks so much!]
bomb pops
And the main character is “jack”
Good morning film poster fans!
Another well done for our poster artiste Stel.
Still bizzy here
Y’all have a good day. (((((HuGz!)))))
Thanks, Plods! And, good work on the movie!
what a fun movie to work on! Stel has outdone herself AGAIN! we’ll have a real Hawlywood premiere just before the fireworks next Monday. thanks for the great collaboration of this C & C Family, Stel. it’s always an honor to be in this company.
ML, your contributions were invaluable. Looking forward to our next project! And, thanks!
Brought over from today’s “The Comic Strip…”
It’s bad, really bad.
It sounds like that’s his bum leg.
So bad it’s good! I got a laugh.
This one I can say first hand, that the humans did a pretty good imitation.
I had a vertigo attack today. I’m noticing a pattern of sorts.
Tomorrow i’m going to finish what i started today.
I’m buying a used Leaf. It still has a 60 mile range on a full battery.
That’s better than the 50 i was hopping for.
They cleaned it up nice. i hope that they remember to charge it for me. 🙂
congrats!!