Hell's Kitchen, June 2006

These doors on W. 53rd Street near 10th Avenue are part of a huge mural. There are a lot of television and music production studios in that part of town, and I believe this building is one of them.

I like the diagonal lines against the horizontals and verticals - a lot like yesterday's photo in that respect. In fact, I suppose that's a common theme for me!

Chelsea, August 2006

When I saw this pipe beneath some outdoor stairs on W. 22nd Street, I knew I had a photo!

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Sept. 2006

As long as we're talking about Buddhism, here's some excellent meditation advice.

A friend of mine collects what she calls "Found Dharma Talks," which are essentially bits of signs, advertising, or other wording that seem to carry a deeper message. You'd be surprised how numerous they are. This is a little too obvious to be a good example, but it does remind us to keep it simple, follow the breath, quiet our minds, and be.

Central Park, July 2006

One of my favorite spots in Central Park is Bethesda Terrace, which overlooks The Lake and includes the Bethesda Fountain (of "Angels in America" fame). The limestone decorations along the steps leading down to the fountain have to be seen to be believed. The deep, ornate carvings include entire birds and flowers and date from the 1870s.

My AIA Guide to New York City says the stonework at Bethesda Terrace was the work of Jacob Wrey Mould, though Calvert Vaux came up with the concepts.


I was happy to find a lotus blossom among the carvings! The lotus often appears in Buddhist writings and texts as a symbol of purity amid the world's delusions. I attend a weekly Zen service where one of the lines reads, "May we exist in muddy water with purity like the lotus."

In a way, I suppose that's what Jacob Wrey Mould and Calvert Vaux were trying to tell us, by leaving us with such exquisite carvings.

Upper East Side, October 2006

When I first photographed this pocket park at E. 80th Street and First Avenue, it was brightly colored but bedraggled. (See here.) Now they've stripped out the seating and painted the panels with what I think is some kind of primer, so it looks like the park is getting new life.

Lower East Side, Sept. 2006

A graffiti artist who often signs his work "Love Billy" paints the heads of growling dogs as his trademark. Sometimes those dogs are so abstract you can't even really tell they're dogs. These panels were near Hester and Ludlow streets.

Upper West Side, Sept. 2006

This is the gate to a public space called the Harmony Atrium, off Broadway between Columbus Circle and Lincoln Center. Despite the harmonious name, the Harmony Atrium is a dark, cave-like space with probably the most unappealing cafe in the entire city. It does have a rock-climbing wall, though, which seems to generate most of its traffic. And it's got a groovy gate.