Midtown East, June 2006

This limestone retaining wall supports the foundation of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, on E. 42nd Street. I liked the colorful patina.

Rose Hill, February/July 2006

Here's something you don't see every day - a graffiti portrait! This is on E. 27th Street, just west of Lexington Avenue. It looks like the artist used a single continuous line, more or less.

I think the same artist is responsible for this...


...which used to be on a wall right next door to the first painting. At first I thought this was a group of miniature portraits or maybe even space aliens, my favorite graffiti subject - but after looking more closely, I believe it's a single, highly abstract face. (It has since been painted over.)

And then there's this...


...on E. 31st Street, a few blocks away, between Park and Madison avenues. Definitely the same style, and also a face.

By the way, this area of the East 20s and lower 30s is sort of a "gray zone" on the map of Manhattan, sandwiched between Gramercy Park and Murray Hill. My AIA guide calls it "Rose Hill," while acknowledging that it's "a precinct seeking a name." So for the purposes of today's post, I'm following the AIA's lead.

Sunnyside, Queens, July 2006

I was taking a walk on Skillman Avenue with my friends Dan and Rob when we came across an apartment building with a very dramatic doorway. The black-and-gold ceramic tile was impressive enough, as you can see above. But to get the full effect, you really need to see the whole door...


Pretty fabulous, huh? Don't you expect Norma Desmond to step out at any moment, ready for her close-up?

East Village, Sept. 2006

When I passed the handball courts at Tompkins Square Park and saw this wall, I had to get a picture. A woman was entering the court just ahead of me, preparing to play. Fortunately she was cool with waiting a minute or two until I got the shot.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Sept. 2006

A wall on Bedford Avenue. I LOVE this picture!

Fashion District, Sept. 2006

These stickers have been plastered all over New York for many months, and no one seems to know what BNE means. (Except, presumably, the person(s) who did the plastering.) When I first started seeing them, I assumed it was an Asian political party or revolutionary movement.

But according to an article in The New York Times, the Japanese lettering means "visit" or "come to," which seems to suggest some kind of promotion. The stickers have shown up in Tokyo and in San Francisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsome has famously offered a bounty of $2,500 for the perpetrator's arrest. (It's kind of amusing that folks in San Francisco flipped out while in New York no one batted an eye.)

The Internet, meanwhile, is awash in speculation about the meaning of BNE. I've seen suggestions ranging from "Breaking and Entering" to "Be Nice to Everyone."

I think it will turn out to be some kind of Web site or technology venture, and I think there's obviously more than one person behind it. This particular sticker was at Ninth Avenue and 38th Street, but they really are all over Manhattan.

Theater District, May 2006

A wall near 45th Street and Eighth Avenue.