Between our American Folk Art Museum visit and the walk in Central Park, we took in a few more great old buildings of interest, mostly on the west side.
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| From a day or two earlier, the very distinctive American Radiator building, on about 41st St. |
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| Seen from Bryant Park, with its taller 34th St. neighbor |
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| We were headed for the Pythian building, but the Ansonia Hotel caught our attention |
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| Lincoln Center, Julliard, Carnegie, all nearby... |
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The Pythian is your basic Egyptian Revival Art Deco--which we've seen before--and certainly has the most interesting back story of them all...also concerning music |
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| Click to enlarge and read...the Pythians were a mid-19th to -20th century secret society/service club, very large, especially in NYC, where they built this, their Temple, one of the earlier skyscrapers |
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| The really interesting part of the story is that the Pythian Temple had a large auditorium--for all the Pythian pageantry--which in the waning years was leased to Decca Records...and it was on this stage that Buddy Holly did his last recordings and on which Bill Haley and His Comets recorded Rock Around the Clock; among others |
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| Alas, most of the street level facade was under scaffolding, but I did get this |
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| And this |
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| Further alas, the security guy explained that, apart from a few trappings left in the lobby, all the interior art deco stuff was gone, as was the auditorium, sound stage, and so on on; and that nobody cared about Bill Haley and the Comets and Buddy Holley anyway; and on your way out please do not bother any of the tenants... |
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| Top story columns, matching those down on the street; oh well... |
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| The Dakota..."Strawberry Fields Forever..." |
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| The Majestic |
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| The San Remo...all of these old wonders and others form the west backdrop of the park; more to come |
