MISCELLANY Deluxe

 Some odds and ends. . .

First is this latest addition to No. 5, an example of heraldry that replaced the original terra cotta figure which lasted nearly 100 years. 

The East River is home to a rainbow, in a photo taken from No. 25 by Sally Hill. Thanks, Sally!

This colony artwork was published in 1939, the first year of the New York World's Fair, and reflected city optimism. Other images were used to illustrate a brochure and menu covers.  

An early example of fake Tudor City, The Tudor Shoppe had a name that somehow convinced people it was affiliated with the community. It wasn't, and it didn't last, but at least it got mentioned in a New Yorker story.

A rarely seen photograph of cartoonist Will Eisner in his Tudor City office, a one bedroom apartment in No. 5. Eisner created his masterpiece, The Spirit, here. However, his fame came years later, for The Spirit never ran in New York. It was not until 1965, with the publication of The Great Comic Book Heros, that this forgotten strip became legendary. More on Eisner here.

UP CLOSE: The Prospect Tower Plaque

A salute to the stone plaque at the entrance of No. 45, whose epic presentation reflects the building's status as the first to open in Tudor City. A close-up look, below, from top to bottom.

Under the pointed arch at the top of the plaque, the seal of New York.

Prospect Tower, announced in a Gothic typeface.

Beneath a mythological winged beast, Designed and Constructed by The Fred F. French Company. 

The year No. 45 opened ‒ Anno Domini One Thousand Nine-hundred Twenty Seven ‒ partly rendered in Latin to lend gravitas to the enterprise. At the base, a snail, a seahorse and other aquatic figures, heraldic symbols of fortitude.

DETAILS: Stained Glass

No. 25's stained glass was installed in 1928, as advertised.

Tudor Tower is home to the finest collection of stained glass in the colony, and here are some particularly beautiful panes along the north wall of what was originally the Tudor City Coffee House (now the Metrokids Preschool). The glass was made by Richard N. Spiers & Son, an esteemed firm whose commissions included windows for Riverside Church, St. Bartholomew's and Temple Emanuel. 

Spiers' designs are based on standard heraldic imagery. Above, a castle (symbol of grandeur), and a helmet (symbol of rank).

A plume of feathers (serenity of mind), and another helmet (rank).

A shield with a cross (faith), and holly leaves (truth)

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A big thanks to Jessica Xiao at Preschool of America for the opportunity to photograph these treasures as they are meant to be seen, from the inside out.

The NEW GARGOYLES

Two gargoyle segments before assembly. 
On the left, a falcon, and at right, the hand on which the falcon will rest.

Segments of a goat after kiln firing.

Like all four of the enclave's towers, No. 5 is undergoing repairs at present, among them the replication of several terra cotta gargoyles guarding its terraces.

The originals were installed in 1929 by Atlantic Terra Cotta, at the time the largest producer of architectural terra cotta in the world. 90 years later, several gargoyles had deteriorated beyond the point of restoration, and now are being replicated by Boston Valley Terra Cotta of Orchard Park, NY. [Among the company's current commissions is work for One Vanderbilt, the rising monolith across from Grand Central].

The new versions are being fabricated in three pieces ‒ the same way the originals were ‒ to be later assembled into one figure. Read more detail on Boston Valley's website, here.

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Speaking of gargoyles in need of repair, Gary the Lion (Woodstock resident and a favorite of this blog) could use some help with what appears to be a bad case of tennis elbow. . .

PICTURES OF THE DAY

The water tower of The Hermitage, housed in an elaborate square pavilion. The roof is guarded by four terra cotta rams (heraldic authority symbols), and accessorized with satellite dishes.

DETAILS: Stained Glass Edition

Introducing a new series, Details, that will zoom in on examples of hidden-in-plain-sight local beauty. We begin with some window panes on No. 25, Tudor City's stained-glass Valhalla. Today the windows of the pre-school, they originally lined the Coffee House.

Much of Tudor City's stained glass depicts symbolic heraldic figures, and this selection includes a knight (symbol of protection), a pair of shields bearing a falcon (power) and Tudor Rose (England), along with a grapevine (fertility).

More Coffee House stained glass here.

Tudor City Artifact: COFFEE POT Edition

Today's artifact is a circa-1930 single-cup coffee pot, used in one of the Tudor City restaurants.

Although petite, just 5½ inches tall, the pot is a sturdy, quadruple-plate item with a lovely patina. 

It's engraved with a Tudor City‒themed heraldic seal ‒ Fred F. French's initials on a shield, topped by a dove.

This silver soldered pot was made by Gorham, a renowned silversmith founded in 1831. The choice of Gorham is another example of Fred French's penchant for brand-name embellishments in the enclave ‒ Frigidaires, Murphy beds, Atlantic Terra Cotta, Lamberton Scammell china, and so on. He didn't skimp on the details.

PENTHOUSE Interlude

It's come to our attention that in our previous coverage of Tudor City penthouses, we've neglected Windsor Tower's Penthouse 1, perhaps the most luxurious of them all. A two-bedroom, three-floor, four-bath castle in the sky, it also includes a fireplace, wet bar and two terraces. Here it is, in all its glory.

The octagonal living room boasts 18-foot ceilings and windows galore.

Like most things, it looks its best at twilight.

A photo made on the long main-floor terrace abutting the north wall of the apartment.

The third-floor roof terrace clocks in at 3,000 square feet. 

But most striking of all is the terra cotta goat on the main-floor 
terrace, shielding the apartment from the United Nations.

Sold for $6,550,000 in 2012, Penthouse 1 is off the market now.

PICTURES OF THE DAY

The roofline of The Cloister, guarded by terra cotta lions wearing crowns and clutching copper tridents topped by fleur-de-lis. Lions symbolized courage and valor in heraldry, while the fleur-de-lis symbol ‒ a stylized, three-petaled lily ‒ has been around since the Mesopotamian era. In heraldic times, it stood for purity.

STAINED GLASS Interlude

Continuing our Stained Glass Appreciation Series, today we spotlight two leaded glass examples in No. 25, home to the best stained glass in all of Tudor City. Hidden in plain sight, here they are up close and personal.

A heraldic shield ornamented with a fleur-de-lis, symbol of purity, and a Tudor rose, the emblem of England.

Beside it, a similarly shaped shield, and another fleur-de-lis.

The pair in situ, side by side. They hang in No. 25's entrance porch.

PICTURES OF THE DAY

Northern view from a Woodstock terrace. . .

. . . guarded by a terra cotta unicorn, heraldic symbol of courage and strength.

Secret Tudor City -- NO. 45'S CEILING

This installment of Secret Tudor City showcases the ceiling of the elevator bank in No. 45. Embellished with gilded plaster bas-reliefs of heraldic animals, these decorations are in keeping with the other heraldic inflections throughout the enclave.

Above, the difficult-to-photograph ceiling. Below, close-ups of select creatures.

A lion, symbol of courage, nobility and valor.

An owl, representing vigilance.

The mythological beast Pegasus, a winged horse symbolizing poetic genius and refinement. 

A dolphin, standing for charity and a love of music.

THEN AND NOW

A terra cotta lion guarding a Woodstock terrace, then and now.

1929

2017

  

 Thanks to Woodstock residents John McDonald and Sarah Pepe for access to their spectacular terrace and Gary, their pet lion. 

Heraldry: THE THREE CARTOUCHES

This blog has been avoiding heraldry, knowing nothing about it, but there is a heck of a lot of it in Tudor City. So, deep breath, here is the first installment of Tudor City Heraldry for Dummies.

Heraldry began in the Middle Ages as a way to identify fully armored knights on the battlefield. Over time, the art of heraldry goes in many directions (think crests and coats of arms), which are regulated with fixed rules and design conventions. All heraldic imagery ‒ running the gamut from flowers and fruit to celestial beings and mythological beasts ‒ has symbolic significance.

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We begin Heraldry 101 with the most spectacular heraldic display in the complex, the three identical terra cotta cartouches crowning Nos. 5, 25 and 45. (Cartouche is the fancy term for a shield). This particular shield is that of Henry VII, an appropriate choice as Henry VII was the first King of England from the House of Tudor.

One of the cartouches, in a 1960s photograph.

As seen above, the shield is supported by two gryphons, mythological creatures with the haunches and tail of a lion, and the head, wings and talons of an eagle. They symbolize, what else, majesty. Perched atop the shield is a dove, standing for peace. On the shield itself are crosses, a checkerboard field, a windmill (symbolizing agricultural endeavor), two beavers (perseverance) and a rose (beauty). The motto below the shield reads Veritas, or Truth. 

Rear view of No. 25's cartouche.

Rear view of No. 5's cartouche, jazzing up a penthouse terrace.

A cartouche cameo in Spider-Man 2.