Two Vases

Who would have thought it possible that the two faceless creatures that grace St. Mark's Place could ever be improved upon (except by reconstructing their faces)?

They have.

Two vases.

Two vases now sit in front of the two creatures — and they don't even match!

#eastvillage #lions #stmarksplace #statues #vases

Samuel Sullivan Cox Sign Returns

When I first saw the Samuel Sullivan Cox sign beside the Samuel Sullivan Cox statue on the southeast corner of Tompkins Square Park this past Saturday, I thought it was new.

New sign?

As you can see from the date, however, the sign is from May 2014!

May 2014.

By my photo records, as early as September 2014, this sign was not here. There's no telling why it was removed, or why it took so long to return — but it's back, that's all that matters!

It sure is long in its description, no? Compare that to the sign describing the Harry Greenberg, Park Supervisor tree, along the East 9th Street corridor:

Harry Greenberg, Park Supervisor sign.

There can only be one explanation: like all the best East Villagers, Samuel Sullivan Cox was from Ohio!

#eastvillage #harrygreenberg #ohio #ohioans #samuelsullivancox #signs #statues #tompkinssquarepark

Some Statues

I was walking across East 6th Street this past week, when I saw some statues on the sidewalk:

Some statues.

The one on the right looks like a combination of images from tarot cards: the wand, the cup, and of course the tower!

The middle one looks like a troll. It just does.

And of course there's Mary — Mary is very popular in the East Village!

I don't know why these statues were on the sidewalk this way. Were they for sale? Free for the taking? Lost? No one knows.

UPDATED 6/19

After receiving the first comment below, I went back to this picture and made a close-up of the statues:

Close-up.

Mary is still Mary, and the middle one still looks like a troll, but…

The tarot-card statue is St. Barbara, the patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners, and others who work with explosives, and also of mathematicians!

So now we know: They were lost!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #statues #cultofmary #tarotcards

Samuel Sullivan Cox – The Letter Carrier's Friend

Of all the places people come to the East Village from, Ohio is probably the best known and best loved. I could easily devote an entire blog to notable East Village Ohioans! (Maybe Ohioans are why the East Village is so cool?!)

One such Ohioan is Samuel Sullivan Cox, born in Zanesville (population: 25,435 — Saaa-lute!)

Cox was known as "the letter carrier's friend", because of his support for paid benefits and a 40-hour work week for U.S. Post Office employees. In gratitude, postal workers raised $10,000 in 1891 to erect a statue to Cox in Tompkins Square Park!

This is that statue:

Statue.

Here is the plaque, on the plinth:

Plaque, on the plinth.

Samuel Sullivan Cox… Saaa-lute!

#eastvillage #samuelsullivancox #statues #tompkinssquarepark #ohio #ohioans #lettercarriers

Bad Juju

Have you ever seen those owl statues people buy and put out to keep pigeons away? They look like this:

Pigeon-scaring owl-statues on East 9th Street.

Usually they're standing upright though. I don't think pigeons are afraid of owls that are leaning, or lying down! They're probably more afraid that this rusty old fire escape will collapse under their weight!

So… I was walking across East 7th Street yesterday when I saw something that at first I thought was a variation of the owl statues:

7th Street owl-statue variations?

Do you see them? Here's a close-up:

Bats!

A vulture!

Because this doesn't have a crooked neck, I was pretty sure it was a turkey vulture, and I wanted to be sure, so I googled "turkey vulture", and as I was typing it, other suggestions came up in the autofill, like… turkey vulture totem!

Suddenly it became clear.

East Villagers are very superstitious people. Here is what one web site had to say about turkey vulture totems:

You know how to use your own energy powerfully and efficiently. You have the ability to see auras and colors around people with your higher vision and you know how to use patience as a means to an end. You easily go with the flow of those around you yet are fiercely protective of those you feel responsible for. You have keen insight into most situations.

I think I would have come up with something more like this:

Vultures: circle above you waiting for you to die; start eating you even before you're dead; go for the eyes first.

Bats: swarm around your head just out of reach; make high-pitched screeching noises; get tangled in your hair; suck your blood.

I won't set foot outside again without my lucky rabbit's foot… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #bats #vultures #totems #7thstreet #owls #statues #superstition

Mary Totem

People think of the East Village as a place dominated by pagans, and that's probably true, but the Cult of Mary is strong here also, as you can see by this statue taped to a tree on East 5th Street:

Mary totem.

It looks like a voodoo shrine, with its mixture of Christian statues and tree branches.

I wonder if their wish was granted?!

#eastvillage #voodooshrine #cultofmary #statues #5thstreet #totems

Gateway to the East Village

While this is technically outside of the East Village, it qualifies for an East Village Today mention:

Welcome to the East Village.

This statue stands at the gateway to the East Village, on Broadway at East 14th Street. Broadway is the main artery into the East Village from the west side. The west side of the East Village, that is!

The name of this statue is "Think Big".

Think big. That should be the East Village motto!

#eastvillage #14thstreet #art #broadway #statues #thinkbig