Tag Archives: Manhattan

They don’t get Carnegie Hall

Posted on September 18, 2020 by David Brussat

Here is another edition of Timesman Michael Kimmelman’s virtual tours through Manhattan’s neighborhoods accompanied by celebrity architects, in this case Midtown’s Carnegie Hall area with Billie Tsien and Tod Williams, who once lived in a Carnegie Hall studio (they are, … Continue reading →

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NYC, drawn from memory

Posted on January 16, 2018 by David Brussat

Stephen Wiltshire’s remarkable ability to draw a city from memory came to my attention several years ago in a segment on 60 Minutes or some such show. A British citizen, he was diagnosed with autism at age 3, but his … Continue reading →

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Stuart Little, Gramercy Park

Posted on December 30, 2017 by David Brussat

Here is another sketch by Garth Williams from E.B. White’s Stuart Little.  The lovelorn mouse is about to leave the Little residence in search of Margalo, a lady bird who has fled. A pigeon (“the weird pigeon,” my little boy … Continue reading →

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Stuart Little’s aerie in NYC

Posted on December 29, 2017 by David Brussat

Reading E.B. White’s 1945 masterpiece, Stuart Little, to my little boy, Billy, at bedtime brought the illustration above to my attention last night for the first time in, um, shall we say, several decades. The artist, Garth Williams, drew the … Continue reading →

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Tragic London tower lesson

Posted on June 25, 2017 by David Brussat

The Grenfell Tower that burned in London, costing several score of lives, offers lessons that we can and will again fail to heed. No building can be perfectly fireproof, and no ladder truck can reach beyond 20 stories anyhow. If … Continue reading →

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Manhattan puddle mystery

Posted on June 6, 2017 by David Brussat

Here is a story worthy of the literary bent of the author of the book A Burglar’s Guide to the City.” Geoff Manaugh has a blog, wittily framed as BLDGBLOG. The letters seem to read “blog-blog” until you look at … Continue reading →

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Froma vs. NYT on towers

Posted on March 19, 2016 by David Brussat

The irrepressible Froma Harrop, my former colleague at the Providence Journal who has started a news/culture website, Silk Stocking, for Manhattan’s Upper East Side, has taken on the New York Times. Taking aim at its editorial of March 11, “Saving … Continue reading →

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Up, up, up in time and space

Posted on May 28, 2015 by David Brussat

Get on the elevator to the observatorium at 1 World Trade Center and you’re in for the ride of your life. Up, up, up – ascending not just through space but through time. An animated display on the walls of … Continue reading →

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Mystery of the High Line

Posted on May 26, 2015 by David Brussat

My son Billy and I visited the High Line in New York City for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been dilatory in getting photos up. We started after sitting at outdoor seats for a while … Continue reading →

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Things we’ve left behind us

Posted on March 31, 2015 by David Brussat

Hats off to Cliff Vanover for sending this glorious photo, a timely reminder of the things we’ve left behind us. One we know will return next winter. The others … well, some day beautiful buildings will come back into fashion.

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