VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 11
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 12
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 13
UNFOCUSED VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 14
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 15
Photos: David Marc Fischer
Friday, November 10, 2006
WHERE WAS I? As always, it's somewhere in the five boroughs of New York City. Leave your guesses in the comments section.
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 11
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 12
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 13
UNFOCUSED VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 14
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 15
Photos: David Marc Fischer
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 11
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 12
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 13
UNFOCUSED VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 14
VISUAL CLUE ADDED NOVEMBER 15
Photos: David Marc Fischer
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43 comments:
The main NY Public library on 42nd?
Underneath a ceiling light fixture in a pre-war building?
Good guess...but no, Gary.
Warm, David.
Were you in the Wall Street area?
Debbie, you're cooler than Gary.
Were you in Rockefeller Center?
No...sorry, Debbie. Not on this occasion, anyway!
Is this in a theater?
Nope...and it's not in a theatre, either!
Could that be the carpet at the Hilton Hotel?? Celiac Disease Symposium?
I'm afraid not...though I was indeed at the symposium!
I see a Star of David. Central Synagogue?
I was wondering when that would inspire a guess! Alas, it's not Central Synagogue.
Were you in one of the University Clubs?
The green light is NOT a helpful clue. What does the RF stand for??
No, it wasn't one of the U-Clubs, Debbie.
As for the RF, it means...wait a minute--that would be telling!
Actually, it wouldn't necessarily give it away at all, but I'm reluctant to give a straight answer to such a direct question. So, for the moment at least, it might be best to let them remain a pair of mysterious letters.
A museum?
Mainly not, Debbie.
The main branch of the New York Public Library at 5th Ave and 42nd St.?
Still wrong, Dolph (see first guess)...but I think you're catching on.
The Rockefeller Foundation on Fifth?
Maybe one of the old rooms in the Morgan Library that they apparently forgot to renovate?
Sorry, EB & Debbie...you'd be better off exploring different avenues.
The Ruth Fainlight room at the YIVO Institute on 16th Street?
Like that specificity, Scottie... cause the YIVO institute alone would've been way too general. Uh oh, what if it's the room next door? I smell a swoop...
Scott: See under "different avenues," above.
Is this one of Rosario Candela's 1920's Park Avenue masterpieces? Don't I sound like I know what I'm talking about?
You sure do, Debbie! However, you should still explore other avenues.
NY Historical Society on CPW?
No, but it's much more in line with the actual location.
The YMCA on 63rd and CPW.
I KNEW I knew it, right from the first clue.
Oh, Scott, you're such a tease!
As you must know, you're warmer.
It appears to be an old bank building.
I think one could say that it acts as a bank, but that's not its main function.
This is not a bank but how about The New York Society for Ethical Culture?
Great acoustics...and I hear there's an outstanding cafeteria there...but no, that's not the right address.
Is it a post office?
Yes, Debbie.
Really? Wow, bummer. Now I'm going to have to spend my lunchtime googling post offices!
Dude...it's the MAIN post office on 8th Avenue and 34th!! Not exactly WARM on the Upper West Side!
Well, Deb nailed it again--and a review of the back-and-forth over the clues establishes that I was pretty clear (in an understandably riddle-y sort of way) in indicating that the Ethical Culture Society was on the correct Avenue. When Scott guessed a location to the south, I wrote that he was warmer, which is true. Had the uptown-oriented guessing become even more prolonged, I would've provided clues to draw attention in the proper direction.
Anyway, don't be surprised if the next WWI? turns out to be a puzzle challenge....
Ahem. The General Post Office, opened in 1914, was renamed the James A. Farley Building in 1982. (Farley was the 53rd Postmaster General of the United States.) A McKim, Mead & White building, it is probably most famous for its round-the-clock hours and its grand exterior--the long bank of steps as well as the loosely translated Herotodus inscription that became the unofficial motto of the United States Postal Service. This landmark building, which once complemented the old, long-lamented Penn Station, faces an uncertain future that seems likely to be determined under the Spitzer administration. For now, it is largely covered by netting and scaffolding.
Inside is a lobby that might strike visitors as drab--but there are details that reward attention. The patterned ceiling includes ten "coats of arms" including one representing France (RF). I don't know why the Star of David pattern was chosen by the designers; as you can see from the photos, there is some decay in the ceiling.
In the northern entryway to the lobby is a mural, part of a memorial for postal officers who lost their lives in the First World War. Many mail-related items can be found throughout the lobby, especially in the building's modest (and, alas, not very well-maintained) postal museum, which seems to have very limited hours. Certain items will be of special interest to readers of Thomas Pynchon's fiction, especially The Crying of Lot 49.
One more thing: Glancing over the rosters of Postmasters General for the
United States and New York, I note that they have been extremely male-dominated.
Yes, I noticed all that you say and apologize for the sass, you riddle-y guy.
Here I was ready to check out the Yivo Institute on my lunch hour, when I could have just paid more attention to my surroundings in my very own post office!
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