This bookish figure, one of many intricately carved grotesques, makes his home on the lovely Gothic City College campus on 137th Street.
I wonder what he’s reading.
Tags: City College Gothic Campus, City College of New York, gargoyles and grotesques in New York City, history of City College
Ephemeral New York 
July 20, 2010 at 6:50 pm |
Wow! I went to CCNY years back and I don’t remember ever seeing that fellow. Do you recall which of the buildings you saw it on? Was it Shepherd Hall?
July 20, 2010 at 7:22 pm |
Unfortunately I didn’t take down the name of the building. But it was off a driveway or driveway-like road that curved around a hillside and offered an incredible view of Harlem below.
March 25, 2011 at 1:31 am |
That must have been St Nicholas Terrace, which runs between CCNY and St Nicholas Park, which is a southern part of Coogan’s Bluff. And it must be Shepard Hall, as it’s the only gothic building that borders that street. In my day, the park was seriously dangerous so we never walked back there so I never knew what was back there..
August 6, 2010 at 5:15 am |
[…] known the proprietress of Ephemeral New York for 20 years, so she had to know I’d enjoy this book-reading grotesque at City College, an angel on East 14th Street, and weird carvings on Madison […]
April 22, 2013 at 2:59 am |
[…] another literature-loving grotesque, from a building at the City College campus in the […]
July 24, 2017 at 6:24 am |
[…] dream—and you’ll encounter the same kind of fun and mischievous characters, like this one, appropriately reading a book. (This is a college, after […]
July 24, 2017 at 4:58 pm |
If you are a fan of such decorative building adornments as water-spouts, gargoyles and grotesque faces, don’t fail to look up some photos / or visit the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. It took 80-some yrs to build and features highly ornate, artistic adornments by the late-Frederick Hart (I did his obit / bio on FIND A GRAVE) plus greatly amusing creatures by several other talents. I was also a friend of the late-Vincent Palumbo, the last Master Carver on the project and he was full of terrific stories about how they chose these unique designs and even held a contest for the creation of one of the pieces – a playful pet dog. The structure has an array of funny, mystical and amazing characters all over the upper regions. My favorite is: ‘the Crooked Lawyer, who has his back pocket filled with a wad of dollars as he tips a Scales Of Justice he is holding in his hand!’ (HA!) All these special carved stone adornments are similar to the ones presented by Ephemeral; Through the magic of computers, you can enjoy them too!
September 4, 2017 at 8:23 pm |
Re: Daytonian in Manhattan it was George Browne Post (December 15, 1837 – November 28, 1913) who designed the buildings and gargoyles.
http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2011/01/cunys-1907-shepard-hall-back-from-edge.html
August 29, 2020 at 8:28 am |
[…] https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/the-book-reading-grotesque-of-city-college/ […]
August 14, 2023 at 4:46 am |
[…] gargoyles on commercial and residential buildings across the five boroughs. Some are scary, others silly or cheeky; many are shrouded in mystery, the symbolism and meaning intended by the builder lost to the […]