Lots of buildings in the city are decorated with bird sculptures and reliefs. But I think this the first time I’ve seen birdlike hybrids with very human-looking legs standing guard on an apartment house.
These four, plus another four on the other side, adorn the facade of a prewar building in the East 60s off Fifth Avenue.
Tags: bird reliefs on New York City buildings, Bird sculptures on apartment buildings, birds of New York City, mythological birds, prewar apartment facades
Ephemeral New York 
June 21, 2010 at 11:02 am |
I think those are stylized griffins.
June 25, 2010 at 8:04 am |
[…] My friend at Ephemeral New York discovers “the birdmen of an Upper East Side building.” […]
June 25, 2010 at 1:28 pm |
These are cool! Hey, sort-of on topic, have you noticed the brass rats scurrying up the cantilever cables on the Lexington Ave entrance to Grand Central? I just noticed them for the first time yesterday. Wonder what their back story is.
June 25, 2010 at 1:55 pm |
Oh yeah, I love those rats! Here’s more:
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/the-rats-of-the-graybar-building/
January 13, 2015 at 10:22 pm |
[…] Bizarre Big Bird-like entities inhabit the rafters of an Upper East Side apartment building. [Ephemeral NY] […]