The elephants of Lexington Avenue

Above the entrance to the W Hotel at 49th and Lexington are four elephant heads—each with a trunk that wraps around a metal flagpole.

Even though they’re grimy and their tusks could use some whitening, they make for a triumphant sight.

Here are more pachyderms in New York City.

The W Hotel went through a bunch of name changes: It used to be the Hotel Montclair, then the Hotel Belmont Plaza—Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin got their start in the Glass Hat club there—and finally the Doral Inn.