Today, Grand Central Terminal is a Beaux-Arts beauty lodged among massive office towers and formidable skyscrapers.
Which makes it so hard to imagine that when it opened in 1913, the buildings around it were lilliputian compared to what is there today.
“This doesn’t look much like the old Grand Central, does it?” the postcard’s sender writes to the recipient. It sure doesn’t—this was the Grand Central (with grazing cows nearby!) that came before it.
For such a shadowy, gray part of New York City, the Garment District has lots of lovely architectural ornaments—especially of animals.
One example: these terra cotta peacocks, which sit above the freight elevator entrance at 135 West 36th Street.
They’re part of the Fashion Tower, a 17-story neo-Gothic structure just west of Sixth Avenue designed by Emery Roth in 1922.
Why peacocks, a bird that symbolizes immortality and renewal?
“Peacocks are a traditional symbol of women’s fashion, often appearing as ornament on women’s fashion boutiques,” the terrific site skyscraper.com tells us.
The Fashion Tower has more decorative elements worth a look.
The sixth floor facade features friezes of a woman looking in the mirror and another holding a spindle.
They’re homages to the industry that gave the neighborhood its name.
Ephemeral New York 