A Walking Tour of "Triple Play..."

Who knew?

"Flatiron II"
Oil on canvas
24 x 18 inches

Last Saturday we enjoyed an "in-gallery walking tour" of the Gramercy Park and Flatiron districts led by Alfred Pommer, long-time NYC walking tour guide. Lot's of interesting facts were uncovered in the course of the talk. In this painting, the obelisk is the Worth Memorial, named after General Worth of the War of 1812 fame. He is buried there and the city of Ft. Worth is named after him. The wrought iron fence surrounding the monument was made of swords. Who knew?


"NAC Gramercy"
Oil on canvas
24 x 18 inches

The stately National Arts Club was built on a double lot owned by Governor Samuel Tilden, who actually won a presidential election by popular vote but lost the election due to fewer votes in the electoral college. Who knew? He was also fearful of uprisings after prosecuting members of Boss Tweed's Tammany Hall machine and had a tunnel built under the mansion leading out to the street a block away, just in case a fast getaway was necessary. Who knew?


"Flatiron-Bird's Eye View"
Oil on canvas
24 x 18 inches

The fabulous Flatiron building...rumor has it that a group of Italian investors now own the building and in several years time offices might be converted to condominium residences. True or false? Time will tell. Recently finished reading a marvelous book on the history of the Flatiron and the real estate climate of New York in the early 1900's. I highly recommend Alice Sparberg Alexiou's The Flatiron, The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City That Arose With It. A terrific read!