‘Don’t Forget to Look Up!’: The Broadway You Haven’t Seen…Part 4 Times Square to Lincoln Center

Picking up from where I left off  last week  in Times Square on ‘Don’t Forget to Look Up!’ I did the short walk from one center of the performing arts to another. I didn’t expect to find anything worth photographing, especially in Times Square itself, but was pleasantly surprised by a few buildings…

Upon arriving in Times Square I thought I would just run through the tourist capital of Manhattan, convinced there was nothing to be seen above the glittering of the billboards. I was however much mistaken! The first building to catch my eye was the art deco Paramount Building which formerly housed the Paramount Theater:

‘The Paramount Building’ by Rapp and Rapp

There is yet another building which emerges from the sea of tourists-The Marriott Marquis, although not usually the style of architecture I photograph, it fascinated me with its unique shape:

The Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway, John Portman

The Art Deco ‘Brill Building’ at 1619 Broadway is not just an architectural remembrance of the Jazz Age, but also a hub for the music industry:

Detail of the reliefs set into ‘The Brill Building’ by Bark & Djorup

Main entrance of ‘The Brill Building’ at 1619 Broadway. Who is the bust above the door?  The    New York Times  explains the heartbreaking story in their article about the history of the building.

1674 Broadway had more of these little architectural decorations  lining the edge of the roof of the building which I noticed lower down in Part 2 of the series:

1674 Broadway

Standing next to the line forming to get into ‘The Late Show’ I was more interested in the architecture of the building than the celebrities! Here’s what they were missing out on…

Funnily enough someone walking past stopped to look at what I was photographing and commented on how well spotted this was…don’t forget to look up and you’ll see there is a lot more where this came from in Manhattan! There’s more than just seeing celebrities at 1697 Broadway…it’s also a way to pass the time waiting!

The next two building were next to each other between 54th and 55th. The first attracted me for its simplicity yet small interesting details:

54th and Broadway

The second towering high and with a unique turret on the corner of 55th and Broadway

55th and Broadway

The Corner of 57th and Broadway houses the Demarest and Peerless Company Building by Francis H. Kimball. This Italian looking building which stands out on this stretch of broadway  was used by General Motors for over 50 years…

57th and Broadway

The block between 57th and 58th contains perhaps the most interesting selection of buildings squashed together on one block:

First is the Lazarus Building at 1776 Broadway by George & Edward Blum. Formerly a department store it has similar architecture to that spotted at the beginning of Broadway in Part 1…

The Lazarus Building at 1776 Broadway by George & Edward Blum

Then there is the B.F.Goodrich Company Building, squashed between the two giants on the block. The façade certainly has a more interesting inspiration as explained in this report by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission which states that the architects quote Georgian, Elizabethan, Jacobean and even Vienna Secession elements…can you spot the eagles?!

B.F.Goodrich Company Building, 1780 Broadway by Howard van Doren Shaw and Ward & Willauer

And finally at the corner of 58th and Broadway is Carèrre & Hastings U.S. Rubber Company Building built in the Beaux Arts style:

Broadway façade of 1784 Broadway

Carèrre & Hastings’ marble and copper building from 58th and Broadway

Moving on to Columbus Circle the Time Warner Center rises up to the clouds towering over the little statue of Columbus at the center of the roundabout:

The Time Warner building at Columbus Circle, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

And dwarfed by the two towers is 1841 Broadway or the ‘Cova’ building. The groggy, uncaffeinated shadows of humans who wander sleepily into the Starbucks at the bottom of this building in the morning are most likely not looking up at their vendor let alone the architecture of the building they are in! So here’s what you’re missing on your morning coffee run:

Details of the intricate reliefs at 1841 Broadway or ‘Cova’ building by B.H. & C.N. Whinston

The final stop before stopping in front of the Lincoln Center was the infamous ‘Empire Hotel’ sign peeking above the building:

Stay tuned for the next article in the series  “Don’t Forget to Look Up”  starting back here at Lincoln Center and leaving the setting of ‘West Side Story’ for the Upper West Side”¦