A contemplative man has sat stone-still in front of the American Bible Society at 61st street and Broadway for the past 8 years. Suddenly this week he was gone.
The sculpture is of Jeremiah Lanphier, who started holding lunchtime prayer meetings in New York in 1857; it was placed at the site in 2007 to mark the 150th anniversary of those meetings, which are credited by some for sparking a religious revival in the city. The sculpture was designed with the intention that people would sit next to Lanphier.
Sculptor Lincoln Fox explained that the empty place on the park bench is meant to be taken by any passerby. That person will sense “his pulse quicken as he feels [Jeremiah’s] spirit.”
The statue was removed from the site in preparation for the society to close down and for the building to be demolished. “The wonderfully engaging sculpture of the clergyman on the bench…is GONE. I’ll miss him,” wrote Sunny Mindel, who alerted us to Lanphier’s disappearance.
The Bible Society is moving to Philadelphia after selling the building to developer AvalonBay for $300 million. But the Society won’t be taking the statue with them. In fact, it’s set to be sent down to King’s College in the Wall Street area. The Bible Society is expected to vacate the building as of June 29. One of our readers who has an office there says this is his last week. The Museum of Biblical Art at the society will close to the public on June 14. This article discusses the importance of that museum.
The image below is a conceptual drawing of a skyscraper at the site by Goldstein Hill & West, obtained by NY Yimby (there’s no indication that this is what’s actually going to get built on the site).
Ick
ick is an understament…however eloquent.
Amen, Mark.
It’s ugly. And these glass buildings kill a lot of migrating birds. We should be fighting back grassroots style.
Additionally, the neighborhood is already crowded enough. When all these new residents come down and go out, there won’t be any more room. Infrastructure is not bring updated but we’re getting more and more of these cheap glass towers.
whether one likes that piece or not it, and the bible society setback, do a good job of relieving the monotonous streetscape of that neighbourhood. to me, nothing is more boring than a block long stretch of sameness—same windows, same doors, same façade, different merchandise.
that it might creep onward is a bad sign, and the rendering certainly shows that it might happen.
There’s already a perfectly good building there! Why do we always need to tear down every single thing just to build ugly glass towers? It’s such an extreme waste of materials, and unnecessary spending!
Good gravy, what rendering software did they use for that depiction? The perspective is so deformed it looks like something out of a Pixar flick!
Sad to see the statue go downtown, interactive art is really nice to have around.
In the name of greed we a losing things that matter and getting second or third rate architecture. Such a lack of creativity. Other cities insist on quality but NYC is always willing to take second rate if it means someone will make millions..
Really? exactly WHICH buildings are examples of “second or third rate architecture”? Care to be more specific?
And what examples of “quality” do “other cities” insist on? Again, care to be more specific?
Would you call 15 Central Park West (designed by Robert A. M. Stern, Dean of the Yale School of Architecture) to be “second rate”? Have you ever really LOOKED at that gorgeous paean to classic NYC architecture?
Okay, 15 CPW is classic limestone. So how’s about glass-and-aluminum? Such as Time-Warner Center, a magnificent twin-tower which never fails to fascinate, especially at twilight.
And what about that amazing sail-shaped building on far-West 57th, past West End? THAT one will be the talk-of-the-town when its glass-wall is finally in place.
Okay, the much-vilified “billionaire-nest” called OneFiftySeven West 57th Street super-tall IS quite ghastly, especially with it’s hideous blue panels. But other super-talls, like 432 Park, is an elegant limestone/glass column. And there is much hope that 210 Central Park South (also a Stern creation) will also add some elegance to its famed surroundings.
Thank goodness for developers hiring great architects to create amazing NYC architecture.
If we left all development up to the city all we’d have is a city full of school-building-look-alikes or, even worse, bland red-brick boxes, as in NYCHA.
Koch and Jackie O are turning in their graves with what’s happening to this city!
I think Goldstein Hill and West. Should do their civic duty and provide space for the biblical museum. It would be good PR And would be the right thing to do.
Life is not all about money but also service to the neighborhood.
i second that, Viviane. Great idea.
Another UGLY glass building! Greed is giving us cheap & ugly construction. Why would anyone want to be an architect or a designer these days if this is all greedy, cold, unimaginative developers want to put up. “Urban little boxes all made out of ticky-tacky, and they all look just the same….”
Interesting that there are so few people on the streets — there are ALWAYS many more in these blocks day and night. And with this new ghastly building there will be thousands more!!
What will UWS be like in 20 years I wonder.
What is the city coming to?
Only the MOST EXCITING, MOST DIVERSE, and MOST FASCINATING urban experience in North America!
Proof? Here are a few quotes from the New York Times May 27 front-page story about the 2014-15 Broadway season:
“last year a record 56.4 million visitors came to New York,”
“Attendance at Broadway shows has risen 13.3 percent over the last two years,”
“We don’t have anything like this in Brazil, so big, so magical,” he said.
“I came to New York City to visit the town, but I have to be on Broadway,” said Paola Ruggiero, 39, of Lima, Peru.
Oh, so what about ‘regular N’Yawkers’?
Well…is anyone denying you: a great mass-transit system, totally-free public parks, free-public schools, inexpensive totally affordable restaurants offering foods from all over the world, less-expensive Off- and Off-Off-Broadway theater, and an endlessly fascinating day-and-night street scene?
And what about those “priced-out” of Manahatta? Well, as the NYT Real Estate section noted this past Sunday, there’s always Queens, Washington Heights, and even The Bronx for affordable housing.
All this and Broadway, too!
THAT’s what this city is “coming to” !!
Stan,
While I agree with your love of NYC – I too cannot stand those who fight change. You must admit that all this building is creating insane overcrowding. You can barely walk down the street let alone into a restaurant. The subways are at record ridership and every train is insanely overcrowded. I feel terrible for the mothers with strollers. The fares are raising again, but not to put more trains into circulation. We can’t just build build build. There is a larger quality of life issue at stake here.
I guess there’s no accounting for taste, but to my eye the current ABS building looks like it would most likely house some federal offices in Omaha. Just about anything (including the hypothetical in the article) would be an improvement.
Let’s tear down the Time Warner Center and replace it with the old NY Coliseum, and let’s bring back the families lining up on Fridays to board buses to visit their imprisoned relatives.
hahaha!
The downside with all of these new high rise developments? Our aging infrastructure is not being developed or updated to take on all of these people. Our utilities, streets, and transportation needs are not being improved to tackle these extra residents.
Our Port Authority Bus Terminal is outdated; we need at least another two tunnels under the river. We are over-populating our neighborhoods!
Jeez I hope that building doesn’t get built there. Horrible and grotesque for the area! The developer should try that building out in Dubai. A much better fit.
The upper west side hasn’t been the upper west side in about 40 years!
I love comments by Scooter Stan because I know I don’t have to read them. I wish he could get a more productive hobby … and a smaller, kinder soapbox. Sigh.
More unaffordable housing for the foreign rich who only stay a few weeks out of the year and don’t use the services below.
Great!
And -that- you may thank mayor Bloomberg for.
It is reassuring that the statue is staying in New York City.
No matter what they build on this corner it will be more welcome then the evil spread of religion!
Wait a minute… Isn’t Money the Root of All Evil! 😀
Indeed!
Lanphier has been spotted.
Downtown, near or next to King’s College; i will have to confirm by a visit and photo soon.
The building is indeed NOT moving with Jeremiah. We are out as of last Friday and in swing space. But nice swing space.