Discovering a plucky bit of contrast amidst the towers of Lower Manhattan

...from a photographer's notebook

Oculus, World Trade Center looking east

There’s something about the constantly changing Manhattan skyline that keeps me so energized when out with the cameras (read: all the time).

Often, it is the old giving way to the new, always the classic and the modern cheek by jowl that inspire. But what really excites is when the old, the classic – literally – holds its ground and can cheekily say to the soaring modern, “I’m here to stay. Get used to it, big shiny neighbor!”

Here’s one example of the latter that really got the juices flowing on my last visit, as the contrast was so striking. Using mild telephoto to compress perspective, I was shooting Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus transportation center at the World Trade Center, looking east toward Broadway and was struck by the contrast between the soaring white ribs and the plucky looking red-roofed tower atop the eight story late nineteenth century building facing Broadway.

Now, you might say Calatrava’s ribbed and soaring design is likely to contrast with any modern neighboring Lower Manhattan architectural statement; but in this case, the contrast between the plucky old and the boldly new, including the colors in the late afternoon sunshine of this first day of summer, really excited me as I composed my shot through the 28-80mm L-Series lens on my new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV D-SLR.

So, what’s your story, plucky little brown and red tower?

As this was my first visit to this side of the WTC, I did not at the time know the significance of said plucky red and brown tower. But I do now. It’s the Corbin Building, whose construction was completed in 1889, and which was pretty down on its heels as New York’s MTA began construction of the neighboring Fulton Center as a means of unifying Lower Manhattan’s jumble of Subway lines and their separate stations.

The Corbin Building was named for banker Austin Corbin, who had earlier acquired the Long Island Railroad, generally acknowledged as the key to Long Island’s growth and development.

Those who ride the LIRR into Manhattan may recall a once-upon-a-time monument to railroading called Penn Station. Well, at least those of a certain age. The original turn of the twentieth century station rose majestically on Seventh Avenue at 33^rd Street and made arriving or departing midtown, well, almost as grand an experience as the New York Central’s Grand Central Terminal, further uptown and a few blocks to the east.

Unlike the sad demise of Penn Station's original incarnation, in the case of Mr. Corbin’s building, nestled amidst all the new soaring structures downtown, preservationists have reason to smile (even if in a smaller context). They succeeded in getting the MTA not to demolish the building but, through a painstaking excavation process in building the Fulton Center, to protect its integrity and to then even engage in cleaning and preserving it.

Of course, the transit folks got bang for their buck, as escalators now  connect Fulton Center to the Dey Street Passageway, leading to the rest of the downtown subway lines, as well as the PATH trains to New Jersey in the WTC’s Oculus…via the basement of the attractively restored Corbin Building, which is now being developed as inviting commercial space.

So, win-win. And a rather nice story to learn about as I edited my shots from that June afternoon in Lower Manhattan. I hope it might enhance your enjoyment of the photo.

Contrasts in Lower Manhattan is available in archival gallery prints in a variety of sizes and media, including metallic.

And, yes, my new acquaintance with the Corbin Building means it moves to top of list on my next Lower Manhattan explorations.

©2017 Steve Ember

There's all kinds of candy stores...

...from a photographer's notebook

What does it take to turn a New York Subway-loving photographer into a kid in a candy store?

Walking into the Fulton Street Transit Center one June day was all it took for me, as I looked up to see all of the route emblems for the many Subway lines this modern underground rail nexus now integrates. The view here is from a street level entrance, but the distinctive shopping and subway station complex can also be reached via the underground concourse leading from the Oculus at World Trade Center, which also links the Subway lines here to the modern WTC PATH terminal with its trains to points in New Jersey.

Not sure what the symbol at the far right, next to the 5 Train signifies. But that’s all right – It’ll take several trips originating from the various tracks and levels of this “candy store” before that even becomes a concern ;-)

Speaking of candy stores, methinks I hit upon a great idea – M&Ms for Subway Lovers. Yeah, I ran it by them and got a form letter from "[my] friends at Mars" to the effect they don't take product suggestions coming from outside their Marketing Department. That's OK, Mars, I'll still eat your crunchy shelled little chocolates...

And speaking of original ideas, my attention was so focused on the M&M's...err, Subway "bullets," that I didn't notice the "Subway Library Selfie Contest" poster to the left of the escalators while I was shooting. I doubt I would have looked more closely while there, as selfies are not exactly a passion of mine. But in editing my shots, I found myself wondering just what a "Subway Library" could be and why it would spawn such a contest.

Turns out I missed something special. It's over now - the contest, that is - so put away your selfie stick, but imagine this...just one of those wondrous things that NYC manages to do with such panache - and scale. The New York Public Library thinks straphangers should have something good to read while tearing through tunnels or cruising to Coney (to eat baloney on a roll?) and is providing free e-books. The special train will run on the Sixth Avenue Line as an F train or on the Eighth Avenue Line as an E.

And, for its part, the MTA has "wrapped" a special subway train in vivid "Subway Library" colors. OK, we've all seen "wrapped" rapid transit or city buses, but, as I was saying about style - and this is what I must say I was sorry I missed! - the inside of the cars is "wrapped" to resemble the Rose Reading Room of the Public Library - complete with skylight and "shelves" of books. Hope they included a stern librarian "shooshing" the noisy ones yammering into their i-nuisances...

Come to think of it, I think I would take a selfie with her!

Happy reading...and subway riding.

©2017 Steve Ember

 
P.S. You can ride with me and the cameras on some favorite MTA lines by clicking here (and then "transferring" to other trains by leafing through my NYC images).

Flushing out some "7scapes"

...from a photographer's notebook

Detail from "7scape No.3"    ©2014 Steve Ember   See it full-size here

Rather listen? Here's a podcast I produced this year (2016).

A s I mentioned in another post, when I was a kid, my Dad thought he could get the New York City Subway out of my system by taking me on one of the longest rides possible from midtown Manhattan, the BMT line to Coney Island.

What I said then bears repeating: Nice try, Dad!

By my teen years, I had acquired a fascination with the IRT No.7 train, then called the Flushing/Corona line.

What made this particular line so intriguing? 

Read more »