Public Art in Our Historic Image Archive
Our Historic Image Archive includes thousands of photos documenting New York City neighborhoods, people, and buildings. Public art is important part of our streetscapes, and can be found throughout our Historic Image Archive.
One of NYC’s most well-known and beloved sculptures is “the Alamo” on Astor Place.
Installed as a temporary exhibit in 1967, the Alamo was so beloved that it became a permanent fixture in the neighborhood.
Read more about the Alamo here. See more historic photos of the Alamo on our Historic mage Archive here.
Another prominent sculpture seen on our Historic Image Archive is “The Sphere,” which was located on the main plaza of the original World Trade Center.
The public artwork was created between late 1968/early 1969 to 1971. It was the largest bronze sculpture of the modern era until it was destroyed on September 11, 2001. It was reassembled and is now installed in Liberty Park. Another partial image of The Sphere can be seen in our archive here.
The archive image below of Eleanor Roosevelt with a bust of FDR and sculptor Jo Davidson was taken in the 1940s by Jean Polacheck.
The full Jean Polacheck collection can be seen here. Davidson (1883-1952) was a prolific artist and one of the most sough-aftter sculptors of his era.
These are just some of the sculpture-related images on our blog. See the ‘5-in-1’ sculpture by Tony Rosenthal, located between One Police Plaza and the Municipal Building here from our Meredith Jacobson Marciano Collection: New York in the 1970s through 9/11, Part 2.
Interested in reading more about public art and sculture?
– Read about a local mid-20th century clay sculpture club located at 4 West 8th Street here.
– Read about the Downtown Gallery and the Woman Behind the American Art Market here
– Watch our video on sculptor Chaim Gross here and here.
– Watch our video on 404 East 14th Street and the East Village Art Scene here.
– Access all our videos here.