Friday at the Edison

Back in 2018, I stayed at the Hotel Edison in New York City with Christy (aka Little Miss Sunshine). According to the Hotel’s website, it “…has been setting trends in New York City’s Theater District since January 17, 1931 when Thomas Edison turned on the marquee lights.” Interestingly enough, Edison turned on the lights remotely from his home in Llewellyn Park, Orange, New Jersey by pressing a telegraph key. The inventor was 86 at the time and passed away later in the year on October 18. The Hotel Edison has been used as a location for “The Godfather” (1972), “Bullets Over Broadway” (1994), and “Birdman” (2014).



The photo below is from 1939 and shows the lobby seating area:



What appears to be a sculpture of sorts of Thomas Edison himself hung at the back of the lobby:



The bones of the lobby looked about the same when I visited, but Thomas was nowhere to be found. I wonder what happened to the piece?



A view of the check-in area from 1939:



There is no corresponding shot in my collection; I guess that’s a bucket list item on my next trip to NYC! For those younger readers out there, you might have a difficult time identifying the contraption that Christy is touching in the hallway:



See more Hotel Edison in NYC photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Washington Square in NYC

Traveling back to 1949, today's post visits the Washington Square Park area of New York City. This 9.75 acre public space is located in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village.

In the distance of shot #1, you can see The Washington Arch, erected in 1889 out of plaster & wood to celebrate the centennial of George Washington's inauguration. Washington Square was originally a cemetery, which closed in 1825. The remains of more than 20,000 bodies still rest underneath the ground. In 1892 a permanent marble arch (designed by Stanford White) was erected. During the excavations for the arch, human remains, a coffin, and an 1803 gravestone were uncovered. Think Poltergeist.

In this photo, the artist has done a nice job of sketching Clark Gable and Don Ameche.



Greenwich Village (aka "the Village") was known in the late 19th—mid 20th centuries as an artists' haven, the bohemian capital, and the East Coast birthplace of the Beat movement. As is so typical of quirky/artsy areas, this is exactly what attracts the regular folks and ends up making the formerly unique areas more homogenized.





Today, the area is still vibrant and the arch serves as a welcoming beacon to all those who enter.



In 1918 two statues of George Washington were added to the north side:





See more vintage & current New York City photos on my New York City web page.