A tail of four corners

I like to walk. And when I walk I notice things.

So here I am staying in New York in the spring of 2008, and I just walk the streets randomly, and then I find The Perfect Intersection. It's just another place where two streets cross, but this particular crossing produces 4 very different corners.



The Church.
On the first corner stands an old and impressive church building - The Church of the Holy Name. In the 1800's they knew that this was what a church should look like - full of arches and pulling your eye up skywards, it was constructed as an exultation to God. The architecture screams that it is a church building - what else could it be?



The Bank?
Opposite the church is another building that shouts out why it was built. The solid upright stance and pillars show that wealth and stability were the main things on the minds of the people building it. Of course, appearances can be deceptive - although built as a bank, it's now a Pharmacy.



The Pharmacy?
The third corner has a oddly dated look that the previous two - although older - did not. A late 20th century built tower, with a retail outlet at the bottom. A local tells me that the shop was originally a pharmacy, and I can see how that would have fitted in with the architects view of the use of his design. However, in a strange twist to the way buildings are used, it now operates as a bank.

The Red Brick
To me, the red brick apartment block is the architecture that really defines Manhattan, and here we see one, complete with store at street level. And that store was a pizzeria, complete with ATM for those who didn't want to cross the street to the bank

I don't think you could get 4 more diverse looks and feels - and usages! on any street corner, but there it was. And in the background you can see even more styles, showing the real melting pot that is New York, NY.

(Pictures taken 15 April 2008 at the intersection of Amsterdam and 96th, New York.)