At the time that I made this drawing, I had lived in NYC for almost 20 years, but never in an apartment so high up. Our little balcony had a big view out over the roof-tops of many buildings. The traffic, the pedestrian movement and the noises gave way to the quiet of wind and the awesome vista. It was a relief to be able to experience the peacefulness of being above it all. My personal view out over many buildings faced southwest from 34th Street on the East side. It is the subject of this original “East Side Downtown” drawing. I attempted to draw the buildings and structures in a realistic and detailed way, right down to the many individual windows.
Featured Buildings:
This “East Side Downtown” drawing looks out towards the buildings near Union Square. The tallest building in this drawing near the center is the Consolidated Edison Building at 4 Irving Place. It is currently the headquarters of Consolidated Edison, affectionately called ConEd and where we paid our gas and electric bills. Construction of this neoclassical building began in 1911 and has a crowning cornice with a penthouse above the 18th floor. The domed structure east (left) of ConEd is the St George Ukrainian Catholic Church of NYC. Constructed in the late 1970’s, it is located in the East Village on 7th Street. The spire to the far left is from St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church just south of Stuyvesant Square Park on Second Avenue. The 50 foot tall bell tower houses the old bronze bell from the former church within 2 tons of spiraling stainless steel.
This original drawing was made freehand using lead pencil and paper. I think that it looks great as a wrap-around print on a white, glossy ceramic mug, and is available for purchase.
