Snowflake (Fifth Avenue & 57th Street)
Each winter before Christmas, a huge snowflake of lights appears above the intersection at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. This snowflake of lights was first introduced in 1984. In 2002, it became…
Spirit of Communication (Golden Boy)
Want to own a piece of New York City history? Evelyn Beatrice Longman (1874-1854) designed this 1916 statue of "Electricity," or "Spirit of Communication" (nicknamed…
Stairway to Nowhere (nickname of Vessel at Hudson Yards)
"Vessel" is the name of the Thomas Heatherwick-designed structure at the Hudson Yards on the West Side of Manhattan, opened on March 15, 2019. The honeycomb-like structure has 154 flights…
Statue of Justice or Lady Gotham (Batman’s Statue of Liberty)
The Statue of Justice (or Lady Gotham) is a statue similar to New York City's Statue of Liberty that is located in the fictional Gotham City and appears in the movie Batman Forever (1995),…
Statue of King George III (Bowling Green; erected 1770, destroyed 1776)
An equestrian statue of King George II (1738-1820) was erected in Manhattan's Bowling Green in August 1770. A fence placed there in 1771 can still be seen today. Following the first reading in…
Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World)
"Liberty Enlightening the World" is the official name, but "Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World" was so frequently used that the famous statue in New York harbor is now…
Statue of Liberty Play (football)
The Statue of Liberty play -- usually called "the old Statue of Liberty Play" -- is a trick football play that fakes a pass, but is really a handoff to someone just behind the passer. The…
Statue of Liberty Slam Dunk (basketball)
A "Statue of Liberty" slam dunk is one where a basketball player holds the ball in one outstretched arm, like New York City's Statue of Liberty holds her torch. "Credit (James…
Stuff and Guff, or Gog and Magog (Herald Square figures)
The New York Herald newspaper used to be printed at what is now still called Herald Square (34th Street, where the Macy's department store is). Two bell ringers (dubbed "Stuff" and…
The Apple (sculpture in Hudson River Park)
Stephan Weiss, a New York artist, married fashion designer Donna Karan in 1983; he died in 2001 at age 62. Karan used Weiss's plans and completed a bronze sculpture called "The…
The Shawarma (nickname of Vessel at Hudson Yards)
"Vessel" is the name of the Thomas Heatherwick-designed structure at the Hudson Yards on the West Side of Manhattan, opened on March 15, 2019. The honeycomb-like structure has 154 flights…
V-J Day Kiss (August 14, 1945)
Life magazine published a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt of an American sailor kissing a woman in Times Square to celebrate V-J Day (August 14, 1945). Eisenstaedt never recorded the couple's…
Venus of MacDougal Alley (nickname of model Audrey Munson)
MacDougal Alley, in the area of Manhattan's Washington Square North, was the home of many famous sculptors and artists in the early 1900s. Audrey Munson (1891-1996), a popular model, was…