Invaders from Manhattan must first cross Grand Army Plaza. (One of two Grand Army Plazas in the city, oddly enough. The other is at the southeastern corner of Central Park. Those copycats!) Darkening your path is a menacing arch overlooking the northern end of the Park, adorned with "heroic Civil War battle scenes attended by Greco-Roman mythological figures".
Seven stories above street level, the lady Columbia (representing the United States) rides in a war chariot with winged Victory figures trumpeting her arrival. She is flanked by "The Spirit of the Army" and "The Spirit of the Navy", which "depict frenzied scenes of soldiers amid unwavering officers charging through the chaos". Intimidating indeed (at least when there's not a farmers' market set up at their feet).
As you cross in front of the arch with its chariots of war, the entrance to the Park is flanked by urns with snakes on the handles. So if you are affiliated with Gryffondor or Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw -- rather than Slytherin -- watch out.
I suppose the more optimistic interpretation would be that in this Eden, we keep the snakes on the outside of the Park.
(If the reference to Hufflepuff baffles you, check out JK Rowling's web site. It's pretty cool, with fun facts, and interactive hidden clues and puzzles that give you access to some of her early drafts and drawings. Plus there is a mysterious door which opens at times to reveal hints about what's in store for Harry, a matter of great debate on mugglenet.com and other fan sites.)
There is also a cool guard tower, although I have yet to find any name or description of it anywhere.
So why all the security? Clearly to protect treasures such as Harmony Playground, and to defend Prospect Park's skating rink, zoo, chess & checkers area, carousel, and other delights (which I fear may have been shamelessly copied off of Central Park by the omnipresent Olmstead) from hordes of barbarians from the other boroughs.
Those leaving Grand Army Plaza, however, travel peacefully under the benevolent gaze of the angel of the IRT. (She is blowing her trumpet in the direction that subway-goers must travel as they descend to the tracks.)
2 comments:
Wasn't Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza first? I thought Brooklyn renamed its park later.
Rats! Foiled again! Actually, I hadn't known which came first, but it appears that you are correct. Thanks for pointing it out.
Although Brooklyn's arch and statuary were completed first (1892 and 1901, respectively), the plaza was just known as the "Plaza" until it was renamed "Grand Army Plaza" in 1926.
By contrast, in Manhattan, although the Sherman Monument was not dedicated until 1903, and the plaza somehow was not completed until 1916, it was apparently known as "Grand Army Plaza" from the get-go, and thus got the name first.
Of course, in all honesty, the two Grand Army Plazas are sufficiently different that it seems unlikely to me that either one was inspired by the other - though perhaps a NYC history buff can shed further light on the matter?
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