# Weird New York Cit6y Street Sculpture **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914 "2019-12-15T21:36:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/1 "2019-12-15T21:36:15Z")
I’ve been away in the Big Apple for the past few days. I’ve been very busy, but not too busy to wander the streets. And while I was wandering, I found – weird street sculpture. Strange things have gone up since I was last in the City. 1.) The Sewer Aliigator and the Rag Baby.-- There seem to be two of these – one in Manhattan at 8th Avenue and 14th street (on the L train platform), and one in Brooklyn near the Metrotech CEnter/J Street. > **[Tribute to NYC's Sewer Alligator, New York, New York](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/24783)** > > A bronze sculpture in a New York City subway station pays tribute to an alligator that crawled out of a Manhattan manhole. > **[Downtown Brooklyn's Public Art: "Alligator" By Tom Otterness](http://nyclovesnyc.blogspot.com/2011/09/downtown-brooklyns-public-art-alligator.html)** > > O ne of the permanent installations at MetroTech Commons in downtown Brooklyn's Metro Tech Center is "Alligator" (1996) by sculptor Tom ... Both are by artist Tom Otterness. The Alligator is coming up from a manhole cover that reads “NYC Sewer”. For some reason the Alligator has human gloves. The “baby” has a cloth bag as a head with a symbol on it. They went up around 1996, but I haven’t been in these parts of the city since then. 2.) The Seeing Eye Dog at Metrotech in Brooklyn – a stone’s throw from the Brooklyn Sewer Alligator is this resin sculpture by Tony Matelli called “Stray Dog”. It’s life-sized and life-colored. I had to stare at it for several seconds to convince myself it wasn’t moving. > **['Stray Dog' Still Waits Patiently at MetroTech](http://mcbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2011/10/stray-dog-still-waits-patiently-at.html)** > > McBrooklyn: A blog about Brooklyn, NYC, covering the borough's breaking news and controversies, from politics to schools to funny happenings and more. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3491/3295613074_b238578487_b.jpg "Seeing eye dog sculpture, MetroTech Center, Brooklyn") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/wotba/3295613074) 3.) The Ballerina Hippo – This one’s been moving around, apparently. The 2.5 ton, over 15 foot tall statue started out at Lincoln Center, then in 2017 it was moved, and showed up in front of the Flatiron Building until last month Now it’s in front of the Girl Scouts building off Fifth Avenue. > **[Hippo Ballerina by Bjorn Skaarup - Dante Park NYC | Press Release | Cavalier...](https://www.cavaliergalleries.com/exhibition/113/)** > > Cavalier Galleries, Fine Paintings, Sculpture and Photography Since 1986. Greenwich CT, New York NY, Nantucket, MA, Palm Beach, FL. > **[A giant hippo ballerina sculpture was installed across from the Flatiron...](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/a-giant-hippo-ballerina-sculpture-was-installed-across-from-the-flatiron-building-090619)** > > View this post on InstagramBIG hello to #HippoBallerina, a 2.5 ton bronze statue now on display in the South Plaza through Thanksgiv It’s the work of Danish artist Bjørn Okholm Skaarup. Although it looks like it escaped from Disney’s 1940 film _Fantasia_, there are no references to the film. And the alligators are far away at 14th street and Brooklyn. 4.) The Giant Needle and Button – Looking like one of the unacknowledged works of Claes Oldenburg, this sits in the Manhattan Fashion District at 39th street and &th avenue. > **[Giant Needle and Button](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/giant-needle-and-button)** > > There must be a pun in this haystack somewhere... > **[Tell Me More: How Can I Find Out About This Sculpture? | The New York Public...](https://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/04/20/tell-me-more-how-find-out-more-about-sculpture)** > > A recent question at the reference desk was how to find more about the sculpture of the large button threaded with a needle that stands in… The button has five holes of unequal size instead of the usual four. They claim that , viewed from underneath, they holes outline an “F”, for “Fashion”. But I can’t help noticing that the company that put it up is Pentagram Architectural Services, and five holes would go with “pentagram”. They don’t name the artist. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/2 "2019-12-15T22:39:17Z")
I like the gator one, I’ve never seen it. Funny and seems to be playing on many different themes. I’ve seen the Giant Needle and Button, I don’t love it, it is basically corporate art. Ballerina Hippo? Are we sure it isn’t a Disney Promo? My first thought without reading your followup sentence. Years ago I was at a computer convention (Common) in Minneapolis and as I am wandering the downtown streets I stumbled upon the [Mary Tyler Moore statue](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mary-tyler-moore-statue). That got me to stop and break up laughing. Apparently TV Land had put it up in 2002. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/3 "2019-12-15T23:00:37Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I like the gator one, I’ve never seen it. Funny and seems to be playing on many different themes. > > I’ve seen the Giant Needle and Button, I don’t love it, it is basically corporate art. > > Ballerina Hippo? Are we sure it isn’t a Disney Promo? My first thought without reading your followup sentence. > > Years ago I was at a computer convention (Common) in Minneapolis and as I am wandering the downtown streets I stumbled upon the [Mary Tyler Moore statue](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mary-tyler-moore-statue). That got me to stop and break up laughing. Apparently TV Land had put it up in 2002. TV Land put up several such sculptures. IN NYC they have Ralph Kramden at (appropriately) the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 8th avenue. > **[Ralph Kramden Statue, New York, New York](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/12510)** > > TV Land tribute -- an 8-ft. tall bronze statue of "Honeymooners" bus-driver Jackie Gleason at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. [https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction\_Review-g60763-d13326622-Reviews-Ralph\_Kramden\_Statue-New\_York\_City\_New\_York.html](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d13326622-Reviews-Ralph_Kramden_Statue-New_York_City_New_York.html) Here in Massachusetts, they put up Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stevens from _Bewitched_. (The show only filmed 2 episodes in Salem, but they still remember). It’s a very popular tourist spot. [https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction\_Review-g60954-d3680287-Reviews-Bewitched\_Statue\_of\_Elizabeth\_Montgomery-Salem\_Massachusetts.html](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60954-d3680287-Reviews-Bewitched_Statue_of_Elizabeth_Montgomery-Salem_Massachusetts.html) They have several other statues up elsewhere in the country. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/4 "2019-12-15T23:25:41Z")
Is the little girl staring down the bull still on Wall Street? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/5 "2019-12-16T01:46:54Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Is the little girl staring down the bull still on Wall Street? I didn’t go down there, but I understand they’ve moved her. > [@](#): > > The statue was first installed at Bowling Green, at the intersection of Broadway and Whitehall Street,[3] facing down the Charging Bull (or Wall Street Bull) statue,[4] but following complaints from that statue’s sculptor, Arturo Di Modica, was removed in November 2018 and relocated to its current location the following month. A plaque with footprints was placed on the original site of Fearless Girl.[5] > **[Fearless Girl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearless_Girl)** > > Fearless Girl is a bronze sculpture by Kristen Visbal of a 4-foot-high (1.2 m) girl standing in a self-confident pose. It is located in New York City on Broad Street across from the New York Stock Exchange Building in the Financial District of Manhattan. > Fearless Girl was commissioned by State Street Investment Management, formerly State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), a large asset management company, to promote gender diversity initiatives and an index fund focused on gender-diverse companies... Heck, even staring down the bull, she’s downright normal compared to the sculpture in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/6 "2019-12-16T02:30:13Z")
My favorite TVLand statue is [Andy and Opie](https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g49371-d2182243-i196136527-The_Andy_Griffith_Museum-Mount_Airy_North_Carolina.html). Thanks for sharing that hippo ballerina. Hippos have special meaning to me and that one is fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/7 "2019-12-16T07:26:37Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 1.) The Sewer Aliigator and the Rag Baby.-- There seem to be two of these – one in Manhattan at 8th Avenue and 14th street (on the L train platform), and one in Brooklyn near the Metrotech CEnter/J Street. > > Both are by artist Tom Otterness. The Alligator is coming up from a manhole cover that reads “NYC Sewer”. For some reason the Alligator has human gloves. The “baby” has a cloth bag as a head with a symbol on it. I don’t think it’s supposed to be a baby. The figure is wearing a suit and tie. And so is the alligator. I would speculate that maybe it’s intended as a metaphor for small businesses getting bought up by big corporations. I also note that a lot of people really hate the artist, Tom Otterness. [spoiler]He made a short video in 1977 as an art project. The video was titled “Shot Dog Film”. And that’s what Otterness did. He went to an animal shelter and got a dog. He then chained it to a fence and shot it. Otterness has since described this as “an indefensible act that I am deeply sorry for.”[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/8 "2019-12-16T17:01:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t think it’s supposed to be a baby. The figure is wearing a suit and tie. And so is the alligator. > > I would speculate that maybe it’s intended as a metaphor for small businesses getting bought up by big corporations. > > I also note that a lot of people really hate the artist, Tom Otterness. > > [spoiler]He made a short video in 1977 as an art project. The video was titled “Shot Dog Film”. And that’s what Otterness did. He went to an animal shelter and got a dog. He then chained it to a fence and shot it. > > Otterness has since described this as “an indefensible act that I am deeply sorry for.”[/spoiler] Agree, not a baby. And the “rag” on its head is a money bag (though I could see thinking it’s a baby". ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/9 "2019-12-16T18:13:41Z")
Not in New York and I’ve never seen it in person, but I like the blue bear sculpted to look in on the convention center in [Denver](https://www.denver.org/things-to-do/denver-arts-culture/denver-blue-bear-artist/). It’s whimsical and different. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-new-york-cit6y-street-sculpture/844914/10 "2019-12-16T18:55:03Z")
Here’s another that I forgot to mention – two classically-dressed seated ladies placed high atop a metal pillar and slowly rotating. They’re lit from within at night, so they’re clearly made of fiberglass or plastic. When I first saw them, I had no idea what they were supposed to be. It turns out that they’re “Miss Brooklyn” and “Miss Manhattan”, allegorical representations of the two boroughs connected by the nearby Manhattan Bridge. The originals, made of granite and weighing 20 tons, went up in 1916, but were removed fifty years ago by the dictatorial Robert Moses. These new, lighter, illuminated, rotating copies went up two years ago. > **[Gilded Age Statues Return to the Manhattan Bridge, Now with Kinetic Illumination](https://hyperallergic.com/354825/brian-tolle-manhattan-bridge-sculptures/)** > > Brian Tolle's new public sculpture features two long-lost guardians of the Manhattan Bridge, now illuminating its Brooklyn entrance. > **[‘Miss Brooklyn’ statue back in front of Manhattan Bridge — and now it lights...](https://www.brooklynpaper.com/miss-brooklyn-statue-back-in-front-of-manhattan-bridge-and-now-it-lights-up-and-spins/)** > > The girls are back in town!