Liberally sprinkled all over London are commemorative Wedgwood seals, placed by English Heritage, that adorn homes where luminaries once lived. New York City has some seals of its own--like this one affixed to Andy Warhol's townhouse at 57 East 66th Street.
Here Andy lived from 1974 until his death in 1987 following routine gallbaldder surgery, age 58. He would have turned 83 this August 6. To look at another post about Andy, visit: M'm, M'm Good
The not-for-profit Historic Landmarks Preservation Center has placed dozens of oval terra-cotta Cultural Medallions around the boroughs, including this one at 622 West 114th Street.
Near the threshold of the Chelsea Hotel at 222 West 23rd Street is this bronze plaque that not only commemorates Arthur Clarke's residence there but also features a bas-relief of HAL 9000, the headstrong computer of 2001: A Space Odyssey, written at the Chelsea. Other plaques near the entrance to the storied hotel honor Dylan Thomas, Thomas Wolfe, Virgil Thomson and Arthur Miller. Where are the women?
170 East 2nd Street. I wonder if James Franco came here to research his role in Howl. I suspect so.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington lived in Apartment 4A at 935 Saint Nicholas Avenue from 1939 to 1961.
40 East 9th Street.
278 West 113th Street.
This plaque is at 505 West End Avenue, where Rachmaninoff lived for the last 17 years of his life. Here he composed his Fourth Piano Concerto, Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, his Third Symphony and the Symphonic Dances, his last work.
90 University Place (near the Cedar Tavern, legendary hangout of the beats, abstract expressionists and New York School poets, O'Hara at their center).
1200 Fifth Avenue.
146 East 19th Street.
122 West 95th Street.
Sprung from this roseate residence over the course of decades were thousands and thousands of encrypted Ninas (a tribute to Hirschfeld's daughter) that the artist implanted in his masterpieces--and that provided me so many gladsome moments in resolution to spot them all.
316 West 103rd Street, on an apartment building now known as Gershwin House.
9 East 10th Street. At the time of her death, virtually all of Powell's novels were out of print, but now, thank goodness, they are justly acknowledged as some of the greatest American literature ever produced--and in my opinion, the wittiest.
345 West 88th Street.
34 Gramercy Park East. As the plaque notes, the Wicked Witch of the West also lived here.
On 75½ Bedford Street--at 9½ feet wide, New York City's skinniest dwelling--is. . .
. . . this medallion.
Here's another Edna, this one at 50 Central Park West.
163 West 131st Street.
At No. 4 Patchin Place are two plaques on the residence of e.e. cummings.
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