Peace Fountain: Children's Sculpture Garden (1984-85)

Cathedral of St. John the Divine, West 111th Street & Amsterdam Avenue; sculptor Greg Wyatt, pedestal and setting Michael Antonson

It was spring-like weather last Thursday, so I decided to do a grand hunt up to Grant's Tomb on 122nd Street & Riverside. I took the Astoria Ferry to East 90th Street and walked West to Fifth Avenue, then uptown to 110th and Central Park North. There I took in the spectacular Duke Ellington and Fred Douglass monuments, somehow missing Harriet Tubman. But it's the unexpected that makes the trip, and on my way to Riverside I came upon the Cathedral of St John the Divine, which has to be one of the architectural wonders of NYC. I probably lingered there for a half hour, muttering words like "Insane!" and "Unreal!" as I kept snapping away. The Sculpture Garden alone is worth the trip to West 111th Street & Amsterdam Avenue.