Friday, June 11, 2010

☞ ARCHITECTURE: Harlem Hospital Center Murals

When we started covering the new Harlem Hospital wing back in February, the artwork that would wrap around the front facade was still a bit of a mystery. As of this week, those said images are now up on the newly glassed building of the Harlem Hospital Center. The previous article that was referenced explained that "(the architects) masterstroke was to photograph, and then display via huge blown-up projections across the façade of the building, a series of murals created for the hospital in the 1940s through the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project."

Apparently, the projections are not of the light show kind but actual images of the WPA works on transparent scrims that drape each window panel of the 80-foot-high structure. This corner of Lenox and 136th Street was looking a bit drab as of late and the new visuals on the block are turning out quite nicely (if we do say so ourselves). See the original design sketch and the start of the project in our past post: LINK. Read more about the architecture on the AIANY site: LINK. Click on image to enlarge. Photo by Ulysses

4 comments:

  1. I live close to the hospital and have to admit that the mural brings a breath of fresh air to the area.

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  2. At night the interior lighting of the hospital will light up the murals making a beautiful display on Lenox Avenue. In additon, the lobby of the new hospital will have gallery space in which the original murals will be displayed. HHC really did a good job with this new endeavour and Harlemites, especially old heads like me who remember the 'old' building on W. 136th St should be proud.

    I first saw the murals in 1973 when a High School classmate of mine was a student nurse at Harlem Hospital & she lived in the nurse's residence. When one entered the nurses residence lobby one was awe struck at these beautiful & historical works of art. They were spectacular then and even more spectacular now. The young and uninitiated will be absolutely awe struck when they see these murals for the first time.

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  3. Absolutely beautiful! I walked by today, and can't wait to see it after dusk. Really really nice!

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  4. It is very beautiful and i give Harlem Hospital an A+

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