NYC's best gargoyles and grotesques

1

Britannia Apartments

The Britannia was designed in 1909 by Ward and Willauer. “It’s just fabulous!” says Thane Rosenbaum, author of The Golems of Gotham. “There’s a little narrative of gargoyles in action—and you don’t have to strain your neck.”
To get there: 1 to 110th–Cathedral Pkwy.

2

Flushing High School

Prolific architect and NYC Superintendent of Schools Charles B.J. Snyder dedicated FHS and its myriad stoners (the frozen kind) during WWI; the animated ’goyles surround the roofline, jut from columns and watch over the kids wherever they go.
To get there: 7 to Flushing–Main St.

3

Woolworth Building

A grotesque crafted in the likeness of Woolworth designer Cass Gilbert is hidden within the entranceway of this otherwise-boxy edifice. “You can’t get past the security guards,” warns Rick Bell, executive director of the New York chapter of the American Institute for Architects. “You have to squint at it, sneak by and then get thrown out.”
To get there: A,C to Chambers St.

4

Chrysler Building

Behold the grand dame of gargoyledom. According to Bell, William Van Allen’s gargoyles “look like the hood ornament on a car.” Coincidence?
To get there: 7 to 42nd St.–Grand Central

5

Herman Behr home

This Romanesque-revival mansion is better known for its colorful past as the Palm Hotel bordello than for its ferocious dragons. Alas, the residence is on the market for $12 million.
To get there: 2,3 to Clark St.

Check out these web exclusive gargoyles
BRONX, BROOKLYN and STATEN ISLAND
MANHATTAN

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BRONX

6

Bronx Zoo

Heins and La Farge designed the elephant-, rhino- and baboon-inspired grotesque safari adorning the zoo’s original Astor Court buildings in the early 1900s. The duo’s designs for the Interborough Transit, NYC’s first subway system, debuted in 1904.
Subway: 2, 5 to West Farms Sq–East Tremont Ave

7

Gould Memorial Library and Hall of Fame for Great Americans

Just three years after debuting these NYC landmarks, designer Stanford White was murdered at the site of the original Madison Square Garden. “He had been dating the most beautiful woman in America, Evelyn Nesbit,” relates gargoyle guru Art Zuckerman. “And her jealous husband sees this architect and just blows his brains out.” Spooky.
Subway: 4 to 183rd St

BROOKLYN

8

Queen Anne–style house

The lion-head grotesque overlooking the entrance of this Brooklyn brownstone was recommended by local stone carver Joe Chiffriller.
Subway: A to Ozone Park–Lefferts Blvd

9

Green-Wood Cemetery

For a close encounter with one of these waterspoutin’ critters, Green-Wood cemetery historian Jeff Richman recommends the monument to 19th-century fizzy-drink mogul John Matthews. Sculpted by Karl Muller in 1870, the playhouse-size structure has a traditional gargoyle fountain hitched to each roof corner.
Subway: N, R to 25th St

10

Brooklyn Museum of Art

The Coney Island–born zinc lion now mounted over the museum’s staff entrance has its own episode of History Detectives on PBS, but Brooklyn Museum representative Sally Williams instead recommends a “menacing” grotesque fixed to the glass corridor overlooking the sculpture garden. “He’s adorable,” she explains. While the designers and birthdays of both of these inherited grotesques remain a mystery, Williams guesses that the pieces were most likely constructed between 1890 and 1910.
Subway: 2, 3 to Eastern Pkwy–Brooklyn Museum

STATEN ISLAND

11

Trinity Lutheran Church

“Each one occupies a corner of the bell tower, and they all depict a griffinlike character,” says current pastor Richard F. Michael of Trinity’s grotesques. “They had to be placed here as part of the gothic structure.”
Travel: From the Staten Island Ferry, take the S78 bus to the corner of St. Paul’s Ave and Cebra Ave

12

Curtis High School

Also part of C.B.J. Snyder’s early-20th-century menagerie of grotesque-infested schools, Curtis prides itself on the gender-bending mystique of its terra-cotta figures. “The grotesques are very androgynous,” says student-affairs coordinator, “or for lack of a better word, school historian,” Joe Sicilian. “We like that because our school has always been known to have more women than men.”
Travel: From the Staten Island Ferry, take a taxi to 105 Hamilton Ave

MANHATTAN

MANHATTAN

13

Apartment building at 81 Irving Place

Designed by George Pelham in 1929 for Dr. Clarence C. Rice, 1920s throat specialist to the stars, this 14-story Gramercy icon is plastered with winged beasts. Hunched grotesques sit low on the facade, but “Gargoyles in Manhattan” walking-tour guide Alfred Pommer suggests craning the neck for a peek at 81 Irving’s best.
Subway: L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, 6 to 14th St–Union Sq

14

Bank of Metropolis Building at 31 Union Sq West

“Gargoyles in Manhattan” guide Pommer counts 12 lion heads roaring from the upper floors of this 16-story Renaissance-revival–style building. The pack of stone kitties was added as part of architect Bruce Price’s renovations to the 19th-century bank behemoth in 1903.
Subway: L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, 6 to 14th St–Union Sq

15

Lincoln Building

The fierce eagle/machine gun grotesque stretching out from J.E.R. Carpenter’s classic Manhattan office tower, also featured in Pommer’s “Gargoyles in Manhattan” tour, might be hard to see hidden amid Lincoln’s 55 stories, so check out some close up images on nyc-architecture.com.
Subway: 42nd St S, 4, 5, 6, 7 to 42nd St–Grand Central

16

Ansonia Hotel

In a 2002 in a piece for The New York Times, The Golems of Gotham writer Thane Rosenbaum, admitted, “The ones I like best are along West 74th Street, facing the loading docks of Fairway supermarket.”
Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 72nd St

17

Lucerne Hotel

For a gander at architect Harry B. Mulliken’s most sinister beasts, Thane Rosenbaum recommends sticking to the Amsterdam side. “I think there’s a club right now that’s there,” he explains, “and above the club there’s some really great gargoyles.”
Subway: 1 to 79th St

18

The Dorilton apartments

Constructed in 1902 from the designs of Janes and Leo, the Dorilton huddles its grotesques high above its south entrance. For a good look, Thane Rosenbaum recommends standing close and squinting upward. “The dirty little secret about watching gargoyles,” he says, “is you can’t really see any of them from a distance, because the buildings are surrounded by other buildings.”
Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 72nd St

19

90 West Street

Renovations on Cass Gilbert’s 1907 superstructure, which was severely damaged during the September 11th attacks, include an entirely revamped batch of gargoyles, many of whom were inspired by the structure’s key renovators.
Subway: A, C to Chambers St; E to World Trade Center; 2, 3 to Park Pl

20

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Construction on the cathedral was stopped after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but was picked up in 1978 under stone carver Simon Verity. And you thought Project Runway was filled with drama!
Subway: 1 to 110th St–Cathedral Pkwy

21

Riverside Church

The Riverside Church held its first service in 1930. Those interested in a special gargoyle tour with Riverside Church archivist Victor Jordan should speak with Raymond Rodriguez at the church’s visitors’ center.
Subway: 1 to 116th St–Columbia Univ

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