Cortlandt Street

It is only fitting that Cortlandt Street, the street where I live, should be the starting point of my hunt for yard art in the Heights.

I have lived on Cortlandt Street for almost three years now.  My first apartment complex on Cortlandt was small, less than 20 units, centered around an ivy-covered courtyard.  The residents decorated the courtyard with stone cherubs, a magenta garden orb, and even a small stone gargoyle.  For me, that courtyard encapsulates what the "yard art ethos" is all about: the urge to personalize one's outdoor spaces, to make a house (or an apartment) a home.

Cortlandt Street is fertile ground for a wide variety of yard art, from contemporary metal sculptures to devotional statues to whimsical collections of found objects:

The Blessed Virgin greets visitors to this home, on the 1500 block

St. Joseph the Worker, at All Saints Catholic church on the corner of 10th and Cortlandt.

A disco ball glitters at dusk, on the 1800 block

Glass bottles of all sizes are recycled as sculpture, on the 1800 block

Pinwheels, potted plants, and an owl wearing sunglasses brighten up this yard just north of 20th Street.



One of my favorite front-yard embellishments on Cortlandt, on the 1600 block

The dog owners are also the proud owners of a penguin who accepts the mail!



Bright red ribbons of metal are frozen in festive form, on the 1300 block

This sculpture, on the 700 block, reminds me of an oversized sundial that has been rotated and unhinged.

On the 800 block, a sphere composed of interlocking metal rings

Another blue-cloaked Mother of God, on the 1400 block

This pink flamingo has taken up residence near the Virgin Mary, above.

An iron cactcus, live cactus plant, and what appears to be a venus fly trap
create a playful homage to the Southwest, on the 1500 block.

Have you seen any of these artworks during your strolls or bicycle rides through the Heights?  Which one of these pieces is your favorite, and why?