Observation Spot: Washington Square Arch
Time Observed: Wednesday, Sept 21, 2005, 5pm-6pm
The Arch is a ubiquitous symbol of the Village in NYC. You think of the NYU campus, or Washington Square Park, and one tends to be able to visualize the white landmark. It is New York's version of the Champs Elysees. The arch has undergone many changes since its original inception—it was originally made of wood. Cars used to pass through it at one time. There was a failed attempt at restoration, and then a successful attempt just a couple of years ago. The one thing that never changed, was the feeling of community that it has inspired.
Like any memorial, or celebratory work of art, it is a point of congregation, where people from different backgrounds all find common ground, if only in that one moment in which they all think, "Man, that's one big white thing" and "Oh, let me take a picture." NYU graduates march under the arch every year. It is indelibly a part of New York history.
In our hour of observation, we saw dozens of people pass by, and through the arch, on foot, on wheels, with dogs, with baby strollers, in groups, in pairs, and singularly. We saw quite a few people take pictures, and walk around and through the arch a couple of times. There were those people who pass by the arch every day, and don't break stride. There were those people to whom the arch was a wholly new experience—in them, there was a smile, a thoughtful tilt, a lingering backwards glance. There were those people to whom the arch was a familiar place—a stopping ground or meeting place. A lot of the people who were alone stopped dead in their tracks at the foot of the arch and whipped out cell phones. Many people just rested, leaning against the inside or outside of the arch, or perching on the posts that surround the front and back of it.
During our hour, as the sun moved across the sky, the arch first provided shade to the side of the structure, and then finally inside itself. We saw people take refuge from the warm day. The arch is over a cobblestoned area, but that didn't deter people from deliberately choosing to walk over the bumpy terrain.
One of the reasons that the arch was chosen as an observation point was because it was a place that had a lot of foot traffic, but could be seen as a superfluous and unnecessary structure. After some observation and thinking, we believe that the arch does serve a very necessary purpose, and that the park would be diminished should it ever be taken down or destroyed.
There are a few very minor ways that the space could be changed without needing any kind of modification. One person we talked to mentioned that she would like to climb the arch. She probably meant the outside of it, but the arch actually is climbable. There is a spiral staircase inside the west arch that leads to the roof, that is sealed off to the public. We would just need to unlock that door, and we're in business. The one thing we didn't see a lot of people doing was touching the arch itself. There might be something to the massive whiteness of the arch that discourages touching. One would just have to show by example, that it is okay to touch it.
Observations of behavior around the arch
Transitory Walk around the arch Walk through the arch Pulling out cellphone Stopping Ignoring the arch Skateboarding Business Meeting Gathering Protesting Pulling out cellphone Talking on cellphone Running around Dog-walking Taking pictures Skateboarding Leisure Stopping Talking on cellphone Meeting Gathering Site-seeing Biking (through and around) Running around Exercising (general) Dog-walking Taking pictures Escape Skateboarding Social Meeting Gathering Talking on cellphone Protesting Dog-walking Skateboarding
Future possibilities...
climb the arch? visual experiential (and sonic) modifications
Photos of traffic passing through arch: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katehartman/sets/995994/
Here are the photos: Photos