Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thoughts on Scaffolding

I did not pay much mind to scaffolding until I moved to New York. With thousands upon thousands of buildings in this city and them all at some point needing a new paint job or their windows cleaned or their bricks pointed or to be built in the first place, scaffolding becomes part of the scenery.

Around November I start to take note of the city’s scaffolding inventory. In part because I’ll seek it out as a means of protection from rain when walking on the sidewalk from point A to B (I have the scaffolding mapped out on my work-to-subway route just in case I forget my umbrella). 

Most of the time, however, I only notice the scaffolding after it is gone. I’ll turn a familiar corner and where there once was an unmemorable jumble of wood planking stands a majestic pre-war or mirrored-glass building. It’s the city’s equivalent to bandages being removed after a face-lift (did I mention I was from LA?). The true cityscape revealed.


 It is one of my favorite things about this time of year.

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