New York Globes

Two historic landmarks will feature in my posts today and Saturday, as I show two globes that are so representative of the New York skyline. The first one was unfortunately partially destroyed on September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers collapsed. It is also known as the Sphere, a 25 foot bronze sculpture by German artist Fritz Koenig, originally located at the base of the towers surrounded by a fountain. After the Twin Towers collapsed, it was relocated at Liberty Park. The piece was commissioned by the owner of the World Trade Center, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1966. The original choice was Henry Moore, but Koenig was chosen after the towers’ architect Minoru Yamasaki saw some of Koenig’s work at the Staempfli Gallery in Manhattan. He started work on it in 1967 while the WTC was in the planning stages, and finished it in 4 years.