New York City: The Big Apple may be known for its skyscrapers and subways, but it’s got plenty of angels too. Both above ground and under, they’re right at home in the city that never sleeps.
Grand Army Plaza: Even busy commuters have a hard time overlooking this terra-cotta mosaic set into the tiles of Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza subway station. Created by artist Jane Greengold in 1995, the piece not only mimics the trumpeting angels atop the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch just outside the station, but also pays homage to the old Interborough Rapid Transit Company logo, which featured a winged New York City subway train.
Green-Wood Cemetery: This statue, guarding a grave marked 1838, is one of many angels in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark. Thousands of visitors come for its rural beauty, 19th- and 20th-century statuary and mausoleums, and to pay their respects to notable residents, such as Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Samuel Morse, Horace Greeley and Charles Ebbets.
Holy Trinity Church: Downtown Manhattan’s oldest church has welcomed various congregations since 1697. Holy Trinity’s third and current incarnation boasts a sandstone facade, stained-glass windows, Gothic spires and—most notably— three sets of bronze doors. Designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, the east door features six intricate panels that depict scenes from the church’s long history and the Bible. Here, the Annunciation.
Did you enjoy this story? Subscribe to Angels on Earth magazine.