Public Art: Brooklyn Bridge Park

Brooklyn Bridge Park is currently host to a sculpture show sponsored by the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition entitled Perpetual Energy.   Included in the show is this sculpture, "Endangered Species:  Frogs Monument," by Ana Golici. 

  

NYC Frog Project On the Road

Dead Frog Circus
Wistariahurst Museum, Holyoke, MA

I think the title really says it all here.  It's a circus.  Made out of dead frogs.  And. It. Is. Awesome!

I've stolen the picture from the Roadside America web site, as the museum prohibits photography.  According to the tour guide, the taxidermist, Burlingham Schurr, was dedicated to creating naturalistic scenes --but then he inexplicably created the circus.   Thank you, Mr. Schurr!


You can read more about it in this article from Yankee Magazine.

The circus's only rival is the Musee de Grenouilles in Switzerland, which boasts 108 taxidermied frogs in "satirical scenes from everyday life" in the nineteenth century.

NYC Frog Project On the Road

Southern Vermont Natural History Museum
Hogback Mountain, Marlboro, VT

Most of the collection at this great little museum consists of taxidermied birds collected in the 1920s and 1930s.  While our collecting ethic has changed, it was a treat to see so many of the birds close up, and there are several unreleasable owls and hawks that the museum staff cares for.  It's definitely worth a stop if you're passing through.


This diorama depicts an unfortunate situation for the frog, as a Green Heron is about to feast upon him.

And some examples of the birds, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and European Starling:

Bronx Zoo

Bronx, NY
I'm sure there are lots more frogs at the zoo, but these are the ones we stumbled on today.

Playground Frogs

Washington Hall Park

Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

We take a lot of weekend drives around Brooklyn. Last week, we drove all the way to the end of Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, where Brooklyn dead ends into the Newtown Creek, and happened on some interesting sculptures. On the way home, we found this guy in Washington Hall Park on Hall Street in Clinton Hill. There were also frogs etched into the concrete.

Frog Graffiti

Wythe Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn

City Reliquary

Back in November, we took a drive through Williamsburg and stopped at the City Reliquary. If you live in Brooklyn and haven't been there, go!

The front window features local collections. Someday, my frogs will be here, but this collection is pretty cool, too:

Frog Graffiti

Williamsburg, Brooklyn
N. 12th Street and Kent Avenue

Garden Frogs

New York Botanical Garden

Bronx, NY

This guy is in the Children's Garden. I'm sure in the summer he's a nice froggy green, but it's November now . . .

NYC Frog Project on the Road

Bear Mountain State Park

In 1908, the State of New York decided to move Sing Sing prison to Bear Mountain, but conservationists--aided by the likes of the Harriman family, John D. Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan--had different ideas, and in 1913 Bear Mountain State Park opened.

The Appalachian Trail runs through the park and gives its name to the Trailside Museums and Zoo, where these pictures were taken. The Trailside Zoo is on the site of Fort Clinton, where the Americans were routed by the British in 1777. In addition to bears, a porcupine, and a pair of coyotes, the zoo is home to quite a few injured birds, including a Pileated Woodpecker, a Great Horned Owl, and a Bald Eagle.

Carousel Frogs

Bear Mountain State Park

The Carousel at Bear Mountain was built in 2000. It features a raccoon, a Canada goose, a dog, a cat, a fox, a bear, a turkey, a deer--and two frogs.

Public Art: Staten Island Zoo

Mosaic in the Reptile House



The Staten Island Zoo opened in 1936 with one of the largest rattlesnake collections in the world. The reptile house was built in 1933-34, and the mosaics, by Kristi Pfister, were done in the 1990s.

NYC Frog Project On the Road

Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum
Orrtanna, PA

Every now and then, the NYC Frog Project gets to pay homage to other great collections--and this one is truly amazing. Over 6,000 elephants!









And, of course, they have a frog:

NYC Frog Project On the Road

Glenwood Gardens
Cincinnati, Ohio

Actually, Glenwood Gardens is in Woodlawn, and in preparing for this post I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find pictures of this strecth of Springfield Pike from the 1970s. No luck. When I was a kid, this area--across the street from the Kroger Warehouse, the Goodwill, and the Woodlawn Drive-in (which burned down in the 1970s)--was all farmland, although I've found information that says it has belonged to the Hamilton County Park District since the 1960s. I did find a great forum called Mid-to-Late 20th Century Vine St./Springfield Pike, which brought back a lot of memories: Sutherland Lumber! The Big Melon! The Singing Bridge! But I digress.

The park is a nice place for kids to play, and featured some awesome frogs.

A Charlie Harper frog adorned a park service truck:



Kids can climb on Frog and Toad:



And there's this fountain:

Playground Frogs

Thomas J. Cuite Park, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

A few years ago, I posted a picture of these frogs in the snow. They're a little worse for wear now, and hiding in the tall grass at this little playground overlooking the lovely Prospect Expressway. About halfway through our doughnut odyssey, George demanded a playground break, and this one was nearby. It was named after a long-time city coucil representative for the neighborhood.

Frog Graffiti

Broadway and Stockton Street, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

What better to do on a rainy Sunday than try to find the best doughnuts in Brooklyn? We started at Peter Pan Bakery in Greenpoint and then headed out to Midwood to Shaikh's Place. The verdict? Peter Pan's jelly doughnuts were better, but Shaikh's cream-filled and apple are the best we've had. Along the way, we drove through most of the borough. This frog is part of a mural at the corner of Broadway and Stockton in Bed-Stuy. It must be pretty new--it's not on the Google map yet.

Garden Frogs

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Children's Discovery Garden

Public Art: Grand Army Plaza

Bailey Fountain



According to the NYC Parks Department: "Named after Brooklyn-based financier and philanthropist Frank Bailey (1865-1953) and his wife Mary Louise Bailey, this elaborate sculptural waterwork is one of several which have occupied a central place in Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza. . . . In the late 1920s, Bailey and his wife gave $125,000 for construction of a new fountain, whose designers, architect Edgerton Swarthout and sculptor Eugene Savage, were selected through a design competition. Work on the fountain began in 1929 and was completed in 1932. The central bronze sculptures include male and female figures atop the prow of a ship, representing Wisdom and Felicity, surrounded by Neptune, his attendant Triton, and a boy holding a cornucopia. The base is made of large stones imbedded in the foundation, and additional decorative elements with sea motifs adorn the pedestal."

Playground Frogs

Bellevue South Park







Bellevue South Park is located at 28th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues in Manhattan, near Bellevue Hospital. According to the NYC Park Service: "Prior to 1811 when the city purchased the land, the park and surrounding area were Belle Vue farms, an area leased to quarantine victims of yellow fever at the end of the 18th century."

Frogs at Home

George Monte's Quilt

George Monte was born June 2, 2008. I made this quilt to hang on the wall in his nursery. If you look closely, you can see the frogs in the camouflage of his overalls. I sure hope this kid likes frogs!