The Fall of Civilization

West 40th

"New York... When civilization falls apart, remember, we were way ahead of you."
David Letterman, quoted in That’s Really Funny

Sophisticated Appearance

53rd and Lexington

"New York is casual, intellectual, subtle, effective and devastatingly witty. But her sophisticated appearance is the thinnest of veneers. Beneath it there is power, virility, determination and a sense of destiny."
Raymond Loewy, The Epic of New York City: A Narrative History

Refuge

168th Street subway station

"New York is not a city, it is Man seeking refuge from the Behemoth that has devoured him. It is a heaped-up mass of masonry and men."
Albion Ross, Journey of an American