14 April 2009

Yes, You Can Go Inside the Washington Square Arch


I've known this since I first came to New York and read the story of "Ashcan School" painter John Sloan's "revolution" in 1916, when he and some like-minded artists forced open the door one cold January night, armed with beans, Japanese lanterns and, of course, wine, and climbed to the top of the arch. They read poems, fired cap pistols and declared themselves members of the republic of "New Bohemia."

All in all, one of the more bohemian events in the history of Bohemia.

Some mysterious folks recently repeated Sloan's journey, and sent the photos to Curbed. Would I were with them. Is there anyone out there with a key (or a crobar) who can hook up a poor blogger?

3 comments:

Preppy Coastee said...

I love your blog!! :)

Erik said...

From the photos it looks like it is fairly well kept. The key to getting in is finding the light bulb changer of the gate.

Nice story and find!

M.Lane said...

Great story! I'll go with you if you find out how to get in. It may call for a Mission Impossible effort...

ML
mlanesepic.blogspot.com