The Sylvia (Thursday Doors)

Lock the door to your apartment.  Take the elevator.  Leave your dwelling behind.  Walk the city streets; your vision expands.

Look at birds–
sparrows, starlings, pigeons–
stone birds on buildings.

Who is Sylvia?
Why is her nameplate so ornate
and her entrance so plain?

I always wondered why this building had a plaque on the side that said “Sylvia” which seemed so out of place with its surroundings. Having my eye out for bird ornaments, I noticed recently that birds were part of the design. So I photographed Sylvia and her door, which I like, but which also seems out of place with both the plaque and the upper part of the building.

As usual, the Daytonian has an article on the building’s checkered past, which includes the information that a renovation in 1976 not only divided the original large apartments into studios and one-bedrooms, but got rid of the original entrance and put fake stone on the lower exterior, which currently houses two businesses–Peruvian Connection and Eileen Fisher. At least they saved the nameplate.

The architect for the Sylvia was Edward Angell, who designed many other buildings in the neighborhood, including three others that I’ve featured on Thursday Doors. As to the identity of Sylvia, no one seems to know.

I also visited the local community garden this week, which is looking good after the recent rains.

My poem is a liwuli, which is a form I encountered on Sunra Rainz’s blog, here. However some other resources said the last stanza was only 10 syllables, not 19, in which case I have revised it to:

Who is Sylvia?
Is she posh or plain?

Written for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday, where the synonyms are open and close, and W3, where Heather asked us to write about a place where we find poetry. There is always poetry on the streets of NYC.

I know some of you like to read the sordid histories of these buildings, which the Daytonian is always happy to provide. The Sylvia has a long one, here.

And you can always find more doors at Thursday Doors, hosted by Dan Antion, here.