- Alamo (sculpture)
"Alamo" ("The Cube") is an outdoor sculpture by Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal, located on
Astor Place , on the island ofManhattan inNew York City . It takes the form of a blackcube , 8 feet long on each side, mounted on a corner. The faces of the cube are not flat but have various indentations, protrusions, and ledges. It is not widely known as "Alamo," the name given on a small plaque on one corner of the base. Generally it is simply called "The Cube."Installed in 1967, it has since become a popular meeting place in the East Village. It stands in the middle of an intersection, across the street from both entrances to the
Astor Place station of theNew York Subway and theCooper Union ."The Cube's" distinguishing feature is that it can be spun on its vertical axis. One person can usually push it slowly with some exertion, and two or more people without trouble. Many people who move to New York consider turning The Cube to be a ritual signaling that they have "arrived" in the city. Sitting or sleeping in the shade of "The Cube" is also popular.
"The Cube" was once turned into a
Rubik's Cube as a prank. (See External links).On March 10, 2005, the parks department removed "The Cube" for repairs. The original artist and crew fixed the missing bolt and made a few other minor repairs. As of November 2005 "The Cube" returned with a fresh coat of black paint, still able to spin as it always did. The cube weighs about 1100 kg (about 2500 lb).
The identical Rosenthal Cube (though officially titled Endover) stands on the campus of the
University of Michigan inAnn Arbor ,Michigan between theMichigan Union and the LSA Building. The cube was donated by the class of1965 and was installed in1968 . The cube also rotates but its pivot is sunken into the ground as opposed to Alamo's which is on a separate platform.External links
* [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=Cooper%20Cube Everything2 article on "The Cube".]
* [http://www.tonyrosenthal.com Artist's website, www.tonyrosenthal.com]
* [http://www.alltooflat.com/pranks/cube/ Rubik's Cube prank.]
* [http://www.cooper.edu/~lent/random/alamo.html Chris Lent's page on the Alamo, and its progeny]
* [http://www.plantext.bf.umich.edu/planner/sculpture/central/cube.htm University of Michigan's Rosenthal Cube]
* [http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/2000/Oct00/r103100b University of Michigan article on "The Cube"]
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