Alamo (sculpture)

Alamo (sculpture)

Alamo, also known as the Astor Place Cube, or simply The Cube, is an outdoor sculpture by Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal, located on Astor Place, on the island of Manhattan in New York City. It takes the form of a black cube, 8 feet (2.4 m) long on each side, mounted on a corner. The cube is made of Cor-Ten steel and weighs about 1,800 pounds (820 kg). The faces of the cube are not flat but have various indentations, protrusions, and ledges. The sculpture's name, Alamo is designated on a small plaque on one corner of the base and was selected by the artist's wife because its scale and mass reminded her of the Alamo Mission.

Installed in 1967 as part of the "Sculpture and the Environment" organized by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cube was one of 25 temporary art installations that were intended to remain for a six-month period, however local residents successfully petitioned the city to keep the Alamo. 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 the New York Subway and the Cooper Union.

The Cube's can be spun on its vertical axis. One person can push it slowly with some exertion, and two or more people without difficulty.

On March 10, 2005, the Parks Department removed the Cube for maintenance. The original artist and crew replaced a missing bolt, and made a few other minor repairs. A makeshift replica of pvc tubes named the Jello Cube in honor of Peter Cooper was placed in its stead. As of November 2005, the Cube returned with a fresh coat of black paint, still able to spin.

Alamo is one of five similar cubes created by Rosenthal. The identical Endover stands on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Rosenthal earned a bachelor of fine arts degree. The cube was donated by the class of 1965 and was installed in 1968. The Rosenthal cube also rotates but its pivot is sunken into the ground, as opposed to the pivot of the Alamo, which is on a separate platform.