There are three of them, actually...
...at the entry to the Graybar building on the Lexington Avenue side of Grand Central Terminal. Specially designed cones are often placed on the large hawser ropes used to tie up freighters when they are in port, so rats can’t walk the tightrope and get onboard.
The architects, Sloan & Robertson often worked in nautical themes. The 351-foot Art Deco Graybar, completed in 1927 is at 420 Lexington Avenue just north of 42nd Street.
This little bit of rat knowledge came in handy the other night when a mouse sighting directed the conversation toward rats, particularly rats boarding ships. Impeccable timing. =P
ReplyDeleteThere used to be just ONE rat (more charmingly whimsical, I think!). Then they added the other two, perhaps replacing long-vanished confreres.
ReplyDelete"An often-repeated statistic is that there are more rats than people in the five boroughs of New York City (8.3 million), though some estimate the number as far higher, as many as four rats per person (32 million)."
ReplyDeletewiki
yikes!