"Hidden in Plain Sight: Details of White Plains Architecture,'' by longtime city resident Barry Katzen, is on display at the library until August 2. The exhibit consists of 40 photographs that celebrate architectural details on the older buildings in downtown White Plains -- the types of details most people don't see as they rush around town.
People who have seen the photos tell Katzen that they walk by the buildings every day, but never took the time to look closely. "Best of all, everything I've photographed for the exhibit is viewable from the sidewalk," Katzen told Daily Voice. " Anyone can walk around White Plains and see these details."
Katzen provided a couple of new photos taken this month from a sidewalk view to illustrate what he means.
White Plains has been visually eclipsed by its large office buildings and residential towers. "Our hectic daily life makes us rush through the cityscape without time to take in its details," his library exhibit explains. "Yet there are charms to behold for those who stop and look at these architectural embellishments."
The 40 photos on display represent the best of downtown White Plains and nearby. Everything in the exhibit may be viewed from the sidewalk in "plain sight."
The exhibit captures some interesting at history too. The reliefs dating back to the 1930s at White Plains Hospital's Bendheim Pavilion are by Rene Paul Chambellan, a famous architectural sculptor who co-designed the Atlas statue in Rockefeller Center and designed/sculpted some of the fountains in the Rockefeller Center promenade. Chambellan created architectural sculpture on many art deco buildings around the United States.
Katzen is an online marketing director for a global publisher. He has spent the last decade recording architectural details throughout the city. He is also a published photographer, with three books on Southwestern Indian jewelry.
White Plains Public Library is at 100 Martine Ave. Katzen's exhibit can be viewed Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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