Atlas and the Atlas Crater - New York City, NY
Posted by: Metro2
N 40° 45.730 W 073° 58.461
18T E 586568 N 4512861
This Atlas sits atop the entrance to Tiffany's in New York City.
Atlas gave his name to the Atlantic Ocean, the Atlas Mountains in Africa, a book of maps...and a crater on our Moon.
Waymark Code: WMCHW0
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 09/10/2011
Views: 11
Located above the netrance to Tiffanys at 717 Fifth Avenue is this Atlas statue bearing a circular clock which, of course, is similar to the globe he would normally be carrying.
The Smithsonian Inventory (
visit link) describes the work thusly:
"The Atlas Clock portrays the mythological figure of Atlas holding up a circular timepiece. The figure of Atlas has been painted and patinated to imitate oxidized bronze which has a greenish tinge. The feet appear to have been carved separately and joined the rest of the figure. The figure may be attached to the building from the back using metal clamps."
The artist is Henry Frederick Metzler who made the piece around 1853.
See this website
(
visit link) to see more photos and to read a history of the clock.
Wikipedia's (
visit link) article on the crater which informs us:
"Atlas is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located in the northeast part of the Moon, to the southeast of Mare Frigoris. Just to the west is the slightly smaller but still prominent crater Hercules. Northeast of Atlas is the large Endymion.
The inner wall of Atlas is multiply terraced and the edge slumped, forming a sharp-edged lip. This is a floor-fractured crater with a rough and hilly interior that has a lighter albedo than the surroundings. Floor-fractures are usually created as a result of volcanic modifications.
There are two dark patches along the inner edge of the walls; one along the north edge and another besides the southeast edges. A system of slender clefts named the Rimae Atlas crosses the crater floor, and were created by volcanism. Along the north and northeastern inner sides are a handful of dark-halo craters, most likely due to eruptions. Around the mid-point is a cluster of low central hills arranged in a circular formation."
Atlas was one of the Titans in Greek mythology. Prometheus was one of his brothers...and of course, there is a famous statue of Prometheus nearby at the Rockefeller Center skating rink. Atlas supported the heavens and in some contexts, he and Phoebe are paired in their governance of the Moon. The Atlantic Ocean is named after him...as are the Atlas mountains in Africa. Read more about him at (
visit link)