"Battery Park City and the Authority are not just about the buildings – it’s about the character of the community that has developed over time. Public space has had a new renaissance in New York City, but here in Battery Park City is where it started."
Martin Puryear’s stately Pylons rise along the waterfront of the Belvedere, framing the sightlines of the Winter Garden. Both columns are made from stainless steel and are composed from six segments. In their contours they are a study in opposites. One is solid and all angles, thrustting downward; the other, an airy, volumetric weave of steel mesh gracefully spirals upward. Situated between the ferry dock and the North Cove Harbor, the Pylons are designed to be viewed from either land or water as a symbolic portal connecting the two. By day, they give the waterfront an identifiable landmark. By night, the two opposing columns are dramatically illuminated like beacons.