A bridge, a square, and some pretty great waffles

Philadelphia-born artist Anne Bascove is most often credited in exhibitions under just her surname (a mononym, for the clever types playing along at home).  Born in 1946, Bascove's work has appeared in books, on posters, and on the walls of museums and art galleries all over.

The New York City scenes in Bascove's more recent works are richly-coloured and (to my untrained eye) almost look like art deco designs, or the sorts of images you'd see in a graphic novel.  Bascoe has especially devoted a lot of time and creativity to capturing the great bridges of New York City.  And I don't just mean the bridges that connect Manhattan with other parts of the country; even the smaller inner-city bridges get a mention - like this one:

Pershing Square Bridge, 1993 - image credit here

If you can't immediately place it, this is the Pershing Square Bridge.  In spite of the lovely bright colours that Bascove has used, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a post-apocalyptic interpretation of the Bridge - I mean, it's NEVER this quiet here.  The bridge is located outside the 42nd Street entrance of Grand Central Station (around Park Avenue).  It's often known by its technical name, the Park Avenue (or Pershing Square) Viaduct, and it's the ramped roadway that allows Park Avenue to extend from 40th Street, around Grand Central Station, and up to 46th Street.

The square beneath the bridge was built in honor of the splendidly-named General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, the Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Force in WW1 and the only person in history to have been promoted to the position of General of the Armies within his lifetime.  That's the highest you can go in the ranks of the US Army and you report directly to the President of the United States.  Pershing was originally a teacher, with no desire to enter the armed forces at all.  But he took the entrance exam at the beautiful West Point Academy on the Hudson River and he passed (by just one point!).  What he lacked in academic skills Pershing more than made up for in "soldierly qualities" and before long he won the admiration of his peers, his commanding officers, and ultimately, Presidents.  For services to his country, General Pershing has been honored with monuments and plaques spread across the United States - including this bridge and square in Midtown Manhattan.

When the City first planned the square in Pershing's honor, it was supposed to be an open space with lots of freedom to move.  But before long, some cheeky entrepreneur sold a portion of the earmarked land to a real estate developer who promptly put up a 24-floor office building and dashed anyone's hopes of peace and quiet.

So in 1939 the City followed suit, and built a steel and glass-brick structure to sit directly underneath the bridge and serve as a tourist office - but ultimately it was converted into the Pershing Square Cafe.  This shiny eatery remains a very popular place for a sit-down breakfast - a lovely bistro, and a nice break from the nearby diners and "get it to go" places.  The waffles are pretty great here, and the cocktails must be worth a try too because the fully-licensed cafe gets packed on Friday nights, particularly between April and October when you can sit outside.

While it might be hard to appreciate the architecture of the Pershing Square Bridge in real life, you can always retire to the cool sanctuary of the Museum of the City of New York because you'll find Bascove's oil on canvas waiting for you there.