The Upper Room | Ned Smyth

Battery Park City was first opened in the early 1980s, and The Upper Room was one of the first major art installations to beautify it. Made from pre-cast concrete, bluestone and mosaic and measuring 14' x 70' x 40', it is styled to evoke an open-air Egyptian temple with pink Neo-Egyptian columns. One can easily find a combination of influences from Roman, Islamic and Medieval architecture within the installation as well.

The Upper Room was originally built to incite interaction within the public space. But the popularity of skateboarding and rollerblading at that time resulted in an interaction with the artwork that -- how shall we say? -- was less than ideal. To protect the work, ramps that had flanked the structure were changed to stairs, and the Esplanade concrete was poured with a rough texture to make rolling activities of any kind unbearable. That said, as long as you are not on wheels, artist Ned Smyth wants visitors to feel an inviting aura, so much so that the area is also equipped with four chess/checker board tables and benches.

Smyth is a graduate of Kenyon College and was the director of the Institute of Fine Arts at the NYU Art History Graduate School. He continues to live in New York City area and works out of his Shelter Island studio.

By Lizbeth