New Amsterdam Marquee Before & After

Mary Poppins plays on Broadway at the New Amsterdam theater on 42ND Street in New York City. It is between my apartment and the subway station I frequent the most. I noticed a few years back how incredibly filthy the marquee was… and how incredibly beautiful. I don’t blame Disney at all, however, as the cost of keeping something like this clean is no doubt astronomical, especially in a city where everything that sits still for five minutes gets covered in a layer of grime. But I did take a series of photos of the dirty details.

A few months back I noticed the marquee was enclosed in scaffolding and, after several weeks, a beautiful, clean & shiny marquee emerged. The difference is striking!

Anybody care to set up scaffolding and hire a cleaning crew for me? I’ve been exposed to the city for far too long…