Lettering Walk with Paul Shaw: Financial District

Today I had a great time on a Lettering Walk around Broadway, Wall Street, and the Financial District of Manhattan with designer and design historian, Paul Shaw; on behalf of the One Club and The Type Directors Club.

The tour began at Trinity Cathedral with gravestone carvings and statues dating from the late 1670s. The individual styles of the outstanding stone carvers are known today and identifiable through Paul's enlightenment (example the painterly, brush-like strokes of Uzal Ward). Equally fascinating are the abbreviations and unusual mistakes.

Upon exiting the graveyard, Paul instructed us to turn around and observe: Two Rector Street, high above us the entire time. It features handmade letters designed by the architect, attached to the side of the building around 6 stories up.

Proceeding down Broadway past giants including The American Railway Express Building (later the American Express Company Building), we entered the iconic Standard Oil Building, 26 Broadway.

Then to the corner of Battery Place and the unforgettable Dutch/American Friendship Monument (1926), and its very unique lettering!

And ultimately back to Trinity through some of the greatest buildings on Earth. Thanks Paul! There were so many more points of interest, too many to describe. Here's just a few...