Street Photography: Still Looking Up

If you read yesterday’s post, then you’ll know about how I’ve been working at creating different kinds of photographs of familiar buildings by looking for architectural details above my head that may otherwise go unnoticed. You’ll also know about a particular building in Greenwich Village featuring an emblem of a seahorse above its doorway. That same building had more to offer.

As I walked down the block I saw a smaller detail above me of two elephants pushing against a cross. As with the seahorse, this symbol posed yet another mystery. If I had seen fish or other aquatic adornments, there would at least be a theme. But why elephants and why a cross?

The best I could tell is that this is either a Recercelee cross or a Moline cross depending on how much the ends fork outward. These cross styles apparently date back to their use during the Middle Ages in coats of arms. The connection with the elephants eludes me. Perhaps it is nothing more than a fanciful design.