Estate of Tony Rosenthal. Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society.
Alamo, also known as theAstor Place Cube or simplyThe Cube, is an outdoorsculpture byTony Rosenthal, located onAstor Place, in theEast Village neighborhood ofManhattan inNew York City. It is a blackcube, 8 feet (2.4 m) long on each side, mounted on a corner. The cube is made ofCor-Ten steel and weighs about 1,800 pounds (820 kg). The faces of the cube are not flat but have various indentations, protrusions, and ledges. The sculpture's name,Alamo, is designated on a small plaque on the base and was selected by the artist's wife because its scale and mass reminded her of theAlamo Mission.[1][2] It was fabricated by Lippincott, Inc.
Installed in 1967 as part of "Sculpture and the Environment", organized by theNew York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the cube was one of 25 temporary art installations that were intended to remain for a six-month period; however, local residents successfully petitioned the city to keepAlamo. It has since become a popular meeting place in theEast Village.[1][2][3][4] It stands in an intersection, across the street from two entrances to theAstor Place subway station, as well as theCooper Union Foundation Building.
The cube rotates around a hidden pole in its center.[5] The cube's sculptor Tony Rosenthal never intended forAlamo to spin, saying in 2005: "I actually thought we would put it on this post and we’d turn it to the position we wanted it and then stick it like that."[6][7] However, the cube was never locked in place. One observer described spinning the cube as "part of the New York experience".[8]
TheAlamo in front of an outdoorcafé after the 2016renovations
On March 10, 2005, theParks Department removed theCube for maintenance. The original artist and crew replaced a missing bolt, and made a few other minor repairs. A makeshift replica made ofpolyvinyl chloride tubes, named theJello Cube in honor ofPeter Cooper, was placed in its stead. In November 2005, theCube returned with a fresh coat of black paint, still able to spin.[1][9] In October 2015, the sculpture was covered in a protective wooden box because of the redevelopment of Astor Place, but was eventually removed off-site again for "restoration and repainting" and to keep it "out of harm's way," according to a representative of theNew York City Parks Department.[10] On November 1, 2016, the sculpture returned to Astor Place after a $180,000 reconstruction and rust removal.[11] In November 2017, theGreenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation celebrated the sculpture's 50th yearanniversary of its installation.[12]
By May 2022, theNew York City Department of Transportation, which was responsible for the sculpture's maintenance, determined that problems with spinning the structure could cause further damage.[13] According to city engineers, the cube was in danger of tipping over if it continued to spin.[7][8] The city locked it in place with metal braces until additional work on the pivot could eventually prove sufficient to permit it to spin freely again.[13] In May 2023, the DOT announced the cube had been removed and would be refurbished offsite at a Connecticut foundry.[14][15] The sculpture was returned to Astor Place as in August 2023.[16]
Alamo is one of seven similar cubes created by Rosenthal.[17][18] The identicalEndover stands on the campus of theUniversity of Michigan inAnn Arbor,Michigan, where Rosenthal earned a bachelor of fine arts degree. The cube was donated by the class of 1965 and was installed in 1968. TheEndover cube also rotates but its pivot is sunken into the ground, as opposed to the pivot of theAlamo, which is on a separate platform.[19][20]
In June 2003, theCube was the subject of a prank played by the ATF squad (All Too Flat) in which it was turned into a giantRubik's Cube.[1] The cube stayed up for about 24 hours before NYC maintenance removed the painted cardboard panels from the sculpture.[21]
In April 2006, a tub of chalk was left by theCube and passersby began to draw on it. Seven individuals were later arrested for vandalism. The chalk was washed off by NYC maintenance the following morning.[23]
In October 2011, the visual artistOlek (Agata Oleksiak) made a crochet covering with their signature camouflage pattern over the cube.[24]
On December 14, 2011,Caltech students covered the cube in a fitted cloth, making it resemble the Weighted Companion Cube from the video gamePortal.[25]
In October 2013, a fake documentary video went viral claiming to show that a man lived inside the cube.[26][27]
ForHalloween 2015, a man dressed up asThe Cube and stood in its place. At the timeAlamo was temporarily off-site because Astor Place was being rebuilt.[28]
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