This Haunted Face

One of a pair of decorative heads carved on a Willett Street facade, this face has eroded badly and looks quite eerie. 

397 State Street

The work of architect Henry Hobson Richardson (best known locally for City Hall), the Grange Sard house is rich with details, including this decorative carving above the arched entrance.  It features a coiled snake, two fierce stylized animal heads, and two human faces which are said to be likenesses of stove manufacturer Grange Sard, Jr. and his wife. 

A Faux Fossil

A prehistoric snail creeps along the facade of City Hall.  It's yet another one of the many creatures and faces carved on H.H. Richardson's Romanesque building.

A Printer's Devil

A wide-eyed lad sticks his tongue out from the intricate facade of the Albany Evening Journal on Broadway.  With his little horns, he may represent a printer's devil and is just one of many ornamental features on this spectacular landmark.

A Capitol Lady

Framed by berries, this lovely lady is yet another of the scores of carved faces that decorate the State Capitol, inside and out. 

The Pelican

An intricately carved pelican on the First Presbyterian Church overlooking Washington Park at State and Willett Streets.

Gray Sky Lizard

A carved lizard perched above a window on City Hall.

Web of Stone

A carved spider on the State Capitol, just above the north side of the old Goblin Passage.

The Capitol Dog

An amiable canine face is one of the many carving on the exterior of the New York State Capitol. It can be found on the State Street side of the port-cochere which runs beneath the massive eastern stairs.

Other Capitol carvings I've blogged about:

Capitol Faces
Capitol Cherub

Capitol Faces

It might sound a little cliched to say it, but the New York State Capitol is most definitely a showcase of the stone carver's art. Both inside and out, the building features scores of stone faces. Some are portraits of figures from the State's history, others were left to the whims of the carvers. This handsome male face, surrounded by hammers and a carpenter's square, can be found just above the south side of the Goblin Passage.

Central Avenue Whimsy

This brownstone on Central Avenue hasn't aged well. The facade is blackened with pollution and scarred with remnants of poorly cleaned graffiti. But it retains some eye-catching details like this whimsical carved figure.

City Hall Grotesque

Yet another carved creature on City Hall. This one, just to the right of the front entrance, is quite busy chomping on his own tail.

Other decorative figures on City Hall include:

City Hall Lion
A Mysterious Owl
Another Stone Face