Washington Park Arch

The full Washington Square Arch, seen across the plaza — Stanford White's marble triumphal arch standing complete, its frieze and spandrels carved with eagles and stars. Behind it, the spire of the Empire State Building shows just over the rooftops.

Photographed May 2013. A single figure sits on a bench at the corner, giving the scale away. This is the straight-on, whole-monument view — the arch as the Village's front door, with the rest of Manhattan rising politely behind it.