I was visiting a friend on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and as I was walking down his street towards his apartment, saw this face glaring at me. This wasn’t on my friend’s building, but can you imagine having this face greet you every day when you come home? Here’s a stepped-back look at the full entrance to this particular building:
As you can see, there are two faces on this entrance, flanking the top of the front door. What are these things called? Gargoyles? My thought about a gargoyle is that it includes a body, like the famous gargoyles on Notre Dame in Paris. So perhaps a more accurate term for a face used as an architectural detail is a “mascaron,” which is an ornament in the form of a human, mythical, or animal face. Mascarons are usually applied to arches, doorways, windows, or friezes of buildings. A mascaron’s primary purpose is strictly decorative, though historically they were sometimes believed to ward off evil spirits. I love that idea!
The picture at the top of the page is the face from the left side of the doorway, here’s a look at the mascaron on the right side who is helping to keep this building “safe.”
