Five Greek temples in a row on a Staten Island lawn, a hall of the census inside the main one, a walled scholar's garden behind.
Sailors' Snug Harbor opened in 1833 on the north shore of Staten Island as a home for aged and worn out seamen, funded by the will of Robert Richard Randall. Its row of five Greek Revival temples faces the harbor; Minard Lafever designed the central building. They were among the first buildings protected under the city's landmarks law in 1965. The site is now a cultural center with the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden, which opened in 1999.
Source · Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden ↗
The row of Greek Revival temple fronts with Ionic porticos, the long front lawn, the Music Hall, the Chinese Scholar's Garden with its pond, pavilion and moon gate. Mood: staten island stillness. Everything is procedural geometry with painted surfaces; nothing is a scan or a photograph. The room is an interpretation, and it hangs the New Yorkers the census recorded at this place first.