unseen pendulum
counts out the passing of days–
I try to escape,

deflect its movement–
employing useless ruses,
futile sleights of hand—

those arrogant hours
gaze unflinching and unmoved
by all my attempts—

my disguises, masks,
shadows cast into riddles–
overruled by years

The Delacorte Clock in Central Park, part of the Zoo grounds, was unveiled in 1965. A gift from philanthropist George Delacorte, who was inspired by the animated clocks he saw on his trips to Europe, it is a collaboration between several designers. Spanish artist Fernando Texidor and American architect Edward Coe Embury conceived of the basic structure, and the bronze animals were designed by Italian sculptor Andrea Spadini.

The animals–a penguin, kangaroo, bear, elephant, goat and hippo–rotate every half hour and play a series of tunes–which would have been seasonal holiday tunes when I visited in December, but the rest of the year consist of mostly nursery rhymes–while two monkeys on the top bang a brass bell. As one article I read said: “It’s not always in working order” because it must be constantly cleaned to remain operational. It didn’t appear to be working the day I was there anyway, unfortunately.

You can see close ups of the animals here. And here’s a video of the clock chiming (though I have to admit I have know idea what tune it’s playing…)

When you enter the zoo via Fifth Avenue, you approach by way of The Arsenal. I knew nothing about the building before doing research for this post, but it has an interesting history. The second oldest building in Central Park, it was designed by Martin E Thompson and constructed in 1851 as a munitions supply depot for the New York State Militia. When the city allocated the land for Central Park, they bought the building and its surrounding grounds.

The Arsenal was almost torn down many times; but after several renovations, in 1934 it became (and remains) the headquarters of the City Parks Departments. In between it served as a police precinct and weather bureau, and was the original location of the collections of the American Museum of Natural History, with exhibits open to the public.

Starting in 1859 it also served as a menagerie, which one article said was housing for the animals of PT Barnum. Containing animal cages both inside (for a few years) and outside the building, the menagerie was a popular attraction. The actual Zoo, built and funded through the WPA, opened in the 1930s. Now part of the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Zoo was renovated in the 1980s to be more animal-friendly, with an emphasis on education and conservation.

The Arsenal was landmarked in 1967.

There are evidently WPA murals and an art gallery inside (the next exhibit opens the end of January), so I’ll have to make a trip back to check out the interior.

This little building, looking a lot like a guard house, is by the Zoo entrance inside the park.

I revised the poem I wrote for the Kick About this week for the W3 prompt from Suzanne to use a Japanese poetry form–I used a senryu chain–on the subject of yutori. The definition of yutori I picked was “time (to spare)”

And don’t forget to check out all the other doors at Thursday Doors, hosted by Dan Antion.