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Photos: A Fantastical Lemon Wonderland Grows Under Some Scaffolding On Ninth Avenue
By
Scott Lynch
Published Jul 15, 2021
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By
Scott Lynch
Published Jul 15, 2021
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Scaffolding sucks, and it always feels like once it's up it's up forever. But hey, this is New York City baby, you learn to live with it, right?
Or, if you're the $35 billion development company Brookfield Properties, you could make scaffolding lemonade. They own the 67-story mixed-use tower One Manhattan West near Hudson Yards, which was slammed with a construction shed the size of a football field because of construction work next door (which, it should be noted, is also a Brookfield property). Instead of living with the eyesore, they transformed all 30,000-square-feet of public plaza under that scaffolding into a magical lemonworld called Citrovia, and now invite the city to come over and play.
Jason from Washington Heights was one of the many visitors who showed up on Tuesday afternoon to do exactly that, decked out in a lemon-patterned shirt, lemon socks, a lemon mask, and, as he enthusiastically revealed, pink lemon underwear. "I absolutely love lemons," he told Gothamist. "I did a project for this art class back in college and lemons just kind of became the main focus of it; ever since I've just had a natural attraction towards them. So as soon as we heard about this, which was like an hour ago, we immediately hopped on an A train to come down and see it."
It's kind of random, obvious Instagram bait, but it also works. For one thing, Citrovia's design, by an outfit of "creative technologists" called The Cuttlefish, and the execution, by the craftspeople collective Adirondack Studios, is impressively detailed. There are more than 700 absurdly oversized lemons in all, which come sliced, whole and piled high, sprouting from the ground, bursting from trees, or peeled for a twist.
And the trees of Citrovia really tower, standing up to 20 feet tall ("that's bigger than a giraffe!" declares a helpful sign), and lush with some 3,800 handcrafted leaves made from foam and steel. Adding to the otherworldly feel of the place is the "sky", made from two miles of softly lit fabric billowing across the 40-foot-high ceiling.
Then there's the smell — they even piped-in a lemon scent that's wafting around to complete the effect.
But even if all these crazy lemons don't make you happy, Citrovia is also noteworthy for the staggering amount of seating available within its borders, offering proper tables, moveable chairs, marble-smooth benches (equipped, it should be said, with anti-skate brackets) that all line the lawns and wilderness areas.
As one visitor, Cassandra told Gothamist, "I came down here to enjoy the lemons. I came all the way from the Bronx, just for the lemons, and it was definitely worth the trip. I enjoy the sit-down areas, and the little amusements that they have... It's really calming. I like it."
Citrovia is located at One Manhattan West Plaza, on Ninth Avenue between 31st and 32nd streets, and is free and open to the public daily from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. (@citrovianyc)
Tagged
public art
citrus
Scott Lynch
Photojournalist, food writer, preschool receptionist. Love NYC.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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