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Hello Kitty Statues in New York City

My number one travel rule (OK, general rule of life) is to always have a camera on hand. Always. Granted I am a little obsessed with taking photos and capturing moments and capturing everything I see. But you just don’t ever want to be caught without one when you really want/need/have to have one.

Like when it was late on my last night in New York and I was walking the half mile between my hotel room and a bar to get a few drinks. And while walking I stumbled upon a courtyard full of giant Hello Kitty statues.

The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book - Everything You Need to Have and Record an Epic Road Trip! By Valerie Bromann

The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book

Everything You Need to Have and Record an Epic Road Trip!

Enjoy fun games and challenges to pass the time on your next road trip and have a keepsake to look back on for years to come with this entertaining must-have for your next vacation.

Hello. Kitty. Statues.

Hello Kitty Statues at the Lever House Art Collection in New York City.

Hello Kitty Statues at the Lever House Art Collection in New York City.

As a child I loved Hello Kitty. I loved My Melody. I loved her whole gang. My favorites were the coloring books that I meticulously filled inside the lines and the little stamp kits that came in the little plastic boxes that you could buy at FAO Schwartz.

There was something fresh and innocent and oh so pink about Hello Kitty that captured my heart. While it wasn’t a love affair that lasted forever, I still have a soft spot in my heart for the little cat.

And I definitely have a spot in my heart for seemingly random giant statues of her in New York City! I mean, it’s not like Japan where spotting her likeness is no different than spotting a Starbucks on the corner here.

I didn’t have my SLR around my neck like my usual touristy-self does, but I definitely had a point and shoot tucked into my purse to capture these beauties on digital film.

Miffy Hello Kitty Statues at the Lever House Art Collection in New York City.

My Melody Hello Kitty Statues at the Lever House Art Collection in New York City.

My Melody Hello Kitty Statues at the Lever House Art Collection in New York City.

The iconic cartoons were erected by somewhat-controversial artist Tom Sachs in 2007 and face out into the unsuspecting Park Avenue. The courtyard features a 21-foot tall bronze Hello Kitty statue surrounded by three other ten-foot statues: Hello Kitty and her friends Miffy and My Melody. The New York Times quotes Sachs as describing Hello Kitty as a “merchandising icon” with “an almost Buddhist sense of nothingness.”  You can see this in these sculptures as all of them have a somewhat ghostly appearance, being cast all in white with some of the features, like their eyes, not fully being drawn out.

Hello Kitty Statues at the Lever House Art Collection in New York City.

But whether or not they lack Hello Kitty’s iconic colors they are true works of art indeed. And I am happy that I had a camera on hand to capture them.

Hello Kitty Statues at the Lever House Art Collection in New York City.

Site: Hello Kitty Statues
Location: Lever House Art Collection, 390 Park Avenue, New York City, NY — between E. 53rd and E. 54th St.
Cost: Free to see.
Hours: Always visible
Date: July 4, 2009

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Hello Kitty Statues at the Lever House Art Collection in New York City.

VALerie BROMANN

Founder & Head Road Tripper

Val is the founder and head road tripper at Silly America. Having grown up near Berwyn's famed car kabob, The Spindle, and a restaurant with a cow on its roof, her fascination with roadside attractions started early. Today, Val has visited hundreds roadside attractions across the United States and is constantly on the lookout for the next BIG thing!

The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book - Everything You Need to Have and Record an Epic Road Trip! By Valerie Bromann

The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book

Everything You Need to Have and Record an Epic Road Trip!

BY Valerie Bromann

Enjoy fun games and challenges to pass the time on your next road trip and have a keepsake to look back on for years to come with this entertaining must-have for your next vacation.

The road trip you’ve been dreaming of starts here! Journal about your stops and get to know your fellow passengers with activities and exercises designed to pass the time and bring you closer together. Instead of “Are we there yet?” you’ll find yourself asking, “We’re there already?”. Complete with prompts you can turn to while driving between locations, this journal will one day be a memento of your life-changing trip.