Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting AT&T Headquarters where I beheld for myself the massive 16-ton, 24-ft high “Golden Boy” also once known as the “Genius of Electricity” and renamed “The Spirit of Communication” in the early part of the 20th century. It was sculpted out of bronze and layered with gold leaf by Evelyn Beatrice Longman in 1914-15 and placed atop the original AT&T Headquarters on lower Broadway in New York in 1916.
The AT&T lobby was remodeled to accomodate the sculpture. The lobby is contemporary and sleek, showing off the company’s latest technological wares to great effect. The lobby’s design makes the huge sculpture even more startling and dramatic, as well as giving company employees a historical connection to their roots. Pete, the information-booth guy, spends most of his day, as far as I could tell, proudly explaining the piece’s provenance to bedazzled visitors. (Nice job, Pete.)
The commission of such a work must have been an enormous prize, and it is a little surprising now to think that in 1914Â it went to a female artist from Ohio. But Longman had already secured her reputation with a “Victory” piece at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904.
By the way, this photo was taken with my IPhone, which I think is kind of poetic.
UPDATE:Â A design-doing FrontBurnervian informs me that the lobby I so admire was done by Gensler, the same sylish folks who designed the new D Magazine World Headquarters.
