You Can’t Not See It

There’s a fairly well-known phenomenon by which once you’re aware of something you start to see it all over. This isn’t the result of inanimate objects in the natural world conspiring against us but rather the result of sensitization. We can look at something for years and not see it because we don’t think about it, but once we are conscious of it, we can’t help but see it. This happens a lot when we are reviewing damage to a building. People have been living with small cracks in their plaster without giving it a second thought, but once “an expert” discusses cracks with them, they notice cracks everywhere.

Just because we’re the experts doesn’t;t mean we’re immune to this quirk of perception. I was crossing the street in the East Village and noticed the storefronts in the one-story building left of the tiger stripes. Here’s a close up:

Those are two of our old friends, tied-arch storefront lintels. I’m really not searching for these things, but I made myself more aware of them by blogging about them. Three obvious points: first, the “Continental” signage shows just how easily the arch can be hidden from view; second, the building was once taller, as no one would go to all the trouble to build these arches to support a few feet of roof parapet; and third, the arches are part of a system including the (black-painted) cast-iron columns that support them.