Alamo (sculpture)
Alamo is an outdoor sculpture by Bernard Rosenthal, located on Astor Place, on the island of Manhattan in New York City. It takes the form of a black cube, 8 feet long on each side, mounted on a corner. The faces of the cube are not planes - they have various indentations, protrusions, and ledges, some of which are informally used as garbage cans. It is not widely known as "Alamo," the name given on a small plaque on one corner of the base. Generally it is simply called "the Cube."
Installed in 1967, it has since become a popular meeting place in the East Village. It stands in the middle of an intersection, across the street from both entrances to the Astor Place station of the New York Subway and the Cooper Union.
The Cube's distinguishing feature is that it can be spun on its vertical axis. One person can usually push it slowly with some exertion, and two or more people without trouble. Sitting or sleeping in the shade of the cube is also popular, although the whole installation does have a disconcerting tendency to wobble due to lack of maintenance.
The cube was once turned into a Rubik's Cube as a prank. See External Links.