New York Winter Wonderland

We got a good blanket of snow here in the city last night. Not as much as New England, but probably around six inches. It was falling in massive white flakes, some the size of a fist.

Sleet came later, but that let up quickly, leaving the city blanketed in fresh, white snow.

I think New York is at it's most beautiful during and after snow storms. (Which doesn't mean snow storms are necessarily fun, as they make getting anywhere next to impossible.) All the grit and dirt is covered up with a fresh layer of white. Snow rests on the fantastic architectural features of the classic buildings that line the streets. Most importantly, everything is quiet, save for the rhythmic scrape of snow shovels and the crunching of snow being packed below the tires of passing cars. Fewer people are out bustling around.

It's like you take regular New York and put a trumpet mute on it. The same city is still there -- it's just a little quieter, the pitch is a little different, and everything is a little softer.

After the sleet stopped, I grabbed my camera and went out to shoot a few pictures. The sun was just coming out, and the snowy trees and buildings looked fantastic against the brilliant blue sky.

Before the clouds broke, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine was shrouded in snow.


Someone on my street built a tiny snowman on the sidewalk.


The trees on Broadway were still covered in snow as the sun came out:


The lights of the trees on Columbia's College Walk shine under the snow.


Columbia's Low Library, surrounded by snowy stairs.


Birds fly across Columbia's central campus:


The Alma Mater statue, looking out from under a cap of snow, watches Columbia's campus.

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