The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. To celebrate we’re taking a look at the sculptures that used to adorn the Robert Moses-built (and TBTA-owned) New York Coliseum convention center at Columbus Circle–now the Time Warner Center. The sculptures were removed from the Coliseum before it was demolished in 2000 and now decorate the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel Ventilation Building just north of Battery Park.
Designed by Paul Manship (who also created the statue of Prometheus at the Rockefeller Center ice-skating rink), the cast-aluminum panels depict the seals of the United States, the State of New York, the City of New York, and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. In typical Moses fashion, the TBTA’s seal was included along with the symbols of the city and the nation. Three of the panels are on display on the exterior of the Ventialtion Building, with the seal of the United States relegated to the interior space.
More about the TBTA (now called MTA Bridges and Tunnels) after the jump.
Established in April 1933, the original Triborough Bridge Authority facilitated the construction of the Triborough Bridge through the sale of bonds, which would be repaid with tolls levied on motorists who used the bridge. The TBA later merged with the New York City Tunnel Authority to become the TBTA and finished construction on the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. In 1968, the TBTA was folded into the newly created Metropolitan Transportation Authority and began using some of the toll dollars it generated to provide financial support for the MTA’s public transit side. After incorporation with the MTA, the TBTA was renamed MTA Bridges and Tunnels.
{ 0 comments… add one now }