5 in 1, Steel sculpture at 1 Police Plaza, Manhattan, United States.
5 in 1 is a weathering steel sculpture located at Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan, made of five large interlocking discs. The work stands about 35 feet (11 meters) tall, and its geometric form changes in appearance depending on where you stand when looking at it.
5 in 1 was commissioned by the New York City government in 1971 for $80,000 and created by Tony Rosenthal between 1973 and 1974. It was installed on the brick-paved pedestrian mall of 1 Police Plaza in 1974. At that time it was the largest metal public art sculpture installed in New York City.
Tony Rosenthal titled the work "5 in 1" as a metaphor for New York City's five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Each of the five interlocking discs, weighing 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg), stands for one borough. The sculpture sits on the brick-paved pedestrian mall of 1 Police Plaza, in front of the New York City Police Department headquarters.
The sculpture is on a paved pedestrian plaza next to the police headquarters in Lower Manhattan, within walking distance of several subway stations. The area is busiest on weekdays during working hours, so visiting on a weekday morning or midday gives the best view without large crowds.
Weathering steel does not rust in the usual sense: it forms a stable outer layer that protects the metal underneath and slowly turns a warm reddish-brown color over the years. This means the sculpture looks noticeably different today than it did when it was first installed.
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