Fizgig

✎ Columbus Circle, named for Christopher Columbus, is a traffic circle where four streets meet and the point from which all official distances from New York City are measured. Completed in 1905 and renovated a century later, the circle was designed by William P. Eno – a businessman who pioneered many early innovations in road safety and traffic control. The monument at the center of Columbus Circle, created by Italian sculptor Gaetano Russo, consists of a marble statue of Columbus atop a 70ft. granite rostral column decorated with bronze reliefs representing Columbus' ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. Its pedestal features an angel holding a globe. The circle was renovated in 2005 when a fountain was added, along with benches and flower beds (though why anyone would want to sit in a circle surrounded by one of the most heavily trafficked intersections in NYC & inhale all those fumes, I can't imagine =P).

☚ Higher resolution, larger version.