2000: The Summer of the Cows

At least once a year Manhattan has a display of public art to keep the locals and tourists amused.  Some are extremely creative and become huge hits like The Gates in Central Park. 

Other efforts, like the waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge are less successful. 

But I think my all time favorite were the cows. 

It wasn’t exactly an original idea.  The inspiration was a lion display in Zurich in 1986. 

But the idea really took off when they switched to cows in 1999 in Chicago. 

NY was next in 2000. 

Now over 50 countries have had their own cow parades. 

It was lots of fun walking around the city looking for them and taking photos. 

Each cow was more creative than the last. 

But of course my favorite was this little swimmer! 

At the end of the summer, the cows were auctioned off for charity. 

They raised $1.3 million. 

Not bad at all.

Ciao

PJ

© 2012 PJ Lehrer