An Unusual Tribute to Bill Cunningham
Update 7/5/16: New York City will in fact honor Bill Cunningham by renaming the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street — the one with the Louis Vuitton flagship — “Bill Cunningham Corner.” The christening ceremony will take place July 6. “Bill Cunningham turned our sidewalks into runways and New Yorkers into models,” said mayor Bill de Blasio in a statement. “His vivid photos helped define New York as the fashion capital of the world.”
In the wake of Bill Cunningham’s death over the weekend, there’s been a profound outpouring of love for the New York Times’ social and street photographer. Now, a petition has launched on Change.org to rename his resident intersection of New York, Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, “Bill Cunningham’s Corner.” What else?
“For decades, the extraordinary photographer Bill Cunningham stood on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street,” says the petition, which is currently only 54 signatures shy of its goal. “In 2009, Bill Cunningham was named a ‘New York Living Landmark.’ Now, more than ever, it is incumbent upon the City and the Landmarks Commission to convert this to a permanent status!”