--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New York is nearly a grave. The Empire…" description: "\"New York is nearly a grave. The Empire State Building is its gravestone.\" — Walter Tevis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/walter-tevis-34092_building_new-york-is-nearly-a-grave-the-empire-st_2840019.jpg" --- # New York is nearly a grave. The Empire State Building is… ![“New York is nearly a grave. The Empire State Building is its gravestone.” quote by Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/walter-tevis-34092_building_new-york-is-nearly-a-grave-the-empire-st_2840019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/walter-tevis-34092_building_new-york-is-nearly-a-grave-the-empire-st_2840019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/walter-tevis-34092_building_new-york-is-nearly-a-grave-the-empire-st_2840019.jpg) > “New York is nearly a grave. The Empire State Building is its gravestone.” [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The city feels lifeless, its iconic skyline a tombstone. **In simple terms:** Cities can feel dead. Key Takeaway Seek vitality beyond symbols. Themes urban decay loneliness modernity Mood melancholic observational Type literary poetic When to use this quote - urban planning - mental health - travel - photography Key Concepts sociology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What makes a place feel alive? - Can architecture inspire hope? A Different Perspective Symbolic language may exaggerate reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Empire state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empire-state/) [Empire state building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empire-state-building/) [Empires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empires/) [Grave Empire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grave-empire-3718170/) [Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graves/) [Gravestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravestone/) [Nearly Grave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearly-grave-3718169/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [When it was over my daughter said, 'Oh, I felt so sorry for him - he didn't want to hurt you, he liked you.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-wray/when-it-was-over-my-daughter-said-oh-i-felt-so-sorry-for-him-he-didn/) [Fay Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-wray/) > [The Empire State Building is the closest thing to heaven in this city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kerr/the-empire-state-building-is-the-closest-thing-to-heaven-in-this-city/) [Deborah Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kerr/) > [My favorite optimist was an American who jumped off the Empire State Building, and as he passed the 42nd floor, the window washers heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who-jumped-off-the-empire-state/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [the Empire State Building was tall. So what? Just proved New York builders didn't know when to stop at a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-l-rice/the-empire-state-building-was-tall-so-what-just-proved-new-york/) [Craig L. Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-l-rice/) > [I knew a girl so ugly, I took her to the top of the Empire State building and planes started to attack her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-knew-a-girl-so-ugly-i-took-her-to-the-top-of-the-empire-state/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Overall, The Population Bomb was probably too optimistic. I was writing about climate change - Anne and I actually wrote the book. We discussed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/overall-the-population-bomb-was-probably-too-optimistic-i-was-writing/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [Eddie Fisher married to Elizabeth Taylor is like me trying to wash the Empire State Building with a bar of soap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/eddie-fisher-married-to-elizabeth-taylor-is-like-me-trying-to-wash/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [“But sometimes, I feel like something's missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. That little something extra. Excitement. A challenge. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-michele/but-sometimes-i-feel-like-something-s-missing-and-i-can-t-quite-put/) [Beth Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-michele/) > [Owning great landmarks such as the Empire State Building or Trump Tower or the General Motors Building or the Plaza Hotel - there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/owning-great-landmarks-such-as-the-empire-state-building-or-trump/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“Everyone knows what a penny dropped form the top of the Empire State Building can do. So if it started to rain pennies, millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-mcdonell/everyone-knows-what-a-penny-dropped-form-the-top-of-the-empire-state/) [Nick McDonell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-mcdonell/) > [“Our society was utterly, ruinously derivative (although the word derivative as a criticism is itself derivative). We were the first human beings who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-society-was-utterly-ruinously-derivative-although-the-word/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Nerd boy? Where he? (Biff) 'Okay... sad that they couldn’t even form a complete sentence. See what happens when you abuse steroids? Dudes should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/nerd-boy-where-he-biff-okay-sad-that-they-couldn-t-even-form-a/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“You can build the Empire State Building. Train the Prussian army. Elevate the hierarchy of a totalitarian state higher than the throne of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-can-build-the-empire-state-building-train-the-prussian-army/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [When I first came to New York City, what I was thrilled about was not the Empire State Building, or the Statue of Liberty;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/when-i-first-came-to-new-york-city-what-i-was-thrilled-about-was-not/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [“... and left decimated. Not for myself, but for all the single women out there trying to date. I wanted to run to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/and-left-decimated-not-for-myself-but-for-all-the-single-women-out/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) ## More by Walter Tevis > [I feel free and strong. If I were not a reader of books I could not feel this way. Whatever may happen to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/i-feel-free-and-strong-if-i-were-not-a-reader-of-books-i-could-not/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“And winning; that can be heavy on your back, too, like a monkey. You drop that load too when you find yourself an excuse."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/and-winning-that-can-be-heavy-on-your-back-too-like-a-monkey-you-drop/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“Reading is too intimate,' Spofforth said. 'It will put you too close to the feelings and ideas of others. It will disturb and confuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/reading-is-too-intimate-spofforth-said-it-will-put-you-too-close-to/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [Reading is the subtle and thorough sharing of the ideas and feelings by underhanded means. It is a gross invasion of Privacy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/reading-is-the-subtle-and-thorough-sharing-of-the-ideas-and-feelings/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“It changed the life of mankind more radically than the printing press. It created suburbs and a hundred other dependencies—sexual and economic and narcotic—upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/it-changed-the-life-of-mankind-more-radically-than-the-printing-press/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“He was sick, sick from the long dangerous trip he had taken, sick from all the medicine —the pills, the inoculations, the inhaled gases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/he-was-sick-sick-from-the-long-dangerous-trip-he-had-taken-sick-from/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“There had been a few times over the past year when she felt like this, with her mind not only dizzied but nearly terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past-year-when-she-felt-like-this/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [The strange thing about television is that it - doesn't \*tell\* you everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/the-strange-thing-about-television-is-that-it-doesn-t-tell-you/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/only-the-mockingbird-sings-at-the-edge-of-the-woods/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“I feel free and strong. If I were not a reader of books I could not feel this way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/i-feel-free-and-strong-if-i-were-not-a-reader-of-books-i-could-not-2/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“It all began, I suppose, with learning to build fires—to warm the cave and keep the predators out. And it ended with time-release Valium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/it-all-began-i-suppose-with-learning-to-build-fires-to-warm-the-cave/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“He began to see a kind of beauty in the strangeness of the field, too. It was quite different from what he had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/he-began-to-see-a-kind-of-beauty-in-the-strangeness-of-the-field-too/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) [Explore all 13 Walter Tevis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) [Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "New York is nearly a grave. 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