Category:Big C Rock

English: The "Big C Rock" is a "C" painted on a 100-foot rock of Fordham gneiss facing the Harlem River in the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood of the Bronx. The "C" stands for Columbia University, whose sports complex is across the river on the Manhattan side.

The "C" was first painted there – with the permission of the New York Central Railroad, which owned the land – in 1952 by the coxswain of Columbia's heavyweight rowing team, Robert Prendergast, and the heavyweight stroke, Donald Fagan. They did not finish the work before they graduated, but it was completed by others by 1961. It was touched up periodically until an accidnet occurred in 1976, and concerns about liability stopped the upkeep. The letter was refreshed again in 1985, when Dan Eiref came up with a safety rig which was acceptable to the university, which contributed $300 to the project. The letter measures 60 feet by 60 feet Although sometimes listed as an "historic landmark", the "Big C Rock" is not a designated New York City Landmark. (Sources: My Inwood, Forgotten NY, and Columbia College Today)