Thursday, August 23, 2018 5:23 AM

The buildings on this square are older than most I have seen. Elsewhere, everything looks blunt, oblong, modern. Here, the architecture flows to fit the roads. A curved face and rounded windows front a flatiron hotel at the acute angle between two streets. Down the block, roofs and porches have crenelations and details designed to be enjoyed. There is some graffiti, but not much. An apparent consensus has determined which surfaces may be decorated and which must be left alone. One wall shows figures of people, cryptic inscriptions, half of a Spider-Man, and, above it all, a clearly written "ouch". Another building that, in another country, I would be sure had been a synagogue, has layers of color near the ground. But the curved carved columns and stained-glass Jewish stars above it are undisturbed.