French Flats

 In the 1880s, Manhattan apartment buildings were constructed for the middle class and well-to-do, as opposed to the tenements that housed many families. These "French Flats," as they were called, typically had two families per floor. This is one of those buildings, the Jeanne d’Arc Apartments on West 14th Street, and Joan herself stands guard with her sword and shield. She is in stark contrast with the red brick.

                                                                Joan (New York Short Stories), work in progress, (click on image for larger view)