David E RetikE 51st St between 3rd Ave and Lexington AveHeart Three · Location 342 · Drawn March 2004Hover over or select the image to reveal a hidden view.PhotographsDownload photograph 1Download photograph 2Download photograph 3Download photograph 4Download photograph 5Download photograph 6Download photograph 7Video podcast0:00On 51st Street, on the north side of the street, between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue,0:06is the fire station for Engine Company No. 8, Ladder Company No. 2, and the 8th Battalion.0:12As of spring 2006, the fire station is empty and is being, from what we understand, repaired.0:18The Engine Company sign is a little broken, and the windows are covered with newspaper.0:22To the left of the big, red, retractable, wooden door for the fire engines is a black surface.0:30caddy corner to the door. It's got a metal yellow protective mechanism at its base and the drawing0:35was done on the two and a half feet of black in between it and the red door. This is David E.0:42Reddick. He was drawn in March of 2004. His drawing is counting one person.0:55A firehouse. It still surprises me when we stumble across fire stations on our travels.1:02Just inside the doorway on the left, there was a memorial tribute space dedicated to a collection of firefighters who had died from that one station.1:11There were a lot.1:14The firemen on duty were kind and straight-faced.1:17I remember one gentleman in particular with determined and sad gray eyes. He never smiled,1:24but respected what we were trying to accomplish and gave us permission to draw at the entrance1:29to the station near their memorial. We drew an airline passenger from American Airlines Flight1:3511 named David E Retik. As I drew, I looked at the names of the lost firemen and acknowledged to1:42myself that we had drawn most of them in the last two years. They had been drawn walking down the1:47streets, standing guard, and just exiting on the walls of Manhattan. I decided to not mention1:53anything about who had been drawn and where, but instead found myself more grateful than normal1:59that we were embarking on this endeavor and looking steadfastly forward to its conclusion.2:07David E Retik, 33, hated being away from his family, a son, a daughter, a pregnant wife,2:13but he was a partner in Alta Communications and he traveled regularly.2:19On his desk, a little box has pictures of Ben, 4, Molly, 2 on one side.2:25Press the button on the other side and their voices emerge.2:28I love you, Daddy. I miss you.← Location 341Heart Three · Location 342Location 343 →
