Hello - this is my first post and I'm pretty new to this, so please excuse me if I say anything that was covered or is just generally stupid. After living in NY for over 20 years and appreciating the city's history and architecture I have some different thoughts on what seem to be established ideas. I'll jump right in... First, 'shadow of the grey giant'. I don't agree that this is the statue of liberty. It has a distinctly green color that it had in the 80s. I don't know anyone who would refer to it as grey. What about the Empire State Building? clearly grey, giant and overshadowed most of NYC in the early 80s. Back when it was built - it was a grey giant that overshadowed everything. Incidentally, the windows have a red outline that resembles the lower left glass pane, but that may be a stretch. Second, I know people have mentioned that the spires in the stained glass may be a Russian orthodox church, but that seems to get dismissed in preference to Ellis Island. I think the spire at Ellis are too far apart to give that perspective and they are all the same size. It also looks like there are crosses on top of the spire in the image. I can't seem to attach an image to this, but look up these two churches: Uzhhorod Ukraine - Russian Orthodox Church (just to give an idea of the look) Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord By the way, the second church in Brooklyn right near McCarren Park and the windows look just like to window representation in 12 down to the border and double under the panes. The last thing I'll mention in this post is the "Toward the isle of B." line. I know it would seem to make sense that it's Bedloe's island, but just keep in mind, just to the east is Black Tom island (it the past it was an actual island and has quite a history with immigrants landing there in America from Ellis Island as well as an explosion of munitions about to be shipped to Russia. In addition, Roosevelt Island was named Blackwell's Island previously and was specifically for housing the poor (think 'simple roots'). And the island is narrow, or 'slender'. There's still a lot that doesn't make sense to me, but figured I would throw those first few ideas out there... AJS

I forgot to mention - there is a bridge that runs over Roosevelt Island - 'cars abound'. And cable cars run over it, which do make a whirring sound. Maybe they only ran in the summer in the early 80s, I'm not sure. AJS

AJSNYC wrote:: I forgot to mention - there is a bridge that runs over Roosevelt Island - 'cars abound'. And cable cars run over it, which do make a whirring sound. Maybe they only ran in the summer in the early 80s, I'm not sure. AJS They ran all year long. but excellent concept!

Unknown: Hello - this is my first post Wait for it...

So you never had a first post? Just started neck-deep in it I guess. You're probably right, no need injecting some new thoughts into something that's gone unsolved for decades. Don't worry, I won't waste any more of your time getting you of what is clearly the correct path. But thank you for responding nonetheless.

Bravo AJSYNC! I just got into the secret less than a month ago, and like the way you think. I don't live anywhere near any of the dig sites, but plan to travel once I nail down a great spot. Keep up the happy productive thoughts and ideas. And have an excellent day! Adam

AJSNYC wrote:: Hello - this is my first post and I'm pretty new to this, so please excuse me if I say anything that was covered or is just generally stupid. After living in NY for over 20 years and appreciating the city's history and architecture I have some different thoughts on what seem to be established ideas. I'll jump right in... First, 'shadow of the grey giant'. I don't agree that this is the statue of liberty. It has a distinctly green color that it had in the 80s. I don't know anyone who would refer to it as grey. What about the Empire State Building? clearly grey, giant and overshadowed most of NYC in the early 80s. Back when it was built - it was a grey giant that overshadowed everything. Incidentally, the windows have a red outline that resembles the lower left glass pane, but that may be a stretch. Second, I know people have mentioned that the spires in the stained glass may be a Russian orthodox church, but that seems to get dismissed in preference to Ellis Island. I think the spire at Ellis are too far apart to give that perspective and they are all the same size. It also looks like there are crosses on top of the spire in the image. I can't seem to attach an image to this, but look up these two churches: Uzhhorod Ukraine - Russian Orthodox Church (just to give an idea of the look) Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord By the way, the second church in Brooklyn right near McCarren Park and the windows look just like to window representation in 12 down to the border and double under the panes. The last thing I'll mention in this post is the "Toward the isle of B." line. I know it would seem to make sense that it's Bedloe's island, but just keep in mind, just to the east is Black Tom island (it the past it was an actual island and has quite a history with immigrants landing there in America from Ellis Island as well as an explosion of munitions about to be shipped to Russia. In addition, Roosevelt Island was named Blackwell's Island previously and was specifically for housing the poor (think 'simple roots'). And the island is narrow, or 'slender'. There's still a lot that doesn't make sense to me, but figured I would throw those first few ideas out there... AJS Hey Welcome! Yes you are right the Statue of liberty makes a very bad grey giant, It really hasn't been considered as such for quite a while though. while some people think the spires on ellis island are a match, most don't it would only make sense to be Bedloe's island if the casque was south of it. so it probably isn't There is soooooo much to read here. In this instance search is your friend... ie. search on Grey giant, or Bedloe, and then skim the records, (realize search only shows abreviated posts) you have to open them to read all of them. but they will be chronological newest first.... Good Luck! feel free to ask questions. Ignore what you don't like, your ideas are as good as anyones.

AJSNYC wrote:: First, 'shadow of the grey giant'. I don't agree that this is the statue of liberty. It has a distinctly green color that it had in the 80s. I don't know anyone who would refer to it as grey. Welcome to the forum AJSNYC. The Statue of Liberty may not be grey, but the woman in the picture is... (The "grey giant" might also refer to whatever the grey rectangle outlined in red represents.)

WhiteRabbit wrote:: The Statue of Liberty may not be grey, but the woman in the picture is... huh, In the images I have she is tan and beige and her dress is white.

“The shadow” solidifies the grey giant for me, referring to the border (southern edge of Manhattan) of her dress. Similar to the “shadow of the long palm” being the border of the tennis courts at Lafayette Park.

I agree that the image is a stylized reference to the statue of Liberty for city placement (like the windmill/water tower in Chicago), but the verses seem to be more literal as far as putting you in the right spot. In the two solved puzzles, it seems like each verse element references something very specific near the treasure spot while the images are a mix of both. Going by that logic, the 'grey giant' (and everything else in the verses) should be physical close. At one point I thought maybe Bryant Park, in the shadow of the Empire State Building, next to the Public Library (known for the lion statues - people think there may be a lion head in the dress) and the word 'whirls' is on Bryant's monument which is such an odd word to begin with and the verse uses the word 'whirring'. The Pan Am building is very close to Bryant Park and famously has a helipad on the roof which may not have been used in the winter (if you agree the whirring is a helicopter sound). I couldn't figure out a match to everything, but would be happy to continue exploring that option and the history of the area if anyone wants. The physical markers in and around Bryant Park are very different now. I am new here, so maybe that doesn't make any sense or maybe it's all been said before. I understand the suggestions to look through all the previous research, but I'm trying to take a crack at it before letting anything cloud my judgment. I think the problem with NYC may ultimately be that the city is just so different than it was back then and if the verses speak of physical elements in the vicinity they may just be gone...

maltedfalcon wrote:: huh, In the images I have she is tan and beige and her dress is white. AJSNYC wrote:: In the two solved puzzles, it seems like each verse element references something very specific near the treasure spot while the images are a mix of both. Going by that logic, the 'grey giant' (and everything else in the verses) should be physical close. It was just an idle thought, but consider Wicket's recent scan; if someone described that as grey I wouldn't think they were colour-blind. It's pretty small in the book after all, not some mega-zoom showing every pixel. They don't work like that. Verse 11 is known to include references to things that are widely separated, or exist only in the image.

Thanks for the comment on the locations of the verse/image elements, I will keep that in mind.

Definitely SoL.

Unknown: Definitely SoL. Maybe Preiss was afraid of running afoul of the lawyers at Pillsbury, and the fine folks in Le Sueur, MN for trademark infringement.

Erpobdelliforme wrote:: Maybe Preiss was afraid of running afoul of the lawyers at Pillsbury, and the fine folks in Le Sueur, MN for trademark infringement. ok this took me a few seconds to think about.... (long day!)

the grey giant is gray peak, a mountianin the adirondacks, named after a giant of science, asa gray (the darwin of america).

Does any one have an idea what the purple and beige sections are behind the bird? This is my first post but I love this Treasure Hunt.

makes an FH

Why has no one paired this image with verse 4? Makes perfect sense, when you really think about it. Brb Im gonna start a new thread for this

drunknerds wrote:: Brb Im gonna start a new thread for this Literally dying right now...

JoshCornell wrote:: makes an FH It makes more than that.....

drunknerds wrote:: Why has no one paired this image with verse 4? Makes perfect sense, when you really think about it. Brb Im gonna start a new thread for this V4 was used in the Cleveland solve

that was the joke man. you missed it.