"Mad Men": New Don Draper bench and more in NYC
"Mad Men" fans can now take a selfie with Don Draper, thanks to a bench unveiled Monday featuring the fictional adman's silhouette.
Jon Hamm, the actor who plays Draper, posed for photos on the bench outside the Time & Life Building at 1271 Avenue of the Americas in midtown Manhattan. He appeared with other cast members, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery and Elisabeth Moss, along with the show's creator, Matthew Weiner.
The bench is one of a number of attractions around New York City coinciding with the AMC series' final season, which begins April 5. The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens has a "Mad Men" exhibit with props, sets and costumes. Some restaurants are offering $19.69 liquid lunches this week in honor of the show. And Moss, who plays Peggy on the show, has gotten rave reviews as the star of the Broadway revival of "The Heidi Chronicles."
The Draper bench shows a black outline of the character seated on the bench, with one arm draped along the back of the seat. Two slim strips of white illuminate the black figure: a shirt cuff peeking out from beneath a suit sleeve, and the tip of a cigarette.
The street signs at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 50th Street were changed to read "Mad Men Av" and "Don Draper Way."
The Time & Life Building is where the fictional ad agency in the show is headquartered. Although the series, which is set in the 1960s, takes place in New York, it's mostly filmed in Los Angeles on Hollywood sets. But there are numerous references in the show to real places in New York City along with real events from that turbulent decade. No doubt the weather for Monday's event was a chilling reality check for the stars: It was 28 degrees and Moss was wearing open-toed shoes.
