A man walks out of Delmonico’s, a restaurant established in 1837. He looks around and notices that everyone seems surreal, almost fake. Upon further observation, he confirms his suspicions. He rounds the corner onto Stone Street, and everything feels frozen in time. Panicked, he runs down on Wall Street and dusts off a newspaper, hoping to find an explanation–but he picks up a hollow stack of papier-mâché instead. He desperately runs to the Broad Street JMZ trains, only to find himself standing on top of glass that look like a set of stairs. He then climbs the steps of Federal Hall with the statue of George Washington proudly standing at the helm, and he falls into the crumbly stairs.

The man then knocks over a mannequin, runs back to Delmonico’s but crashes into a constructed movie set and falls back. A snack stand falls over, and he pulls down a mural resembling Cipriani’s. He then pokes his head through a façade of a building made of plaster and discovers a sound stage. Utterly confused, lost, and helpless, the man finally touches a building that does not collapse under the weight of his hands, and a very real and alive Barclay’s representative walks out of the revolving door and asks, “May I help you?”

This commercial is brilliant.

I remember the filming of this commercial over the summer. I had walked out of my apartment building, just steps away from Federal Hall. The deafening silence felt creepy, and the dummy at 0:24 looked me right in the eyes. I did the Larry David staring contest and lost. I had just woken up and seriously needed coffee. I looked up and down Wall Street and saw dummies peppered all over the street (not actual Wall Street suits!) and the set reminded me of I Am Legend–you know, how Will Smith’s character kept mannequins around and assigned them personalities so that he did not feel so alone in his isolated world. I somehow channeled that sadness and could not shake off the feeling that day.

I watch the commercial now, and that same sadness consumes me for I no longer live in New York City. For the past few years, I have enjoyed every aspect of living in the Financial District. That snack stand in the commercial used to take $3.00 from me everyday so I could fulfill my Lifesavers fix. I used to sit on the steps of Federal Hall, soak up some sun, and people-watch. I had Happy Hours on Stone Street, and I enjoyed a steak dinner with Jon at Delmonico’s during Restaurant Week. I have taken pictures throughout this neighborhood; in fact, on the day of filming the Barclays commercial, I photographed the beautiful model, Allison Kelly. I remember all the Wall Street protests during the bailouts and my beautiful neighbors walk up and down the street. Chace Crawford? He fine.

But now that I no longer live on Wall Street, I can take my photographs from the time I lived there–and unlike the businessman in the Barclays commercial, I can construct my own reality of a Wall Street that felt real and very much a part of my life.

Unofficial Behind-the-Scenes Photos: Amy Dunn
New York, NY 2009

Thanks, James Lee, for telling me about this commercial!