Bombing of the Cuban embassy in New York

The Bombing of the Cuban embassy in New York entered Andy Warhol’s diary through its immediate effect on his home: the house shook. Recalling the blast two days later, he paired the force of the explosion with a brief observation of life across the street, recording the event as both public violence and a disruption felt in a private space.

The Diary Recollection

Warhol wrote about the bombing on Monday, September 11, noting that it had happened on Saturday. The embassy was on 67th Street between Fifth and Madison. He did not describe the bombing’s perpetrators, motive, damage, or any injuries; the diary’s account is limited to the tremor he felt at home and what he saw after looking out the window.

A Domestic View of the Blast

After the house shook, Warhol looked across the street and noticed a man at a neighbor’s window. The sudden shift from an embassy bombing to an incidental sight in the surrounding residential scene gives the recollection its particular texture: the blast is registered through a domestic disturbance and the view immediately beyond the home, rather than through a broader account of the attack or its consequences.