Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

in his journal entry for May 2, 1961, Indiana records that he began to sand a 69-inch column, "turning [the] loft into a dusty chaos." He notes that the column had been previously de-nailed, and that it lent itself to "two bands as indicated by [the] broken lines." Regarding further sanding Indiana writes that it "will have [to] be done in [the] tower; there is no other alternative."

Indiana also records that James Rosenquist called to ask him to come over to look at a new painting, and that he took a shower at gallerist Rolf Nelson's place.