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.

This journal page covers December 3–4, 1961. In his entry for December 3, Indiana records a painting The Giant Reap, or The Great Reap #2 (renamed The American Reaping Company), a "second version" (alongside The Great Reap), done in the colors of The American Gas Works, plus brown. He notes that it was a lovely day, but that he only went on a short walk at dinner time, and that he saw more lofts coming down.

In his entry for December 4, Indiana records a call from Jim Rosenquist, who brought over a journalist from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.