East of the Park! - Friday, July 19, 2013
Friday was incredibly hot and brutal, but much more enjoyable than Wednesday. Although the heat was rather suffocating, I felt that the day and sights were much more enjoyable. The air conditioning definitely helped! :)
Our day started with a trip to the Museum of the City of New York. "Founded in 1923, the museum's collections contain more than three million artifacts - real and toy fire engines, maps and prints, ship models, portraits of prominent New Yorkers and even striper Gypsy Rose Lee's hand-embroidered garter belt." (Blue Book, page 376). I was really fascinated by the apartment modules and their scale replicas. While Mike sped through that part of the museum, I stayed behind a little to really look at what was being put forth, like how NYC was ranked number 17 in the country for having the most amount of single people living alone. This really doesn't make me feel too much better about it.
The apartment model that they had set up in the Museum was very telling of things to come. The bathroom was of a decent size and that kitchen was not too cramped, except for the fact that it was lacking an actual oven. I suppose that that's alright, except how am I supposed to cook food? Microwaving really isn't all that healthy for you and cooking with a toaster oven will take quiet some time, so I'm at a loss for how they are actually expecting you to prepare foods. And if that isn't a big deal to them, then I guess the health of this country is really going to be much worse than anyone imagined.
After our short, but knowledgeable, stint on the third floor, we headed downstairs to watch the movie " Timescapes". Something I really appreciated about this film was in the very beginning when they were showing art work from the times of the colonization of America, one of the paintings that the movie showed was actually on display up on the third floor in the "Marine Artwork" exhibit.
There was a lot about this movie that really stuck out to me. So far, I think this movie was been the most influential in putting what we are learning into perspective. The movie really did a good job in just sticking to facts and presenting those facts in a straightforward way, but still kept the short film interesting. The film, which started with the Native Americans owning the land and selling the island of Manhattan to the Dutch for $24 went all the way to the times past 9/11/2001.
The middle parts of the movie made it very good. It really made it easy to understand how the city became a "city of strangers" and how all of the people and work were located in the south part of the island. I had never known who decided to the make the city a grid, or why, and this movie finally answered that question! I loved this movie and I think it might have been the best thing that we did that day.
After the movie, we left the museum and went next door to the Museo El Barrio. "El Museo was founded in 1969 by community activists, teachers, and artists, mainly Puerto Ricans." (Blue Book, page 376). The museum is "the only museum in the city devoted to Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin American culture." (Blue Book, page 376). From the Museo El Barrio, we left with our tour guide, Beverly. Beverly is by far the best tour guide that I've had so far. She was full of energy and really wanted to teach us about the neighborhood because she loved it, even though she was originally from Miami. We learned of East Harlem's past and present, while taking notes of the many elaborate murals and mosaics. We started with the beautiful mural named "Spirit of East Harlem". The "Spirit of East Harlem" shows many different aspects of the neighborhood; the old men playing dominos, the young boys playing basketball, and different men playing different musical instruments. The mural has some of the best aspects of the neighborhood.
After the "Spirit of East Harlem", we walked a few blocks and saw another piece by Manny Vega. This was a painting of an important figure for the Spanish Harlem community, Pedro Pietri. Our guide had us read an excerpt of one of his poems and here Damian shined as an English Professor in helping the group better understand the words that were written. After the mural of Pedro Pietri, we walked into the Modesto Tin Flores, a garden. We walked through the garden to the back wall where we found another beautiful mural, this time of two influential women for the community. The mural was painted by local artist Yasmin Hernandez and it features Frida Kahlo and Julia de Burgos.We saw a lot of great pieces during this tour and really got to understand the heart of East Harlem. After the tour, we encountered the creepiest part of this entire class, when we went to visit the holistic medicine man. It was actually really nice to hear what he had to say about the neighborhood, how it's changed, and then I feel like he peered into my soul (and I was a little bit creeped out). After we left his store, we went down the block to the school and saw the Graffiti museum ( I can't remember what it was actually called). It was really cool looking and I think that connotations held to graffiti must be changing.
Lunch! For lunch, Danielle, Emily, and I went to Subway to sit in the air conditioning. After lunch, we walked through Central Park (my camera died at this point of the day). Before entering the park, we noted that the beautiful and elaborate wrought-iron fence and gate was formely the Vanderbilt Gate. We entered Central Park, in one of it's most beautiful parts, the Conservatory Gardens. The Conservatory Garden acts as the parks only formal garden. "The present garden (opened in 1937) began as a Works Progress Administration project, providing employment during the Great Depression." (Blue Book, page 297). We walked a little bit through the park and then we sat and discussed the class so far. I think that Mike choses to do the hardest parts of the day after lunch which makes it both harder to retain the information, but harder physically. I understand that he probably does this because he doesn't want to hear all of the whining, but I think that the class could be a little bit better if he didn't leave the hardest parts of the day for last.
We walked past the Jacquie O Reservoir, on the way to the Met. I personally love the Met. The first time I had to go to the Met as an adult was when I had to go for my art history class and I fell in love again. We looked at few of the paintings by New York artists like Jackson Pollock. After we looked at some of the pieces Mike wanted us to, he set us free to look for something that really touched our souls. Originally I walked up to a gorgeous Claude Monet called Garden at Sainte-Adrese. I don't know what it was about this painting, but I felt that it was really beautiful and I felt as though I was really there, overlooking the wonderful ocean/sea/body of water. After this, it was a long, hot, and brutal day, but it was finished.
Our day started with a trip to the Museum of the City of New York. "Founded in 1923, the museum's collections contain more than three million artifacts - real and toy fire engines, maps and prints, ship models, portraits of prominent New Yorkers and even striper Gypsy Rose Lee's hand-embroidered garter belt." (Blue Book, page 376). I was really fascinated by the apartment modules and their scale replicas. While Mike sped through that part of the museum, I stayed behind a little to really look at what was being put forth, like how NYC was ranked number 17 in the country for having the most amount of single people living alone. This really doesn't make me feel too much better about it.
The apartment model that they had set up in the Museum was very telling of things to come. The bathroom was of a decent size and that kitchen was not too cramped, except for the fact that it was lacking an actual oven. I suppose that that's alright, except how am I supposed to cook food? Microwaving really isn't all that healthy for you and cooking with a toaster oven will take quiet some time, so I'm at a loss for how they are actually expecting you to prepare foods. And if that isn't a big deal to them, then I guess the health of this country is really going to be much worse than anyone imagined.
After our short, but knowledgeable, stint on the third floor, we headed downstairs to watch the movie " Timescapes". Something I really appreciated about this film was in the very beginning when they were showing art work from the times of the colonization of America, one of the paintings that the movie showed was actually on display up on the third floor in the "Marine Artwork" exhibit.
There was a lot about this movie that really stuck out to me. So far, I think this movie was been the most influential in putting what we are learning into perspective. The movie really did a good job in just sticking to facts and presenting those facts in a straightforward way, but still kept the short film interesting. The film, which started with the Native Americans owning the land and selling the island of Manhattan to the Dutch for $24 went all the way to the times past 9/11/2001.
The middle parts of the movie made it very good. It really made it easy to understand how the city became a "city of strangers" and how all of the people and work were located in the south part of the island. I had never known who decided to the make the city a grid, or why, and this movie finally answered that question! I loved this movie and I think it might have been the best thing that we did that day.
After the movie, we left the museum and went next door to the Museo El Barrio. "El Museo was founded in 1969 by community activists, teachers, and artists, mainly Puerto Ricans." (Blue Book, page 376). The museum is "the only museum in the city devoted to Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin American culture." (Blue Book, page 376). From the Museo El Barrio, we left with our tour guide, Beverly. Beverly is by far the best tour guide that I've had so far. She was full of energy and really wanted to teach us about the neighborhood because she loved it, even though she was originally from Miami. We learned of East Harlem's past and present, while taking notes of the many elaborate murals and mosaics. We started with the beautiful mural named "Spirit of East Harlem". The "Spirit of East Harlem" shows many different aspects of the neighborhood; the old men playing dominos, the young boys playing basketball, and different men playing different musical instruments. The mural has some of the best aspects of the neighborhood.
After the "Spirit of East Harlem", we walked a few blocks and saw another piece by Manny Vega. This was a painting of an important figure for the Spanish Harlem community, Pedro Pietri. Our guide had us read an excerpt of one of his poems and here Damian shined as an English Professor in helping the group better understand the words that were written. After the mural of Pedro Pietri, we walked into the Modesto Tin Flores, a garden. We walked through the garden to the back wall where we found another beautiful mural, this time of two influential women for the community. The mural was painted by local artist Yasmin Hernandez and it features Frida Kahlo and Julia de Burgos.We saw a lot of great pieces during this tour and really got to understand the heart of East Harlem. After the tour, we encountered the creepiest part of this entire class, when we went to visit the holistic medicine man. It was actually really nice to hear what he had to say about the neighborhood, how it's changed, and then I feel like he peered into my soul (and I was a little bit creeped out). After we left his store, we went down the block to the school and saw the Graffiti museum ( I can't remember what it was actually called). It was really cool looking and I think that connotations held to graffiti must be changing.
Lunch! For lunch, Danielle, Emily, and I went to Subway to sit in the air conditioning. After lunch, we walked through Central Park (my camera died at this point of the day). Before entering the park, we noted that the beautiful and elaborate wrought-iron fence and gate was formely the Vanderbilt Gate. We entered Central Park, in one of it's most beautiful parts, the Conservatory Gardens. The Conservatory Garden acts as the parks only formal garden. "The present garden (opened in 1937) began as a Works Progress Administration project, providing employment during the Great Depression." (Blue Book, page 297). We walked a little bit through the park and then we sat and discussed the class so far. I think that Mike choses to do the hardest parts of the day after lunch which makes it both harder to retain the information, but harder physically. I understand that he probably does this because he doesn't want to hear all of the whining, but I think that the class could be a little bit better if he didn't leave the hardest parts of the day for last.
We walked past the Jacquie O Reservoir, on the way to the Met. I personally love the Met. The first time I had to go to the Met as an adult was when I had to go for my art history class and I fell in love again. We looked at few of the paintings by New York artists like Jackson Pollock. After we looked at some of the pieces Mike wanted us to, he set us free to look for something that really touched our souls. Originally I walked up to a gorgeous Claude Monet called Garden at Sainte-Adrese. I don't know what it was about this painting, but I felt that it was really beautiful and I felt as though I was really there, overlooking the wonderful ocean/sea/body of water. After this, it was a long, hot, and brutal day, but it was finished.
West of the Park! - Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Wednesday started with one of the most tourists areas of New York City, Times Square! I think it was good to see one of the biggest tourist sections of New York in this class because even though Mike might not enjoy them, the tourists are what keep New York City a bustling place.
We took a brief walk through Times Square, which was originally called Longacre Square (Blue Book, 217), before getting to our wonderful destination of Rockefeller Center. Interestingly, I learned that "in 1904 the subway arrived along with the New York TImes, whose publisher persuaded the city to rename the area for his newspaper, perhaps in competition with Herald Square to the south, named for the New York Herald, then the dominant newspaper." (Blue Book, 217). We spoke briefly about the history of Rockefeller Center and how it's now the home NBC Studios. I was looking for Kathie Lee and Hoda, but apparently that wasn't on the agenda for today. We walked through the building and looked at the Art Deco architecture style from the 1930's and then headed outside to the square center of the Rockefeller Center. I really enjoyed the fresh market that was in the middle and I thought that it was a great place for the people who work in those buildings for lunch or a snack. I really wanted to stop for some.
After walking through Rockefeller Centre, we walked to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). While in the MoMA, we saw some of the world's most beloved pieces of art that I had never seen in real life, but had seen many times in a textbook. I thought that this aspect of the MoMA was really cool, but other than that, it was overcrowded and hard to appreciate. We learned a little about the MoMA's creation, in the 1920's a few very wealthy New Yorkers wanted to create a place where modern art, that questioned the traditions, could be displayed. "In 1929, when modern art was not considered art at all in many quarters, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1874 - 1948) and two wealthy, well-connected, and socially committed friends, Lille P. Bliss (1864-1931), and Mary Quinn Sullivan (1877-1939), founded a small museum in rented space in what is now the Crown Building. (Blue Book, 260).
Damian talked a lot about the art works and what they meant, or didn't mean, and how important they are to the arts. He was really pushing the abstract expressionism movement, which we saw in works by Jackson Pollock (yeah, him, again). A lot of the abstract expressionist movement was to let people feel what they were seeing, even if it was something that they could not put a physical form to, such as hope, faith, or rage.
After looking at some of the most important pieces of art, we went to lunch. Because of Emily's deathly allergy to peanuts, we didn't partake in Thai food. We instead went to the restaurant across the street called Southern Hospitality because it looked like a nice place that we could get a nice meal since we had to miss out on the nice meal that was provided to the others. After I checked into the restaurant on Foursquare, we realized that this was actually the restaurant that was co-founded by Justin Timberlake (and who doesn't love him?!). We asked our waitress to put a rush on our food, but we don't think it really did anything. We started by trying fried pickles, and they were delicious! Then we got our Southern Style Sweet Tea's, we got our food. I got Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, it was also incredibly delicious. I wished that I could have taken my left overs, but I don't think that they would have stayed. Shucks.
We met the rest of the class as they were getting on the 3 train to head up to 135th St for our walking tour of Harlem. We met our tour guide, Jim, on the corner and we started off on our adventure. I really enjoyed Jim, who was incredibly knowledgeable and much more approachable than some of our previous tour guides, ehm bill ehm. Jim even answered my question about the plagues down on Broadway by Wall St! Jim told us a lot about the history of Harlem, how it started off as a German community and then the different communities that came through the area, ending with what we know it as today, African Americans. Jim talked a lot about the Harlem Renaissance, which took place in the 1920's. The Harlem Renaissance brought forth some of the best pieces of literature (poetry, short stories, and novels) and music.
Jim also pointed out the beautiful mural that is on the windows of the Harlem Hospital. The murals were created during the Great Depression when nearly 50% of African Americans were out of work. President Roosevelt started the WPA (Works Progress Administration) which created the Federal Arts Program that funded the creation of this mural and many others. After the mural, we again talked about the stoop and fire escapes. After that we talked about the Harlem Walk of Fame, the plaques placed in the floor to give recognition to some of the most influential figures in the Harlem Renaissance. After this, we walked to the corner where we talked about the parks that separate Harlem for the neighborhood of Washington Heights and Morningside Heights. We then walked down the street and looked at the different style houses that were not connected and now are landmarked. These houses were also important because they had their own personal driveways behind them for the horses and carriages.
After our great tour with Jim, we walked down through Morningside Park. "Morningside Park occupies more than 30 acres, including a rocky cliff of Manhattan schist, which plunges down to the Harlem Plain. In the mid-19th Century the Parks Department took over these precipitous slopes, which were unsuitable for real estate development." (Blue Book, 426). It was at this point of the day that we learned Sir Mike Russo is a big old cheater :) . We ran up the stairs to get to Columbia University. Before going into Columbia University, we walked down past St. Luke's hospital to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Mike told us about how they never the spires because they ran out of money and they haven't added them yet. The corner-stone for the church was laid on December 27, 1892, according to their website. "In 1887 a wooded plot of almost 13 acres belonging to the Leake & Watts Orphan Aslyum was purchased for an Episcopal cathedral, for a momentous $885,000." (Blue Book, 419).
From St. John the Divine, we walked to our final destination, the steps in front of the Alma Mater for Columbia University. The campus of Columbia was beautiful. The buildings were traditional and city-like, but the campus didn't feel like you were in the middle of Manhattan. It was enclosed and clean and it felt safe. Damian asked us to find the Owl in the Alma Mater, but unfortunately, I couldn't. shoot. Emily then won the contest between her and Chris and we called it a day. Only two classes left! Let's go!
We took a brief walk through Times Square, which was originally called Longacre Square (Blue Book, 217), before getting to our wonderful destination of Rockefeller Center. Interestingly, I learned that "in 1904 the subway arrived along with the New York TImes, whose publisher persuaded the city to rename the area for his newspaper, perhaps in competition with Herald Square to the south, named for the New York Herald, then the dominant newspaper." (Blue Book, 217). We spoke briefly about the history of Rockefeller Center and how it's now the home NBC Studios. I was looking for Kathie Lee and Hoda, but apparently that wasn't on the agenda for today. We walked through the building and looked at the Art Deco architecture style from the 1930's and then headed outside to the square center of the Rockefeller Center. I really enjoyed the fresh market that was in the middle and I thought that it was a great place for the people who work in those buildings for lunch or a snack. I really wanted to stop for some.
After walking through Rockefeller Centre, we walked to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). While in the MoMA, we saw some of the world's most beloved pieces of art that I had never seen in real life, but had seen many times in a textbook. I thought that this aspect of the MoMA was really cool, but other than that, it was overcrowded and hard to appreciate. We learned a little about the MoMA's creation, in the 1920's a few very wealthy New Yorkers wanted to create a place where modern art, that questioned the traditions, could be displayed. "In 1929, when modern art was not considered art at all in many quarters, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1874 - 1948) and two wealthy, well-connected, and socially committed friends, Lille P. Bliss (1864-1931), and Mary Quinn Sullivan (1877-1939), founded a small museum in rented space in what is now the Crown Building. (Blue Book, 260).
Damian talked a lot about the art works and what they meant, or didn't mean, and how important they are to the arts. He was really pushing the abstract expressionism movement, which we saw in works by Jackson Pollock (yeah, him, again). A lot of the abstract expressionist movement was to let people feel what they were seeing, even if it was something that they could not put a physical form to, such as hope, faith, or rage.
After looking at some of the most important pieces of art, we went to lunch. Because of Emily's deathly allergy to peanuts, we didn't partake in Thai food. We instead went to the restaurant across the street called Southern Hospitality because it looked like a nice place that we could get a nice meal since we had to miss out on the nice meal that was provided to the others. After I checked into the restaurant on Foursquare, we realized that this was actually the restaurant that was co-founded by Justin Timberlake (and who doesn't love him?!). We asked our waitress to put a rush on our food, but we don't think it really did anything. We started by trying fried pickles, and they were delicious! Then we got our Southern Style Sweet Tea's, we got our food. I got Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, it was also incredibly delicious. I wished that I could have taken my left overs, but I don't think that they would have stayed. Shucks.
We met the rest of the class as they were getting on the 3 train to head up to 135th St for our walking tour of Harlem. We met our tour guide, Jim, on the corner and we started off on our adventure. I really enjoyed Jim, who was incredibly knowledgeable and much more approachable than some of our previous tour guides, ehm bill ehm. Jim even answered my question about the plagues down on Broadway by Wall St! Jim told us a lot about the history of Harlem, how it started off as a German community and then the different communities that came through the area, ending with what we know it as today, African Americans. Jim talked a lot about the Harlem Renaissance, which took place in the 1920's. The Harlem Renaissance brought forth some of the best pieces of literature (poetry, short stories, and novels) and music.
Jim also pointed out the beautiful mural that is on the windows of the Harlem Hospital. The murals were created during the Great Depression when nearly 50% of African Americans were out of work. President Roosevelt started the WPA (Works Progress Administration) which created the Federal Arts Program that funded the creation of this mural and many others. After the mural, we again talked about the stoop and fire escapes. After that we talked about the Harlem Walk of Fame, the plaques placed in the floor to give recognition to some of the most influential figures in the Harlem Renaissance. After this, we walked to the corner where we talked about the parks that separate Harlem for the neighborhood of Washington Heights and Morningside Heights. We then walked down the street and looked at the different style houses that were not connected and now are landmarked. These houses were also important because they had their own personal driveways behind them for the horses and carriages.
After our great tour with Jim, we walked down through Morningside Park. "Morningside Park occupies more than 30 acres, including a rocky cliff of Manhattan schist, which plunges down to the Harlem Plain. In the mid-19th Century the Parks Department took over these precipitous slopes, which were unsuitable for real estate development." (Blue Book, 426). It was at this point of the day that we learned Sir Mike Russo is a big old cheater :) . We ran up the stairs to get to Columbia University. Before going into Columbia University, we walked down past St. Luke's hospital to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Mike told us about how they never the spires because they ran out of money and they haven't added them yet. The corner-stone for the church was laid on December 27, 1892, according to their website. "In 1887 a wooded plot of almost 13 acres belonging to the Leake & Watts Orphan Aslyum was purchased for an Episcopal cathedral, for a momentous $885,000." (Blue Book, 419).
From St. John the Divine, we walked to our final destination, the steps in front of the Alma Mater for Columbia University. The campus of Columbia was beautiful. The buildings were traditional and city-like, but the campus didn't feel like you were in the middle of Manhattan. It was enclosed and clean and it felt safe. Damian asked us to find the Owl in the Alma Mater, but unfortunately, I couldn't. shoot. Emily then won the contest between her and Chris and we called it a day. Only two classes left! Let's go!
Downtown and Chelsea! Friday, July 26th.
Today started sleepy and groggy. Although I was sleepy, I figured there's only two classes left and I better make the best of it. Danielle and I got a seat on the train, which was automatically a better start to my day than the last class, and we were on our way. After my egg sandwich in Penn Station, we went to meet the class.
From the subway, Mike pointed out the Woolworth Building. "The Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway was the world's tallest when completed, and though it was eclipsed in 1930 by the Chrysler Building, it remains one of the city's luxuriantly detailed skyscrapers. F.W. Woolworth enjoyed a classic 19th-century rags-to-riches career." (Blue Book, page 79). The Woolworth building is a classic example of neo-Gothic style.
Our first stop of the day was New York City's City Hall, the work place of New York City's Mayor and a few other politicians. We went on a guided tour of City Hall, which I thought was a really cool experience, because City Hall isn't just a place you can walk into every day. In all honesty, if it wasn't for this class, I probably would have never been able to walk into City Hall in my entire life, but we did as a class and it was a valuable learning experience.
The City Hall as it stands today was designed by "Joseph Francois Mangin, a French immigrant; the other, John McComb Jr., was a native New Yorker." (Blue Book, 84). "The cost of the original marble of the facade distressed the city fathers, who wanted a cheaper brownstone finish; McComb lobbied for marble at least for the front and sides, leaving only the rear facade a dull brown. (Blue Book, 84). AFter talking about the position of city hall and the outside facade, we went inside to see a life-size statue of George Washington, while also looking at the grand Rotunda. The beautiful marble staircase underneath the glass oculus was something I pictured right out of a movie. We walked up the marble staircase and went into the teasing room with many chairs, none of which we could sit in. (seriously, after making us stand outside for what felt like an eternity, the nice lady brought us into the room with chairs we couldn't sit in, crazy). The Governor's Room was really cool because it had an actual desk that George Washington used to sit in. The desk really didn't look that bad either.
We learned about the first City Hall which was opened in 1699. That building is right across the New York Stock Exchange down on Wall St. The building is now the Federal Hall, which also acted as the first home of the United States Capital Building. We went to visit this site a little bit after our tour of City Hall. Today, the building is a national memorial that lives as a museum, or as Sir Mike Russo likes to use it as a bathroom stop. It was really cool that you could stand next to the giant statue of George Washington, exactly where he was sworn in as our First President! Also, it's really lucky that we did that last week, because apparently (according to the website), the museum is now closed for maintenance!
My favorite part about this day was our walk on the High Line. The High Line was created because no one wanted to take responsibility to pay for the demolition costs after the line ceased being useful. "Beginning in the late 1990's, a local advocacy group defeated proposals for demolition, and at the present time, a park is being constructed over the 1.6 miles. (Blue Book, 188). I kind of wish that I lived closer to that because it seemed like a really great place to walk or relax after a long day, or even for an evening jog. The hotel was really cool looking, I thought it was awesome that it was built on top of the High Line.
We ended our day by going to about 10 art exhibits. This was a cool experience because it's something that you see in movies, but that I wouldn't have done on my own. As I'm sure most of the class wrote in their journals, the one that was most memorable was "Pussy and Sunset" because it was pictures/photographs of either a woman's vagina or a sunset. Lovely. Another one that really resonated in my mind was the art gallery that feautured pictures/ photographs of people suffering with AIDS. I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed the photographs that they showed of people not suffering from the disease, but the ones who were living with it and trying to make the best of their really shitty situation. I mean, the pictures of the people dying in the hospital beds were obviously touching, but there's just something so motivational about seeing people with the worst hand that can be dealt and that person making the best of their situation. I think there was a picture of a man standing in a garden, and I just really remember that vividly. And then, of course, there was the art gallery of the walls painted in two colors, white on the top and beige on the bottom. Ah, art. What a day.
From the subway, Mike pointed out the Woolworth Building. "The Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway was the world's tallest when completed, and though it was eclipsed in 1930 by the Chrysler Building, it remains one of the city's luxuriantly detailed skyscrapers. F.W. Woolworth enjoyed a classic 19th-century rags-to-riches career." (Blue Book, page 79). The Woolworth building is a classic example of neo-Gothic style.
Our first stop of the day was New York City's City Hall, the work place of New York City's Mayor and a few other politicians. We went on a guided tour of City Hall, which I thought was a really cool experience, because City Hall isn't just a place you can walk into every day. In all honesty, if it wasn't for this class, I probably would have never been able to walk into City Hall in my entire life, but we did as a class and it was a valuable learning experience.
The City Hall as it stands today was designed by "Joseph Francois Mangin, a French immigrant; the other, John McComb Jr., was a native New Yorker." (Blue Book, 84). "The cost of the original marble of the facade distressed the city fathers, who wanted a cheaper brownstone finish; McComb lobbied for marble at least for the front and sides, leaving only the rear facade a dull brown. (Blue Book, 84). AFter talking about the position of city hall and the outside facade, we went inside to see a life-size statue of George Washington, while also looking at the grand Rotunda. The beautiful marble staircase underneath the glass oculus was something I pictured right out of a movie. We walked up the marble staircase and went into the teasing room with many chairs, none of which we could sit in. (seriously, after making us stand outside for what felt like an eternity, the nice lady brought us into the room with chairs we couldn't sit in, crazy). The Governor's Room was really cool because it had an actual desk that George Washington used to sit in. The desk really didn't look that bad either.
We learned about the first City Hall which was opened in 1699. That building is right across the New York Stock Exchange down on Wall St. The building is now the Federal Hall, which also acted as the first home of the United States Capital Building. We went to visit this site a little bit after our tour of City Hall. Today, the building is a national memorial that lives as a museum, or as Sir Mike Russo likes to use it as a bathroom stop. It was really cool that you could stand next to the giant statue of George Washington, exactly where he was sworn in as our First President! Also, it's really lucky that we did that last week, because apparently (according to the website), the museum is now closed for maintenance!
My favorite part about this day was our walk on the High Line. The High Line was created because no one wanted to take responsibility to pay for the demolition costs after the line ceased being useful. "Beginning in the late 1990's, a local advocacy group defeated proposals for demolition, and at the present time, a park is being constructed over the 1.6 miles. (Blue Book, 188). I kind of wish that I lived closer to that because it seemed like a really great place to walk or relax after a long day, or even for an evening jog. The hotel was really cool looking, I thought it was awesome that it was built on top of the High Line.
We ended our day by going to about 10 art exhibits. This was a cool experience because it's something that you see in movies, but that I wouldn't have done on my own. As I'm sure most of the class wrote in their journals, the one that was most memorable was "Pussy and Sunset" because it was pictures/photographs of either a woman's vagina or a sunset. Lovely. Another one that really resonated in my mind was the art gallery that feautured pictures/ photographs of people suffering with AIDS. I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed the photographs that they showed of people not suffering from the disease, but the ones who were living with it and trying to make the best of their really shitty situation. I mean, the pictures of the people dying in the hospital beds were obviously touching, but there's just something so motivational about seeing people with the worst hand that can be dealt and that person making the best of their situation. I think there was a picture of a man standing in a garden, and I just really remember that vividly. And then, of course, there was the art gallery of the walls painted in two colors, white on the top and beige on the bottom. Ah, art. What a day.
The Lower East Side
As I write this journal, I may be on a plane on the way to my favorite place in the world, but I suppose I’ll keep this to the point. Today was our last class meeting, and what a class it was. (And as I paste it from word, I'm currently sitting in bed in my favorite resort in my favorite place in the world!)
The day started with Danielle and myself to have our last train ride into the big old city. We met at Penn Station where Mike and Damian did their best drama queen impression to be upset about our last day. I thought they did a fantastic job, by the way.
From Penn Station, we took the F train down to the Lower East Side, getting off at Delancey Street. On Delancey Street, we met with Jim (the second best tour guide) and Mike’s friends from Belgium as we got to into the Market. In the market, I purchased a fresh picked apple, which was delicious, but the same as from my local Fairway Market. And from there we started with our tour guide Jim.
Jim was a great tour guide who is clearly very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, but by the end of his tour, I felt that Jim had just a little too much information. We started with our tour of the Lower East Side by learning about the immigrants that once inhabited the area, at one point making it the most densely populated area in the world. We learned about the Eastern European Jewish population that was very important in this area. Jim told us about the creation of the Williamsburg Bridge for the Jewish population so that the Jewish people could escape the densely populated area and make a new home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
We walked to underneath the Williamsburg Bridge and stopped at the corner where Jim told us about how the city has found a new area, at the base of the bridge, that’s an empty under ground space. The space was used for horse carriages and trolleys to be stored during their time. Jim said that the city is now going to make it an area like the High Line, which we walked last class, although no one is sure what they are going to make it.
After this, we walked up the street and stopped at the _______ Synagogue, which used to be a Methodist Church. At this point, we had another visitor, a nice little bee, who most of the people were fearful of (myself included). Because of the bee, we moved along quickly and walked up the street to where we saw the Playhouse. The playhouse is a good part of every neighborhood because it means that the people want to be cultured. After the theatre, we looked to the old bathhouse. Jim told us about how in the Jewish tradition, the woman would have to go to this bathhouse to take a bath for 30 days before the woman was to be wed. The crazy part about this tradition was that the water used to bathe in could only be rainwater.
From here, we briefly walked through a small area of China town. From China town, we walked past the entrance of the Manhattan Bridge on the Manhattan side. Jim talked about the beautiful half-circle and arch that adorn this area. From here, we walked down to Mulberry St to start our brief tour of Little Itay.
In Little Italy, we learned about its history, such as at its peak it only had about 10,000 residents and that today it’s drastically lower. But, Little Italy is one of my favorite places in the world, if only to smell the food being cooked. The whole time we were walking down Mulberry St, I really wanted to stop and get some food because it just smelt so freaking delicious. We went down a little bit farther and saw the original New York City Police Department Headquarters. This building was where Teddy Roosevelt worked when he was the Chief of Police, before being elected President of the US. The Police Building was incredibly beautiful and I was really shocked that the building was so architecturally beautiful.
After Little Italy, Jim left us, which was sad, but we went off on our own on our little scavenger hunt. This was a really, really cool idea but we just didn’t have enough time to make the most of it. It was mostly running to one location and then moving on as fast as we could to the next stop. I think that this idea was great and I would have loved to have a bit more time to do it.
My group was the shallow group who got the wonderful 5th Ave of NYC. We started at Bryant Park, located behind the NYC Public Library. We ran from there to the Fred F ____ building, which is an art deco building on 5th Ave that is really cool looking from the outside. After that, we walked up about 2 blocks and walked into the St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I love St. Patrick’s. I think it’s incredible to see and having partaken in a wedding ceremony there, I think it’s a place of true beauty. I’m glad to see that it’s being renovated/ refurbished so that it can be even better. We kept trekking up the Avenue until we made it to Tiffany’s, which was just cruel because I really wanted to have some time to shop. After Tiffany’s, which is located in the Trump Tower, which is where the Jonas Brother’s and other famous people stay when visiting NYC, we walked up a little bit more to make it to FAO Schwartz. I love going to this toy story. I really wanted to buy a giant giraffe, but I wasn’t sure that I could carry it through the rest of the day. I might just go back for it, next time I get a few hundred dollars. Our scavenger hunt ended at the Plaza Hotel. The Plaza Hotel was absolutely stunning. It was elegant and rich. It would certainly be the place I would want to stay if I was visiting NYC.
After this, we finally got to eat lunch! The Chinese food was delicious! Thank you, again!
After lunch, we finally went to the highly anticipated Tenement Museum. The Tenement Museum was a really great experience to put next to the Merchant House Museum. (On a side note – I thought that the Tenement Museum was just a little bit too hyped). I thought that the actress was phenomenal and I loved the whole experience. I think it would have been cool if we could have gone upstairs and seen another apartment, but what do I know? Hehe. I really enjoyed learning about Victoria and it was fascinating to know that she was a real person. It made the museum more meaningful.
At the end of the Tenement Museum, our class was over. It was a great experience to have had. Thank you for the experience. I loved it (except that the class was really exhausting). J
The day started with Danielle and myself to have our last train ride into the big old city. We met at Penn Station where Mike and Damian did their best drama queen impression to be upset about our last day. I thought they did a fantastic job, by the way.
From Penn Station, we took the F train down to the Lower East Side, getting off at Delancey Street. On Delancey Street, we met with Jim (the second best tour guide) and Mike’s friends from Belgium as we got to into the Market. In the market, I purchased a fresh picked apple, which was delicious, but the same as from my local Fairway Market. And from there we started with our tour guide Jim.
Jim was a great tour guide who is clearly very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, but by the end of his tour, I felt that Jim had just a little too much information. We started with our tour of the Lower East Side by learning about the immigrants that once inhabited the area, at one point making it the most densely populated area in the world. We learned about the Eastern European Jewish population that was very important in this area. Jim told us about the creation of the Williamsburg Bridge for the Jewish population so that the Jewish people could escape the densely populated area and make a new home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
We walked to underneath the Williamsburg Bridge and stopped at the corner where Jim told us about how the city has found a new area, at the base of the bridge, that’s an empty under ground space. The space was used for horse carriages and trolleys to be stored during their time. Jim said that the city is now going to make it an area like the High Line, which we walked last class, although no one is sure what they are going to make it.
After this, we walked up the street and stopped at the _______ Synagogue, which used to be a Methodist Church. At this point, we had another visitor, a nice little bee, who most of the people were fearful of (myself included). Because of the bee, we moved along quickly and walked up the street to where we saw the Playhouse. The playhouse is a good part of every neighborhood because it means that the people want to be cultured. After the theatre, we looked to the old bathhouse. Jim told us about how in the Jewish tradition, the woman would have to go to this bathhouse to take a bath for 30 days before the woman was to be wed. The crazy part about this tradition was that the water used to bathe in could only be rainwater.
From here, we briefly walked through a small area of China town. From China town, we walked past the entrance of the Manhattan Bridge on the Manhattan side. Jim talked about the beautiful half-circle and arch that adorn this area. From here, we walked down to Mulberry St to start our brief tour of Little Itay.
In Little Italy, we learned about its history, such as at its peak it only had about 10,000 residents and that today it’s drastically lower. But, Little Italy is one of my favorite places in the world, if only to smell the food being cooked. The whole time we were walking down Mulberry St, I really wanted to stop and get some food because it just smelt so freaking delicious. We went down a little bit farther and saw the original New York City Police Department Headquarters. This building was where Teddy Roosevelt worked when he was the Chief of Police, before being elected President of the US. The Police Building was incredibly beautiful and I was really shocked that the building was so architecturally beautiful.
After Little Italy, Jim left us, which was sad, but we went off on our own on our little scavenger hunt. This was a really, really cool idea but we just didn’t have enough time to make the most of it. It was mostly running to one location and then moving on as fast as we could to the next stop. I think that this idea was great and I would have loved to have a bit more time to do it.
My group was the shallow group who got the wonderful 5th Ave of NYC. We started at Bryant Park, located behind the NYC Public Library. We ran from there to the Fred F ____ building, which is an art deco building on 5th Ave that is really cool looking from the outside. After that, we walked up about 2 blocks and walked into the St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I love St. Patrick’s. I think it’s incredible to see and having partaken in a wedding ceremony there, I think it’s a place of true beauty. I’m glad to see that it’s being renovated/ refurbished so that it can be even better. We kept trekking up the Avenue until we made it to Tiffany’s, which was just cruel because I really wanted to have some time to shop. After Tiffany’s, which is located in the Trump Tower, which is where the Jonas Brother’s and other famous people stay when visiting NYC, we walked up a little bit more to make it to FAO Schwartz. I love going to this toy story. I really wanted to buy a giant giraffe, but I wasn’t sure that I could carry it through the rest of the day. I might just go back for it, next time I get a few hundred dollars. Our scavenger hunt ended at the Plaza Hotel. The Plaza Hotel was absolutely stunning. It was elegant and rich. It would certainly be the place I would want to stay if I was visiting NYC.
After this, we finally got to eat lunch! The Chinese food was delicious! Thank you, again!
After lunch, we finally went to the highly anticipated Tenement Museum. The Tenement Museum was a really great experience to put next to the Merchant House Museum. (On a side note – I thought that the Tenement Museum was just a little bit too hyped). I thought that the actress was phenomenal and I loved the whole experience. I think it would have been cool if we could have gone upstairs and seen another apartment, but what do I know? Hehe. I really enjoyed learning about Victoria and it was fascinating to know that she was a real person. It made the museum more meaningful.
At the end of the Tenement Museum, our class was over. It was a great experience to have had. Thank you for the experience. I loved it (except that the class was really exhausting). J
The Final Journal
You asked us to put our final impressions of New York City into our last journal entry and I'm not sure I know where to begin. This class was incredible learning experience. I think the idea that we're doing "global learning" in our own backyard is humorous, but fascinatingly true.
In the beginning, I thought Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island were dirty, smelly, and over-populated. After this class, those things are all still true, but now I know so much more about their history that I can really appreciate them more. The garbage is still out of control, but I suppose with that many people, it's always going to be too much.
Some of my favorite parts of this class actually took place after the class, when I would go home to write about what we had done that day. I would go home and google and then read about the different places, the Brooklyn Bridge or the Merchant House, and from there I would just click away. Before I knew it, there was so much information in my brain, I had to tell someone! (It was mostly my boyfriend, but he's now an expert on Robert Moses and the Brooklyn Bridge). Then I would find out that the History Channel or the Discovery Channel had done episodes on these things I was learning about and my mind was blown.
There were a lot of things that we did in this class that I really enjoyed, The Museum of the Moving Image (my first job was a movie theatre), walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, the Merchant House Museum (I want to find the ghost of Gertrude), going to the Museum of the City of New York and seeing the Timescapes movie, and going to the Met just to name a few. There were some things that I did not enjoy so much, like our tour guide Bill through the gardens (unnecessarily long and I really feel like we spent a lot more time on that than we needed to), walking up the 150 stairs, and, well, the heat.
My favorite thing that we did in this class was when we attended the 9/11 Memorial. I know that Mike did not want to go because it did take up a lot of our time, but as someone who vividly remembers that day as a kid, I thought this was an incredibly powerful and moving experience. There were parts I can criticize, such as the store that we did not stop in at the end. I'm not exactly sure why anyone would want to buy pictures of that day, but I suppose theres always a market for the tourists. I will be heading back there in the future when the museum is completed. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to see the memorial.
In the beginning, I thought Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island were dirty, smelly, and over-populated. After this class, those things are all still true, but now I know so much more about their history that I can really appreciate them more. The garbage is still out of control, but I suppose with that many people, it's always going to be too much.
Some of my favorite parts of this class actually took place after the class, when I would go home to write about what we had done that day. I would go home and google and then read about the different places, the Brooklyn Bridge or the Merchant House, and from there I would just click away. Before I knew it, there was so much information in my brain, I had to tell someone! (It was mostly my boyfriend, but he's now an expert on Robert Moses and the Brooklyn Bridge). Then I would find out that the History Channel or the Discovery Channel had done episodes on these things I was learning about and my mind was blown.
There were a lot of things that we did in this class that I really enjoyed, The Museum of the Moving Image (my first job was a movie theatre), walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, the Merchant House Museum (I want to find the ghost of Gertrude), going to the Museum of the City of New York and seeing the Timescapes movie, and going to the Met just to name a few. There were some things that I did not enjoy so much, like our tour guide Bill through the gardens (unnecessarily long and I really feel like we spent a lot more time on that than we needed to), walking up the 150 stairs, and, well, the heat.
My favorite thing that we did in this class was when we attended the 9/11 Memorial. I know that Mike did not want to go because it did take up a lot of our time, but as someone who vividly remembers that day as a kid, I thought this was an incredibly powerful and moving experience. There were parts I can criticize, such as the store that we did not stop in at the end. I'm not exactly sure why anyone would want to buy pictures of that day, but I suppose theres always a market for the tourists. I will be heading back there in the future when the museum is completed. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to see the memorial.