Before 06/06
Attitudes, Beliefs, & Feelings - Before
New York City has always seemed like an interesting and exciting place to me. Although I have grown up in Floral Park in Nassau County my whole life, I have never had the opportunity to explore the city. Both of my parents are retired NYPD police officers and they were never really fond of being in the city when they weren't working or me going at all. I think the city is a great and fun place, but at the same time can be a little hectic and crazy. I have always wanted to explore new things and broaden my horizons. I feel like I am such a Long Island girl I don't understand the train schedules, going on a Subway is probably one of the scariest things I have ever done, and public transportation scares me because I am so used to driving my car. I really hope this class teaches me a lot about the city and the history of it. My major is Social Studies education so I also felt like this class would be helpful because it will give me more background about New York City's history. It amazes me how I can live so close, but the city is a completely different world that I really know nothing about. I hope by the end of this class I will be less afraid and want to experience the city more and see what is has to offer. I consider myself maybe having a bias that the city is gross, filled with creeps, and completely over priced for no reason so I also hope that I can stop thinking along those lines. The city seems like such a big place with all different types of people, customs, and attitudes toward life and everyone just forms together. When I mainly think of the city I really only think of Manhattan and I always forget about the other four boroughs. It is interesting to see how much has changed over the course of the years in New York City. I want to learn more about the evolution of different areas and how they got their names or customs. I am hoping I can learn to blend in more because even though I am from New York I feel like a tourist. I want to experience what New York has to offer and learn new things along the way. After this class, I hope to travel to New York City a lot more often since I will become more familiar with the LIRR and the Subway there are so many things and sites that are here and I would never even think to go visit them. I think it is a lot different from Long Island because of the people and atmosphere around everyone. It is so easy to use public transportation and to me it is weird that not many people have a car and I don't understand why someone would want to spend so much money living in a congested area. I just hope to appreciate and experience what the city so close to my house has to offer because I don't know much about it.
Attitudes, Beliefs, & Feelings - Before
New York City has always seemed like an interesting and exciting place to me. Although I have grown up in Floral Park in Nassau County my whole life, I have never had the opportunity to explore the city. Both of my parents are retired NYPD police officers and they were never really fond of being in the city when they weren't working or me going at all. I think the city is a great and fun place, but at the same time can be a little hectic and crazy. I have always wanted to explore new things and broaden my horizons. I feel like I am such a Long Island girl I don't understand the train schedules, going on a Subway is probably one of the scariest things I have ever done, and public transportation scares me because I am so used to driving my car. I really hope this class teaches me a lot about the city and the history of it. My major is Social Studies education so I also felt like this class would be helpful because it will give me more background about New York City's history. It amazes me how I can live so close, but the city is a completely different world that I really know nothing about. I hope by the end of this class I will be less afraid and want to experience the city more and see what is has to offer. I consider myself maybe having a bias that the city is gross, filled with creeps, and completely over priced for no reason so I also hope that I can stop thinking along those lines. The city seems like such a big place with all different types of people, customs, and attitudes toward life and everyone just forms together. When I mainly think of the city I really only think of Manhattan and I always forget about the other four boroughs. It is interesting to see how much has changed over the course of the years in New York City. I want to learn more about the evolution of different areas and how they got their names or customs. I am hoping I can learn to blend in more because even though I am from New York I feel like a tourist. I want to experience what New York has to offer and learn new things along the way. After this class, I hope to travel to New York City a lot more often since I will become more familiar with the LIRR and the Subway there are so many things and sites that are here and I would never even think to go visit them. I think it is a lot different from Long Island because of the people and atmosphere around everyone. It is so easy to use public transportation and to me it is weird that not many people have a car and I don't understand why someone would want to spend so much money living in a congested area. I just hope to appreciate and experience what the city so close to my house has to offer because I don't know much about it.
Brooklyn 06/06/13
The first class was very interesting and I really enjoyed my time in Brooklyn. I feel like I went to and experienced places that I never would go to by myself. When I first got to Penn Station in the morning I was a little over whelmed after trying to figure out the train tickets and metro card, but then I was excited. We took the D train to Coney Island which was a long ride but it was interesting to be on the subway for that long of a time period. When we arrived to Coney Island it was so cool. I have never been there before and I got to see what the boardwalk, beach, and amusement parks were like. I don't really like rides so I decided not to go on any because they looked kind of old and I am paranoid. Luna Park reminded me of an old school carnival like you would see in an old movie and I never knew that Coney Island was such an interesting place (.http://www.lunaparknyc.com/). The board walk was crowded, but not really because it was a cool and cloudy day. It seemed like an interesting place to experience but I don't know if I would want to go back. The beach was not that big and I feel like there is a lot of pollution in the water ever since Hurricane Sandy. For lunch we ate at Nathans since the hotdog was created by Charles Feltman so his customers would not have to use silverware (BG, p.492). The hot dogs were so good and so were the fries and it was really crowded even though we went to the Nathans that wasn't on the boardwalk. When we were there a woman in perfectly nice clothes and earrings was walking around trying to collect money from people and that was awkward to say no to.
After leaving Coney Island, we took the D subway back to Jay Street which was in Brooklyn Heights. We walked to the New York Transit Museum were we had a tour and learned about how the Subway came about in New York City. It was interesting how unsafe the conditions were and how the subway has always been such an important part of transportation in New York. The first subway station opened in 1904 and they began to build more ever since then. I thought that sand hogs were really interesting because of how dangerous their jobs were, they had to go underneath rivers or bodies of water to build subways. I also, did not know that different stations are deeper into the ground than others which is interesting. My favorite thing I learned on the tour was about the City Hall station that is beautiful and no longer used in the subway. I think it would be really cool to see what it looks like because it was beautifully described. There were different exhibits and pictures on subways from the past until the present and many examples of train cars that were used from different times (BG, p.468). We sat on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall which used to be Brooklyn City Hall before the emergence of the five boroughs. Many of the buildings in this area were based on neoclassical style and Gothic style architecture. The Chase Bank that we saw was one of the nicest banks I have ever been inside of in my life. It was gorgeous with all of the details in the art on the outside and the inside. We saw a really nice church which was across the street from the bank. The church has been around for over 230 years and it was absolutely beautiful. It was interesting that they took the top tower part off of the church (http://www.stannholytrinity.org/st-anns-history/).
My favorite part of the day was walking along Flat bush Pass because I got to see where the Battle of Long Island took place. Being that I am a history major it was so cool to see where George Washington was stationed with his troops in 1776. I also liked this part of the day because the scenery was beautiful, you could see the Statue of Liberty, Freedom Towers, Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge, and the Empire State building all at once. When we saw Jane's Carousel I thought it was a random place for a merry go round so it was interesting to see it in the spot by the water. I really enjoyed the ice cream from Jacques Torres ice cream they had a ton of flavors and the waffle cones were really good (http://www.MRCHOCOLATE.com). After the ice cream, we headed to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. This was really interesting it was 1.13 miles long and I always thought it was longer. It was created by John A. Roebling and his son Colonel Washington Roebling. There are giant steel suspensions along the bridge and it can accommodate 18,700 tons at a time. It has been used during evacuation situations in New York like on September 11, 2001 and during the blackout of August 2003 (BG, p. 464-466). Even though there was construction being done along the bridge it was interesting to see the view from the bridge of the city. There were many different people walking and riding there bikes along the bridge for all different reasons.
By the end of the class, I was completely exhausted and it was raining so I didn't get a chance to go to South Street Seaport which was disappointing, but I do plan on going back to the area eventually and experiencing more of the night life. Some of us from the class took the Subway back to Penn Station to wait for our train and it was an experience trying to figure out what trains to take but we ended up figuring it out.
The first class was very interesting and I really enjoyed my time in Brooklyn. I feel like I went to and experienced places that I never would go to by myself. When I first got to Penn Station in the morning I was a little over whelmed after trying to figure out the train tickets and metro card, but then I was excited. We took the D train to Coney Island which was a long ride but it was interesting to be on the subway for that long of a time period. When we arrived to Coney Island it was so cool. I have never been there before and I got to see what the boardwalk, beach, and amusement parks were like. I don't really like rides so I decided not to go on any because they looked kind of old and I am paranoid. Luna Park reminded me of an old school carnival like you would see in an old movie and I never knew that Coney Island was such an interesting place (.http://www.lunaparknyc.com/). The board walk was crowded, but not really because it was a cool and cloudy day. It seemed like an interesting place to experience but I don't know if I would want to go back. The beach was not that big and I feel like there is a lot of pollution in the water ever since Hurricane Sandy. For lunch we ate at Nathans since the hotdog was created by Charles Feltman so his customers would not have to use silverware (BG, p.492). The hot dogs were so good and so were the fries and it was really crowded even though we went to the Nathans that wasn't on the boardwalk. When we were there a woman in perfectly nice clothes and earrings was walking around trying to collect money from people and that was awkward to say no to.
After leaving Coney Island, we took the D subway back to Jay Street which was in Brooklyn Heights. We walked to the New York Transit Museum were we had a tour and learned about how the Subway came about in New York City. It was interesting how unsafe the conditions were and how the subway has always been such an important part of transportation in New York. The first subway station opened in 1904 and they began to build more ever since then. I thought that sand hogs were really interesting because of how dangerous their jobs were, they had to go underneath rivers or bodies of water to build subways. I also, did not know that different stations are deeper into the ground than others which is interesting. My favorite thing I learned on the tour was about the City Hall station that is beautiful and no longer used in the subway. I think it would be really cool to see what it looks like because it was beautifully described. There were different exhibits and pictures on subways from the past until the present and many examples of train cars that were used from different times (BG, p.468). We sat on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall which used to be Brooklyn City Hall before the emergence of the five boroughs. Many of the buildings in this area were based on neoclassical style and Gothic style architecture. The Chase Bank that we saw was one of the nicest banks I have ever been inside of in my life. It was gorgeous with all of the details in the art on the outside and the inside. We saw a really nice church which was across the street from the bank. The church has been around for over 230 years and it was absolutely beautiful. It was interesting that they took the top tower part off of the church (http://www.stannholytrinity.org/st-anns-history/).
My favorite part of the day was walking along Flat bush Pass because I got to see where the Battle of Long Island took place. Being that I am a history major it was so cool to see where George Washington was stationed with his troops in 1776. I also liked this part of the day because the scenery was beautiful, you could see the Statue of Liberty, Freedom Towers, Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge, and the Empire State building all at once. When we saw Jane's Carousel I thought it was a random place for a merry go round so it was interesting to see it in the spot by the water. I really enjoyed the ice cream from Jacques Torres ice cream they had a ton of flavors and the waffle cones were really good (http://www.MRCHOCOLATE.com). After the ice cream, we headed to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. This was really interesting it was 1.13 miles long and I always thought it was longer. It was created by John A. Roebling and his son Colonel Washington Roebling. There are giant steel suspensions along the bridge and it can accommodate 18,700 tons at a time. It has been used during evacuation situations in New York like on September 11, 2001 and during the blackout of August 2003 (BG, p. 464-466). Even though there was construction being done along the bridge it was interesting to see the view from the bridge of the city. There were many different people walking and riding there bikes along the bridge for all different reasons.
By the end of the class, I was completely exhausted and it was raining so I didn't get a chance to go to South Street Seaport which was disappointing, but I do plan on going back to the area eventually and experiencing more of the night life. Some of us from the class took the Subway back to Penn Station to wait for our train and it was an experience trying to figure out what trains to take but we ended up figuring it out.
A Tale of Three Villages
06/11/13
Today's class was exciting we all met in Penn Station on time and discussed what we would be doing for the day. We took the 1 train downtown to W. Houston Street in Greenwich Village and began to be on our way exploring the city. The village is known as an interesting place where people are usually more acceptable than other places in New York. Greenwich Village is a center of creativity for New York were novelists, artists, poets, and anarchists developed and expressed their ideas over time (BG, pg.128). The village has been very accepting of homosexuals and feminists ideas and view points since the beginning of its existence. We walked down Bedford Street where we viewed different shops and cafes that were all over the village blocks. We saw a bar called White Horse Tavern which was built in 1880. During the 1950's it was a very popular bar for the literary community. Poet Dylan Thomas spent his last night here after downing 18 shots of whiskey he later died after leaving the tavern (http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5747).
We went to Christopher Park which was a little park that you could sit on a benches or just walk around. There were statues of same sex couples and a famous General from the Civil War in the park. We continued walking onto 53 Christopher Street where we saw the Stonewall Inn. This was a turning point in the gay Civil Rights movement on June 28, 1969 when riots took place. Police entered into the bar because of illegal liquor licenses and it turned into a riot where people through bottles and stones at the police (BG, p. 130). We then passed by the Northern Dispensary which is the center of three corners of streets because it is a triangular building. It has been in existence since 1831 from the federal time period. Writer Edgar Allen Poe was treated here and the building offered free medical care to the poor. When we were walking we saw a pet shop that sold puppies and there were the cutest puppies there so I had to stop and take a picture of the dogs I wanted to buy one so bad.
As we were walking to Washington Square Park, we came across the Jefferson market garden and the Jefferson Garden Library that used to be a court. When we got to Washington Square Park it was interesting to see how it was created. Mike told us a story about how Robert Moses tried to build a roadway through the park and Jane Jacobs fought to get that program denied and through community efforts he was not able to build the road there. The Washington Arch was designed by Stanford White and it had two statues of George Washington on both sides of it (BG, p. 131-132). After leaving the park we continued walking and noticed how all of the buildings fit together on the streets. There were different architectural styles from the 19th century like Greek Revival and Federal styles. We then walked down Macdougal Street where there were a bunch of different cafes, shops, restaurants and bars that we got to walk by. We stopped in front of Cafe Wha? where Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix gained there fame (http://www.nysonglines.com/macdougal.htm).
Then we arrived at the Merchants Museum which was a museum of a home that was built in 1832. Inside the home we got to see how prosperous merchant family the Tredwell's and there Irish servants got to live. Seabury was the merchant and he had a wife named Eliza and together they had 8 kids who all lived in the house. Gertrude was the youngest daughter who lived in the house 98 years after her family had moved in and when the house was opened up into a museum it virtually stayed the same as it was when the Tredwell's lived in it. There was a family room in the basement where the family ate dinner together and it did not have expensive furniture because no one outside of the family would see this room. Money was spent decorating the main floor where guests would be entertained. There were four Irish women servants who lived with the Tredwells and took care of the family. They had an interesting bell system put into the kitchen from rooms in the house so when one of the Tredwells rang a bell the servants would know who was calling for what and they could be at their service. On the main floor the rooms were beautiful and the parlors were used for entertaining guests. Both of the rooms were symmetrical and one of them had a portrait of Eliza and a portrait of Seabury. Music was very popular especially for the children to play when entertaining guests. The next floor was Eliza and Seabury's bedrooms during this time it was extremely common for husband and wife to have separate bedrooms. The house had running water during its time period which was extremely uncommon and the house was heated by coal. The children lived on the third level of the house and the servants lived on the fourth. I thought it was really cool to see how people from the past lived especially because the Tredwells were a wealthy family.
We saw the St. Peterson Church which is the second oldest and Peter Stuyvesant is buried there. The East Village used to be extremely dangerous until the community starting to do some revamping and making it a safer place to live. We went to the Museum of Proclaimed Urban Space where we were taken on a tour by two men both named Bill. They taught us about the history of Squators who were people that took over run down buildings after the landlords abandoned them when the communities became destroyed. The people turned these squats into liveable homes but many of them were punks and anarchists. When police and the government tried to come back in they used force and in May 1995 police used armed personnel carriers to evict squats. After this they were forced to negotiate in about 2001 and there are now about 15 squats still around and they have the right to be there. We went to community parks were people in the community fought for this space to use the land as a garden. The green thumb program helped to make these parks successful and people come in take over the land and have community discussions. They collect rain water and grow there own crops there. The man Bill was very controversial in his view points with the class not many people agreed with everything he was saying. Although some of his information was accurate he had a single minded view point and was very against gentrification which brings in a lot of money to the community. We then went to Thompson Square Park were Bill told us about many different riots that took place because of curfews with the parks and for other reasons.
Today was an interesting day in class, I felt like I learned a lot and saw many different things I normally wouldn't see. I couldn't get over the fact that two slices of pizza and a soda could be less than $3 I don't even know how that is possible. It was also interesting to see many of the controversial view points of people in the class throughout the day. I did not agree with Bill from the last tour but I do respect peoples opinions. I feel like there are two sides to every story and doesn't hurt to listen it was just that he rambled on a lot and it was a lot to keep up with. The merchants museum was probably my favorite part of the day because it was really interesting to see how wealthy people lived in the past. I wish we would have been able to go into White Horse Tavern because it looked really cool and I definitely think that would be a cool place to go back to.
Today's class was exciting we all met in Penn Station on time and discussed what we would be doing for the day. We took the 1 train downtown to W. Houston Street in Greenwich Village and began to be on our way exploring the city. The village is known as an interesting place where people are usually more acceptable than other places in New York. Greenwich Village is a center of creativity for New York were novelists, artists, poets, and anarchists developed and expressed their ideas over time (BG, pg.128). The village has been very accepting of homosexuals and feminists ideas and view points since the beginning of its existence. We walked down Bedford Street where we viewed different shops and cafes that were all over the village blocks. We saw a bar called White Horse Tavern which was built in 1880. During the 1950's it was a very popular bar for the literary community. Poet Dylan Thomas spent his last night here after downing 18 shots of whiskey he later died after leaving the tavern (http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5747).
We went to Christopher Park which was a little park that you could sit on a benches or just walk around. There were statues of same sex couples and a famous General from the Civil War in the park. We continued walking onto 53 Christopher Street where we saw the Stonewall Inn. This was a turning point in the gay Civil Rights movement on June 28, 1969 when riots took place. Police entered into the bar because of illegal liquor licenses and it turned into a riot where people through bottles and stones at the police (BG, p. 130). We then passed by the Northern Dispensary which is the center of three corners of streets because it is a triangular building. It has been in existence since 1831 from the federal time period. Writer Edgar Allen Poe was treated here and the building offered free medical care to the poor. When we were walking we saw a pet shop that sold puppies and there were the cutest puppies there so I had to stop and take a picture of the dogs I wanted to buy one so bad.
As we were walking to Washington Square Park, we came across the Jefferson market garden and the Jefferson Garden Library that used to be a court. When we got to Washington Square Park it was interesting to see how it was created. Mike told us a story about how Robert Moses tried to build a roadway through the park and Jane Jacobs fought to get that program denied and through community efforts he was not able to build the road there. The Washington Arch was designed by Stanford White and it had two statues of George Washington on both sides of it (BG, p. 131-132). After leaving the park we continued walking and noticed how all of the buildings fit together on the streets. There were different architectural styles from the 19th century like Greek Revival and Federal styles. We then walked down Macdougal Street where there were a bunch of different cafes, shops, restaurants and bars that we got to walk by. We stopped in front of Cafe Wha? where Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix gained there fame (http://www.nysonglines.com/macdougal.htm).
Then we arrived at the Merchants Museum which was a museum of a home that was built in 1832. Inside the home we got to see how prosperous merchant family the Tredwell's and there Irish servants got to live. Seabury was the merchant and he had a wife named Eliza and together they had 8 kids who all lived in the house. Gertrude was the youngest daughter who lived in the house 98 years after her family had moved in and when the house was opened up into a museum it virtually stayed the same as it was when the Tredwell's lived in it. There was a family room in the basement where the family ate dinner together and it did not have expensive furniture because no one outside of the family would see this room. Money was spent decorating the main floor where guests would be entertained. There were four Irish women servants who lived with the Tredwells and took care of the family. They had an interesting bell system put into the kitchen from rooms in the house so when one of the Tredwells rang a bell the servants would know who was calling for what and they could be at their service. On the main floor the rooms were beautiful and the parlors were used for entertaining guests. Both of the rooms were symmetrical and one of them had a portrait of Eliza and a portrait of Seabury. Music was very popular especially for the children to play when entertaining guests. The next floor was Eliza and Seabury's bedrooms during this time it was extremely common for husband and wife to have separate bedrooms. The house had running water during its time period which was extremely uncommon and the house was heated by coal. The children lived on the third level of the house and the servants lived on the fourth. I thought it was really cool to see how people from the past lived especially because the Tredwells were a wealthy family.
We saw the St. Peterson Church which is the second oldest and Peter Stuyvesant is buried there. The East Village used to be extremely dangerous until the community starting to do some revamping and making it a safer place to live. We went to the Museum of Proclaimed Urban Space where we were taken on a tour by two men both named Bill. They taught us about the history of Squators who were people that took over run down buildings after the landlords abandoned them when the communities became destroyed. The people turned these squats into liveable homes but many of them were punks and anarchists. When police and the government tried to come back in they used force and in May 1995 police used armed personnel carriers to evict squats. After this they were forced to negotiate in about 2001 and there are now about 15 squats still around and they have the right to be there. We went to community parks were people in the community fought for this space to use the land as a garden. The green thumb program helped to make these parks successful and people come in take over the land and have community discussions. They collect rain water and grow there own crops there. The man Bill was very controversial in his view points with the class not many people agreed with everything he was saying. Although some of his information was accurate he had a single minded view point and was very against gentrification which brings in a lot of money to the community. We then went to Thompson Square Park were Bill told us about many different riots that took place because of curfews with the parks and for other reasons.
Today was an interesting day in class, I felt like I learned a lot and saw many different things I normally wouldn't see. I couldn't get over the fact that two slices of pizza and a soda could be less than $3 I don't even know how that is possible. It was also interesting to see many of the controversial view points of people in the class throughout the day. I did not agree with Bill from the last tour but I do respect peoples opinions. I feel like there are two sides to every story and doesn't hurt to listen it was just that he rambled on a lot and it was a lot to keep up with. The merchants museum was probably my favorite part of the day because it was really interesting to see how wealthy people lived in the past. I wish we would have been able to go into White Horse Tavern because it looked really cool and I definitely think that would be a cool place to go back to.
The East of the Park
06/13/13
Today was a really ugly and rainy day which kind of put the class in a bad mood, but we were ready to explore. We took the #6 train uptown towards East Harlem and we stopped at the station of 103 street in Grand Central Station. We walked from the station to museum and as we walked we passed different projects and saw parts of East Harlem. We made our way to the Museum of the city of New York. I really enjoyed this museum a lot there was plenty of history that museum had to offer to the class. When we first arrived we sat in the lobby and there was a giant coach that we all got to sit on while we waited for Mike to pay the admission so we could view the exhibits. The first room I entered was the fashion room and there was all different types of fashion I really like the Silhouette from the 1970's (http://www.mcny.org/).
While I was walking through the museum I came across the Stettheimer doll house that really caught my eye. Carrie Walter Stettheimer created the house and it was a work in progress. It was so interesting the details were impeccable and it was huge. I wish when I was younger I could own a doll house that was so interesting, but Carrie worked on it as a hobby until she died in 1944. There was another room I looked in where I saw a Samovar which was used to serve tea to immigrants. There was an exhibit on the 20th century garment production and how it impacted New York as well.
We went into the theater to watch the movie on the brief history of New York and this was so interesting to me probably because I love history. The movie started out by stating that New York has over 8 million and counting, but the land was first inhabited by the Lenape Indians. The Dutch made a famous purchase from the Lenape taking the land and creating the colony of New Amsterdam for trading. In 1664, the British took over without any bloodshed and named the land New York for the Duke of York. From 1783-1825 New York was known as the great port. They sailed vessels every week on a regular schedule and did not wait until the ship was full. Merchants made this a huge port and Wall Street helped make the city a giant financial house. In 1811, Dwight Clinton proposed a vast street grid and the Erie Canal was created. From 1825-1865, New York was known as the city of strangers. It was the industrial center for housing thousands of workers mostly German and Irish immigrants. From 1865-1900, it was known as the Metropolis because the tranist system/ Elevated rail lines carried passengers from Central Park to the Upper East and Upper West side. During the 1890's, the gap between the rich and the poor grew tremendously. In 1898, the cities of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island merge together to form a giant urban colasis. The lower east side was filled with tenements and Jacob Riis wrote a book called How the Other Half Lives which described the terrible conditions that the poor lived in.
The modern city was from 1900-1920 and this was a time were urban development was booming. There was a race all around the world to create the biggest and best sky scrappers and millions of immigrants were pouring through the harbor. Subways and bridges were built and everything came to reach for New Yorkers during this time. From 1920-1945, New York is the cosmopolitan city it is socially complex. African Americans poured into Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance came about from this migration. FDR's new deal at this time allowed for Laguardia and Moses to build through out New York. From 1945-1975, New York was known as a Regional City. It was home of the United Nations and became an urban vision. Robert Moses ran highways across the city and the suburbs started springing up. White people fled to the suburbs and the Puerto Ricans were the new comers. The city became filled with slums, crime, and public services declined. From 1975-2001, the Renaissance was were committed New Yorkers rebuilt communities that were destroyed. New immigrants came from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. On September 11,2001 terrorists attacked the World Trade Center which left New Yorkers and Americans in fear of new terrorism. We also saw the micro unit apartment in the museum and this will be coming up around the city. It was really tiny but definitely cute and modern and I liked it.
After the museum, we headed to meet our tour guide Luke who gave us a tour on the culture and art of Spanish Harlem. Luke showed us different paintings by a local artist named Manny Vega and he spoke to different people on the street so we could see how they lived and how there lifestyles were changing. I really liked the painting on one of the sides of the buildings that showed real people and how they lived there everyday life. I like the fact that it captured feel images of people in the community and they were put onto a building to remind the community of where they came from. Luke is an activist and poet and I really enjoyed his tour especially because he was such a down to earth and interesting person. We ended at the community center and it was interesting to see a place were people can conform and come together in the area to do things they love. After the tour, we went to eat at a restaurant called Paco were we had real Mexican food which was delicious. I think I had one of the best burritos I will ever have at this restaurant.
When we left Harlem we headed to Museum Mile were we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Unfortunately, when we arrived the museum was going to be closing in about 20 minutes. I found it interesting that the $25 fee was only a suggested price and you did not have to pay that. It is kind of cool but annoying how they can get people to pay without realizing. We saw a really cool Punk show that was at the museum it had different exhibits on fashion from the Punk era and I thought the Pacisimile of CBGB Bathroom was pretty gross but cool to see. We viewed a couple of other pieces of art but as we were walking I thought the old art and jewlery from the Greeks were really cool and interesting ( http://www.metmuseum.org/).
Now we were finally headed toward Central Park and everyone was really tired but we kept going because today was really an exciting day. When we got to the park it was absolutely beautiful even though it was raining out. We walked into the conservatory gardens and it was amazing to see how such a busy city could have such a beautiful and quiet place. I have never been there before so I was in shock when I saw how big it was. It was really cool to see the scenes from the movie Friends with Benefits and 27 dresses and to also, see the lake in the park where the boat race took place in Stewart Little. Fredrick Law Olmsted designed the park in a completely beautiful way. When he designed the park he wanted a common green space that was open to all of the people in New York and he saw the park as a counterpart to the built up city ( BG, p. 284). There is a 2.5 acre piece of land called Strawberry fields to honor John Lenon in the park. If you are like me you would have thought that there would be real strawberries that you could eat at the park, but that was not the case. It is located right near the Dakota were John Lennon was assassinated by one of his crazy fans who was obsessed with him ( http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/dakota.htm). His wife still lives in the building on the floor were he was from. We saw a man in the park who everyday leaves roses to remember John Lennon and how great of a man and artist that he was. He sits there and tells the story of the meaning of Strawberry Fields and the Dakota (BG, p. 291-292).
Today was a really ugly and rainy day which kind of put the class in a bad mood, but we were ready to explore. We took the #6 train uptown towards East Harlem and we stopped at the station of 103 street in Grand Central Station. We walked from the station to museum and as we walked we passed different projects and saw parts of East Harlem. We made our way to the Museum of the city of New York. I really enjoyed this museum a lot there was plenty of history that museum had to offer to the class. When we first arrived we sat in the lobby and there was a giant coach that we all got to sit on while we waited for Mike to pay the admission so we could view the exhibits. The first room I entered was the fashion room and there was all different types of fashion I really like the Silhouette from the 1970's (http://www.mcny.org/).
While I was walking through the museum I came across the Stettheimer doll house that really caught my eye. Carrie Walter Stettheimer created the house and it was a work in progress. It was so interesting the details were impeccable and it was huge. I wish when I was younger I could own a doll house that was so interesting, but Carrie worked on it as a hobby until she died in 1944. There was another room I looked in where I saw a Samovar which was used to serve tea to immigrants. There was an exhibit on the 20th century garment production and how it impacted New York as well.
We went into the theater to watch the movie on the brief history of New York and this was so interesting to me probably because I love history. The movie started out by stating that New York has over 8 million and counting, but the land was first inhabited by the Lenape Indians. The Dutch made a famous purchase from the Lenape taking the land and creating the colony of New Amsterdam for trading. In 1664, the British took over without any bloodshed and named the land New York for the Duke of York. From 1783-1825 New York was known as the great port. They sailed vessels every week on a regular schedule and did not wait until the ship was full. Merchants made this a huge port and Wall Street helped make the city a giant financial house. In 1811, Dwight Clinton proposed a vast street grid and the Erie Canal was created. From 1825-1865, New York was known as the city of strangers. It was the industrial center for housing thousands of workers mostly German and Irish immigrants. From 1865-1900, it was known as the Metropolis because the tranist system/ Elevated rail lines carried passengers from Central Park to the Upper East and Upper West side. During the 1890's, the gap between the rich and the poor grew tremendously. In 1898, the cities of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island merge together to form a giant urban colasis. The lower east side was filled with tenements and Jacob Riis wrote a book called How the Other Half Lives which described the terrible conditions that the poor lived in.
The modern city was from 1900-1920 and this was a time were urban development was booming. There was a race all around the world to create the biggest and best sky scrappers and millions of immigrants were pouring through the harbor. Subways and bridges were built and everything came to reach for New Yorkers during this time. From 1920-1945, New York is the cosmopolitan city it is socially complex. African Americans poured into Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance came about from this migration. FDR's new deal at this time allowed for Laguardia and Moses to build through out New York. From 1945-1975, New York was known as a Regional City. It was home of the United Nations and became an urban vision. Robert Moses ran highways across the city and the suburbs started springing up. White people fled to the suburbs and the Puerto Ricans were the new comers. The city became filled with slums, crime, and public services declined. From 1975-2001, the Renaissance was were committed New Yorkers rebuilt communities that were destroyed. New immigrants came from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. On September 11,2001 terrorists attacked the World Trade Center which left New Yorkers and Americans in fear of new terrorism. We also saw the micro unit apartment in the museum and this will be coming up around the city. It was really tiny but definitely cute and modern and I liked it.
After the museum, we headed to meet our tour guide Luke who gave us a tour on the culture and art of Spanish Harlem. Luke showed us different paintings by a local artist named Manny Vega and he spoke to different people on the street so we could see how they lived and how there lifestyles were changing. I really liked the painting on one of the sides of the buildings that showed real people and how they lived there everyday life. I like the fact that it captured feel images of people in the community and they were put onto a building to remind the community of where they came from. Luke is an activist and poet and I really enjoyed his tour especially because he was such a down to earth and interesting person. We ended at the community center and it was interesting to see a place were people can conform and come together in the area to do things they love. After the tour, we went to eat at a restaurant called Paco were we had real Mexican food which was delicious. I think I had one of the best burritos I will ever have at this restaurant.
When we left Harlem we headed to Museum Mile were we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Unfortunately, when we arrived the museum was going to be closing in about 20 minutes. I found it interesting that the $25 fee was only a suggested price and you did not have to pay that. It is kind of cool but annoying how they can get people to pay without realizing. We saw a really cool Punk show that was at the museum it had different exhibits on fashion from the Punk era and I thought the Pacisimile of CBGB Bathroom was pretty gross but cool to see. We viewed a couple of other pieces of art but as we were walking I thought the old art and jewlery from the Greeks were really cool and interesting ( http://www.metmuseum.org/).
Now we were finally headed toward Central Park and everyone was really tired but we kept going because today was really an exciting day. When we got to the park it was absolutely beautiful even though it was raining out. We walked into the conservatory gardens and it was amazing to see how such a busy city could have such a beautiful and quiet place. I have never been there before so I was in shock when I saw how big it was. It was really cool to see the scenes from the movie Friends with Benefits and 27 dresses and to also, see the lake in the park where the boat race took place in Stewart Little. Fredrick Law Olmsted designed the park in a completely beautiful way. When he designed the park he wanted a common green space that was open to all of the people in New York and he saw the park as a counterpart to the built up city ( BG, p. 284). There is a 2.5 acre piece of land called Strawberry fields to honor John Lenon in the park. If you are like me you would have thought that there would be real strawberries that you could eat at the park, but that was not the case. It is located right near the Dakota were John Lennon was assassinated by one of his crazy fans who was obsessed with him ( http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/dakota.htm). His wife still lives in the building on the floor were he was from. We saw a man in the park who everyday leaves roses to remember John Lennon and how great of a man and artist that he was. He sits there and tells the story of the meaning of Strawberry Fields and the Dakota (BG, p. 291-292).