THE WILD WESTSIDE 06/18
Today started out as a really nice day to be in the city. We left Penn Station and made our way upstairs to Broadway where we saw a nice sitting area for pedestrians to hangout and relax. There was a marketplace that sold all kinds of fruits, snacks, and different lemonades. When we arrived at 42nd Street we were in Times Square which is a very popular and busy place of the city. During the 1940's and 1950's this was a popular place for theater and entertainment. During the 1960's and 1970's Mike and Don described the city as one of the sleaziest places filled with prostitution and crime. At this time there were massage parlors and prostitutes filled throughout the city's streets. When Mayor Guiliani came into office in the early 1990's his administration made huge efforts to clean the city up and make Times Square and the city a safe and entertaining place that it once was. He began in Times Square were the Disney Corporation and others came in to advertise and rebuilt the cit (BG, p.217). Once Disney came in the city began to revamped the current Times Square we have today. No longer do people walk through the area in fear of being mugged or a victim of crime it has completely made a 180 http://www.timessquare.com/NYC__/Times_Square_History/The_Pre-Disneyfied_Times_Square:_A_Cherished_Lover_from_the_Past?/). Although some say the area has lost its uniqueness and is now a center for tourism and traffic it is a great place to visit. I loved seeing all of the billboards and the area I felt like I fit in even though I am not from the city. I feel like tourists enjoy the area for that same reason it makes you feel like everyone is a regular and no one is being judged.
After seeing Times Square we walked through the G.E. Building to get to Rockefeller Center. This was a really cool looking mall that was air conditioned which felt nice because it was so hot out. This is the world's largest privately owned business and entertainment center that was created during the Great Depression (BG, p.243). We saw some of the stores and that it was the home of NBC Studios. The building has an Art Deco style created by the architect Raymond Hood and it was the center of Rockefeller Center. The tree is usually outside in the back and in 1933 the building was complete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Building). I also thought it was interesting that the artwork inside of the building had to be repainted because originally the artist painted a picture with Lenin supporting Communism.
After leaving Rockefeller Center we made our way to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). In 1952, the Rockefeller Family donated land to create the museum. The first display of artwork that we saw was by a man named Claes Oldenburg who was a pop art artist of the 1960's. He made pop art objects in soft sculpture and he made humerous famous monumental structures. He lived in the Soho region of the city too. In this display we weren't supposed to take pictures and the people who worked there seemed to be very annoyed if anyone did take a picture probably because we weren't supposed too. Claes Oldenburg had a few interesting pieces like the Breakfast Table that he created in 1962 which was a part of the Panza Collection. My favorite thing was the Floor Burger which was created in 1962 as well. There was also a giant ice cream cone that looked like a huge carrot to Jen and I but it wasn't so that was kind if disappointing because we wanted to be right.
After Claes Oldenburg's display, we made our way to another floor were I saw Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night painting. This is probably my favorite piece of art work because it reminds me of the book Goodnight Moon that I used to love when I was a little kid. The painting is of a village called Saint Remy in June of 1889, but it is extremely beautiful (http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79802). We saw artist Jackson Pallock's artwork which I thought looked like anyone can do, but apparently there is a technique to how he paints his artwork. We saw Andy Warhol's painting of Campbell soup which was cool because it had all of the different flavors. We saw a few paintings by Picasso and Braque which was cubism. The one i remember seeing was the Ladies of Erenyon which was of ladies in the street naked with masks on. We saw the type of art called futurism who were mainly supporters of Mussolini during the World War II era. John and Rauschenberg's style of art was really interesting. They lived in the same building as one another and they were lovers. They would find things on the street and use them in their paintings and their style was a type of pop art. One of the pieces had major news events in them which was trying to get the message across that we are bombarded with cultural garbage.
After leaving the MOMA, we took a lunch break in Hell's Kitchen at a Thai restaurant called Yum Yum which was really good. I ordered the pad thai and spring rolls which I really enjoyed. After lunch it began to get really cloudy out and it was supposed to rain but we didn't think it would be that bad so we headed to the subway and took the train to 125th Street in Harlem. We met our tour guide and he gave us a tour even though it was raining pretty bad out. He told us that Harlem is the second largest African American community in the country next to South Chicago. Sugar Hill is now where the rich people live in Harlem. Harlem had not always been a predominantly African American community the Dutch originally settled in the area followed by the Germans, the Italians, and the Jews. In 1920, there were 19,000 Jews living in Harlem, but 10 years later that drastically changed. Industrial jobs were created and African Americans migrated to the area.
Churches were very important and Alambra was one of the last two places in the city to still have a bowling alley. Hotel Theresa is were Fidel Castro and Krustchev would stay when they came to the United States. They preferred to live with the people not in luxury when they came to visit. Bloomstein was a department store that was in the area that had African Americans as employees, but refused to let them shop in the store. In 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. was stabbed outside of Bloomstein's but he recovered from the wounds. In the area today, gentrification is taking place drastically. Governor Patterson and congressman Chuck Rattleman live in the building in the complex Lenox Terrance. The Apollo Theater was established in 1913, and it was been a significant venue for African American popular music (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/709438/Apollo-Theater).
After seeing Times Square we walked through the G.E. Building to get to Rockefeller Center. This was a really cool looking mall that was air conditioned which felt nice because it was so hot out. This is the world's largest privately owned business and entertainment center that was created during the Great Depression (BG, p.243). We saw some of the stores and that it was the home of NBC Studios. The building has an Art Deco style created by the architect Raymond Hood and it was the center of Rockefeller Center. The tree is usually outside in the back and in 1933 the building was complete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Building). I also thought it was interesting that the artwork inside of the building had to be repainted because originally the artist painted a picture with Lenin supporting Communism.
After leaving Rockefeller Center we made our way to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). In 1952, the Rockefeller Family donated land to create the museum. The first display of artwork that we saw was by a man named Claes Oldenburg who was a pop art artist of the 1960's. He made pop art objects in soft sculpture and he made humerous famous monumental structures. He lived in the Soho region of the city too. In this display we weren't supposed to take pictures and the people who worked there seemed to be very annoyed if anyone did take a picture probably because we weren't supposed too. Claes Oldenburg had a few interesting pieces like the Breakfast Table that he created in 1962 which was a part of the Panza Collection. My favorite thing was the Floor Burger which was created in 1962 as well. There was also a giant ice cream cone that looked like a huge carrot to Jen and I but it wasn't so that was kind if disappointing because we wanted to be right.
After Claes Oldenburg's display, we made our way to another floor were I saw Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night painting. This is probably my favorite piece of art work because it reminds me of the book Goodnight Moon that I used to love when I was a little kid. The painting is of a village called Saint Remy in June of 1889, but it is extremely beautiful (http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79802). We saw artist Jackson Pallock's artwork which I thought looked like anyone can do, but apparently there is a technique to how he paints his artwork. We saw Andy Warhol's painting of Campbell soup which was cool because it had all of the different flavors. We saw a few paintings by Picasso and Braque which was cubism. The one i remember seeing was the Ladies of Erenyon which was of ladies in the street naked with masks on. We saw the type of art called futurism who were mainly supporters of Mussolini during the World War II era. John and Rauschenberg's style of art was really interesting. They lived in the same building as one another and they were lovers. They would find things on the street and use them in their paintings and their style was a type of pop art. One of the pieces had major news events in them which was trying to get the message across that we are bombarded with cultural garbage.
After leaving the MOMA, we took a lunch break in Hell's Kitchen at a Thai restaurant called Yum Yum which was really good. I ordered the pad thai and spring rolls which I really enjoyed. After lunch it began to get really cloudy out and it was supposed to rain but we didn't think it would be that bad so we headed to the subway and took the train to 125th Street in Harlem. We met our tour guide and he gave us a tour even though it was raining pretty bad out. He told us that Harlem is the second largest African American community in the country next to South Chicago. Sugar Hill is now where the rich people live in Harlem. Harlem had not always been a predominantly African American community the Dutch originally settled in the area followed by the Germans, the Italians, and the Jews. In 1920, there were 19,000 Jews living in Harlem, but 10 years later that drastically changed. Industrial jobs were created and African Americans migrated to the area.
Churches were very important and Alambra was one of the last two places in the city to still have a bowling alley. Hotel Theresa is were Fidel Castro and Krustchev would stay when they came to the United States. They preferred to live with the people not in luxury when they came to visit. Bloomstein was a department store that was in the area that had African Americans as employees, but refused to let them shop in the store. In 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. was stabbed outside of Bloomstein's but he recovered from the wounds. In the area today, gentrification is taking place drastically. Governor Patterson and congressman Chuck Rattleman live in the building in the complex Lenox Terrance. The Apollo Theater was established in 1913, and it was been a significant venue for African American popular music (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/709438/Apollo-Theater).
LOWER MANHATTAN AND CAPTIVATING CHELSEA 06/20
When I first arrived to the city it was an extremely hot and muggy day outside. I started my day off by taking the R train to the City Hall Station because my sister drove in and parked her car in her jobs lot. When my sister, my friend, and I arrived to city hall it was interesting to see how intense the security. As soon as we walked in we had to get our bags checked to make sure that everything was okay. We waited for our tour guide and got to see the beautiful architecture of the building. When we were first on the tour he began by talking about the history of City Hall. It was constructed from 1803 through 1811 as the city's cosmopolitan. It is a federal style building which was done during its time to show the city's youthful reputation (BG, p.84). I really thought it was a amazing how supportive City Hall was with there fliers for gay rights and childrens rights you don't usually see that in many states. The hall is filled with so many portraits of important governors and celebrities from the 19th century. When we entered the Governor's Room it was so cool and it was completed in 1815-1816. The Governor’s Room has served as a museum and reception room celebrating the civic history of New York and the nation. It has one of the most important collections of 19th century American portraiture as well as historic furnishings, including pieces by Charles Christian and Honoré Lannuier, and other notable artifacts, such as George Washington’s desk. Many distinguished guests have visited the Governor’s Room, including the Marquis de Lafayette and Albert Einstein (http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/cityhall_history.html). I think it is kind of annoying that current Mayor Bloomberg choose to have everyone in cubicles so that it would be less chaotic because it takes away from the prestige feel of city hall. We then saw the Woolworth Building which in 1930 was once the world's tallest sky scrapper. I thought it was kind of cool that it was financed in cash by Frank W. Woolworth because it was interesting to know about his rags to riches story (http://www.skyscraper.org/TALLEST_TOWERS/t_woolworth.htm).
When I left City Hall, we saw a bunch of sites that were associated with September 11, 2001. It was amazing to see what ground zero looks like and just to imagine the fear that must have been going on at the time of the attack. I could only imagine it being like any other day in the city and then all of a sudden everything is different. I saw St. Pauls Chapel which had a moving 9-11 memorial and it is the only remaining colonial church in Manhattan (BG, p. 77). It was amazing to see how much the church had done for the people who were helping the victims of 9-11 and how they would set up cots for the fire fighters who had been looking for other survivors and digging through the rubble. It is really cool to see the Freedom Tower being built but it gets to me upset to think of what used to stand there. It is amazing how such a strong event brought the country together in some many different ways and people who barely even knew each other stuck together. I would never forget anything about that day and it hits close to home for me because both of my parents where NYPD officers at the time of the attacks. Once we got to the 9-11 museum it was really hard to not get upset. It was sad to see all the effort people put in to save as many lives as they could. I was really happy that my sisters friend knew someone so we got to cut the line when we went inside because it was extremely long. I think it is a beautiful memorial for all of the victims and the survivors who made it through this horrific event. It was just a really hard site to pass through because of all the emotion and pain of the people who were there.
After leaving the 9/11 memorial it was hard to not be upset. We walked past Trinity Church and I explored different things that the stock exchange had. I was on Wall Street for awhile just because I thought it was really cool to see people going in and out of work and there was a lot of cool things like the federal reserve on the block as well. I sat outside the Museum of Native American and I also walked along side of Battery Park. There was these weird wooden posts out of the ground in Battery Park which I thought was weird but I didn't really understand why they were there and I never asked why. I wish I had more time to go into the Museum of Native American but it was started to get late and I still had to head over to Chelsea to see the art galleries. I walked on the High Line which eventually turned into a perennial garden and then we ended up in the heart of Chelsea. It runs from West 14th street to the West 20th street ( BG, p. 185). There was so many art galleries that I honestly did not even know where to begin so I just picked Gagosian Gallery. I saw art work from Jeff Koon who Koons's themes and formal approaches continue to overlap and interpenetrate across time. His artwork was extremely interesting to see because his work is very recent and he lives and works in New York City. I think the Balloon Swan was my favorite because it captures a lot of color with balloon art and I have never seen artwork like this before.
When I left City Hall, we saw a bunch of sites that were associated with September 11, 2001. It was amazing to see what ground zero looks like and just to imagine the fear that must have been going on at the time of the attack. I could only imagine it being like any other day in the city and then all of a sudden everything is different. I saw St. Pauls Chapel which had a moving 9-11 memorial and it is the only remaining colonial church in Manhattan (BG, p. 77). It was amazing to see how much the church had done for the people who were helping the victims of 9-11 and how they would set up cots for the fire fighters who had been looking for other survivors and digging through the rubble. It is really cool to see the Freedom Tower being built but it gets to me upset to think of what used to stand there. It is amazing how such a strong event brought the country together in some many different ways and people who barely even knew each other stuck together. I would never forget anything about that day and it hits close to home for me because both of my parents where NYPD officers at the time of the attacks. Once we got to the 9-11 museum it was really hard to not get upset. It was sad to see all the effort people put in to save as many lives as they could. I was really happy that my sisters friend knew someone so we got to cut the line when we went inside because it was extremely long. I think it is a beautiful memorial for all of the victims and the survivors who made it through this horrific event. It was just a really hard site to pass through because of all the emotion and pain of the people who were there.
After leaving the 9/11 memorial it was hard to not be upset. We walked past Trinity Church and I explored different things that the stock exchange had. I was on Wall Street for awhile just because I thought it was really cool to see people going in and out of work and there was a lot of cool things like the federal reserve on the block as well. I sat outside the Museum of Native American and I also walked along side of Battery Park. There was these weird wooden posts out of the ground in Battery Park which I thought was weird but I didn't really understand why they were there and I never asked why. I wish I had more time to go into the Museum of Native American but it was started to get late and I still had to head over to Chelsea to see the art galleries. I walked on the High Line which eventually turned into a perennial garden and then we ended up in the heart of Chelsea. It runs from West 14th street to the West 20th street ( BG, p. 185). There was so many art galleries that I honestly did not even know where to begin so I just picked Gagosian Gallery. I saw art work from Jeff Koon who Koons's themes and formal approaches continue to overlap and interpenetrate across time. His artwork was extremely interesting to see because his work is very recent and he lives and works in New York City. I think the Balloon Swan was my favorite because it captures a lot of color with balloon art and I have never seen artwork like this before.
IMMIGRANT NEW YORK (LOWER EASTSIDE, THE BOWERY, LITTLE ITALY, AND CHINATOWN 06/25
Today was an extremely hot day and I don't think we were all realized how hot it was going to be to walk around the city. We met at Penn Station at the usual 11:00 time and we took the F train to Delancy Street. We arrived in the lower east side which has always been a place for immigrants to come together and start there lives. It was once filled with tenements and completely disgusting to enter and now the lower east side has a unique way of being apart of the city. We entered the historic Essex Street Market and we all got to walk around and see how people buy and sell things which was kind of like a supermarket (BG, p.123). I had bought a water because it was really hot just on the walk to here. We waited for our tour guide Jim who was going to give us a lot of history of the area. The lower east side is undergoing a lot of change due to gentrification like the rest of the city as well (BG, p.118).
Originally in 1624, 32 families in the area that were Dutch were from 6 different countries ad they spoke 5 different languages this immediately set the tone for diversity. There were three farms in the area the first was the Rutker Farm which was on Chi and Canal Street. He was a patriot and I recognized the name from Rutkers University in New Jersey. The second farm was owned by James De Lancy which was the largest track of property ranging 120 blocks. He was a loyalist to Great Britain during the American Revolution and when they lost the war his farm was confiscated. His son James De Lancey Junior reestablished the farm and took it over after his father had lost control of it. The third farm was Peter Stuyvesant's farm and he was the fourth mayor of New Amsterdam. His farm was around 8th Street by Avenue B and C South of Houston Street.
Many different immigrant groups have always been in the area the Irish and German were originally in the area after this. Then in the 1880's the Pograms were taking place in Europe and Russian Jews fled to America. There was a huge Jewish population in the area for a long time. The Italians then came and created Little Italy and the Chinese came and created Chinatown. During the 1900's, this was the most dense area in the world filled with tenements and three row apartments (BG, p. 119). The people lived in extremely horrendous conditions with toilets near their water. It was a known thing that this was where all of the immigrants were and it became known for a place of immigrants to start their new lives.
The Williamsburg Bridge became known as Jewish Highway because so many Jewish people would walk across the bridge into Brooklyn and they would always be traveling across. This bridge was created in an attempt to relieve over crowding in the area. Today there is still no block filled with 3,000 people which leaves the lower east side still to this day the most densest place that has ever been lived in do to the horrible conditions and tight living spaces (http://brooklyn.about.com/od/Brooklyns-Bridges/a/History-of-Brooklyns-Williamsburg-Bridge.htm). The New York City Harbor on the East River side was a better place for shipping and merchant trade. Brooklyn was an extremely good place to live and most people hoped to earn enough money to one day move there. Eventually laws became passed and there was a model tenement that people had to live in. Unfortunately, people threw garbage into the air vents and more disease was bred from trying to fix the problem of unsanitary living conditions.
Jim continued to take us on our tour and I remember being so hot it was really hard to try and focus. He told us about the indoor markets and the push carts that people used to sell goods. We stopped in the best candy store called Economy Candy and they had almost any candy you could ever even think of buying which was really cool. Jim pointed out a light post called a Bishop Crook and there are only about 100 of them left. We saw a settlement house which was created to help people better themselves and get out of poverty. The most famous one was Henry Street and the people who helped the underprivileged lived among them (BG, p.125). We saw on Allen Street a Church of Grace which was used as a public bath. During the 1880's, there were a lot of public baths in the river. It was also interesting to know that Allen Street got widened and was once a big area for prostitution. William McCarty also lived on 70 Allen Street whose nickname was Billy the Kid and he was an outlaw in the Midwest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Kid).
We continued even more into the heat where Jim showed us a synagogue which was the first Romanian once. There was a Jewish population from many different places but the synagogue was really nice. During 1898, when the city formed into a metropolis there were many different schools being built. PS 20 was created along with over 400 other schools that were built during this time. On 97 Orchid Street was the tenement museum and we didn't have a reservation to go in which I was kind of disappointed about because after hearing all about tenements it would have been nice to actually see what one was like. The new tenement law was created in 1867 which forced all tenements to have 1 privey and running water for every tenement. Although, like I said earlier most people did not obey the law and the tenements were still extremely unsanitary even though the government recognized this.
Finally we got to stop and eat at a resteraunt in Chinatown that had authentic Chinese food. It was called Congee Village and we tried a lot of different food. My favorite was probably the Chinese Broccoli and I did not like that they brought out the chicken with the head on the plate that was deffinetly something interesting to witness. We had a nice enjoyable relaxing time while eating because there was air conditioning and the food was good. After our lunch break, we headed out to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge. This walk was dreadful I could not believe we actually made it across but we did and I was in shock that no one passed out. Mike kept saying we would be proud of ourselves after the walk and I was.
After crossing the bridge, we arrived in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. It was amazing to see to see how different the atmosphere was in this part of the city. It was filled with hipsters and people who seemed to be very judgmental and probably rich. We we went to the Brooklyn Art Library were you can take out sketchbooks and create your own artwork or you can get a library card and view someones that isn't yours. It is cool that every time someones sketch book is checked out the library alerts them with an email and any one can create a sketchbook as long as they buy one. Today was definitely a tiresome day and we ended by walking by the water of the WIlliamsburg Bridge and we were able to relax which was nice.
Originally in 1624, 32 families in the area that were Dutch were from 6 different countries ad they spoke 5 different languages this immediately set the tone for diversity. There were three farms in the area the first was the Rutker Farm which was on Chi and Canal Street. He was a patriot and I recognized the name from Rutkers University in New Jersey. The second farm was owned by James De Lancy which was the largest track of property ranging 120 blocks. He was a loyalist to Great Britain during the American Revolution and when they lost the war his farm was confiscated. His son James De Lancey Junior reestablished the farm and took it over after his father had lost control of it. The third farm was Peter Stuyvesant's farm and he was the fourth mayor of New Amsterdam. His farm was around 8th Street by Avenue B and C South of Houston Street.
Many different immigrant groups have always been in the area the Irish and German were originally in the area after this. Then in the 1880's the Pograms were taking place in Europe and Russian Jews fled to America. There was a huge Jewish population in the area for a long time. The Italians then came and created Little Italy and the Chinese came and created Chinatown. During the 1900's, this was the most dense area in the world filled with tenements and three row apartments (BG, p. 119). The people lived in extremely horrendous conditions with toilets near their water. It was a known thing that this was where all of the immigrants were and it became known for a place of immigrants to start their new lives.
The Williamsburg Bridge became known as Jewish Highway because so many Jewish people would walk across the bridge into Brooklyn and they would always be traveling across. This bridge was created in an attempt to relieve over crowding in the area. Today there is still no block filled with 3,000 people which leaves the lower east side still to this day the most densest place that has ever been lived in do to the horrible conditions and tight living spaces (http://brooklyn.about.com/od/Brooklyns-Bridges/a/History-of-Brooklyns-Williamsburg-Bridge.htm). The New York City Harbor on the East River side was a better place for shipping and merchant trade. Brooklyn was an extremely good place to live and most people hoped to earn enough money to one day move there. Eventually laws became passed and there was a model tenement that people had to live in. Unfortunately, people threw garbage into the air vents and more disease was bred from trying to fix the problem of unsanitary living conditions.
Jim continued to take us on our tour and I remember being so hot it was really hard to try and focus. He told us about the indoor markets and the push carts that people used to sell goods. We stopped in the best candy store called Economy Candy and they had almost any candy you could ever even think of buying which was really cool. Jim pointed out a light post called a Bishop Crook and there are only about 100 of them left. We saw a settlement house which was created to help people better themselves and get out of poverty. The most famous one was Henry Street and the people who helped the underprivileged lived among them (BG, p.125). We saw on Allen Street a Church of Grace which was used as a public bath. During the 1880's, there were a lot of public baths in the river. It was also interesting to know that Allen Street got widened and was once a big area for prostitution. William McCarty also lived on 70 Allen Street whose nickname was Billy the Kid and he was an outlaw in the Midwest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Kid).
We continued even more into the heat where Jim showed us a synagogue which was the first Romanian once. There was a Jewish population from many different places but the synagogue was really nice. During 1898, when the city formed into a metropolis there were many different schools being built. PS 20 was created along with over 400 other schools that were built during this time. On 97 Orchid Street was the tenement museum and we didn't have a reservation to go in which I was kind of disappointed about because after hearing all about tenements it would have been nice to actually see what one was like. The new tenement law was created in 1867 which forced all tenements to have 1 privey and running water for every tenement. Although, like I said earlier most people did not obey the law and the tenements were still extremely unsanitary even though the government recognized this.
Finally we got to stop and eat at a resteraunt in Chinatown that had authentic Chinese food. It was called Congee Village and we tried a lot of different food. My favorite was probably the Chinese Broccoli and I did not like that they brought out the chicken with the head on the plate that was deffinetly something interesting to witness. We had a nice enjoyable relaxing time while eating because there was air conditioning and the food was good. After our lunch break, we headed out to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge. This walk was dreadful I could not believe we actually made it across but we did and I was in shock that no one passed out. Mike kept saying we would be proud of ourselves after the walk and I was.
After crossing the bridge, we arrived in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. It was amazing to see to see how different the atmosphere was in this part of the city. It was filled with hipsters and people who seemed to be very judgmental and probably rich. We we went to the Brooklyn Art Library were you can take out sketchbooks and create your own artwork or you can get a library card and view someones that isn't yours. It is cool that every time someones sketch book is checked out the library alerts them with an email and any one can create a sketchbook as long as they buy one. Today was definitely a tiresome day and we ended by walking by the water of the WIlliamsburg Bridge and we were able to relax which was nice.
QUIXOTIC QUEENS 06/27
Today was another very hot day and unfortunately I got some kertain thing done to my hair so I couldn't put it up or get it wet so I was going to have to wear a rain bonnet if it rained and I was dreading that. We started our day off by walking out of Penn Station and we went to Bryant Park which was once an area in the 1970's filled with crime and drugs and today is now a beautiful place to enjoy New York City. Don told us how there are great shops in the area during Christmas time and I thought it would be a cool place to go back to visit to. We had a class discussion for a few minutes and then we set out the NY Public Library. The library is built in neoclassical style. Laguardia once said "Lions need patience and fortitude" and that is why there are statues of lions on the outside (http://www.nypl.org/). This is known as the peoples palace to triumph glory I guess it is because books give you the power of knowledge and to learn. We went into a huge room called the Rose Reading Room which was the size of a football field and here we sat down to write our haikus. My haiku was based on the weather because I was so hot since I couldn't put my hair up.
Today is a hot day
I hate walking in the heat
Lets all go home now
After leaving the library, we walked to Grand Central Terminal who was having there 100 year anniversary from 1913. During the 1940's almost all of the train traffic in the city went through here but eventually it fell to decline. The station was going to be destroyed and Jackie O takes the credit for preserving our history and not knocking it down like Penn Station was destroyed. When we went inside it was beautiful it looked exactly how it did during the movie Friends with Benefits and it made me never want to go back to Penn Station again because it was just such a nice warm place to be. I think this may have been my favorite stop throughout the whole class because it was amazing to see the beauty and history in Grand Central. We then headed towards the Chrysler Building. The lights on the top of the building were actually headlights from 1929 Chryslers. There were marble walls in the building and the art of the design was beautiful. We then went to the New Building where we saw the world's biggest globe. The building was designed in 1929 in art deco style and there was no point at the top like the other buildings which I thought was interesting.
Now we were making our way through Tudor City which was a really cool part of the city. There were really nice apartments and it was on the water I was wondering if it had any relation with the Tudor Family from the kings and queens in Great Britain so I was going to research it. At one point this part of the city was filled with high crime rates and tenements. During the 1920's it became an urban Utopia to the middle class and now unforutnately it is just wealthy people that can really afford to live in this area. We walked and saw the United Nations buildings. They were created after World War II to promote peace around the world. We saw cars with diplomat plates and this place has extremely high security when I saw anyone entering or leaving. The UN didn't always have a permanent home and it was put here but was supposed to be a city within a city but there was never enough funding for this to occur.
We then took the Roosevelt Island tram to head over to the ISland and see Roosevelt's Four Freedoms park that was recently completed. We took the tram and that was extremely scary because it is just like a wire in the sky and those things always freak me out but we made it across okay. When we arrived to the island we saw the first place for disease control center that was created to stop Small Pox from spreading. There was a hospital on the island and the island looked extremely worn down and not sanitary. When we got to the Freedom Park it was beautiful. There was a giant sculpture of FDR head which I thought was creepy and maybe they should have used a statue of his whole body instead ( http://www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org/). This place was really interesting and it is a shame that the other classes won't be able to see how cool it was.
After this we took the F train to Jackson Heights for the class to eat lunch at an Indian Restaurant. I did not want to try the food because I am a picky eater and most of the class ate at McDonalds together. After lunch we took the train to Astoria where we were going to see the Museum of the Moving Image. We lost half of the class and Don on the way there but everyone eventually made it back. The museum was really cool I enjoyed walked through it and seeing how movies were made. I really liked the mummy in the Muppets Theater it scared Jenn but I thought it was so cool I must have stood there pulling on the thing for 10 minutes. I also liked all of the way the faces were sculpted for movies like seeing how Robbin Williams face was created during Mrs. Doubtfire and I enjoyed making a movie with Kailleen. I never knew that Astoria would be a huge part of the movie production world (BG, p.499).
After the museum of the moving image we were walking and went into The Queens Museum of Art which is a part of the MOMA. The building used to be a former school and now it is used as a museum from here we saw really interesting pieces of artwork. I did not like seeing the one with the animals covered in oil that were dead hanging from a tree because the animals looked so real it kind of freaked me out. A lot of the art work in this museum was really confusing too (BG, p. 497). From here we headed to Five Points which was a really cool graffitti park that may eventually be destroyed. As long as people have permission from the owner of the building they can draw what they want on the walls which is a really nice thing to have for graffiti artists.
Finally it was the end of the class, everyone said goodbye and headed off to the subway. Unfortunaltly Joe and I had to walk pretty far for another subway but we made it and then headed home.
Today is a hot day
I hate walking in the heat
Lets all go home now
After leaving the library, we walked to Grand Central Terminal who was having there 100 year anniversary from 1913. During the 1940's almost all of the train traffic in the city went through here but eventually it fell to decline. The station was going to be destroyed and Jackie O takes the credit for preserving our history and not knocking it down like Penn Station was destroyed. When we went inside it was beautiful it looked exactly how it did during the movie Friends with Benefits and it made me never want to go back to Penn Station again because it was just such a nice warm place to be. I think this may have been my favorite stop throughout the whole class because it was amazing to see the beauty and history in Grand Central. We then headed towards the Chrysler Building. The lights on the top of the building were actually headlights from 1929 Chryslers. There were marble walls in the building and the art of the design was beautiful. We then went to the New Building where we saw the world's biggest globe. The building was designed in 1929 in art deco style and there was no point at the top like the other buildings which I thought was interesting.
Now we were making our way through Tudor City which was a really cool part of the city. There were really nice apartments and it was on the water I was wondering if it had any relation with the Tudor Family from the kings and queens in Great Britain so I was going to research it. At one point this part of the city was filled with high crime rates and tenements. During the 1920's it became an urban Utopia to the middle class and now unforutnately it is just wealthy people that can really afford to live in this area. We walked and saw the United Nations buildings. They were created after World War II to promote peace around the world. We saw cars with diplomat plates and this place has extremely high security when I saw anyone entering or leaving. The UN didn't always have a permanent home and it was put here but was supposed to be a city within a city but there was never enough funding for this to occur.
We then took the Roosevelt Island tram to head over to the ISland and see Roosevelt's Four Freedoms park that was recently completed. We took the tram and that was extremely scary because it is just like a wire in the sky and those things always freak me out but we made it across okay. When we arrived to the island we saw the first place for disease control center that was created to stop Small Pox from spreading. There was a hospital on the island and the island looked extremely worn down and not sanitary. When we got to the Freedom Park it was beautiful. There was a giant sculpture of FDR head which I thought was creepy and maybe they should have used a statue of his whole body instead ( http://www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org/). This place was really interesting and it is a shame that the other classes won't be able to see how cool it was.
After this we took the F train to Jackson Heights for the class to eat lunch at an Indian Restaurant. I did not want to try the food because I am a picky eater and most of the class ate at McDonalds together. After lunch we took the train to Astoria where we were going to see the Museum of the Moving Image. We lost half of the class and Don on the way there but everyone eventually made it back. The museum was really cool I enjoyed walked through it and seeing how movies were made. I really liked the mummy in the Muppets Theater it scared Jenn but I thought it was so cool I must have stood there pulling on the thing for 10 minutes. I also liked all of the way the faces were sculpted for movies like seeing how Robbin Williams face was created during Mrs. Doubtfire and I enjoyed making a movie with Kailleen. I never knew that Astoria would be a huge part of the movie production world (BG, p.499).
After the museum of the moving image we were walking and went into The Queens Museum of Art which is a part of the MOMA. The building used to be a former school and now it is used as a museum from here we saw really interesting pieces of artwork. I did not like seeing the one with the animals covered in oil that were dead hanging from a tree because the animals looked so real it kind of freaked me out. A lot of the art work in this museum was really confusing too (BG, p. 497). From here we headed to Five Points which was a really cool graffitti park that may eventually be destroyed. As long as people have permission from the owner of the building they can draw what they want on the walls which is a really nice thing to have for graffiti artists.
Finally it was the end of the class, everyone said goodbye and headed off to the subway. Unfortunaltly Joe and I had to walk pretty far for another subway but we made it and then headed home.
Impressions of New York
I really enjoyed this class. I think I did many things that I usually would not have had the opportunity to experience or would have never thought of doing on my own. New York City is a really interesting place with different people, attitudes, and beliefs and it is amazing to see how everyone just comes together to live in the same place. I learned that the subway isn't as scary as it looks and that the 1,2,3 and E train can get me back to Penn Station if I am lost. I also learned that Penn Stations stop is 34th St. I think I became more aware of my surroundings and I was able to enjoy how people live.
It is so scary that this once used to be a place for immigrants to come, start there lives, and be able to afford cheap housing. New York City is very overpriced when it comes to living in the area. I think gentrification is taking a way a huge part of what New York City is about and making it a place for the wealthy and big business. But on the other side New York City needs the money being brought in by gentrification and this is cleaning up the city making it an extremely safe place to be.
Taking this class made me want to visit some of the places I went with my friends and even go back and do some of the things we didn't do like the Tenement Museum, Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. I want to see a lot more that the city close to my house has to offer me. I realized depending on where you go you can get really cheap food or really expensive food. I could not believe that there were so many places that had 2 slices of pizza and a soda for less than $3. I also learned that if it is before 8 oclock almost every place has happy hour so it doesn't make sense to pay full price for drinks almost anywhere.
This class was definitely a learning experience for all of us. We had to be responsible and be in the city on time while learning what train and transfers we would have to take to get to Penn Station or to get home. I still think the city has a lot of weirdos but everyone is different and as long as you are smart and safe there really isn't that much to worry about. I think it is amazing how the history and mapping of the city has changed over time and it was really interesting to see so many different buildings and places that were apart of major historical events like the Battle of Long Island, Grand Central Terminal, Central Park, the Freedom Tower, and many other sites. I am really happy that I am able to recognize how much the city has to offer at such a young age because now I will be able to enjoy it more with for myself, my friends, and my family.
It is so scary that this once used to be a place for immigrants to come, start there lives, and be able to afford cheap housing. New York City is very overpriced when it comes to living in the area. I think gentrification is taking a way a huge part of what New York City is about and making it a place for the wealthy and big business. But on the other side New York City needs the money being brought in by gentrification and this is cleaning up the city making it an extremely safe place to be.
Taking this class made me want to visit some of the places I went with my friends and even go back and do some of the things we didn't do like the Tenement Museum, Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. I want to see a lot more that the city close to my house has to offer me. I realized depending on where you go you can get really cheap food or really expensive food. I could not believe that there were so many places that had 2 slices of pizza and a soda for less than $3. I also learned that if it is before 8 oclock almost every place has happy hour so it doesn't make sense to pay full price for drinks almost anywhere.
This class was definitely a learning experience for all of us. We had to be responsible and be in the city on time while learning what train and transfers we would have to take to get to Penn Station or to get home. I still think the city has a lot of weirdos but everyone is different and as long as you are smart and safe there really isn't that much to worry about. I think it is amazing how the history and mapping of the city has changed over time and it was really interesting to see so many different buildings and places that were apart of major historical events like the Battle of Long Island, Grand Central Terminal, Central Park, the Freedom Tower, and many other sites. I am really happy that I am able to recognize how much the city has to offer at such a young age because now I will be able to enjoy it more with for myself, my friends, and my family.