On the Waterfront

By Claire

Today was a day I had been waiting for.  Some time back, Chuck emailed me an article he had read in the New York Times about an architectural boat tour around Manhattan Island.  I read the article and immediately signed us up.  Well, almost immediately.  I consulted with Chuck, suggesting that we do it the afternoon of our first day in New York.  He was afraid it would be too much; besides, we didn't know how long it would take us to get here.  So, I went along with it and reserved two tickets on the 2 pm cruise the day after our arrival.  What luck!  Yesterday--the day we would have been doing it had I had my way--was foggy, drizzly and extremely humid.  Today?  Picture perfect, around 75° and no humidity. 

We decided to take it easy this morning and just wander through some neighborhoods we are interested in.  But first, I had to take a picture of the view out our window.  We are loving where we are staying, The Best Western Plaza Hotel in Long Island City.  Our subway station is out the door and to the right, one block.  We have free parking and even a free breakfast.  And, we get to hear a veritable Babel of languages all around us--in the hotel and out on the street all over the city. Getting into Manhattan is nothing. a breeze.

Room with a view

 

Our first stop was to see the Flatiron building.  It is located on 5th Avenue and was considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper when it was completed in 1902.  At the time, it was one of the tallest buildings in New York. As with numerous other wedge-shaped buildings, the name "Flatiron" derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron.  I guess I'm too young to know what that is.  The configuration of the land parcel determined the shape of the building.

 

 Relaxing while checking out the Flatiron Building

 

Strolling through Union Square Park and Market

 

Window washer. Look Ma, no net

 

Waiting for a light to change, Chuck spotted a diner I had mentioned I wanted to try, Eisenberg's.  It was before noon, so the timing was perfect.  No crowds and we sat at the counter and ordered coffee ($1 each).  Their T-shirt motto is "Raising New York's Cholesterol Since 1929."

 

 

We were making our way towards the Chelsea Piers where we would catch our cruise.  Naturally, we had to stop by the Hotel Chelsea.  The hotel is an historic New York City hotel and landmark, known primarily for its history of notable residents.  The 250-unit hotel has been the home of numerous writers, musicians, artists, and actors including Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, Robert Maplethorpe and Sam Shepard.  Read Just Kids, by Patti Smith to find out all about it.  All I can say is, it was a thrill to see it.

 

Still in the neighborhood of Chelsea, I enjoyed just strolling along and taking in the sights.

 

We arrived at the Chelsea Piers in plenty of time to relax and just people watch.  Chuck took a nap.

 

 

Our yacht

Every Around Manhattan boat tour identifies individual landmarks and discusses distinct periods of New York’s development, including the City Beautiful era’s Beaux-Arts monuments, Art Deco spires, elegant residential enclaves, Urban Renewal superblocks and recent “starchitecture” towers. The 2.75-hour cruise, completely circumnavigates the island of Manhattan (passing under all 18 bridges) while taking in the sites; it is an architectural tour designed by AIANY (American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter).

Starting with a glass of champagne

Famous building

 

Frank Gehry building

 

 

 

 

Ellis Island

 

 Famous lady

 

Southern Tip of Manhattan

 

 Another Frank Gehry, Beekman Tower

 

Brooklyn Bridge. I can get it for you wholesale

 

The included spread

 

 

 

 

 

Former smallpox hospital from the late 1800's, on Roosevelt Island. To be preserved as a landmark

 

 Tram to Roosevelt Island

 

 Roosevelt Island

 

More bridges

 

 

 Harlem

 

 

The Cloisters

 

Site of former castle (note the wall)--the owner tore it down and put up these apartment buildings, called Castle Village

 

 

I love the water towers on top of all the buildings

 

This looks like an Erector Set or Lego structure to me

 

We felt relaxed and very satisfied with our first-class architectural tour.  Our docent was knowledgeable and a great speaker.  I will never forget it.  Since we were on 23rd St., we decided to check out The High Line, a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It is owned by the City of New York, and maintained and operated by Friends of The High Line. Founded in 1999 by community residents, they fought for its preservation and transformation at a time when the historic structure was under the threat of demolition. It is now a non-profit conservancy working with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to make sure it is maintained as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to enjoy.

You can see part of it just above the white truck.  I love the building next to it!

  

We joined the strolling groups, out on this lovely Friday evening

 

 

This seating area is framed like a large window with the top half open.  The bench seats reclined slightly.  It was hard to leave.

 

We had a dinner date with Chuck's daughter, Natasha, and her partner, Adom.  Expert subway users now, and with her excellent directions in hand, we met up with them at Nizza in Hell's Kitchen.  I ordered the veggie Socca, basically a pizza made with a chickpea flour crust.  Chuck ordered Chicken Saltimboca and we split them.

 

Natasha and Dad

 

 Walking home in the balmy night

 

 And who did we meet up with?

The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding.  ~ John Updike

New York City

By Claire

We checked out of our Philadelphia hotel at 7:30 but it took 15 minutes to get Vicky programmed to take us to our hotel in Long Island City.  The hotel is very new and I guess she didn't have the address in her system.  We finally found it using the POI (point of interest) choice--which always confounds us for awhile.  We arrived at our new hotel just before 11.  I admit to being stressed out from the drive even though Chuck was doing the driving.  When you miss a turn in a big city, it is just a bear to get back to where you're going.  We made it in one piece, parked our car in their lot and walked the 1-1/2 blocks to the subway station. We bought a 7-day unlimited ride MetroCard and then proceeded to have a typically busy day and finally arrived back at the hotel about 7:15pm, completely spent. It was supposed to rain today but it turned out to be mostly foggy--and a very humid  73°. This report will be mostly photos.  Neither of us has the energy to do much more, and we're saving ourselves for a big day tomorrow.

Nice neighborhood, not where we're staying

 

Central Park

Walking around Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir in Central Park

 

Stopping for lunch at "Heavenly Rest Stop" inside a church, I stood next to my first crazy lady in NYC:  She was muttering frantically to herself--or was it to the sandwich?

 

 Veggie Panini with one bite missing

 

Sitting outside across from Central Park

 

Apple Crumb Pie

 

We felt so good about the fact that our timing had been so great that in 20 minutes we could join a docent tour at the Guggenheim, half a block away.  But, when we got there, we found that it was closed on Thursdays.  To paraphrase the Terminator, We'll be back.

 

Frank Lloyd Wright's Solomon D. Guggenheim Museum

Grand Central Station

 

Grand Central Station bathroom rules

 

 New York Public Library, a complete wonder

 

We were pleased to see several exhibits on food in the library.  There was a complete bank of automat food dispensers; and there was a looped showing of scenes from movies and TV shows that centered on uses and abuses of them.  For example, Marlo Thomas of That Girl trying to create a free soup from hot water, ketsup, salt and pepper.

 Ceiling in Library

 

Window looking out on 5th Avenue

 

Rockefeller Plaza

 

 

 Prometheus Unbound

 

  
Untitled art work on unknown building--lovely

 

Radio City Music Hall, of course

 

We took a tour of the United Nations, a highlight of the day for both of us (besides the library).  It was exciting to be in the Security Council.

 

General Assembly 

 

 Pendulum and interesting staircase inside U.N.

 

Sphere Within a Sphere, Arnoldo Pomodoro.  We saw another of his spheres at Trinity College in Dublin.

 

Gift of Luxembourg

 

By Chuck 

I took this tour back in 1964/5 when Mick Winter drove up from Maryland to see the New York World's Fair.  I recognized the rooms this time; but that was about all.  They have added many new programs in recent years as they try to stop terrible tragedies within nations--after Rwanda showed that only dealing with problems between nations missed too many problems.  

Also, there is a stronger attempt to deal with children's issues.  For example, they try to provide refugee children with "school kits" that contain materials for play and learning for 2 teachers and 80 kids.  They have also learned that they can significantly reduce the incidence of malaria in Africa by providing mosquito nets for less than $10.  One six year old girl began selling lemonade to support this effort; by the time she was 10, she had inspired others and the program had provided $200,000 worth of netting!  We can all do our part. 

The saddest facts centered on the consequences of the use of land mines.  Most of the victims are civilians, and most of these are children.  The U.S. has not yet signed the proposed ban on the manufacture and sale of these terrible instruments of death.

 

The U.N. was not created to take humanity to heaven but to save it from hell. ~ Dag Hammarskjold, U.N. Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize winner