5. The enchanted east side
Today we spent our day in East Harlem. However I started my day with Alexandra at the Explorers Club at 9am because she had a science lecture to go to. I’m going to give myself a pat on the back for that one. That was a 7:30am wake up…on a Saturday! I slept the whole train ride back to Bellmore.
Anyway, Alexandra and I ran into our class on the subway by sheer luck! Good for us we knew where we were going! We took the subway into East Harlem also known as Spanish Harlem also known as “El Barrio”. My first thoughts when it comes to Harlem, is a bad and dangerous area but I could not have been more wrong. This neighborhood has been undergoing gentrification, and is home to a massive Latino population. (ENY 161) However this area was not always what we know it to be today. In the mid-19th century East Harlem was a rural area. Then in 1880 the elevated train service led to the industrialization and development of the area. Apartment buildings went up that mostly housed Irish, German, Scandinavian and Eastern European immigrants. Then many Italians moved into the area until post WWI when Puerto Ricans arrived. (ENY162)
Once in East Harlem we walked west towards 5th avenue. We walked under a huge brick overpass and came out of the other side where we came across a group of buildings. These buildings are projects. These are the Carver Houses after George Washington Carver. Built by Robert Moses and completed in 1958, they are comprised of 13 buildings for low income residents. (ENY 162) Socially this was a horrible idea. Putting a group of people with poor socio-economic status, was just the combination needed to turn this area into a dangerous one.
We continued onto 5th avenue and walked to the Museum of the City of New York. It is scenically placed across the street from Central Park. The museum was founded in 1923 (ENY 163). Here we looked at the “Gilded New York” Exhibit and watched a documentary called “Timescapes” about how New York City has changed, starting with the Lenape, the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the area, to present day. The museum also had many paintings which helped to depict how different certain areas looked years ago. For example there was one that depicted Fulton St. before the Brooklyn Bridge was built. This is a great exhibit to help us visualize New York as a rural area rather than the metropolis that we know it to be today.
We were then greeted by our Art Educator from El Museo del Barrio, Lucas. Lucas showed us around Spanish Harlem. He is a poet who has travelled around the world to over 30 countries. The first mural he showed us was one dedicated to Rev. Pedro Pietri. He was a Puerto Rican immigrant who lived in East Harlem for most of his life. He was a community activist who also founded the Nuyorican Poets Café. Directly across the street is another mural called “The Spirit of Harlem”. It was created by Hank Prussing in 1978 and restored by his apprentice Manny Vega. It depicts the people of “El Barrio”, their community and their spirit. We also walked by Modesto “tin” Flores Garden. It was closed so we couldn’t go in. But inside there was a fountain in the middle called “Seed of Growth” designed by Lina Puerta. The Fountain represents the female reproductive system. Along the back wall of the park is a painting called “Soldaderas”, depicting Frida Kahlo, in front of a Mexican flag and Julia De Burgos, in front of a Puerto Rican flag. Two strong Latina women, meant to represent the strong ties these two communities have to one another. (ENY 163-165)
After this tour we took a break for lunch. I went to La Aguilar. BEST BURRITO OF MY LIFE. That’s all I have to say about that. By this point in the day I was pretty tired, but still eager to do more! We went to Upper Central Park which runs from 110th street to 88th street. I loved it! It was my first time there and I thought it was beautiful and my comfort zone. From Central Park we continued to Midtown and Grand Central station. This is my stereotypical idea of Manhattan. Art Deco Buildings with a lot of tourists. Not my favorite thing in the world. Although Grand Central is a beautiful building and I hate that Penn was destroyed to become what it is now.
Anyway, Alexandra and I ran into our class on the subway by sheer luck! Good for us we knew where we were going! We took the subway into East Harlem also known as Spanish Harlem also known as “El Barrio”. My first thoughts when it comes to Harlem, is a bad and dangerous area but I could not have been more wrong. This neighborhood has been undergoing gentrification, and is home to a massive Latino population. (ENY 161) However this area was not always what we know it to be today. In the mid-19th century East Harlem was a rural area. Then in 1880 the elevated train service led to the industrialization and development of the area. Apartment buildings went up that mostly housed Irish, German, Scandinavian and Eastern European immigrants. Then many Italians moved into the area until post WWI when Puerto Ricans arrived. (ENY162)
Once in East Harlem we walked west towards 5th avenue. We walked under a huge brick overpass and came out of the other side where we came across a group of buildings. These buildings are projects. These are the Carver Houses after George Washington Carver. Built by Robert Moses and completed in 1958, they are comprised of 13 buildings for low income residents. (ENY 162) Socially this was a horrible idea. Putting a group of people with poor socio-economic status, was just the combination needed to turn this area into a dangerous one.
We continued onto 5th avenue and walked to the Museum of the City of New York. It is scenically placed across the street from Central Park. The museum was founded in 1923 (ENY 163). Here we looked at the “Gilded New York” Exhibit and watched a documentary called “Timescapes” about how New York City has changed, starting with the Lenape, the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the area, to present day. The museum also had many paintings which helped to depict how different certain areas looked years ago. For example there was one that depicted Fulton St. before the Brooklyn Bridge was built. This is a great exhibit to help us visualize New York as a rural area rather than the metropolis that we know it to be today.
We were then greeted by our Art Educator from El Museo del Barrio, Lucas. Lucas showed us around Spanish Harlem. He is a poet who has travelled around the world to over 30 countries. The first mural he showed us was one dedicated to Rev. Pedro Pietri. He was a Puerto Rican immigrant who lived in East Harlem for most of his life. He was a community activist who also founded the Nuyorican Poets Café. Directly across the street is another mural called “The Spirit of Harlem”. It was created by Hank Prussing in 1978 and restored by his apprentice Manny Vega. It depicts the people of “El Barrio”, their community and their spirit. We also walked by Modesto “tin” Flores Garden. It was closed so we couldn’t go in. But inside there was a fountain in the middle called “Seed of Growth” designed by Lina Puerta. The Fountain represents the female reproductive system. Along the back wall of the park is a painting called “Soldaderas”, depicting Frida Kahlo, in front of a Mexican flag and Julia De Burgos, in front of a Puerto Rican flag. Two strong Latina women, meant to represent the strong ties these two communities have to one another. (ENY 163-165)
After this tour we took a break for lunch. I went to La Aguilar. BEST BURRITO OF MY LIFE. That’s all I have to say about that. By this point in the day I was pretty tired, but still eager to do more! We went to Upper Central Park which runs from 110th street to 88th street. I loved it! It was my first time there and I thought it was beautiful and my comfort zone. From Central Park we continued to Midtown and Grand Central station. This is my stereotypical idea of Manhattan. Art Deco Buildings with a lot of tourists. Not my favorite thing in the world. Although Grand Central is a beautiful building and I hate that Penn was destroyed to become what it is now.
6. The wild west side!
Unfortunately this week we had some pretty crappy weather. I woke up in the morning to depressing rain. First we met at Penn Station as usual had our pow-wow and were off to the Museum of Modern Art. However we ran into the same problem as the first day of class. The E Train wasn’t running so we had to take the A Train to 14th street to take the E to 5th avenue. Once we made it to the Museum of Modern Art it was PACKED!! I guess a rainy day in Manhattan that is the best thing to do. First we had to check in our bags. I have to admit I went to a Modern Art Museum in London when I was 15, and I hated it, so I was less than thrilled to come to the MOMA.
Here is where we all went into a contemporary art exhibit by an artist Robert Gober. Because it was so packed we had to go through absorb as much as we could and then talk about it at the end. And oh my goodness the “art” that was in that exhibit. There was a black room filled with penises (penii?), a video of someone sawing through a deer’s head, a room wallpapered with a cartoon of a guy hanging, an overflowing bath tub, a serious of sinks, and a series of doors. There was also a room with an empty pie box and a bottle of gin on the floor and my personal favorite a crucifix with the head cut off and water pouring out of Jesus’ nipples. At first I walked through this exhibit and thought “what the heck am I looking at, how on God’s green earth is this considered art?” but I honestly laughed at the entire thing. After we went through the exhibit Mike spoke to us about how the whole purpose of contemporary art is to make you think, provoke a feeling, shock you or make you laugh. This exhibit did just that. So while it is not something I can look at and think that it is beautiful, I did get a good chuckle out of it. And that is good enough for me. While visiting the MOMA we had also seen Van Gough’s Starry Night. My mom is a huge Van Gough fan; she has this book that is always on our coffee table that I remember looking through as a kid. It was awesome to be able to see that in person. We also saw Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell Soup Cans.
After the MOMA we went to Yum Yum for lunch. Yum Yum is a Thai Restaurant. This was my first time trying Thai and I loved it! I dove in head first and tried the Panang Curry. It was delicious. I then went to Shmackery’s down the street for some of the best cookies I have ever consumed!
After Lunch we headed over to Grant’s Tomb. Ulysses S. Grant was the commander of the Union Army during the Civil War. He was also President of the United States from 1869-1877. (ENY 171) While we were there, a beautiful wedding was taking place. We learned that Grant died of throat cancer in 1885; his body was temporarily in a brick tomb until the memorial was completed in 1897. It was designed by John Duncan. (ENY 171) We then crossed the street and took a peak at the Gothic Revival style Riverside Church. We were not able to go inside the outside was beautiful!! What I found really interesting is Alexandra and I kept saying to each other how it reminded us of the churches we went to in France when we were in high school. I had said it reminded me of Chartes Cathedral in France to read in the book that it was modeled after that church! I just thought that was very cool. It is the tallest church in the United States. It was built in 1927 by funds from John D Rockerfeller Jr. (ENY 172) then we walked over to Columbia University and Barnard College. Again, AMAZING! I particularly loved this area in the city. I loved the architecture and the feel of the neighborhood. Columbia is a 36 acre campus; it was the first college in New York and the fifth in the United States. In 1754 it was established as Kings College and after the revolution changed its name to Columbia. Columbia’s campus was also famously designed by Mikes all time favorite architectural firm; McKim, Mead and White. We moseyed on over to the library. In front of the library is a statue of the Alma Mater.(ENY 170) Underneath her robes, there is an owl. As legend has it; if you find the owl and rub its belly you are destined to marry a Columbia grad. Unfortunately for me I was too short to reach it, but I did find it. We ended our day at the Cathedral of St.John the Divine. Our tour guides final resting place. This church is magnificent! This is the largest church in the united states and the largest gothic-style cathedral in the world! It has a length of over 600 feet and can hold up to 3000 worshippers. Insane. Also interestingly enough, this cathedral is not finished yet. It has never been completed. (ENY168)
I thought this class was going to be crappy because of the weather but it actually turned out to be a beautiful one. I’m starting to get sad! Only 2 classes left!!
Here is where we all went into a contemporary art exhibit by an artist Robert Gober. Because it was so packed we had to go through absorb as much as we could and then talk about it at the end. And oh my goodness the “art” that was in that exhibit. There was a black room filled with penises (penii?), a video of someone sawing through a deer’s head, a room wallpapered with a cartoon of a guy hanging, an overflowing bath tub, a serious of sinks, and a series of doors. There was also a room with an empty pie box and a bottle of gin on the floor and my personal favorite a crucifix with the head cut off and water pouring out of Jesus’ nipples. At first I walked through this exhibit and thought “what the heck am I looking at, how on God’s green earth is this considered art?” but I honestly laughed at the entire thing. After we went through the exhibit Mike spoke to us about how the whole purpose of contemporary art is to make you think, provoke a feeling, shock you or make you laugh. This exhibit did just that. So while it is not something I can look at and think that it is beautiful, I did get a good chuckle out of it. And that is good enough for me. While visiting the MOMA we had also seen Van Gough’s Starry Night. My mom is a huge Van Gough fan; she has this book that is always on our coffee table that I remember looking through as a kid. It was awesome to be able to see that in person. We also saw Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell Soup Cans.
After the MOMA we went to Yum Yum for lunch. Yum Yum is a Thai Restaurant. This was my first time trying Thai and I loved it! I dove in head first and tried the Panang Curry. It was delicious. I then went to Shmackery’s down the street for some of the best cookies I have ever consumed!
After Lunch we headed over to Grant’s Tomb. Ulysses S. Grant was the commander of the Union Army during the Civil War. He was also President of the United States from 1869-1877. (ENY 171) While we were there, a beautiful wedding was taking place. We learned that Grant died of throat cancer in 1885; his body was temporarily in a brick tomb until the memorial was completed in 1897. It was designed by John Duncan. (ENY 171) We then crossed the street and took a peak at the Gothic Revival style Riverside Church. We were not able to go inside the outside was beautiful!! What I found really interesting is Alexandra and I kept saying to each other how it reminded us of the churches we went to in France when we were in high school. I had said it reminded me of Chartes Cathedral in France to read in the book that it was modeled after that church! I just thought that was very cool. It is the tallest church in the United States. It was built in 1927 by funds from John D Rockerfeller Jr. (ENY 172) then we walked over to Columbia University and Barnard College. Again, AMAZING! I particularly loved this area in the city. I loved the architecture and the feel of the neighborhood. Columbia is a 36 acre campus; it was the first college in New York and the fifth in the United States. In 1754 it was established as Kings College and after the revolution changed its name to Columbia. Columbia’s campus was also famously designed by Mikes all time favorite architectural firm; McKim, Mead and White. We moseyed on over to the library. In front of the library is a statue of the Alma Mater.(ENY 170) Underneath her robes, there is an owl. As legend has it; if you find the owl and rub its belly you are destined to marry a Columbia grad. Unfortunately for me I was too short to reach it, but I did find it. We ended our day at the Cathedral of St.John the Divine. Our tour guides final resting place. This church is magnificent! This is the largest church in the united states and the largest gothic-style cathedral in the world! It has a length of over 600 feet and can hold up to 3000 worshippers. Insane. Also interestingly enough, this cathedral is not finished yet. It has never been completed. (ENY168)
I thought this class was going to be crappy because of the weather but it actually turned out to be a beautiful one. I’m starting to get sad! Only 2 classes left!!
7. Immigrant new york: the lower east side
This week we were in the heart of immigrant New York and China Town: The Lower East Side. This is historically known as the working class neighborhood of New York. We had a 9:00am start. I was lucky though because I stayed in the city on Friday. Friday night I went to see Eric Church at Madison Square Garden and stayed at the Double Tree on W.36th Street. I had other classmates who also went to the concert the night before. We were all pretty tired. But I was able to sleep until 8 and walk over to Penn with my boyfriend and grab some coffee before class started. It was honestly the best way to start my day.
To start the day from Penn we walked out to the F train and took it to Delancey Street. From Delancey we walked to Essex Street and went to the Essex Street Market. This is one of the few Markets of its kind still around. Here Mike told us about how for most of the 20th century the streets of the Lower East Side were filled with carts. This is how people sold their goods. However when LaGuardia became Mayor in 1933 he wanted to eliminate the unsanitary conditions that came to define the Lower East Side because of the packed streets. In an effort to do so he opened markets like this one and banned all pushcarts. Renting space in an indoor market is obviously more expensive. So when this was enacted the number of vendors went from 15,000 in 1933 down to 1,200 in 1945. I went into the market and grabbed an apple and some water.
After the Essex Street Market we went to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. This was by far my favorite part of the day. We went on the Irish Tour. Being that my name is Shannon and that my family is of Irish decent, I was psyched to see firsthand what is was like for an Irish immigrant. My Nanny-O (short for Nanny O’Donnell) was forced to come to the United States with her sister because her sister was pregnant and not married. Although my Nanny-O was a Nurse in Ireland she was not allowed to be a nurse in New York. No one would hire her. At the time no one would hire Irish workers. They often hung up signs saying NINA: “No Irish Need Apply”. As a result she was a house servant for a long time. My Great Grandfather was forced to flee Ireland during the troubles. He was wanted as a member of the IRA. He sold his farm to his brother for a penny and hopped on a boat and came to the United States through Canada. Our Uncle Leo still owns the farm and raises horses. Anyway, we were taken into the tenement. This building was built in 1865, and was in a predominantly German area. Upon entering the building its peeling wallpaper and dingy appearance is exactly what I expected to see. These tenements were breeding ground for filth and disease. However they were not always thought of with such a negative connotation. When they were first built they were very nice. The way they were set up was each floor had four three room apartments. We were taken into the Apartment of the Moore Family. They were one of only four Irish families in the tenement at the time. The Moore’s had three daughters their ages were 4, 3 and 5 months. Before they moved here they lived in the notorious five points area. Their 5 month old Agnes was sick and died one week before she would’ve been six months. Here I learned about how milk at the time was blamed for a lot of illness and disease, since it had to be imported from upstate. Also we learned about elixirs that were sold to supposedly cure all disease. However they were basically narcotics. They had the back room set up as an Irish wake. That freaked me out.
After the Tenement Museum, Mike split us up into groups. Each group was given a list of instructions to go and explore Chinatown. I was not originally the group leader, that was kind of dumped on me. This was by far my least favorite part of the day. I was split up from my friends. And two girls in my group were not getting along so there was some bickering and a lot of complaining. Anyway first we walked west along Delancey Street and made a left onto Mott. We continued from Mott down to Canal. The neighborhood changed very quickly. It changed from typical manhattan buildings to Chinese lettering and characters everywhere! It was also PACKED. I hate crowds so I was immediately in the mode of “let’s do what we have to and get the hell out of here!” Once we got to Canal we walked up and down poked our heads into a few shops. One thing I noticed was an abundance of fresh produce being sold and a lot of jade jewelry. I never realized how expensive Jade is. A simple Jade bracelet was over 400 bucks. From there we walked back to Mott and continued to the Eastern States Buddhist Temple of American. It was a beautiful “Temple”. However to me it seemed more like a store than a place of worship. I donated a dollar and got a fortune. My fortune sucked. It said I had a poor probability of success. So to counteract my horrible fortune, I bought my “Happiness” beads. They are meant to help you absorb the positive and deflect the negative. After the temple we continued down Mott and walked down Bayard St. we walked to Mai Li Wah Bakery, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and Vivi Bubble tea. I ate a pork bun here they are DELICIOUS! Holy cow, so good!! After this we met everyone back on Allen at Congee Village for lunch. Lunch was delicious, I wish there was more food, because we were all still pretty hungry afterwards.
After lunch we went on a walking tour with Jim around the Lower East Side. One of our first stops was to Economy Candy. If I had been feeling a little bit better I probably would have bought my body weight in candy! It was like a real life Willy Wonka Candy Store. We walked down Delancey Street again and looked at the Williamsburg Bridge. This Bridge was also known as the Jews Highway. This is because much of the Jewish population lived in Williamsburg and traveled into the Lower East Side for worship. Speaking of worship we saw the Bialystoker Synagogue and the Eldridge Street Synagogue. The Bialystoker Synagogue was once a church that lost most of its congregation and then it turned into a synagogue. As we continued down the street we went to 313 East Broadway where there was a huge beaux art building that was built in 1904. This building was used by orthodox Jewish women to purify themselves before they got married and after they had their period. This was called a Mikvah, where they had to cleanse themselves with pure water. Often times rain water was used. My favorite stop on this tour was the Henry Street Settlement. It was founded by Lillian Wald. She was a 25 year old nursing student who wanted to improve the conditions of the lower east side.
I found some parts of this class very interesting and other parts not so interesting. I loved the Henry Street Settlement and the Tenement Museum. Chinatown gave me anxiety way too crowded for my liking. The tour with Jim was great. He has so much knowledge and keeps it interesting! Next week is our last class! :(
To start the day from Penn we walked out to the F train and took it to Delancey Street. From Delancey we walked to Essex Street and went to the Essex Street Market. This is one of the few Markets of its kind still around. Here Mike told us about how for most of the 20th century the streets of the Lower East Side were filled with carts. This is how people sold their goods. However when LaGuardia became Mayor in 1933 he wanted to eliminate the unsanitary conditions that came to define the Lower East Side because of the packed streets. In an effort to do so he opened markets like this one and banned all pushcarts. Renting space in an indoor market is obviously more expensive. So when this was enacted the number of vendors went from 15,000 in 1933 down to 1,200 in 1945. I went into the market and grabbed an apple and some water.
After the Essex Street Market we went to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. This was by far my favorite part of the day. We went on the Irish Tour. Being that my name is Shannon and that my family is of Irish decent, I was psyched to see firsthand what is was like for an Irish immigrant. My Nanny-O (short for Nanny O’Donnell) was forced to come to the United States with her sister because her sister was pregnant and not married. Although my Nanny-O was a Nurse in Ireland she was not allowed to be a nurse in New York. No one would hire her. At the time no one would hire Irish workers. They often hung up signs saying NINA: “No Irish Need Apply”. As a result she was a house servant for a long time. My Great Grandfather was forced to flee Ireland during the troubles. He was wanted as a member of the IRA. He sold his farm to his brother for a penny and hopped on a boat and came to the United States through Canada. Our Uncle Leo still owns the farm and raises horses. Anyway, we were taken into the tenement. This building was built in 1865, and was in a predominantly German area. Upon entering the building its peeling wallpaper and dingy appearance is exactly what I expected to see. These tenements were breeding ground for filth and disease. However they were not always thought of with such a negative connotation. When they were first built they were very nice. The way they were set up was each floor had four three room apartments. We were taken into the Apartment of the Moore Family. They were one of only four Irish families in the tenement at the time. The Moore’s had three daughters their ages were 4, 3 and 5 months. Before they moved here they lived in the notorious five points area. Their 5 month old Agnes was sick and died one week before she would’ve been six months. Here I learned about how milk at the time was blamed for a lot of illness and disease, since it had to be imported from upstate. Also we learned about elixirs that were sold to supposedly cure all disease. However they were basically narcotics. They had the back room set up as an Irish wake. That freaked me out.
After the Tenement Museum, Mike split us up into groups. Each group was given a list of instructions to go and explore Chinatown. I was not originally the group leader, that was kind of dumped on me. This was by far my least favorite part of the day. I was split up from my friends. And two girls in my group were not getting along so there was some bickering and a lot of complaining. Anyway first we walked west along Delancey Street and made a left onto Mott. We continued from Mott down to Canal. The neighborhood changed very quickly. It changed from typical manhattan buildings to Chinese lettering and characters everywhere! It was also PACKED. I hate crowds so I was immediately in the mode of “let’s do what we have to and get the hell out of here!” Once we got to Canal we walked up and down poked our heads into a few shops. One thing I noticed was an abundance of fresh produce being sold and a lot of jade jewelry. I never realized how expensive Jade is. A simple Jade bracelet was over 400 bucks. From there we walked back to Mott and continued to the Eastern States Buddhist Temple of American. It was a beautiful “Temple”. However to me it seemed more like a store than a place of worship. I donated a dollar and got a fortune. My fortune sucked. It said I had a poor probability of success. So to counteract my horrible fortune, I bought my “Happiness” beads. They are meant to help you absorb the positive and deflect the negative. After the temple we continued down Mott and walked down Bayard St. we walked to Mai Li Wah Bakery, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and Vivi Bubble tea. I ate a pork bun here they are DELICIOUS! Holy cow, so good!! After this we met everyone back on Allen at Congee Village for lunch. Lunch was delicious, I wish there was more food, because we were all still pretty hungry afterwards.
After lunch we went on a walking tour with Jim around the Lower East Side. One of our first stops was to Economy Candy. If I had been feeling a little bit better I probably would have bought my body weight in candy! It was like a real life Willy Wonka Candy Store. We walked down Delancey Street again and looked at the Williamsburg Bridge. This Bridge was also known as the Jews Highway. This is because much of the Jewish population lived in Williamsburg and traveled into the Lower East Side for worship. Speaking of worship we saw the Bialystoker Synagogue and the Eldridge Street Synagogue. The Bialystoker Synagogue was once a church that lost most of its congregation and then it turned into a synagogue. As we continued down the street we went to 313 East Broadway where there was a huge beaux art building that was built in 1904. This building was used by orthodox Jewish women to purify themselves before they got married and after they had their period. This was called a Mikvah, where they had to cleanse themselves with pure water. Often times rain water was used. My favorite stop on this tour was the Henry Street Settlement. It was founded by Lillian Wald. She was a 25 year old nursing student who wanted to improve the conditions of the lower east side.
I found some parts of this class very interesting and other parts not so interesting. I loved the Henry Street Settlement and the Tenement Museum. Chinatown gave me anxiety way too crowded for my liking. The tour with Jim was great. He has so much knowledge and keeps it interesting! Next week is our last class! :(
8. Lower Manhattan
Our Last Class!! L I cannot believe it went by this fast. I have to be honest this is the class that I have been dreading!! We met for the last time in Penn. Alexandra, Gabriella and I grabbed something to eat and some coffee to power through the day.
One of the first things Mike pointed out to us was that behind the Poet’s House is Tear Drop Park. It is 1.8 acres. He also told us that the Poets House has over 60,000 volumes of poetry in its collection. Although it does not allow you to borrow books it is open to the public.
We then walked over to Robert C. Wagner Park. Robert C. Wagner was the Mayor of New York from 1954 to 1965. This park has AMAZING views of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. This is New York Harbor. It extends from The Narrows to the Battery at Manhattans southernmost tip. The Upper New York Bay has had ships coming in since the 17th century. Then in the 19th century it was flooded with thousands of immigrants that were welcomed by the famous Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty was made by a French sculpture Frederic Auguste Bartholdi in 1884 as a gift celebrating our centennial. There was a ceremony in France on July 4th, 1884 and then they shipped Lady Liberty to the United States. Not too far away is Ellis Island.
We continued on to Battery Park and Battery Park City. Battery Park city didn’t exist prior to 1976. Up until the late 1950’s this area was piers. By the 1960’s the piers were abandoned and falling apart. Governor Nelson Rockefeller called for the new community to be built. Construction began in 1972. In Battery Park we saw Castle Clinton named after DeWitt Clinton. Mike explained to us that this area is called “Battery” because it used to have cannons on it and the surrounding islands also had cannons as a form of defense.
After Battery Park we went to my favorite site of the day: Fraunces Tavern. This building is considered to be the oldest in New York City despite all the renovations. The tavern was originally build in 1719 by Stephen Delancey. It was his home until 1730. In 1730 he moved uptown to his estate that is now commonly known as Delancey Street. In 1763 Samuel Fraunces was running the tavern and called it “Queens Head”. This was a popular meeting place for the Sons of Liberty. After the last troops left the United States, known as Evacuation Day, General George Washington held a farewell dinner with his fellow officers. We only know this because of Benjamin Tallmadge’s memoirs. Benjamin Tallmadge was a Captain in the Continental army and was in charge of the Culper Spy Ring. He enlisted his childhood friends Abraham Woodhull, Anna Strong, Caleb Brewster, Austin Roe and countless others to help him. None of them were ever caught. This was huge because all previous spies had been caught and hanged. At First George Washington was nervous to entrust and start yet another intelligence operation due to previous failures. Especially because Tallmadge would not let anyone know the identity of the spies working for him. All intelligence was passed on through coded letters which were hidden in produce going from Long Island to Manhattan. They even were the first to try invisible ink! I just finished a book on this so when our tour guide Rebecca mentioned this I was so excited! Anyway at this dinner Washington paid his respects to his fellow officers and bid them farewell. He thought he would then be retiring to his estate since the war was over. Little did he know he would come to be the first President of the United States.
We then walked down to the Museum of the American Indian. After that we went to look at the Charging Bull which is a 3.5 ton, 16 foot long bronze statue. It was made by Arthuro Di Modica right after Black Monday. He left it in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Police were going to take it down however the public asked for it to be moved to where it currently sits on Broadway. We broke for lunch after a stroll on the water. I got an awesome copped salad! And our next stop was the 9/11 memorial (cue waterworks).
So going to the 9/11 memorial was a huge thing for me. It was my first time here. I was able to find all the names I wanted to find. It was obviously emotional but almost calming at the same time. The whole memorial is put together very nicely. Walking from the memorial, we went into St.Paul’s Chapel where we saw Washington’s Pew. Honestly I hated the chapel. I hated that they were selling NYPD and FDNY merchandise. That to me isn’t what a church should be. I understand the church was a safe haven for the first responders, but there is no reason to flaunt that. A simple plaque or memorial to attest that would suffice. I just felt like the chapel was centered around 9/11 and not God.
And finally our last stop was Tweed Courthouse. Built between 1861 and 1881, Boss Tweed was the one behind its creation. He was controller of Tammany Hall politics at the time. Tammany Hall had the Irish Immigrant vote. However Tammany Hall was also very corrupt and embezzled up to 200 million dollars. The building of the courthouse Tweed allotted 14 million and he pocketed 10 million!! It is rumored that one plaster worker would be paid up to 45,000 for one day’s work.
After visiting the court house we were off to Brooklyn Brewery!! We walked over the Williamsburg Bridge which was breath taking! Walked along the water and saw the sunset on Manhattan, and walked over to The Brooklyn Brewery…where there was a line that no one wanted to wait on. So as soon as we stepped off line guess what? They started to let people in. So I broke off with a group of them stayed for a drink and headed home to study. I would love to go back to Williamsburg again to experience the Brewery and some of the night life. Especially because I never go out. I tend to be a homebody.
One of the first things Mike pointed out to us was that behind the Poet’s House is Tear Drop Park. It is 1.8 acres. He also told us that the Poets House has over 60,000 volumes of poetry in its collection. Although it does not allow you to borrow books it is open to the public.
We then walked over to Robert C. Wagner Park. Robert C. Wagner was the Mayor of New York from 1954 to 1965. This park has AMAZING views of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. This is New York Harbor. It extends from The Narrows to the Battery at Manhattans southernmost tip. The Upper New York Bay has had ships coming in since the 17th century. Then in the 19th century it was flooded with thousands of immigrants that were welcomed by the famous Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty was made by a French sculpture Frederic Auguste Bartholdi in 1884 as a gift celebrating our centennial. There was a ceremony in France on July 4th, 1884 and then they shipped Lady Liberty to the United States. Not too far away is Ellis Island.
We continued on to Battery Park and Battery Park City. Battery Park city didn’t exist prior to 1976. Up until the late 1950’s this area was piers. By the 1960’s the piers were abandoned and falling apart. Governor Nelson Rockefeller called for the new community to be built. Construction began in 1972. In Battery Park we saw Castle Clinton named after DeWitt Clinton. Mike explained to us that this area is called “Battery” because it used to have cannons on it and the surrounding islands also had cannons as a form of defense.
After Battery Park we went to my favorite site of the day: Fraunces Tavern. This building is considered to be the oldest in New York City despite all the renovations. The tavern was originally build in 1719 by Stephen Delancey. It was his home until 1730. In 1730 he moved uptown to his estate that is now commonly known as Delancey Street. In 1763 Samuel Fraunces was running the tavern and called it “Queens Head”. This was a popular meeting place for the Sons of Liberty. After the last troops left the United States, known as Evacuation Day, General George Washington held a farewell dinner with his fellow officers. We only know this because of Benjamin Tallmadge’s memoirs. Benjamin Tallmadge was a Captain in the Continental army and was in charge of the Culper Spy Ring. He enlisted his childhood friends Abraham Woodhull, Anna Strong, Caleb Brewster, Austin Roe and countless others to help him. None of them were ever caught. This was huge because all previous spies had been caught and hanged. At First George Washington was nervous to entrust and start yet another intelligence operation due to previous failures. Especially because Tallmadge would not let anyone know the identity of the spies working for him. All intelligence was passed on through coded letters which were hidden in produce going from Long Island to Manhattan. They even were the first to try invisible ink! I just finished a book on this so when our tour guide Rebecca mentioned this I was so excited! Anyway at this dinner Washington paid his respects to his fellow officers and bid them farewell. He thought he would then be retiring to his estate since the war was over. Little did he know he would come to be the first President of the United States.
We then walked down to the Museum of the American Indian. After that we went to look at the Charging Bull which is a 3.5 ton, 16 foot long bronze statue. It was made by Arthuro Di Modica right after Black Monday. He left it in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Police were going to take it down however the public asked for it to be moved to where it currently sits on Broadway. We broke for lunch after a stroll on the water. I got an awesome copped salad! And our next stop was the 9/11 memorial (cue waterworks).
So going to the 9/11 memorial was a huge thing for me. It was my first time here. I was able to find all the names I wanted to find. It was obviously emotional but almost calming at the same time. The whole memorial is put together very nicely. Walking from the memorial, we went into St.Paul’s Chapel where we saw Washington’s Pew. Honestly I hated the chapel. I hated that they were selling NYPD and FDNY merchandise. That to me isn’t what a church should be. I understand the church was a safe haven for the first responders, but there is no reason to flaunt that. A simple plaque or memorial to attest that would suffice. I just felt like the chapel was centered around 9/11 and not God.
And finally our last stop was Tweed Courthouse. Built between 1861 and 1881, Boss Tweed was the one behind its creation. He was controller of Tammany Hall politics at the time. Tammany Hall had the Irish Immigrant vote. However Tammany Hall was also very corrupt and embezzled up to 200 million dollars. The building of the courthouse Tweed allotted 14 million and he pocketed 10 million!! It is rumored that one plaster worker would be paid up to 45,000 for one day’s work.
After visiting the court house we were off to Brooklyn Brewery!! We walked over the Williamsburg Bridge which was breath taking! Walked along the water and saw the sunset on Manhattan, and walked over to The Brooklyn Brewery…where there was a line that no one wanted to wait on. So as soon as we stepped off line guess what? They started to let people in. So I broke off with a group of them stayed for a drink and headed home to study. I would love to go back to Williamsburg again to experience the Brewery and some of the night life. Especially because I never go out. I tend to be a homebody.
9. My new and improved impressions of nyc
I am so sad this class is over!! I honestly looked forward to it every week!!
My thoughts and feelings on New York City are totally different! Now that I am more informed and experienced on what the city has to offer I feel very differently about it. But I still hate Midtown. HATE MIDTOWN. And Chinatown. Crowded areas are just absolutely out of the question.
The city has so much history that I didn’t know about! I want to read up on more of it and possibly take a few more trips into the city to take it all in. You can learn from a book but experiencing it firsthand not only makes it more interesting, but I remember the information better when I physically go and see what it is I am reading.
The city is also not all tourists. I hated going places and traipsing through throngs of people. Not to mention I am 4 foot 11 inches. Crowds make me extremely claustrophobic.
Also Manhattan aka the "Concrete Jungle", for people who love the outdoors…there are SO many parks that you can go to. And they’re all beautiful!
Before this class anything having to do with the city, I honestly didn’t even want to hear it. I was so focused on “ew the dirt, the crowds, the nasty people, I’m not going” In reality there are really nice areas. Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, Morningside Heights the upper east side, Columbia University were all beautiful and breath taking!
After this class I also definitely would not mind living in certain parts of the city if I could afford it. But I still think I would need a job in Manhattan to move there. Otherwise I perfectly content in suburbia. But the city is an awesome place to visit.
My thoughts and feelings on New York City are totally different! Now that I am more informed and experienced on what the city has to offer I feel very differently about it. But I still hate Midtown. HATE MIDTOWN. And Chinatown. Crowded areas are just absolutely out of the question.
The city has so much history that I didn’t know about! I want to read up on more of it and possibly take a few more trips into the city to take it all in. You can learn from a book but experiencing it firsthand not only makes it more interesting, but I remember the information better when I physically go and see what it is I am reading.
The city is also not all tourists. I hated going places and traipsing through throngs of people. Not to mention I am 4 foot 11 inches. Crowds make me extremely claustrophobic.
Also Manhattan aka the "Concrete Jungle", for people who love the outdoors…there are SO many parks that you can go to. And they’re all beautiful!
Before this class anything having to do with the city, I honestly didn’t even want to hear it. I was so focused on “ew the dirt, the crowds, the nasty people, I’m not going” In reality there are really nice areas. Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, Morningside Heights the upper east side, Columbia University were all beautiful and breath taking!
After this class I also definitely would not mind living in certain parts of the city if I could afford it. But I still think I would need a job in Manhattan to move there. Otherwise I perfectly content in suburbia. But the city is an awesome place to visit.