JOURNALS 1-4
1. Impressions of New York
"I could never live in New York City, after one day there I'm ready to go home." This is something Ive said for as long as I can remember and would still say today if you asked me how I felt about the city. Growing up on Long Island in Suffolk County, this might seem strange to some, especially since the city is only a 45 minute drive away. Part of this is a fear, fear of not understanding the subway system or what the quickest way from point A to point B is. People that live there have no choice but to learn these systems in order to function daily. Living in the suburbs you drive to the places you need to go, very rarely do you take the train or the bus system on long island unless you needed to. The city is also very fast paced, there is almost a feeling of anxiety when your standing on the sidewalk trying to figure out where your going next and people are bumping into you trying to get to where they need to be. As if your apart of a big race and everyone has taken off and your still standing at the starting line and your feet are glued down. The living situation in the city is very different from the suburbs as well. Everywhere you look there are apartments with maybe a balcony for some outdoor space and many of them are very expensive (this is with cockroaches included). I know this from helping friends move into places located in Williamsburg Brooklyn and Manhattan. I feel like everything is shared in the city; apartment buildings, parks, transportation etc.
The history behind New York City and all of the wonderful things that are located here are phenomenal and cannot be found anywhere else. From the broadways shows to the cultural melting pot of ethnic foods and restaurants, the museums that hold centuries worth of art and the beautiful skyscrapers that hover over you. For those things I am grateful for and almost ashamed that I don't know more about or take advantage of. I find the older that I get in life I start to appreciate the history and stories of how things were decades or even centuries ago. The struggle that the original natives faced when they were forced to leave their land and the new settlers who took over. We often get hung up up in our busy lives that we forget to acknowledge the beautiful things that are right in front of us. So I can honestly say, yes Ive gone into the city for maybe a show here and there, or a project for school at the tenements, or helped a friend move in but what I know and understand about New York City is very little. I hope that this becomes an experience I don't ever forget, Not only because of the people involved and the places I see but that this experiences will erase any fear I've ever had of this big city.
The history behind New York City and all of the wonderful things that are located here are phenomenal and cannot be found anywhere else. From the broadways shows to the cultural melting pot of ethnic foods and restaurants, the museums that hold centuries worth of art and the beautiful skyscrapers that hover over you. For those things I am grateful for and almost ashamed that I don't know more about or take advantage of. I find the older that I get in life I start to appreciate the history and stories of how things were decades or even centuries ago. The struggle that the original natives faced when they were forced to leave their land and the new settlers who took over. We often get hung up up in our busy lives that we forget to acknowledge the beautiful things that are right in front of us. So I can honestly say, yes Ive gone into the city for maybe a show here and there, or a project for school at the tenements, or helped a friend move in but what I know and understand about New York City is very little. I hope that this becomes an experience I don't ever forget, Not only because of the people involved and the places I see but that this experiences will erase any fear I've ever had of this big city.
2. Queens
My morning started bright and early taking the LIRR 9:10 out of Ronkonkoma, after buying my 5 round trips off peak and my metro card I was already up to $138 (which Mike had already apologized for). I could feel my nerves starting to act to up a bit, thinking to myself about where to meet and what the day was going to involve. We jumped on the E train and then took that to the 7 train which is known as the International Express because of it's route, "takes passengers through some of the most ethnically diverse communities..." (eny, p.159). Growing up on Long Island I'm really not aware of any of the subways that run through the boroughs or city, so learning about the facts like when they were built and for what reasons always is an interest for me. I always knew that Queens was located on Long Island but never knew that it contains "the largest number of cemeteries in New York City (29 total) it's also true that it contains more dead than living people in the borough" (eny, p.157). I bet some of them have stones from centuries ago! We began our walk into Flushing Meadow park and as we listened to all of these facts about Queens we sat at the USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow Park. Huge planes from LaGuardia Airport flew overhead almost every 5 minutes! We then moved on to see a site that just isn't the same unless you see it in person just due to it's enormous size, the Unisphere. Mike spoke to us about the Unisphere and how it was created for the world's fair of 1964-65, Gilmore D. Clarke was the designer for it and it was built to symbolize "Peace through understanding and Man's achievement on a shrinking globe in an expanding universe" (eny, p.164). I actually ran underneath it and was able to get a picture from below this massive structure.
The Queens Museum (http://www.queensmuseum.org) is next to the Unisphere and holds some of the most interesting pieces of art that was shown in the World's Fair that I never even knew existed. The first thing we saw was Andy Warhol's collection of the 13 most wanted men, however there are only 9 photos of men that are displayed. This was because when Andy Warhol displayed these images Robert Moses felt that they took away from the positive theme of the World's Fair, he asked Warhol to take them down. Warhol took his time in removing the images and the art was sprayed over with a metallic silver paint. Warhol then put a work up of Robert Moses (which Moses also didn't enjoy) and was asked to be removed, at the end of this ongoing battle 9 of the 13 pieces of art were salvageable and are on display today. Next we learned about the relief map of the watershed that was built along with the aqueduct that stretches hundreds of miles down from the catskills and holds the purest unfiltered water in the nation and it only goes to New York City. This was an amazing fact to learn about and really made you appreciate the workers that built this monster carrier to give us an eternity of clean water. Another exhibit was Panorama, the worlds largest scale model, showing the 5 boroughs, parts of Long Island, parts of New jersey etc. This miniature New York goes from day to night with the lights in the room dimming on and off and a motion airport showing planes departing and arriving from LaGuardia. One of the students stated, "Its amazing how they created this prior to computers and the technology that they have today." I couldn't agree more with this statement, this is a true accomplishment. I almost feel that people should not be allowed to update the buildings located on this model just to keep the originality of the creator. Another exhibit seen was books carved into skyscrapers by the artist Liu Wei the picture below shows the intricate detail involved in the carving of actual books, it was mentioned that you can skim through some of the pages. We reviewed what the 5 East river bridges were: BMW-QT Brooklyn bridge, Manhattan bridge, Williamsburg bridge, Queens-boro bridge and the Triboro bridge (I won't ever forget).
We walked back to the International Express and took that to Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights where we had lunch in Little India at the Jackson Diner. I wish I could of gotten a picture of what all of our faces looked like walking into this place, a majority of us never tried indian cuisine before. Mike and Damien (aka Goose) had smiles on from ear to ear as they greeted the owner of the restaurant. I was one of the ones who dabbled into each dish offered even if it was only a quarter size of food, I still tried it. The Channa/chickpeas were my favorite! We then took the R train to head to Astoria, as we were standing on Steinway st. Mike prepared us for turning the corner onto 35th ave, one of the first things you notice is Kaufman Astoria Studios. Mike taught us about how Astoria was a large filming industry at one point but due to weather preference, California became more desirable. This was the first example of gentrification that he showed us. Astoria used to be a blue collar area and less desirable than what it is now, its now one of the top three (Astoria, Jackson Heights and Long Island City) gentrified areas. I did notice the wine bars, book stores and the expensive cars parked on the streets as we approached the Museum of the Moving Image http://www.movingimage.us. This museum looked at how pictures were first developed with cameras and optical illusions that fool the eye, how film has changed over time, sound using microphones, speakers, extra lighting and much more. The second floor was probably my favorite and showed how makeup can completely alter how dramatic a character can look.
After leaving the Museum of Moving Image we took the M train to Court Square /23rd st which brought us into Long Island City. I never knew Long Island City even existed, Mike taught us that this was another great example of area that was hit with the wave of gentrification. As we headed down 21st street we walked onto 46th ave which had the entrance of MoMA PS1 a building that used to be a school. You could see the separate entrances for boys and girls, the building was entirely made from bricks and was now transformed into a museum for art. We learned that a lot of the times when an area becomes hip and popular the first group of people to move to the area are musicians and artists these are the trendsetters for the general public. On the corner we noticed 5 points a warehouse that had been spray painted and would soon be removed since the area is becoming a high class place to live. While trying to beat the dark the clouds, thunder and lightening, we made our way to Gantry Plaza State Park. This park was named after, "the huge 19th century railroad gantries that were used to transfer cargo from ships to trains to be transported throughout Long Island" (eny, p.172). The site across the river was phenomenal, the glass on the buildings were illuminated especially with the contrast of the dark clouds behind them. Mike pointed out the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings and how they are great examples of architecture demonstrating the style art deco. The apartment buildings that were behind us were built within the past 1-3yrs. Trulia has them listed anywhere from $2300 for a 1bedroom to $6200 for a 2 bedroom. You can understand the pricing on them due to the beautiful views. A few rain drops and some aggressive thunder and lightening ended our day so we all headed back to Penn Station via the 7 train.
The Queens Museum (http://www.queensmuseum.org) is next to the Unisphere and holds some of the most interesting pieces of art that was shown in the World's Fair that I never even knew existed. The first thing we saw was Andy Warhol's collection of the 13 most wanted men, however there are only 9 photos of men that are displayed. This was because when Andy Warhol displayed these images Robert Moses felt that they took away from the positive theme of the World's Fair, he asked Warhol to take them down. Warhol took his time in removing the images and the art was sprayed over with a metallic silver paint. Warhol then put a work up of Robert Moses (which Moses also didn't enjoy) and was asked to be removed, at the end of this ongoing battle 9 of the 13 pieces of art were salvageable and are on display today. Next we learned about the relief map of the watershed that was built along with the aqueduct that stretches hundreds of miles down from the catskills and holds the purest unfiltered water in the nation and it only goes to New York City. This was an amazing fact to learn about and really made you appreciate the workers that built this monster carrier to give us an eternity of clean water. Another exhibit was Panorama, the worlds largest scale model, showing the 5 boroughs, parts of Long Island, parts of New jersey etc. This miniature New York goes from day to night with the lights in the room dimming on and off and a motion airport showing planes departing and arriving from LaGuardia. One of the students stated, "Its amazing how they created this prior to computers and the technology that they have today." I couldn't agree more with this statement, this is a true accomplishment. I almost feel that people should not be allowed to update the buildings located on this model just to keep the originality of the creator. Another exhibit seen was books carved into skyscrapers by the artist Liu Wei the picture below shows the intricate detail involved in the carving of actual books, it was mentioned that you can skim through some of the pages. We reviewed what the 5 East river bridges were: BMW-QT Brooklyn bridge, Manhattan bridge, Williamsburg bridge, Queens-boro bridge and the Triboro bridge (I won't ever forget).
We walked back to the International Express and took that to Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights where we had lunch in Little India at the Jackson Diner. I wish I could of gotten a picture of what all of our faces looked like walking into this place, a majority of us never tried indian cuisine before. Mike and Damien (aka Goose) had smiles on from ear to ear as they greeted the owner of the restaurant. I was one of the ones who dabbled into each dish offered even if it was only a quarter size of food, I still tried it. The Channa/chickpeas were my favorite! We then took the R train to head to Astoria, as we were standing on Steinway st. Mike prepared us for turning the corner onto 35th ave, one of the first things you notice is Kaufman Astoria Studios. Mike taught us about how Astoria was a large filming industry at one point but due to weather preference, California became more desirable. This was the first example of gentrification that he showed us. Astoria used to be a blue collar area and less desirable than what it is now, its now one of the top three (Astoria, Jackson Heights and Long Island City) gentrified areas. I did notice the wine bars, book stores and the expensive cars parked on the streets as we approached the Museum of the Moving Image http://www.movingimage.us. This museum looked at how pictures were first developed with cameras and optical illusions that fool the eye, how film has changed over time, sound using microphones, speakers, extra lighting and much more. The second floor was probably my favorite and showed how makeup can completely alter how dramatic a character can look.
After leaving the Museum of Moving Image we took the M train to Court Square /23rd st which brought us into Long Island City. I never knew Long Island City even existed, Mike taught us that this was another great example of area that was hit with the wave of gentrification. As we headed down 21st street we walked onto 46th ave which had the entrance of MoMA PS1 a building that used to be a school. You could see the separate entrances for boys and girls, the building was entirely made from bricks and was now transformed into a museum for art. We learned that a lot of the times when an area becomes hip and popular the first group of people to move to the area are musicians and artists these are the trendsetters for the general public. On the corner we noticed 5 points a warehouse that had been spray painted and would soon be removed since the area is becoming a high class place to live. While trying to beat the dark the clouds, thunder and lightening, we made our way to Gantry Plaza State Park. This park was named after, "the huge 19th century railroad gantries that were used to transfer cargo from ships to trains to be transported throughout Long Island" (eny, p.172). The site across the river was phenomenal, the glass on the buildings were illuminated especially with the contrast of the dark clouds behind them. Mike pointed out the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings and how they are great examples of architecture demonstrating the style art deco. The apartment buildings that were behind us were built within the past 1-3yrs. Trulia has them listed anywhere from $2300 for a 1bedroom to $6200 for a 2 bedroom. You can understand the pricing on them due to the beautiful views. A few rain drops and some aggressive thunder and lightening ended our day so we all headed back to Penn Station via the 7 train.
3. Brooklyn
After an unbelievable 4th of July weekend, wednesday it was back to the city on the bright and early 9:11a train out of Ronkonkoma. Today's trip was going to be in Breuckelen or more commonly known as Brooklyn, starting with Coney Island. I've never been here before so I was ready to experience something new and exciting. We jumped on the D train and relaxed for 45minutes in the air conditioning, I was a bit drained from working 7p-7a the night before. I didn't really look at the scenery on the way there, the way home was a different story. When we arrived the train station was filled with beautiful glass looking outlines of children. As soon as you walk out onto the side walk you see the huge ferris wheel and Nathan's hotdogs off to the right. We decided to take a walk on the boardwalk and truly get a feel for the environment and the people living in it. Since we were all hungry we decided to start Nathan's for a famous hotdog. One of the customers tried cutting the line of people waiting and then started yelling at me over it. The dispute was broken up by one of the guys in the class, all I really wanted at this point was my hotdog (which was $6 and change) and to leave. We walked across the street to go into one of the clothing shops called Surf & Stillwell, where we bought brooklyn T-shirts. After walking the boardwalk I noticed the type of people, there were many groups of kids on class trips and there were families as well. The vibe I immediately got was that this wasn't a good area, out on the docks there were some guys fishing that based on their appearance looked homeless. They had't caught anything and got very uncomfortable with the fact that I had a camera, so we moved along. There were many rollercoasters including the oldest and most famous , "the 85 foot tall Cyclone, the wooden rollercoaster at Luna Park that has been thrilling adventure seekers since 1927" (eny, p.139). We wanted to see this fossil for ourselves, I couldn't believe that they still had this rollercoaster from so long ago, the paint was chipped off and peeling and the whole thing would shake when it passed by. I was too afraid to go on it, I'm surprised its still safe enough to let people go on considering it looks like it will break any minute. I didn't want to be the one to find out. We got back on the train and headed back and I just happen to look out the window at the ginormous cemetery , I've never seen one so big! I immediately thought back to the Queens chapter and how there are more dead people than living! It really makes you think about where they are going to bury everyone, we will eventually run out of room.
When we arrived at Jay st, and walked until we reached Brooklyn Borough Hall, an opera signer with a beautiful voice was out side entertaining the public. It was nice to see people sitting, eating lunch, listening to their music and utilizing public space. The huge American flag hung from the building and was what I thought a pretty sight Mike went over some architectural styles with us, this building was federal style with a Greek revival by use of the columns and pediment at the top. There are three different styles of columns which I had originally learned about in art history but was a nice refresher to review again. Doric is flat and simple design at the top of the column, ionic which is considered to have scroll like structures at the top and corinthian which is more decorative with tiers of curly acanthus leaves at the very top. The architecture history is always fascinating to me, I remember being in Italy and not being able to take my eyes off of basic buildings such as banks and post offices just because of the monuments outside of them and all the fine details in the structure. Mike pointed out many more styles later that day when we walked through Brooklyn Heights.
Mike and Damien spoke to us about how Brooklyn is becoming an assessable place to live because everything you have and need is right here. The subways, buses, taxi, places to live and places to work. If it weren't for our subways systems we would of still been traveling to get to the transit museum. Because of this desire to live in Brooklyn, prices will eventually go up and the people that can't afford the increase in price will almost be forced to move out to western Nassau County. Next on our list was the Transit Museum http://web.mta.info/mta/museum/, When we walked down into the museum, the still hot air hits you as it does when you enter any of the subways in New York. We had a pretty animated tour guide and she told us fun facts like how this was an actual functioning subway at one time but was no longer used because it became cheaper to walk. I think the most interesting part was about the workers and the strain it puts on their bodies in order to build these massive underground tunnels. The sandhogs or men that built the subway needed to stand in a compartment so that their blood didn't boil avoiding "the bends" or decompression sickness. Not to mention they only made $2.00/day and iron workers made less at $1.50/day in 1915. Two common techniques used for building the subway were, "cut and cover, which involved digging up a street and laying a tunnel below, which then was covered by a new roadway" (eny, p.146). Although this technique had its advantages it also had its disadvantages like making it very hard for New Yorkers to travel with all of the construction. Our guide showed us a picture of a shop with wood beams on it supporting its structure while work went on down below. The other technique we learned about was, "In deep bore tunneling, huge circular tunneling machines are inserted into a hole dug along the proposed subway line" (eny, p.146). She also gave us interesting facts regarding how transit began with horses and all of the elimination problems, weather that effected the city and how in the 1970's crime was rough in the city so transit workers hid old train cars which later became an exhibit in 1976. The turn styles were my favorite, to see the change from 100 years ago when they had used wood at one time.
Now it was time for the beautiful Brooklyn Heights, probably one of the most breath taking areas in New York. The whole environment changes after a couple of blocks, suddenly there are trees everywhere creating shaded streets and cool spots to stop and rest. The streets were vacant, there was barely anyone outside, probably because they needed to work to afford these pricey brownstones. We walked through Chase bank and noticed the beautiful Italian Renaissance architecture that was used, it did feel a little weird just walking through and looking up at the ceilings and walls. The ceiling had small holes in it all strategically placed that light came through and shone down onto the floor. We then made our way down to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, which was and has been my favorite view so far! You can see the statue of liberty off to the far left and the Brooklyn Bridge to the far right. Mike informed us about the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) and how it was one of Robert Moses's building projects that not too many were happy about. You noticed the people surrounding you, African American nannies pushing children in strollers, people exercising, people reading books and the paper etc. After noticing the beautiful row houses and brownstones you got a feeling of calmness for once while being in the city, that was actually relaxing and soothing.
We then made our way down to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) which we saw another interesting site I knew nothing about, Jane's Carousel, "in 1984 was brought by Jane Walentas and her husband…Walentas eventually persuaded the city to house the carousel in the new Brooklyn Bridge Park under a $9 million transparent jewel box" (eny, p.152). The panes on glass are extremely thick and are solid sheets that go from the floor to the ceiling. Our final destination that day was the brooklyn bridge, "All in all it took six hundred workers fourteen years to complete the bridge at the cost of 15 million dollars. The bridge was finally completed in 1883." (eny, p.153-54). Walking over this bridge was a great experience for me even though my feet hurt and I was sleep deprived. Having the cars rushing beneath you, the bicyclists flying past you on the right and the cables that support the bridge which are above you was a really cool feeling. It was spectacular to think about the men that risked their lives and worked for $2 or less to build this massive structure and how many people probably cross this bridge daily in their commute and have no idea about any of it. I also noticed locks on the bridge that lovers or newly weds placed there. Its common in Europe and was nice to see it carried out in New York. We made it back to Penn station and jumped on the trains headed home. Although my day seemed long and exhausting at times, these were all places I've never seen, been to or was aware of the history behind them and for that I was grateful I did it.
When we arrived at Jay st, and walked until we reached Brooklyn Borough Hall, an opera signer with a beautiful voice was out side entertaining the public. It was nice to see people sitting, eating lunch, listening to their music and utilizing public space. The huge American flag hung from the building and was what I thought a pretty sight Mike went over some architectural styles with us, this building was federal style with a Greek revival by use of the columns and pediment at the top. There are three different styles of columns which I had originally learned about in art history but was a nice refresher to review again. Doric is flat and simple design at the top of the column, ionic which is considered to have scroll like structures at the top and corinthian which is more decorative with tiers of curly acanthus leaves at the very top. The architecture history is always fascinating to me, I remember being in Italy and not being able to take my eyes off of basic buildings such as banks and post offices just because of the monuments outside of them and all the fine details in the structure. Mike pointed out many more styles later that day when we walked through Brooklyn Heights.
Mike and Damien spoke to us about how Brooklyn is becoming an assessable place to live because everything you have and need is right here. The subways, buses, taxi, places to live and places to work. If it weren't for our subways systems we would of still been traveling to get to the transit museum. Because of this desire to live in Brooklyn, prices will eventually go up and the people that can't afford the increase in price will almost be forced to move out to western Nassau County. Next on our list was the Transit Museum http://web.mta.info/mta/museum/, When we walked down into the museum, the still hot air hits you as it does when you enter any of the subways in New York. We had a pretty animated tour guide and she told us fun facts like how this was an actual functioning subway at one time but was no longer used because it became cheaper to walk. I think the most interesting part was about the workers and the strain it puts on their bodies in order to build these massive underground tunnels. The sandhogs or men that built the subway needed to stand in a compartment so that their blood didn't boil avoiding "the bends" or decompression sickness. Not to mention they only made $2.00/day and iron workers made less at $1.50/day in 1915. Two common techniques used for building the subway were, "cut and cover, which involved digging up a street and laying a tunnel below, which then was covered by a new roadway" (eny, p.146). Although this technique had its advantages it also had its disadvantages like making it very hard for New Yorkers to travel with all of the construction. Our guide showed us a picture of a shop with wood beams on it supporting its structure while work went on down below. The other technique we learned about was, "In deep bore tunneling, huge circular tunneling machines are inserted into a hole dug along the proposed subway line" (eny, p.146). She also gave us interesting facts regarding how transit began with horses and all of the elimination problems, weather that effected the city and how in the 1970's crime was rough in the city so transit workers hid old train cars which later became an exhibit in 1976. The turn styles were my favorite, to see the change from 100 years ago when they had used wood at one time.
Now it was time for the beautiful Brooklyn Heights, probably one of the most breath taking areas in New York. The whole environment changes after a couple of blocks, suddenly there are trees everywhere creating shaded streets and cool spots to stop and rest. The streets were vacant, there was barely anyone outside, probably because they needed to work to afford these pricey brownstones. We walked through Chase bank and noticed the beautiful Italian Renaissance architecture that was used, it did feel a little weird just walking through and looking up at the ceilings and walls. The ceiling had small holes in it all strategically placed that light came through and shone down onto the floor. We then made our way down to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, which was and has been my favorite view so far! You can see the statue of liberty off to the far left and the Brooklyn Bridge to the far right. Mike informed us about the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) and how it was one of Robert Moses's building projects that not too many were happy about. You noticed the people surrounding you, African American nannies pushing children in strollers, people exercising, people reading books and the paper etc. After noticing the beautiful row houses and brownstones you got a feeling of calmness for once while being in the city, that was actually relaxing and soothing.
We then made our way down to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) which we saw another interesting site I knew nothing about, Jane's Carousel, "in 1984 was brought by Jane Walentas and her husband…Walentas eventually persuaded the city to house the carousel in the new Brooklyn Bridge Park under a $9 million transparent jewel box" (eny, p.152). The panes on glass are extremely thick and are solid sheets that go from the floor to the ceiling. Our final destination that day was the brooklyn bridge, "All in all it took six hundred workers fourteen years to complete the bridge at the cost of 15 million dollars. The bridge was finally completed in 1883." (eny, p.153-54). Walking over this bridge was a great experience for me even though my feet hurt and I was sleep deprived. Having the cars rushing beneath you, the bicyclists flying past you on the right and the cables that support the bridge which are above you was a really cool feeling. It was spectacular to think about the men that risked their lives and worked for $2 or less to build this massive structure and how many people probably cross this bridge daily in their commute and have no idea about any of it. I also noticed locks on the bridge that lovers or newly weds placed there. Its common in Europe and was nice to see it carried out in New York. We made it back to Penn station and jumped on the trains headed home. Although my day seemed long and exhausting at times, these were all places I've never seen, been to or was aware of the history behind them and for that I was grateful I did it.
4. The Village
Today was one of the most walking intensive classes we've had, we headed to Chelsea by walking the High Line which would put us right in the center of all the art galleries. "In the mid 19th century a street-level freight line ran through the heart of Chelsea to transport produce through the city. The existance of the train lines on crowded streets, however, led to numerous fatalities- so many in fact that 10th avenue became known as "Death Avenue" (eny, p.106). They then raised the line up 30ft, eventually it was abandoned and not used by the public and was less than 10years ago that they decided to turn it into a place for people to walk and rest in. I enjoyed this walk a lot, its a good use of public space, you could tell that everyone there was enjoying themselves, and the views were really spectacular, I mostly appreciated the building art." By that I mean the large murals that were painted on some of the buildings in Chelsea.
We arrived at the art galleries starting with Jerry Kearns located at 520 W 24th, Mike and Damien spoke to us about being open minded towards all different styles of art. After researching Andy Warhol, I learned that some artists are ahead of their time and their art might not be accepted because it doesn't fit in with whats being produced by others at that time, however the ones that stand out often are most remembered and this is how they create a name for themselves. I consider myself to be somewhat artistic and always enjoyed art since I was younger, so I was looking forward to this part of the day. Jerry Kearns art was very comic book looking, he used religious figures by using the head of jesus and then would have him in violent scenes holding a gun. Damien reminded us to look at it and consider how the art was created, what materials were used, and what detail was involved. People view art differently, some think a black square painted on a canvas is art and I feel that it is because someone had to paint it and maybe was inspired to something that is unknown to us but to the artist painting it has true meaning. I tend to be more attracted to art work that involves color and details, when I can step back and say, "wow this had to take a lot of time, patience and skill to produce." I enjoyed looking at the pieces by Eric Dever and Jodie Manasevit at 530 W 24th street. They did a lot of oil on canvas and you can see the actual strokes of paint (pictures below). Eric Dever uses a technique where he creates small squares and almost attaches them to each other with such geometric precision, I'm honestly not sure if he uses a specific tool other than a paint brush to do it. Its pieces like these that make you want to know more about the art that make it captivating. Another artist that stood out for me was Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler where they use a series of photos titled falling down, this was seen at 521West 21st. These are photographs of an action happening; so in the first one there is the back of a woman in a dress and she is standing in front of a trailer and dropping the pair of heels as if she saw something unbelievable. The next photo is the front of a man from his waist down holding a suitcase and dropping european money with a Greyhound bus behind him and the third is the side of a woman in a robe holding a teacup, saucer and spoon and dropping it in a kitchen. All of them capture the split second of something happening and can be interpreted however you please. Photography is definitely considered a form of art to me, a picture has so much to say and photographers capture those moments without saying anything at all.
The next thing we saw was Cushman Row on 20th street, Mike explained that, "these are considered some of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the city" (eny, p.109). All of the windows and doors were perfectly symmetrical to one another. General Theological Seminary on 175 9th ave shows the same style as Cushman Row. Then we saw St. Peter's Episcopal Church 346 W. 20th street showing a different style of architecture known as gothic revival. It was closed when we first stopped there but a nice man named Tony saw us outside and came to let us in. Im glad that he did, the inside was beautiful, I loved the colorful stained glass and it had the biggest organ I've ever seen! Next it was off to get something to eat at the Chelsea market. This was an annoying experience, there were people everywhere and you almost had to fight your way for a spot in line to grab something to eat, then once we got something to eat there was no where to sit. We found a spot on the floor up against a wall, enjoyed the break and ate our tacos.
We made our way down to the West Village by walking from the Chelsea Market. "During the 19th century the village of Greenwich Village was essentially a rural suburb of the City of New York.." (eny, p.110). Greenwich Village went through a few ups and downs before it became the gentrified place it is today holding a population of artists and writers. "it became centered in the coffee houses around Bleecker st and abstract impressionists like Jackson Pollock and William de Kooning began to seek each other out in local village bars for inspiration and support" (eny, p.111). I happen to notice the planters on the side of the road, many of them were made and mosaic tiles and were really nice to look at. In the West Village, "It was here that the Gay Rights movement officially began in the 1960s…" (eny, p.112). We stopped at the Jefferson Market Garden where there were these little older woman sitting at a table a chairs to greet you with information when you walked in. Right next to the garden was what used to be a courthouse, Mike explained to us that this courthouse held the case involving Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White and Henry Thaw and was considered the "Crime of the Century." We made our way down to Washington Square Park, where we saw one of the biggest trees! We learned that, "in the 19th century the park was also used for public executions with those convicted hung from Hangman's Elm" (eny, p.117). As soon as I walked into this park I was overwhelmed to see all the activity that was going on, to the right there was a man with pigeons landing on him, on the left there was an art project set up on the floor of hand crafted pigeons. Then in the center there was a man sweating throwing light punches towards another man with boxing gloves on. When we got under the Washington Arch there was a band set up in the shade and they had their dog sitting with them as they played their instruments and sang. The Washington Arch was "Designed by Stanford White and completed 1891, 70 foot high.. dedicated to the centennial of George Washington's inauguration" (eny, p.118). I would of liked to have stayed here a little longer than we did but we had to keep it moving to see other places.
The next place we came up to was the Merchants House Museum on 29 E. 4th street, "The house was built by Joseph Brewster in 1832 and sold to Seabury Treadwell for $18,000" (eny, p.121). This was a great tour and really made us feel like we were living there. We started in the main room, what
I couldn't get over was the ceilings and how the plaster was still in such amazing shape. This house had multiple floors, starting from the bottom up was the kitchen and the family room where the furniture wasn't very fancy because this wasn't used for entertaining guests. They mentioned that they found a pipe in the ceiling and that might prove that the Tredwell's had running hot and cold water during there times, which was very rare. They had a bucket with coal inside for us to lift up and feel what it was like for the servants of the house to walk up all of the stairs carrying the coal to disperse on each level of the house. The next floor was the main room, the floor above that was the children's rooms (which were being used as offices by staff). The room above that was Seabury's and his wife, two interesting points that were made by the guide were that back in these times husband and wife didn't sleep together in the same bed or even the same room it was thought that if you had your own space it was more of a luxury. The second was how they washed, buy using a tin bucket to stand in and basically just sponged themselves down. The same went for going to the bathroom, there was no toilet, which I can see being very embarrassing for a woman especially during her monthly menses. The guide informed us that the women would take diuretics days before going over to someones house and basically starve themselves so they didn't need to go to the bathroom and often from this they would pass out from the heavy dresses they wore, dehydration and the heat. They also used their bedrooms as a place to entertain friends in, the women would stay in their room and the men in Seabury's. The next floor up was the servants, which was well lit but not very big, there were bells so they could hear if any of the Tredwell family members rang. This was a great house to see, similar to the tenements in structure of having to walk up multiple floors of steps with water or coal in hand, but different in that this was one of the most elite homes to live in during these times.
We then walked by 41 Cooper Square and the one thing I recall about this was "FREE TUITION." "Today it's mission is focused on art, architecture and engineering and it has become one of the most prestigious schools of its kind in the nation" (eny, p.122). The building was closed but Mike explained to us that it was built to be eco friendly, by not using escalators and making the only option to use the stairs, it also has see through walls so you can see the people next to you creating a more friendly environment. Next was 13 Astor Place where Mike told us that this is where the riot between the Irish immigrants and the British occurred in 1849. The "square was named after John Jacob Astor III, who lived and worked in the area" (eny, p.124). We finished and went to the big gay ice cream shop and had a salty pimp, which was a delicious combination or vanilla soft serve with dulce de leche, sea salt and then they dip it in chocolate, it was one of the best tasting ice creams I've had in a long time. Nothing like finishing a long day of walking with something sweet!
We arrived at the art galleries starting with Jerry Kearns located at 520 W 24th, Mike and Damien spoke to us about being open minded towards all different styles of art. After researching Andy Warhol, I learned that some artists are ahead of their time and their art might not be accepted because it doesn't fit in with whats being produced by others at that time, however the ones that stand out often are most remembered and this is how they create a name for themselves. I consider myself to be somewhat artistic and always enjoyed art since I was younger, so I was looking forward to this part of the day. Jerry Kearns art was very comic book looking, he used religious figures by using the head of jesus and then would have him in violent scenes holding a gun. Damien reminded us to look at it and consider how the art was created, what materials were used, and what detail was involved. People view art differently, some think a black square painted on a canvas is art and I feel that it is because someone had to paint it and maybe was inspired to something that is unknown to us but to the artist painting it has true meaning. I tend to be more attracted to art work that involves color and details, when I can step back and say, "wow this had to take a lot of time, patience and skill to produce." I enjoyed looking at the pieces by Eric Dever and Jodie Manasevit at 530 W 24th street. They did a lot of oil on canvas and you can see the actual strokes of paint (pictures below). Eric Dever uses a technique where he creates small squares and almost attaches them to each other with such geometric precision, I'm honestly not sure if he uses a specific tool other than a paint brush to do it. Its pieces like these that make you want to know more about the art that make it captivating. Another artist that stood out for me was Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler where they use a series of photos titled falling down, this was seen at 521West 21st. These are photographs of an action happening; so in the first one there is the back of a woman in a dress and she is standing in front of a trailer and dropping the pair of heels as if she saw something unbelievable. The next photo is the front of a man from his waist down holding a suitcase and dropping european money with a Greyhound bus behind him and the third is the side of a woman in a robe holding a teacup, saucer and spoon and dropping it in a kitchen. All of them capture the split second of something happening and can be interpreted however you please. Photography is definitely considered a form of art to me, a picture has so much to say and photographers capture those moments without saying anything at all.
The next thing we saw was Cushman Row on 20th street, Mike explained that, "these are considered some of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the city" (eny, p.109). All of the windows and doors were perfectly symmetrical to one another. General Theological Seminary on 175 9th ave shows the same style as Cushman Row. Then we saw St. Peter's Episcopal Church 346 W. 20th street showing a different style of architecture known as gothic revival. It was closed when we first stopped there but a nice man named Tony saw us outside and came to let us in. Im glad that he did, the inside was beautiful, I loved the colorful stained glass and it had the biggest organ I've ever seen! Next it was off to get something to eat at the Chelsea market. This was an annoying experience, there were people everywhere and you almost had to fight your way for a spot in line to grab something to eat, then once we got something to eat there was no where to sit. We found a spot on the floor up against a wall, enjoyed the break and ate our tacos.
We made our way down to the West Village by walking from the Chelsea Market. "During the 19th century the village of Greenwich Village was essentially a rural suburb of the City of New York.." (eny, p.110). Greenwich Village went through a few ups and downs before it became the gentrified place it is today holding a population of artists and writers. "it became centered in the coffee houses around Bleecker st and abstract impressionists like Jackson Pollock and William de Kooning began to seek each other out in local village bars for inspiration and support" (eny, p.111). I happen to notice the planters on the side of the road, many of them were made and mosaic tiles and were really nice to look at. In the West Village, "It was here that the Gay Rights movement officially began in the 1960s…" (eny, p.112). We stopped at the Jefferson Market Garden where there were these little older woman sitting at a table a chairs to greet you with information when you walked in. Right next to the garden was what used to be a courthouse, Mike explained to us that this courthouse held the case involving Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White and Henry Thaw and was considered the "Crime of the Century." We made our way down to Washington Square Park, where we saw one of the biggest trees! We learned that, "in the 19th century the park was also used for public executions with those convicted hung from Hangman's Elm" (eny, p.117). As soon as I walked into this park I was overwhelmed to see all the activity that was going on, to the right there was a man with pigeons landing on him, on the left there was an art project set up on the floor of hand crafted pigeons. Then in the center there was a man sweating throwing light punches towards another man with boxing gloves on. When we got under the Washington Arch there was a band set up in the shade and they had their dog sitting with them as they played their instruments and sang. The Washington Arch was "Designed by Stanford White and completed 1891, 70 foot high.. dedicated to the centennial of George Washington's inauguration" (eny, p.118). I would of liked to have stayed here a little longer than we did but we had to keep it moving to see other places.
The next place we came up to was the Merchants House Museum on 29 E. 4th street, "The house was built by Joseph Brewster in 1832 and sold to Seabury Treadwell for $18,000" (eny, p.121). This was a great tour and really made us feel like we were living there. We started in the main room, what
I couldn't get over was the ceilings and how the plaster was still in such amazing shape. This house had multiple floors, starting from the bottom up was the kitchen and the family room where the furniture wasn't very fancy because this wasn't used for entertaining guests. They mentioned that they found a pipe in the ceiling and that might prove that the Tredwell's had running hot and cold water during there times, which was very rare. They had a bucket with coal inside for us to lift up and feel what it was like for the servants of the house to walk up all of the stairs carrying the coal to disperse on each level of the house. The next floor was the main room, the floor above that was the children's rooms (which were being used as offices by staff). The room above that was Seabury's and his wife, two interesting points that were made by the guide were that back in these times husband and wife didn't sleep together in the same bed or even the same room it was thought that if you had your own space it was more of a luxury. The second was how they washed, buy using a tin bucket to stand in and basically just sponged themselves down. The same went for going to the bathroom, there was no toilet, which I can see being very embarrassing for a woman especially during her monthly menses. The guide informed us that the women would take diuretics days before going over to someones house and basically starve themselves so they didn't need to go to the bathroom and often from this they would pass out from the heavy dresses they wore, dehydration and the heat. They also used their bedrooms as a place to entertain friends in, the women would stay in their room and the men in Seabury's. The next floor up was the servants, which was well lit but not very big, there were bells so they could hear if any of the Tredwell family members rang. This was a great house to see, similar to the tenements in structure of having to walk up multiple floors of steps with water or coal in hand, but different in that this was one of the most elite homes to live in during these times.
We then walked by 41 Cooper Square and the one thing I recall about this was "FREE TUITION." "Today it's mission is focused on art, architecture and engineering and it has become one of the most prestigious schools of its kind in the nation" (eny, p.122). The building was closed but Mike explained to us that it was built to be eco friendly, by not using escalators and making the only option to use the stairs, it also has see through walls so you can see the people next to you creating a more friendly environment. Next was 13 Astor Place where Mike told us that this is where the riot between the Irish immigrants and the British occurred in 1849. The "square was named after John Jacob Astor III, who lived and worked in the area" (eny, p.124). We finished and went to the big gay ice cream shop and had a salty pimp, which was a delicious combination or vanilla soft serve with dulce de leche, sea salt and then they dip it in chocolate, it was one of the best tasting ice creams I've had in a long time. Nothing like finishing a long day of walking with something sweet!