Photos - My West Side Story

Walking the Time Square Pedestrain Mall

BMX stunts in the middle of Time Square!

American Progress at 30 Rock

"Flag" - Jasper Johns at MoMA

 

Grant's Tomb



Beautiful detail on a pulpit in Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

The Apollo Theatre

Journal # 5 - My West Side Story

Today we walked through the busy streets to Times Square, the “Crossroads of the World,” as described by the Blue Guide (217), to walk the pedestrian zone. This area has turned into an over-the-top commercial zone almost a Disney North (according to my own perception).

Happy to walk through the area to explore the G.E. Building, which houses NBC studios, I marveled at the mural by artist Jose Maria Sert (BG, 248), called American Progress. We exited the building at the 30 Rockefeller end of the building and continued toward 53^rd Street to get to the New York Museum of Modern Art – MoMA.

I could have spent all day in MoMA! The top floor featured German Expressionism from the early 20^th Century. The thought provoking, graphic images of sexuality and war by artist such as: Dix, Kollwitz, and Beckman made it hard to leave the exhibit! Also on the 6^th floor was an exhibition by Francis Alys entitled A Story of Deception. This exhibit included multimedia art of the artist pushing a block of ice through the streets. All who watched had their own interesting interpretations of why this person would do such a thing in this short film called Paradox of Praxis (1997). The artist installed other multimedia works as well as many riveting drawings, news clippings and paintings. We quickly walked through the 5^th floor which keeps famous works by Andy Warhol, Monet and van Gogh. The 4^th floor gave us a taste of the more famous New York artists such as Warhol, Jackson Pollock and Robert Rauschenberg.  According to the Blue Guide (266), this may be the best gallery to view Pollock’s work.  This is another site to revisit in the future. After MoMA, I refueled my empty stomach with a large salad at a deli close to the museum.

We then grabbed a train and headed to Harlem. I’ve never been to Harlem, and hope I don’t have to return to this town any time soon. According to the Blue Guide (437), this area was meant for a middle-class people do occupy. A black realtor in 1904 by the name of, Philip A. Payton, helped provide housing to black tenants.  The Depression, around the 30’s, was the beginning of the end as it became difficult for the black community to keep up with their rent (BG, 438). I vaguely remember as a young girl in the 70’s hearing news about people deliberately setting their houses on fire to collect insurance. Even though Harlem still seems to be stuck in the 70’s cultural abyss, her streets seem to be experiencing a cosmetic Renaissance in that beautiful Browstones in the area are being renovated. The hope for cultural preservation is evident in the material exhibited in Studio Museum in Harlem where there are two floors of art, sculptures, historical documents and a beautiful exhibit by Stephen Burks that consists of baskets weaved with synthetic materials.

After we walked past the Apollo Theatre, the springboard for some of my favorite musical artists such as Sarah Vaughn, and Ella Fitzgerald (BG, 440), we kept walking westward toward the Hudson River. It’s amazing how the ‘face’ of the neighborhood changed when we crossed Morningside Park toward Grant’s Tomb.  The magnificent mausoleum sits in a park called, Grant Centennial Plaza between Riverside Church, and the Hudson River. For the moment it felt like I was exploring one of the monuments in Washington D.C. Inside the structure rest former president, General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia Dent Grant, lying side by side within red granite sarcophagi (BG, 436). Once again, my fascination with the Civil War was heightened as I walked through the tomb.

Finally we walked through the beautiful campus of Columbia University which is one of North America’s “oldest, wealthiest, and most respected universities" (BG, 427), then to the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.  I’ve wanted to visit this cathedral for its Winter Solstice concerts or many years. This beautiful church is absolutely enormous. The cornerstone for this building was laid in 1892 and had been under construction on an off ever since (BG, 419). What is most interesting is this cathedral is built by stonemasons, an almost extinct trade. This location was added to my list of site to return to, in addition to the Hungarian Pastry Shop.  After a few cocktails, I struck with the reality of having to return to Penn Station to go home. Four adventurous days down…3 more to go to complete this New York Experience

Photos - Ecclectic East Side NYC

Starting the day in Penn Station with Latin music

Molloy classmates getting their first taste of East Harlem

Dr. Don lectures outside the Guggenheim

In the Guggenheim -
More than enough to pay school loans!

Entrance to Central Park East



Checking out the
Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy Reservoir

Mike and Don holding class in Central Park

Class time in Central Park

Entering East Harlem

Mural by Vega at a gentrification site

Kitchen of a Taqueria



Founder of Nuyorican Poet's Cafe,
Don Pedro Pietri

Colorful mural on a building on 104th St.

Precious Urban Garden

Mosaic sculpture in a Community Garden

Mural inside Community Garden

Steve enjoying the Community Garden

Mural depicting Hispanic Caribbean Ancestry

 

Conservatory Gardens - Central Park

Cafe in El Museo del Barrio

 

American China - The Museum of the City of New York

American Gold and Porcelain Tea Set

Betsy Ross presents the 1776 Stars and Stripes

Antique Colonial Furniture - Museum of the City of New York

Community Garden under construction in East Harlem
I'm onto something...

Sculpture outside Seagram Building
Would've been cool if he got up and walked
away like a scene in Ghostbusters

Scyscrapers across from Seagram Building

St. Bartholomew's Church

Grand Central Terminal

"That's a mighty big pretzel, Steve!"

Journal #4 - The Ecclectic East Side of NYC

       Another first on this New York Experience was a vist to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a man who seemed to surround himself with controversy and misfortune. It was a shame that the ramps were closed due to installation of shows, but we were able to see a few things of interest such as a wall lined with one dollar bills. This exhibition consisted of $100,000 of singles, representative of the amount artist; Hans-Peter Feldman won as the biennial 2010 Hugo Boss Prize. Another exhibition I believe the class as a whole found interesting as evidenced by the buzz of discussion between classmates, was the museums children’s program, Learning Through Art.  One could feel the appreciation for fond childhood memories in fine art as some of the work stirred up reminiscences of art projects we did as children.

      After the Guggenheim, we strolled through beautiful Central Park and took photos of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. The billion gallon reservoir was built in 1860’s as an emergency water supply. The reservoir was decommissioned in 1993 and named after the popular former first lady of the United States in 1994. We then passed through a portion of the Conservatory Gardens and took photos of the Three Dancing Maidens sculpture. By this time we were ready for lunch.

       We found our way into Spanish Harlem which was exciting for me because my paper, The Nuyorican Experience, had many references to this location. I was happy to see “The Spirit of East Harlem” mural and many other works of art in the area. We ate at a Mexican café and enjoyed tacos, quesadillas, and grilled chicken sandwiches topped with avocado, refried beans, onions, tomatoes and lettuce. In search of Puerto Rican rum cake, a couple of classmates and I ventured through the streets. We learned the best pastries would be found in a bakery on 110^th. Since we had limited time, we went to a local coffee shop and picked up Spanish coffee and a dulce de leche mini bunt cake before setting out to meet the group in Central Park.  I wish we had toured El Museo del Barrio that was setting up for the night’s festivities, but had to add this on my list of places to see in the near future.

The American Style: Colonial Revival and the Modern Metropolis was my favorite exhibit in Museum of the City of New York. Featured were blueprints of architecture, antique furniture, and classic American china, from early colonial times to the 1930’s. The Stettheimer dollhouses were intriguing with details of scaled down Alwyn Court, the West 58^th Street home of sisters Carrie, Florine, and Ettie.  Interestingly,  the art within the doll houses were miniature scale works of art by famous artists, Marcel Duchamp, Albert Gleizes, and Gaston Lachaise. Also at the Museum of the City of New York was a documentary named, Timescapes: A multi-media portrait of New York. This 22 minute film documented  the evolution of New York City from the Lenape Indians, around the 17^th Century, to the attacks on September 11, 2001. I found this film to be a celebration and an awakening of how New Yorkers worked so hard to make it what it is today, the most magnificent city of the world. It drew me closer to the realization of the many times New York has faced economic and social hardships. I was deeply moved by the film’s message of post -9/11 hope, and in essence stating that our resilience will somehow get us through our current issues.

      We then took the subway to Madison Avenue where we saw many wonders of architecture:

·         Central Synagogue (ooh, aah) – According to the Blue Guide (p. 240) Henry Fernbach was the first practicing Jewish architect in New York.  He designed this structure in the mid-19^th century for a congregation of 18 male Bohemians, to over 150 families by the end of the 1800’s. The building can hold over 1,000 people.

·         Seagram Building (1958) and the Four Seasons Restaurant (1959) – The Seagram Building, on 375 Park Avenue, is an International Style skyscraper that rises 500 feet on square columns (BG, 238). This 38-story tower was designed by architect, Mies van der Rohe.  There was a curious gigantic sculpture outside the building of a bear doll sitting on what looked like a desk lamp. Inside the Seagram Building is the Four seasons Restaurant, a high-end restaurant once exhibited murals from Rothko which were recalled from the artist himself to show at other locations (BG, 239)

·         The Waldorf Astoria (1931) – Even though I was here once for a fundraiser, I wanted to see this Art Deco landmark (BG, 235) with my new eyes. I thought it was comical how our group was inadvertently separated and played “revolving doors” to catch up with one another.

·          Citigroup center (1978) – What makes this building interesting is that it is supported mainly in the center of the building, not all four corners (BG, 240). It almost looks as if it’s floating. I couldn’t help think I was built around the same time as the Twin Towers at World Trade Center (1977)

        Finally, we reached Grand Central Station. I still have yet to explore this landmark building and its Grand Central Market and Oyster Bar. The hustle and bustle of the crowd was a clear indication that it was rush hour, and time to go home. It was amazing how fast the day went. Time flies when you're having fun.