Deep Downtown - The Last Class

Our final day was a short one beginning with a walk down Wall Street. I’ve been down this street many times before but never entered the Federal Hall National Monument. Visiting the place where our first president, George Washington, was sworn in (BG, 69) reminded me that I must celebrate our nation’s birthday in downtown NYC. This also was a reminder that New York was the first nation’s capital.

                              We then walked to Trinity Church, which once upon a time, was the highest point in Lower Manhattan (BG, 65) Outside is a bronze sculpture called the Trinity Root, a replica of the remaining roots of a sycamore tree that fell as a result of debris falling from the 9/11 attacks. On the top step leading into the church is a plaque commemorating Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s visit for the Bicentennial celebrations. We couldn’t enter the church due to a service in progress, so I must remember to return to view the actual roots of the fallen sycamore tree.  

     Leaving Trinity Church, we walked toward the World Trade Center site where construction workers are diligently working on physically rebuilding our City’s gaping wound. In my heart I had hoped to bring the group to a beautiful FDNY memorial that resides around the corner from Ladder Co. 10 across from the site. There is also a lovely bar down the block decorate with patches from all the emergency response crews that assisted with disaster recovery. We continued walking to St. Paul’s Chapel, which is where so many went for physical and spiritual refuge on that fateful day.

           The trip to the Lower East Side was a little foggy after visiting WTC. As we passed City Hall, it occurred to me that our Brooklyn Bridge crossing a couple weeks earlier was somewhat of ceremonial entrance to Manhattan, the primary location for this course. We walked through the down-to-earth, artsy streets to Tom and Jerry’s bar (formerly 288 Bar) to meet Ruby McDonald, a bartender in this trendy part of town. According to the Blue Guide (116), this neighborhood is known as NoLIta, North of Little Italy or now “a kind of SoHo East. Ruby first served refreshing beverages to us, as any good hostess would, and spoke of her experience of being a barmaid in the most awesome city on the earth. I thoroughly enjoyed this site, but I must admit I was expecting a more historical location.

     After Tom and Jerry’s, we went to Congee Village, a Chinese restaurant off Canal St. to have a most delicious lunch provided by the professors (Thank you!). We had chicken prepared 3 different ways, a beef dish, mei fun, fried rice and lovely tea. The food was so filling, some of my classmate and I had to run to Starbucks to add a little sweetness to our bellies, not to mention caffeine to continue our trip.

     We then went on a professional tour through downtown called the Immigrant Experience, to visit the streets where the first (and current) immigrants inhabited. We saw what were once tenement buildings what, which housed hundreds of immigrant families per apartment, the Forward Building which has been converted to condos, the former S. Jarmulowsky Bank, and the first synagogue built on the Lower East Side, the Eldridge Synagogue. I learned that the Jews came to New York for religious reasons. To me that was fascinating that a group of people understood how serious our country was about freedom of religion, that they were willing to risk their lives coming to New York City for the sake of their God. We walked down Doyers Street, the original Chinatown. This was one time referred to “the Bloody Angle” per our guide and the Blue Guide (112), for the number of killings by shooting and hatchet that were committed on that very bend. It was interested that the term ‘hatchet men’ was created as a result of the murders committed. At one time it was the worst corner in the United States for violent deaths.

We ended our tour and the course on the crossroads known as The Five Points (our experience began looking at the 5 Pointz: The Institute of High Burning while traveling to Queens on the 7 train), a location regarded as a disease-ridden, crime infested slum. Even in daytime, this area is still a little sketchy for my liking. I was happy to exit this neighborhood, walk under Manhattan Bridge and escape to a nearby subway. As we crossed our last street as a class (too preoccupied with catching the 6:41 train to remember the street name), we all turned to our professors shouting “goodbyes,” and “thank you” as they blew kisses a waved ‘goodbye’ in return. These experiences and images will not be forgotten.