JOURNAL 1
Impressions of New York
New York City is one of my favorite places to be! Every time I go into the city whether it is to shop, explore, or for the "night-life", I always have a different experience. Living on Long Island and having a 40-minute commute makes exploring the city a possibility on any given day. The city always grabs me and entices me by the many different types of people, styles, restaurants, Broadway shows, parks, and even museums it contains. The craziness of the city is really what makes it one of the greatest places in the world to go. From the moment you step off the LIRR and out of Penn Station onto the streets there is always unorganized and exhilarating "chaos." The packed streets, subways, and cabs truly add such character to NYC. The night life is amazing and even just strolling the streets at night are fun because no matter what you will always see people around, whether they are locals or tourist. No wonder why it’s called “The city that never sleeps”, because no matter what time or what day Manhattan is always moving at its up-beat fast pace.
New York City is one of my favorite places to be! Every time I go into the city whether it is to shop, explore, or for the "night-life", I always have a different experience. Living on Long Island and having a 40-minute commute makes exploring the city a possibility on any given day. The city always grabs me and entices me by the many different types of people, styles, restaurants, Broadway shows, parks, and even museums it contains. The craziness of the city is really what makes it one of the greatest places in the world to go. From the moment you step off the LIRR and out of Penn Station onto the streets there is always unorganized and exhilarating "chaos." The packed streets, subways, and cabs truly add such character to NYC. The night life is amazing and even just strolling the streets at night are fun because no matter what you will always see people around, whether they are locals or tourist. No wonder why it’s called “The city that never sleeps”, because no matter what time or what day Manhattan is always moving at its up-beat fast pace.
Quixotic Queens
Today kicked off an amazing start to the beginning of my junior year! It all started when I woke up excited to head into Penn Station to meet my class for the
next 8 weeks. I was a little nervous on what to expect and how the weather would be, but my fears didn’t last long after meeting Mike, Meritta, and my other
fellow class mates. Along with seeing how perfect the weather was to start our day off in Manhattan and all over Queens.
Our day started by meeting in Penn and shortly after we hit the streets of Manhattan and headed over to Bryant Park. The park is named after William Cullen Bryant, who was a part of projects such as Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (BG. pg 209). Bryant Park is one of my favorite places during the month of December. I love being able to ice skate in the beautiful park while looking up and seeing skyscrapers and having the feel of Manhattan surround you. In Bryant Park we had our mock classroom, which is any students’ ideal classroom! It was here where we discussed our course work and were explained our expectations for this class. It was an absolute beautiful scenery, fountain, known as the Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain, which was the city’s first public memorial dedicated to a woman (BG. pg 210).
Before we walked around the block to the NY Public Library, which is right around the corner from Bryant Park, Mike had pointed out the perfect view of the Chrysler Building. Although I had seen this building before while walking the streets of Manhattan today was the first time I learned the particular architectural style of it which is “art deco." Architectural Styles – Art Deco
Although the New York Public Library is something I frequently passed during my mini travels in Manhattan, I never had stopped in to see the beauty it holds. The Library is located on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd street (BG. pg 207). Before entering the Library Mike took photos of the class and explained to us that this particular architectural style is referred to as “neoclassical.” I am now able to identify the Neoclassical Architectural Styles
by looking to see if they have the tall pillars like many places including the White House have. Besides the beauty the inside of the Library held there was the two lions outside that have always caught my attention, but today was where I actually found the significance they held thanks to Meritta ! The significance being that they were first named after the founders Astor and Lenox, but later where changed to Patience and Fortitude
The next place we explored was Grand Central Terminal, one of the largest railroad stations, and an enduring symbol of the city (BG. pg 229). Here we
were able to take in the history which lies behind this station, including the ceiling, and the famous gold clock.
Our next destination was Roosevelt Island. This particular destination was one of the many that I was excited for because I never have been there. It was here where we got on the tram and had a beautiful view of the Queensborough Bridge, which connects Queens and Manhattan while passing over Roosevelt Island. On
Roosevelt Island we had another beautiful outside view of Manhattan where we were able to see the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the United Nations while facing one way, and from the other side we were able to see parts of Queens, also known as Long Island City. While walking the Island it was very quiet, much unlike the streets of Manhattan that we had just came from. But it was here we passed the Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital, which gives off an eerie
feeling, along with looking like a jail. Other sites, such as the Small Poxs Hospital, along with the Strecker Memorial Lab, which Mike had taught us was the first place where bacterial and pathological research was done, and the first nursing school. I found this part of the island to be particularly interesting. As we kept walking along the East river, on Roosevelt Island we got to the end where we entered Four Freedoms Park.Four Freedoms Park is a memorial of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has amazing views of the river and where you can see both Queens and Manhattan. From Roosevelt Island we were able to catch a subway and head over to Jackson Heights, where we indulged in Indian Food. Although I am a picky eater and ever would have thought that I would step foot in the door, this class had me do so, and I was happy I participated!
The next two stops of the day happen to be my other favorites. Astoria, and Long Island City! After our nice lunch break with Indian food we headed right back over to the subway to go to Steinway St in Astoria, Queens. Here is where we got to see Kaufman Studios, where numerous movies and TV shows I love were filmed. We also went to a museum, one that I never even knew existed, which was the Museum of the Moving Image. This museum takes you behind the scene of different aspects of producing movies and TV shows. From the years of old TV screens, to modern and even from the oldest
cameras used for production. Other exhibits in the museum that caught my eye was the way faces were molded for movies such as Mrs.Doubtfire and The Mask.
My favorite exhibit had to be the Breaking Bad exhibit. It was something I never thought Id get to see. It was awesome to see things such as Walters
suites, to the equipment used in the labs right there. This museum was so interesting, and definitely a place I would love to share with family and friends.
Our last stop on such an amazing day was to Long Island City, Queens. One of the first places we stopped to see here was School P.S 1, which was the first public school in Queens. Since 2001 P.S 1 has been in a partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMA) (BG. pg 495). A few steps away from P.S 1, was a building that certainly caught my eyes, which is known as 5 points.This large building is covered with hundreds of different graffiti artist work, Although I have been to Long Island City before, I never have seen this building, and certainly will be another place I show to friends and family. It is truly amazing how there is a spot like this dedicated to graffiti artist who are able to share their different art work on one building. Before we ended our class we walked towards Gantry State
Park where we learned from Meritta, about “gentrification”. I learned that gentrification is when a town is being made up little by little from not so wealthy areas to lavish buildings that soon will be taking over much of the Island, if not all. Long Island City was defiantly a great example of the word because it was here that in walking distance you go from seeing not so pretty views of buildings and scenery, to seeing lavish million dollar apartment buildings being made with beautiful views of Roosevelt Island, The United Nations, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and much more.
From here my day ended, I took the subway with a few other classmates to Woodside and from there got on the LIRR heading back home. We sure got to experience a lot in one day, but definitely caused for good discussion on the train home with some new friends!
With only one class down I already have so many stories and places to go back and visit with others. I am so excited to see all the other places we will see this semester and to keep making memories. I could not have asked for a better class or better instructors! Thanks Mike and Meritta, “Gotham : New York Experience” defiantly has already won me over! Have a great week everyone!
Today kicked off an amazing start to the beginning of my junior year! It all started when I woke up excited to head into Penn Station to meet my class for the
next 8 weeks. I was a little nervous on what to expect and how the weather would be, but my fears didn’t last long after meeting Mike, Meritta, and my other
fellow class mates. Along with seeing how perfect the weather was to start our day off in Manhattan and all over Queens.
Our day started by meeting in Penn and shortly after we hit the streets of Manhattan and headed over to Bryant Park. The park is named after William Cullen Bryant, who was a part of projects such as Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (BG. pg 209). Bryant Park is one of my favorite places during the month of December. I love being able to ice skate in the beautiful park while looking up and seeing skyscrapers and having the feel of Manhattan surround you. In Bryant Park we had our mock classroom, which is any students’ ideal classroom! It was here where we discussed our course work and were explained our expectations for this class. It was an absolute beautiful scenery, fountain, known as the Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain, which was the city’s first public memorial dedicated to a woman (BG. pg 210).
Before we walked around the block to the NY Public Library, which is right around the corner from Bryant Park, Mike had pointed out the perfect view of the Chrysler Building. Although I had seen this building before while walking the streets of Manhattan today was the first time I learned the particular architectural style of it which is “art deco." Architectural Styles – Art Deco
Although the New York Public Library is something I frequently passed during my mini travels in Manhattan, I never had stopped in to see the beauty it holds. The Library is located on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd street (BG. pg 207). Before entering the Library Mike took photos of the class and explained to us that this particular architectural style is referred to as “neoclassical.” I am now able to identify the Neoclassical Architectural Styles
by looking to see if they have the tall pillars like many places including the White House have. Besides the beauty the inside of the Library held there was the two lions outside that have always caught my attention, but today was where I actually found the significance they held thanks to Meritta ! The significance being that they were first named after the founders Astor and Lenox, but later where changed to Patience and Fortitude
The next place we explored was Grand Central Terminal, one of the largest railroad stations, and an enduring symbol of the city (BG. pg 229). Here we
were able to take in the history which lies behind this station, including the ceiling, and the famous gold clock.
Our next destination was Roosevelt Island. This particular destination was one of the many that I was excited for because I never have been there. It was here where we got on the tram and had a beautiful view of the Queensborough Bridge, which connects Queens and Manhattan while passing over Roosevelt Island. On
Roosevelt Island we had another beautiful outside view of Manhattan where we were able to see the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the United Nations while facing one way, and from the other side we were able to see parts of Queens, also known as Long Island City. While walking the Island it was very quiet, much unlike the streets of Manhattan that we had just came from. But it was here we passed the Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital, which gives off an eerie
feeling, along with looking like a jail. Other sites, such as the Small Poxs Hospital, along with the Strecker Memorial Lab, which Mike had taught us was the first place where bacterial and pathological research was done, and the first nursing school. I found this part of the island to be particularly interesting. As we kept walking along the East river, on Roosevelt Island we got to the end where we entered Four Freedoms Park.Four Freedoms Park is a memorial of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has amazing views of the river and where you can see both Queens and Manhattan. From Roosevelt Island we were able to catch a subway and head over to Jackson Heights, where we indulged in Indian Food. Although I am a picky eater and ever would have thought that I would step foot in the door, this class had me do so, and I was happy I participated!
The next two stops of the day happen to be my other favorites. Astoria, and Long Island City! After our nice lunch break with Indian food we headed right back over to the subway to go to Steinway St in Astoria, Queens. Here is where we got to see Kaufman Studios, where numerous movies and TV shows I love were filmed. We also went to a museum, one that I never even knew existed, which was the Museum of the Moving Image. This museum takes you behind the scene of different aspects of producing movies and TV shows. From the years of old TV screens, to modern and even from the oldest
cameras used for production. Other exhibits in the museum that caught my eye was the way faces were molded for movies such as Mrs.Doubtfire and The Mask.
My favorite exhibit had to be the Breaking Bad exhibit. It was something I never thought Id get to see. It was awesome to see things such as Walters
suites, to the equipment used in the labs right there. This museum was so interesting, and definitely a place I would love to share with family and friends.
Our last stop on such an amazing day was to Long Island City, Queens. One of the first places we stopped to see here was School P.S 1, which was the first public school in Queens. Since 2001 P.S 1 has been in a partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMA) (BG. pg 495). A few steps away from P.S 1, was a building that certainly caught my eyes, which is known as 5 points.This large building is covered with hundreds of different graffiti artist work, Although I have been to Long Island City before, I never have seen this building, and certainly will be another place I show to friends and family. It is truly amazing how there is a spot like this dedicated to graffiti artist who are able to share their different art work on one building. Before we ended our class we walked towards Gantry State
Park where we learned from Meritta, about “gentrification”. I learned that gentrification is when a town is being made up little by little from not so wealthy areas to lavish buildings that soon will be taking over much of the Island, if not all. Long Island City was defiantly a great example of the word because it was here that in walking distance you go from seeing not so pretty views of buildings and scenery, to seeing lavish million dollar apartment buildings being made with beautiful views of Roosevelt Island, The United Nations, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and much more.
From here my day ended, I took the subway with a few other classmates to Woodside and from there got on the LIRR heading back home. We sure got to experience a lot in one day, but definitely caused for good discussion on the train home with some new friends!
With only one class down I already have so many stories and places to go back and visit with others. I am so excited to see all the other places we will see this semester and to keep making memories. I could not have asked for a better class or better instructors! Thanks Mike and Meritta, “Gotham : New York Experience” defiantly has already won me over! Have a great week everyone!
Bodacious Brooklyn
This week’s class consisted of exploring Brooklyn. My first fact learned today was how Brooklyn was settled by the Dutch in the 17th century. The journey through Brooklyn started off with exploring Coney Island, which really isn’t an island! Coney Island is a place I have been only in the summer, but I truly enjoyed being there during the fall because it is so much less crowded. Although I have never been on the monumental landmarks of Coney Island I was excited thinking I would this week, but unfortunately the park is in its off season and was closed. “Three classic rides, the Parachute Jump, which is no longer operating, the Cyclone roller coaster, and the Wonder Wheel are among the rides that have been landmarked and cannot be destroyed” (Blue Guide PG 492). Coney Island was first opened in 1923, and even back then was a very popular enjoyable place to go. Nathans, another well-known spot associated with Coney Island is where the hot dog eating contests take place every year. “The iconic hot dog stand was founded in 1916 and is located at 1316 Surf Ave” (Blue Guide PG 492).
Next stop was The New York Transit Museum, a particular interesting spot.This museum was originally designed to be a subway station therefore its located underground.“This museum was inaugurated in 1976 for the bicentennial celebrations and provided too popular to close thereafter” (Blue Guide PG 468). “This museum includes exhibits on buses, bridges, and tunnels, but the emphasis is on subways” (BG 468). It was cool to be able to go back to the time to see what subways looked like then, including examples from subway cars that traveled the tracks of the first lines that opened in 1904. The subways were not always underground, in fact they used to be above, but due to snowy weather conditions they weren’t able to operate.
Just a few blocks away was the area known as Brooklyn Heights, one of the many places I would love to live in someday! In Brooklyn Heights there were numerous sites to see. Brooklyn City Hall was one of the first sites seen and is said to be the oldest public building. It was built in 1849 and resembles the neoclassical architecture, which is one of the many different architectural styles I learned about so far in this class. Further on was the Brooklyn
Historical Society, which is located at 128 Pierrpont St. at the southwest corner of Clinton St (Blue Guide PG 472). This society contains an educational center which is dedicated to the history and culture of Brooklyn.
This week’s class ended with a visit and journey across the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge “The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s great landmarks, certainly the best-known and most-loved bridge in the city” (Blue Guide PG 464).
Although the journey across the bridge is a little overwhelming with the crazy bicyclists it is beautiful at all times of the year whether its night or day, hot or cold. The Bridge was completed in 1883 as the largest suspension bridge
in existence. From the bridge you get breathtaking views of New York City and are in great location from either side.
With another experience of beautiful sites completed I’m excited for next week and the places we will see in the Village!
This week’s class consisted of exploring Brooklyn. My first fact learned today was how Brooklyn was settled by the Dutch in the 17th century. The journey through Brooklyn started off with exploring Coney Island, which really isn’t an island! Coney Island is a place I have been only in the summer, but I truly enjoyed being there during the fall because it is so much less crowded. Although I have never been on the monumental landmarks of Coney Island I was excited thinking I would this week, but unfortunately the park is in its off season and was closed. “Three classic rides, the Parachute Jump, which is no longer operating, the Cyclone roller coaster, and the Wonder Wheel are among the rides that have been landmarked and cannot be destroyed” (Blue Guide PG 492). Coney Island was first opened in 1923, and even back then was a very popular enjoyable place to go. Nathans, another well-known spot associated with Coney Island is where the hot dog eating contests take place every year. “The iconic hot dog stand was founded in 1916 and is located at 1316 Surf Ave” (Blue Guide PG 492).
Next stop was The New York Transit Museum, a particular interesting spot.This museum was originally designed to be a subway station therefore its located underground.“This museum was inaugurated in 1976 for the bicentennial celebrations and provided too popular to close thereafter” (Blue Guide PG 468). “This museum includes exhibits on buses, bridges, and tunnels, but the emphasis is on subways” (BG 468). It was cool to be able to go back to the time to see what subways looked like then, including examples from subway cars that traveled the tracks of the first lines that opened in 1904. The subways were not always underground, in fact they used to be above, but due to snowy weather conditions they weren’t able to operate.
Just a few blocks away was the area known as Brooklyn Heights, one of the many places I would love to live in someday! In Brooklyn Heights there were numerous sites to see. Brooklyn City Hall was one of the first sites seen and is said to be the oldest public building. It was built in 1849 and resembles the neoclassical architecture, which is one of the many different architectural styles I learned about so far in this class. Further on was the Brooklyn
Historical Society, which is located at 128 Pierrpont St. at the southwest corner of Clinton St (Blue Guide PG 472). This society contains an educational center which is dedicated to the history and culture of Brooklyn.
This week’s class ended with a visit and journey across the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge “The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s great landmarks, certainly the best-known and most-loved bridge in the city” (Blue Guide PG 464).
Although the journey across the bridge is a little overwhelming with the crazy bicyclists it is beautiful at all times of the year whether its night or day, hot or cold. The Bridge was completed in 1883 as the largest suspension bridge
in existence. From the bridge you get breathtaking views of New York City and are in great location from either side.
With another experience of beautiful sites completed I’m excited for next week and the places we will see in the Village!
A Tale of Three Villages
Week # 3 started off like all the others. It was a beautiful Friday morning. I got dressed, had something to eat and headed to the Rockville Center train station to catch the 10:11 train to Penn. Once I arrived at Penn Mike and Meritta spoke about what our day was going to consist of, and that was the Village !
We headed in to the Village by taking the 1 train downtown to Houston St. This location was known as Greenwhich Village. After coming off the subway we stopped to chat a little bit about what the village has to offer and how SoHo stands from South of Houston street, something I never knew! We continued to walk towards Bedford St where we had the chance to see the narrowest house in New York City. The house was lived in by a number of famous people and was recently sold for 3.2 million dollars. If it wasn’t for Meritta pointing out that the house had backyard space I would have never known !
One of our next stops was Christopher Street, which plays a huge role in lives of members of the gay and lesbian community. Located on this street is
Christopher Park, which contains “George Segal’s Gay Liberation (1992) statue of same-sex couples, all four cast in bronze and painted stark white, a work properly sited, since Christopher Street was long the center of the Village’s gay community” (Blue Guide pg130). Right across the street from Christopher Park
was the Stonewall Inn. We had learned here that riots had once taken place here in 1969 and that each year the famous Halloween Parade ends here. “The riots at the Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher St, were a turning point in the struggle for gay civil rights (Blue Guide PG 131)”.
We than stopped at the Merchants House, where we had a tour of the house by a man named Bill. Although it was hard to hear most of what he said I caught a few facts such as the House was built in 1832 and housed an upper class family known as the Tredwell’s. “The building was purchased in 1835 for $18,000 by Seadbury Tredwell, a prosperous hardware merchant and importer. It stayed in the family until Tredwell’s eighth and last child, died there in 1933; and became a museum three years later” (Blue guide PG 158).
After our tour was completed we went to Washington Square Park, which was very close to the Merchant House. Washington Square Park had such a nice feel to it (besides that crazy girl !) with lots of families, students, and musicians around. It was interesting to know that the park once had marshland through it now is beautiful with lots of greenery. The park had a lot to offer, and defiantly somewhere I see my self going back to in the near future to enjoy a nice book!
Shortly after our stroll through Washington Square Park we stopped for lunch on St.Mark’s Place. “The blocks of 8th St from Third Avenue to
Avenue A, is famous for its bohemian associations” (Blue Guide PG 164). This street was filled with lots of stores, restaurants, and tattoo parlors. Here I had the cheapest lunch ever! For $2.50 I had a slice of pizza, that wasn’t too bad and a soda!
Our lunch break defiantly gave me some more energy and for the last part of our day we headed to the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. This small museum had a lot to offer. It showed all different activist and riots that took place in the Village. We then took a tour called The Roots of Radicalism and Activism Tour, where we had another tour guide named Bill. This tour guide defiantly was louder than the other and had almost too much information to offer haha! He took us to two community gardens, the 9th street Community Garden, and La Plaza Cultural. (my phone fell in water Monday night, which had all my pictures and information from this weeks class, making it hard to remember all Bill had spoken about in the tour!) From the 2nd community garden we stopped at a place called the Christadora House, which I enjoyed due to learning they once were homes to many immigrants. People were able to stay in these homes until they can find ways to establish themselves. Our tour ended with Bill talking about riots that took place in Thompson Square Park. This park was another spot filled with many people. We learned that back in the day this park really was not safe and was only used by those who would walk through to get drugs. Although it defiantly doesn’t seem as bad as we were told it used to be it still had an uneasy vibe towards the end, where we saw rowdy people.
Our day ended with the tour finishing up in the Park! Today consisted of a lot of history, but still was fun. I look forward to next week’s class in
East Harlem and Central Park !
Week # 3 started off like all the others. It was a beautiful Friday morning. I got dressed, had something to eat and headed to the Rockville Center train station to catch the 10:11 train to Penn. Once I arrived at Penn Mike and Meritta spoke about what our day was going to consist of, and that was the Village !
We headed in to the Village by taking the 1 train downtown to Houston St. This location was known as Greenwhich Village. After coming off the subway we stopped to chat a little bit about what the village has to offer and how SoHo stands from South of Houston street, something I never knew! We continued to walk towards Bedford St where we had the chance to see the narrowest house in New York City. The house was lived in by a number of famous people and was recently sold for 3.2 million dollars. If it wasn’t for Meritta pointing out that the house had backyard space I would have never known !
One of our next stops was Christopher Street, which plays a huge role in lives of members of the gay and lesbian community. Located on this street is
Christopher Park, which contains “George Segal’s Gay Liberation (1992) statue of same-sex couples, all four cast in bronze and painted stark white, a work properly sited, since Christopher Street was long the center of the Village’s gay community” (Blue Guide pg130). Right across the street from Christopher Park
was the Stonewall Inn. We had learned here that riots had once taken place here in 1969 and that each year the famous Halloween Parade ends here. “The riots at the Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher St, were a turning point in the struggle for gay civil rights (Blue Guide PG 131)”.
We than stopped at the Merchants House, where we had a tour of the house by a man named Bill. Although it was hard to hear most of what he said I caught a few facts such as the House was built in 1832 and housed an upper class family known as the Tredwell’s. “The building was purchased in 1835 for $18,000 by Seadbury Tredwell, a prosperous hardware merchant and importer. It stayed in the family until Tredwell’s eighth and last child, died there in 1933; and became a museum three years later” (Blue guide PG 158).
After our tour was completed we went to Washington Square Park, which was very close to the Merchant House. Washington Square Park had such a nice feel to it (besides that crazy girl !) with lots of families, students, and musicians around. It was interesting to know that the park once had marshland through it now is beautiful with lots of greenery. The park had a lot to offer, and defiantly somewhere I see my self going back to in the near future to enjoy a nice book!
Shortly after our stroll through Washington Square Park we stopped for lunch on St.Mark’s Place. “The blocks of 8th St from Third Avenue to
Avenue A, is famous for its bohemian associations” (Blue Guide PG 164). This street was filled with lots of stores, restaurants, and tattoo parlors. Here I had the cheapest lunch ever! For $2.50 I had a slice of pizza, that wasn’t too bad and a soda!
Our lunch break defiantly gave me some more energy and for the last part of our day we headed to the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. This small museum had a lot to offer. It showed all different activist and riots that took place in the Village. We then took a tour called The Roots of Radicalism and Activism Tour, where we had another tour guide named Bill. This tour guide defiantly was louder than the other and had almost too much information to offer haha! He took us to two community gardens, the 9th street Community Garden, and La Plaza Cultural. (my phone fell in water Monday night, which had all my pictures and information from this weeks class, making it hard to remember all Bill had spoken about in the tour!) From the 2nd community garden we stopped at a place called the Christadora House, which I enjoyed due to learning they once were homes to many immigrants. People were able to stay in these homes until they can find ways to establish themselves. Our tour ended with Bill talking about riots that took place in Thompson Square Park. This park was another spot filled with many people. We learned that back in the day this park really was not safe and was only used by those who would walk through to get drugs. Although it defiantly doesn’t seem as bad as we were told it used to be it still had an uneasy vibe towards the end, where we saw rowdy people.
Our day ended with the tour finishing up in the Park! Today consisted of a lot of history, but still was fun. I look forward to next week’s class in
East Harlem and Central Park !
East of the Park
The journey into East Harlem began today by taking a number of different subways. We took the 1 uptown from Penn to Grand Central Station, than the S to 83rd and finally the 6th to 103rd and Lexington. From here I learned that East Harlem is different from Harlem, and is referred to as “El Barrio” or Spanish Harlem.
Spanish Harlem was known to have the highest crime rate and unemployment rates in the 1960s, but today it is an area where gentrification is happening. The location of East Harlem is only about 10 blocks away from the Upper East Side leading to people wanting to be in the great location.
Our first stop of the day was to the Museum of The City of New York, which is located on 5th Ave. In the museum we were able to look at different portraits artists made of Central Park and watched a movie called Timescapes. Timescapes was very informative for the short 15-20minutes it ran. This short film showed all the transitions of New York from 1609 up until September 11,2001.
After the Museum of the City of New York, we walked about one block to El Mueso del Barrio, which translate to the Museum of the Neighborhood. “El Mueso del Barrio is one of the city’s outstanding small, sharply focused museums; the only city in the museum devoted to Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin American culture” (Blue
Guide PG 376). The building in which the museum is in was built in 1930s and originally was an orphanage. From the museum we went on a tour around El Barrio. We got to see how the architecture and even way of living was so different from where the museum was located on 5th compared to the heart of El Barrio. Some of the things we saw on the tour were the Graffiti Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1982 to grant graffiti artists a spot to do their work without getting in trouble. Other things we saw throughout Spanish Harlem were different types of artwork done by a well-known Spanish Harlem native known as Manny Vega. One of his pieces was a mosaic of Julia de Burgos, who is known as an iconic figure to much of the Hispanic Community.
Once we wrapped up the tour of El Barrio, we were able to grab sum lunch before our long excursion throughout the famous Central Park. We began central park at 103rd and our first spot was to the Jackie Kennedy reservoir, which I never had been to. While strolling the park I learned that there are 36 bridges throughout the park. We had chances to see Alicia Keys sound check, the row boats, Strawberry fields, and even got to enjoy a Spider-Man ice pop! Our long journey of Central Park ended at 57th street, where we took a quick peak at The Plaza Hotel, then walked crossed to one of the best toy stores- FAO Schawrtz.
My feet defiantly hurt a little today, but the day ended with a train ride back to Franklin Sq ! I am excited for next week through Harlem, because it will be good to see my old school, CCNY !
The journey into East Harlem began today by taking a number of different subways. We took the 1 uptown from Penn to Grand Central Station, than the S to 83rd and finally the 6th to 103rd and Lexington. From here I learned that East Harlem is different from Harlem, and is referred to as “El Barrio” or Spanish Harlem.
Spanish Harlem was known to have the highest crime rate and unemployment rates in the 1960s, but today it is an area where gentrification is happening. The location of East Harlem is only about 10 blocks away from the Upper East Side leading to people wanting to be in the great location.
Our first stop of the day was to the Museum of The City of New York, which is located on 5th Ave. In the museum we were able to look at different portraits artists made of Central Park and watched a movie called Timescapes. Timescapes was very informative for the short 15-20minutes it ran. This short film showed all the transitions of New York from 1609 up until September 11,2001.
After the Museum of the City of New York, we walked about one block to El Mueso del Barrio, which translate to the Museum of the Neighborhood. “El Mueso del Barrio is one of the city’s outstanding small, sharply focused museums; the only city in the museum devoted to Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin American culture” (Blue
Guide PG 376). The building in which the museum is in was built in 1930s and originally was an orphanage. From the museum we went on a tour around El Barrio. We got to see how the architecture and even way of living was so different from where the museum was located on 5th compared to the heart of El Barrio. Some of the things we saw on the tour were the Graffiti Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1982 to grant graffiti artists a spot to do their work without getting in trouble. Other things we saw throughout Spanish Harlem were different types of artwork done by a well-known Spanish Harlem native known as Manny Vega. One of his pieces was a mosaic of Julia de Burgos, who is known as an iconic figure to much of the Hispanic Community.
Once we wrapped up the tour of El Barrio, we were able to grab sum lunch before our long excursion throughout the famous Central Park. We began central park at 103rd and our first spot was to the Jackie Kennedy reservoir, which I never had been to. While strolling the park I learned that there are 36 bridges throughout the park. We had chances to see Alicia Keys sound check, the row boats, Strawberry fields, and even got to enjoy a Spider-Man ice pop! Our long journey of Central Park ended at 57th street, where we took a quick peak at The Plaza Hotel, then walked crossed to one of the best toy stores- FAO Schawrtz.
My feet defiantly hurt a little today, but the day ended with a train ride back to Franklin Sq ! I am excited for next week through Harlem, because it will be good to see my old school, CCNY !