Journal 2
The Wild Westside - 10/4/13
This week's class focused on exploring the west side of Manhattan from Times Square all the way up to Harlem. We began our day by walking from Penn Station over to Broadway, which is the only avenue in the city that runs diagonally. As we continued our walk to our first destination, we could see the recent development of pedestrian zones which encourage people to travel by foot rather than by car. When we arrived at Times Square, Mike and Meritta informed us that during the 1960's and 1970's Times Square was filled with lots of drugs and prostitution. During the 1980's, efforts were made to clean up the area due to "new commercial real estate development in the West 40s and 50s" (Blue Guide, 218). The Times Square alliance was formed "in 1992 to promote the area, improve public safety, bolster economic development, and deal with quality of life issues" (Blue Guide, 218).
Our next stop of the day was at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) which is one of the city's premier cultural institutions. In 2004, the museum expanded and was reconfigured by Yoshio Taniguchi which cost over eight hundred million dollars (Blue Guide, 260). As we walked around the museum, I really enjoyed the diversity of the artwork and I also liked the different ways people interpreted various pieces. I think my favorite pieces were by the artist Vincent van Gogh. After the museum we headed to Hell's Kitchen for lunch. I was in for a treat because I really love Thai Food and the food was delicious! The neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, "stretches from the Hudson River to Eighth Avenue, from about West 34th to West 57th Streets" (Blue Guide, 226). After lunch we hopped on the 1 train heading uptown to 110th Street. When we got off, Mike and Meritta explained that we were in the neighborhood of Morningside Heights. We proceeded to head towards the Hungarian Pastry Shop, located on Amsterdam Avenue and 111th Street. At the pastry shop, we met our tour guide and he proceeded to give us some information about the neighborhood.
Right across the street from the pastry shop was the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine which is where we began our tour of Morningside Heights. We were able to go inside the cathedral and it was absolutely stunning inside. Our next destination was Columbia University, which is one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most respected of all North American universities (Blue Guide, 427). I was actually really impressed with Columbia's campus and I really wouldn't mind going there for graduate school! Once we reached Morningside Park, our tour guide told us about the history of the park. "Morningside Park occupies about 30 acres, including a rocky cliff of Manhattan schist, which plunges down to the Harlem Plain" (Blue Guide, 426). In the mid-19th century the Parks Department took over and hired Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to design a park (Blue Guide, 426). After we left the park, we walked to 125th Street in Harlem which is where the Apollo Theater is located. The Apollo Theater originally "opened as Hurtig and Seamon's New Burlesque Theater, for whites only" (Blue Guide, 440). As the the neighborhood began to change, so did the Apollo. In 1934, the Apollo Theater opened its doors to black audiences which led to the success of many people including Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, and Diana Ross (Blue Guide, 440). Since it started to rain, Mike and Meritta let us get back on the subway and head back to Penn Station. Overall, I really enjoyed this week's class and I definitely want to go back to MoMa!
Lower Manhattan & Captivating Chelsea - 10/11/13
Today's class focused on exploring various areas of lower Manhattan along with artsy neighborhood of Chelsea. Once we arrived in Penn Station, we took the 2 train downtown and got off at Park Place. When we exited the subway station, Mike and Meritta gave us some information about the the financial district and the various skyscrapers that inhabit the area. One of the most historical buildings in the financial district is the Woolworth Building. The Woolworth Building was built by Cass Gilbert in 1913 and is one of the oldest skyscrapers in the United States (Blue Guide, 80). The Woolworth Building was considered to be the world's tallest building until the Chrysler Building took its place in 1930 (Blue Guide, 80). However, the building still remains to this day as "one of the city's most luxuriantly detailed skyscrapers" (Blue Guide, 80).
After walking a few blocks, we arrived at our first destination of the day - City Hall. Upon our arrival, we were met by our tour guide Deidre, who proceeded to inform us about the history of City Hall and the architectural style of the building. The building was constructed during the early 19th century when "the nation was searching for an architectural style that would reflect its youthful republican ideals" (Blue Guide, 84). The building was designed by two architects, Joseph Francois Mangin - a French Immigrant, and John McComb Jr. - a native New Yorker (Blue Guide, 84). Marble and brownstone were the original materials used during its construction but were eventually replaced by limestone and red granite. The building itself is a great example of federal-style architecture, however it sticks out from other federal-style buildings due to its unusual French classic details (Blue Guide, 84). From the outside of City Hall, we also had great views of the Manhattan Municipal Building, which was constructed from 1907-1914 during the City Beautiful Movement. Once we entered City Hall, we were greeted by a large statue of George Washington. What I found to be most intriguing was the "floating staircase" leading to the upper levels of the building. On the second floor we saw the desk of Fiorello LaGuardia, the mayor of New York from 1934-1945. We also viewed numerous paintings and Deidre provided us with an abundance of information. After the tour concluded, we were off to our next stop of the day - St. Paul's Chapel.
St. Paul's Chapel is the oldest public building in continous use in New York City. The church was built in 1764 and is a Georgian style building. George Washington attended services here and his pew still remains in the church to this day. After 9/11, the church served as "a place of refuge for workers at Ground Zero and as a temporary memorial for visitors, who attached messages and memorials to the fence in front of the church" (Blue Guide, 77). After exiting the church, we began our short walk to the 9/11 Memorial. When we arrived at the 9/11 Memorial, Mike gave us some time to walk around by ourselves. I walked over to both the north and south pools and and viewed the survivor tree. Although it was an eerie experience, I would definitely go back and visit the memorial again. After leaving the 9/11 Memorial, we proceeded to walk to Trinity Church, "New York's most famous house of worship" (Blue Guide, 65). The church also happens to be the location of Alexander Hamilton's tomb, which I thought to be quite interesting.
As we left the church, we proceeded to walk down Wall Street to the New York Stock Exchange. When we arrived to the New York Stock Exchange, Mike informed us that Wall Street gets its name from a wall that was erected in 1653 to protect the Dutch from its British neighbors (Blue Guide, 64). Right across from the New York Stock Exchange is the Federal Hall National Monument, originally known as New York City Hall. This was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first president of the United States. Our next stop of the day was supposed to be at the National Museum of the American Indian but due to the government shutdown, we were unable to go in. The building that the museum is located in is actually the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House, which was used to collect customs from ships that entered New York Harbor. This area of Manhattan was the site of Fort Amsterdam, the first Dutch settlement. On July 8th, 1776, George Washington read the Declaration of Independence here and the statue of King George was torn down. After our brief walk around Bowling Green, we headed down to Battery Park which faces New York Harbor. Mike informed us that Battery Park is named after the battery of cannons used to protect the city from invasion by the British. In the present day, Battery Park is the location of many harbor cruise tours due to its close proximity to the Statue of Liberty.
From Battery Park, we hopped on the 2 train uptown to begin the next half of our day in Chelsea. We got off the subway on 14th Street, and walked west until we reached 9th Avenue. We broke for lunch at Chelsea Market and we had 45 minutes to explore the market on our own. I ended up getting lunch at Los Tacos No. 1 and the food was amazing. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of Chelsea Market, but it was slightly overwhelming at times. After lunch, we got a brief tour of the Meatpacking District, which was at one time inhabited by druggies, hookers, and transvestites. Now the area is extremely gentrified and is filled with many high-end restaurants, shops, and night clubs. Our next stop of the day was at The High Line, an elevated freight line railroad transformed into a public park. The High Line starts at Gansevoort Street and ends around W. 30th Street (Blue Guide, 188). The park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city and boasts some amazing views. As we walked along the High Line, we passed by the famous Standard Hotel. What I found to be most interesting about the hotel was the fact that you could see directly into the rooms from the High Line.
The last part of our day focused on exploring numerous art galleries in Chelsea. After we got off the High Line, we began popping into random art galleries hoping that one of them would spark our interests. In one particular gallery, an artist named Philip-Lorca diCorcia had an exhibit entitled "Hustlers" which I found to be interesting. All of the photos were taken in a hotel or outside of a hotel depicting the lives of prostitutes. This was probably one of my favorite galleries due to the fact that all of the artwork made sense to me and didn't involve abstract thinking. Another gallery that I enjoyed was the one containing the life-sized version of a pack of Marlboro cigarettes. Each individual cigarette was intricately designed and placed strategically on one another. It was definitely clear that the artist put a lot of effort into the piece. After visiting about 10 galleries, we decided to end our day and I leisurely walked back to Penn Station.
Immigrant New york - 10/18/13
For today's last class of "Gotham: The New York Experience" we explored the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Like always, we departed Penn Station around 11:05 am and started walking east towards Sixth Avenue. We proceeded to get on the F train heading downtown and got off at Delancey Street. Once we were on street-level, Mike and Meritta gave us a brief overview of the area. The Lower East Side has forever been known for its large immigrant population. During the the 1850's, Irish and German immigrants inhabited the area and the wealthy began migrating north. During the 1860's, the Lower East Side experienced a large surge of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe due to the persecution that was occurring in their home countries. During the 1880's and 1890's, Italian and Chinese immigrants began migrating to the area in large numbers.
By 1900, the Lower East Side was the most densely populated area in the entire world. The immigrants who lived in the Lower East Side lived in tenement buildings which were overcrowded and not very sanitary. In order to help clean up the area, the Essex Street Market was created in 1940 "to house pushcart peddlers whom Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia legislated off the streets" (Blue Guide, 123). The Essex Street Market is home to more than 20 independent vendors that specialize in a wide variety of culinary products including gourmet cheeses, premium cuts of meat, fresh fish, and general grocery items. As we entered the market, I was shocked at how diverse the selection of food really was. Overall, I thought the market was really interesting and I would definitely go back sometime in the future. The next thing on our agenda for the day was a walking tour of the Lower East Side. We met up with our tour guide and he led us to an area right next to the Williamsburg Bridge. The Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903 linking the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn together. Our tour guide explained that the Williamsburg Bridge was once known as the "Jews' Highway" due to the large population of Jews inhabiting the Lower East Side. The Williamsburg Bridge provide people with an easy way to leave Manhattan in order to escape the congestion of the Lower East Side.
Our next stop of the day was at the Economy Candy Store, one of the best candy stores in New York City. After purchasing some candy, we continued with our walking tour and learned about the various tenement buildings that inhabited the area. Our tour guide explained that the first tenement buildings were located in New York. We were also informed that a law passed in 1867 required all tenements to have a bathroom for every 20 people. In 1901, another law was passed which required every room in a tenement to have a window (Blue Guide, 122). Our next destination of the day was the Bialystoker Synagogue, which was constructed in 1826. The synagogue was originally used as a church, which was definitely apparent from the exterior. The Bialystoker Synagogue is the oldest building used as a synagogue in all of New York City. Right around the corner from the synagogue is the Henry Street Settlement. The Henry Street Settlement was established as a settlement house that helped new immigrants assimilate into American culture. The Henry Street Settlement was founded by Lillian Wald in 1893, who just so happened to be a nurse (Blue Guide, 125). Lillian Wald's efforts later led to the creation of the Visiting Nurse Service, which is still used today.
We continued walking east on Henry Street until we reached Saint Teresa's Church. As we took in the church's architecture, our tour guide explained that the clock on the exterior of the church is the oldest public clock in New York City. As we made our way onto Canal Street, we realized that we were now in Chinatown. We passed by the the Eldridge Street Synagogue, which was considered to be the "grandest synagogue on the Lower East Side" during its early years (Blue Guide, 120). Mike and Meritta gave us some free to explore Canal Street before lunch so we leisurely browsed the area and took in some of the views of the Manhattan Bridge. We had lunch at Congee Village, which is an authentic Chinese restaurant located on Allen Street. As a class, we shared numerous dishes - all of which were delicious. After lunch we headed down the block to the Tenement Museum located on Orchard Street.The Tenement Museum was originally a former tenement, "founded in 1988 to preserve the heritage of the nation's immigrants, honoring the millions who lived on the Lower East Side and in other immigrant ghettos" (Blue Guide, 122). The tenement that we viewed was built by Lucas Glockner in 1863 - the year Abraham Lincoln was president. The neighborhood in which the building was located in was known as "Little Germany" due to the large number of German immigrants. In the museum we interacted with an actress portraying Victoria Confino - a young Jewish immigrant who lived in the tenement building during the early 1900's. Overall, I thought the tour provided us with lots of information and I definitely would go back again if I was in the area. As our day came to a close, we walked down Delancey Street and got on the F train heading uptown to Penn Station.
Impressions of new york - after class
Throughout the course of "Gotham: The New York Experience" I have learned countless new things about the city of New York. From the very first class, I was introduced to various new ideas and places and it was very interesting to experience these things firsthand. Before this class, I really didn't know much about gentrification and many other sociological issues. To be able to learn about these concepts and issues by seeing it directly really facilitated my learning and really changed my perception about the city that is at our fingertips. Although I felt like I knew the city pretty well before entering the class, my feelings have now changed due to what I have experienced during the past seven weeks. The fact that we visited areas that I didn't even know existed really changed my attitude about New York City and what it has to offer. I also really enjoyed the fact that we covered so many sites and only "got a taste" of each area because now I know the spots that I would like to return to in the near future. I am so happy that I was able to participate in this class because now I feel like I have the knowledge to further explore the city on my own.