New York City Pt 3

Still mooching around in NYC. We've had a great time with David and Catherine, who have departed this morning for Europe. On Friday night Kathy arrives (Marian's sister) and will be with us for 3 weeks - her first time to NYC so that will be fun. Since the last post we've done some detailed touring in Chelsea, the Upper West Side (specifically Riverside Drive) and lower Midtown. We also did a big bike ride around Manhattan (not a complete circumnavigation though). Here are some pics....

Some subway stations have art installed and this is a fetching mosaic on a stairwell at 7th Ave/14th Street subway station (note stainless steel train rushing across at bottom of photo)....

We visited the High Line again as part of our more detailed tour of Chelsea...

This Art Deco bridge spans the original factory (to the left) and offices (to the right) of the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco). The former is now the Chelsea Market on lower floors and Google above. The latter is housing. To the left, the Oreo was invented in 1914 (fun fact!).....

Chelsea has different parts and this is the historic residential portion. The houses were set back more than usual in New York, because the landowner at the time wanted to create more of an open 'country' feel, as the land was at the time (farm land). He started by donating a whole block for religious purposes and then grew the housing around it....

In the more commercial part of Chelsea, is the famous Chelsea Hotel. It is more infamous, as the permanent residence of many artists since the 1950's - particularly artists associated with New York during the 1960's to 1980's (eg. Bob Dylan; Patti Smith etc). Sid and Nancy had their altercation here. It was originally intended in 1880's to be a fancy apartment complex for the elite living in mansions throughout the city (like the Dakota in the Upper West Side). But it didn't work so it became a hotel...

Clever wall tiles in a bathroom along the High Line....

Hudson Yards is a future major development site in the city, around which the High Line skirts at its northern end....

Detail of the Vessel (at Hudson Yards) with Empire State Building behind....

Massive wheels on the Bloomberg Building enabling the entire structure to either enclose or open a public plaza...

The puffy building on the left is the one that moves on the wheels. The tall one on the right is one of the main viewpoints people go up to see the city with a glass floor beneath them ('The Edge'). The Vessel is the folly in the middle, which is for people to walk up...

Random graffiti in Chelsea....

The part of Chelsea near the Hudson River (docks) was very important for industry. The Terminal Stores (1891) is a huge building now used for various purposes, but originally a warehouse, with trains entering into the building it is so big (hence the angled entry)...

Next to the Terminal Stores (on the right) is the Starrett-Lehigh Building (1931), which is truly massive - and presents far more glass due to improvements in building technology since the 1890's. Apparently it has as much floorspace as the 100 storey Empire State Building, built the same year, even though it's only 19 storeys....

View on West 79th Street - 'Grandma isn't selling'!...

Nice ensemble of townhouses on Riverside Drive (Upper West Side). A neighbour complained about loss of views when they were built in 1899. It turned out they weren't built within the boundaries, so had to be truncated in 1910 - which is why the circular turret isn't circular and the frontages are all a little flat...

Nice Mesoamerican detail on apartment building (1916), at a time when most architects were resorting to European symbols....

Very nice row of mansions a little reminiscent of London. Many notable people have lived in the houses - including Duke Ellington who owned two of them...

Interesting roof a little further up Riverside Drive....

We took a guided tour of the Merchants House on 4th Street, in an area called Noho (North of Houston). It was built in 1832 and lived in by one family until 1933 when the youngest daughter passed at age 93. A relative bought it and opened a museum 1936, because nothing had changed. It is a very good snapshot of how the elite lived in the early to mid 1800's, on their march northward up Manhattan from the downtown, to here, to further up Midtown then to the Upper East Side. Each time they moved they were in former farm land with high amenity. But each time the city caught up with them and they moved again!...

The house is nationally recognised for the plasterwork...

Note the gas light is on a pully system so it can be lit...

These mews houses are behind grand houses facing Washington Square in Greenwich Village. It is another one of the 'stepping stone' locations people moved through on their way north. The house (which became an apartment block) behind the mews on the left was where the artist Edward Hopper lived and worked for 53 years....

Gramercy Park is a very attractive garden square, not unlike those in Mayfair, London. Unusually, the square is a private garden (the only one in NYC) and has always been so. The original developer thought it would ensure longevity of amenity, as no-one could take it away - in some ways he was right, as it is very impressive indeed. There are also fantastic buildings around it. The area seems nice too, even though not far away it is very busy and full-on...

These houses were particularly attractive. The dual gas lights out front of the central house were a right for former Mayors of New York (one lived here), derived from an old Dutch tradition of the Mayors trip home being led by two gas lamps...

On Sunday was the gay pride march in New York - it was so busy - there must have been hundreds of thousands out and about. The mood was very festive, with a few dissenters (see banners on other side of happy marchers)...

We finished our 'tour' at J.P.Morgans library. He collected books and manuscripts and needed somewhere to put it all. So he built a study (the red room below) and the amazing library. There was a temporary exhibition of ancient Mesopotamian seals (little round things on a string around your neck that when rolled on clay make a picture). There were quite a few and they were amazing - and so tiny....

On Sunday's they close Columbus Avenue and put chairs out - kids draw in chalk on the pavement - very community vibe - here we are chilling after a long walking tour....

We hired bikes and rode down the Hudson (west side of Manhattan), around Downtown (the historic bottom bit), up the East River and around most of Central Park. It was very hot! Here is an example of the excellent public parks along the Hudson, looking across to New Jersey....

On the western side of Downtown is a memorial to the Irish Famine - a major piece of public art that you walk on, with One World Trade Centre nearby....

On the East River the bike route was seriously compromised by construction work. We were detoured through a lot of the Lower East Side (on on-street bike paths) which was very interesting. This is passing the Brooklyn Bridge, soon before we were detoured...

We cycled up to 105th street on the Upper East Side before turning in toward Central Park. This is the Queensboro Bridge with the tramway across to Roosevelt Island (mentioned in previous posts)....