NYC Roadie: Chelsea Market & The High Line

Exterior signage reflects Chelsea Market's Meatpacking District location. (10/17/15)

Visiting my stepson for Columbia University's Parents Weekend, Anne and I continued looking for new parts of New York City to take-in during our time there. This past weekend, in addition to checking out a few previously untested comic book (and book) stores, we made our way to Chelsea Market and The High Line. Because one (Chelsea Market) is partially located beneath the other (High Line), the "double dip" was an easy one to accomplish. As is so often the case, there was much more to potentially experience (foods, views, people-watching) than we were able to take in during the time we had available.

Halloween decorating was in full-swing in Chelsea Market. (10/17/15)

Both locales are excellent examples of the re-use of existing (and previously out-of-use) city space. The High Line consists of a converted out-of-use railroad trestle while Chelesa Market is comprised, in part, of old Nabisco factory.

It is New York City, so naturally, someone was filming something.

What do you know, it's Edgar Allan Poe! (10/17/15)

High Line Park. (10/17/15)

Above Chelsea Market, the High Line passes through the building on the 10th Avenue side. Opening in Spring 2009, this abandoned, elevated railroad track has been converted to an urban oasis or greenway, which now forms a continuous route between the Javits Convention Center and the trendy Meatpacking District.

My wife, Anne, with a multitude of "friends," at the High Line. (10/17/15)

View from within the High Line. (10/17/15)

Public artwork adds visual flair. (10/17/15)

Pubic walkways through the park. (10/17/15)

Mt stepson, Gregory, and I. (10/17/15)

Exiting the High Line. (10/17/15)

Roadie: Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC

Arriving before the crowds, we quickly gained entrance. (8/31/14)

Last weekend, while returning my stepson to Columbia University for  his sophomore year, my wife and I found ourselves with some free time and used it to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Anne and I went into the experience fully aware that we would be hard pressed to see even a portion part of the museum's extensive collections in the 3 hours we had set aside to tour. The weather in New York City that day was especially humid, and with the building being air conditioned, we also recognized the likelihood of many others seeking to be both nourished by the art and to escape the heat. These factors (time and attendance did nothing to hamper our enjoyment f the pieces we did get to see, and further increased our desire to return for some other exhibits when we go back for Parents' Weekend in October.

The wide array of requires that each person's tour of the museum to be an individualized one--it would be impossible to meaningfully walk the entirety of the Met in a single walk through. For today's trip, in addition to the Delaware painting, I hoped to see the collection of European armor as well as whatever else we could take in.

As artistic movements reflect the development of cultures as well as the ebb and flow of history, the Met is as much what one would think of as a historical museum as an art one. Despite being on a mission to see Washington Crossing the Delaware, much of our time was spent wandering exhibits that, while influential on the development of the United States and Americans, could not rightly be considered the products of either. What follows are some pictures we took of just a small portion of what we had a chance to see on our first trip to the Met. In many cases, rather than try to capture the image on film, we chose to simply take it in. Once again, much of the factual information is from Wikipedia.

No admission is required a $25 donation is suggested; the donation cost is well worth it.

The Temple of Dendur. (8/31/14)

The Temple of Dendur is an Egyptian temple that was built by the Roman governor of Egypt, Petronius, around 15 BC and dedicated to Isis, Osiris, as well as two deified sons of a local Nubian chieftain, Pediese ("he whom Isis has given") and Pihor ("he who belongs to Horus"). The temple was commissioned by Emperor Augustus of Rome and has been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 1978.

The Temple of Dendur interior. (8/31/14)

From the Arms and Armor collection. (8/31/14)

From the Arms and Armor collection. (8/31/14)

From the Arms and Armor collection. (8/31/14)

Sallet in the shape of a lion's head.(8/31/14)

The sallet was a war helmet that replaced the bascinet in Italy, western and northern Europe and Hungary during the mid-15th century. In Italy, France and England the armet helmet was also popular, but in Germany the sallet became almost universal.

The eggplant samurai helmet from the Arms and Armor collection.(8/31/14)

The statuary at the entrance to the American Wing. (8/31/14)

Part of The American West in Bronze collection. (8/31/14)

Part of The American West in Bronze collection. (8/31/14)

Part of The American West in Bronze collection. (8/31/14)

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View of NYC across Central Park from the Roof Garden. (8/31/14)

Close-up of Hercules with Beard. (8/31/14)

After a fantastic tour through just a floor-and-a-half of only the Northern half of the building(!), we look forward to returning soon to check out more.

Roadie: Lower Manhattan, NYC

The East Coast Memorial in Battery Park, New York. (8/29/14)

Delivering my stepson back to Columbia University for his sophomore year created a great opportunity for my wife and I to check out some touristy, historic locales in lower Manhattan. As often proves to be the case, my wife Anne was very knowledgeable about the historical significance and background of many of the places, all of which I had not previously been to.

Granite pylons bearing names of fallen
American soldiers. (8/29/14)

Except where otherwise noted, the details and information included in this post are pulled directly from Wikipedia entries. Fortunately, while we were touring, Anne shared many of these historical anecdotes and stories to make the visit more meaningful. My inability to properly capture what she shared (as well as my desire not to be inaccurate) lead me to use Wikipedia.

The East Coast Memorial, pictured above and below, is a World War II war memorial in Battery Park, New York City. The memorial commemorates U.S. servicemen who died in coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean during World War II. A total of 4,609 names are inscribed on both sides of eight 19-foot-tall granite pylons. The pylons are arranged in two rows of four each. Between the two rows stands a bronze statue of an eagle, erected on a black granite pedestal. The eagle faces the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor.

The eagle statue was created by Albino Manca, an Italian-born sculptor. (8/29/14)

Another of the impressive statues in Battery Park is The Immigrants by Luis Sanguino. The sculpture is located at the south end of the Eisenhower Mall in Battery Park near Castle Clinton, which served as a processing facility for newly arrived immigrants from 1855 to 1890, when construction began on a larger, more remote facility at nearby Ellis Island.

The Immigrants in Battery Park. (8/29/14)

Sculptor Luis Sanguino (b. 1934) celebrates the diversity of New York City and the struggle of immigrants in this heroic-sized bronze figural group. The sculpture depicts figures of various ethnic groups and eras, including an Eastern European Jew, a freed African slave, a priest, and a worker. The figures’ expressive poses emphasize the struggle and toil inherent in the experience of the immigrant or dislocated person. (Credit: NYC Battery Park Website)

Close-up from front of The Immigrants in Battery Park. (8/29/14)

Bowling Green is a small public park in Lower Manhattan at the foot of Broadway next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam. Built in 1733, originally including a bowling green, it is the oldest public park in New York City and is surrounded by its original 18th century fence. Bowling Green Fence and Park is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

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New York Landmark signage at Bowling Green fence. (8/29/14)

In 1773, the city passed an anti-graffiti and anti-desecration law to counter vandalism against the monument. A protective cast-iron fence, which still stands, was built along the perimeter of the park. On July 9, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was read to Washington's troops at the current site of City Hall, local Sons of Liberty rushed down Broadway to Bowling Green, where they toppled the statue. The fence post finials of cast-iron crowns on the protective fence were sawed off, with the saw marks still visible today. The event is one of the most enduring images in the city's history.

It is still possible to feel the grooves where the cast iron
crowns were sawed off! (8/29/14)

The iconic New York Stock Exchange facade... 'nuff said! (8/29/14)

Trinity Church, at 75 Broadway in lower Manhattan, is a historic, active, well-endowed parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Trinity Church is near the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway, in New York City, New York.

Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. (8/29/14)

Trinity Church. (8/29/14)

Trinity Church has three sets of impressive bronze doors conceived by Richard Morris Hunt. These date from 1893 and were produced by Karl Bitter(east door), J. Massey Rhind (south door) and Charles Henry Niehaus (north door). The doors were a gift from William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astorin memory of John Jacob Astor III. The north and east door each consist of six panels from Church history or the Bible and the south door depicts the history of New York in its six panels.

The North Door of Trinity Church. (8/29/14)

One of three burial grounds closely associated with Trinity Church. The Trinity Churchyard, at Wall Street and Broadway, in which Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton, ands John Watts, among others, are buried.

The Trinity Churchyard. (8/29/14)

The final resting place of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. (8/29/14)

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was a founding father of the United States, chief of staff to General George Washington, one of the most influential interpreters and promoters of the U.S. Constitution, the founder of the nation's financial system, and the founder of the first American political party.

The tomb of Robert Fulton. (8/29/14)

Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was a colonial American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat. In 1800, he was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to design the Nautilus, which was the first practical submarine in history. He is also credited with inventing some of the world's earliest naval torpedoes for use by the British Royal Navy.

John Watts grave at Trinity Churchyard. (8/29/14)

John Watts (August 27, 1749 New York City - September 3, 1836) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City who represented New York in the U.S. House.

Anne, Queen of Great Britain, increased the parish's land holdings to 215 acres (870,000 m2) in 1705. Later, in 1709, William Huddleston founded Trinity School as the Charity School of the church, and classes were originally held in the steeple of the church. In 1754, King's College (now Columbia University) was chartered by King George II of Great Britain and instruction began with eight students in a school building near the church.

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Ironically, we conclude our tour of lower Manhattan with a nod to where our day began: at the original site of what would become the Columbia University where we left Gregory to acquaint himself with his new dorm room just a few hours earlier.