Journal 2
The Wild Westside
And we're off! To start off the day we walked through Times Square. Times Square is a part of the city where very large businesses have been started and also continue to run. In the 1960s this area of the city was not a place anyone wanted to be. There was a down fall to drugs and many other criminal activities. When I think of New York City I automatically think of Times Square's huge billboards of broadway shows and advertisements (Blue Guide, p.217). Next, we stopped into Rockefeller Center. This also comes to my mind when I think of New York City. The Christmas Tree and iceskating during the holidays is one of my favorite things to do. In Rockefeller Plaza is one of the greatest murals ever painted. This particular one was created by Diego Rivera. While the plaza was being built, Mr. Rockefeller wanted the interior to different from any other place he had seen (Blue Guide, p.243-245).
The Museum of Modern Art was our next stop. I am a Visual Art major so I really enjoyed this. We saw works of art from very famous artist such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Marcel Duchamp, Piet Mondrian, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, and John Baldessari (Blue Guide, p. 262-264)I was amazed at these works of art. I have never been to this museum before and it was wonderful to actually view and get close to these pieces. One of my favorite paintings in Starry Night, by Vincent van Gogh. Seeing it in person was much different, I didn't realize how small it actually was. I would love the visit the Museum of Modern Art again on my next trip to the city. I did not nearly get as much time as I would have liked. To see all of these priceless works of art is amazing to me and I am so happy I experienced it.
We made a stop the Hungarian Pastry Shop. This was established pretty recently. The new owner is Phil twenty six years old. As we walked by he had us hang a painted angel on strings in front of the shop, and he gave us an angel to keep. His goal was to distribute one million angels signifying ever lasting love. We walked passed a church Saint John the Devine. This cathedral church was built in 1890 and was never finished because funds ran out in 1911. This church was extremely detailed inside and out (Blue Guide, p. 419-420). My favorite detail of the church were the stained glass windows. I was glad I had a chance to see this beautiful church because I never would have seen it on my own.
Our last stop was Harlem. Harlem is much different today then it was many years ago. Many years ago Harlem was much more dangerous. Today Harlem is a very diverse area. Due to gentrification, Harlem is continuing to change. As we walked down the streets of Harlem we noticed the mix between very old buildings and extremely new office and apartment buildings. These changes are also due to gentrification (Blue Guide, p. 437). We also passed the Harriet Tubman Memorial that was located on the oldest street in Harlem. This large bronze sculpture was built there in honor of Harriet Tubman and her contributions to the underground railroad. Our last stop was the Apollo Theater. This theater was very popular for African American comedians to preform. Then off to Penn Station, very tired as usual, but had a great experience.
Lower Manhattan & Captivating Chelsea
Our first stop of the day was City Hall. In the 1700s New York City was a very forested area where many Native Americans lived. During this time New York City had become so populated that a new City Hall had to be built. When this City Hall was built it was modernized for the time for the president who was George Washington. New York City was growing rapidly during this time due to immigration. A new building was trying to be planned for a different design. In 1802 a contest was issued to the people of New York City in oder for a new design. The winner would have their design built as the new City Hall and also receive $350. The amount the winner was paid would be multiplied by twenty to be equivalent to todays money. City Hall was the tallest building in New York City at the time beside some churches. Inside of City Hall is all original marble. The outside was covered with another material because the marble had weathered too much. Inside City Hall is also a statue of George Washington along with a spiral staircase. The ceiling is composed of a ten columns and a dome structure that had several different size squares in it. The square decrease in size as your eye moves up, giving the illusion of a bigger structure (Blue Guide, p. 85-83). Inside City Hall was all original furniture in the rooms we were allowed to view. The Governor's Room served as a meeting room as well as a gallery.
Next we stopped at Saint Paul the Apostle Church. George Washington's original pew is inside! During the September 11 attacks this church was used as a resting spot for the workers after the attacks. There is now a memorial for all the people who lost their lives inside of the church. directly behind the church was where the World Trade Center once stood (Blue Guide, p. 77-78). The 9/11 Memorial is now built there. We had a chance to walk through the memorial is well. This was a place I had never been before. Where the two towers stood are large water falls going down into the ground. Around these pieces are all of the names of all the people who lost their lives. I have several friends whose family members had passed during these attacks, so it was very sad to see this memorial .There were so many people waiting online to go in. I feel lucky and fortunate that I had a chance to see it. Something I also found very interesting at the memorial was a tree that was blocked off. This tree was the only tree in the area of attack that somehow had survived. As we continued walking we walked into the area where protestors "occupied Wall Street". During this time these protestors set up areas where they could eat, sleep, and even a library area. These individuals set up the same way when Storm Sandy Hit and people needed the help. The New York Stock Exchange is the biggest stock exchange in the world. The large bull statue represents Wall Street (Blue Guild, p. 67-69).
Next we stopped into Battery Park. Battery Park is a 14 acre park that is a result of Mayor Bloomsberg's actions. He wanted New York City to have more "green areas". This park is a great to just sit and relax, and ferry tours of the Statue of Liberty are offered there (Blue Guide, p. 48-49). By this time everyone is starving! For lunch we stopped into Chelsea Market. In there were many different small restaurants, shops, and bakeries (BLue Guide, p. 186). I grabbed a quick sandwich and of corse a cupcake! It was delicious! I really enjoyed it there. I will go back because we did not have as much time as I would have liked to walk around and shop. On our way to the Chelsea Galleries, instead of walking on the city streets we walked on the High Line Headquarters. This high line is located above the city streets. Many people in other countries love the idea of this and want them in their country. All along the high line is random art works and also railroad tracks covered by plants (Blue Guide, p. 188). This was also somewhere I did not even know existed in New York City. Finally we reached the Chelsea Galleries. The interesting idea of the galleries is that each one has a different theme chosen by the artists (Blue Guide, p. 186). The few galleries I went into were interesting, but I wish the artists would have been there so I could have asked them questions. This is a place I would love to go back to and spend time looking around.
Immigrant New York
Today was our last day of class. We began by walking through the Lower East Side of Manhattan with Jim as our tour guide. At one time this side of Manhattan was filled with the highest Jewish population. The goal of these new community members though was to get out as quick as you can because of the filth. There was poor sanitation during this time so there was garbage and diseases everywhere. The people who lived in these apartments would literally through their garbage out of their windows. The Williamsburg Bridge is right near by so people used that to move out as well (Blue Guide, p. 115). As we moved along the tour we passed the Economy Candy Shop. This is one of the best candy stores in New York City. Inside there were walls and shelves fully stocked with candy of every kind. Moving along we saw several settlement houses. Settlement houses were used in the early 1900s for poorer families who just moved to the United States. In the settlement houses a wealthier family would move in to help the less fortunate. One of the settlement houses was used specifically for public nursing help and was started there. Taking a look at the buildings in this area, Jim explained to use that in the early 1900s every building was required to have a fire stairway inside or a fire escape. If you cannot see a fire escape outside the building then you can assume it is an older building.
Our last part of the day was visiting the Tenement Museum. The word "tenement" is an old word for apartment. These housing areas were built for immigrants to move into with their large families. Many immigrants of this time were from Ireland and Germany and was known to them as "the gateway to america". Multiple families would live in the same home (Blue Guide, p. 121-122). A girl named Victoria gave us our experience of actually living in a tenement. My group pretended to be a family from Italy who just moved to America. There were about twelve of us. Victoria explained we would all have share the space to live in. She worked around her house and only attended school for a few years. Her father owned a factory were her brothers worked. She also showed us what we could cook on our stove and what spices she liked to use. After this we learned that Victoria was a real person who lived in this tenement. She passed away not too long ago and her grand daughter wanted to keep her experience alive and so she created this museum. This was my favorite part of our experience in New York City. I wished we could have taken pictures inside this tenement because all of the original furniture was inside and it was very interesting to see.
Impression of New York : The End
I can honestly say I had a wonderful experience during these past weeks. I have learned more during this class then I ever could have on my own. The best part of this class I feel is the great places we got to experience. Many places other then museums I never would have done on my own. Several of the places we visited I would love to go back and spend more time at. This class really gave me a little taste of great places I want to visit again. Mike and Meritta truly invested such time into giving us the best experience. They were so knowledgeable about the city and also about the many places we visited.
My opinion of the city has also changed. At many times I felt my initial reaction would be that I felt unsafe. After actually walking the streets of New York, Brooklyn, and Harlem I disagree with that statement. Many of these places are not what you expect them to be. Also taking the subway almost every where really helped me. Before this class I can say I had no idea what train or where to even get on the subway. I am not an expert now, but I at least have a better feel for it. I also did not know my way around the city what so ever before this class. Again, I still am not an expert, but I can say I understand how the streets are set up and can find my way.
This class really has changed my thoughts and overall knowledge of the city. I got to experience things I never would have before. Never in a million years would I have walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. That was only one of the amazing things we had a chance to experience during this class. I truly would recommend this class to anyone who wants to learn more about the city. I am walking away from this class with knowelge and appreciation of the greatest city in the world!
My opinion of the city has also changed. At many times I felt my initial reaction would be that I felt unsafe. After actually walking the streets of New York, Brooklyn, and Harlem I disagree with that statement. Many of these places are not what you expect them to be. Also taking the subway almost every where really helped me. Before this class I can say I had no idea what train or where to even get on the subway. I am not an expert now, but I at least have a better feel for it. I also did not know my way around the city what so ever before this class. Again, I still am not an expert, but I can say I understand how the streets are set up and can find my way.
This class really has changed my thoughts and overall knowledge of the city. I got to experience things I never would have before. Never in a million years would I have walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. That was only one of the amazing things we had a chance to experience during this class. I truly would recommend this class to anyone who wants to learn more about the city. I am walking away from this class with knowelge and appreciation of the greatest city in the world!