East Harlem
This journey started off as many of the others did. On September 27, 2014 I took the 9:48 train from Wantagh station heading to Penn Station as I always do. We were told we would be going to East Harlem, and like many of the other trips that we had taken, this would be a first for me. The only thing different was that we actually had nice weather to venture into the city with instead of rain or extra humidity. Our days activities would include going to East Harlem and seeing the Museum of the City of New York, going on a walking tour and then we would vote as a class how to end the day.
We took the 2 train to Times Square and then from there hopped on the shuttle from Times Square to the 4 train to 103rd street and Lexington. We walked through East Harlem to our first destination, Mike explained to us that in the 80's, the elevated steam train lines allowed many German and Italian immigrants to come. He further on went to tell us that then after World War 1, a large amount of Puerto Ricans moved into East Harlem, transforming it into what is now called El Barrio. This led to East Harlem being highly rated in danger as well as poverty, unemployment, and crime (ENY page 162). Now a days, more immigrants from Mexico, the Caribbean and China have been moving to East Harlem, which also is influencing gentrification. Later on in the day we will have experienced this multiple cultures that East Harlem expressed, and portrayed.
We arrived at our first destination, the Museum of the City of New York that is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue between 103rd and 104th street (ENY page 162). Im never very interested in museums, but I would attempt to stay as interested as I could because everything that we have seen so far has been intriguing and has kept my focus. My first impression of the museum from the outside wasn't that great. It looked very boring and besides the one statue, wasn't even that pretty. A few seconds later my point of view changed because when we walked in, there was the most beautiful lighting arrangement I have ever seen. The many different perspectives of looking at these lights made them look brilliant and my favorite view was when sitting underneath them, they looked like stars. We walked up a few flights of stairs, which were a lot different then a typical museums staircase. They had black and white pictures of old time New York lining the entire walls. It looked very cool. My favorite part, which unfortunately i took a blurry picture of was a quote from Walt Whitman explaining how noisy New York City is with multiple loud words like "noisy" "roaring" and "stormy". Underneath this quote was a picture of typical, chaotic New York. There were other amazing pictures on the wall including one that was so detailed of NYC and the construction of how it got to be what it is now as well as a beautiful picture of Grand Central Terminal.
We took the 2 train to Times Square and then from there hopped on the shuttle from Times Square to the 4 train to 103rd street and Lexington. We walked through East Harlem to our first destination, Mike explained to us that in the 80's, the elevated steam train lines allowed many German and Italian immigrants to come. He further on went to tell us that then after World War 1, a large amount of Puerto Ricans moved into East Harlem, transforming it into what is now called El Barrio. This led to East Harlem being highly rated in danger as well as poverty, unemployment, and crime (ENY page 162). Now a days, more immigrants from Mexico, the Caribbean and China have been moving to East Harlem, which also is influencing gentrification. Later on in the day we will have experienced this multiple cultures that East Harlem expressed, and portrayed.
We arrived at our first destination, the Museum of the City of New York that is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue between 103rd and 104th street (ENY page 162). Im never very interested in museums, but I would attempt to stay as interested as I could because everything that we have seen so far has been intriguing and has kept my focus. My first impression of the museum from the outside wasn't that great. It looked very boring and besides the one statue, wasn't even that pretty. A few seconds later my point of view changed because when we walked in, there was the most beautiful lighting arrangement I have ever seen. The many different perspectives of looking at these lights made them look brilliant and my favorite view was when sitting underneath them, they looked like stars. We walked up a few flights of stairs, which were a lot different then a typical museums staircase. They had black and white pictures of old time New York lining the entire walls. It looked very cool. My favorite part, which unfortunately i took a blurry picture of was a quote from Walt Whitman explaining how noisy New York City is with multiple loud words like "noisy" "roaring" and "stormy". Underneath this quote was a picture of typical, chaotic New York. There were other amazing pictures on the wall including one that was so detailed of NYC and the construction of how it got to be what it is now as well as a beautiful picture of Grand Central Terminal.
After looking around at all the different pictures, we all piled into a small room to watch a short documentary, the "timescapes", which is about the history and creation of New York. This was very cool to watch because i was able to put the pieces together of everything Mike had been teaching us so far in chronological order. I also thought it was really cool to see the mapping up of the subway system because i have been trying to understand it since class has started and still can't get the hang of it.
When we finished the documentary, we then moved to the section of the museum designated towards the Gilded Age. During this time, late 19th and early 20th century, 5th avenue in midtown was just a line of mansions. It was filled with elite people such as William Vanderbilt. He had the second largest house in New York City. Because their lives were so picturesque, all they wanted to do was flaunt it. We got the privilege to walk through a gallery and see a bunch of amazing pieces of jewelry such as tiaras, brooches and necklaces. There was even a dress on display. Once walking through this gallery, you could really get a feel for how these pristine people lived and why they flaunted all of the fabulous items they owned.
When we finished the documentary, we then moved to the section of the museum designated towards the Gilded Age. During this time, late 19th and early 20th century, 5th avenue in midtown was just a line of mansions. It was filled with elite people such as William Vanderbilt. He had the second largest house in New York City. Because their lives were so picturesque, all they wanted to do was flaunt it. We got the privilege to walk through a gallery and see a bunch of amazing pieces of jewelry such as tiaras, brooches and necklaces. There was even a dress on display. Once walking through this gallery, you could really get a feel for how these pristine people lived and why they flaunted all of the fabulous items they owned.
We then walked to El Museo de Barrio which was only down the block It was founded in 1969 by a "Puerto Rican activist from East Harlem, seeking to preserve their cultural heritage" (ENY page 163). This is where we met our tour guide Luke. We got into a circle and he told us a little about himself. He was Puerto Rican and a poet and said that later on he would recite one of his poems to us. This was exciting because i was interested to hear more about his life. As we walked into the "museo", there was a different vibe to it than other museums. The music was blaring, the colors were so bright, and it just seed very free. We got into a circle with Luke and we all introduced ourselves. This gave me a great impression of Luke because he really took the time to listen to each of our names and get to know us as much as possible in the little time we spent with him, He told us as we walked through East Harlem to try and compare it to our home towns. In my mind, this was already done. When i thought about Harlem, I thought nothing similar to Wantagh. Harlem, in my mind, always had a bad reputation and when i told my parents i was going there, they told me to be careful.
As we started walking around East Harlem, Luke pointed out some of his favorite pieces of public art. These pieces of art celebrate "multicultural heritage" (ENY page 163). The first one we saw was inside of a caged fence and it said "realiza tu sueno" which means become your dreams. It was amazing because this literally was just in the middle of the street. Someone just decided to express their feelings and put them out there to the world.
As we started walking around East Harlem, Luke pointed out some of his favorite pieces of public art. These pieces of art celebrate "multicultural heritage" (ENY page 163). The first one we saw was inside of a caged fence and it said "realiza tu sueno" which means become your dreams. It was amazing because this literally was just in the middle of the street. Someone just decided to express their feelings and put them out there to the world.
As we kept walking, there was a fence with just about everything hanging from it. This was another pieces of public art, but was different because it was contributed to from so many people. There was not one common theme in this. Whatever anyone wanted to put up there was. There were sneakers, bracelets, charms, and even a small toilet seat hanging from this fence. It showed such unity of the people and cultures in East Harlem because this art didn't care what kind of person you were. If you wanted to express yourself on this fence, nothing and no one was stopping you.
We began walking through neighborhoods a little more and i felt like i was in the movies. It was cool because one road that we walked down, there were people with their apartment windows open and one person was blasting music. People were hanging out of their windows talking to others below and across the street and it was just so different as compared to what i know from Wantagh. The communities interaction with each other was something i had never seen from my hometown. Luke even stopped a man on the street and asked him about his experiences in East Harlem and what his favorite part about living there was, and as he blasted his music dancing, he explained the sense of community and unity that he lived in. He made us all laugh because he just kept talking and talking about how much he loved East Harlem and continued on and on about different places that we needed to see before we left.
We then turned our attention to the "Spirit of East Harlem" mural. It was huge. This mural was created by Hank Prussing in 1978. He liked to photograph different people of El Barrio and then incorporate these people into his work and the art portrays the influence of Latin culture on the streets of East Harlem in the 70's (ENY page 163).
We began walking through neighborhoods a little more and i felt like i was in the movies. It was cool because one road that we walked down, there were people with their apartment windows open and one person was blasting music. People were hanging out of their windows talking to others below and across the street and it was just so different as compared to what i know from Wantagh. The communities interaction with each other was something i had never seen from my hometown. Luke even stopped a man on the street and asked him about his experiences in East Harlem and what his favorite part about living there was, and as he blasted his music dancing, he explained the sense of community and unity that he lived in. He made us all laugh because he just kept talking and talking about how much he loved East Harlem and continued on and on about different places that we needed to see before we left.
We then turned our attention to the "Spirit of East Harlem" mural. It was huge. This mural was created by Hank Prussing in 1978. He liked to photograph different people of El Barrio and then incorporate these people into his work and the art portrays the influence of Latin culture on the streets of East Harlem in the 70's (ENY page 163).
We turned the corner to an unfortunately closed Flores Garden. This, along with other gardens we have seen in the city, is a place for neighbors to garden whatever they like because of they lack of green space in the community. It was originally a vacant lot and dumping ground until Ernesto Flores turned it into the beautiful tranquil garden that it is today (ENY page 163). This garden had such beautiful art work in it including a sculpture named "Seed of Growth" and the fountain celebrates woman, as most of the garden does. What is particularly interesting about the fountain though, is its shape, fallopian tubes. There is also a mural behind the garden of Frida Kahlo and Julia de Burgos. What is interesting about this mural is the way the two women are intertwined. Frida Kahlo, a Mexican and Julia de Burgos, a Puerto Rican are connected both through heart and by holding hands. This is so amazing because of how culturally different the two women are, but how connected they are portrayed in the picture. I took this opportunity to compare East Harlem to Wantagh, or more generally, Long Island. Long Island is so split up as compared to East Harlem. Besides the fact that there would never be public art seen in Wantagh, you never really see interconnecting of different cultures. The last mural we looked at was made out of tiles. This just showed us a different perspective of more public art and different forms of it that can be used anywhere. The one that stood out to me the most was of John Lennon.
Luke then brought us to a small museum where he would recite his poem to us. This is what i was most excited for. He gave us some background first, that his poem was written right after his friend died and he was sitting on a train. Its called "Girl on the D train, and below is a performance of the same poem done at a different time. The poem was so cool because it was so different then poems I'm used to hearing and reading. It didn't totally rhyme, it didn't even have structure and he even starts singing in the middle of it but what was so amazing about it was that it told a story. You actually feel like you are with him on the train listening to the girl singing as he tells the story, and the meaning behind it is so true. It puts out that he wants people to express who they are without being worried of what everyone thinks because you could totally help others around you if you just be yourself.
Our last stop on our with Luke was to the Botanica. This was like a glorified drug store to me, but with more spirituality. There was a cure for anything you could ever imagine. We listened to a man behind the counter, Jorge Vargas. His goal behind selling all of these candles, beads, saints, ointments and herbs is to give people hope and allow them to keep thinking about the great life they could have if they simply don't give up. So many people of East Harlem are just so true and hopeful and forgiving and just all have such great qualities that makes East Harlem such an amazing place beyond the judgments I had of it before class started. I really enjoyed the entire tour that Luke brought us on because it really opened my eyes to a different way of life and community. Once we finished and said our goodbyes to Luke, a bunch of other classmates and I headed to a Mexican restaurant where i got a burrito and it was very delicious.
We met at El Museo de Barrio after lunch and from there we walked to Central Park. Mike gave us a little bit of history of the area. In the 1850's, New York was in needs of a park. In 1857 Fredrick Law Homestead and Vox won in making the design for the park, but it was a fake park. The reason it was a fake park was because it was designed. It wasn't natural. When we got to the opening gate, I was interested because i had never been to Central Park from this entrance before. We began at the Vanderbilt Gate on "Fifth Avenue at 105th street" (ENY page 150). This gate was originally made in Paris and was the entranceway for a long time at the Vanderbilt Mansion. "The gate is considered one of the finest examples of wrought iron work in the City of New York" (ENY page 150). We walked passed the statue of Three Dancing Maidens. This fountain was named after Samuel Untermyer and then was donated to Central Park by his children following his death. This is the picture below on the left.
We met at El Museo de Barrio after lunch and from there we walked to Central Park. Mike gave us a little bit of history of the area. In the 1850's, New York was in needs of a park. In 1857 Fredrick Law Homestead and Vox won in making the design for the park, but it was a fake park. The reason it was a fake park was because it was designed. It wasn't natural. When we got to the opening gate, I was interested because i had never been to Central Park from this entrance before. We began at the Vanderbilt Gate on "Fifth Avenue at 105th street" (ENY page 150). This gate was originally made in Paris and was the entranceway for a long time at the Vanderbilt Mansion. "The gate is considered one of the finest examples of wrought iron work in the City of New York" (ENY page 150). We walked passed the statue of Three Dancing Maidens. This fountain was named after Samuel Untermyer and then was donated to Central Park by his children following his death. This is the picture below on the left.
We also saw the Francis Hodges Burnett Memorial Fountain, which is above to the right. This statue is of two children playing, which represents "The Secret Garden", a book that is commonly known (ENY page 151). Once we were done looking at the sculptures, we found these big rocks and sat and relaxed on them for a while. We spoke about all of our different opinions and how they are changing based off of what we think about the city to our original opinions. I spoke about how i do not enjoy having to take a subway train to be transported to different places because i would much rather rely on myself being on time to where i have to go. I don't like the fact that if a subway train was running late, that i then would be running late. I also would much rather jump into my car and get to where i have to go directly on my own. Once we were don talking about our opinions, we took a vote as a class on what we were to do next. The options that Mike gave us were to further go into Central Park and see more of its beauty, check out the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or look at the stunning architecture of midtown. Majority of the class voted for midtown, so that is where we were headed next.
We took the 6 train to 96th street which brought us right to Grand Central Terminal. I originally thought it was called Grand Central Station, but that is actually the name of the Post Office next door (ENY page 134). I had never been in it before but from what i remember, Mike said it was beautiful. I was mesmerized, and i had seen it in many movies and TV shows, but it was so different being actually inside of it and experiencing it first hand. The completion of its construction was over 100 years ago and cost about $80 million to build (ENY page 134). We looked up and saw a beautiful piece of art. This masterpiece was done by a french artist named Paul Helleu (ENY page 134) and represents the constellations. Whats different about this is the perspective of the constellations though because they are painted as seen from God's view. This was spectacular to me, and i couldn't help but stare for a long time. Mike also explained to us and pointed out a small black spot on the top corner of the ceiling, which was from the renovation in 1998. This section was so dark, as most of the ceiling was before reconstruction, because of all the tobacco smoke. I thought it was very cool how they left a piece of it behind, the reserve history and make it very unique. Once looking at the architecture of the building, Mike gave us all some time to explore, and mentioned to us that we should all go downstairs and see the different types of food in the food court. When hearing food court, me and Meghan thought about how we wanted ice cream so bad. We ended up getting gelato shakes and they were amazing whether or not the reasoning being that we were craving it so bad. Grand Central Terminal was my favorite part of Midtown.
We took the 6 train to 96th street which brought us right to Grand Central Terminal. I originally thought it was called Grand Central Station, but that is actually the name of the Post Office next door (ENY page 134). I had never been in it before but from what i remember, Mike said it was beautiful. I was mesmerized, and i had seen it in many movies and TV shows, but it was so different being actually inside of it and experiencing it first hand. The completion of its construction was over 100 years ago and cost about $80 million to build (ENY page 134). We looked up and saw a beautiful piece of art. This masterpiece was done by a french artist named Paul Helleu (ENY page 134) and represents the constellations. Whats different about this is the perspective of the constellations though because they are painted as seen from God's view. This was spectacular to me, and i couldn't help but stare for a long time. Mike also explained to us and pointed out a small black spot on the top corner of the ceiling, which was from the renovation in 1998. This section was so dark, as most of the ceiling was before reconstruction, because of all the tobacco smoke. I thought it was very cool how they left a piece of it behind, the reserve history and make it very unique. Once looking at the architecture of the building, Mike gave us all some time to explore, and mentioned to us that we should all go downstairs and see the different types of food in the food court. When hearing food court, me and Meghan thought about how we wanted ice cream so bad. We ended up getting gelato shakes and they were amazing whether or not the reasoning being that we were craving it so bad. Grand Central Terminal was my favorite part of Midtown.
I am not that familiar with Midtown, just like a lot of other places in the city. Meghan was able to point out the Chrysler Building right away. I have heard about it but had never actually seen it before. We were able to walk inside, but weren't allowed to make it much further than the lobby. Even the little distance that we traveled inside displayed the great beauty of this building in and out. The style of the building is art deco and is such a beautiful skyscraper that is so well known in New York City. The arches are the most amazing detail, i think, in the outside decoration. They are so detailed of a sunburst pattern in stainless steel (ENY page 136). The inside is amazing also because it has architectural design imported from Africa such as metals, woods and marble (ENY page 136).
After the Chrysler Building, we looked at many other buildings in the Midtown area such as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The building was so fabulous when we went inside and there must have been an event going on because there were women dressed in fabulous gowns and glamorous jewelry. As we walked through the hotel, you really got the feeling for how luxurious it was. I felt like i was in a TV show because of how gorgeous it looked and later on when i got home, went on the website and looked at pictures of rooms used for events in the hotel and couldn't believe my eyes at how amazing and beautiful these rooms were.
At this point, it had been a long day and majority of the class had mentally checked out. I don't even remember some of the buildings that we saw at the end of the day because my brain was so fried. I think i would like to go back to Midtown and experience it when I'm not as tired because it really does have such great places to visit and i would love to get the full experience. There was not a lot of time before the next train on the Babylon line of the Long Island Railroad and most of us had to catch that train. Once we got onto the train, I was so happy to be sitting after such a long day, and made my way back to Wantagh.
After the Chrysler Building, we looked at many other buildings in the Midtown area such as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The building was so fabulous when we went inside and there must have been an event going on because there were women dressed in fabulous gowns and glamorous jewelry. As we walked through the hotel, you really got the feeling for how luxurious it was. I felt like i was in a TV show because of how gorgeous it looked and later on when i got home, went on the website and looked at pictures of rooms used for events in the hotel and couldn't believe my eyes at how amazing and beautiful these rooms were.
At this point, it had been a long day and majority of the class had mentally checked out. I don't even remember some of the buildings that we saw at the end of the day because my brain was so fried. I think i would like to go back to Midtown and experience it when I'm not as tired because it really does have such great places to visit and i would love to get the full experience. There was not a lot of time before the next train on the Babylon line of the Long Island Railroad and most of us had to catch that train. Once we got onto the train, I was so happy to be sitting after such a long day, and made my way back to Wantagh.
MOMA and Morningside Heights
Today, October 4th, like many others was affected by the rain and our original plans had changed. We would be going to the Museum of Modern Art for most of the day. I was not feeling well at all so was just trying to make it through the day and enjoy what i could of the views and places we would see. We met at Penn Station at the same time as usual and once the entire class was there, we hopped onto the train to West 4th and then had to get onto the E train uptown towards the Museum of Modern Art. We learned as we were on the way there that we could have just originally gotten on the E train at Penn station and took it straight there but this was unknown because all of the trains are a lot different on Saturdays. What was cool about the train ride that we took was that we recognized American Ferrera on the train, an actress from many movies that i had seen before. I noticed her at first, and thought she was just someone that looked like her. Then i looked closely and asked Meghan if it could be her and when she looked to see, she freaked out. We wanted to say something to her and ask, but she looked very busy writing in a journal or something and we were all taking pictures of her already so i felt bad bothering her. Im pretty sure she finally realized that we all new it was her but weren't saying anything and made her a little uncomfortable so she got off at the next stop. It was really cool to see her thought because this was my first encounter with a celebrity since the class had started.
I had never been to the Museum of Modern Art, but to be honest i wasn't that excited to go. Because of the rain, it made this that much worse. It is one of the second largest non-profit museums in the United States and is based solely around contemporary art. When we walked into the museum, it was packed. I kinda figured it was going to be very crowded because of the rain but i didn't think it was going to be that bad. Before even entering the actually museum exhibits, we had to wait on a long line to check our backpacks which was also a hassle. We had to wait on that line for almost 30 minutes.
The first exhibit we went to was Robert Gober's The Heart Is Not a Metaphor. This exhibit was sort of disturbing to say the least. There were a lot of weird things in this exhibit such as detailed pictures and sculptures of male and female reproductive parts. This art was a lot different then many others that we have experienced as a class and that i have seen on my own. Once we finished walking through the exhibit, which i have to say i basically sprinted through, Mike asked us for our reaction. I told him that i was super uncomfortable and didn't understand how some of the pieces were even considered art. It was so absurdly different than anything i had ever seen before. He then told us that it was Contemporary Art, as most of the museum was, and its purpose was to make you think about something and create your own opinion of the piece of art. It suppose to get a different reaction out of you and be memorable. Its suppose to make you laugh. This is exactly what i did walking through this part of the museum. I was laughing and weirded out by everything but it all served its purpose because i remembered everything that i saw.
Once done in this section, we learned about 1930's New York art, also known as social realism. The meaning behind this art is ironic because there is actually no meaning at all. After World War 2, artists were not able to create the art that they wanted because of the different views on it, so they made art just to make art. We looked at a bunch of different artists from this time, and Mike explained to all of us briefly what the artists life was like so we could see the meaning behind this "pointless" art a little bit easier.
We saw Van Goh's "Starry Night" but again i was upset because it was so crowded and so many people wanted to see this popular painting, and i was not able to experience its full greatness. We viewed it quickly and then Mike spoke to us about it and how it was a very emotional piece of art for Van Goh because it was more than just illustrating what a starry night looked like. If he was trying to express to people just a simple visual than he just would have taken a picture, but instead there is so much emotion expressed through the colors and designs that he used to portray the moon and stars. He didn't care about capturing reality in his work, he just wanted to express something more than that.
We then looked at Jackson Pollack's One Number 31, 1950. This was a very cool painting because there wasn't actually any real point to it, but you could read into it so much into it. It was just splattered paint on a white canvas and looked like anyone could have done it. It could display anger and pain more in the motion of how it was painted then what it actually looked like. Mike explained to us that he was actually crazy and that his life was full of chaos which is then evident when looking at the painting. Knowing Pollack's personality a little more made the point of view that i was looking at this art work much different then my first impression.
I had never been to the Museum of Modern Art, but to be honest i wasn't that excited to go. Because of the rain, it made this that much worse. It is one of the second largest non-profit museums in the United States and is based solely around contemporary art. When we walked into the museum, it was packed. I kinda figured it was going to be very crowded because of the rain but i didn't think it was going to be that bad. Before even entering the actually museum exhibits, we had to wait on a long line to check our backpacks which was also a hassle. We had to wait on that line for almost 30 minutes.
The first exhibit we went to was Robert Gober's The Heart Is Not a Metaphor. This exhibit was sort of disturbing to say the least. There were a lot of weird things in this exhibit such as detailed pictures and sculptures of male and female reproductive parts. This art was a lot different then many others that we have experienced as a class and that i have seen on my own. Once we finished walking through the exhibit, which i have to say i basically sprinted through, Mike asked us for our reaction. I told him that i was super uncomfortable and didn't understand how some of the pieces were even considered art. It was so absurdly different than anything i had ever seen before. He then told us that it was Contemporary Art, as most of the museum was, and its purpose was to make you think about something and create your own opinion of the piece of art. It suppose to get a different reaction out of you and be memorable. Its suppose to make you laugh. This is exactly what i did walking through this part of the museum. I was laughing and weirded out by everything but it all served its purpose because i remembered everything that i saw.
Once done in this section, we learned about 1930's New York art, also known as social realism. The meaning behind this art is ironic because there is actually no meaning at all. After World War 2, artists were not able to create the art that they wanted because of the different views on it, so they made art just to make art. We looked at a bunch of different artists from this time, and Mike explained to all of us briefly what the artists life was like so we could see the meaning behind this "pointless" art a little bit easier.
We saw Van Goh's "Starry Night" but again i was upset because it was so crowded and so many people wanted to see this popular painting, and i was not able to experience its full greatness. We viewed it quickly and then Mike spoke to us about it and how it was a very emotional piece of art for Van Goh because it was more than just illustrating what a starry night looked like. If he was trying to express to people just a simple visual than he just would have taken a picture, but instead there is so much emotion expressed through the colors and designs that he used to portray the moon and stars. He didn't care about capturing reality in his work, he just wanted to express something more than that.
We then looked at Jackson Pollack's One Number 31, 1950. This was a very cool painting because there wasn't actually any real point to it, but you could read into it so much into it. It was just splattered paint on a white canvas and looked like anyone could have done it. It could display anger and pain more in the motion of how it was painted then what it actually looked like. Mike explained to us that he was actually crazy and that his life was full of chaos which is then evident when looking at the painting. Knowing Pollack's personality a little more made the point of view that i was looking at this art work much different then my first impression.
We looked at so many more pieces of art and talked about the meaning behind them all and the different artists that made them and what their motives where behind each one. There was a flag piece made by Jasper Johns that had a lot of structure and simple colors and looked very neat and compared that to other nearby artists work that was "sloppy" looking and just looked all over the place. We also looked at work done by Robert Rauschberg, whose work was very random and looked like murder scenes, Newman whose art represented the nuclear age, and Rothgo, who was a mystical person and whose art was based off of orderly defined shapes. Once we were done looking at all of these artists, i was pretty much over being in the Museum of Modern Art. It was way too crowded for me and didn't really spark my interests that much so when we had to wait on that long line again to get our bags, i wasn't that upset.
The next stop for the day was to go to YUM YUM 2 for lunch. This was located in whats called "Hells Kitchen" on 9th between 45th and 46th. From where we were, we needed to head west and south to get there. This was the day that Mike was buying us Thai food, and this would be one of the many first time experiences i would have in this class. I didn't know what to order, so Mike suggested basil fried rice to anyone was feeling adventurous. I figured that I'm usually not that picky so that was a good choice for me and when i tasted it i was happy with my choice. Thai food wasn't really any different to me than Chinese food, but it was fun and exciting to experience something different.
Once we were done eating we headed to 43rd and 7th and got on the 2 train to 96th street and then the 1 train to 116th street. From here we began a tour with Jim. We went to Grant's tomb or the General Grant National Memorial. Grant had died of lung cancer and John Duncan is responsible for the place where Grant now rests that is modeled after Hotel Invalides in Paris. The Hotel Invalides is also known as the mob o Napoleon (ENy page 171). Jim also told us that if all the trees weren't there, we would be in direct line of a view of the Statue of Liberty, and because of this, George Washington thought this should have been where the capital was located and if it were to be there, that would change the entire dynamic of New York City. All the different cultures and history inside of New York wouldn't last there because the city would just be solely based on business. As we looked at the building, there was a wedding party taking pictures on the steps. I thought this was interesting and a little weird because the building is beautiful to take pictures in front of, but it still is called "Grants Tomb' and that just makes it seem like an odd location to want wedding memories. When we walked into the building, we all circled around the balcony to get a look at the beautiful structure. Unfortunately because of the rain, we would not be able to go downstairs and see it close up because there was a flooding issue. The inside was beautiful with detailed art and windows and sculptures. Once we were done admiring the wedding, we walked across the street to Riverside Church which i then put together was the actually location of the wedding, but i still thought taking the pictures in front of the location of a tomb was weird. Riverside Church is the tallest church in the United States and its style of architecture is Gothic Revival. Moreover, it is funded by John D. Rockefeller Jr (ENY page 172). It is so beautiful and New Yorkers can appreciate this from him because it was a place to escape and a sanctuary. There are so many rooms upstairs and unfortunately, assuming because of the wedding, we were not able to enter the church and see its beauty from the inside.
We then made our way to Columbia University, the first college in New York State, and i thought was really cool. The campus was designed by Mikes favorite people, McKim, Mead and White. It was different to see a large school as compared to Molloy. We had learned that Obama had gotten a part of his education here, as well as Roosevelt who got his law degree here. Dwight Eisenhower was also the president of the school at one point. There were so many people hanging out on the lawn and the huge steps and you would think the fact that we were on a tour would make us stand out but we really all just blended in to the entire crowd. This is different as compared to a tour seen at Molloy because it is such a small college and you can almost pick out people that don't go there because everyone practically knows everyone. We all sat on the steps for a while to rest our legs and i wasn't feeling to well at this point, but i do remember a lot of classmates going up to the bronze Alma Mater statue and looking for the owl in the folds of her gown, representing wisdom. I stayed on the steps to try and gain some strength to finish the rest of the day. We walked to a couple more buildings on campus, and i was just amazed with how big it was. I was a little overwhelmed and remembered why i picked such a small school like Molloy.
After we were done walking through the campus, Jim brought us to a park with a beautiful view in Morningside Heights. I could have stared out to this view forever. It was so amazing because we were so high up and i felt like we could see the entire city, when in reality, we were barely looking at any of the beauty that the city had to offer.
The next stop was St. Luke's Hospital which was known for its treatment of tuberculosis patients. We only really passed by this hospital because it is not operational any more to this day. As we walked by, we could see to our left the St. John the Devine Cathedral. We walked around it and from the outside it looked GINORMOUS. We stopped and sat outside of it for a while looking at the Piece Fountain. My first impression of the fountain was weird and when we got to talking about it as a class, i learned that my impression was proper. They point of the fountain was to display different storybook items of nursery rhymes i learned when i was younger. I had also noticed a little cottage in the corner of the fountain area, which was funny because it seemed as if it was a part of a storybook as well. We then started talking about St John's the Devine Cathedral. It is thought to be the largest by volume and can seat over 3000 worshippers spanning over 600 feet (ENY page 167). It is amazing that the cathedrals beginning of construction was in 1892 and is only two- thirds of a way finished to its original plans. After learning about this i couldn't wait to capture all of the beauty that the cathedral had once we got to walk in.
I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that the cathedral had a section that was almost making it like a museum, but once you got towards the alter, you would have never remembered. We walked right down the middle isle with a bunch of other "tourists" and took in the beauty of the stain glass and different chapels inside called the Chapels of Tongues. They all represent a different ethnic group and were created between 1904 and 1918. Moreover, each ethnic group had a different Saint that had significance to each listed if walking clockwise behind the alter; St. Ansgar for Scandinavians, St. Boniface for Germans, St. Columba for the Irish, St. Saviour for Easter Europeans, St. Martin of Tours for the French, St. Ambrose for Italians and St. James for the Spanish.
Once we were done looking at the cathedral, a lot of classmate and i needed to rush to Penn station and make a train. It had been a long day, and considering how i was feeling i was so happy to be finally heading home. The sites that we saw were so beautiful but i couldn't wait to get home, shower and get into bed.
Lower East Side/ Immigrant New York
I was upset going to class on October 18 because it originally was suppose to be our last class day, but because of the poor weather conditions of rain, Mike had canceled class last week and the schedule would extend to October 25, the rain date. It was also a little different because instead of meeting in Penn Station at 11 like normal, we had to meet at 9 AM because of our scheduled tour at the tenement museum. This was a little difficult for me to do because i had been in the city only four or five hours before for an Eric Church concert at Madison Square Garden. I was so exhausted but had a large coffee as i got onto the LIRR towards Penn Station. I got to Penn Station a little early so i was able to add some money onto my metro card before class had started. Once everyone had gotten to class, we headed to the tenement museum. The whole theme of today would be Immigrant New York, and the Lower East Side, and Mike informed us that it was a melting pot of immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th century due to those coming over from Europe.
We took the F train to Delancy Street and when we got off we stopped at the Essex Street Market. "For much of the early 20th century, the Lower East Side was filled with pushcarts, with vendors selling everything from fruits, vegetables and meat, to clothing and households items (ENY page 67). These carts were then said to make the streets dirty and unsanitary so indoor markets were made like this one instead. He let us walk in and get a feel for it, and i decided to but a water bottle and saw some of my classmates buying some fruit. I took a drink of the water and it tasted really funny so i threw it out. A lot of my classmates said that the apples were not that great either, but i did hear that Megan enjoyed her little cake dessert a lot.
We took the F train to Delancy Street and when we got off we stopped at the Essex Street Market. "For much of the early 20th century, the Lower East Side was filled with pushcarts, with vendors selling everything from fruits, vegetables and meat, to clothing and households items (ENY page 67). These carts were then said to make the streets dirty and unsanitary so indoor markets were made like this one instead. He let us walk in and get a feel for it, and i decided to but a water bottle and saw some of my classmates buying some fruit. I took a drink of the water and it tasted really funny so i threw it out. A lot of my classmates said that the apples were not that great either, but i did hear that Megan enjoyed her little cake dessert a lot.
Once we made it to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum we checked our bags in and walked through was seemed like a gift shop or a book store, but i was confused as to where the actual museum was. I did not know what to expect. Once we split into two groups and were assigned our tour guides, we walked around the block to 97 Orchard Street, which was the actually address of the apartment building from over 80 years ago and the where the tour would be going on (ENY page 67). Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed to be taken throughout the museum.
We started our tour in the so called "yard" of the apartment complex. They yard was small, and there was an outhouse and clothing lines which you normally don't see now a days. This is where our tour guide gave us a little history of the time period we would set our minds to when thinking about those who lived in the apartment and how they did. She began by telling us the hard life that was lived by the women. As she passed around a thirty pound bucket of rocks, she explained to us that the family we would be learned about had to carry this heavy weight up to the forth floor where their apartment was located multiple times throughout the day. She then explained to us that this apartment complex had a 5,4,3,2,1 set up, which was an easy was of remember that there were 5 floors throughout the complex for housing, 4 apartments on each floor, each apartment had three rooms each, a parlor, a kitchen and a bedroom, 2 toilets on each floor which were added on after and one backyard for the whole building. This was very interesting and considering the simplistic set up, i figured the apartments had to be very small so i was interested to go in and see. We also looked at a picture of a bunch of women working in the yard together. Our guide had us analyze the picture and tell her what we saw. We all started saying how one women looked like a witch and two in the background looked like they were fighting while a different two looked to be helping each other. We also could see that some women were portrayed as weak and others as strong. She then went on to explain to us that there were many factors throughout these many families lives that separated them, but also brought them closer together. The weaker women were illustrated to be Irish and inferior because of their religion. This tore the tenements apart drastically because they all did not have the same views. Moreover, the German women were seen as very strong and independent. It was weird to see how different these people were portrayed and to be able to compare them to how they are treated now.
We finally finished talking in the yard and it was time to walk through the apartment complex. We walked up a large set of stairs on the outside of the building that were only there for museum purposes, but gave us the realistic feeling to what walking up to the top floor was life. When we walked in, i was super cluster phobic. The floor was cracking underneath us and our guide had to remind us several times to not lead on or touch anything because it was all so old and they were trying to preserve it in the best way that they could. We walked through to the back of one of the apartments and saw the three rooms that is possessed; the kitchen, a bedroom, and a parlor. I am from a family of five and i could not imagine me and the rest of my family living in this small of a space. Then our guide reminded us that sometimes up to 14 people lived in one of these 3- room apartments. That was crazy to me considering the space was so small. We walked into the back of the apartment into the parlor and their was a showcase of small trinquets. There were things like hairbrushes, soap dishes and toothbrushes which allowed us to assume that these people, although the harsh conditions, were at least attempting to be clean. Our guide asked us if we had any questions about anything we saw that was weird to us. A classmate of mine asked about the wallpaper, and our guide informed us that there were several sheets layer under layer, and this is how they could estimate how many families every took up residence in this apartment. There were also names written on the wall as well as little drawings from children that lived there. Someone then asked about the window that was in the middle of the kitchen and the parlor. She explained to us that this was there because people were getting sick and a law was put in to place that a window needed to be in every room of every apartment to allow light in. The odd location was because the kitchen did not have any contact with outside, so the window was put there so no issues would ever come about.
We then moved into a different apartment and sat down in the parlor where our guide let us listen to different examples of songs listened to at this time. We listened to a song called "Thousands Are Sailing" which was a very sad and dreary song. When people were immigrating from Ireland, it was seen as such a sad experience and they would hold "American Funerals" because they would be basically be saying goodbye to their family members forever. An American Funeral involved the smoking of pipes, prayers and drinking of whisky. Another song that we listened to was called "No Irish Need Apply" which was about the newspaper clippings looking for people to apply for jobs, and stating how they did not want the Irish because they did not want them working for them. At the end of the song, it explains how the man is still proud to be irish despite all the humiliation and degrading that they have to go through. The last song we listened to was called "Swill Milk No. 2" which was about contaminated milk being sold on the streets of New York. It was a lullaby, and because of the sad meaning behind the lullaby, it was considered one of the saddest things to do if you where to sing one to your child. Agnes, the youngest of children living in this apartment suffered from this contamination and malnutrition. On April 20th, the doctor pronounced Agnes dead. This was considered one of the ways that people were brought together in the apartment building. Because most had children, the mothers would attend the funerals held in the apartments because they understood what it could feel like to lose a child at such a young age.
After our tour was done in the tenement museum, Mike split us into four groups to explore Chinatown. he gave us a sheet and allowed us to explore on our own within around an hour. I was not that interested in Chinatown although i had never been to Canal Street so that was at least interesting. It was also cool when we were walking around to see the chinese symbols instead of the worlds written in english. The only thing i was truly upset about was that we walked passed little Italy and i wanted to go there, but it was not a part of the schedule. We were instructed to go to places that served bubble tea, which i was not interested in eating. We walked down Canal Street and got to take a look at all the different stores. We didn't really go inside the store but got to look at them from the outside. We only went into one jewelry store, and it was different then a lot of jewelry stores that i have been in. We then went to the Buddhist Temple on 20 Eldridge Street (ENY page 73). I donated a dollar and took my fortune and it said that probability of success was excellent and then my fortune stated "the past is gone, so to speak, the future will come to the peak, you shall find what you seek, the prospects is far from bleak". When we were done, we met up with the rest of the class and went for lunch and an all you can eat Chinese food place. There were a whole bunch of different types of chinese food that was brought out to us and put on a turn table so we were able to try it all but i would have rather ordered my own meal and been able to eat what i wanted to in a larger portion.
We started our tour in the so called "yard" of the apartment complex. They yard was small, and there was an outhouse and clothing lines which you normally don't see now a days. This is where our tour guide gave us a little history of the time period we would set our minds to when thinking about those who lived in the apartment and how they did. She began by telling us the hard life that was lived by the women. As she passed around a thirty pound bucket of rocks, she explained to us that the family we would be learned about had to carry this heavy weight up to the forth floor where their apartment was located multiple times throughout the day. She then explained to us that this apartment complex had a 5,4,3,2,1 set up, which was an easy was of remember that there were 5 floors throughout the complex for housing, 4 apartments on each floor, each apartment had three rooms each, a parlor, a kitchen and a bedroom, 2 toilets on each floor which were added on after and one backyard for the whole building. This was very interesting and considering the simplistic set up, i figured the apartments had to be very small so i was interested to go in and see. We also looked at a picture of a bunch of women working in the yard together. Our guide had us analyze the picture and tell her what we saw. We all started saying how one women looked like a witch and two in the background looked like they were fighting while a different two looked to be helping each other. We also could see that some women were portrayed as weak and others as strong. She then went on to explain to us that there were many factors throughout these many families lives that separated them, but also brought them closer together. The weaker women were illustrated to be Irish and inferior because of their religion. This tore the tenements apart drastically because they all did not have the same views. Moreover, the German women were seen as very strong and independent. It was weird to see how different these people were portrayed and to be able to compare them to how they are treated now.
We finally finished talking in the yard and it was time to walk through the apartment complex. We walked up a large set of stairs on the outside of the building that were only there for museum purposes, but gave us the realistic feeling to what walking up to the top floor was life. When we walked in, i was super cluster phobic. The floor was cracking underneath us and our guide had to remind us several times to not lead on or touch anything because it was all so old and they were trying to preserve it in the best way that they could. We walked through to the back of one of the apartments and saw the three rooms that is possessed; the kitchen, a bedroom, and a parlor. I am from a family of five and i could not imagine me and the rest of my family living in this small of a space. Then our guide reminded us that sometimes up to 14 people lived in one of these 3- room apartments. That was crazy to me considering the space was so small. We walked into the back of the apartment into the parlor and their was a showcase of small trinquets. There were things like hairbrushes, soap dishes and toothbrushes which allowed us to assume that these people, although the harsh conditions, were at least attempting to be clean. Our guide asked us if we had any questions about anything we saw that was weird to us. A classmate of mine asked about the wallpaper, and our guide informed us that there were several sheets layer under layer, and this is how they could estimate how many families every took up residence in this apartment. There were also names written on the wall as well as little drawings from children that lived there. Someone then asked about the window that was in the middle of the kitchen and the parlor. She explained to us that this was there because people were getting sick and a law was put in to place that a window needed to be in every room of every apartment to allow light in. The odd location was because the kitchen did not have any contact with outside, so the window was put there so no issues would ever come about.
We then moved into a different apartment and sat down in the parlor where our guide let us listen to different examples of songs listened to at this time. We listened to a song called "Thousands Are Sailing" which was a very sad and dreary song. When people were immigrating from Ireland, it was seen as such a sad experience and they would hold "American Funerals" because they would be basically be saying goodbye to their family members forever. An American Funeral involved the smoking of pipes, prayers and drinking of whisky. Another song that we listened to was called "No Irish Need Apply" which was about the newspaper clippings looking for people to apply for jobs, and stating how they did not want the Irish because they did not want them working for them. At the end of the song, it explains how the man is still proud to be irish despite all the humiliation and degrading that they have to go through. The last song we listened to was called "Swill Milk No. 2" which was about contaminated milk being sold on the streets of New York. It was a lullaby, and because of the sad meaning behind the lullaby, it was considered one of the saddest things to do if you where to sing one to your child. Agnes, the youngest of children living in this apartment suffered from this contamination and malnutrition. On April 20th, the doctor pronounced Agnes dead. This was considered one of the ways that people were brought together in the apartment building. Because most had children, the mothers would attend the funerals held in the apartments because they understood what it could feel like to lose a child at such a young age.
After our tour was done in the tenement museum, Mike split us into four groups to explore Chinatown. he gave us a sheet and allowed us to explore on our own within around an hour. I was not that interested in Chinatown although i had never been to Canal Street so that was at least interesting. It was also cool when we were walking around to see the chinese symbols instead of the worlds written in english. The only thing i was truly upset about was that we walked passed little Italy and i wanted to go there, but it was not a part of the schedule. We were instructed to go to places that served bubble tea, which i was not interested in eating. We walked down Canal Street and got to take a look at all the different stores. We didn't really go inside the store but got to look at them from the outside. We only went into one jewelry store, and it was different then a lot of jewelry stores that i have been in. We then went to the Buddhist Temple on 20 Eldridge Street (ENY page 73). I donated a dollar and took my fortune and it said that probability of success was excellent and then my fortune stated "the past is gone, so to speak, the future will come to the peak, you shall find what you seek, the prospects is far from bleak". When we were done, we met up with the rest of the class and went for lunch and an all you can eat Chinese food place. There were a whole bunch of different types of chinese food that was brought out to us and put on a turn table so we were able to try it all but i would have rather ordered my own meal and been able to eat what i wanted to in a larger portion.
After we were done with lunch, we met up with Jim, our tour guide from a previous day. We stopped at a store called Economy Candy, and i was just going to walk through without buying anything but once we walked through i couldn't resist at least getting a package of war heads and a little something for my mom. This was an old fashion candy store that had been open since the 30s and had so many old candies that i have not even seen before.
We continued walking and saw the Williamsburg Bridge and continued to walk until we reached the Lillian Wald House. Lillian Wald lived on Henry Street. There was a sign on the outside of the house that said that she had been active in "improving the life of the east side, throughout New York City, and across the nation." I find it interesting when we talk about specific people because i like to hear about the kinds of lives they lived instead of just listening about the general population.
The last stop of our tour with Jim was at the Eldridge Street Synagogue. This building was made by Peter and Francis Herter, using the materials of brick and terra-cotta. There was a mixture of different types of architecture including Moorish and Gothic. The theme of this Synagogue was Jewish though because before the location was Chinatown, it was considered to be very Yiddish. The Synagogue was close and left in terrible condition until a non-profit group campaigned to restore it, and in winning this campaign, allowed it to reopen into a beautiful museum of history.
Once we were done at the Synagogue, Mike gave us directions on how to get home because we were ending early that day. A few of us took the subway to 33rd Street and had to run many blocks because we had a train to catch and didn't want to have to wait a long time for the next one. We ended up making it to Penn Station with extra time, and got great seats back on the train to Rockville Centre. I got home at about six o clock that night and was able to catch dinner with my friends after a long day.
Lower Manhattan
October 25 was the last day of class, and we were using the rain date because of a previously canceled class. I was upset about this, but at the same time was relieved because my semester was starting to get overwhelming and not coming to class would give me more time to get work and studying done. In the hopes to make us excited about our last day, Mike made sure Meghan, Megan and I were super exciting and cheerful before each stop that we made. We would be going into lower Manhattan and this meant that we would be seeing Battery Park, the World Trade Center Memorial and ending class at the African Burial ground. After class, Mike said that he would be bringing us to Williamsburg to the Brooklyn Brewery so i was very excited for this. We jumped on a the 1 train to Rector.
Our first stop was Battery Park. It was named this because there were battery cannons to propel any of the British invasions when they came over. We looked at Castle Clinton which was named after DeWitt Clinton and originally stood in 35 feet of water in New York Harbor (ENY page 56). In the 1840s, the Irish and the Germans were coming in to the United States and you needed an immigrant processesing station in New York. We were able to walk through Castle Clinton a little bit later and inside there was a small timeline the evolution of New York with new additions. My favorite addition to see was when the Brooklyn Bridge was added, because not only does it make the city look so beautiful, but it gave so much purpose between transportation and movement between the different parts of New York. We walked in and around Battery Park and walked up a bridge to a beautiful view of the water and you could see the Statue of Liberty from there too. There was a HUGE line waiting to get on the ferry and all of these people were waiting to see the statue. I could only imagine that the line was so long because it was a Saturday. Those people must have waited for hours.
Our first stop was Battery Park. It was named this because there were battery cannons to propel any of the British invasions when they came over. We looked at Castle Clinton which was named after DeWitt Clinton and originally stood in 35 feet of water in New York Harbor (ENY page 56). In the 1840s, the Irish and the Germans were coming in to the United States and you needed an immigrant processesing station in New York. We were able to walk through Castle Clinton a little bit later and inside there was a small timeline the evolution of New York with new additions. My favorite addition to see was when the Brooklyn Bridge was added, because not only does it make the city look so beautiful, but it gave so much purpose between transportation and movement between the different parts of New York. We walked in and around Battery Park and walked up a bridge to a beautiful view of the water and you could see the Statue of Liberty from there too. There was a HUGE line waiting to get on the ferry and all of these people were waiting to see the statue. I could only imagine that the line was so long because it was a Saturday. Those people must have waited for hours.
As we were walking around Battery Park, we were getting several beautiful views of the Freedom Tower but would have to wait a little after lunch to see it. We were to make our way over to Fraunces Tavern Museum, but had a couple of stops to make on the way. As we walked, we saw a beautiful sphere statue. It was the Fritz Koenig 22 ton Sphere (ENY page 57). Mike informed us that this sphere used to stand near the world trade center, but was severely damaged during the attack on September 11th, and therefore was moved into the park. It represents resiliency because of the damage on the top of it, yet its ability to still stand. A picture of the still standing sphere can be seen below and to the left.
Next we saw a statue of immigrants. named "The Immigrants". This statue was dedicated to all of the immigrants that came over to New York through Castle Clinton. The people represented in the statue are a freed African slave, a priest, a worker, and an Eastern European Jew. The faces on the statue figures show the hard times that the people had to go through. I thought it was really cool to find out this information because if i was walking through this park on my own i would not have looked twice at the statue and furthermore, would not have known the meaning behind it. A picture of this statue is up and to the right.
As we walked towards the Fraunces Tavern Museum, Mike raised this question to us: Why did the Dutch choose to come to New York and more specifically, near Battery Park? We all thought for a while and then pieces together that because we were so close to the water, New York provided a great harbor. This harbor was advantageous for the use of trade and usage of the ships. Moreover, we learned that this part of the city was fill of rich people because living close to the water, just like now a days is a lot of money.
We finally made it to the federal style Fraunces Tavern Museum. Mike explained to us that this museum is one of the more fake museums in New York because of the way it was restored. The furniture, as we learn further on from on guide, is not from that specific time period, but is designed to imitate that time.
As we met our guide, we walked through a nice restaurant and the food smelled delicious. We walked to the top floor into a room where she began to explain to us that Fraunces' Tavern is the location where George Washington said his farewell address to his offices. Washington was a big fan of Samuel Fraunces' cooking so he rented a private room in the Tavern to make the occasion a special and intimate one. The only real evidence that they have from the events are from the memoirs of Benjamin Tallmadge. We were able to see the actual memoirs which was a cool experience.
As we walked towards the Fraunces Tavern Museum, Mike raised this question to us: Why did the Dutch choose to come to New York and more specifically, near Battery Park? We all thought for a while and then pieces together that because we were so close to the water, New York provided a great harbor. This harbor was advantageous for the use of trade and usage of the ships. Moreover, we learned that this part of the city was fill of rich people because living close to the water, just like now a days is a lot of money.
We finally made it to the federal style Fraunces Tavern Museum. Mike explained to us that this museum is one of the more fake museums in New York because of the way it was restored. The furniture, as we learn further on from on guide, is not from that specific time period, but is designed to imitate that time.
As we met our guide, we walked through a nice restaurant and the food smelled delicious. We walked to the top floor into a room where she began to explain to us that Fraunces' Tavern is the location where George Washington said his farewell address to his offices. Washington was a big fan of Samuel Fraunces' cooking so he rented a private room in the Tavern to make the occasion a special and intimate one. The only real evidence that they have from the events are from the memoirs of Benjamin Tallmadge. We were able to see the actual memoirs which was a cool experience.
Our guide then began to explain to us what kind of person George Washington was. I always new he was tall, and when she said that he was around 6 foot 2 or 3, that didn't seem like such a large deal but then she explained to us that most people were not as tall as him, so i figured his presence was very dominant. He was a big fan of symbolic meanings behind all the actions that he took. This is why in choosing Fraunces Tavern for his Farewell Address was a big deal. This was a very communal and non-religious place and it was perfect for celebrating his officers. Taverns were a place for people to gather and talk about news that was happening. This was funny to me because now a days, you could just look online or text someone and find out the information instantly.
As we continued talking, the guide explained to us the different uses of the three floors. The bottom floor was used as a communal bar area. This is where men usually gathered and smoked and drank together. The second floor was the private dining rooms like the one that Washington rented out. The third floor of this specific tavern was where Samuel would have lived and the top floor was used by the servants. This exact building had been through three different fires and even had canon balls thrown at it during the American Revolution. Some bricks are original, but others are not and are just modeled after the original design. This is why the building is considered a fake. It has the original design, but has been restored because of all the damage that it has undergone. It was built on the first original landfill, just like many other parts of the area that we had walked through before. This invited sailors and people from the water to come in and have a drink.
My favorite room of this museum was the one filled with different flags. It was cool to see the different stages of evolution that the flag went through to look like what it does now. I never looked at all the different flags, and its amazing how they all resemble the previous in some way and how the flag today has meaning taken from each beforehand. And of course it was great to see the beautiful American Flag at the end of time timeline with 50 stars and 13 red and white stripes.
As we continued talking, the guide explained to us the different uses of the three floors. The bottom floor was used as a communal bar area. This is where men usually gathered and smoked and drank together. The second floor was the private dining rooms like the one that Washington rented out. The third floor of this specific tavern was where Samuel would have lived and the top floor was used by the servants. This exact building had been through three different fires and even had canon balls thrown at it during the American Revolution. Some bricks are original, but others are not and are just modeled after the original design. This is why the building is considered a fake. It has the original design, but has been restored because of all the damage that it has undergone. It was built on the first original landfill, just like many other parts of the area that we had walked through before. This invited sailors and people from the water to come in and have a drink.
My favorite room of this museum was the one filled with different flags. It was cool to see the different stages of evolution that the flag went through to look like what it does now. I never looked at all the different flags, and its amazing how they all resemble the previous in some way and how the flag today has meaning taken from each beforehand. And of course it was great to see the beautiful American Flag at the end of time timeline with 50 stars and 13 red and white stripes.
We then went into a room of different painted pictures by John Ward Dunsmore. We saw so many, but my favorite to look at was of George Washington with his step children. Our guide informed us that George never had children of his own, but as one can see in the picture, he treats his wives children just as he would if they were his. She then explained to us her theory that because Washington never had children of his own, she believed that he treated the United States as his child. After 8 years in office, he believed that he needed to move on and allow "his child" to grow up on his own just as a parent would after a child has grown up. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of these paintings.
The last room that we went into in this museum was an example of what the dining room that Washington rented out would have looked like. Again, we were not able to take pictures here, but it was cool to be able to see what sort of atmosphere they would have been in when Washington delivered his Farewell Address. Again adding to the "fakeness" of the museum, our guide explained to us that of course, the chairs and tables were not exactly where they would have been placed, but this room only was there to understand the feeling of what the room would have looked like.
Once done at the museum, we walked through the restaurant area and smelled the food again, and i was hoping that lunch was soon because i was starving. We walked a few blocks and sat down in front of the National Museum of the American Indian. We were told that at this location, we were looking right into Bowling Green Park which was named after the game bowling played by the british in the colonial times (ENY page 54). We looked at the statues outside of the building and they were there to represent the four main continents; African, Asia, American and Britain. They were designed along with the building by Cass Gilbert. Mike explained to us how the artist was expressing in the statues that American was better than Britain because Americas was represented by Lady Liberty protecting someone and Britains was represented as very stuffy and snoody.
The last room that we went into in this museum was an example of what the dining room that Washington rented out would have looked like. Again, we were not able to take pictures here, but it was cool to be able to see what sort of atmosphere they would have been in when Washington delivered his Farewell Address. Again adding to the "fakeness" of the museum, our guide explained to us that of course, the chairs and tables were not exactly where they would have been placed, but this room only was there to understand the feeling of what the room would have looked like.
Once done at the museum, we walked through the restaurant area and smelled the food again, and i was hoping that lunch was soon because i was starving. We walked a few blocks and sat down in front of the National Museum of the American Indian. We were told that at this location, we were looking right into Bowling Green Park which was named after the game bowling played by the british in the colonial times (ENY page 54). We looked at the statues outside of the building and they were there to represent the four main continents; African, Asia, American and Britain. They were designed along with the building by Cass Gilbert. Mike explained to us how the artist was expressing in the statues that American was better than Britain because Americas was represented by Lady Liberty protecting someone and Britains was represented as very stuffy and snoody.
Our last stop before lunch was the Charging Bull Statue. As we walked through Bowling Green Park to get there, Mike explained to us that we were at the end of Broadway, which was also named Canyon of heroes. This was where the Apollo Astronauts parade happened as well as many other parades. This is also where the earliest skyscrapers are and they were only built so high because of the lack of steel at that time. We finally made it to the bull and it was put there randomly in front of the New York Stock Exchange. It became so popular that they moved it to its current location and its been there ever since. Once we were done taking pictures in front of the bull, we walked to Hudson Eats Food Court.
For lunch i ended up having sushi which i regretted right when i sat down with some classmates and saw the amazing looking Mexican food that they were eating. Meghan, Megan and I went and walked around to look for a place for dessert besides cupcakes and were unsuccessful in finding one so we just went back inside and waiting for the rest of the class to meet up.
Our next stop would be going to the World Trade Center Memorial. This was one of the coolest parts of the day because i had never really been here to begin with, and more specifically to see the memorial. It was a very weird mood when walking towards the waterfalls. Considering the amount of people that were they appreciating the views and the memorial, it was sort of quieter then i had imagined. Because of how quiet it was, you could really feel the emotion in the people celebrating those lives who were lost. Mike had informed us before that the design of the two waterfalls where the buildings had once stood was won during a competition. The design of this idea was by Daniel Libeskind (ENY page 48). We were also able to look at the Surviving Tree which many people were taking pictures in front of. This tree survived and was nurtured back to health also when Hurrican Sandy hit, which i thought was very interesting because the two-year anniversary of that terrible hurricane was only a couple of days ago.
Our next stop would be going to the World Trade Center Memorial. This was one of the coolest parts of the day because i had never really been here to begin with, and more specifically to see the memorial. It was a very weird mood when walking towards the waterfalls. Considering the amount of people that were they appreciating the views and the memorial, it was sort of quieter then i had imagined. Because of how quiet it was, you could really feel the emotion in the people celebrating those lives who were lost. Mike had informed us before that the design of the two waterfalls where the buildings had once stood was won during a competition. The design of this idea was by Daniel Libeskind (ENY page 48). We were also able to look at the Surviving Tree which many people were taking pictures in front of. This tree survived and was nurtured back to health also when Hurrican Sandy hit, which i thought was very interesting because the two-year anniversary of that terrible hurricane was only a couple of days ago.
We then went to St. Paul's Church but as we walked there we were able to witness a whole bunch of construction going on. It was so weird to think that September 11th was thirteen years ago and there is still construction in the area to fix the damage that had been done. As we got to St. Paul's Church, Mike told us that it is the oldest church in Manhattan. The style of the church is Georgian and the Twin Towers were literally across the street from the church before they had collapsed. The sycamore tree in front of the church is what saved it from damage of the buildings crashing onto the church. There is currently a memorial of the tree in the front of the church. We walked through the church rather fast, but were able to appreciate the different memorial items inside. The part that i thought was the most interesting was a pew and there was a picture of man laying on it. The description for this said that when workers needed a place to rest during the reconstruction and cleaning of all the damage, they would come here and sleep in the pews of the church, and the church welcomed everyone.
When we exited the Church, we had a view of City Hall. Mike told us that they designed the back to be in brick and marble because the plan was that no one would ever see it but then New York City extended. We also spotted the Municipal Building and Mike once again told us that this was his favorite building in New York at the moment.
The last site we were scheduled to see in this class EVER was suppose to be the African Burial Ground but we ended up not going there and instead ended up sitting in front of the Tweed Courthouse. It took Boss Tweed over a decade to build this building and it cost twice the amount of Alaska. How in the world could a building be MORE MONEY then the amount of a state is beyond crazy to me.
The last site we were scheduled to see in this class EVER was suppose to be the African Burial Ground but we ended up not going there and instead ended up sitting in front of the Tweed Courthouse. It took Boss Tweed over a decade to build this building and it cost twice the amount of Alaska. How in the world could a building be MORE MONEY then the amount of a state is beyond crazy to me.
After we learned all of this, Mike had told us that the class would be ending. He invited those who wanted to to come walk around the Williamsburg Bridge and go to the Brooklyn Brewery. For some reason walking over the bridges had been the funnest experiences for me in the class. I guess i really just enjoyed the views a lot so i was so happy when we went over the bridge. Mike took us the long way by the water to get to the Brewery which we were mad about until we turned the corner and saw the beautiful view of the city skyline. The bridge was a little more rough than the Brooklyn Bridge. There was graffiti all over it but i think it added to the "hipster" vibe of entering Williamsburg that made it so cool.
It took us so long to get to the Brewery though, that once we got there, the line was too long and we had to catch a train in only an a little while and realized that we would not have had the full experience if we waited so we just went to a bar close by. When we were ready to leave, we ended up taking the L train from Bedford and north 7th to 8th Ave and then the E train to Penn station. We then made it on to our train and were on our way home.
Overall New York Experience
TAKE THIS CLASS. For anyone who is in need of a CORE class, i recommend this class over any other. This was one of the best experiences i have had after being in Molloy College for 4 years. You can't even compare the experiences and views and excitement that this class has to offer to any other 4 hour night classes at Molloy. But i didn't only take this class to get out of sitting in a classroom. The places and people and food and views that i had experienced will forever be moments that i will always remember and hopefully take my family and friends to one day.
My first journal for this class explained how much the city gave me anxiety and how little i actually knew. As we went on adventures every Saturday, my knowledge and love for New York City grew bigger and bigger. One extremely memorable moment that i had in this class was taking the subway for the first time. Whenever i had gone to the city before this class i would always just walk or take a cab to where i would have to go. Getting on the subway for the first time was very scary for me because i really had no idea what to expect. It wasn't that bad, but i have to say i do enjoy being able to just jump into my car and driving myself wherever i have to go instead of commuting with so many people. Although i was not a total fan of the subway system, and never actually got the hang of which subways go in which direction, i was happy and proud with myself for trying something new.
The most exciting moment during this class for me was walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, and later in the last class, the Williamsburg Bridge. I don't really know what fascinates me so much about being able to walk over these bridges, but the time we spent was well worth it to me because i enjoyed every minute of it. The Brooklyn Bridge was done earlier in the course, and it was very crowded. We had to deal with crowds a lot because our class took place on a Saturday. That may sound crazy to people but this was actually a class that i did not mind having to give up a day on my weekend to go to (despite what Mike may think). We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge during the day, and the views were spectacular. MY favorite part of that day was finally making it over the bridge and being in DUMBO, because there were such amazing views of the skyline with the bridge along with it as you can see in my earlier journals. I enjoyed experiencing the Brooklyn Bridge so much that i even decided to write my first paper on it. When we went over the Williamsburg Bridge, it was a little different. This happened on our last class and now having experienced the Brooklyn Bridge, i had something to compare it to. The Williamsburg Bridge had so much graffiti and art. As we walked over it, the sun was beginning to set behind the buildings, so again my abundance of pictures of these views above show my appreciation towards the lovely site. I was so obsessed with all of these beautiful views.
Mike and Lee introduced us to many new things during the class as well. They introduced me to foods that i never thought i would even consider eating like Thai and Indian. I didn't really see anything special with these foods, and to be honest thought they were VERY similar to Chinese, which Mike also bought us one day. I enjoyed eating all the foods, whether the reason being that i was starving every time we ate them or if i actually thought they were good, but again, an example of this class opening my mind and experiences to new things.
This class was so amazing, and besides the lessons learned and all the journals and papers that we had to write, I also became close with Mike and Lee. They didn't treat us like students, they treated us like regular people and i honestly enjoyed that the most about the class. It didn't feel like they were talking at us as much as to us and that was a very different teaching style that i really enjoyed. Mike and Lee always made sure that even if we were learning about something boring, they would find a way to make it interesting for us. The knowledge and stories that they have about all of the different sites that we went ventured to is incredible, and if i havnt said it already, this class is definitely a MUST TAKE. It expanded my knowledge, love, and diminished my fears that New York City has and offers and has allowed me to see the beauty behind not only locations that i have been to, but others that i have never heard of before that i will most definitely be revisiting once again.
My first journal for this class explained how much the city gave me anxiety and how little i actually knew. As we went on adventures every Saturday, my knowledge and love for New York City grew bigger and bigger. One extremely memorable moment that i had in this class was taking the subway for the first time. Whenever i had gone to the city before this class i would always just walk or take a cab to where i would have to go. Getting on the subway for the first time was very scary for me because i really had no idea what to expect. It wasn't that bad, but i have to say i do enjoy being able to just jump into my car and driving myself wherever i have to go instead of commuting with so many people. Although i was not a total fan of the subway system, and never actually got the hang of which subways go in which direction, i was happy and proud with myself for trying something new.
The most exciting moment during this class for me was walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, and later in the last class, the Williamsburg Bridge. I don't really know what fascinates me so much about being able to walk over these bridges, but the time we spent was well worth it to me because i enjoyed every minute of it. The Brooklyn Bridge was done earlier in the course, and it was very crowded. We had to deal with crowds a lot because our class took place on a Saturday. That may sound crazy to people but this was actually a class that i did not mind having to give up a day on my weekend to go to (despite what Mike may think). We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge during the day, and the views were spectacular. MY favorite part of that day was finally making it over the bridge and being in DUMBO, because there were such amazing views of the skyline with the bridge along with it as you can see in my earlier journals. I enjoyed experiencing the Brooklyn Bridge so much that i even decided to write my first paper on it. When we went over the Williamsburg Bridge, it was a little different. This happened on our last class and now having experienced the Brooklyn Bridge, i had something to compare it to. The Williamsburg Bridge had so much graffiti and art. As we walked over it, the sun was beginning to set behind the buildings, so again my abundance of pictures of these views above show my appreciation towards the lovely site. I was so obsessed with all of these beautiful views.
Mike and Lee introduced us to many new things during the class as well. They introduced me to foods that i never thought i would even consider eating like Thai and Indian. I didn't really see anything special with these foods, and to be honest thought they were VERY similar to Chinese, which Mike also bought us one day. I enjoyed eating all the foods, whether the reason being that i was starving every time we ate them or if i actually thought they were good, but again, an example of this class opening my mind and experiences to new things.
This class was so amazing, and besides the lessons learned and all the journals and papers that we had to write, I also became close with Mike and Lee. They didn't treat us like students, they treated us like regular people and i honestly enjoyed that the most about the class. It didn't feel like they were talking at us as much as to us and that was a very different teaching style that i really enjoyed. Mike and Lee always made sure that even if we were learning about something boring, they would find a way to make it interesting for us. The knowledge and stories that they have about all of the different sites that we went ventured to is incredible, and if i havnt said it already, this class is definitely a MUST TAKE. It expanded my knowledge, love, and diminished my fears that New York City has and offers and has allowed me to see the beauty behind not only locations that i have been to, but others that i have never heard of before that i will most definitely be revisiting once again.