Lower Manhattan View

Sorry I'm late in posting today! Not really near my computer today. For the end of the week, here's a view of lower Manhattan under the clouds. I hope you all have a great weekend. See you Monday!!

Man and Statue

A big thanks to John from My Viewfinder who helped to improve the photo from today. He did great things with it!! The top one is the new-and-improved version. I must learn how to do that!




A scene I saw recently in the Museum of Modern Art. Somehow the statue reminded me of the man standing next to it. Perhaps it could be an abstract version of him!

Path train escalator

I was heading down the escalator to the Path Train in New Jersey last weekend. I liked the colors - nothing much else to say!

Candles

This is another photo I took inside the main branch of the New York Public Library. I thought it looked very "phantom of the opera." Not real candles of course!

Mystery Building

I was walking in downtown Manhattan this weekend and I went past this building which was just being illuminated by the sun. I don't know its name though. I was walking with a friend and neither of us knew for sure. We thought perhaps the Woolworth building, but I'm not sure. Anyhow, maybe one of you knows its name? It looks like perhaps King Kong should be climbing it. Have a nice week everyone!

P.S. It looked like it would be in the Wall Street area.

Update: Mystery solved. It is the American International Group building. Thanks to Olivier from Evry Daily Photo for identifying it! Thanks also to DaveM from Everyone likes Pictures for trying to find it too.

Window from the U.S. Custom House

A few weeks ago I visited the National Museum of the American Indian and I took this picture of a window there. The museum is housed in the former U.S. Custom House, a really beautiful building in downtown Manhattan. The museum is free because it is part of the Smithsonian and it's worth a visit if you are in New York. I have a few other pictures from that visit which I'll show sometime soon.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Waiting for the Bus

Okay, I know it's not a very exciting photo today. I'm not sure why this photo appealed to me. I like to observe the people here in New York and for some reason I usually like photos the best when people are in them. These people were waiting for the bus on Fifth Avenue. I think it was something about the way they were standing that I liked and I couldn't tell whether they knew each other or not. Anyway, I have to practice my people photos! Have a nice Thursday.

Little Red Lighthouse

Here's a picture today of the little red lighthouse underneath the George Washington Bridge. It was made famous in a children's book called "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" by Hildegarde Swift. I've never read the book myself but I want to one of these days. I wonder how big the lighthouse actually looks up close? It is at Ft. Washington Park and 178th Street in Manhattan.

Old and New

I've been inspired by the blogs I've seen recently comparing the old and the new, and it made me remember this picture from lower Manhattan. The building in the front corner is the Fraunces Tavern, the oldest surviving building in Manhattan.

Excerpts from the Fraunces Tavern museum website:

As Manhattan's oldest surviving building, 54 Pearl Street has witnessed nearly three centuries of the city's history. It was built in 1719 as an elegant residence for the merchant Stephan Delancey and his family. In 1762, the home was purchased by tavern-keeper Samuel Fraunces, who turned it into one of the most popular taverns of the day. Though it is best known as the site where George Washington gave his farewell address to the officers of the Continental Army, in 1783, the tavern also played a significant role in pre-Revolutionary activities. After the war, when New York was the nation’s first capital, the tavern was rented to the new government to house the offices of the Departments of War, Treasury and Foreign Affairs.

Film Shoot at Grand Central

I was passing through Grand Central Terminal this weekend and happened by a film shoot. I think they were filming a commercial. (I don't know for what, but I'll have to keep my eyes open for it on TV!) I thought I'd share a few of the photos. Have a nice week!

Window on Fifth Avenue

This is another photo from my visit to the main branch of the New York Public Library last weekend. The view through the window is on to Fifth Avenue (where the cabs are going south) and 41st Street. I wish the building across the street wasn't covered in scaffolding. I'll have to go back and take another shot after it comes down.

Enjoy your weekend everyone and see you Monday!

Green Gorilla

A few months ago I took this shot of this creature (a gorilla perhaps) giving a wave. (Not such a great shot from behind, I know, but I thought he was cute.) He is at the restaurant Tavern on the Green in Central Park. They have quite a few lovely topiaries there, which are especially beautiful at night when they are lit up. I'll have to go back and get a night shot sometime.

Brooklyn Skyline

I was downtown a few weekends ago and snapped this photo of the Brooklyn skyline across the water. (I wish it wasn't such a hazy day.) The Skyline Princess is a boat that people can charter for parties and weddings. It looks like a nice place for a party!

Carousel Horse

Last week Barb from Bellefonte mentioned that she liked carousel horses and I remembered I had this picture of the carousel in Bryant Park. This is a description from the Bryant Park website:

"Le Carrousel in Bryant Park, specially created to complement the park’s French classical style, is an homage to both European and American traditions. Its fourteen delightful animals, replicas of classic carousel creatures, revolve to the sounds of French cabaret music. The rounding boards, inspired by Bryant Park’s elegant baroque-style torchères along 40th Street, blend into the leafy canopy of the park’s plane trees.
Fabricon Carousel Company, whose artists designed and created Le Carrousel, was based in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has hundreds of other installations as far away as China and as close as Riverbank State Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan."

I've never seen it working actually, but it would be fun to take a ride!

New York Public Library Reading Room

Last week I went to the main branch of the New York Public Library to see a photography exhibition. While I was there I went upstairs to look at the reading room, which I had never seen before. It was beautiful! Here is a picture of it.

The photography exhibit was great, by the way, and if you are in New York this summer, you should see it! It is called "Making the Scene: The Midtown Y Photography Gallery, 1972-1996."

Victorian Gardens

Back in March I showed a photo of the ice skating rink in Central Park. Well, for the summer, they've turned the skating rink into a little amusement park with rides and games. It's called Victorian Gardens. It looks like it's fun for the kids.

(Many thanks to Fénix from Bostonscapes Daily Photo for showing me how to make a url link in my blog!)

Enjoy your weekend!

St. John the Divine

Another photo from my trip to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine a few weeks ago. Unfortunately my inside pictures weren't that successful. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the largest cathedral in the world (but not the largest church.) It is impressive inside, although there was a fire there in 2001 and it looks like they are still rebuilding from that.

Silver Trees

A few weeks ago I came upon these stainless-steel trees in Madison Square Park. I was surprised with how well they fit in with the real trees in the park. They are part of a public art series in Madison Square Park and are by the artist Roxy Paine. The title of this particular work is "Conjoined." They are quite beautiful in person.

Bicycle Shop

I saw this painting on a wall above a bicycle shop recently. I thought it was a sweet painting, so I'm showing it here. It looks like the paint is coming off a bit though. I hope they touch it up soon!
P.S. I see it is by the artist Sempé. I love his work!

Window View

I was inspired by all of the people who posted photos of the views from their bedrooms on Friday, (the theme for the City Daily photo blogs) so I thought I'd show the view from my window today. It's not very exciting, but I did like the way the setting sun was hitting the building.

Have a nice week everyone.

Flower Covered Museum

A few weeks ago, I passed by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and it was covered in flowers. I'm not sure why, perhaps for their National Design Trienial. I thought it was very colorful so I'm showing some photos here. They have some interesting exhibits here, if you ever want to visit.

Have a nice weekend everyone!