Runners

New York is a great place for runners and it seems like there is a race in Central Park almost every weekend. This weekend was no exception. These runners were part of the annual 10K Scotland run. Sometimes I take part in the races myself, but this week I was just a spectator (and picture taker.) It was a nice day to be outside (finally!).

Shrine

The little building that is now being drawfed by the skyscrapers contains a small chapel and is a shrine to Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, the founder of the Catholic order of the Sisters of Charity. She was the first American-born person to be canonized. The James Watson House was once the home to a wealthy merchant and he chose this spot to be close to the harbor. It is nice that we haven’t lost all of the downtown buildings to skyscrapers. I won't be able to do a post for Friday, so I'll wish you a happy weekend and see you Monday!

Fifth Avenue

Here's a view today looking south along Fifth Avenue with the Metropolitan Museum on the right. It's one of my favorite museums and I visit often (which is why I've been showing so many photos from there.) The fountains on the right are shut off for the winter but they are a beautiful and refreshing spot to enjoy in the summer time.

Artist at work

Sometimes in a museum you can even see art being created. I often see people sketching the works in a museum but I've never seen a sketching as good as this one. This man seemed to be very talented! I wish I could have gotten a better photo of his work, but I didn't want to disturb him. He was doing this drawing in the Metropolitan Museum and lots of people were stopping to watch him work. Maybe some day we'll be seeing his works hanging on the walls there!

Police Building

There is a very grand looking building just north of chinatown (I guess it's in Soho actually) which is the former police headquarters building, now converted to apartments. I don't have a shot with the whole building, but it is really quite fancy looking. Some very lucky (and rich!) people live there now. Here is what I read about it on nyc-architecture.com:

Old Police Headquarters Building, 240 Centre Street (taking up the entire block between Grand and Broome). Designed by the firm of Hoppin & Koen in an exuberant Edwardian Baroque style, it opened in 1909. The NY Police Dept. moved out in 1973 and the building was converted to luxury condominiums in 1987. There are 55 apartments on six floors.

The Family

I came across this interesting statue in a park downtown. From the base it looks like it is called The Family and is by Chaim Cross. I'm afraid I couldn't find anything more about it, but it looks like a lovely work to me. I won't be at my computer Friday, so I wish you all a good weekend and see you next week.

Hand ball

I think it's nice how people gather in the city parks to play various games. I think these guys were playing handball. The basketball games can be really fun to watch but I haven't passed by one of those lately. It seemed like these guys were getting some good exercise and were having a fun time too.

Buildings in the Mist

Before the warm weather comes and we are into spring, I thought I'd show one more photo from our last snow storm this year (well, hopefully it was our last one for the year!)

Spots of Sun

I loved the way the sun was shining on this building when I was passing by one day. The building is Congregation Shearith Israel on Central Park West, otherwise known as the Spanish and Portugese Synagogue in the City of New York. This building was built to house the oldest Jewish Congregation in the country. (They were founded in 1654 and were the first Jewish congregation in North America, according to nyc-architecture.com).

Man's Best Friends

I saw this dog-walker in the Park recently and it seemed to me that it wouldn't be such a bad job to have (well, for the most part). These looked like pleasant and well behaved group of dogs to have around. I wish everyone a good week ahead!

On the Water

This is a photo I took from the Staten Island Ferry heading back to Manhttan, with Staten Island in the background. I don't show so many black and white photos so I decided to try that effect with this one. (And I was inspired seeing black and white photos on other people's blogs.) I'm not sure if I like the color version better since it was a bright and sunny day. Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend and see you Monday!

Temple of Dendur scene

This is a scene from the outside of the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Yesterday I showed a photo of the Sackler Wing, where the temple is housed.) The Temple of Dendur was given to the U.S. by Egypt and was installed in the Sackler Wing at the Metropolitan Museum in 1978. The outside of the temple shows scenes of the king and that is where this photo comes from. The temple dates to around 15 B.C.E. It's amazing to think we are seeing something from so long ago!

Met Museum

Here is a photo today from the Sackler Wing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art where the Temple of Dendur is housed. The Sackler Wing is beautiful and full of light. I always visit this section whenever I'm in the musem. When I was there recently, lots of people were throwing coins in the water and making wishes.

Tennis at the Garden

I had the very good fortune to be invited along with some friends last night to see an exhibition match between tennis greats Roger Federer and Pete Sampras at Madison Square Garden. It was a terrific match and we saw some fantastic tennis. Here's a picture of the action (although not such a great shot, I know!) It was a treat to see these champions playing each other in New York. It was really good for people watching too!

Fountain of Light

Right now in the spot where the Christmas tree usually stands in Rockefeller Center there is a public art installation called Electric Fountain by the British artists Tim Noble and Susan Webster. Here is a photo of it taken during the daytime. I want to go back and get a night view too. A good week to everyone!

Lanterns

I saw these colorful lanterns hanging in the East Village recently. I'm not sure who made them, perhaps children from local schools. Anyway, I thought they were colorful. I hope you all have a great weekend. See you Monday!

Charging Bull

Today I thought I'd show you a photo of the bull statue in the Wall Street area. The bull has long been a symbol of optimism in the stock market. Every time that I walk by this statue I notice that this seems to be a popular subject for photos and I thought I'd look up it's history. On Wikipedia I learned that the statue was made by Arturo DiModica. Here is part of what they said on Wikipedia:

Arturo Di Modica spent some $360,000 to create, cast, and install the sculpture following the 1987 stock market crash. The sculpture was the artist's idea, not the city's. In an act of "guerilla art", he trucked it to Lower Manhattan and on December 15, 1989, installed it in front of the New York Stock Exchange as a Christmas gift to the people of New York. The police seized the sculpture and placed it into an impound lot. The ensuing public outcry led the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to install it two blocks south of the Exchange in the plaza at Bowling Green.

In any case let's hope the bulls return to the market!

Staten Island Terminal acquarium

Recently they added an acquarium to the ferry terminal in Staten Island. I read that they wanted to make the commuters feel more calm. It seemed to be a big hit when I saw it and everyone was taking pictures with their cameras and camera phones. It's really colorful and pretty, even though I didn't get a very good picture of it.

Spring flowers

I guess spring can't be too far away if the flowers are starting to appear again at the farmer's markets. I haven't seen any blooming in the park yet, but at least we can buy some to brighten these last winter days!

Guggenheim exhibit

I stopped in the Guggenheim Museum this weekend to see the exhibit by Cai Guo-Qiang, the Chinese artist who I think is now based in New York. I heard that he made a very interesting use of the museum space, particularly with this work called Inopportune: Stage One. It features nine real cars suspended from the ceiling of the museum. I'm not sure how they got them up there but it was pretty amazing to see in person. I wish you all a good week!