Eastern Parkway

There's a lovely street in Brooklyn called Eastern Parkway that's part of the National Register of Historic Places. It is a nice place for a stroll, even in the winter. I'm sure these trees will be much more green in a few weeks. Here's some information about the Parkway from Wikipedia:

The world's first parkway was conceived by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1866. The term parkway was coined by these designers as a landscaped road built expressly for 'pleasure-riding and driving' or scenic access to Prospect Park (also designed by Olmsted and Vaux). Olmsted and Vaux intended Eastern Parkway to be the Brooklyn nucleus of an interconnected park and parkway system for the New York area.

First flowers

These were the first spring flowers I've seen beginning to blossom in our area. They were a welcome sight, as it's been a long and cold winter! Hopefully more signs of spring to come soon.

Spider web window

This is a window I saw recently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Robert Lehman Wing. I think it reminds me of a spider web. I hope you enjoy this weekend and have some blue skies wherever you are!

St. John the Divine

I walked past the Cathedral of St. John the Divine recently and remembered reading about its recent rededication after a fire seriously damaged the interior. Here's a quote from a November 2008 New York Times article: "Seven years after a raging fire destroyed its north transept and crippled its organ, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine was rededicated on Sunday morning in a service attended by religious leaders, political leaders and thousands of New Yorkers. The reopening of the cathedral’s entire 601-foot-long interior, and the repair of its 8,500-pipe Great Organ, followed more than five years of cleaning and restoration." I didn't have time to stop in to see it that day, but hopefully sometime soon.

Steam Pipes

Just a random street scene for today. I thought the steam pipes gave the picture a foggy look. I don't know much about the steam pipe system in the city. I often pass steampipes and manholes with steam pouring out in the winter time. I guess they have this in other cities too. There's a lot happening underground that we don't think about!

Cruise Ship

I've never taken a ride on one of these giant cruise ships, though I often see them docked along the piers on the west side. I wish I could go on board for an hour and take a tour! This boat was awaiting passengers and was ready to head out to sea. Can you see the rock climbing wall just in front of the smoke stacks? I'm not sure its destination though perhaps the Caribbean or somewhere warm.

Fashion District

Here's a shot from New York's garment district (from 34th to 42nd Streets on the west side of Manhattan), where there are many fabric and accessory shops, designer's studios and wholesale clothing stores. In the photo you can see a statue of a tailor at his sewing machine, which is a tribute to the generations of workers who have made the fashion district what it is today. There's also a statue of a needle threading through a button and you can see the information kiosk for the local business improvement district.

One more Queens view

Here is one more Queens view to end the week. This is basically the same view from Long Island City that I showed on Monday, except before the sun went down. Notice all of the new buildings going up? I hope you all have a good weekend.

Tom's

Seinfeld watchers will recognize the outside of this diner, which they used for the exterior shots of the diner in the show in its earlier episodes. I've eaten there before and it's your typical diner, but doesn't resemble the sets from the show. People love to take pictures of the outside though!

Sunning Turtles

These friendly turtles were happy for some sun and were hanging out recently in Morningside Park in Harlem. I was glad I stumbled upon this park since I'd never been before. Here is some info from the friends of Morningside Park website: Morningside Park is located in New York City's borough of Manhattan from West 110th to West 123rd Streets between Manhattan Avenue, Morningside Avenue and Morningside Drive. It is one of four designated Historic Harlem Parks. The City received jurisdiction over the 30-acres property in 1870 and began constructing the park in 1883. The original plans for the park were drawn up by renowned park designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

Harlem Bridge

I think I've shown this bridge before (or maybe it's an overpass) but anyway I was crossing the street the other day and captured this shot as I was going across. This is on 125th Street, near the west side highway. Nothing special to say about this one, I just like the patterns made by the arches. Nothing is green here yet, so I don't have an appropriate St. Patrick's day photo for you.

Queens View

I had the opportunity to take in another amazing night view this weekend. Some friends have a beautiful apartment in Long Island City, Queens. Don't they have an amazing view of Manhattan?! I could move right in. Long Island City is very popular because of its proximity to Manhattan and because of the beautiful views of the Manhttan skyline.

Bethesda Carvings

I recently discovered these decorative carvings on the Bethesda Foundation Terrace in Central Park. I've walked by there many times and only just happened to notice all of the things from nature carved in stone. Here is some information from centralparknyc.com: The decorative elements for Bethesda Terrace itself were designed by English-born architect Jacob Wrey Mould. Reasserting the primacy of nature, Mould chose representative wildlife and seasonal design motifs. There are also carvings symbolic of day: a rising sun, a crowing cock. Night is represented by a lamp and book, a bat and owl, and a witch flying over a Jack-o'-lantern.

Carriage Horses

Carriage rides are still a popular thing for tourists to do in Central Park. These horses were waiting for customers outside the Tavern on the Green Restaurant. I read that most of the horses come from the Amish country in Pennsylvania. (I have a feeling they'd rather still be there.) I've never taken a carriage ride, but I think I'd wait until the weather is warmer to try it.

I love NY

Outside of the Armory show they had some "live action" spray paintings by the artist Kenny Scharf. I particularly liked this one. Kenny Scharf is an American painter who uses a lot of pop culture in his works. According to Wikipedia: Scharf was a key figure in the East Village art scene of the 1980s, before seeing his work embraced by museums, such as the Whitney, which selected him for the 1985 Whitney Biennial. He did the album covers of The B-52s in the mid-80s. In 1995 Scharf designed a room at the Tunnel nightclub in New York. I tried to wait until no one was in front of the painting to take a photo, but to no avail.

Naked art

Okay, some of the "art" that was at the Armory Show that I saw last weekend was somewhat amusing. This display was in one of the cafes and these guys seemed somewhat amused by it. I know I had a good chuckle at it. (Sorry if I am offending the artist!) Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to truly appreciate it!

Armory Show

I was very lucky to be given tickets this past weekend to see the Armory Show, the International Fair of New Art, one of the world's leading art fairs devoted exclusively to contemporary art. This year the show expanded to include the Armory Show Modern, a new section dedicated to dealers specializing in historically significant Modern art. At last year's show $85 million in art was sold and the show had 52,000 visitors. It was really an impressive experience and it was interesting to see art in this type of setting, rather than in a musem. I'll definitely go back next year!

Dog Walkers

I was envious to see these guys who get to take long walks with dogs for their job. I wonder how they keep track of all of them. This was such a big herd of dogs all together. I only managed to get out my camera after most of them had passed by. I hope you all enjoy your weekend. See you Monday!

Ribbons

At the Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue at 29th Street, they've been hanging ribbons in memory of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, gold ribbons for soldiers and blue for civilians. It's very saddening to see how many ribbons are there now. Let's hope for a time when they can take them down.

Brooklyn Church

Sometimes I come across buildings in New York that somehow look like they could belong somewhere else. I liked the architecture of this catholic church in Brooklyn. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of it. It was closed that day, so no pictures from the inside.

Can you guess

Can you guess what's behind the caged in structure? Okay, I'll tell you. The giant cage is a multi-tiered completely enclosed driving range for golfers. It's part of a sports complex along the Hudson River called Chelsea Piers. You can see part of the rest of the complex in the blue white and red building to the left of the cage. I guess people in Manhattan are serious about their golfing. I've never been golfing there, but they do have a nice ice skating rink. Enjoy your day!

Splash of color

This downtown building covered in colorful yellow flaps caught my eye recently. At first I thought they were construction related but on second glimpse I think they are permanent. Sorry nothing much to say about this one, just a photo I liked.