ONCE NEW YORK, ALWAYS NEW YORK

BLUE SKY - MARCH 1997

After Paris and Bangkok (through London), I flew again via Heathrow to New York to spend some time before heading to Florida. The sky was blue and the weather, though cold, was perfect for a walk. So this is the result of one of such walks...


"THE WOOLWORTH BUILDING was the world’s tallest building between 1913 and 1930. According to Wikipedia, it is still one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City. But it must be coming down the ranking..."


"NEW YORK CITY HALL, built between 1803 through 1812, is the seat of the government of the City, housing the office of the Mayor and the chambers of the City Council. Apparently, it's the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions"





"THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE started to be constructed in 1869 and took 14 years to complete. The bridge, 1.5km long, spans the East river from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan and has an elevated pedestrian path which gives you the chance to have a great view of either downtown Manhattan's magnificent skyline or of Brooklyn's residences and offices"





"BROOKLYN HEIGHTS - Brooklyn, founded by the Dutch in the 17th century after their native town of Breukelen, remained an independent city until 1898, when its residents voted by a slight majority to join with Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens and Richmond (later Staten Island) to form the modern City of New York. Brooklyn Heights, considered to be the first suburb in America, has some beautiful mansions. In one such mansion George Washington made his decision to retreat from Brooklyn and on August 29th, 1776, Washington's army crossed the East River, leaving Brooklyn to the British. The British Empire ended its occupation of New York on November 25, 1783, celebrated as the Evacuation Day for more than a century"




"THE PROMENADE at Brooklyn Heights, built atop the double deck Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, may take your breath away, as it displays spectacular views of the East River bridges and the skyscrapers of Manhattan. For some residents, including Wall Street workers, it's a Manhattan neighbourhood, located on the better side of the river..."


"THE US POST OFFICE is a beautiful building at Cadman Plaza East, Downtown Brooklyn"


"PIER 17 at South Street Seaport is a place I always liked; in particular, the view from the top terrace"


"PEKING, a 1911 four-mast barque, is one of the largest privately owned fleet of historic ships in the US, owned by the South Street Seaport Museum"

NEW YEAR IN NYC - PART II

STROLLING AROUND THE BIG APPLE - JANUARY 1997




"THE CLOISTERS house the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of art and architecture from medieval Europe religious and secular art. With approximately five thousand works of art from about 800 through the fifteenth century, the Cloisters are located on Fort Tryon Park overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan, showing some of the most dramatic scenery in New York. The building incorporates elements from five medieval French cloisters and from other monastic sites in southern France. The highlights, of course, are the five medieval Cloisters, and the Unicorn Tapestries, a series of 7 wool and silk tapestries depicting The Hunt of the Unicorn. In the Spanish Room the 3-paneled Altarpiece of the Annunciation, a 15th century work by Robert Campin, is shown. Three of the cloisters have gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and works of art, such as tapestries and stained-glass windows. The first time we were at the Cloisters was in 1979, and we fell in love with the building"


"JAZZ AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD, one of my favourite jazz clubs"


"FERRY - On the way to the Statue of Liberty"




"THE STATUE OF LIBERTY Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. Thus, it makes sense to post on her on July 14th... The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986"



"DOWNTOWN AND THE HUDSON boat tour"


"ELLIS ISLAND is a symbol of America’s immigrant heritage. From 1892 to 1954, this immigrant depot was the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States. Nearly twelve million landed here in their search of an economic opportunity. The Ellis Island Immigrant Station was designed by architects Edward Lippincott Tilton and William Boring, who received a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition for the building's design"


"WTC - Love this picture!"


"WALL STREET, Trinity Church and the Portuguese flag. The flag is no longer there, as the Bank that used to display it moved away"


"NYSE - The NYSE originated on May 17, 1792, when the Buttonwood Agreement was signed by twenty-four stockbrokers outside of 68 Wall Street in New York under a buttonwood tree. On March 8, 1817, the organization drafted a constitution and renamed itself the "New York Stock and Exchange Board". This name was shortened to its current form in 1863. The New York Stock Exchange building at 18 Broad Street opened on April 22, 1903!"


"CHELSEA PIER - Not to be confused with Chelsea F.C. of the Special One - José Mourinho! Lovely sunset"



"UNION SQUARE BIO MARKET, just in front of the Blue Water Grill, a restaurant I like."


"DRAKE SWISSOTEL - Preparing to check out!"

***

FOR THE RECORD - NOV/DEC 1996!

***

On the last post I forgot to mention that still in 1996, and after Madrid and Toledo, I flew once again to New York early November, to Paris mid-November, to Brussels and London by the end of November, to Cape Verde - Sal and Praia - in early December, and finally back to NYC. From all these trips, there is only this conference picture in Praia, Cape Verde, that I post here as a memory of a nice time...



"CAPE VERDE CONFERENCE"

NEW YEAR IN THE BIG APPLE

MINUS 13º CELSIUS - DECEMBER 1996


"THE DRAKE SWISSOTEL at Park Avenue and 56th Street was for many times my home in New York. It was a quite nice European style hotel with a superb location. Last time in NYC I saw that there were works on the building, hopefully a renovation of the hotel. It would be a shame if we lose it as a lodging possibility..."



"DIM SUM AT 20 MOTT ST. - On Sunday, December 29, 1996, we headed to this Chinatown eatery, which used to be always crowded, for an excellent dim sum"


"CHINATOWN FISH MARKET, for the benefit of Ming the Merciless"


"DOM, West Broadway, where you'll find home furnishings and accessories that you just don't see anywhere else"


"CHRISTMAS TREE, Rockefeller Promenade"


"THE NUTCRACKER - George Balanchine's Nutcracker is a Christmas' must at the New York City Ballet! 2007 season is from November 23rd through December 30th"


PARK AVENUE at 54th Street, just two blocks down from the Drake..."


"42ND STREET with a view towards the Chrysler building. This picture was taken from Tudor City, where we stayed in 1979, the first time we went to New York (without the young lady, who was not born yet...). Other memories from that trip can be seen here, and here, and also here!"


"UN BUILDING seen from Tudor City"



"UN GARDENS with the Chrysler and Queensborough Bridge"


"METROPOLITAN MUSEUM"




"HAPPY NEW YEAR - On December 31st, 1996 we went to see "Cats" and then joined the crowd in Times Square/7th Av! The temperature was MINUS 13 Celsius..."



"BACK TO THE DRAKE - On the way back to the Drake, we took these two pictures at the Redeye Grill, home of the Dancing Shrimp..., and at Harley-Davidson Cafe"