JOURNAL 1
My Impressions of New York
New York City which comprises of five boroughs - Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island is one of the busiest cities in the world. I think this is the only city which can be called as “the sleepless city” since it is engaged in business 24/7. It seems like year after year New York City is becoming extremely crowded and at the same time it is becoming extremely diversified.
Despite the diversity among the people in New York City, there remains a great unity among its residents which allows this city to stay strong even in tough times. 9/11 portrayed to the world how united the residents in this city are, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Although 9/11 was one the toughest time our city ever had to go through, it only brought its residents closer to each other. It was during this tough time when all the New York residents worked hard to help the city to stand firm without losing hope.
I think this is the only city in the US where there is so much more acceptance for people from various life styles, races, and ethnic backgrounds. New York City welcomes people from all over the world who are talented and are ambitious and I believe this exclusively is one of the major reasons why this city is staying both strong and powerful economically. Because of all these reasons, being a part of the New York community makes me feel proud.
The beauty of this city attracts tourists from all around the world. I believe that the subway system in this city is allowing people to have easy entrance to various parts of the city without any trouble and in less time. Therefore, the subway system also is contributing significantly to the growth and increasing crowd in the city. The architectural treasures in this city such as the Statue of Liberty, well known bridges, skyscrapers, parks,museums etc. continue to attract millions of people to this city from all around the world on a day to day basis. The fact that this city lies next to one of the world’s largest natural harbor, it simply makes this city look spectacular both night and day. I am grateful to be part of this wonderful city and can't wait to explore the history of this great city along with the my Molloy College friends and to have fun.
New York City which comprises of five boroughs - Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island is one of the busiest cities in the world. I think this is the only city which can be called as “the sleepless city” since it is engaged in business 24/7. It seems like year after year New York City is becoming extremely crowded and at the same time it is becoming extremely diversified.
Despite the diversity among the people in New York City, there remains a great unity among its residents which allows this city to stay strong even in tough times. 9/11 portrayed to the world how united the residents in this city are, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Although 9/11 was one the toughest time our city ever had to go through, it only brought its residents closer to each other. It was during this tough time when all the New York residents worked hard to help the city to stand firm without losing hope.
I think this is the only city in the US where there is so much more acceptance for people from various life styles, races, and ethnic backgrounds. New York City welcomes people from all over the world who are talented and are ambitious and I believe this exclusively is one of the major reasons why this city is staying both strong and powerful economically. Because of all these reasons, being a part of the New York community makes me feel proud.
The beauty of this city attracts tourists from all around the world. I believe that the subway system in this city is allowing people to have easy entrance to various parts of the city without any trouble and in less time. Therefore, the subway system also is contributing significantly to the growth and increasing crowd in the city. The architectural treasures in this city such as the Statue of Liberty, well known bridges, skyscrapers, parks,museums etc. continue to attract millions of people to this city from all around the world on a day to day basis. The fact that this city lies next to one of the world’s largest natural harbor, it simply makes this city look spectacular both night and day. I am grateful to be part of this wonderful city and can't wait to explore the history of this great city along with the my Molloy College friends and to have fun.
Quixotic Queens
Our first day's class started from Mid Town Manhattan. First day of class was great and it gave me a better understanding about the architecture of the buildings in the city of New York.
Our first day's class started from Mid Town Manhattan. First day of class was great and it gave me a better understanding about the architecture of the buildings in the city of New York.
The first place we visited was the New York Public Library in Mid town Manhattan, which has the neoclassical architecture. According to one of the New York Times article from January 2013, this library may undergo a major face lifting in the coming years with the help of architect Norman Foster. Although it is never easy to let go off such elegant architecture, if the new design bring in more space and meet the need of public in a higher level, such trade in can only be considered as gain to the community.
Rose Reading Room at the New York library is about the length of a foot ball field. It is considered as one of the beautiful rooms in the city. Many famous authors have done their researches in this reading room to help write their novels and books. I hope that this room will remain untouched during the upcoming face lifting period. I wrote my first Haiku by sitting in this Rose Reading Room and it goes like this:
New York city,
the historical place
I love to explore and learn
New York city,
the historical place
I love to explore and learn
Another example for the neoclassical architect which we visited include the famous Grand Central Terminal. For many years i believed that this place is known as Grand Central Station but it was a misconception; the accurate name for this place is Grand Central Terminal. This still remains as the world's largest train station. It occupies the room of about three blocks in the city (Blue Guide, NY pg. 229). Since the invention of automobile in 1913, the traffic to this terminal started to slow down. In the 1950's 40% of the train traffic passed through this train station. In the 1950's and '60's this terminal was looking dirty and ugly; its ceiling was covered in black from the smoke. Former President John F. Kennedy's wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis stopped the destruction of this terminal in 1970's. This grant looking place is now an attraction for millions of people who visit New York. where they could also have delightful food (BG, NY, pg. 230).
Next we visited the most famous, the most expensive, and the most luxurious Waldorf=Astoria hotel which is located within the Waldorf Towers on Park Avenue. These towers displays the Art Deco architecture. Another best example of a building in New York city with the Art Deco architecture is the Chrysler Building. In order to absorb the vibrations from the metro trains this Waldorf=Astoria hotel's famous Art Deco lobby is built on stilts (BG, NY, pg 531). This hotel's interior is decorated with various arts which makes this place look unique. The bathrooms in this famous hotel looks elegant and they are built with marbles. Over the years many of the Presidents of the United States of America came and stayed at this hotel.
I was invited to come to this hotel by the Vise President of Nursing at Parker Jewish Institute for an annual celebration along with the management team at two different times. Visiting this place brought all the memories of the great time I had at this place with my fellow workers. The best part was listening to the eloquent musicians, trumpeters, having great food etc. I have never had such a great experience at any other place before or after that. This picture I took from the gallery shows how people are having a great time together and that is exactly what I experienced at this place.
I was invited to come to this hotel by the Vise President of Nursing at Parker Jewish Institute for an annual celebration along with the management team at two different times. Visiting this place brought all the memories of the great time I had at this place with my fellow workers. The best part was listening to the eloquent musicians, trumpeters, having great food etc. I have never had such a great experience at any other place before or after that. This picture I took from the gallery shows how people are having a great time together and that is exactly what I experienced at this place.
We also saw an International Style skyscraper which is called the Seagram Building. This modernized building was built in the 50's and it was popular in the 70's and 80's. Architect Phyllis Lambert who is the master mind behind this building wanted to create some thing that is not old fashioned looking (BG, NY, 238). This clean and sleek to represent the modern era. This international styled building stirred up the mind of many leading to criticism against this style since it looks too simple, plain, and boxy. Unlike the other buildings in the New York City this building is made out of steel and glass (BG, NY, 238).
Bodacious Brooklyn
We started our day from Penn Station. After walking one block down towards 6th Avenue, we went on a 40 minutes train ride to Coney Island, which is located in the southern part of Brooklyn. Before the time of Brooklyn bridge, Brooklyn was its own city. After the construction of the Brooklyn bridge, five boroughs became New York city in the year 1898. Originally Dutch settled in Coney Island and they named this place as Konijn Eiland. Although this place is still known as an Coney Island it is no longer an island but it is a peninsula. Coney Island became a peninsula from the time it got connected to the main land by the landfill. In the 20's and 30's this island was over crowded with people because this was the only recreational center for people where amusement parks were present. This place attracted people from all around New York. It is the birth place of hot dogs. This place is also famous because of cyclone, the world's most terrifying roller coaster. The invention of automobile and the construction of parks and beaches by Robert Moses through out the city and Long Island in 1940's resulted in a steady decline in the crowd towards this place (BG. NY, 492). After spending an hour enjoying Nathan's Famous hot dog by the broadwalk we left Coney Island to visit the New York Transit Museum.
Our next stop was at the New York Transit Museum which was used as a subway station from 1936 until 1946. This subway station was built to be the first stop in Brooklyn. From 1936 until 1946 the HH shuttle train connected this Court station to the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Station which was only about 3 blocks away. Now this station is used as a Transit Museum. In 1974, this museum was used to shoot the movie The Taking of Palham One Two Three. They also do track training for the workers at this museum. This museum displays the many old cars.
The reason why NY city is unique than any other city in United States is because of the transit system. The transit system makes transportation easier for people. Because of the transit system people who are in their 20's are now reluctant to buy cars.
The Exhibit Steel, Stone, and Backbone at the museum displayed information and information about the original construction of the subway line in the New York city. The birth of New York city subway took place on October 22, 1904. In 1880's before the subways most of the people who lived in New York city lived in Lower Manhattan, in order to be at a walking distance from where they worked. This eventually caused overcrowding in the Lower East part of Manhattan. In 1827 Omni bus was introduced, as the first form of public transportation in New York city. The omni bus allowed transportation for 12 people at a time. Then the horse drawn street cars were introduced which allowed 25 people to travel at once. These street cars were pulled along tracks which allowed a smooth, faster, and comfortable ride when compared to the bumpy ride on Omni bus.
Then in 1860's NY city started to built elevated trains which were off the street levels to cris-cross around the island of Manhattan. The biggest issue with the elevated train was that it was exposed to the weather. In 1888 when New York city experienced the worst blizzard which was referred to as "The Great White Blizzard", which brought NY city into a halt. 50 inches of snow accumulated in just three days and therefore 15,000 New Yorkers got stuck in elevated train during this blizzard. This blizzard opened the eyes of politicians in the city to think about the benefits of implementing the underground subway system. The year 1888 is important for the New York city, because it was in this year our department of sanitation was formed, all the communication and power lines were put underground in order to prevent future black outs due to weather.
The construction of New York City's subway began in the year 1900 and the first branch of underground subway line opened in the year 1904. It is now the world's most extensive and the world's oldest public transportation system. In lower Manhattan the stations are very shallow but in upper Manhattan the stations are very deep, because the subway station is made straight through the city without any elevation at any location. The deepest station is the 191st street which is 200 feet below the street level. The technique used to built deep tunnels in areas like upper Manhattan is called deep rock mining. They are using a dynamite, air pressure power drills, but in general most of the work is done using pick axes. Because of the hard labor that was required in building this Subway System, it is called as a system that was built with "Steel, Stone, and Backbone".
Spoil carts were used by the workers to collect the rubble from the dynamite explosion and it was carried out of the tunnels with the help of mules or donkeys. Workers who helped in building underwater tunnels were known as "The Sand Hogs". The Sandhogs were at risk for the Caisson's disease or the Bends disease. This disease occur as a result of bubbles forming in blood stream and when these bubbles gets in the way of vital organs it lead to paralysis or even death. They then used air locked chambers to protect their body from this kind of change in pressure from becoming fatal.
In New York city the earliest media used for transit were printed tickets. During that time the price of a ride was 5 cents. Although we pay more now for the ride, one thing that has not changed sicne the earlier days of New Yorkl City's transit is that, regardless of the time or distance traveled passengers still pay a single fare. After going through various hikes in the fare finally in 1994 the tokens were replaced by metrocard that we currently use.
The reason why NY city is unique than any other city in United States is because of the transit system. The transit system makes transportation easier for people. Because of the transit system people who are in their 20's are now reluctant to buy cars.
The Exhibit Steel, Stone, and Backbone at the museum displayed information and information about the original construction of the subway line in the New York city. The birth of New York city subway took place on October 22, 1904. In 1880's before the subways most of the people who lived in New York city lived in Lower Manhattan, in order to be at a walking distance from where they worked. This eventually caused overcrowding in the Lower East part of Manhattan. In 1827 Omni bus was introduced, as the first form of public transportation in New York city. The omni bus allowed transportation for 12 people at a time. Then the horse drawn street cars were introduced which allowed 25 people to travel at once. These street cars were pulled along tracks which allowed a smooth, faster, and comfortable ride when compared to the bumpy ride on Omni bus.
Then in 1860's NY city started to built elevated trains which were off the street levels to cris-cross around the island of Manhattan. The biggest issue with the elevated train was that it was exposed to the weather. In 1888 when New York city experienced the worst blizzard which was referred to as "The Great White Blizzard", which brought NY city into a halt. 50 inches of snow accumulated in just three days and therefore 15,000 New Yorkers got stuck in elevated train during this blizzard. This blizzard opened the eyes of politicians in the city to think about the benefits of implementing the underground subway system. The year 1888 is important for the New York city, because it was in this year our department of sanitation was formed, all the communication and power lines were put underground in order to prevent future black outs due to weather.
The construction of New York City's subway began in the year 1900 and the first branch of underground subway line opened in the year 1904. It is now the world's most extensive and the world's oldest public transportation system. In lower Manhattan the stations are very shallow but in upper Manhattan the stations are very deep, because the subway station is made straight through the city without any elevation at any location. The deepest station is the 191st street which is 200 feet below the street level. The technique used to built deep tunnels in areas like upper Manhattan is called deep rock mining. They are using a dynamite, air pressure power drills, but in general most of the work is done using pick axes. Because of the hard labor that was required in building this Subway System, it is called as a system that was built with "Steel, Stone, and Backbone".
Spoil carts were used by the workers to collect the rubble from the dynamite explosion and it was carried out of the tunnels with the help of mules or donkeys. Workers who helped in building underwater tunnels were known as "The Sand Hogs". The Sandhogs were at risk for the Caisson's disease or the Bends disease. This disease occur as a result of bubbles forming in blood stream and when these bubbles gets in the way of vital organs it lead to paralysis or even death. They then used air locked chambers to protect their body from this kind of change in pressure from becoming fatal.
In New York city the earliest media used for transit were printed tickets. During that time the price of a ride was 5 cents. Although we pay more now for the ride, one thing that has not changed sicne the earlier days of New Yorkl City's transit is that, regardless of the time or distance traveled passengers still pay a single fare. After going through various hikes in the fare finally in 1994 the tokens were replaced by metrocard that we currently use.
Brooklyn Heights, the old residential neighborhood is one of the most expensive place in New York City. The first inhabitants in Brooklyn Heights were the Dutch and they brought with them a lot of the features of their homes to New York, which was then called as the New Amsterdam. Therefore, the houses in Brooklyn Heights have stoops and also the houses are attached to each other.
The British wanted to end the Revolutionary War, and the British decided that if they could control one city they could end the war. British therefore send their troops in 1776 to the New York City because it is the entry way to the Hudson River and the Hudson river separates the southern Colonies from the New England Colonies. British realized that splitting these colonies will end the communication between these colonies. While George Washington brought his troops to defend New York, British sent their troops and surrounded the American troops. But George Washington evacuated his entire army from Brooklyn Heights via Fulton Ferry under the cover of night through the East River. This event is referred to as the Battle of Long Island or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights.
The Brooklyn Heights Promenade gives a breath taking view of the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan Skyline, and the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge. This spot is one of the most romantic spot in New York City, where many of the first dates, proposals, and weddings took place. Thereafter, a walk through the adjacent quite neighborhood allowed us to view the beautiful brownstone houses.
The best part of the day was visiting one of the New York's landmark, the Brooklyn Bridge. I was glad that Mike saved this for the last. The acronym DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is usually used for this specific area in New York. It was really interesting to know about the Roebling's, how they designed the bridge and completed it. I wish if John Roebling would have lived long enough to see this bridge once it was completed. But I'm happy that his son Washington Roebling and his wife Emily who took charge and finished the project that was started by John Roebling. When Washington Roebling became of victim of the terrible caisson disease, his wife Emily Warren Roebling took the huge responsibility on herself and successfully finished building this bridge. This bridge was opened on May 25, 1883 and it connects the two main boroughs of New York City, Brooklyn to Manhattan. It used to be the largest suspension bridge (BG. 464). Major changes took place in the city of New York, since the opening of this bridge. This new door allowed people to move out of the overly crowded areas in Lower Manhattan to the other parts of New York in the 1800's.
As a New York resident, I always wanted to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. I was really excited make this dream come true. The rain couldn't stop me from walking across this favorite bridge of many New Yorkers. We began our walk from the Brooklyn side of the bridge at the Adams and Tillary Street and ended by the Cadman Plaza by Manhattan. The view from the top of the bridge was spectacular. This is one special day that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
The British wanted to end the Revolutionary War, and the British decided that if they could control one city they could end the war. British therefore send their troops in 1776 to the New York City because it is the entry way to the Hudson River and the Hudson river separates the southern Colonies from the New England Colonies. British realized that splitting these colonies will end the communication between these colonies. While George Washington brought his troops to defend New York, British sent their troops and surrounded the American troops. But George Washington evacuated his entire army from Brooklyn Heights via Fulton Ferry under the cover of night through the East River. This event is referred to as the Battle of Long Island or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights.
The Brooklyn Heights Promenade gives a breath taking view of the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan Skyline, and the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge. This spot is one of the most romantic spot in New York City, where many of the first dates, proposals, and weddings took place. Thereafter, a walk through the adjacent quite neighborhood allowed us to view the beautiful brownstone houses.
The best part of the day was visiting one of the New York's landmark, the Brooklyn Bridge. I was glad that Mike saved this for the last. The acronym DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is usually used for this specific area in New York. It was really interesting to know about the Roebling's, how they designed the bridge and completed it. I wish if John Roebling would have lived long enough to see this bridge once it was completed. But I'm happy that his son Washington Roebling and his wife Emily who took charge and finished the project that was started by John Roebling. When Washington Roebling became of victim of the terrible caisson disease, his wife Emily Warren Roebling took the huge responsibility on herself and successfully finished building this bridge. This bridge was opened on May 25, 1883 and it connects the two main boroughs of New York City, Brooklyn to Manhattan. It used to be the largest suspension bridge (BG. 464). Major changes took place in the city of New York, since the opening of this bridge. This new door allowed people to move out of the overly crowded areas in Lower Manhattan to the other parts of New York in the 1800's.
As a New York resident, I always wanted to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. I was really excited make this dream come true. The rain couldn't stop me from walking across this favorite bridge of many New Yorkers. We began our walk from the Brooklyn side of the bridge at the Adams and Tillary Street and ended by the Cadman Plaza by Manhattan. The view from the top of the bridge was spectacular. This is one special day that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
A Tale of Three Villages
As usual we started our third day of class from the Penn Station and headed towards the West Village. After getting off of the number 1 train, we started walking towards the bohemian center of New York which is now known as Greenwich Village. During the time when Dutch settle in this area this place was known as Green Village (BG 128). Artists and writers were attracted to this village. The famous Abstract Expressionist, Jackson Pollock used to hung out here in this village. Today this village is known as the Village with the largest gay community in the country and this place has been a base for the feminist and gay activists for many years (BG 129).This village is now one of the expensive place in the city.
Alfter walking through many narrow streets in this village we reached Bedford Street. On this street, we stopped at the narrowest house in NYC, which has its house number as 75 1/2 Bedford Street and I thought it is very unique for a house to have a number ending with 1/2 . This house is now worth above 4 million dollars. Some of the previous residents at this house include: Actor Carey Grant, Anthropologist Margaret Mead, Poet and Play writer Edna St. Vincent Millay etc. The plaque that is placed outside of this house lets us know that Edna St. Vincent Millay also lived at this house from 1923-1924 and wrote “The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver,” and won the Pulitzer Prize. 77 Bedford was another house that grabbed our attention. This house was build as a farmhouse originally and it is now the oldest house in the village (BG 141).
We then walked through Christopher Street, which the heart of the gay community in NYC. this street lead us to Christopher Park which is located opposite to the Stonewall Inn. Stonewall Inn used be a private club that was created for homosexuals in 1967. On June 28, 1969 police raided this place and arrested 13 people. Followed by this event, many protest took place at this location and on July 27th the first gay and lesbian parade took place from Washington Square to the Stonewall. Gay Liberation Monument and the bronze sculptures of tow males standing and tow females sitting by George Segal are placed in this park as a reminder of the what had happened in 1969 in Stonewall Inn was. After this we passed by the Gay Street, but the name of this street has no relation to the LGBT community. It was named after a land owner named R. Gay, who lived in this community.
After that we walked to Washington Square Park. The area where this park is located used to be a marshland at the heart of the Greenwich Village. In 1950's the villagers of Greenwich fought for a decade against Robert Moses' plan to create a highway through the area where this park is located (BG 121). In the 1970's thru 1990's this area was filled with drug addicts. Washington Arch is located at the northern entrance of this park. The sculptures on this arch is placed as a memorial of George Washington's inauguration. The east side pier has the sculpture of George Washington as "Washington at War" and the west side pier has the sculpture of George Washington as "Washington at Peace"(BG 133). As we were walking by the McDougal Street we were told by Mike that this street used to be the center of bohemians and Bleecker Street is where all the prostitution took place and it is now famous for the night life.
Alfter walking through many narrow streets in this village we reached Bedford Street. On this street, we stopped at the narrowest house in NYC, which has its house number as 75 1/2 Bedford Street and I thought it is very unique for a house to have a number ending with 1/2 . This house is now worth above 4 million dollars. Some of the previous residents at this house include: Actor Carey Grant, Anthropologist Margaret Mead, Poet and Play writer Edna St. Vincent Millay etc. The plaque that is placed outside of this house lets us know that Edna St. Vincent Millay also lived at this house from 1923-1924 and wrote “The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver,” and won the Pulitzer Prize. 77 Bedford was another house that grabbed our attention. This house was build as a farmhouse originally and it is now the oldest house in the village (BG 141).
We then walked through Christopher Street, which the heart of the gay community in NYC. this street lead us to Christopher Park which is located opposite to the Stonewall Inn. Stonewall Inn used be a private club that was created for homosexuals in 1967. On June 28, 1969 police raided this place and arrested 13 people. Followed by this event, many protest took place at this location and on July 27th the first gay and lesbian parade took place from Washington Square to the Stonewall. Gay Liberation Monument and the bronze sculptures of tow males standing and tow females sitting by George Segal are placed in this park as a reminder of the what had happened in 1969 in Stonewall Inn was. After this we passed by the Gay Street, but the name of this street has no relation to the LGBT community. It was named after a land owner named R. Gay, who lived in this community.
After that we walked to Washington Square Park. The area where this park is located used to be a marshland at the heart of the Greenwich Village. In 1950's the villagers of Greenwich fought for a decade against Robert Moses' plan to create a highway through the area where this park is located (BG 121). In the 1970's thru 1990's this area was filled with drug addicts. Washington Arch is located at the northern entrance of this park. The sculptures on this arch is placed as a memorial of George Washington's inauguration. The east side pier has the sculpture of George Washington as "Washington at War" and the west side pier has the sculpture of George Washington as "Washington at Peace"(BG 133). As we were walking by the McDougal Street we were told by Mike that this street used to be the center of bohemians and Bleecker Street is where all the prostitution took place and it is now famous for the night life.
Later we visited the Merchant's House Museum. Mike and Damien got a well deserved break here since there was a guide at the museum to walk us through the house. This house was built in 1832 by Joseph Brewster, who was a hatter by trade. During 1850's and 60's, wealthy merchants who wanted to escape the congestion in Lower Manhattan started to move into this residential suburb. The guide at the Transit Museum gave us a clear description about the growth of population in Lower Manhattan in the 1800's. Brewster sold this house to Seabury Tredwell, a hardware merchant in 1835. Tredwell and his wife Eliza lived in this house with their eight children. There eighth child Gertrude lived in this house until she died in 1933. It was really interesting to know that the parlor was like a stage where everyone come but at the parlor you are not allowed to try to fix your hair or your corsets. Parlor was a place where the family met for parties. Tredwell family lived at this house for 100 years. During the death of a family member, the rest of the family had to go through mourning rituals. The relationship to the deceased dictates how long one will have to mourn. The full mourning lasted for a year and a day and the half morning lasted for three to six months. In full mourning, the family member will have to wear complete black clothing and if it is half mourning they could add shades of purple and gray.
Treadwell's housed their four female Irish servants on the fourth floor which was known as the servant's quarters, where they lived with basic furnishing that they needed to live. Their servants included a chef, kitchen maid to assist cook, parlor maid to clean the parlor and the bedrooms, and a second girl. The chef had to cook three meals a day from the scratch. My favorite item at this house is the beehive oven that was used to make delicious bread every single day for the Tredwell's!
The beautiful parlor suite furnishings were of Rococo Revival style or French Antique style. The guide told us that the music that was playing while we were in the parlor suite was a song from one of the daughter's piano book. In the 19th Century all family members were expected to know how to play piano. Symmetry was extremely important during that time period. Therefore the parlor room and the dining room were made to look identical. It is believed that ceremonial calling also took place in the dining room. Each women in urban middle class families earned ceremonial calling in honor of their placement in the society. For this they used a calling card with the women's name and the hours of the day that she will be at home or able to allow visitors to see her at home. When the guest arrive servants would greet them at the door and the servant. Eliza would then decide on her own whether or not to meet with the visitor. At instances where Eliza did not want to meet with the visitor, the servant would tell the visitor that "Eliza is not at home". This was practiced carefully by the women in the families in order to protect their family from strangers, who could disrupt the reputation of the family and also to build up their network connections.
After visiting the museum we walked by 41 Cooper Square building on Cooper Street, were Abraham Lincoln gave his famous speech on February 27, 1860. It was that speech that made Abraham Lincoln the President of United States. We then spent an hour in the village for an hour and there after we stopped at the Big Gay Ice Cream shop. I had the delicious mermaid ice cream, which tasted like key lime pie. It was nice to cool off a little bit with the delicious ice cream.
We then walked through the Tompkins Square Park, which was originally a salt marsh land. This land was given to the city by the Stuyvesant family in 1833 (BG. 167). Two important riots took place at this park. The first riot started when local police tried to subjugate the unemployed local people in 1874 and the second riot was sparked by a curfew that was placed to prevent homeless from staying at the park overnight (BG. 167). After this we visited The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. In the 80's this place was very dangerous were lot of the buildings that we saw were abandoned by the landlords. The riots in this area continued for a very long time. There are many books that talk about the radical history of New York which represents this part of the city.
In the mid nineteenth century, the Lower East Side was filled with the largest working class, immigrant neighborhood in the New York City. In recent years many artists, writers, young professionals and students moved into this neighborhood (BG. 152). When gentrification began to happen in the 1970's, the developers called this neighborhood: The East Village. Later during the day we made our way to the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS). This is the Museum where we were able to grasp the East Village community's history. This place lionizes the local activists in this community who worked hard to transform the deserted buildings and spaces into vivacious spaces and beautiful gardens. Bill the guide from the MoRUS lead us through the streets and gave us a chance to explore and see the reclaimed spaces. He also took us into a garden that was developed by the local people on one of the reclaimed space. He explained to us how the local people use the place to do cook outs, musical nights, grow vegetable and flowerbeds using the compost that they themselves make. It was really nice to see and hear about how people in a community joined the Green Thumb Program since the late 19th Century to make the community strong despite of the hardship that they went through. Few of the gardens that were developed by the dedicated community members include: 9th Street Community Garden Park, Willow Tree Garden, and Lower East Side Ecology Center Garden. This is the first time in my life I'm seeing something like this where the community stayed together to restore their neighborhood.
Treadwell's housed their four female Irish servants on the fourth floor which was known as the servant's quarters, where they lived with basic furnishing that they needed to live. Their servants included a chef, kitchen maid to assist cook, parlor maid to clean the parlor and the bedrooms, and a second girl. The chef had to cook three meals a day from the scratch. My favorite item at this house is the beehive oven that was used to make delicious bread every single day for the Tredwell's!
The beautiful parlor suite furnishings were of Rococo Revival style or French Antique style. The guide told us that the music that was playing while we were in the parlor suite was a song from one of the daughter's piano book. In the 19th Century all family members were expected to know how to play piano. Symmetry was extremely important during that time period. Therefore the parlor room and the dining room were made to look identical. It is believed that ceremonial calling also took place in the dining room. Each women in urban middle class families earned ceremonial calling in honor of their placement in the society. For this they used a calling card with the women's name and the hours of the day that she will be at home or able to allow visitors to see her at home. When the guest arrive servants would greet them at the door and the servant. Eliza would then decide on her own whether or not to meet with the visitor. At instances where Eliza did not want to meet with the visitor, the servant would tell the visitor that "Eliza is not at home". This was practiced carefully by the women in the families in order to protect their family from strangers, who could disrupt the reputation of the family and also to build up their network connections.
After visiting the museum we walked by 41 Cooper Square building on Cooper Street, were Abraham Lincoln gave his famous speech on February 27, 1860. It was that speech that made Abraham Lincoln the President of United States. We then spent an hour in the village for an hour and there after we stopped at the Big Gay Ice Cream shop. I had the delicious mermaid ice cream, which tasted like key lime pie. It was nice to cool off a little bit with the delicious ice cream.
We then walked through the Tompkins Square Park, which was originally a salt marsh land. This land was given to the city by the Stuyvesant family in 1833 (BG. 167). Two important riots took place at this park. The first riot started when local police tried to subjugate the unemployed local people in 1874 and the second riot was sparked by a curfew that was placed to prevent homeless from staying at the park overnight (BG. 167). After this we visited The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. In the 80's this place was very dangerous were lot of the buildings that we saw were abandoned by the landlords. The riots in this area continued for a very long time. There are many books that talk about the radical history of New York which represents this part of the city.
In the mid nineteenth century, the Lower East Side was filled with the largest working class, immigrant neighborhood in the New York City. In recent years many artists, writers, young professionals and students moved into this neighborhood (BG. 152). When gentrification began to happen in the 1970's, the developers called this neighborhood: The East Village. Later during the day we made our way to the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS). This is the Museum where we were able to grasp the East Village community's history. This place lionizes the local activists in this community who worked hard to transform the deserted buildings and spaces into vivacious spaces and beautiful gardens. Bill the guide from the MoRUS lead us through the streets and gave us a chance to explore and see the reclaimed spaces. He also took us into a garden that was developed by the local people on one of the reclaimed space. He explained to us how the local people use the place to do cook outs, musical nights, grow vegetable and flowerbeds using the compost that they themselves make. It was really nice to see and hear about how people in a community joined the Green Thumb Program since the late 19th Century to make the community strong despite of the hardship that they went through. Few of the gardens that were developed by the dedicated community members include: 9th Street Community Garden Park, Willow Tree Garden, and Lower East Side Ecology Center Garden. This is the first time in my life I'm seeing something like this where the community stayed together to restore their neighborhood.
East of the Park
It was the hottest day of the year. We started our day from Penn Station and headed towards East Harlem. First we took train # 1 to 42nd Street and from there we took the Times Square Shuttle (S) to Grand Central Station. From Grand Central Station we took train # 6 to East Harlem (E 103rd Street). In addition to not knowing how to survive the heat, I didn't know anything about the place called East Harlem. After we got off of the train Mike explained to us about the history of East Harlem. Before the downfall of East Harlem, this place was filled with immigrants from Italy, Russia, Ireland, Germany, England, Spain etc. Landlords built apartment buildings and row houses that were made to attract middle class people from Lower Manhattan. But contrary to their expectation when middle class people failed to move into this neighborhood, the real estate market collapsed. In 1904, Philip Payton, a black realtor stepped in to make decent housing available to blacks for the first time in New York (BG, 438). Blacks started to move into this neighborhood in 1920's. After World War I, immigrants from Puerto Rico started to come into this neighborhood as well. This forced the landlords to abandon their apartment buildings. By 1970's East Harlem had the highest rate of unemployment and crime in the city. In 1990's gentrification that was happening in Manhattan started to spread to East Harlem as well. The real estate values started to improve during this time (BG. 438). Today East Harlem is known as El Barrio or Spanish Harlem because it has the largest Latino and Puerto Rican population (BG. 376).
We spent most our day along the Museum Mile. Museum Mile is the section of the Fifth Avenue, which lies opposite to the Central Park. It comprises the streets of 82nd through 105 (BG. 365). Out of the nine museums that are located within this section, we were able to visit three of the museums which include Museum of The City of New York, El Museo Del Barrio, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At the Museum of the City of New York, I realized the new trend that is happening within the households in the New York city. Among the New York city residents the largest group is the single people represented by 33 percent and the nuclear family represented by 18 percent of the city's total population. Since the majority of the population in the city is single people, the city is planning to make affordable housing facilities for this group of people in future. We saw models of such housing facilities and it was called Micro Housing. Every area in those houses were carefully built to serve multiple functions. This museum offers exhibitions that displays the history of this city starting from the time of Dutch. The 25 minute film gave us an overview of the city's growth from its beginning till now (BG 376).
After watching the film we went to El Museo Del Barrio. which translates into "The Museum of The Neighborhood". This museum is dedicated to Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin Americans (BG 376). From there we went on a guided tour to the streets of East Harlem. Spanish East Harlem has become an arts community and the public arts were seen thorough out its neighborhood. The arts portrays the Caribbean, Mexican, and Latino heritage. The founder of this museum is Raphael Montañez Ortiz, who used to be an artist, educator, and activist. The streets were decorated with vibrant colored and beautiful murals and mosaics by various artists. The East 3rd Street was named after Pedro Pietri on the first day of the national poetry month in 2006 as "Reverend Pedro Pietri Way". During our tour we saw one of the New York City's most iconic mural known as "The Spirit of East Harlem",which was created by Hank Prussing with the help of Manny Vega in 1973. Hank was a white guy and the characters in his mural were real people from the same community. Hank gained acceptance in the community when people understood how much he respected the people in the community. We also saw many beautiful murals by Manny Vega in the neighborhood. Then we visited The Modesto "Tin" Flores Community Garden, which was sponsored by The Hope Community, Inc. In the garden there was a mural of Julia and Freda by Yasmeen Hernandez. It took this artist about a month to finish this mural in June 2011. This mural stands as a tribute to the histories and struggles of Mexican and Puerto Ricans and it serves as a call for these two communities to share their common attributes. The two women Julia and Frida represents two women, one from Mexico and the other from Puerto Rico. The merging of the flag in the middle of the mural represents the unity between these two women. The mural with Frida with a bleeding heart represents her sufferings and the other mural of Frida with the perfect heart represents the cosmopolitan, strong Frida. The pictures of two fetuses on the upper end corner of the mural represented the miscarriage that both Frida and Julia suffered through. In this garden there was a water fountain called "Blossom" En Flor, which was formerly titled as "Seed of Growth" by Lina Puerta which depicted the strength of the women in the neighborhood. We also saw a mural of Julia de Burgos from Taino Culture by Manny Vega. Julia de Burgos was an inspirational, poet, feminist, and she was internationally recognized a role model. She was a proud Puerto Rican who was very self affirming nationalist. She was born into a male dominated society in the early 1900's. She lived in East Harlem and died at the age of 39. To admire her contributions to the Puerto Rican society, was honored with a U.S. stamp since the year 2010.
We spent most our day along the Museum Mile. Museum Mile is the section of the Fifth Avenue, which lies opposite to the Central Park. It comprises the streets of 82nd through 105 (BG. 365). Out of the nine museums that are located within this section, we were able to visit three of the museums which include Museum of The City of New York, El Museo Del Barrio, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At the Museum of the City of New York, I realized the new trend that is happening within the households in the New York city. Among the New York city residents the largest group is the single people represented by 33 percent and the nuclear family represented by 18 percent of the city's total population. Since the majority of the population in the city is single people, the city is planning to make affordable housing facilities for this group of people in future. We saw models of such housing facilities and it was called Micro Housing. Every area in those houses were carefully built to serve multiple functions. This museum offers exhibitions that displays the history of this city starting from the time of Dutch. The 25 minute film gave us an overview of the city's growth from its beginning till now (BG 376).
After watching the film we went to El Museo Del Barrio. which translates into "The Museum of The Neighborhood". This museum is dedicated to Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin Americans (BG 376). From there we went on a guided tour to the streets of East Harlem. Spanish East Harlem has become an arts community and the public arts were seen thorough out its neighborhood. The arts portrays the Caribbean, Mexican, and Latino heritage. The founder of this museum is Raphael Montañez Ortiz, who used to be an artist, educator, and activist. The streets were decorated with vibrant colored and beautiful murals and mosaics by various artists. The East 3rd Street was named after Pedro Pietri on the first day of the national poetry month in 2006 as "Reverend Pedro Pietri Way". During our tour we saw one of the New York City's most iconic mural known as "The Spirit of East Harlem",which was created by Hank Prussing with the help of Manny Vega in 1973. Hank was a white guy and the characters in his mural were real people from the same community. Hank gained acceptance in the community when people understood how much he respected the people in the community. We also saw many beautiful murals by Manny Vega in the neighborhood. Then we visited The Modesto "Tin" Flores Community Garden, which was sponsored by The Hope Community, Inc. In the garden there was a mural of Julia and Freda by Yasmeen Hernandez. It took this artist about a month to finish this mural in June 2011. This mural stands as a tribute to the histories and struggles of Mexican and Puerto Ricans and it serves as a call for these two communities to share their common attributes. The two women Julia and Frida represents two women, one from Mexico and the other from Puerto Rico. The merging of the flag in the middle of the mural represents the unity between these two women. The mural with Frida with a bleeding heart represents her sufferings and the other mural of Frida with the perfect heart represents the cosmopolitan, strong Frida. The pictures of two fetuses on the upper end corner of the mural represented the miscarriage that both Frida and Julia suffered through. In this garden there was a water fountain called "Blossom" En Flor, which was formerly titled as "Seed of Growth" by Lina Puerta which depicted the strength of the women in the neighborhood. We also saw a mural of Julia de Burgos from Taino Culture by Manny Vega. Julia de Burgos was an inspirational, poet, feminist, and she was internationally recognized a role model. She was a proud Puerto Rican who was very self affirming nationalist. She was born into a male dominated society in the early 1900's. She lived in East Harlem and died at the age of 39. To admire her contributions to the Puerto Rican society, was honored with a U.S. stamp since the year 2010.
It was after lunch, on our way back to the museum we bought raspas. I bought the coconut flavored one and it was just delicious and perfect for a really hot day. After meeting at El Museo Del Barrio, we went to Central Park. I did not visit this park in many many years. Although it was hot and tiring, I was excited to visit this park again. This park is the heartland of Manhattan and it was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux (BG. 279). Mike explained to us that between the 1820's and 50's when New York City was over populated, people were desperate for open spaces and they therefore hung out cemeteries. He also mentioned that the construction of this park took place throughout the Civil War. The condition of the park deteriorated in the 1970's. The park was then completely restored by Robert Moses in 1980. It is now one of the safest place in New York City. It was nice to hear from Mike that by we were literally half way through our class at this point. Hooray!! Somehow we made it through he scorching heat. After reading the blue guide I came to know that there is so much to see at this park. If the weather would have permitted, I would have loved to explore more areas within this park. I'm already thinking of going back to this place with my family before the end of this summer!
Our last stop of the day was at The Metropolitan Museum of Art also known as The Met, which is the largest and ecumenical art museum in the world (BG. 326). It's fascinating to realize that the size of this museum is about 31 times the size of an American football field (BG 326). As a first time visitor I was really excited to see everything this place had to offer me. I enjoyed staring at the photographs. They were exquisite pictures and yet simple in nature. After this we surfed through the Punk Exhibit and majority of the displays were just stunning. It was fun to see the creativity of human hands and to envision how one might have came up with such phenomenal designs. We then had a chance to see some Abstract Expressionist's art which was developed in New York in the 1940's. We also saw some Minimalistic arts which was popular during 60's and 70's. The Minimalistic Art by Rothko had similar structures. The art I liked the most was the White Flag by Jasper Johns. Johns is one of the most significant and influential painter of the 20th Century. The White Flag was Johns first painting that was accepted by the Mets.
At last with few other classmates I went to the African Art (Western Sudan) art gallery. It was really inspiring to view the African Art at this museum. It was fascinating to see the Carved Altar tusk from Nigeria. The fine art that was carved on those trunks were just mind-boggling. The benin artists who created that beautiful piece of must have had lot of patience and must have been very skilled. They carved abstract images of human and animal figures using sharp and small tools, which could be interpreted by any viewer. Overall, the day was somewhat exhausting, but I still moved on with a positive spirit and I did not want to give up. On the way back to the Penn Station, I almost got lost before switching to the Times Square Shuttle at the 42nd Street. But I was able to get back to the Penn Station on my own. I love challenges and I know that they always make me strong. I'm glad that along with having fun and learning great things about the city, I'm also getting a hang of how to travel in the subway system in this crowed city of New York, which is completely new to me! I always drive to the New York City but never came out to the city via the New York City's subway system. I'm enjoying this class very well and I just can't wait to find out what this city has in store for us in the next three classes!
At last with few other classmates I went to the African Art (Western Sudan) art gallery. It was really inspiring to view the African Art at this museum. It was fascinating to see the Carved Altar tusk from Nigeria. The fine art that was carved on those trunks were just mind-boggling. The benin artists who created that beautiful piece of must have had lot of patience and must have been very skilled. They carved abstract images of human and animal figures using sharp and small tools, which could be interpreted by any viewer. Overall, the day was somewhat exhausting, but I still moved on with a positive spirit and I did not want to give up. On the way back to the Penn Station, I almost got lost before switching to the Times Square Shuttle at the 42nd Street. But I was able to get back to the Penn Station on my own. I love challenges and I know that they always make me strong. I'm glad that along with having fun and learning great things about the city, I'm also getting a hang of how to travel in the subway system in this crowed city of New York, which is completely new to me! I always drive to the New York City but never came out to the city via the New York City's subway system. I'm enjoying this class very well and I just can't wait to find out what this city has in store for us in the next three classes!