JOURNALS 1
Impressions of NY -
New York City is an enormous place. Living on Long Island, a visit to Manhattan was only a forty minute train ride from my house. With that being said, there is so much about it I do not know. I see NYC as an endlessly moving place filled with people of different ages, cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds. It's filled with authentic restaurants and cuisine as diverse as its culture is. And that make for a great variety in food. It is a place where success doesn't come easy and where hard work doesn't always pay off.
Coming into my Gotham Experience class, I know there is a whole lot to learn about the city. I feel like everything I learn in this class will have many interesting facts I can share with family and friends for years to come.
New York City is an enormous place. Living on Long Island, a visit to Manhattan was only a forty minute train ride from my house. With that being said, there is so much about it I do not know. I see NYC as an endlessly moving place filled with people of different ages, cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds. It's filled with authentic restaurants and cuisine as diverse as its culture is. And that make for a great variety in food. It is a place where success doesn't come easy and where hard work doesn't always pay off.
Coming into my Gotham Experience class, I know there is a whole lot to learn about the city. I feel like everything I learn in this class will have many interesting facts I can share with family and friends for years to come.
Journal 1: Queens- Thursday, June 5
We started our day out of Pennsylvania Station and made our way through Manhattan toward Grand Central Terminal. The differences between the two stations were drastic. Along the way, we observed the different architecture along the east side of Manhattan. Some of the structures included the Chrysler Building, the General Electric Building, the Seagram Building, and the Citi-Corp Building; all of which make up the New York City skyline.
After seeing the of inside of Grand Central Station, we made our way to the Queensboro also known as The 59th Bridge. We took the Roosevelt Island Tram over the river to Roosevelt Island. The island was first inhabited by Native American tribes and then eventually to one of the nation's first nursing schools. Roosevelt Island was isolated from the main city and some facilities treated bad diseases like small pox for that reason.
When making our way to the borough of Queens, we were able to spend an hour in the Museum of the Moving Image. It was interesting to learn about how the earliest cinema projects were created and how that transcends to the movie making business today. It was also interesting to learn that NYC was a bigger movie making area than Los Angeles at one point in the early 20th century. It was the inconsistent weather here that moved the production to a more stable climate in Hollywood. I believed after today, I was able to gain a new perspective on how I view New York.
We were able to see the city's skyline from Roosevelt Island before lunch, and then saw the view from Long Island City at the end of our day. It helped me learn the configuration of the boroughs and gave me some geographical perspective on this large city. Mike was able to give us historical perspective when speaking about the different eras of architectural craft. We learned about the art gecko (crowns/traditional moldings), modern, and post modern structures. Penn Station was such a boring, standard place when compared to Grand Central Station. Grand Central was beautiful. I can tell it took a lot more time and effort to construct GCS. It's ceiling was very detailed with different animals and humans. It's purpose was for the someone to look up and take on the perspective of God looking down on earth. I thought that was pretty awesome. Back in the late 19th century and early 20th century, steam engines were used on a daily basis, that same ceiling along with the walls were black from the soot. There is a spec of black on the ceiling to represent what it used to be like. The Chrysler Building was an example of the art gecko style filled with crowns and traditional moldings whose shape was meant to represent the shape of the car. Another Art-Gecko structure was the General Electric Building. The top represents the lightening bolts of energy that power the world. The Seagram building was a "game-changer," because there were no setbacks. They build it hiding none of infrastructure and all of the beams are visible from the outside. This was known as the modern era of architecture. The Citi Building was when things changed again. The post-modern era consists of our most current buildings. The Citi Corp Building was my favorite.
One of the last places we were able to visit was P.S.1, the MOMA. To be brutally honest, the artwork I saw there did not impress me in the least bit. It seems like anyone with any skill level can create it and I don't know how to distinguish "good" or "great" from "bad" or "a horrible excuse for modern art," because to me, it was all pretty horrible. I don't want to end this journal entry on a bad note so I would like to finally comment on the superb weather that turned out from a visibly inclement morning.
So, class one is in the books and I can say I learned about some pretty cool things. The following were some pictures I snapped along the way! Righteous!
We started our day out of Pennsylvania Station and made our way through Manhattan toward Grand Central Terminal. The differences between the two stations were drastic. Along the way, we observed the different architecture along the east side of Manhattan. Some of the structures included the Chrysler Building, the General Electric Building, the Seagram Building, and the Citi-Corp Building; all of which make up the New York City skyline.
After seeing the of inside of Grand Central Station, we made our way to the Queensboro also known as The 59th Bridge. We took the Roosevelt Island Tram over the river to Roosevelt Island. The island was first inhabited by Native American tribes and then eventually to one of the nation's first nursing schools. Roosevelt Island was isolated from the main city and some facilities treated bad diseases like small pox for that reason.
When making our way to the borough of Queens, we were able to spend an hour in the Museum of the Moving Image. It was interesting to learn about how the earliest cinema projects were created and how that transcends to the movie making business today. It was also interesting to learn that NYC was a bigger movie making area than Los Angeles at one point in the early 20th century. It was the inconsistent weather here that moved the production to a more stable climate in Hollywood. I believed after today, I was able to gain a new perspective on how I view New York.
We were able to see the city's skyline from Roosevelt Island before lunch, and then saw the view from Long Island City at the end of our day. It helped me learn the configuration of the boroughs and gave me some geographical perspective on this large city. Mike was able to give us historical perspective when speaking about the different eras of architectural craft. We learned about the art gecko (crowns/traditional moldings), modern, and post modern structures. Penn Station was such a boring, standard place when compared to Grand Central Station. Grand Central was beautiful. I can tell it took a lot more time and effort to construct GCS. It's ceiling was very detailed with different animals and humans. It's purpose was for the someone to look up and take on the perspective of God looking down on earth. I thought that was pretty awesome. Back in the late 19th century and early 20th century, steam engines were used on a daily basis, that same ceiling along with the walls were black from the soot. There is a spec of black on the ceiling to represent what it used to be like. The Chrysler Building was an example of the art gecko style filled with crowns and traditional moldings whose shape was meant to represent the shape of the car. Another Art-Gecko structure was the General Electric Building. The top represents the lightening bolts of energy that power the world. The Seagram building was a "game-changer," because there were no setbacks. They build it hiding none of infrastructure and all of the beams are visible from the outside. This was known as the modern era of architecture. The Citi Building was when things changed again. The post-modern era consists of our most current buildings. The Citi Corp Building was my favorite.
One of the last places we were able to visit was P.S.1, the MOMA. To be brutally honest, the artwork I saw there did not impress me in the least bit. It seems like anyone with any skill level can create it and I don't know how to distinguish "good" or "great" from "bad" or "a horrible excuse for modern art," because to me, it was all pretty horrible. I don't want to end this journal entry on a bad note so I would like to finally comment on the superb weather that turned out from a visibly inclement morning.
So, class one is in the books and I can say I learned about some pretty cool things. The following were some pictures I snapped along the way! Righteous!
Journal 2: Brooklyn
As we made our way to Brooklyn to start our second class we learned some pretty cool things about the borough on our way to Coney Island. Brooklyn was once its own city in the 19th century and was referred to as King's County. It was the second most populous urban area in the country and the first battle of the revolutionary war was fought the Brooklyn grounds. In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was built giving the people an easy access to both plots of land. The bridge was one of initial steps to consolidating the two cities into one.
The bridge gave the people of Manhattan the ability to escape to on the weekends or for a longer trip. Many people at the time felt the beaches of Coney Island were sufficient enough to pack up and drive the short distance to relax and enjoy their off time. After a long subway ride, we finally made it the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Our first stop was to indulge in the world famous Nathan's Hotdog. Delicious. After a quick dog, Don and I had a nice walk down the boardwalk. What a great place for people watching. There certainly were some diverse individuals. We learned that Coney Island was a horrifying scene during the 1970's. Now, gentrification is in full effect. For those unsure what that is, it's the transformation of a poorer, undesirable place to a more desirable place, drawing in a more affluent class of people. This drives prices up and less fortunate people out to find a new place to live. Although it is not the most desirable place (Mike referred Coney Island as kitschy) the prices have driven those poorer individuals out to a different, more affordable place to live.
Mike brought us to one of the Brownstones that had a federal style of architecture. Federal structures are symmetrical in form and are one the oldest styles in the city.
Our final destination was The Brooklyn Bridge. We walked our way back to Manhattan and that concluded our day in Brooklyn! Overall great day for the city. The weather was just right and it was interesting to learn all the things about Brooklyn.
The bridge gave the people of Manhattan the ability to escape to on the weekends or for a longer trip. Many people at the time felt the beaches of Coney Island were sufficient enough to pack up and drive the short distance to relax and enjoy their off time. After a long subway ride, we finally made it the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Our first stop was to indulge in the world famous Nathan's Hotdog. Delicious. After a quick dog, Don and I had a nice walk down the boardwalk. What a great place for people watching. There certainly were some diverse individuals. We learned that Coney Island was a horrifying scene during the 1970's. Now, gentrification is in full effect. For those unsure what that is, it's the transformation of a poorer, undesirable place to a more desirable place, drawing in a more affluent class of people. This drives prices up and less fortunate people out to find a new place to live. Although it is not the most desirable place (Mike referred Coney Island as kitschy) the prices have driven those poorer individuals out to a different, more affordable place to live.
Mike brought us to one of the Brownstones that had a federal style of architecture. Federal structures are symmetrical in form and are one the oldest styles in the city.
Our final destination was The Brooklyn Bridge. We walked our way back to Manhattan and that concluded our day in Brooklyn! Overall great day for the city. The weather was just right and it was interesting to learn all the things about Brooklyn.
Journal 3: The Village
It was our third class in the Big Apple and we journeyed our way through Chelsea, the East Village, NOHO, and the West Village. On our way to Chelsea we passed the post office at west 34th street and 8th avenue. It is to be the new Grand Central Station. Chelsea is a highly industrial place in the city, and it was highly noticeable, however businessmen divided property for homes as well. Besides the obvious noise level, it is a highly desirable place to live. The Highline, which was an elevated track that ended up being an unsuccessful venture, became a beautify garden and walkway. Walking through the garden was pretty awesome. Throughout the walkway you can see the original tracks of the once L train.
As we made our way through the Chelsea highlines, we experienced some of the art galleries that were moved from SOHO to Chelsea (side note- SOHO stands for South Of Houston Street- and yup, NOHO is North of Houston Street). Some great tips on gallery etiquette are, ask to take pictures, don't negatively comment on works because you never know if the artist is right there listening to you, and not to touch pieces without approval. Art galleries work by providing incentives to the more affluent people in the form of tax write-offs. The gallery owner may only take home 15% of the income.
Jackson Square park was our next destination which I learned was the oldest park in New York City. One of the cooler parts of the day was when we explored Seabury Tredwell's house at the Merchant's House Museum. We were guided by a very knowledgable person on the daily functions of the household and I thought it was interesting to learn about the lifestyles of both the affluent Tredwell family as well as how the servants had lived during that time.
In the west village was the Jefferson Market garden. It made me feel like I was not in the same city we had been touring for the past 3 classes. The Cooper Union library was not far away and this was a real piece of American history. Abraham Lincoln made his Cooper Union Address in that very building which gave Lincoln some serious fame. It is said that he may not have been our president without that speech. The new cooper union building was so advanced. It was an odd-looking from the outside but absolutely advanced from the looks of the inside.
That sums up our 3rd day of exploring. The best part of the day was definitely the Merchant's House Museum. I learned a lot about how people lived back in the day.
As we made our way through the Chelsea highlines, we experienced some of the art galleries that were moved from SOHO to Chelsea (side note- SOHO stands for South Of Houston Street- and yup, NOHO is North of Houston Street). Some great tips on gallery etiquette are, ask to take pictures, don't negatively comment on works because you never know if the artist is right there listening to you, and not to touch pieces without approval. Art galleries work by providing incentives to the more affluent people in the form of tax write-offs. The gallery owner may only take home 15% of the income.
Jackson Square park was our next destination which I learned was the oldest park in New York City. One of the cooler parts of the day was when we explored Seabury Tredwell's house at the Merchant's House Museum. We were guided by a very knowledgable person on the daily functions of the household and I thought it was interesting to learn about the lifestyles of both the affluent Tredwell family as well as how the servants had lived during that time.
In the west village was the Jefferson Market garden. It made me feel like I was not in the same city we had been touring for the past 3 classes. The Cooper Union library was not far away and this was a real piece of American history. Abraham Lincoln made his Cooper Union Address in that very building which gave Lincoln some serious fame. It is said that he may not have been our president without that speech. The new cooper union building was so advanced. It was an odd-looking from the outside but absolutely advanced from the looks of the inside.
That sums up our 3rd day of exploring. The best part of the day was definitely the Merchant's House Museum. I learned a lot about how people lived back in the day.