I was invited to a Metropolitan Museum of Art Private Members Night the night before Halloween, known as ‘Mischief Night’, where more tricks than treats are part of the fun. The museum has these private nights so that members can enjoy the museum on their without the huge crowds that come during the day. These events are so popular now and they have adjusted the hours to 7:00pm-10:00pm where working people can now enjoy the evening.
The Met lit at night for the Private Members Night did look a little spooky but a festive environment was inside waiting for us. A giant house of mystery awaiting us with treasures inside.
The lines started to fill as we entered the museum at 7:30pm. I got there after my Digital Marketing class at NYU was over. All the tricks and treats of the museum were open to members who entered the front door if they dared!
The very festive entrance of The Met at the information booth represented the coming of fall and the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays.
The beautiful Fall arrangements in The Met’s nooks. It really made the night festive.
The first exhibition that I visited was “The Northern Renaissance European Sculpture and Decorative Arts 1520-1630” and the exhibition held some of the most exquisite art of the collection. Beautiful decorative objects with the detailed work in the permanent collection. These treasures were gathered in one spot to show their true beauty.
The sign for ‘The Northern Renaissance European Sculpture and Decorative Arts 1520-1630’ exhibition
The craftsmanship of these objects were some of the most sophisticated of the era and royals competed to have the most beautiful objects adorn their homes. Some of the objects were pulled from the permanent collection and are different parts of the museum but when housed together they really make a statement of the quality and precise workmanship. These objects made a statement of the owners and who they were in society.
One of the most detailed pieces of the show was “Diana and the Stag”. The craftsmanship of the piece was amazing and it is such a beautiful piece.
The silver Diana and the Stag art object.
The next room I went to was the Wrightman Wing down the stairs to see Vertigo of Color” Matisse, Derain and the Origins of Fauvism. All these beautiful and bright colors in paintings from the French coastline.
The Vertigo of Color Exhibition in the Wrightman Wing of the Met.
My favorite piece and the painting that stood out the most was ‘Open Window Collioure’ by Henri Matisse. It was the most beautiful painting of the show.
“Open Window Collioure” is one of the most vibrant paintings in the show.
The other painting that really stood out in the exhibition was by artist Andre Derain.
The Andre Derain Painting “The Faubourg of Collioure”
The sign for the painting.
My next stop was the “Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200-400 CE” exhibition on the second floor. The display of Indian art was from all over the world and displayed some of the most unusual icons. The exhibition the immense craftsmanship of these early artists.
The entrance to the “Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India 200 BCE-400 CE” exhibition.
The Railroad Panels of the exhibition
The Railing pillars of the exhibition.
The Railing pillar sign.
Statuary from the exhibition.
The Pillar Abacus with elephants venerating the Ramagrama stupa.
The Elephant Pillar sign.
The Drum Panels in the exhibition.
The Drum Panel signs.
The Stupa Panel at the exhibition. I thought this was the most impressive work in the exhibition.
The Stupa Panel sign.
After visiting the intriguing art of India and all the splendor that comes with it, I made my way back downstairs, bypassing the very busy “Manet/Degas” which I had already seen and I made my way back downstairs where the crowds were either heading to the bar area that had been set up in the middle of the museum or to one of the three restaurants that were open that night. The restaurant in the American Wing was only serving popcorn (at $6.00 a bag!!) or drinks as well as the Balcony Restaurant. This was a bit too much for me, so I decided to wait until I left the museum to have some dinner.
The last exhibit for the evening that I visited was the “Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery” in the American Wing. These beautiful pots and decorative pottery is art from the Pueblo culture.
The entrance to the “Grounded by Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery”
In the middle of the museum, the staff set up a festive Halloween bar for members to enjoy and relax. With a lively museum and even livelier cocktails, patrons conversed with their friends and made new ones. This whole part of the museum was alive with laughter and people having a good time before they had to deal with the trick or treating that awaited them the next week. It was a Spooktacular good time!
The cocktail party and bar on the main floor.
When we left the museum that night into the darkness that would become Halloween the next day, the museum employees wished us a good evening and gave us this sweet treat, a chocolate pumpkin that we were all munching on as we left the museum. It was the perfect way to end the evening. This is why I love the Met and have been coming here since 1973 and a member since 1993. It is a place of magic!
The delicious “Treat” we got when we left The Met that evening. The museum knows how to treat its members!
After the haunted night at the museum was over, I walked along the streets of the Upper East Side of Manhattan enjoying the decorations in preparation for Halloween the next day. Families really decorated their homes and the stores and brownstones were decked out for the Halloween holidays. This is becoming just as big as Christmas. Here are some of the great decorations that I saw that night.
Most of the these pictures were taken in the East 80’s and 70’s along the side streets between Madison Avenue and Third Avenue as I explored the neighborhood looking for the best haunts. People were really creative this Halloween.
Walking around the Upper East Side on Halloween week.
Halloween windows at a Park Avenue Florist during Halloween week.
Halloween decorations on the Upper East Side in the East 80’s.
Halloween on the Upper East Side in the East 80’s.
Halloween on the Upper East Side.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
Caught in a spider web on the Upper East Side.
Ghosts protecting the entrance to the apartment building.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
Escaping spider island on the Upper East Side.
Who says that New Yorkers are not creative? Decorating your home is not just for the suburbs.
It has been hard since the Summer ended. I have a full load of classes at my college and being a full time student at NYU, it does not allow for much time to explore the City the way I want to on a daily basis. My walks now extend to and from Port Authority to the NYU campus on West 4th Street. I see a lot trust me and I have some of the most fantastic pictures of the brownstone neighborhoods of Chelsea and Greenwich Village but finishing the Theater District and Times Square is where I want to go to finish up that part of the City.
I will get back to my walk in Times Square soon.
It has been hard on Times Square with all the immigration coming into Manhattan and asylum seekers being housed in hotels in this area puts the police on guard again in this section of Manhattan and its tough to walk around and take pictures. I will probably have to wait until the Christmas break to walk this section of the City.
Halloween decorations in Greenwich Village.
Meanwhile, Halloween is here and it means all the running around from the City to the Hudson River Valley for events such as festivals, cemetery walks and haunted house visits. It also means all the Halloween events in Hasbrouck Heights including me running around town for the Third Annual “Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest” which has been growing every year. All of this happening while I am giving Midterms for my students and taking Midterms at NYU. I do not get much sleep in both October and December.
The Hasbrouck Heights Merchant Window Painting Contest was even delayed because of rain in 2023.
I had rained most every weekend of the month of October so that put a damper into the football games up at Yale in New Have with Cornell and Rutgers in New Brunswick with Michigan State. Cornell won the game in a torrent of rain and managed to break a six year drought against Yale. I missed not going up but the whole weekend was a washout. Rutgers was a complete disaster for Michigan State which is having one of its worst seasons on record. We lost our coach and it has been a spiral of lost opportunities and disappointments. Welcome to my sophomore year at Michigan State. We lost by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter in another rain storm. It keeps raining all the time.
The beginnings of Halloween in the Village the second week of October.
As the month has progressed the leaves finally started to change colors and we finally started to see the signs of Fall. As I walked through the brownstone blocks on my way to class at NYU, I started to see the beginnings of Halloween. People are really decorating this year in the Village. There is a real beauty to the Village when the Fall arrives and the homes are adorned with skeletons, ghosts and pumpkins. There are things that go bump in the night as well. It is really a thing of beauty.
Halloween means running around too. From place to another I like to experience different sites in the City, the Hudson River Valley and in New Jersey. As the leaves changed colors it made it even more spectacular but it much later in the month than usual. All that rain changed everything.
Store windows got very creative in Manhattan.
I went to Blairstown and Hope, New Jersey for Friday the 13th for the afternoon on October 13th and that is an experience. The weather finally broke and it was a sunny, spectacular day and the moment my online class was over, I bolted out of the house and headed to Blairstown where the original 1980 film was shot over forty years ago. Only the first twenty minutes of the opening of the film was shot in both Blairstown and Hope but people would be elbowing each other to get the picture in.
Downtown Blairstown, NJ on Friday the 13th
My blog on visiting Blairstown and Hope, NJ on Friday the 13th:
I got to Blairstown around 11:00am and I thought I would never get a parking spot. I parked at the edge of the downtown and walked around. Talk about perfect timing as people really had not arrived in town yet so it was perfect for picture taking. That would not be the case later in the afternoon when it really got busy. People were taking walking tours and there were two sold out showings of the original “Friday the 13th” film.
The Water Building on October 13th, 2023 is the most popular place to take pictures.
The famous walkway under the Water Building where Annie walked through.
The scenes where the towns of Blairstown and Hope, NJ were shot.
It is a fascinating experience to see all these fans of the original film running around to the locations where the opening scenes had taken place. All of the merchants had Friday the 13th merchandise and were also stocked for Halloween and Christmas. It was such a beautiful day outside it looked it was going to be a busy afternoon for everyone.
The Blairstown Diner was much easier to get into on January 13th early this year but on October 13th the lines were out the door all day. The food is really good here.
The Blairstown Diner at 55 NJ Route 94 is always busy on Friday the 13th
I was looking for a late morning snack having gotten up so early for class and then getting on the road after class was over for the long drive. The Blairstown Diner was packed and had a line twenty deep as well as the coffee shop in the downtown area was also extremely busy that morning. So I walked around the downtown area and Blairstown does not have a lot of options for dining or at least a lot at that time of the morning.
Dale’s Market at 66 NJ 94 is a great place for breakfast and lunch to go.
While I was walking around I found Dale’s Market at 66 NJ 94 and they have an amazing prepared food section with hot food and sandwiches to go. I got their ‘Deputy’ breakfast sandwich with eggs, bacon, hash browns and hot sauce and took it to the park across the street for a morning picnic by the river. That was better than any restaurant.
That amazing breakfast sandwich “The Deputy” at Dale’s Market
Footbridge Park in Downtown Blairstown, NJ is a great place to have a picnic and relax from the crowds on Friday the 13th.
After walking around the downtown and seeing that the crowds were getting larger in Blairstown, I drove over to Hope, NJ to visit the Hope Historical Society Museum. I made an appointment at 1:30pm to see the inside of the museum and take pictures. The museum is rarely open so I had to take that opportunity when it came. It is a nice little museum that you should not miss.
The unique Hope Historical Society at 323 High Street in Downtown Hope, NJ
The museum was open for a tour that afternoon so I got in to take some interior shots. The museum misses out without having a special ‘Friday the 13th’ exhibition inside the museum but they do have private tours by appointment.
The inside of the Hope Historical Society
The inside of the Hope Historical Society
After visiting the museum, I headed off the to the Moravian Cemetery, which was really busy that afternoon with people traveling from all distances to take pictures in front the sign made famous by ‘Friday the 13th”.
The famous sign from the film “Friday the 13th”.
What I got a kick out of was that the man who ran the cemetery was outside making himself available for picture taking and was selling cemetery dirt for $10.00 a jar. The irony is that people were buying it and making donations to help renovate the church. I thought that was very clever.
Selling cemetery dirt on Friday the 13th was a brilliant idea.
Before I Ieft Hope for the afternoon, I stopped for some dessert at Humpty Juniors in Colombia, NJ right down the road from Hope and had a sundae. It was a nice way to end the day of touring. As I drove through Hope on my way back to Route 80 to go home, the town got a lot more crowded with people taking pictures and stopping to film the town. It really amazed me how serious some of these fans took these shots of the town.
Humpty Juniors at 72 Route 46 West in Colombia, NJ
The Banana Cream Pie sundae at Humpty Juniors is outstanding.
The next weekend brought even more scares and delights when after finishing an extremely busy week of classes lead to me the Merchant’s House in New York City for a haunted house walking tour and back up to the Hudson River Valley to explore the Clermont Estate for their haunted house tour. Both were sold out and the crowds coming in and out at that time of the evening were pretty amazing.
The week before both of these tours was extremely stressful with three papers and two presentations at NYU and then at Bergen Community College I had to give three quizzes and two major projects. I was burnt out by the end of the week and needed to see a ghost or something that bumped in the night to distract me. I have never had so much coming at me at once.
On a rather gloomy Friday night, I headed into the City for a Candlelight (more of a flashlight) tour of the Merchant House at 29 East 4th Street for a tour of the house in the dark hoping to see a ghost. I had already toured the entire house on my own over the summer so I knew the house quite well and I had not seen or heard anything.
The Merchant House at 29 East 4th Street does look a little creepy at night.
We met in the main parlor of the house at 8:00pm for our tour where they had an exhibition on spiritualism and death during the Victorian Age. That was very interesting the view that the Victorians had of handling death. It was very proper and ritualistic.
The exhibition on death and spiritualism
The darkened Parlor the night of the tour.
We walked through all the floors of the house and I did not see one ghost. There were actors dressed as various characters throughout the home (I did not know why they would want to be alone in the dark in a house that was known to be haunted but that was there deal) but with the exception with one woman coming to grab us, they kept still.
The Merchant House I have felt in the three times I have visited had a very welcoming feel to it. Like the family was happy so many people wanted to visit it. I never heard or saw anything and even at the end of the tour we were asked if we felt anything but no one answered. I guess we did not more than have a good time walking through the dark with a flash light and have a good time listening to the docent talk about the family history.
Trust me when I say that these tours sell out fast both last year and this year so book early. It is really worth the trip to walk through an old house on a gloomy night with safety in numbers. If we HAD seen something, we would have had each other to protect ourselves.
The Treadwell family supposedly haunts the floors of the Merchant House.
Later that weekend, I visited Downtown Boonton, NJ after a Bergen County Firemen’s Home Meeting and Entertainment Afternoon event and walked the downtown to see what was going on for Halloween.
The Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association October Event:
The downtown was decorated with all sorts of characters, ghosts, ghouls, monsters and things that went bump in the night. The Boonton Downtown Association always does a great job decorating for the Halloween holidays.
Downtown Boonton, NJ has a unique and funky vibe to it as it as the creative types are moving into town.
One of the creepy downtown figures.
This looked like a cross between Jason and the Phantom of the Opera.
This friendly welcomed me in Downtown Boonton, NJ.
This alien creature greeted me near the library.
Downtown Boonton, NJ is so beautiful during any season.
After a long week of classes and my online Hotel Sales & Marketing class on Friday morning by Zoom were finally over and papers done, up I went to the Hudson River Valley to visit my next ‘haunted house’ tour at the Clermont Estate in Germantown, NY, the home of the Livingston family.
I have visited the Clermont Estate many times before COVID but now that it has finally reopened they are having all the special events that were once extremely popular including the Halloween tour which they had not hosted since 2019. The house was amazing and decorated for a Victorian Halloween.
I was able to get up to Germantown while it was still light out after morning classes and was able to explore Downtown Germantown before the tour of Clermont. It is such a pretty little town but I can tell getting more expensive by the quality of shopping, restaurants and little inns that are in the downtown. I could tell that the sonic boom of COVID (people moving up from the city and changing all these little Hudson River towns), changed this town from a localized front to a quirky and expensive little community. Even the local grocery store was very nice in quality but very expensive.
The downtown Germantown shopping area.
The historical section of Germantown, NY.
The historic home just off Downtown Germantown.
After I toured Germantown, I had enough time once I got to the Clermont estate to tour the grounds and take pictures to update my blog. Things really did change from summer to fall. Most of the gardens were all dead now, the leaves were turning golden brown, yellow and red and it was a bit chiller outside. It was still fun to explore the grounds and watch the parks people lit the pumpkins. I had plenty of time to explore the estate before it got dark.
I walked along the river paths and passed groups of people taking pictures, past the ruins of the old Robert Livingston home that was destroyed by fire and then toured the gardens that were now in their fall transition. The estate was no less elegant and it looked beautiful in the autumn.
I made my way to the Visitors Center where the staff had fresh apple cider and cider doughnuts for all the people touring the estate that night and classic candies like tootsie rolls and Mary Janes for us to enjoy for early ‘trick or treating’. We all had a nice time watching the videos of the house and looking at the displays in what was once the old stables. Then our tour took place and we were led to the mansion.
The Ghost Tour took us on a tour through the house to meet the costumed characters throughout the mansion. The mansion was decorated for the Halloween and with the lights dimmed, it gave the house an eerie appearance to it.
When I arrived at the Clermont Estate, the house loomed in the distance in its it glories with the golden colors of autumn. It was so breathtaking along the Hudson River Valley with hues of gold, red and orange.
Jack-a Lanterns lined the pathways and lit the way to the house when it got dark. The tours started at dusk with pumpkins lit giving it a spooky start to the evening.
Before the tour started, we were greeted in the Visitors Center with fresh Apple Cider Doughnuts and Apple Cider from a local farm in Kingston, NY.
We were also treated to old fashioned Halloween candy with Mary Janes, Tootsie Rolls and other treats.
We started our tour at 7:00pm at twilight just as it was getting dark with the lanterns lit and the house waiting in the distance. It gave the start of the tour an eerie look to it and the affect brought out the best of Halloween.
The hallway was decorated for Halloween.
First we met an embittered Robert Livingston (who over acted) and acted like a jerk when I filmed him performing.
We stopped in the haunted Living Room to talk to the maid.
We met the ghost of Janet Livingston Montgomery in the Parlor. She talked about her time in the house and how life was back then.
Then it was off to the Dining Room to meet the last inhabitant of the house, Janet Livingston.
Margaret Beekman Livingston guarding the Dining Room.
On the way to the kitchen, we met Captain Kidd, the Livingston children and the last owners of the house on the way out the back door to end the tour. The whole tour took less than an hour.
We exited the house through the kitchen and out the door to a moon lit night with jack-a-lanterns taking us back to the Visitors Center. I loved this picture because it really did look like we were leaving a haunted house. We made it back up to the Visitors Center before the last group left on their tour. I got to go to the bathroom before they closed for the evening. The parking lot was pitch black and I had to use my cellphone to find my car. It was a two hour trip home that evening.
The week in between the Haunted House tours and pre-Halloween weekend was sheer insanity with papers due, midterms at both colleges, grading and a lot of running around. I swear for the entire month of October I never sat still. It was long nights where I was up until 2:00am every night barely getting five hours of sleep. I know that is the life of the graduation student but it got to be too much for me. Work and school were getting to me.
Halloween on West 10th Street.
That week I had to judge the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest which is in its third successful year. I had to drive every street in Hasbrouck Heights trying to find the most perfectly decorated house. I did not want to see access more than I wanted to see creativity. Having inflatables to me is cheating. It does not take much to inflate something. It was the people with the decorations on the house, the lighting and the props that make up how a house stands out in the contest. People who have fun and show other residents the true spirit of the holidays.
In the Merchant category that created the previous year, I look to the whole package of the business. Is it decorated inside and out? Does it have a window that is more than just props but a theme to it? How creative is the approach to the windows? I have to say that there was not many choices this year as many merchants did not decorate their windows this year. Most wait until Christmas to show their creativity. I am hoping the more exposure of this contest gets the more people will be more competitive at Halloween as well.
While that was going on and I walked the Boulevard looking for the perfect windows, the elementary school kids were painting the downtown merchants windows for the Annual Halloween Window Painting Contest. Those kids were really creative and here are some of the artworks I saw that afternoon:
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
Some of them were just fun.
Ghosts and Ghouls scare and delight.
Many spooky returns
The one on the right was my personal favorite.
Spooky creatures.
Spooky trees.
Ghosts haunting the way to Hasbrouck Heights.
A Halloween surprise.
More Ghost and ghouls
Chucky returns.
The rains returned on Sunday and through most of the week until the weekend before Halloween where we had a eighty one degree day that Saturday. Talk about brilliant weather and everyone really freaked out and ran around in shorts. The Saturday morning before Halloween I presented the winners of the Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights. I have never seen people so excited to receive an award which was well deserved. Here is the press release that we sent to the papers:
My blog on the ‘Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest’:
The Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest 2023
By Justin Watrel
Halloween has come to Hasbrouck Heights and the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association has picked the winners in the Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest. We traveled every road in town both during the day and at night to find the best ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night on people’s lawns and houses, showing off the creativity of the residents of Hasbrouck Heights on Halloween night. The contest was under the direction of Chairman and Executive Board member Justin Watrel.
Justin Watrel, Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Executive Board Member and Chairman of the Halloween House Decorating Contest.
The winners of the House Decorating Contest were Frank and Mary Rose Blunda at 510 Henry Street.
Frank Blunda with Chairman Justin Watrel, Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association.
The Blunda’s have been runner-up for the last two years and had ‘upped their game’ with new decorations and designing their lawn to be more of an ‘open haunted house.’
This year’s winner was 510 Henry Street. The Blunda’s upped their game this year after being runners up for the last two years.
The Blunda’s do not just decorate, their decorations invite you into the the display to admire and enjoy it.
When told they had won, Mrs. Blunda said, “I thought you were going to tell us we were runners up again” but the committee informed her and her husband, Frank, the master mind behind each year’s creative show, that they had won. “I added some extra things this year,” Frank Blunda said. “You should see the way we have lit the house at night. We have a lot of fun with this.” The Blunda’s have done an excellent job with decorating each year and have made the town proud with their creativity. It is an award well earned.
510 Henry Street at night
510 Henry Street in Hasbrouck Heights at night.
The Blunda’s decorations at night.
The two runners up this year were 36 Hamilton Avenue and 42 Central Avenue. The boarded-up windows and Mad Scientist display of the lawn at 36 Hamilton Avenue is the creative genius of residents Alex and Laura Pena.
Alex Pena in front of 26 Hamilton Avenue
“I love decorating the house for Halloween,” Alex Pena said. “This year I added more things to give it the look it has. I try to find a creative way to display all the skeletons and pieces I have.”
36 Hamilton Avenue was runner up in 2023.
36 Hamilton Avenue was looked like a haunted house.
The house has the appearance of a home abandoned except for the ghoulish residents on the lawn getting their final goodbyes. The walkways, roof and door awning were covered with skeletons welcoming you to this haunted abode.
The Mad Scientist display at 36 Hamilton Avenue.
The Chief of the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department Chief Joseph Rinke and his wife Lisa at 42 Central Avenue were the other runners-up in the contest. The roof and sides of the house have skeletons climbing and crawling their way into the house.
42 Central Avenue was another Runner up for the House decorating contest.
Ghosts and ghouls greet you from the walkway to the entrance of the house. When you enter, the entire house is decorated to the hilt with decorations in every room and even a spider display in the bathtub.
“Our daughter was born on Halloween so we like to entertain and have the house decorated for Halloween,” Lisa Rinke said of all the wonderful decorations around the house. “My husband spent a lot of time clasping skeletons around the house.” It showed in the way the skeleton army wanted to enter the home.
Joe and Lisa Rinke’s house at 42 Central Avenue had a skeleton army all over the house.
Chairman Justin Watrel with Joe and Lisa Rinke the Runners Up at 42 Central Avenue.
The Rinke family with their award.
The Merchants did their share of decorating along the Boulevard. This year’s winner for the Merchant category is the winner for the second year, Heights Flower Shoppe owner Ray Vorisek. Heights Flower Shoppe always does an excellent job not just with their windows but inside and outside the store as well.
Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard won for the Second year in row.
Shoppers are greeted at 209 Boulevard with Mr. Pumpkin Head and various ghosts welcoming you into the story which was decorated to the hilt with interesting Halloween decorations, candy, and beautiful flowers to welcome guests to a Halloween feast.
Two time Merchant Division winner Ray Vorisek with Chairman Justin Watrel at Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard.
“I love decorating the store for the holidays,” Ray Vorisek said. “The staff and I have a lot of fun during the holidays.” We are so proud of Mr. Vorisek and his staff for the excellent job they do each year with all the holidays especially between Halloween and Christmas.
Owner of Heights Flower Shoppe owner Ray Vorisek in front of his award winning windows.
The inside of Heights Flower Shop at Halloween
The Runner Up this year was Mimi and Jose Rodriguez at Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique at 444 Boulevard. Their creative display of a skeleton girl walking her skeleton dog was pure genius and built on the logo of the store.
Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique at 444 Boulevard was the Runner up for the Merchant Window Decorating Contest.
“The logo is my wife walking her dog,” Jose Rodriguez said. “My wife built on that.” Mimi Rodriguez was just as surprised by being runner up. “We thought this was a great way to decorate the store for Halloween and we had fun with it.” It was a clever way to incorporate the logo of the store with the design of the windows.
Owner Mimi Rodriguez with Chairman Justin Watrel in front of her windows.
There were many great houses with Halloween decorations to choose from but we awarded Honorary Mention to 115 Ottawa Avenue for their continued creative decorations including the madman being electrocuted in the front yard and lavish displays by 82 Woodside Avenue and 253 Henry Street, both previous winners of the contest in 2022 and 2021 respectively.
Chairman Justin Watrel with Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique owners Jose and Mimi Rodriguez in front of the their award winning window.
Winners Jose and Mimi Rodriguez in front of their business.
Owner Scott Varicario decorates to the hilt every year with ghosts, ghouls and witches and things that go bump in the night all over the lawn at 253 Henry Street. Things crawl, reach and grab while they climb up trees and cover the yard.
253 Henry Street was the winner in 2021 and Runner up in 2022 and 2023.
Owner Scott Varicario always does an excellent job with decorating his house.
253 Henry Street is an excellent display that shows the spirit of Halloween.
“I love decorating for Halloween,” Scott Varicario said when we handed him the Honorary Mention to his creative efforts.
253 Henry Street
Last year’s winners, Matt and Lisa Fiduccia at 82 Woodside Avenue also showed off their creative efforts with a display on their front yard that always changes and has creatures popping out from here and there. There is always a rivalry between these two winners to show their love of the Halloween spirit.
82 Woodside Avenue was the winner in 2022 and the Runner up in 2023.
82 Woodside Avenue in all it gory!
A special Honorary Runner Up was given to 115 Ottawa Avenue owner Dennis Hall for his excellent displays over the last two years. Mr. Hall was very touched by the Honorary Award and said, “I didn’t even finish decorating this year. There is a lot more I will add in the future.”
115 Ottawa Avenue (Special Honorary award)
Honorary Runners-Up and Honorary Mention to Dennis and Aidan Hall of 115 Ottawa Avenue.
Everyone was so happy to win their awards and even to be mentioned that it made all the hard work worth. I never worked so hard on an event before but the people who won were really touched by the whole event and I could tell put a lot of hard work into creating the ‘works of art’ on their lawns and I was so proud of their work.
After I handed out all the awards and took pictures for the papers, I was off to Coney Island to go to Luna Park for a class project on experiencing the park as a tourist for my Customer Relationship Management class. No one could believe the weather that Saturday. It was clear and sunny and 81 degrees. It felt like a summer day on the Boardwalk.
Luna Park in Coney Island on a strange 80 degree day.
Our Research Paper for our Customer Relationship Management class:
We rode the Cyclone roller coaster, road the historic Carousel and then had lunch in the park at Luna Park’s pizzeria. The pizza was good but not the best I had ever eaten. They did a nice job with it and the service was very friendly. We got to spend most of the afternoon touring the park and talking with the staff getting their take on the park.
The Harvest Festival at Luna Park
The Halloween Harvest Festival
Luna Park was packed on this sunny warm late October afternoon.
We enjoyed lunch at the pizzeria.
The Luna Park Midway.
Our first ride was the Cyclone which I had not been on in years.
Our next ride that we experienced was the historic carousel which went around four times.
After we rode the only real ‘adult’ rides, we talked with the staff about the upcoming “Frost Festival” for the holidays when the park would be open through Christmas. This was a first for the amusement park and would extend tourism through Coney Island into the holiday season. The park staff seemed to like the fact that they had employment through the holiday season.
The Luna Park Boardwalk entrance.
After our walk through both Luna Park and Geno’s Wonderwheel Park, we went off to explore the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk was packed with people riding bikes and scooters, dancing on the Boardwalk and people were sunbathing all over the beach. Some people were swimming which I thought was crazy. The water must have been too cold.
The Boardwalk in Coney Island on that late October day.
We walked from the amusement section of Coney Island down to Brighton and Manhattan Beaches where the demographics and mood of the Boardwalk change immediately once you pass the Aquarium. It is more families and locals sitting the on Boardwalk in their chairs socializing with one another.
The amazing sunset on the Boardwalk that everyone stopped for to watch.
Even though it was eighty degrees out and getting darker it never fell below seventy degrees while we were there exploring the island and I was perfectly comfortable walking around in shorts and a sweatshirt. I was even hot with this and had gotten a tan that afternoon. The sunset was amazing on the beach and people just stopped to look.
The Boardwalk at twilight
The full moon at the end of the Boardwalk.
The parks lit at night.
Luna Park at 7:00pm at night was like a fantasy land of lights.
The amusements were busy when we finally left the parks around 7:30pm and I said good bye to my classmate and headed into Chinatown in Manhattan for a snack. I was getting hungry after all that walking and even Chinatown was busy on this warm evening. I just think the weather had people grasping onto what was left of the summer and enjoying it while they could.
I headed to Wonton Noodle Garden again for dinner. As the evening cooled, there was nothing better than a Cantonese Wonton Soup with Barbecue Pork, Wontons and Egg Noodles with a side of Fried Wontons. That was the best dinner and a great way to end the evening and a wonderful day. This is what a research paper should be all about. Being in the trenches and exploring it as a group.
The delicious ‘cure all’ Cantonese Wonton Soup with Barbecue Pork, Wontons and Egg Noodles.
The Fried Wontons here are delicious.
I had taken my students the next day to the Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society for a extra credit field trip for an afternoon of exploring the museum. Talk about a change in weather in one day. We went from sunny, clear and warm to gloomy, raining and a drop of about twenty degrees. It was still warm but seasonally warm at sixty degrees. I was not sure how the students would react to the museum but it seemed to be an eye opener to most of them. They had never been here before.
The Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society “Museum at the Station” at 176 Rock Road during a nice day in Glen Rock, NJ.
We spent about two hours at the museum on a very rainy afternoon. The historical society ladies explained the museum and its collection to the students and the Mayor of Glen Rock joined us after the town’s Trunk or Treat event was over. Mayor Kristine Morieko spent time with my students getting to know them and supporting a project I was doing to create a Marketing plan for tourism to the town. It was a great afternoon of networking for the students and getting to know the town of Glen Rock. I got to see the museum on one of the rare days it was open and got to see the George Wolfe exhibition of the local cartoonist’s work.
The “George Wolfe” exhibition at the Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society Museum.
On the night before Halloween, I got to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a Private Members Night. It was after a very long day of classes and running around over the weekend so it was a welcome distraction. I love these Private Members Nights. It is fun to wander around the galleries and just take my time with visiting.
The Met logo for the ‘Halloween at the Met-Private Members Night’
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Private Members Night was the night before Halloween, known as ‘Mischief Night’, where more tricks than treats are part of the fun. The museum has these private nights so that members can enjoy the museum on their without the huge crowds that come during the day. These events are so popular now and they have adjusted the hours to 7:00pm-10:00pm where working people can now enjoy the evening.
The Met lit at night for the Private Members Night did look a little spooky but a festive environment was inside waiting for us. A giant house of mystery awaiting us with treasures inside.
The lines started to fill as we entered the museum at 7:30pm. I got there after my Digital Marketing class at NYU was over. All the tricks and treats of the museum were open to members who entered the front door if they dared!
The very festive entrance of The Met at the information booth represented the coming of fall and the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays.
The beautiful Fall arrangements in The Met’s nooks. It really made the night festive.
The first exhibition that I visited was “The Northern Renaissance European Sculpture and Decorative Arts 1520-1630” and the exhibition held some of the most exquisite art of the collection. Beautiful decorative objects with the detailed work in the permanent collection. These treasures were gathered in one spot to show their true beauty.
The sign for ‘The Northern Renaissance European Sculpture and Decorative Arts 1520-1630’ exhibition
The craftsmanship of these objects were some of the most sophisticated of the era and royals competed to have the most beautiful objects adorn their homes. Some of the objects were pulled from the permanent collection and are different parts of the museum but when housed together they really make a statement of the quality and precise workmanship. These objects made a statement of the owners and who they were in society.
One of the most detailed pieces of the show was “Diana and the Stag”. The craftsmanship of the piece was amazing and it is such a beautiful piece.
The silver Diana and the Stag art object.
The next room I went to was the Wrightman Wing down the stairs to see Vertigo of Color” Matisse, Derain and the Origins of Fauvism. All these beautiful and bright colors in paintings from the French coastline.
The Vertigo of Color Exhibition in the Wrightman Wing of the Met.
My favorite piece and the painting that stood out the most was ‘Open Window Collioure’ by Henri Matisse. It was the most beautiful painting of the show.
“Open Window Collioure” is one of the most vibrant paintings in the show.
The other painting that really stood out in the exhibition was by artist Andre Derain.
The Andre Derain Painting “The Faubourg of Collioure”
The sign for the painting.
My next stop was the “Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200-400 CE” exhibition on the second floor. The display of Indian art was from all over the world and displayed some of the most unusual icons. The exhibition the immense craftsmanship of these early artists.
The entrance to the “Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India 200 BCE-400 CE” exhibition.
The Railroad Panels of the exhibition
The Railing pillars of the exhibition.
The Railing pillar sign.
Statuary from the exhibition.
The Pillar Abacus with elephants venerating the Ramagrama stupa.
The Elephant Pillar sign.
When we left the museum that night into the darkness that would become Halloween the next day, the museum employees wished us a good evening and gave us this sweet treat, a chocolate pumpkin that we were all munching on as we left the museum. It was the perfect way to end the evening. This is why I love the Met and have been coming here since 1973 and a member since 1993. It is a place of magic!
The delicious “Treat” we got when we left The Met that evening. The museum knows how to treat its members!
After the haunted night at the museum was over, I walked along the streets of the Upper East Side of Manhattan enjoying the decorations in preparation for Halloween the next day. Families really decorated their homes and the stores and brownstones were decked out for the Halloween holidays. This is becoming just as big as Christmas. Here are some of the great decorations that I saw that night.
Most of the these pictures were taken in the East 80’s and 70’s along the side streets between Madison Avenue and Third Avenue as I explored the neighborhood looking for the best haunts. People were really creative this Halloween.
Walking around the Upper East Side on Halloween week.
Halloween windows at a Park Avenue Florist during Halloween week.
Halloween decorations on the Upper East Side in the East 80’s.
Halloween on the Upper East Side in the East 80’s.
Halloween on the Upper East Side.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
The next night was Halloween night and the Annual Halloween Parade that was celebrating its 50th Anniversary. My professor called class that night because she was sick and that meant getting to the parade route at 4:00pm. This meant meeting up with ‘cousin’ Mark Schuyler (our families married into one another 150 years ago so it makes us tenth cousins by marriage) and guarding the performers gate. I swear we hear every excuse from people trying to sneak in to watch the parade from they live here to they have reservations to a restaurant inside.
Guarding the gate: “Cousins” Mark Schuyler and Justin Watrel
The parade went by really well. The weather cooperated and it was in the high 50’s so it was a crisp but warm night at the parade. It was nice to see the crowds coming back to the parade again. COVID really effected the parade and in 2020 there was no parade. When it came back in 2021 (finally), it was nice to see people again.
Puppet rehearsal on Dominick Street and Sixth Avenue.
We stood at the gate, talked to tourists visiting the City for the parade and directing them to where they could march in it (it is at Canal Street where you will stand with hundreds of other costumed revelers ready to march up Sixth Avenue. People were having a ball. The parade is always exciting.
Excitement builds as the Ghostbusters enter the parade.
When we closed the gate at 8:00pm, I got to watch the parade from where it begins at Dominick Street and Sixth Avenue. This is where the magic is created and you see all the floats go uptown. I am not sure why people keep trying to sneak into the parade from here because it is not the greatest place to see the parade. You can see all the performers but it is better to go uptown on Sixth Avenue and enjoy it from there.
Patrons ready to enter the parade.
One of the best marshal costumes at the parade.
I watched the parade floats pass by me and now I could see why people fight to get onto the floats. Everyone on the floats looked like they were having a blast. People in costume were dancing and singing to mostly disco music on the floats as they passed by to head up Sixth Avenue. In between, hundreds of people marched in costume uptown. It made for an exciting parade.
The floats prepare to head up Sixth Avenue.
Floats heading uptown with everyone having a good time.
The bees entering the parade.
The floats entering the parade.
People getting ready to enter the parade to head uptown.
I left the parade around 9:30pm as it got cooler to head to dinner with other members of the parade staff. I could not believe how crazy busy the City was below 23rd Street. Every fast food, pizzeria and bar was packed with people. All the way to the restaurant, costumed people filled all the restaurants and bars much to the delight of every business owner around the parade route.
The irony of the whole evening was that when I left the restaurant that evening for home I passed a West Elm that was completely decorated for Christmas! As I looked at the Christmas trees, ghost, ghouls and things that bump in the night passed me drunk. God, these holidays are getting blurred. They are not even waiting until Thanksgiving to get the Christmas displays up. That was an interesting way to end Halloween night. That was until I got back to Hasbrouck Heights and the bus passed a house with a Christmas tree up.
Halloween would not be complete without a trip to the Pumpkin Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor at Croton-on-the-Hudson. I lucked out and it was another mild night in the 50’s when I arrived at 7:00pm.
I stopped for dinner at Dong Happy Garden at 440 Riverside Avenue #440 for dinner like I usually do before I go to the Blaze. Their food is always delicious. I swear that I have never had a bad meal there. As it cooled, I was in the mood for some Wonton Soup. The chicken broth was rich in chicken and ginger flavor and the wontons were plentiful. It was the perfect start to dinner.
The Wonton Soup at Dong Happy Garden at 440 Riverside Avenue #440 is excellent.
For dinner I am trying to lay off the fried foods and had the Beef with Broccoli, which is excellent here. The beef is plentiful and very tender, marinading in Hunan and Soy sauce and loaded with fresh broccoli. They have a nice place to sit while you are eating here, better than most take out places I go to and I highly recommend it before heading in for the grand show of hundreds of pumpkins.
My dinner on a cool night, Beef and Broccoli with Pork Fried Rice and an egg roll and a Coke.
The Beef and Broccoli is so good here!
After a good dinner it was off to the Blaze. For some reason, I did not see as many pumpkins as I normally do. It might have been because it was the second to last weekend of the show and they have been gearing the show down for the end of the season.
The entrance to the Pumpkin Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor.
The Van Cortland Manor at 500 South Riverside Avenue is always packed this time of the year. The night I went it was not different. I had never come to the show at 7:00pm and it was busier than usual. When you go to the 8:00pm, you have the estate to yourself.
The entrance to the Pumpkin Blaze in 2023.
There were a lot of the same displays in years past with pumpkin Ferris wheels, a pumpkin carousel, a pumpkin art gallery and city scenes. This year there were a series of pumpkin characters in a circus scene, flying through the air and acting silly. There were headless horseman displays and wondering through the maze. The illuminated Albany Post Road at night is really amazing at night.
You are greeted by Pumpkin Ghouls when you enter the Blaze.
Greeted by creatively carved pumpkins.
Some of the carvers did an amazing job with it.
My favorite group of pumpkins.
Passing the Pumpkin Church
Entering the Pumpkin Blaze that evening is like entering a surreal Halloweenland with lights and decorations all over the place. You really have to take your time to walk through the displays and see the details that are being shown.
Walking through the Pumpkin Art Museum.
Walking through the maze of the Blaze.
The decorated old Albany Post Road with pumpkins called the ‘Infinity Road”. The eerie road leads to no where but is actually the road that once led to Albany and where the Van Cortlandts had their pub and ferry building.
The Haunted Jellyfish as I entered the Tappan Boo Bridge
Walking through the lit tunnel with other patrons.
Crossing the bridge near the jellyfish.
The Van Cortlandt Manor lightshow. The manor will be closed for another year for renovations but still the light show is amazing.
Walking through the pumpkin cemetery across from the mansion.
Exiting the Blaze for the evening.
The spider web towards the entrance.
The Pumpkin figure as I left the Blaze that evening.
I was at the Blaze that evening for about an hour. It really was a nice walk. The crowds were not as heavy as they normally are but once Halloween is over, the place is busy but not as busy are before. Still it was another enjoyable way to end the Halloween season.
Again the irony was as I was driving home that night as I passed through Tarrytown and Sleepy Hallow, I saw the Christmas lights and decorations up. Goodbye Halloween and Hello Christmas!
Members of the Greater New York Michigan State University Alumni Association at our Annual Summer Picnic
I joined other alumni from the New York City Chapter of the Michigan State Alumni Association for our “Annual Summer Picnic in the Park” on July 29th, 2023. This was a much more festive and social event than when I met with the alumni association back in February for the memorial service for those students lost in the active shooting on campus. This was a perfect way to share some “Spartan Spirit” and good times ahead. I have to say one thing, not matter what happens being tragedy or success, Spartans stick together.
The interesting rock formation in Central Park before I got to the picnic site.
We really had a good time. I got to know members of our Alumni Executive Board and other long-time members of the alumni association. We all brought our own lunches and cookies, and bottled water were supplied by the alumni association. It was nice to just sit back on the picnic benches and relax and enjoy the breathtaking sunny summer day.
Most of us talked about the upcoming football season and the problems that we had last year. None of us understood how we could go from a Championship season the year before to a losing season last year. It was disheartening to many of us alumni to sit through these games that we should have won.
We also talked about the upcoming basketball season which was on its way as well. I try to attend all the games that are in New York City when I can and that is always fun. This is when you know how extensive our alumni association is in the tri-state area.
I tried to weigh my opinions in while biting into the homemade chicken parmesan sandwich I made for myself. I swear, so many of our alumni know more about the stats for the team and the players than I could ever imagine.
I also got to meet some incoming Spartans from the New York City area and it is nice to see the latest wave of Spartans entering the university. I remember that enthusiasm when I got there back in 1983. I can’t believe that forty years has passed since I entered college for the first time (I am at my fifth college now attending New York University).
I had gotten there a little late so many people had left by that point so the rest of us piled onto three picnic tables and talked the afternoon away on issues Spartan related and also the general status of Manhattan and the rest of New York City for those alumni that lived in the City. On this late summer afternoon, I could see the Great Lawn in the distance and many people sunbathing, reading, playing fresbie or watching the pop-up softball game in the distance.
It was a nice relaxing afternoon, and I would be joining many of these people at Blondies on the Upper West Side in a few weeks for the opening of the football season. It also gave me a chance to explore Central Park on this beautiful sunny day. I am sorry but there is no place like Manhattan on a sunny afternoon.
Go Green! Go White!
The Great Lawn in Central Park that beautiful afternoon. Midtown sits in the background.
The Michigan State University Picnic in 2025:
Finally getting into the park at 2:45pm
I attending the picnic again in 2025 after a very harried morning and then dealing with public transportation. It took me almost two hours to get from my home to the picnic and I live ten miles from the location.
Walking through Central Park to the picnic site
Between the bus into the City and the subway to get to 85th Street and then having to buy lunch two blocks away and then walking back to park took a lot of time. By the time I got my lunch, walked to the picnic area and then sat down to eat when everyone else was done and were conversing with one another. I felt bad that I was starved and wanted to eat first.
The Spartan Chicken Fingers from New Leaf Deli were delicious
After I finally finished my lunch, I got to talking with other members of the Alumni Association. The conversation always rolls into the Men’s Football and Basketball season with some talk on the happenings on campus. I have not been back to East Lansing since 2013 so it has been some time since I have seen the changes on campus.
All of us talking at the picnic
Alumni came from both New York and New Jersey
Our picnic area was in the Pine Brush picnic area
Enjoying dessert with other Alumni
Even though I was only there for an hour, it was nice meeting other Alumni and catching up with people I only see at the games at Blondies, a bar on the Upper West Side. Either the football season only a month away and a new coach, we are all looking for a new beginning again.
One of the members’ dog that afternoon
I still had a nice time and look forward to the upcoming football season. No one knows how to predict it but I think we will do well in the upcoming season.
One of the nicest events we have as members of the Cornell Club is the walking tours that the club offers during the year. It really does give you an interesting perspective of New York City. I have toured the historic bars and saloons of Lower Manhattan, walked through historic Midtown Manhattan for a Victorian Christmas through the Ladies Shopping Mile, walked through the haunted historic sites of lower Manhattan and toured Chinatown through some of its oldest buildings and then lunch at a local restaurant. I even got to sit next to the gentleman who helped the President of Bloomingdale’s organize the big “China at Bloomingdales” exhibition. Now that was interesting.
The latest tour I went on was the “Secrets of Grand Central Station” tour on a recent Saturday. A group of about 25 of us met at the club to tour Grand Central Station and learn about various points of the history of the building. The tour guide was over an hour late so everyone on the tour got to know one another before we left the club.
When the tour guide arrived, we took the two block walk to the club and started at the staircases as you enter the building at Vanderbilt Avenue.
The Grand Central Terminal is right around the corner from the club
The terminal was not that busy that Saturday morning and we were still able to walk around with no problems. We started the tour at the top of the stairs leading into the Great Hall of Grand Central Station. We were able to admire the room from a distance and all the activity that train travel brings.
As the tour guide explained, Grand Central Terminal was meant to impress a visitor when they arrived into New York City from wherever they were traveling from. You entered the room to see the elegance and vibrancy of Manhattan.
Though splendid in its day, the original Grand Central Depot of 1871 had become a 19th century relic struggling to meet the demands of a 20th century city. Its 30-year-old rail tunnels couldn’t handle the steadily increasing traffic. The building lacked modern conveniences and signaling technology, as well as the infrastructure for electric rail lines. And having been designed for three independent railroad companies—with three separate waiting rooms—the terminal was badly outdated, crowded, and inefficient.
On top of that, the old station no longer reflected its surroundings. In 1870, 42nd Street was still a relative backwater. By 1910, it was the vibrant heart of a dynamic, ambitious, and swiftly growing New York City (Grand Central Terminal History).
The new Grand Central Terminal was built between 1903-13 and opened in 1913. This beautiful rail station was designed New York Central Vice-President William J. Wilgus and the interiors and some exteriors by architects Reed & Stem and Warren & Wetmore in the Beaux Arts design. The exterior façade of building including the famous “Glory of Commerce” were designed by French artists and architects Jules Felix Coutan, Sylvain Salieres and Paul Cesar Helleu (Wiki).
Grand Central Terminal Great Hall
The architects brought in Parisian artist Sylvain Saliéres to craft bronze and stone carvings, including ornamental inscriptions, decorative flourishes, and sculpted oak leaves and acorns (symbols of the Vanderbilt family.) Playful carved acorns festoon the Main Waiting Room’s chandeliers. The architects specified Tennessee marble for the floors, Botticino marble for wall trim, and imitation Caen stone for the walls (History of Grand Central).
The Great Hall of Grand Central Terminal right before COVID 2020
The view of the Great Hall from the stairs at the Vanderbilt entrance
The Landmarks Preservation Commission protected Grand Central from demolition, but the dilapidated terminal was still ailing. Restoring its former glory required an owner that recognized the station’s beauty and potential, craftsmen able to renovate its battered décor, and strong public support. It also required money. In 1982, Metro-North took over the terminal—now primarily a commuter hub—and launched a four-year, $12 million repair program that stopped further deterioration but didn’t erase decades of decay (Grand Central Terminal History).
In 1990, Metro-North announced ambitious plans to restore the station’s structural, architectural, and decorative glory. Peter E. Stangl, Metro-North’s first president and later Chairman of the MTA, led these efforts. Metro-North’s vision went far beyond simply refurbishing the building. Its master plan reimagined Grand Central as a vibrant shopping and dining destination, reclaiming its role as New York’s town square (Grand Central Terminal History).
The windows and the ceilings of the Great Hall
All the art on the window arches is dedicated to travel. The friezes were dedicated to travel, motion and speed. The theme of the sculptures was travel. The sculptures were designed by Sylvain Salières, who designed many other decorations around the terminal.
Artist Sylvain Salieres was born in France. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He taught at Carnegie Institute as a Professor of Art.
The interior of the building is just as spectacular. When you walk into the building and stare from the top of the stairs, you see the power and bustle of New York City. When you look up you will see the famous ‘Constellation’ ceiling cleaned and lit with all the stars in the sky. There is still a small portion of the ceiling that was not cleaned to show how dirty it once was before the renovation.
The ceiling of the Great hall shows all the constellations
The ceiling had been designed with the help of a professor from Columbia University who taught astrology. The tour guide told us it was after the completion of the ceiling that the constellations were upside down and backwards (which was also noted in the video as well). Still you can see its magnificence in the details and the fact that it is lit up with lightbulbs to represent the stars.
The dirt on the ceiling
This small spot left in the ceiling in the corner was what was left after they finished cleaning the ceiling and renovating the rest of the terminal in the early 1990’s. Both the tour guide and the video said that this was from years of allowing smoking in the terminal. That was banned in the late 1980’s and early 90’s by both the Giuliani and Bloomberg Administrations.
The windows of the Great Hall which have walkways going across balconies
The tour guide explained to us that the windows were also skyways where people could walk across them. I did not believe it until I looked up and actually saw people walking across the windows. They are actually skylights that are double paned and there are three levels of walkways for people who work in the building to walk across.
The tile ceilings of the “hallways”Whispering Hall” of Grand Hall
In all the years I have been visiting Grand Central Terminal the “Whispering Hall” was the most fascinating part of the tour. You can stand on one side of the hall and hear someone talking on the other side of the room. It was fun testing it out and it really does work.
This remarkable acoustic oddity is caused by the unusually perfect arches, which are a version of Catalan vaults, that compose the gallery. The distinctive tile work in the gallery is known as “Guastavino” tiles, named for the patented material and methods of Spanish tile worker Rafael Guastavino in 1892, whose meticulous work and herringbone patterns can be admired here and elsewhere in the city (Atlas Obscura/Wiki).
The Grand Central Oyster Bar Restaurant inside the main terminal
The Grand Central Oyster Bar was closed that day but is one of the oldest restaurants in the city and was located there for the commuters who came and went from the terminal. It has been there since the beginning.
The chandeliers of Vanderbilt Hall make quite a statement. These were created to show off the new modern technology of electricity which was new back in 1913 when they were installed. The modern light bulb replaced gas lamps and candles of an earlier era. The Vanderbilts wanted to show how progressive they were with the railroads so these were created to dazzle the modern train rider.
The first part of the use electricity with these chandeliers
The vaults and chandeliers on the side of the Great Hall
A combination of soaring ceilings and modern lighting were to show the progress of the rail system and to dazzle customers as they came into New York City. These halls were meant to impress travelers when they entered this part of the Terminal.
The Vanderbilt’s wanted travelers to know that Grand Central Terminal was electrified which was unusual at the time when the building was built. This was very important as they wanted travelers to know that they were in the modern age of travel.
Next we toured the Graybar Passage Way which is part of the Graybar building that is part of Grand Central Terminal. The tour guide noted the very decorative chandeliers that lined the passageway.
The Graybar Passageway of Grand Central
The details of the chandelier in the Graybar Passageway
The mural on the ceiling
The tour guide and the video you can listen to below both explained that this mural was part of the original terminal from 1913. The mural is a bit faded and I had walked these hallways before and never noticed it. It is a depiction of train transportation. The video said that at the time murals should represent what the building was all about (Grand Central Terminal Video). I thought that was very interesting. It is very easy to miss.
The Food Court
We took a quick tour of the Food Court area in the lower level and some people had to go to the bathrooms. This is one of the many money making parts of the terminal and the profits help with the continuous renovation and upkeep of Grand Central Terminal. Since COVID, this are is still not at 100% of what it was pre-COVID but is still slowly making its way back. It has a lot of popular restaurants that are convenient to commuters, tourists and office workers alike.
The Food Court like most of the retail spots in the Terminal was created to bring in income for the renovation and upkeep of the Terminal. We headed back up the ramps to the main room and headed up the ramp and out the door. We stopped first in the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Foyer. This was dedicated to the former First Lady.
The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Foyer leading to East 42nd Street
Notice the lamp in the shape of an acorn. This was part of the Vanderbilt coat of arms. The coat of arms symbolized “from an acorn a mighty oak will grow”.
This entrance way was dedicated to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who with members of the Municipal Art Society and the City helped save this treasured building. With the recent destruction of Penn Station, the former First Lady lent her celebrity to helping save and preserve Grand Central Terminal.
Jackie Kennedy Onassis with Bess Myerson and Ed Koch in front of Grand Central (The Attic 2020) trying to save this landmark
Grand Central was symbolic of old Manhattan, a city her grandfather, James T. Lee, had helped build (highlights include 740 Park Avenue). Onassis also cared about historic preservation, having restored the White House to its former glory and saved Washington’s Lafayette Square from being replaced by ugly government office buildings in the early 1960s (Bloomberg 2013).
She was the star of a press conference in Grand Central’s Oyster Bar. “If we don’t care about our past we can’t have very much hope for our future,” she said into a bank of microphones over the din of flashbulbs popping. “We’ve all heard that it’s too late, or that it has to happen, that it’s inevitable. But I don’t think that’s true. Because I think if there is a great effort, even if it’s the eleventh hour, then you can succeed and I know that’s what we’ll do.” (Bloomberg 2013).
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Plaque in the foyer
This entrance was dedicated to her for all her work in preserving the building for future generations.
When we walked outside, the tour guide pointed at the grill work that surrounds the building. I never really thought of it because I had never looked at it before. All over the grill work is tiny acorns and leaves, the Vanderbilt coat of arms that was created by Alice Vanderbilt. They were all in the details of the grill work. This was a symbol of the Vanderbilt’s influence at that time.
The Grill Work on the outside of Grand Central Terminal
The Acorn Coat of Arms of the Vanderbilt family
Acorns and Oak Leaves are all over the Terminal as a symbol of the Vanderbilt family and the lasting of the family business. Within one generation the railroads and the family fortune would be gone.
The Statue of Mercury and the famous Grand Central clock “The Glory of Commerce”
There is a true beauty to the statuary and stone carvings on the outside of the building. Each of these were done by different artists. Some of the statuary was taken from the original railroad terminal such as the statue of Commodore Vanderbilt and the Eagle statues on both side of the front of Grand Central Terminal.
The Commodore Vanderbilt Statue
The statue was designed by artist Ernst Plassman a German born American artist who moved to New York in 1853. The artist studied under many famous artists in Europe before founding the “Plassman’s School of Art” in New York City in 1854.
The Eagle statues were taken from the previous terminal.
They are two of the 11 or 12 eagle statues that ornamented the terminal’s predecessor, Grand Central Station. In 1910, when the station was demolished to build Grand Central Terminal, the eagles were dispersed throughout the city and New York State (Wiki). These two statues now are located on both sides of the Terminal. This eagle was returned to the Terminal in 2004.
The Eagle Statue on the outside of the front of the Terminal
The Vanderbilt Eagle plaque in the Vanderbilt Plaza
The terminal housed the New York Central Railroad and some of the busiest routes. It now houses the New Haven, White Plains and Poughkeepsie lines and stop overs for some Amtrak lines. In 2020, it was house the new lines of the Long Island Railroad.
The new Grand Central Madison Avenue Concourse:
The Grand Central Madison Avenue is a brand new terminal that is situated deep underneath Manhattan’s East Side. In the next few months, 296 LIRR trains per day will be rolling in and out of the terminal. This will mean more frequent train service to Long Island and better access to the East side of Manhattan.
The project was first proposed back in the 1960’s and then began in the 1990’s. After 25 years, the project was finally finished with an 11 billion dollar price tag. The project delays were because of budget cuts, 9/11, Hurricane Sandy and other issues that the City was dealing with over the last forty years. The terminal finally opened fully in March of 2023 (Tour Guide/Wiki).
This is the new Madison Avenue Concourse to the Madison Avenue Terminal
In the lower terminal, steel and glass creates a sleek, modern feel. As passengers rise toward the 350,000 passenger concourse and street level, however, visual references to Grand Central’s Beaux-Arts style will create a smooth transition to the century-old landmark above. The Grand Central Madison Terminal provides eight new miles of track to connect Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal. Transportation efficiency meets energy efficiency! Green design at the new LIRR concourse and terminal will combine maximum comfort with minimal power and water use (Grand Central Terminal History and tour guide).
The new artwork that dots the terminal and all the hallways is just beautiful. Many artists were commissioned to decorate the new rail terminal. These glass mosaics decorate the halls and subway entrances to the new part of the terminal.
Kiki Smith is a West German-born American artist[1] whose work has addressed the themes of sex, birth and regeneration. Her figurative work of the late 1980s and early 1990s confronted subjects such as AIDS, Feminism and Gender but her most recent works concentrate on the human condition and how it relates to nature. She studied at the Hartford Art School and is a member of Collaborative Projects, an artist collective (Wiki).
Further down the hall, we were greeted by this delightful and whimsical wall of surrealist images of happy and playful pictures. These engaging images were by artist Yayoi Kusama.
The artwork on the hallways of the new terminal area by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama “A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe 2022”
“The other part of the artwork”A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe 2022” . The other side of the piece.
Artist Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese born artist who studied at the Kyoto School of Arts & Crafts and is known for her installments and sculptures but also works in film, performance art and fashion among other mediums and is known for influence in ‘Pop Art’ . She is currently the most successful living female artist in the world and is still going strong in her early 90’s. She currently is working on a second line of merchandise with Louis Vuitton (Wiki/Artist Bio).
Please watch the video of Yayoi Kusama
On the lower levels at each subway platform entrance, there is a new piece of art by Artist Kiki Smith, who continues to show here creativity in a series of local points of nature as she interprets it. Each work of art has a different theme and use of creativity and color.
The artwork at each track entrance “The Sound” by Artist Kiki Smith
The artwork at the track entrance “The Spring” by Artist Kiki Smith
The artwork at the track entrance “The Presence” by Artist Kiki Smith
The artwork at the track entrance “The Water’s Way” by artist Kiki Smith
“I made images from nature that hold affection and personal significance to me as I hope they will for others,” Smith said. “I am very honored to be included in the tradition of artists making work for the MTA, particularly as I have rarely had the opportunity to make something that lives within the public realm.” (6SqFt 2023)
We finished our tour at the last piece of artwork and then made our way back to the Cornell Club. I stayed for a half hour taking more pictures around the terminal and admiring the architecture one more time now knowing its history in more detail. It is amazing to walk around a building your whole life and never really know its history or its details. It was a wonderful tour.
The new modern entrance is now open for business and people can enjoy these wonderful pieces of art created for them to enjoy on their way to their trains and subways.
Grand Central Terminal at night
When I left for the evening, I got to see Grand Central Terminal at night and it really is nicely lit. You get to see the building at its best. It really is a beautiful building.
This was the closest tour I could find online of what I experienced:
Listen to the YouTube video while you are reading the blog. We had the same tour as on this video.
What is even more beautiful in Grand Central Terminal is it decorated for Christmas. Walking through the Great Hall with its towering wreaths and garland adorning the hallways.
Grand Central Terminal during the Christmas holiday season in 2023.
The beautiful wreathes adorn the walls of Grand Central Terminal. Christmas is such a special time at Terminal.
The New Kamboat Bakery & Cafe (or just Kamboat Bakery) is one of the liveliest bakeries in Chinatown. I started visiting the bakery after seeing videos on YouTube mentioning it for a great place to have a snack.
Since then, I have been visiting often after class for their Roast Pork and Cream filled buns, Curried and Pepper Chicken Puffs, Egg Tarts and other bakery delights that I enjoy for lunch and for snacks.
The bakery section at Kamboat Bakery
The selection of baked goods and entrees is extensive and there are all sorts of puffs, tarts and twists filled with sweet and savory fillings including roast pork, hot dogs and even breakfast sandwiches.
Kamboat Bakery also has a selection of rice rolls and entrees over…
The City has been coming back to life in the last year and a half. With the exception of some empty storefronts (not as bad as a few months ago), the Theater District has come back to life. Broadway shows are filling up again and restaurants in the area on a Wednesday afternoon and Thursday through Saturday night are busy. It is nice to see life being brought back to this once desolate area of Manhattan. It is hard to believe that this area was written off as ‘dead’ two years ago. Rightfully so with almost all theaters dark, restaurants closed, everything boarded up and a large homeless population moving in.
My other walks in the Theater District:
Walking the Borders of the Theater District/Times Square: Day Two Hundred and Sixty:
Now the crowds are back especially on the weekends and the sidewalks are spilling over with people as the shows let out on Wednesday afternoons and the weekends. I have noticed that during the week the office crowds still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and that has hurt the area shops and restaurants especially the ones just off the Theater District on Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Avenues. It will be awhile until we see these weekday crowds return.
I always start my tours in Bryant Park just off West 42nd Street
I returned to Central Park South, Midtown East and Hell’s Kitchen to see how they have bounced back since the City reopened two years ago. They are busy but there is a slightly different vibe in the area. Since the local hotels are housing recent immigrants to the City and the City homeless, there has been a different crowd walking the streets during the day. As tourism picks up, I am not too sure how long a lot of these Midtown hotels will be able to keep doing this.
I started my walk on Thursday morning wanting to know how the business crowd was doing. The core of the neighborhood keeps changing in that during the pandemic construction continued in this area and much of the older buildings in the district have been knocked down and glittering towers are replacing them. Along the side streets you can still see the remnants of the old neighborhood but little by little they are being replaced.
The Theater District is one of those landmarked neighborhoods where the theaters play catalyst to all the restaurants and shops around them. On the fringes of the neighborhood, on all sides, from Eighth Avenue to Fifth Avenue are being knocked down and replaced. I have never seen so much building going on. There are even some old stand out buildings that will eventually come down to make way for newer things.
The core of the neighborhood is Times Square which stretches from West 42nd Street to about West 46th Street along Broadway and Seventh Avenues. When people think of New York City especially Manhattan, this is what they think New York is all about. It is one of the busiest areas of Manhattan and the most crowded. When you walk in this area it is wall to wall people. The area has now been turned into a pedestrian plaza and it makes it easier to maneuver around the streets and avenues.
I had to cover Sixth and Seventh Avenues and Broadway from West 42nd to West 54th Street (sharing the border with Central Park South at West 54th Street) and I have found this one of the most active neighborhoods that I have walked in a long time. It is funny because I had to bypass this area when I resumed my walk in June 2020 because everything was shut down. The only people in this district were the police, who were guarding everything and the homeless.
This area of the city was barren. Everything from the theaters to the hotels to the restaurants, anything having anything to do with Broadway was shut tight and boarded up. It was really creepy. No one walked in this area. It was so empty of people if I had started the walk here the police would have really looked at me. Plus, I could not give a fair analysis of the area because everything was closed.
I started the walk at the border of Bryant Park, which was packed with people eating their lunches, reading, playing on the lawn or just relaxing under the trees. I swear this park has changed and keeps changing. It is always so busy and the one thing I have to say is the partnership that runs the park keeps everything in good shape and runs the public bathrooms beautifully. I wish all bathrooms in the public parks ran like this and were that well maintained.
Bryant Park in the summer months
Sixth Avenue, also called “the Avenues of the Americas (No one calls it that from New York City) is a very corporate environment lined with glass box towers, some have been here since the 1960’s and is an open-air museum of corporate art that lines the outside of these buildings. It is also home to Radio City Music Hall and can get very busy on show nights and during the Christmas holidays.
The corner of the neighborhood starts with the Bank of America building that stands guard at Sixth Avenue and West 42nd Street. It is a beautiful building day or night but especially at night when the skyline is lit.
The Bank of America building on West 42nd Street
Bryant Park and the Bank of America Building at night
The Bank of America building replaced what was left of a very shady corner of the old Times Square and was the last part of the reconstruction of Times Square. It is now complete from Bryant Park to the Port Authority and it looks so much nicer. The area around Bryant Park has changed over the last twenty years for the better. Things were a bit more vibrant before 2020 but the outdoor movies and activities have returned to the park along with all the Christmas activities making the vibrant park it was pre-Pandemic.
Even though many of the buildings along the Sixth Avenue corridor lack personality, save Radio City Music Hall which is part of the Rockefeller Complex, the outdoor corporate art is very interesting and original. Most of the buildings on this part of Sixth Avenue have that sleek glass box corporate look to them.
The ‘Corporate Canyon’ of Sixth Avenue at West 44th Street
The one building that does stand out in the neighborhood is Radio City Music Hall.
Radio City Music Hall was completed in 1932 as part of the larger development of Rockefeller Center. It was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone and interior designer Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style, with Samuel Lionel Rothafel, or “Roxy,” a leading expert on movie palaces, as a primary advisor.2 The public areas of the music hall feature murals, sculpture, and other work by prominent artists of the time (NY Preservation Archive Project).
Radio City Music Hall later that evening
These interiors are considered some of the most impressive in the history of modern theater design, with no equal in America in terms of scale or variety of architectural, artistic, and decorative elements. As one of the principal achievements of the Art Deco style and as one of the finest theater designs in the country, the interior of Radio City Music Hall is of unique importance to the history of American architecture (NY Preservation Archive Project).
The Hall opened on December 27, 1932, with a lavish variety show and continued to feature films and stage productions until 1979. At this point plans were made to convert the theater into office space, but a combination of preservation and commercial interests resulted in the protection of Radio City Music Hall and in 1980, after a renovation, it reopened to the public (NY Preservation Archive Project).
Radio City Music Hall exterior
Rockettes Sculpture
The Christmas Spectacular for the 75th Anniversary of the Music Hall featuring the Rockettes
I stopped on the corner of West 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue for lunch at Halal Guys Cart. This is where the empire started. There are now franchise stores of Halal Guys at started in 2015 all from this little cart right across the street from the MoMA. I have been coming here for over twenty years and the food has always been excellent.
The Halal Guys cart under the scaffolding on West 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue
As you can see, I love the food here. It is my ‘go-to’ place on a cool night for a hot meal.
The menu at Halal Guys Cart
The Mixed Combo sandwich with Gyro and Chicken lunch (Yum)
Across the street from the Halal Guys at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 52nd Street is a very unusual blue stature that caught my attention. This is one of the corporate art works at that line Sixth Avenue and makes quite the statement. This piece is called “Jean Marc” and was created by artist Xavier Veilham.
Jean Marc statue at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 52nd Street
Sign for artist Xavier Veilhan
Artist Xavier Veilhan was born in France and was educated at the Ecole nationale superieure des arts in Paris and at the Institut des hautes etudes en arts plastiques. He works in photography, sculpture, film, painting and installation art.
On the corner of 65 West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue is the famous Warwick Hotel (which just reopened after Covid months ago). The hotel is one of the oldest in New York City and one of hte many older hotels that dot this neighborhood.
The 36 story hotel was built by William Randolph Hearst in 1926 with the help of architect Emery Roth with the firm of George B. Post & Sons. The outside of the hotel is done with brick, granite and limestone giving it it’s unusual color scheme. Take time to look at the hotel’s detail work and old world charm in the lobby (Wiki).
Across from that is the most unusual sculpture of Seed 54 that is always hid behind a food cart.
Seed 54 by artist Haresh Lalvani
Seed 54 sign of artist Haresh Lalvani
On the corner is the an unusual sculpture that I first noticed when walking past a hot dog vendor on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 54th Street in front of 1330 Sixth Avenue building. This strange looking piece of artwork resembles an open air egg is by artist Haresh Lalvani. This unusual sculpture can be interpreted many different ways. The only problem is that the hot dog vendor on the corner distracts from even looking at it and I have passed it without even noticing it over the times I have been in the neighborhood.
Mr. Lalvani is a professional artist and Professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. His emphasis in the work is his study of morphology into nature and its affects on art. ‘Seed54′ is part of his HyperSurface’ series. Mr. Lalvani is a graduate of the Pratt Institute of Architecture (Pratt Institute).
Artist Haresh Lalvani in front of one of his “HyperSurface” works
Across the street in front of a rather non-descript building is this silver mesh globe in the heart of their courtyard.
The globe at 1345 Sixth Avenue
The globe sculpture hidden in the courtyard of 1345 Sixth Avenue is an interesting piece of art and unfortunately in all the trips to the neighborhood, I have not been able to find out who the artist is on this impressive work.
On the edge of the neighborhood between the Theater District and Central Park West is the famous New York Hilton.
The New York Hilton Hotel at 1335 Sixth Avenue at West 54th Street
The New York Hilton Hotel is one of the Tallest hotels in the world and the largest hotel in New York City. The hotel was developed by architect William B. Tabler, who built it in sections. The hotel opened to much acclaim in 1963 (Wiki).
The “Hope” sculpture sits on the corner of West 53th and Sixth Avenue
The “Hope” sculpture was placed here in 2014 on ‘International Hope Day’ which also happened to be the artist’s 86th birthday, Robert Indiana. He created the sculpture in 2008 and offers encouragement in the future.
Robert Indiana is an American born artist who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting in Maine, and the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. He was known for his large pop art sculptures.
Heading down Sixth Avenue in front of 1301 Sixth Avenue are two large sculptures of the Venus de Milo in shallow pools in front of the building that make quite the statement. These were created in 1990 by American artist Jim Dine. The statues stand out and make quite the statement.
The Venus de Milo statues at 1301 Sixth Avenue and West 53rd Street
Jim Dine is a contemporary American visual artist who graduated from Ohio University with a BFA. These are three of Jim Dine’s sculptures collectively entitled “Looking Toward The Avenue” installed in 1989 in the small plaza on the east side of Sixth Avenue at west 53rd and 54th Streets in Manhattan. The verdigris bronze statues emerge from a water pool. These sculptures are based on Venus de Milo, a masterpiece from the 2nd century BC (Big Apple Secrets).
The details on the Radio City Music Hall building
Rockefeller Center Building details
Across the street from the Rockefeller Center complex was this unusual apple sculpture that just appeared one day. I though this would make an excellent addition to the artworks that line the avenue but it will only be here for a short period of time.
La Gran Manzana “The Big Apple” is a great project created in homage to the city by international artist Enrique Cabrera in collaboration whit Mitsui Fudosan America Inc., one of the most important real estate developers in the country and the major in Japan one of the core companies Mitsui Group (Artsty.com).
Red Apple Sculpture “La Gran Manzana” by artist Enrique Cabrera
Artist Enrique Cabrera is a Mexican born artist who specializes in sculpture, photography, music and is an art restorer. The work La Gran Manzana is a temporary work through 2023 (Wiki).
Further down Sixth Avenue in front of 1211 Sixth Avenue was another contemporary sculpture that I must have passed several dozen time and never noticed. This sculpture “Annular Eclipse” was created by artist George Rickey.
1211 Sixth Avenue-The sculpture “Annular Eclipse, Sixteen Feet Variation I
Artist George Rickey is an American born artist who graduated with a degree in History from Balliol College at the University Oxford. His love of drawing had him continue his studies at various colleges in Paris. With his love of engineering and mechanics and metal work he started to create his kinetic sculptures (Wiki).
As you walk around Sixth Avenue, take time to admire the views of the buildings and the corporate setting. This is what people from outside the City think all of Manhattan is like. This is what you see in the movies when you think about Midtown Manhattan.
Sixth Avenue at West 47th Street
I revisited Sixth Avenue again in early December before I went to the Amy Grant concert at Carnegie Hall and it had been fully decorated for the Christmas holidays. If you want to see ‘Corporate Christmas’ at its best, it is Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. They may be the same decorations every year but it is so impressive.
Radio City Music Hall at Christmas 2023
Sixth Avenue and West 50th Street
The UBS Building at Christmas time on Sixth Avenue.
1345 Sixth Avenue in all its Christmas glory
1345 Sixth Avenue at Christmas time.
The decorations by 1531 Sixth Avenue surrounding the statues of Venus.
The decorations by 1531 Sixth Avenue.
The New York Hilton had this interesting cab display.
The Christmas ornaments at 1251 Sixth Avenue.
The Christmas display at 1221 Sixth Avenue in all its glory.
It is so amazing at the holidays
The Christmas tree display outside of 1211 Sixth Avenue was so colorful that night.
I even had time to sneak over to Rockefeller Center to see ‘The Tree” and watch the skaters before I ate dinner before the show. I never get tired of going to Rockefeller Center at Christmas and I always know the best times to go where there is smaller crowd.
The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is so iconic at the holidays. There is nothing like it anywhere.
Skaters at Rockefeller Center that night.
The Christmas tree is the highlight of this neighborhood during the holidays.
Bryant Park Christmas tree and the Village that surrounds it.
The skaters at Bryant Park at Christmas time.
The skating rink at Bryant Park.
The beauty of Bryant Park at night during Christmas.
Bryant Park at Christmas time is so spectacular. The Chrysler Building is aglow in the background.
The core of the neighborhood like the rest of New York City is very special at the holidays and you need to make a special trip just to go see the decorations here at Christmas.
I got back to Bryant Park in the afternoon and there was a concert going on in the park that was attracting the tourists. I think they were too busy taking pictures and filming the concert to ever really enjoy it.
Getting back to Bryant Park at Sixth Avenue and West 42nd Street
Walking up Broadway from West 42nd Street is what the world thinks New York is all about (not just the City but the entire State of New York). The streets within Times Square are closed off now and it is a pedestrian plaza until West 47th Street and filled with the most unusual characters. People are always hustling here so you have to watch yourself. I am so used to all this.
You have people in costumes trying to take pictures with you dressed as Minnie Mouse and Superhero’s. Run in the other direction if you see them as they will insist on money if you take a picture with them. It can be annoying but still a walk through these two blocks is a real experience. You will see rappers performing, dancers bopping around and actors trying to peddle Broadway shows and Comedy Clubs all over the area. It is really crowded in the summer months and walk fast to get past everyone. Watch your wallets and purses.
Broadway and West 44th Street-Times Square
Walking up Broadway between West 45th and West 46th Street one of the most impressive buildings you will see and one of the key buildings in the gentrification of Times Square if the Marriott Marquis, The Portman Hotel at 1535 Broadway. This impressive hotel was very innovative when it opened in the 1980’s with it’s central elevator and roof top bar. It has some of the most impressive views and its Eighth floor bars have the best views of the Times Square. I stayed here once with a friend of mine on my birthday and the rooms with a view are amazing.
The one thing that is important to know is that the bathrooms at the Marriott Marquis at 1535 Broadway are free and it is a good pit stop before heading further downtown. They are located on the Eighth floor and are clean and very nice. They also have some good restaurants in the hotel like the Broadway Bar (See review on TripAdvisor) to eat at but wait until you head further downtown (I did not visit the bathrooms on the 2020 walk so I am not sure if they are open now).
The hotel was designed by architect John C. Portman and was built originally as a Westin Hotel. The hotel was originally conceived and designed in the 1970’s but the financial crisis of the 1970’s put a stop to it. It was finished in 1985. It is still considered a very innovative design (Wiki).
During the Christmas holiday season, my brother and sister-in-law took me here for dinner after a long day of touring in the City. We ate at the signature Broadway Lounge on the Eight Floor with the most spectacular views of Times Square and I highly recommend eating here when you are in New York City. The food and the service are excellent.
The view from our seats by the windows.
Inside the bar that night for dinner. The place was really busy with post Christmas visitors.
The amazing three cheese Grilled Cheese with fries that I had for dinner.
I also recently got to try the Roast Turkey sandwich
The sandwich was excellent
The delicious and colorful Vanilla Cake for dessert.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Times Square was still pretty busy with out of towners and mostly locals and businesspeople as the City has opened back up again. Costume characters were fighting for customers all over the square and even the “Naked Cowboy” a staple in Times Square was out again. He was still there singing and dancing in 2022.
While in Times Square there are a few more sculptures that I missed on previous walks. The statue of Father Duffy sits erect on “Duffy Square” the northernmost part of the Times Square triangle. This is dedicated to “Father Francis P. Duffy”, a Canadian American priest in the New York Archdiocese and on the faculty of the St. Joseph’s Seminary. He gained fame in World War I as an army chaplain and was noted for his bravery and leadership during the war with the 69th New York.
The Father Duffy Statue in Times Square’s “Father Duffy Square”
The statue was created by artist Charles Keck and was dedicated in 1937. Charles Keck is an American artist who studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York.
Another statue that most people miss is the statue of composer, actor, and theater performer George M. Cohan, one of our great American artists. The artist wrote some of the most famous songs of that era including “Over There”, You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Give my regards to Broadway”.
The George M. Cohan statue in Times Square
The statue in Times Square of the composer was designed by artist Georg John Lober and was dedicated in 1959 in Father Duffy Square. Artist Georg John Lober was an American sculptor who studied at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and the National Academy of Design and was part of the New York Municipal Arts Commission from 1943-1960.
I will be really honest in that the only one who seems to notice these statues are myself and the pigeons. Everyone else in Times Square are too distracted with taking pictures and listening to music to notice them. Still they stand proudly in the heart of Times Square.
As I headed up Broadway, I had to stop in the new Krispie Kreme flagship store at 1601 Broadway. The sites and smells of the fresh doughnuts are amazing. You walk in to the store and get to see the doughnuts being made and then iced and filled. Then you get to buy them and taste them. It always has lines that wrap around especially at lunch time.
The Krispie Kreme Doughnut Flagship store at 1601 Broadway
Inside of Krispie Kreme flagship store making the fresh doughnuts. You get tempted with all the icing being doused on the doughnuts.
The freshly made doughnuts at Krispy Kreme are for sale and are delicious.
On the corner of Broadway and West 49th street is The Harrison Restaurant, once home to the ‘Java Shop’ restaurant where I worked for a little under a year. It is funny to look at this corner and still remember working here and all the things that I learned about the restaurant business. That is ancient history in a career that has taken many twists and turns in the last twenty years but I still do have some good memories of this spot.
The Harrison Brasserie at 1605 Broadway is the location of the old “Java Shop” where I worked from 1999 to early 2000
One building that needs to be noted on the way down to Times Square is the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway. Built in 1931 by builder Abraham E. Lefcourt the building was originally known as the Alan E. Lefcourt Building and got its current name from a haberdasher store front in the building. The building was known to play a major role in the music industry housing music studios and music company offices. Performers such as Carole King and Burt Bacharach had their offices here (Wiki).
The Brille Building at 1619 Broadway has a musical past
Details on the Brille Building are really unique.
Further up the road was another building dedicated to music and entertainment, the Ed Sullivan Theater where the “Tonight Show” is filmed.
The Ed Sullivan Theater is located at 1697-1699 Broadway between West 53rd and West 54th, in Manhattan, New York. The theater is a 13-story brick building that was designed by architect Herbert Krapp and built by Arthur Hammerstein. Arthur Hammerstein named the theater in honor of his father, Oscar Hammerstein I. Hammerstein’s Theater opened its doors on November 30, 1927 with a three-hour musical play called “The Golden Dawn.” (EdSullivan.com).
In 1931, Arthur Hammerstein, who was facing financial troubles, lost ownership of the building. Over the next five years the theater underwent numerous name changes until in 1935, when CBS secured a long-term contract on the building and began using the theater for radio broadcasts. In 1950, with the growing popularity of a new medium, CBS converted the theater into a television studio named CBS-TV Studio 50 (EdSullivan.com).
Ed Sullivan, who had been hosting his variety show “Toast of the Town” out of CBS’s Maxine Elliott Theater, moved into Studio 50 in 1953. The studio went on to become the home of The Ed Sullivan Show for the rest of the variety show’s 23-year run. On December 10, 1967, to mark The Ed Sullivan Show’s 20th year, the studio was named The Ed Sullivan Theater in honor of the great host. Like its namesake, The Ed Sullivan Theater has withstood the test of time and to this day remains the studio’s name (EdSullivan.com).
As I rounded Broadway back to Times Square, I quickly turned around in the crowds and headed up Seventh Avenue which followed the same path as Broadway and passed the busy Hard Rock Café, which was the old Paramount Theater at one time.
The old Paramount Theater is now the Hard Rock Cafe
The Paramount Theatre and adjoining Paramount Building on Times Square were conceived by Adolph Zukor, President of Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, to be a fitting flagship theatre and home of his company, the Publix Theatres Corporation. Located on the site of the old Putnam and Westover Court buildings, the Paramount Building was on the west side of Broadway from 43rd and 44th Streets, behind which was the Paramount Theatre (NYC-Ago).
Designed by the Chicago firm of Rapp & Rapp, the Paramount Building was twenty-nine stories tall and had eight setbacks to comply with zoning regulations. Surmounting its pyramidal top were a large clock and stylized globe that were illuminated at night. The time was indicated with flashes by white lights on the hour and red lights on the quarter hours (NYC-Ago).
The M & M store at 1600 Broadway but it stretches to Seventh Avenue
Positioned in the heart of Broadway, M&M’S Times Square is officially the hottest performance in town! Nothing brings more flavor to Manhattan than our two-story color wall packed with THOUSANDS of your favorite Milk, Peanut and Specialty M&M’S Candies. Melting inside? Our interactive InnerM analyzer will prove that you’re not the only one feeling the excitement (M & M.com).
In 2012, M&M’S New York launched the personalized printer, which will allow guests to create customized M&M’S right in the store. Store visitors can select from a variety of images, as well as create customized messages that will be printed on M&M’S candies in about two minutes. Guests can choose from 15 different colors and one mix blend, as well as select two images and create two customized messages to feature on their personalized M&M’S blend (M & M.com).
Seventh Avenue at West 52nd Street
My best friend works at the New York Sheraton Hotel at 811 Seventh Avenue and the hotel had been serving as a place where all the emergency workers doctors and nurses during the COVID crisis assisting people in the city at that time. It seems like a million years ago.
The famous New York Sheraton at 811 Seventh Avenue is where the chain started.
The hotel was design by architect Morris Lapidus who designed the hotel for the Tisch family and the Lowes Corporation. The hotel opened in 1962 at the Americana of New York. The hotel was sold to Sheraton in 1979 and was fully run Sheraton by 1990. In 2013, the hotel changed its name to the present one of the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel (Wiki).
On the corner of West 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue is this very unusual sculpture by artist Jim Rennert “WTF” that gives a perfect example of what happens to people who are not used to the Manhattan grind. I thought it was pretty clever. His sculptures dot Manhattan with conversation over the common man.
Jim Rennet statue “WTF” outside the Shake Shack at West 53rd and Broadway
Jim Rennert is an American born artist known for his large bronze sculptures depicting the everyday man. Mostly self-taught, his works are seen all over the country and really do make a statement.
Seventh Avenue at 43rd Street
I finished the walk of the Avenue of the Theater District at Seventh Avenue and West 42nd Street and looked back to see this view at Seventh Avenue around West 43rd Street. The sites and sounds and the excitement of Times Square and of the Theater District is what makes Manhattan Manhattan. This is what the City is all about.
Bryant Park in the Winter of 2023. Who says Times Square is boring?
I took a different direction from my walk having finished the Flatiron District (finally!). I had just started Graduate School as I was finishing the Flatiron District and had not completed the blog when classes started. Who knew it was going to be that crazy of a semester. I had not worked that hard since Wines & Menus when I was at the Culinary Institute of America.
I bypassed the whole Theater District after the COVID vaccine mandate was lifted in June of 2020 because between the riots that took place after the George Floyd incident and all the theaters being closed because of COVID (they would not open again until 2021) I skipped this section of the Manhattan. I went to Murray Hill and worked my way down to 23rd Street. The whole Theater District was loaded with police anyway guarding the theaters and the areas in between. There was literally no one walking around this neighborhood and I would have stood out. The theaters and restaurants were boarded up and homeless all over the place.
So I’m back and it makes it really easy since I just get right out of Port Authority and here I am. The Theater District has changed tremendously in the last thirty years and has gotten much better. All of 42nd Street and its seediness has pretty much gone away (but the element still lingers) and some of the most innovative new buildings have replaced all that. It made for an interesting walk before I had to meet my friend, Maricel, for her delayed birthday dinner at Virgil’s, a barbecue restaurant on West 44th Street.
Leaving the subway at 42nd Street the walls are filled with partying patrons
More partying patrons in the 42nd Street subway station before you get into the Theater/Times Square district
So I started on the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 42nd Street and made my way up Eighth Avenue to the northern border of the Theater District at West 54th Street. Talk about a combination of architectural structures and designs.
One of the most interesting buildings in the Times Square area is the Westin New York at Times Square at 270 West 43rd Street which stretches from West 42nd to West 43rd along Eighth Avenue. This hotel is considered one of the most innovative designed buildings in New York City when it was built.
Westin New York at Times Square at 270 West 43rd Street
The hotel was so innovative at the time when it was built and was considered a key in the redevelopment of the West 42nd Street district. The hotel was commissioned by the architectural firm of Arquitectonica to design the building. The 863 room hotel is actually two towers merged together with a ten story midsection for retail and hotel suites. The large scale abstract design has the look of a multi-dimensional gigantic origami (Arquitectonica website). The building was designed by HKS architects and was finished in 2002.
Further up Eight Avenue is the well-known Row NYC Hotel at 700 Eighth Avenue. This hotel opened in 1928 as the Hotel Lincoln and was the largest hotel in Manhattan when it opened with 1331 rooms. In 1957, the hotel was sold and remodeled and open again as The Hotel Manhattan. It was closed in the 1960’s as the rest of the area declined. It reopened again as the Milford Plaza Hotel in 1978 and was a big theater going hotel. In 2013, the hotel was sold once again and went through another renovation and opened as the currently Row NYC Hotel (Wiki).
As I made my way up Eighth Avenue that borders the Theater District, I passed the now reopened Smith’s Bar, which has been a fixture in Times Square for over sixty years opening in 1954. The bar had been sold to new owners in 2009 and then closed in 2014 to reopen a year later.
This bar has seen Times Square go through a major transition over the years and was once located in one of the worst areas during the 1990’s. It has since reopened and has been very popular going into “March Madness” with college basketball in full swing.
Located between 728 and 732 Eighth Avenue are three hold out businesses to a major construction project. It still houses Daniela at 728 Eighth Avenue, an Italian restaurant, a gift shop at 730 Eighth Avenue and Playwright Celtic Pub at 732 Eighth Avenue. Frankly I think all three businesses time is coming as the land is getting too valuable in the Times Square area. Every building around these has been torn down for a new building.
Further up the avenue on the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 46th Street is the West 46th Street SRO. This interesting building that I thought was an elegant Victorian is actually a combination of three former tenement buildings and two residences to make one building. Architects Oaklander, Coogan & Vitto PC created this interesting building with an additional shared floor topped with a mansard roof and tower. It used to house many trendy restaurants and bars but since the pandemic has been empty. By 2023 though, it is starting to fill up again (OCV Architects PC).
I reached West 48th Street and I passed Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9, which I used to pass all the time when I worked down the road at the Java Shop on the corner of Broadway and West 46th Street at 782 Eighth Avenue. These companies were hit hard a year after I left my job on 9/11 when the Brothers of this house lost 15 members that day, their entire shift. The memorial they have to their members is really touching and the guys that work there always seem so friendly to all the tourists that pass by.
Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9 at 782 Eighth Avenue
Pay respects to the Engine 54/Ladder 4 9/11 Memorial on the front of the building
The Memorials
Engine 54 Plaques and Awards including 9/11
The plaque at the firehouse
There are two wonderful Chinese restaurants that I like to visit when I am in the neighborhood. One is Chef Pho & Peking Roast Duck at 858 Eighth Avenue, which has wonderful lunch specials until 4:00pm. The restaurant has some of the best egg rolls that I have tasted in a long time. I made special stops here for lunch when walking the area.
Peking Roast Duck Restaurant at 858 Eighth Avenue (Closed 2020)
The other is Real Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns at 811 Eighth Avenue which is known for their Pork & Crab and Pork Soup Dumplings. I love their fried dumplings, Scallion pancakes with sliced beef, the pan-fried Duck Buns and the Shanghai pan-fried pork buns. Everything on the menu here is excellent and you can eat your way through the menu of delicious Dim Sum.
Real Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns at 811 Eighth Avenue
When I turned the corner at West 54th Street, it was like visiting an old friend. Although I walk down this street all the time on the way to the MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art), in the past I never really paid attention to the buildings in the area or the architecture. When I walked down the street I saw the beauty in a lot of the townhouses that lined West 54th Street toward Fifth Avenue.
As I walked the border of the neighborhood on West 54th Street from Eighth Avenue, you can see the traces of Old Residential New York side by side with the new office towers, hotels and the extension of the Museum of Modern Art on the corner of West 54th and Fifth Avenue.
At the very edge of the neighborhood is 254 West 54th Street now the home of a theater but in the late 70’s was home to the famous ‘Studio 54’ nightclub and epicenter of the Disco era. There has never been a club before and after that can compare to it.
The club was opened in 1977 by club owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schlager who had once opened clubs out on Long Island and to much fanfare and the party did not end until the club was raided for tax evasion and closed February of 1980. The party was over! The club continued to open over the years but the original magic was gone as the Disco era faded away in the early 80’s.
254 West 54th Street The famous former “Studio 54”
The history of the Rise and Fall of Studio 54
Seed54 Sculpture at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 54th Street
On the corner is the an unusual sculpture that I first noticed when walking past a hot dog vendor on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 54th Street in front of 1330 Sixth Avenue building. This strange looking piece of artwork resembles an open air egg is by artist Haresh Lalvani. This unusual sculpture can be interpreted many different ways. The only problem is that the hot dog vendor on the corner distracts from even looking at it and I have passed it without even noticing it over the times I have been in the neighborhood.
Seed54 Sculpture at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 54th Street
Artist Haresh Lalvani in front of one of his “HyperSurface” works
Mr. Lalvani is a professional artist and Professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. His emphasis in the work is his study of morphology into nature and its effects on art. ‘Seed54′ is part of his HyperSurface’ series. Mr. Lalvani is a graduate of the Pratt Institute of Architecture (Pratt Institute).
Artist Haresh Lalvani in front of one of his “HyperSurface” works
The first building that popped out to me was The Albemarle at 205 West 54th Street. This 12 story Beaux-Arts building was built in 1903 and was once known as the Hotel Harding and then the Alba. Actress Mae West once living in the building. The hotel at one time was home to the notorious “Club Intime” run by Texas Guinan. This was a well-known Speakeasy during Prohibition (City Realty).
Take time to look at the detailed stone work and carvings along the building. It really stands out amongst its more modern neighbors.
In front of 1345 Sixth Avenue is a large silver globe that has always fascinated me on the walks down West 54th Street. There is no name of the artist and nothing on the planters or doorway of the building.
The silver globe in front of 1345 Sixth Avenue on the corner of West 54th Street
At 162 West 54th Street, another beautiful building stands out with faces staring and smiling at you. This recently renovated building has now been turned into luxury condos and has been sandblasted back to its original beauty for a building that was built in 1911.
Walking further down the street, you will realize that this part of the neighborhood is home to many of the most famous ‘old line’ hotels in Manhattan. At 65 West 54th Street is the luxury Warwick Hotel.
The 36 story hotel was built by William Randolph Hearst in 1926 with the help of architect Emery Roth with the firm of George B. Post & Sons. The outside of the hotel is done with brick, granite and limestone giving it it’s unusual color scheme. Take time to look at the hotel’s detail work and old world charm in the lobby (Wiki).
The Warwick Hotel at 65 West 54th Street
The detail work around the windows of the Warwick Hotel
As you continue to walk the border of West 54th Street closer to Fifth Avenue, you will see the back of the Museum of Modern Art which just reopened after its renovation and expansion. On the northern side of West 54th Street is a series of historical mansions each with its distinctive look.
The first home that really stood out was 35 West 54th Street. The brownstone was built right after the Civil War and was part of a series of identical brownstones built on the block. When the brownstone was bought by owner, Dr. Allan Thomas, in the late 1890’s, he stripped the front of the brownstone and gave it its current Beaux Arts facade to match architecture being built along Fifth Avenue.
The house was then bought by Walter Tower Rosen, whose bought the house in 1916 and it stayed in the family until 1968. It is currently private apartments (Daytonian in NY).
Another mansion that stands out along West 54th Street is the William Murray House at 13-15 West 54th Street. These twin mansions were built for Larchmont businessman William Murray by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in the ‘Renaissance style’. This section of fashionable mansions is what is left of the Gilded Age residences in the neighborhood.
The James Gordon House at 9-11 West 54th Street really stands out. James J. Gordon was the owner of the Erie Railroad and two insurance companies and was a cousin of JPMorgan, the banker. The house was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Colonial American style. Mr. Gordon’s family had come to the United States in the 17th century and was from an old line Connecticut family. Look at the classic look of the mansion and its elegant stone and grill work. The house is now on the market for 65 million dollars (Curbed New York).
The last home in this series of brownstones is 7 West 54th Street which was built by banker Philip Lehman in 1900. The brownstone was designed in the Beaux Arts style and after his death in 1947, his son, Robert, moved in and used the home for his art collection. He used the house until he died in 1969. It is now being used as offices (Wiki).
As you turn the corner to Fifth Avenue, you start to experience the old wealth of Manhattan with the University Club to your right and St. Thomas Church to the left when you enter Fifth Avenue at West 54th Street. This area also contains luxury department stores and shops, famous hotels and the Upper Crust churches that dot Fifth Avenue. The Theater District shares the borders with Midtown East, the Upper East Side, Hell’s Kitchen and the Garment District so there is a lot of overlapping with the neighborhoods.
The next block up is a combination of unique buildings back-to-back with the University Club of New York (Princeton) and the Peninsula Hotel. These buildings are so beautiful in their place on Fifth Avenue.
The University Club of New York is a private social club and is just as elegant inside as it is outside. The building was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White in 1899 and was designed in the Mediterranean Revival Italian Renaissance palazzo style.
The University Club on the corner of West 54th Street and Fifth Avenue
The University Club of New York at 1 West 54th Street
When reaching the corner of East 53rd Street another historic church, Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue stands guard. Though the church has been part of Manhattan since 1823, the current church was built here by 1914 and consecrated in 1916 as an Episcopal parish (Wiki).
The church was designed by architects Ralph Adams Cram and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue of the firm Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson with added sculpture by Lee Lawrie. The building is designed in the French High Gothic style and has magnificent deals (Wiki). Even if you are not Episcopalian, going to services at the church is a nice experience. The services are always very relaxed and the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is excellent. The music and songs are wonderful to hear and the concerts in the afternoon and weekends are a treat.
On the corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street sits a true jewel box in the Cartier store at 653 Fifth Avenue. The store was once home to Morton Freeman Plant, the son of railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant. The home was designed by architect Robert W. Gibson in 1905 in the ‘Neo-Renaissance style’. Mr. Plant felt later that the area was getting too ‘commercial’ and moved further uptown and Cartier bought the building in 1917 (Wiki).
Cartier finished a renovation on the store in 2016 to bring back the true beauty and elegance of the store and of the building. Don’t miss the opportunity to walk around inside and see the refined displays of merchandise.
The Cartier store after the renovation
Next to the Cartier store at 647 Fifth Avenue is the next Versace store which is housed in the left side of the Vanderbilt ‘ marble twin mansions. The Vanderbilt family had bought the land and built twin buildings on the site at 647-645 Fifth Avenue. Designed by architects Hunt & Hunt in 1902, the homes were first leased out as homes until about 1915 when businesses and trade came to the area.
647 Fifth Avenue in 1902
After passing out the Vanderbilt family in 1922, the building went through many incarnations and 645 Fifth Avenue was torn down for the Best & Company Department store in 1945 only to be torn down again in 1970 for the Olympic Tower (which still stands in the spot). The building was renovated in 1995 by Versace as their Fifth Avenue store and spent six million dollars to create the store that greets customers today.
The true catalyst and center of the luxury shopping district though is St. Patrick’s Cathedral which sits gracefully at the corner of Fifth Avenue between 51st and 50th Streets. The Diocese of New York was created in 1808 and the land for the Cathedral was bought in 1810. The Cathedral was to replace the one in lower Manhattan.
This current Cathedral was designed by architect James Resnick Jr. in the Gothic Revival style. Construction was started in 1850 and was halted because of the Civil War and continued in 1865. The Cathedral was completed in 1878 and dedicated in 1879. The Cathedral was renovated in 2013 and this shows its brilliance (Wiki).
During the holiday season the Cathedral is beautifully decorated and the music can be heard all over Fifth Avenue.
Next door to St. Patrick’s Cathedral is Saks Fifth Avenue’s headquarters. The business was founded by Andrew Saks in 1876 and was incorporated in 1902. After Mr. Saks died in 1912, the business was merged with Gimbels’ Brothers Department Store as Horace Saks was a cousin of Bernard Gimbel. In 1924, they opened the new store at 611 Fifth Avenue and changed the name of the store to Saks Fifth Avenue (The old store had been on 34th Street previously and called Saks 34th). The building was designed by architects Starrett & Van Vliet and designed in a ‘genteel, Anglophile classicized design’. (Wiki).
The store has recently gone through a major multi-million dollar renovation and is worth the time to look around the new first floor. The new cosmetic department is on the lower level along with jewelry so it is a different shopping experience. In its place, the handbag department has moved to the first floor.
Once you get to West 49th Street things start to change when you enter Rockefeller Center which is across the street from Saks Fifth Avenue. The Rockefeller Center complex covers 22 acres with 19 buildings including Radio City Music Hall and the famous ice skating rink that is holiday tradition once the famous tree is lite. The complex stretches from East 48th to East 51st Street from Fifth to Sixth Avenues. Rockefeller Center was built in two sections, the original 16 building of the complex and then the second section west of Sixth Avenue (Wiki).
Rockefeller Center at 45 Rockefeller Plaza at night facing Fifth Avenue
The land under Rockefeller Center was owned by Columbia University (which was later sold) and the building of the complex started at the beginning of the Great Depression. Construction started in 1931 with the first section opening in 1933 and the remainder of the complex opening in 1939 (Wiki).
The original section of the complex was built in the ‘Art Deco style’ and the extension on Sixth Avenue was built in the ‘International style’. Three separate firms were hired to design the complex with the principal architects being Raymond Hood of Hood, Godley and Fouilhoux who was a student in the Art Deco style, Harvey Wiley Corbett and Wallace Harrison of Corbett, Harrison & McMurray and to lay the floor plans for the project L. Andrew Reinhard and Henry Hofmeister of Reinhard & Hofmeister. They were working under the Associated architects so that no one person could take the credit for the project (Wiki). Two of the original tenants including Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and National Broadcasting Company (NBC) which still exist.
The original section of Rockefeller Center
Radio City Music Hall, known for the elaborate shows and the Rockettes, was finished in 1932 and the ice-skating rink was finished in 1933 and the first Christmas tree was erected by the workers who were doing all the building.
The first tree in Rockefeller Center in 1933 with the constructions workers who erected it.
The rest of the complex went up over the next five years with extensions and renovations being done over the next fifty years. Many famous companies made Rockefeller Center their headquarters or moved their offices to the complex over the years. Still most tourists find their way to the restaurants and the famous rink at the holidays.
Rockefeller Center and the famous tree at Christmas 2022
Of all the beautiful artwork that line the walls and courtyards of the complex, two stand out. Prometheus is a beautiful statue that stands proud above the ice-skating rink. This beautiful cast iron, gilded sculpture was made in 1934 by artist Paul Manship. The work is of the Greek legend of Titan Prometheus who brought fire to mankind by stealing it from the Chariot of the Sun (Wiki).
Mr. Manship was a well-known American artist who noted for his specialized work in mythological pieces in the classic style. He was educated at the St. Paul School of Art and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
The other standout statue is of the God Atlas that guards the courtyard of the International Buildings. The sculpture was created by artist Lee Lawrie with the help of Rene Paul Chambellan. The statue was created in the Art Deco style to match with the architecture of the Center and depicts Atlas carrying the celestial vault on his shoulders.
Atlas at Rockefeller Center
Mr. Lawrie was known as a architectural sculptor whose work is integrated into the building design. His work in the Art Deco design fit perfectly into the new building. Mr. Lawrie was a graduate of the School of Fine Arts at Yale.
Touring around Rockefeller Center can take a full afternoon itself especially at the holidays but in the summer months with the outdoor cafe open on the skating rink it is much more open.
Framing the view of Prometheus from the Channel Gardens are Youth and Maiden, which were originally commissioned as companion figures for Rockefeller Center’s famous fire god, one male and one female, to represent humankind.
Artist Paul Manship’s ‘Maiden’
Artist Paul Manship’s ‘Youth”
Originally placed on either side of the gilded Prometheus, each figure extends one hand to receive the gift of fire. The dramatic architecture surrounding Rockefeller Center’s Channel Gardens frames a major exhibition of sculpture by American artist Paul Howard Manship (Public Art Fund 1999).
Also visit the underground walkways of shops and restaurants and visit the new FAO Schwarz that opened in the center. In the winter months, it is fun to watch the skaters on the iconic ice rink. I then headed back down Fifth Avenue again to walk through Bryant Park.
Another former business that was well known on Fifth Avenue for years was located at 597 Fifth Avenue was Charles Scribner Sons Building. It originally housed the Charles Scribner Book Store replacing the old store on lower Fifth Avenue. The building at 597 Fifth Avenue was designed by architect Ernest Flagg in the Beaux Arts style between 1912-13 (Wiki).
The bookstore moved out in 1980 and the company became part of Barnes & Noble Bookstores and the building has been sold since. It now houses a Lululemon Athletica store but you can still see the Scribner’s name on the outside of the building and the Landmarked bookshelves inside the store.
The Charles Scribner Sons Building at 597 Fifth Avenue
The rest of Fifth Avenue is newer office buildings with retail space on the bottom levels some filled and some empty. When I was growing up, this part of Fifth Avenue was filled with high end stores. Today it is a combination of chain stores found in the suburbs or are just sitting empty, a trend found all over this part of Midtown East.
At 551 Fifth Avenue another interesting building, The Fred French Building really stands out. The building was created by architects H. Douglas Ives and Sloan & Robertson in 1927 in the ‘Art Deco Style’. Really look at the detail work all the up the building which was done in an ‘Eastern Design’ style with winged animals, griffins and golden beehives made to symbolize according to the architect ‘commerce and character and activities’ of the French companies. The outside material used on the building is faience, a glazed ceramic ware (Wiki).
The detail work on the top of the Fred French Building
From 43rd Street, I walked back up Fifth Avenue to the other side of the street and the buildings on this side of the street contains its share of architectural gems. The glass box building at 510 Fifth Avenue has always stood out to me. It was built in 1954 for the Manufacturers Trust Company. It was designed by architect Charles Evans Hughes III and Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Evans & Merrill in the International style and recently has won awards for its extensive renovation. It had been used as a branch of Chase Bank until 2000 and now is used for retail stores (Wiki).
The lower part of this side of Fifth Avenue is going through a transition as a lot of buildings exteriors are either being renovated or the building itself is being knocked down and a new one is rising. Many of the buildings here are quite new or just don’t stand out.
I reached Bryant Park by the afternoon and it was just beautiful that afternoon. The park has gotten more crowded with each month that the City has opened. The tables and chairs are pretty much back to normal since the years of COVID have passed into memory (it is still with us) and people are back to socializing again. It has become one of the nicest parks in New York in comparison to what it was in the late 1980’s. It also has the nicest and cleanest public bathrooms in Manhattan so it is worth the wait in line.
Bryant Park was busy that day
Bryant Park just before the ice skating rink was taken down
Years ago when I worked in Manhattan in the early 90’s, Bryant Park was only used for drug dealing and criminal activity and was best avoided. What twenty years and a major renovation can do to a park. Today you can walk along the flowering paths and think you are in Paris. In the past there have been concerts and movies in the park but because of COVID-19, you can just sit in the park on a chair or bench and enjoy the sunshine and admire the flowers.
Just walking along the paths of Bryant Park in the Spring and Summer months can make you forget your troubles
I continued my walk of the Garment District passing the New York Public Library admiring the stone carvings and statuary that is part of the entrance of the famous library. The library had just had a recent refreshing and looked magnificent with the fountains flowing and patrons filling the tables outside the building.
The New York Public Library guards the borders of Murray Hill from Fifth Avenue in the Spring
This famous iconic building was designed by the firm of Carrere and Hastings in the Beaux-Arts style and opened its doors May 23, 1911. The founding for this important library came from patronage of the wealth members of society who believed in the value education and opened it to the people.
The famous lion statues that grace the entrance of the library were designed by American sculptor Edward Clark Potter and they were carved by the Piccirilli Brothers, American stone carvers whose business was based in the Bronx.
The NY Public Library Lions are iconic
Edward Clark Potter is an American born artist who studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and at the Academie Julian in Paris where he studied ‘animalier’, animal sculpture.
The Piccirilli Brothers were a family of stone carvers and artists in their own right who were from Massa, Italy and owned a business in the Bronx. There were responsible for many famous statues all over the City including the Maine Memorial in Columbus Circle and the Firemen’s Memorial in Riverside Park.
Artist Attilio Piccirillo , one of the most famous from the family
Another feature of the famous building and I had never noticed before was the elegant fountains that flank the entrance to the library. I did not realize that these fountains had just been restored in 2015 after thirty years of not functioning. They were restored with a grant from the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust (NYPL Site).
The fountain “Beauty”
The fountain “Truth”
These beautiful fountains were designed by artist Frederick MacMonnies, an American born artist who studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.
I relaxed under the trees and took a break from the walking. It is a funny thing that I have noticed at the park and it seems like no one is ever working. Everyone is either eating or talking. It has been so different since COVID started. You never see dressed business people in the park taking a break. It looks more like it is full of tourists visiting.
Enjoy the opening scene of “Ghostbusters” from 1984 shot at the NY Public Library:
Enjoy this scene from “Ghostbusters” from 1984 shot at the NY Public Library
The opening of the film “Ghostbusters” was shot inside the New York Public Library
Still when the park is in full bloom there is nothing like it. It is surrounded by classic architecture and beautiful buildings. They even were bringing back the “Bryant Park Film Festival” by the end of the summer. One Monday night I took a break from walking and watched the film “Moonstruck” which I had seen outside once at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Even though I had seen it hundreds of times since it came out I never tire of watching the film.
There have been many changes around Bryant Park in the last twenty years. Most of the older buildings of Times Square have been long knocked down and the area rebuilt which needed it. Now the impressive Bank of America building at 1111 Sixth Avenue (or also known as One Bryant Park) graces the corner of West 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue (trust me, no one in New York City calls Sixth Avenue “The Avenue of the Americas”).
This innovative building was designed by architect Rick Cook from the firm of Cookfox Adamson Associates. The building was designed with a clear ‘Curtain wall’ and several diagonal planes for wind resistance. The building was also awarded a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for sustainable ‘green’ architecture (Wiki/Durst website).
The further you walk down West 42nd Street, the more you see how the block has changed in the last thirty years. All the older theaters and office buildings were knocked down and cleared out back in the 1980’s when Times Square went through urban renewal. The more historical theaters and old hotels have since been refitted and renovated.
Across the street in Three Bryant Park’s plaza is an interesting statue entitled “The Guardians: Hero” by artist Antonio Pio Saracino. This unique sculpture in made in layers and created from marble set in precision stone. The statue is done in repeated planes of marble . The sculpture is a modern representation on Michelangelo’s “David” Stoneworld/APS Designs).
Artist Antonio Pio Saracino is an Italian born artist currently working in New York City. He is a graduate of Sapienza University of Rome and works as an architect and designer. He has had shows all over the world (Wiki).
At the corner of West 42nd Street and Broadway is the Knickerbocker Hotel at 6 Times Square. This hotel has had many incarnations over the years including an apartment house. As the neighborhood has improved, the historical buildings in the area have been renovated back to their former selves.
The Knickerbocker Hotel was built by John Jacob Astor IV and it opened in 1906. The hotel was designed by the firm of Marvin & Davis in the Beaux-Arts style. The outside of the hotel was built in red brick with terracotta details. The hotel was fully renovated in 2015 (Wiki).
One building that stands tall in Times Square is One Times Square known as 1475 Broadway. Once the home headquarters for the New York Times was opened in 1904. The building was designed by architect Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz. The original façade was of stone and terra cotta but this has been mostly stripped and is now home for mostly advertising. The ball still drops from the top of the building every New Year (Wiki).
One Times Square before the scaffolding went up
One Times Square with the lit ball for the New Year
What is left of the old ’42nd Street’ Theater District has been renovated and refitted of its historic theaters. The rest of the block was knocked down and new office buildings were built starting in the late 1980’s and throughout the 1990’s. This is still a major gateway to the City especially from the Lincoln Tunnel and the Port Authority (NYCEDC/42nd Street Redevelopment Project).
The original 42nd Street Redevelopment project (NYCEDC)
In the early 1980’s to the early 90’s until Mayor Rudy Giuliani took office, this area was being touted for redevelopment. It had started before the 1987 Stock Market Crash and then stalled for almost eight years. In the early 1990’s, the whole block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues along West 42nd Street were torn down, the theaters started to get renovated and new office buildings were built. If someone left New York City in 1990 and came back today, they would not recognize the neighborhood to the changes made.
Some of the changes has been the renovation and restoration of three beautiful theaters, the New Victory Theater at 209 West 42nd Street, the New Amsterdam Theater at 214 West 42nd Street and the former Empire Theater now the AMC Empire Theater at 234 West 42nd Street. Each of these architectural wonders used to be major theater houses before they became porn theaters and are now back to their original glory.
The New Victory Theater was one of the first theaters to reopen under the new plan.
The New Victory Theater was built by Oscar Hammerstein I in 1900 and was designed by architect Albert Westover. It opened as the Theatre Republic in 1900 and showed live stage shows. It did not become a movie theater until 1942 and by 1972 it became a porn theater. it resumed legitimate theater by the 1990’s when it was refurbished in 1995 and was the first theaters renovated in the 42nd Development plan (Wiki).
The New Amsterdam Theater is one of the oldest theaters in the area having been built between 1903 and 1904. The theater was built by Klaw and Erlanger for live theater and was designed by architects Herts & Tallant with a Beaux Arts exterior design and an Art Deco interior. The embellishments and details on the outside are quite elaborate (Wiki).
The theater was home to the Ziegfeld Follies from from 1913 to 1927 and hosted the elaborate shows of their day. It then was converted to a movie theater in 1937 until 1983 when it was leased to the Walt Disney company and renovated between 1995 and 1997. It is now operated by Disney Theatrical Productions for their live shows (Wiki/Walt Disney Company).
The former Empire Theater now the AMC Empire 25 was built in 1912 for producer Al H. Woods and was designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb in the Beaux Arts style. The theater was for live stage performances until 1943 when it was converted into a movie palace. It closed for good in the 1980’s as the area declined (Cinema Treasurers).
In 1998, the theater was moved from its location at 236 West 42nd Street and moved down the street to its present location at 234 West 42nd Street. The exterior was largely kept intact and the present theater interior was built inside of it enhancing the beauty of the present building (Cinema Treasurers/Wiki).
These theaters showed the testament of time and this type of architecture now is appreciated and being refitted to modern uses like the buildings I had seen in NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park) and in the Flatiron District.
A lot of the businesses on West 42nd Street heading back to the Port Authority have started opening up again. Sidewalk cafes were out with the warmer weather and customers were milling around. I saw this happening on my walks into the Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton section just north of the border of the Garment District.
The Port Authority at the edge of the Theater District is always busy.
After I reached the Port Authority, I double backed to West 44th Street to join Maricel for lunch at Virgil’s Barbecue. The restaurant was really crowded as “March Madness” had started and college basketball was in full swing. We had a group of Howard Alumni sitting behind us and by the end of lunch they looked heart broken as their team fell behind. There were plenty of other Alumni from other schools in the restaurant watching the games on the many TVs that lined the bar area of the restaurant.
We had not been to Virgil’s since before COVID hit. We used to come here quite often so it was nice to back. Lunch was wonderful. I had a much-needed Pulled Pork Sandwich with a bowl of homemade chicken soup. Maricel could not finish her Mac & Cheese, so she gave me the rest. It was a wonderful afternoon of food and great conversation. She actually asked how my walk in Manhattan was going. I reminded her that she was supposed to be doing this project with me originally. She laughed at that one. After lunch it was perfect after a long walk around the neighborhood.
The Pulled Pork Sandwich at Virgil’s with Mac & Cheese and a biscuit
It was a nice afternoon to walk around and to spend the rest of the afternoon with a good friend over wonderful food made it even better.
It is nice to see the Theater District come to life again after a long COVID slumber. It is going to interesting to see how the area develops now that all the theaters are open, and the tourists are coming back. Talk about a drastic change in just two years!
The Merchant House Museum, the former home to four generations of the Treadwell family, was built in 1832 and is designed in the late Federal style of brick and marble. When the house was built, elegant Greek Revival style rowhouses of red brick and white marble flanked the tree lined streets of this fashionable residential enclave, known then as the Bond Street Area.
The house was the home of wealthy merchant, Seabury Tredwell, his family and their four servants. Over the next 98 years, the family…
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