Tag Archives: Myzel’s Chocolates

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Four Walking the Borders and Avenues of Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton/Midtown West Eighth to Tenth Avenues West 59th to West 42nd Streets April 5th, 2021

I finally got back to the West Side of the Island since before the Christmas holidays of 2019. I could not believe it had that long since I had visited that part Island. Like the rest of Manhattan, this area just keeps changing. COVID has changed the rest of the country but in New York City, it has shuttered and changed whole neighborhoods.

Unlike the Midtown South neighborhood that had been built as Midtown business district during the “City Beautiful Era” of cities between the Civil War and WWI with its classic Beaux Arts and French Renaissance style buildings, Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton was filled with tenements and smaller commercial buildings that catered to the working class living there who were employed in the factories and the docks in Chelsea and the Garment District. Up until the early 1990’s, this was still a pretty tough area. As the City has gentrified, this is one of the last frontiers for people to move into reasonably. Up until COVID hit the City, the area had been fully gentrified and the corridors of Ninth and Tenth Avenues had become ‘restaurant rows’ for the theater district . Now Tenth Avenue is retrenching with a lot of empty storefronts.

I started my walk at the Port Authority which is the southern part of the neighborhood. This is the main port of transportation for thousands of workers from New Jersey and in pre-COVID times, this area was filled with active restaurants and theaters. Things have opened back up slowly but most of the restaurants for now closed. The 42nd Street Corridor from Eight to Sixth Avenue has not fully recovered from the lost of the Theater traffic. As I walked up Eight Avenue from West 42nd to 59th Streets, some restaurants were fully opened and some were take out and delivery so the foot traffic was pretty quiet that day. Even some of the hotels have not opened back up for business. This area has been hit very badly since the closure of the Theater District.

Since Midtown West had been rezoned eight years ago, the area is in the process of being knocked down and rebuilt with new office buildings and apartment houses. The area around Eight Avenue from West 42nd to 50th Streets has changed a lot in the last ten years. COVID has closed most of the restaurants on the street as well. Looking on the side streets many of the theaters in the Theater District are either chained closed or boarded up with the hotels in the neighborhood. It can be a scary ghost town at night.

The area has had an interesting past. During Colonization by the Dutch, the neighborhood was known as “Great Kill” due to three streams that used to empty into the Hudson River and was home to many large farms and estates of the wealthy . The area was dominated by family names such as Hopper and Clinton, the latter being the former Vice-President and New York State Governor George Clinton, whose family owned a villa around where present West 46th Street is now. All that is left of that part of the neighborhood’s history is the carriage house from the estate in an alleyway at 422 West 46th Street (Wiki).

George Clinton

Former Vice-President and New York Governor George Clinton

https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Clinton-vice-president-of-United-States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clinton_(vice_president)#:~:text=A%20prominent%20Democratic%2DRepublican%2C%20Clinton,hold%20office%20under%20two%20presidents.

In 1849, the railroad reached the neighborhood and it started to form its Industrial stage with tanneries and docks being built along the shore and shanty towns for workers forming along the waterfront. Later tenements were built to house the workers of the industries filling with recent Irish immigrants after the Civil War and the area had a notorious reputation for gang violence until gentrification started in the 1980’s. The neighborhood has been transforming since that time with new construction along the West 42nd to 59th corridor along Eighth Avenue (Wiki).

The area is still in a state of transformation even during the Global Pandemic. Many of the restaurants around the neighborhood have closed partially due to the closing of Broadway theaters that dominate the neighborhood and the empty office buildings that line Eighth Avenue. The ‘Theater District’ that lies just east of the neighborhood is still mostly boarded up as well as the hotels are still all closed. It makes it spooky at night to walk through almost similar to those years in the 1980’s and early 1990’s when you had to run down Eighth Avenue to get to the Port Authority.

The edges of this neighborhood have changed a lot in the past twenty years. Between the redevelopment of the area under the Koch and Giuliani Administrations and the rezoning under the Bloomberg Administration, the Eighth Avenue corridor and streets from West 40th to 45th have all been rebuilt. I have never seen so much change in an area in the last twenty years.

Pre-COVID the Port Authority between West 42nd to West 41st Streets from Eighth to Ninth Avenues was going through a face-life renovation and the facility started to move out all the older stores and restaurants for higher end takeout places and an art gallery. It looks now that it has been put on hold until people start to return.

The Port Authority Bus Terminal at 625 Eighth Avenue

https://www.panynj.gov/bus-terminals/en/index.html

Since I returned to Manhattan to resume this project last June, the traffic going through the Port Authority has not changed much even though there are more people on the bus. The afternoon I came into the City it was sunny and 66 degrees. More outdoor dining was in play and more people were outside enjoying the weather.

I started my walk exiting the Port Authority at the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 42nd Street, a corner that still needs a lot of work. Pre-COVID this was a bustling area of theaters, shops and restaurants and one of the biggest McDonald’s in the country. Most of it is closed down now and the homeless have taken back over this area. Surprisingly though, it still remains clean a result of the Partnerships established in the mid-1990’s. This area is swept all day long.

As I walked along the eastern border of Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton, there is a distinct change in the area. Even if many of the hotels and theaters are closed, slowly the restaurants in the Theater District have reopened to outdoor dining giving this area a much needed boost.

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 (which is currently closed during COVID) was 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

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/nycsw-the-westin-new-york-at-times-square/

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).

The Row NYC Hotel at 700 Eighth Avenue

https://www.rownyc.com/times-square-hotel/

The famous “Milford Plaza” commercial from 1985

Passing now closed hotels and restaurants that line this part of Eighth Avenue that border the theater district, I passed the now closed 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. The bar is now closed again due to the COVID pandemic.

Smith’s Bar at 701 Eight Avenue

https://www.facebook.com/Smithsbarhellskitchen/

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 survived all of that and closed a few months ago due to the COVID pandemic.

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 (OCV Architects PC).

West 46th Street SRO is an interesting building

https://ocvarch.com/

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 Memorial on the front of the building

The Memorials

Engine 54 Plaques and Awards including 9/11

I made a detour back to West 55th Street for lunch. I stopped at Stage Star Deli at 105 West 55th Street for a sandwich before I continued the walk around the neighborhood. The deli is so reasonable and has so many choices (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).

Stage Star Deli at 105 West 55th Street

I chose a Chicken Salad sandwich with Pesto combination lunch ($8.95) which was excellent. The chicken salad was so fresh and the pesto had such a nice flavor. The sandwich was served on a hero roll and could have fed two people. The food here is consistent and excellent.

The Chicken Salad with Pesto here is excellent

After lunch I headed down the road to Myzel Chocolate at 140 West 55th for dessert. I had not been there in over a year since the shutdown of the City last March. I had to have one of their Chocolate Chip cookies and they still had Cadbury Creme Eggs from Easter (See reviews on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). I was shocked when the bill came to $4.10. For a cookie and a piece of candy that must have been a month old?

Myzel’s Chocolate at 140 West 55th Street

I talked with the owner, Mrs. Myzel and she was talking about the lack of business since the shut down and all the problems the City was facing with the homeless and the lack of office workers. I told her it would be about a year until things started to get to the new normal. Still the store had so much of its magic to it with all the decorations and displays. It is a store to visit to forget your troubles.

Mrs. Myzel

Mrs. Myzel greets all her customers with a smile

There are two wonderful Chinese restaurants that I like to visit when I am in the neighborhood. One is 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.

Peking Roast Duck Restaurant at 858 Eighth Avenue

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

I double backed to Eighth Avenue after lunch and walked up the avenue to West 59th Street. As I continued up Eighth Avenue and circled Columbus Circle, I saw the familiar sites of the statue of Christopher Columbus and the Time-Warner Complex in the background. It has been almost two years since I finished the Upper West Side of Manhattan and even as I walk those streets again I always feel like I missed something. In the era of COVID, it keeps changing so much.

Columbus Circle has changed over the last twenty years

The detail work is amazing

Columbus Circle was always busy day and night with street vendors, bicyclists, performers and just people sitting and reading or enjoying the weather and people watching on a warm day. Now because of the ‘Cancel Culture’ crowd dominating the headlines and the idiots knocking down statues, the area is fenced off with police cars around it. It used to be such a nice area to sit down and talk.

The 76 foot statue was designed by Italian sculptor Gaetano Russo as part of a plan to honor Columbus’s discovery of the Americas as part of the 1892 commemoration of the 400 year anniversary of the event. If you look closely at the pillar, you will see the reliefs of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria ships on the memorial (Columbus Memorial and Wiki).

Gaetano Russo

Gaetano Russo

https://www.askart.com/artist/artist/11066965/artist.aspx

Columbus Circle itself was part of the great plan of Central Park in 1857 by Fredrick Law Olmsted, the designer of many parks in New York City as having four rotary entrances to the park. The other rotary in the neighborhood is Grand Army Plaza by The Plaza Hotel.

The Time Warner Center on the other side of the circle represents the massive change in the Upper West Side from a liberal working class area to the new luxury of Manhattan.  The Time Warner Center is a mixed use building containing office space,  the Mandarin Hotel, many exclusive restaurants and shops and entertainment. The building was designed by David Childs and Mustafa Kemel Abadan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. This modern palace of luxury replaced the old New York Coliseum and opened in 2003 (Wiki). Don’t miss just wondering around the building.

Time Warner Building at 10 Columbus Circle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Warner_Center

On the other side of the Circle is the new Museum of Art & Design that opened in 2008. The building was the former home of the Gallery of Modern Art designed by Edward Durell Stone in 1969. The building was modernized by architect Brad Cloepfil (Wiki) and the museum shows interesting aspects of art from media, video, painting and photography.

Museum of Art and Design at 2 Columbus Circle

As I crossed the street, the neighborhood is full of Post War architecture but one building stands out with its modern twist. The Hearst Tower at 300 West 57th Street.

The Hearst Tower at 300 West 57th Street

https://www.hearst.com/real-estate/hearst-tower

The first six floors of the original Hearst Tower were built in 1928 by architect Joseph Urban for the headquarters of the Hearst publishing empire. The building was originally supposed to have an office tower on top but the Great Depression put a stop to the construction. Take a look at the statuary, stone work and details of the original building before admiring the new addition (Wiki).

Admire the detail work of the original 1928 building

Architect Norman Foster designed the 46 story addition to the building which was completed in 2006. The addition of glass and steel is designed in the ‘Diagrid’ pattern and was the first ‘green building’ with environmental features in New York City (Wiki).

I then walked across that street to the Time Warner Building right off the subway station under Columbus Circle (it is amazing where they put this stuff) to the food court in the subway station. The Turnstyle Underground Market is located at the West 59th Street entrance at the Time-Warner Building. Just take the escalator down.

The Turnstyle Underground is in the subway station at the Time Warner Building at 59 Columbus Circle

https://www.turn-style.com/

https://www.facebook.com/turnstylenyc/

The food court market had just reopened a few months ago and the place was more than half empty. All the great little restaurants that were independently owned were gone. VIctims to the COVID pandemic and the lack of tourists and office workers. I had read that my favorite, Daa Dumplings had closed about four or five months ago due to lack of traffic (See Day One Hundred and Fifty-Walking the Borders of Central Park South):

Day One Hundred and Fifty-MywalkinManhattan:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/10729

The Underground

If I saw four people sitting down there, it was a lot. Most of the restaurants were empty and almost all the small stores were gone as well. Even the bar that was so popular at the end of the food court and the small independent pizzeria were shut down. It was really spooky because just a year and a half earlier your could not get a seat here.

I walked towards the back of the Time Warner Building and walked past the back entrance to the Time Warner Building and I noticed a piece of street art that I had not noticed on my last few trips in the neighborhood. That statue is called “Asaf and Yo’oh” by artist Boaz Vaadia and is tucked into the entrance of the building at 25 Columbus Circle-1 Central Park West.

Asaf and Yo’oh statue by artist Boaz Vaadia

Boaz V

Boaz Vaadia Artist

http://www.vaadia.com/

The statues in front of the hotel

The artist was born in Israel and came from a farming background. He studied at the Avni Institute of Fine Arts in Tel Aviv and was sent to the United States on a grant from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation and then studied at Pratt. His works are made of varies mediums of stone (Artist Bio).

It was surprising how quiet the hotel looked as the Mandarin Hotel was one of the few uptown hotels that are still open during the pandemic. No one was around so it gave me a chance to peak inside the building which looked empty. With most people still working from home I did not expect to see a lot.

West 59th and 58th Streets are disrupted in their flow by the Time Warner Building and I continued my walk across West 58th Street and then crossed back over to West 59th behind the complex. This area of the City was part of major urban renewal project back in the 1960’s when the Lincoln Center complex and the Colleges were built so most of the construction up here is new or been updated. I have seen a lot of changes since I walked this neighborhood in when walking the area in 2018 (See Day One Hundred and Twenty-Five-MywalkinManhattan).

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Five: Walking the Streets of the lower part of the Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7899

Still here and there are gems of architecture from another era. Walking down West 59th Street there are still structures that survived urban renewal of the area. I passed the the Parish House of the Church of St. Paul at 415 West 59th Street. The building was built in the late Victorian Gothic Revival style by architects Jeremy O’Rourke and the Rev. George Deshon between 1876 to 1884. The structure was construction used stones from various historical buildings (Church of St. Paul and Wiki).

The Parish House of the Church of St. Paul at 415 West 59th Street

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.Paul_the_Apostle_Church(Manhattan)

The doorway of the church in the front of the building.

The other building not to miss is the Williams J. Syms Operating Theater at 338 West 59th Street right behind the Time-Warner Complex. It was built in 1892 as a medical hospital and is the last remaining piece of the old Roosevelt Hospital by architects William Wheeler Smith and surgeon Charles McBurney. Made with marble and mosaic floors as not to harbor bacteria, it was considered state of the art when it opened. It is now being renovated for a school (Wiki and HDR Org).

William J. Syms Medical Theater

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/william-j-syms-operating-theatre

Turning the corner on West 59th Street at Tenth Avenue, you will face the beauty of the John Jay College of Criminology Haaren Building at 899 Tenth Avenue. The building is home to many classrooms and the library for the college. The building was designed by Charles B.J. Snyder and was completed in 1903 (Wiki and John Jay College). The building was originally the Dewitt Clinton High School.

John Jay College

John Jay College Haaren Building at 899 Tenth Avenue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay_College_of_Criminal_Justice

The walk down Tenth Avenue was very different from other neighborhoods I had been recently. NoMAD, Rose Hill and Kips Bay were filled with historical architecture and embellished office buildings while this part of Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen is filled with tenement housing, small theaters and restaurants. Unlike Ninth Avenue with its vibrant restaurant scene, Tenth Avenue is full of empty storefronts and closed restaurants with ‘For Rent’ signs. This is a sign of the times during the era of COVID.

One of the few patches of green in the neighborhood is the Hell’s Kitchen Park at thew corner at Tenth Avenue and West 48th Street. This park was created from a parking lot in 1966 when the neighborhood demanded green space for residents who lived here (NYCParks.org). The park was packed with families and kids playing basketball and running around the playground.

Hell's Kitchen Playground

Hell’s Kitchen Playground at Tenth Avenue and West 48th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/hells-kitchen-park/highlights/7804

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%27s_Kitchen_Park

It was strange to be in a neighborhood with such small buildings. Not just small buildings but so many ‘For Rent’ signs on the windows. I know this neighborhood will bounce back to the vibrant place it once was but it will take time. The traffic changed again when I got to West 42nd Street. There were most people walking around the streets.

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.

One of my favorite Chinese restaurants from the 1990’s, Ollies at 411 West 42nd Street had not just opened their dining room but their outside cafe dining. Ollies had once been a popular restaurant in the Theater district at the corner of West 46th Street off Broadway and one of my favorite places to eat after work. It is still popular but the chef has since changed.

Ollies at 411 West 42nd Street

https://ollieseats.com/ollies-sichuan

One building that stood out amongst the smaller tenement buildings of West 42nd Street was the Holy Cross Church at 329 West 42nd Street, which was decorated by plantings of many flowers that gave it a festive appearance.

Holy Cross Church at 329 West 42nd Street

https://christinthecity.nyc/

The building has a interesting history. The parish was established in 1852 and the original building was built in 1852 but it was outgrown so a new building was built in 1854. This building was hit by lightning in 1867 and the current building was built in the same spot in 1870. It was built by architect Henry Englebert and is the oldest building on 42nd Street (Wiki and Holy Cross History).

Once I got back to Port Authority is was back for a bathroom break as there are not many public toilets in the neighborhood. Then I made the walk around the second time around the perimeter admiring the buildings and businesses for a second time. I could see by the traffic that the east side of Eighth Avenue was very quiet near the now closed theaters. This area was hit hard by COVID pandemic and it is rumored that Broadway theaters should open between September and December (we all hope) and the district will once again open.

When I reached West 58th again, I stopped at Amore Pizza Cafe at 370 West 58th Street for a quick slice. The pizza was pretty good and it was a nice sized slice of pizza. I had passed the place for years but never went into so it was another dining adventure (see review on TripAdvisor).

Amore Pizza Cafe at 370 West 58th Street

https://amorepizzacafe.com/

The pizza here is really good

After my snack, I continued the walk back down Tenth Avenue and stopped in Hell’s Kitchen Park to take some more notes. I swear the park got busier since visiting a few hours before. I made the turn on West 42nd Street and decided to walk up the length of Ninth Avenue and explore the Avenues of the neighborhood as well.

Just like Tenth Avenue, Ninth Avenue is filled with smaller tenement buildings, restaurants and small theaters and shops but being the heart of the Gay community, Ninth Avenue is much more vibrant. Most of the restaurants and outdoor cafes were filled the afternoon I visited the neighborhood. Being later in the evening, many people filled the bars and tables of the establishments and I noticed how many people were on top of each other and were not wearing masks. I thought this is a recipe for disaster but still it has a very vibrant restaurant scene.

In the midst of all the restaurants and bars on Ninth Avenue, there were only two that I have tried, Mom’s Kitchen & Bar at 701 Ninth Avenue for breakfast a few years before and Saccio Pizza at 819 Ninth Avenue for pizza one afternoon and it was pretty good.

Mon's Kitchen & Bar

Mom’s Kitchen & Bar at 701 Ninth Avenue

Sacco Pizza

Sacco Pizza at 819 Ninth Avenue

The one thing I remember about eating at Mom’s Kitchen & Bar that morning was the unusual menu they had for brunch. A friend and I shared an order of their Fruity Pebble Pancakes and their Mac & Cheese Pancakes and they were strange combinations but really tasted good especially the Mac & Cheese Pancakes with a honey syrup. It was an interesting breakfast.

Mom's

The Mac & Cheese Pancakes at Mom’s Kitchen & Bar are amazing

This is a neighborhood in a big transition now that the theaters are closed but I know brighter days are ahead as things open up soon. With the warmer weather and more vaccine coming, it will revert back to the neighborhood it was becoming. You can see this on a busy night at dinner time with restaurants filling up and people walking around with and without masks.

I am still wearing my mask around the City for now.

Check out the other walks of the Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton/Midtown West on this blog:

Walking the Border and Avenues of Hell’s Kitchen Day One Hundred and Ninety Four:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/17414

Walking the Streets of Hell’s Kitchen Day One Hundred and Ninety Seven:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/17711

Walking the Borders of Hell’s Kitchen (Western Side) Day One Hundred and Ninety Nine:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/18087

I had to split the neighborhood into two parts separated by 10th Avenue as there was so much to see and the complexity of the neighborhood changes on each side.

Places to Eat:

Stage Star Deli

105 West 55th #1

New York, NY 10019

(212) 541-4650

http://www.stagestardeli.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4369641-Reviews-Stage_Star_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/2156

Amore Pizza Cafe

370 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10019

(212) 581-4200

https://amorepizzacafe.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d23336838-Reviews-Amore_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Mom’s Kitchen & Bar

701 Ninth Avenue

New York, NY 10016

(646) 657-0080

https://www.momsmidtown.com/

Open: Sunday 8:00am-9:30pm/ Monday-Wednesday 9:00am-9:30pm/ Thursday-Friday 9:00am-10:30pm/ Saturday 8:30am-10:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d13199679-Reviews-Mom_s_Kitchen_Bar_The_Jolly_Monk-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Sacco Pizza

819 Ninth Avenue

New York, NY 10019

(212) 582-7765

http://www.saccopizza.com/

Open: Sunday Closed/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-8:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d459335-Reviews-Sacco_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Ollies

411 West 42nd Street

New York, NY 10036

(212) 868-6588

https://ollieseats.com/ollies-sichuan

Open: Sunday-Thursday 11:30am-10:30pm/Friday-Saturday 11:30am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d952664-Reviews-Ollie_s_Sichuan_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Peking Roast Duck

858 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10019

(212) 459-3610/3607/8887

https://chefphopekingroastduck.netwaiter.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-9:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d3459493-Reviews-Peking_Roast_Duck-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Real Kung Fu Steamed Buns Ramen

811 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10019

(917) 338-2555

http://www.kfdelicacy.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-9:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d6872074-Reviews-Kung_Fu_Little_Steamed_Buns_Ramen-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Visit:

Myzel’s Chocolates

140 West 55th Street

New York, NY  10019

(212) 245-4233

http://www.myzels.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Myzels-Chocolates-332431326808571/

Open: Sunday Closed/Monday-Friday 11:00am-7:00pm/Saturday 12:00pm-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d3671775-Reviews-Myzel_s_Chocolate-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/556

Hell’s Kitchen Park

10 Avenue at West 46th Street

New York, NY 10036

(212) 639-9675

Open: 6:00am-10:00pm

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/hells-kitchen-park

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/hells-kitchen-park/highlights/7804

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%27s_Kitchen_Park

Museum of Arts & Design (MAD)

Jerome and Simona Chazen Building

2  Columbus Circle

New York City, NY  10019

(212) 299-7777

Open: Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm

Fee: General $16.00/Seniors $14.00/Students $12.00/ Members Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d524927-Reviews-Museum_of_Arts_and_Design-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2998

Underground Turnstyle Market

1000 South Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10019

(646) 748-9222

https://www.turn-style.com/

Open: 24 Hours

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d11888820-Reviews-Turnstyle_Underground_Market-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Eight: Walking the Streets of Central Park South from West 58th to West 55th Streets from Eighth to Fifth Avenues December 6th, 2019-January 8th, 2020

The darker days of the Fall have come and it is starting to get dark at 4:30pm in the afternoon. It gets so depressing sometimes. Still this part of the City is dressed up for the Christmas holidays so all is still cheerful with sparking lights and window displays. The hotels and department stores in the neighborhood are in full swing and everyone is getting ready for the holidays.

Putting the Sinterklaas Parade behind me and visits to decorated mansions in New York and New Jersey for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” (if I saw one more house decorated with garland I would have screamed), I was able to concentrate on finishing Central Park South. Even though it is a smaller neighborhood it still takes time to walk these busy streets. There is a lot to see and do in Central Park South. Between admiring the hotels decorated for the holidays and attending a show at Carnegie Hall for Christmas (I love my research), it was a lot of walking around admiring buildings and street art as well as watching the tourists rush around the area. Central Park keeps everyone busy no matter what the temperature.

According to the history of the area, Central Park South has transformed itself over the last fifty years from a fashionable residential area to a commercial neighborhood and now back to fashionable residential area with some of those very same buildings that were turned to office space and now back to expensive condos.

Columbus Circle in Spring 2024.

My walk started on a rather cool afternoon in December. I miss those days in December in 2015 when El Nino was affected the weather and it was 60 degrees. It was a cool 40 degrees and rather cloudy. Still it was a brisk day for a walk.

I started to walk the interior streets from the borders from West 55th to West 58th Streets dodging office workers and tourists. The character of the streets changes from Eighth Avenue to Fifth Avenue. The more classic elegant stone townhouses still surround Fifth Avenue whereas by Eighth Avenue and Broadway, new office buildings dominate.

After a morning of working at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (we had no extra bread in the Extra Bread station), I went to see the early silent horror film, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” at the Museum of Modern Art. It was an interesting film with a lot of twists and makes you aware of who is really crazy in this film. It is interesting to note how this film has held up in almost 90 years. After the movie, I walked out the back door to West 55th Street and started walking.

The film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”

My start point was West 55th Street, walking under scaffolding all over the place and noticing reminders of the City when it was on the verge of bankruptcy. When I was kid the New York City Center was on the verge of being knocked down and it was a group of artists that saved the complex. The theater at 131 West 55th Street was built in 1923 designed by architect Harry P. Knowles from the firm of Clinton & Russell.

The New York City Center at 131 West 55th Street

https://www.nycitycenter.org/

The front of the building

The building was designed in the ‘Neo-Moorish style’ with interesting terra cotta tile work and murals. The building was originally called the “Mecca Temple” and was used by the Shriner’s for their meetings, but its purpose changed after the Crash of 1929, and it became City property. Mayor La Guardia turned it into the performing arts center in 1943. Having faced two bouts with demolition in both the 40’s and 70’s, it has now been land-marked in 1984 and is home to Encores Off-Center (Wiki).

Across the street from the City Center, I came across Myzel’s Chocolates at 140 West 55th Street. Now, I have been walking around this area all my life and could not understand how I missed this wonderful little candy shop. It is such a tiny space but packed with lots of character and a lot of delicious candy.

Myzel’s Chocolates at 140 West 55th Street

The shop was opened in 1990 by Kamila Myzel and her mother, Alina and is known for their handmade chocolates and cookies plus an array of licorice, chocolates and decorative gift items. When she opened the shop in 1990, Ms. Myzel was noted in saying “I love any nuts, chocolate with nuts, almond bark and marzipan. My chocolate is good quality for ordinary people.” (NYT 2009).

Myzel's Chocolates II

Kamila Myzel minding the store at Myzel’s Chocolates

This love of her product shows not just in her merchandising (See review on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com) but in the customer service she gives. Even though I was only in to look I could see her eyeing me to see what I would buy while she chatted with a customer she knew. I loved the size of the store, which is tiny, in comparison with the ten people squeezed into the space jocking for her attention. I loved the festive atmosphere as the store was decorated for Christmas.

The window display of delicious candies at Myzel’s Chocolates

On a more recent trip to Myzel’s Chocolate, the store was decked out for Valentine’s Day, and everything was splashed with the color red. It was quiet enough where I could finally sample the delightful treats that they sell. I tried one of her Chocolate Chip cookies that they are well known for ($11.95 a pound) and a chocolate covered Marshmallow ($9.95 a pound) and both were very good.

The chocolate chip cookie was loaded with butter and chocolate chunks and had a crisp body and a nice caramelized sweetness to it. The chocolate covered marshmallow  was enrobed in a thick milk chocolate and had a rich sweetness in every bite. I think the marshmallow was freshly made as well.

I was amazed by the amount of Street art that was in the neighborhood. Inside the lobby at 1350 West 55th Street is an unusual sculpture by artist Janaina Tschape, ‘Cut Out Lobby”.

Janaina Tschape

“Cut Out Lobby” by artist Janaina Tschape at 1350 West 55th Street

Janaina Tschape artist

Artist Janaina Tschape

http://www.janainatschape.net/

Artist Janaina Tschape was born in Munich, Germany and has a BA in Fine Arts from Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg, Germany and a MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She is known for her various mediums of art including abstracts in painting, drawing, photography, sculpture and video (Artist Bio).

Another interesting piece of art sits on the side of the Ziegfeld Theater in the courtyard but I was not able to get a closer look. It was an abstract work of what looked like a bird in paradise but once the gates come down I will get a closer look.

The mural on the side of the Ziegfeld Theater

As I continued down West 55th Street, I almost missed the historical Rockefeller Apartments at 24 West 55th Street that was hiding under that neighborhood scaffolding. The complex was built in 1936 by Rockefeller family architects Wallace Harrison and Andre Fouilhoux and was designed in the ‘International Style” and was noted for changing our perspective in light and air in building design (HMdg.org).

Rockefeller Apartments 24 West 55th Street

The historic plaque for the Rockefeller Apartments

At the end of the block on the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 55th Street is the Peninsula Hotel. This elegant hotel was built in 1905 in the Neo-Classic style as the Gotham Hotel and was bought from bankruptcy in 1988 to the Peninsula Group as their New York property.

The entrance of The Peninsula Hotel at 700 Fifth Avenue

https://www.peninsula.com/en/newsroom/new-york

The Peninsula Hotel in its glory

The Peninsula Hotel historical marker.

I was able to walk for a bit inside the hotel which was lavishly decorated for the Christmas holidays with all sorts of trees, lights and Santa’s. I could barely walk around with all the tourists’ taking pictures.

Penisula Hotel Christmas.jpg

The entrance to the Peninsula Hotel at Christmas

The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church at 7 West 55th Street is across the street from the Peninsula and was also decorated with lights and garland for the holidays. There was music playing inside as mass was going on at that time of the day. The Church had been built in 1875 by architects George B. Post and finished by Carl Pfeiffer. You really have to look up at the elegant details of this church that was designed in the Victorian Gothic design (Wiki).

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church at 7 West 55th Avenue

https://www.fapc.org/

https://www.facebook.com/FAPCNYC/

On my way back down West 55th Street, I stopped for some lunch at the Star Stage Deli at 101 West 55th Street (see review on TripAdvisor). In all the times I had been in this neighborhood over the years, I had never noticed the restaurant before. It is a little hole in the wall that is a throwback to the restaurants that used to dot Manhattan all through the 70’s and 80’s until they were pushed out for the expensive ‘revolving door’ restaurants that keep opening and closing in the area.

Star Stage Deli at 101 West 55th Street

https://www.stagestarnyc.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4369641-Reviews-Stage_Star_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

At first, I was going to have a Cheeseburger platter but when I saw the guy behind the counter throw an already cooked burger on the grill, I quickly changed my mind and had the Chicken Parmesan and Spaghetti platter ($8.95) with a Coke because it looked much fresher. It was delicious and I highly recommend it. You got two big pieces of breaded chicken breast in a delicious tomato sauce with several nice sized scoops of baked ziti. The meal could have fed two people and was enough food to re-energize me. There are all sorts of specials that run under $10.00.

The Chicken Parmesan here is excellent.

The inside of Star Stage Deli

Their Chicken Salad is terrific too.

When walking back to Eighth Avenue, there is a series of hotels that you will pass all of them decorated for the holidays. The Wellington Hotel at 871 Seventh Avenue was decked out for the holidays with lots of white lights and garlands all over the street level Park Cafe windows.  This 27-story hotel was built in 1911 and designed by architect Robert T. Lyons. The entrances and facade of the building are done in polished granite and bronze. The hotel closed in 2023 and the plans are to raze the hotel.

The Hotel Wellington at 871 Seventh Avenue (closed in 2023)

https://www.wellingtonhotel.com/

On the corner of West 55th Street and Broadway is the Dream Hotel at 210 West 55th Street which was lavishly decorated in and out for Christmas. Garland, trees and lights are all over the exterior of the building making it very festive. The hotel is housed in a series of renovated buildings with the main one on the corner of Broadway which was built in 1895 in the Beaux-Arts style (Dream Hotels Bio).

The Dream Hotel at the corner of Broadway and West 55th Street

https://www.dreamhotels.com/midtown/default-en.html

At the end of the block is the well known McGee’s Pub at 240 West 55th Street. McGee’s has been known to be the inspiration for MacLarsen’s Bar in the popular CBS sitcom “How I met your Mother”. The restaurant has been around for years and reflects the changes in time by the whole neighborhood begin knocked down around it. It almost reminds me of PJ Clarks on the Westside of Manhattan with a modern skyscraper surrounding it.

McGee’s Pub at 240 West 55th Street

https://mcgeespubny.com/

At the end of the block before you get to Eighth Avenue, in a small building front is The Original Soup Kitchen at 259 West 55th Street. Here you can order all sorts of freshly made soups for take out on a daily basis. The restaurant is known best from the ‘Seinfeld’ episode  on “The Soup Nazi”. It is popular with tourists and locals alike.

The Original Soup Kitchen at 259 West 55th Street

The famous scene from ‘Seinfeld’

The original ‘Soup Nazi”

As I turned onto West 56th Street, I came across another iconic restaurant that I have eaten at many times, Patsy’s at 236 West 56th Street (see reviews on TripAdvisor). I love the food here. The pastas are all freshly made and their Fried Mozzarella is so well prepared and their Mariana sauce is so flavorful. The service is excellent and I always enjoy eating there.

Patsy’s was founded in 1944 by Pasquale “Patsy” Scognamillo and has been in its current location since 1954 serving locals, celebrities and tourists alike. There has only been three chefs at Patsy’s, Patsy himself, his son, Joe and Joe’s son Sal (Patsy’s history).

Patsy’s Restaurant at 236 West 56th Street

The last time I had dinner there before the theater the food was amazing (see my review on TripAdvisor). I had the Mozzarella in Carrozza ($24.00) for two which I finished on my own. It is basically a breaded mozzarella sandwich with their fresh Mariana sauce which were pan-fried perfectly and melted in the middle.

Patsy's Restaurant II

The Mozzarella in Carrozza at Patsy’s is excellent

For the entree I had the Lobster with Linguine Oreganata, which I had seen prepared on the Travel Network and feeling generous to myself at the holidays, I treated myself. It was excellent. Perfectly cooked pasta with almost a half of sweet lobster topped on the dish.

The best part of the evening was that I got to meet Sal, the chef on the way out and I told him about my meal and how I ordered it because of the Travel Network show. Then I added how much I loved the meal. He was so nice and gave me a jar of his Mariana sauce and told me to enjoy it at home. I thought he was a great guy and good businessman.

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Chef Sal Scognamillo of Patsy’s Restaurant

On the back part of the City Center is The Writers Room plaque dedicated the writers of Sid Caesar’s “The Show of Shows”. Some of the most famous writers and comedians had worked on this show and went on to their own famous careers.

Writers Room.jpg

This plaque is located on the back of The City Center on the West 56th side of the building

In the corridor of The Marlborough Building at 40 West 57th Street which runs to West 56th Street is an exhibition of artist Tom Otteness’s work. Don’t miss this open air art exhibition on the artist’s work.

Marborough Building Tom Otteness

The Marlborough Building open air exhibition of Tom Otterness works (the artwork is gone in 2024).

Marborough Building Tom Otteness II.jpg

Each of the works is very interesting (the artwork is now gone)

Tom Otterness Artist

Artist Tom Otterness

http://www.tomostudio.com/

http://www.tomostudio.com/about

The artist studied at the Arts League of New York and is well known for his work on public art. He art has graced many parts of New York City including an exhibition of “Tom Otterness on Broadway” which ran from Columbus Circle to 168th Street. Don’t miss this interesting open air exhibition that stretches from West 56th to West 57th Streets.

On the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 55th West  and 56th Streets at 881 Seventh Avenue is Carnegie Hall which is all decked out for the holidays. This palace of entertainment was designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by industrialist Andrew Carnegie. It is one of the biggest buildings in New York built entirely of masonry without a steel frame Wiki).

Carnegie Hall Christmas II

Carnegie Hall at 881 Seventh Avenue at Christmas is beautiful

https://www.carnegiehall.org/

The inside of Carnegie Hall at Christmas

At the last minute I got the last ticket to “New York Pops with Frank and Ella” on Friday December 20th and off I went to enjoy the concert. It was a really cool night that evening and it was nice to see so many people dressed for the occasion. I even saw a few mink coats out.

Carnegie Hall outside at Christmas time.

I really enjoyed the concert and talk about putting you in the Christmas spirit. I had not been Carnegie Hall since the concert last year. The stage was so tastefully decorated and the New York Pops entertained us first. We started with a round of traditional Christmas songs before the show started and ‘Deck the Halls’ was one of the songs on the schedule.

The New York Pops performing “Deck the Halls”

The concert “A Frank and Ella Christmas” starred Tony DeSare and Capathia Jenkins sang the songs of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Essential Voices USA provided the background singing and backup and they were excellent.

Tony DeSare singing “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

What I love about this concert is one of the events at the holidays I look forward to as it always puts me in the holiday mood. Carnegie Hall is always sold out for both nights of the concerts as I think everyone else feels the way I do.

Last year, the only seat left was on the aisle and Santa himself was standing next me when he entered the concert hall to start the sing a long. For a split second, I really believed. That’s how much this concert puts you in to the proper holiday spirit. What I loved the most about the concert was the sing a long at the end of the concert and I mean everyone sings! It is really something. That’s the wonderful memory I have when I walk past Carnegie Hall.

As I headed back to Eighth Avenue, I passed one of the best McDonald’s (see my reviews on TripAdvisor) in the City at 946 Eighth Avenue on the corner Eighth Avenue and West 55th Street. I have eaten at this McDonald’s so many times in the series of walks for this project that I can’t even count them on my finger. The food here is really good and the service is very quick. When there is no alternative before the movies or theater, this is the go to place for a McDouble or Premium Chicken sandwich.

Sitting at the head of the neighborhood is the Hearst Publishing Building at 300 West 57th Street between West 56th and 57th Streets. This impressive building was built in two stages. The first part of the building was built in 1928 by architect Joseph Urban as the headquarters of Hearst Publications for William Randolph Hearst. The rest of the building was not completed due to the Great Depression (Wiki).

The original part of the building by architect Joseph Urban

The newer part of the building was completed eighty years later and was finished in 2006. This 46 story tower was designed by architect Norman Foster and is designed in triangle grid called a “diagrid” and won many awards as one of New York’s first ‘green buildings’ (Wiki). Look up at this unusual design and the contrasts of the two parts of the building.

The Hearst Tower designed by architect Norman Foster

I rounded West 57th Street and walked past many familiar buildings from crossing the neighborhood but there are many well known restaurants and stores on this block. There is a lot of excitement with the new Nordstrom department store that opened on the corner of Broadway and West 57th Street at 225 West 57th Street.

The store is one of the largest and single project investments in Nordstrom history. There is seven levels of merchandise, six restaurants and an extensive list of services for the customers. The store forms the base of one of the largest residential buildings in the Western Hemisphere and is the combination of old and new. It is the first department store to open in New York City since the 1920’s. With a facade of large windows and lots of natural light you can see the happenings in the store from street level (Nordstrom Press Release).

During the three times I walk through the store is was indeed busy with lots of hipster employees walking around but most were on their cellphones and the customers seemed to be looking around. The restaurants were mostly full the nights I was there but the one thing I did not see was shopping bags leaving the store. I did not see one Nordstrom bag on the streets in the neighborhood. It is going to be interesting to see how the store does during its first Christmas especially with the Lord & Taylor flagship closing on Fifth Avenue and West 38th Street and Barney’s on Madison Avenue.

The new Nordstrom at 225 West 57th Street

https://www.nordstrom.com/store-details/nordstrom-nyc-flagship

The inside of Nordstrom

Nordstrom decorated for Christmas 2023

Further down the street I passed the Osborne Apartments at 205 West 57th Street. These iconic condos were built between 1883-1885 by architect James Edward Ware in a rusticated brownstone outside to the building and an ‘American Renaissance’ in the detailed foyer and public rooms (Wiki). The building is truly one of kind and its apartment structure a time of ‘Gilded Age’.

The Osborne Apartments at 205 West 57th Street

The historical marker outside the building.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_Apartments

The elaborate lobby is something to see. It has stuccoed and mosaic tiled floors with use of Italian marble. The walls are covered in glazed terra-cotta panels and the ceilings are covered in different colored hues (Wiki).

The Osborne II.jpg

The details of the Osborne Apartment’s lobby

Near the Osborne Apartments at 200 West 57th Street at the corner of Seventh Avenue is the Rodin Studio Apartments. This beautifully detailed building was built in 1917 by architect Cass Gilbert, who had designed the Woolworth Building downtown.  The building was designed as studios for artists and combination studio/living spaces thus the name Rodin after the artist Auguste Rodin. The building had been the brainchild of a groups of established artists (Daytonian Manhattan).

The Rodin Studios building at 200 West 57th Street

The historic plaque for the Rodin Studios building.

The building, like the Woolworth Building, is designed in ‘white terra-cotta Gothic Revival’ with lots of windows to let in the natural light. You will have to look up from the other side of the street to see the interesting details of the building. The exterior of the building just went through a full renovation. Walking down West 57th towards Fifth Avenue are very interesting and historical.

163-165 West 57th Street-The former Louis H. Chalif School of Dancing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/165_West_57th_Street

The five-story building was designed by George A. and Henry Boehm for dance instructor Louis H. Chalif. It was designed as an event space, a school, and Chalif’s apartment. 165 West 57th Street has an asymmetrical facade. Construction started in 1914 and was completed in 1916. The building was occupied by the Louis H. Chalif Normal School of Dancing until 1932 or 1933 (Wiki).

163-165 West 57th Street plaque

Another well-known iconic restaurant is located in the neighborhood that has always catered to the theater and business crowd alike, the Russian Tea Room at 150 West 57th Street right next to Carnegie Hall. I have been in this restaurant many times over the years and the renovations twenty years ago made it a little ‘glitzy and over the top’ in design.

The entrance to the Russian Tea Room at 150 West 57th Street (facade under renovation)

https://russiantearoomnyc.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d549321-Reviews-The_Russian_Tea_Room-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The restaurant had opened in 1927 by a group of Russian Ballet expatriates as a gathering place and it then got the reputation as a place for the entertainment industry to gather for lunch and dinner. The restaurant had a series of owners but when Warner LeRoy bought the restaurant in 1996 and when he closed it he took a very nice elegant restaurant and turned it into another “Tavern on the Green” with garish decor.

The food and atmosphere was never the same both to many New Yorkers, who left it for the tourists and in many meals I have had there in recent history, the last one being in April of 2011 for my father’s birthday/Christmas present one month before he got sick. That evening has special meaning to me now.

In the years that I ate at the restaurant during the holidays in the early 90’s, my brother and I would see celebrities all the time in the other booths. Our last meal there before it closed for renovations in 1996, we sat next to Sylvia Miles, who recently passed away in the summer of 2019. But that night she held court in the restaurant and our attention especially to my brother who kept nudging me that she was there. This was when dining there was a special event and the food was really good. Today you get a ‘watered down’ version of Russian cooking. (I would not recommend it in this blog.)

Many movies were shot there but this scene from Tootsie in 1982 captured the mood of the restaurant in the 1980’s.

One of the funniest scenes of a movie shot in the Russian Tea Room from the movie “Tootsie” in 1982

There was more interesting buildings to see in the neighborhood another located at 130 West 57th Street, which is Steinway Hall, the home of the Steinway Piano showroom. This elegant building was built between 1907-08 by architects Pollard & Steinam in the ‘Art Deco style”. This building was also created as artists studios/residences when this was a creative residential district and another building was designed by the firm at 140 West 57th Street (Wiki).

130 West 57th Street-Steinway Hall Building

The building is richly detailed in the front and you can see the statuary all over the building from all angles.

The front door archway.

The historical plaque.

The “9” sculpture

https://www.cghnyc.com/work/project/9-west-57th-st

In front of the largest office buildings on the block is a giant “9” which I had not noticed until recently. I thought it was done by a famous artist but it is actually the building’s address. The Solow office tower at 9 West 57th Street in New York City is a giant ski-slope of a building designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill. This huge red 9 sits on the sidewalk on city property and marks the building’s main entrance. The sculpture is fabricated out of half-inch steel plate and weighs three tons. It has become something of a New York landmark (Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill website).

At the end of the block, I revisited Bergdorf Goodman at 754 Fifth Avenue that runs from West 57th to 58th Streets opposite of the Plaza Hotel. This palace of luxury was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and later owned by Edward Goodman. The store when you look at it was designed as a series of buildings that could have been broken into shops had the business not done well. During the Depression, the store thrived and Edward Goodman bought up the remaining parts of the building to reconfigure the store into its present form (Wiki).

The Palace of Luxury Bergdorf Goodman at 754 Fifth Avenue is fun to visit

The Fifth Avenue entrance was part of their renovation years ago.

https://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/stores/bergdorf-goodman-womens-store

The plaza of the Plaza Hotel and Bergdorf’s

It is a fun way to spend the afternoon taking the escalator to the various floors and look at how the clothes are displayed and examine the beautiful jewelry and handbags. It also had one of the nicest perfume departments in the county with items found no where else in the United States. Having worked there in 2004, I found it a unique experience to my retailing career and I still enjoy talking to James, the doorman who works there.

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The new Jewelry Salon at Bergdorf-Goodman

The windows at Bergdorf Goodman where Marlo Thomas stood in “That Girl” opening.

Right down the road from Bergdorf-Goodman at 35 West 57th Street is the loneliest looking stone mansion that new houses a deli. This magnificent mansion is the Schieffelin-Bowne  Mansion that was built in 1891 by Margaret Vanderbilt Shepard for her daughter, Maria Louise Vanderbilt Shepard for her marriage to William Jay Schieffelin, a member of a drug manufacturing family and the grandson of John Jay, the first Chief Justice. The house was a few steps from the large mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, which was one the location of Bergdorf-Goodman (Daytonian 2012).

The Vanderbilt Mansion at 35 West 57th Street sits lonely now

The house was sold to millionaire Samuel Bowne in 1898 when the Schieffelin’s moved to East 66th Street. Mr. Bowne suffered a stoke around 1909 and died a year later. His widow sold the house and moved to Florida and died in 1930. Since 1930, the mansion has been used for commercial purposes and sits next to a construction site as a sad reminder of how fashionable the neighborhood was once (Daytonian 2012). It could used a good cleaning.

At 57 West 57 Street on the corner of West 57th and Seventh Avenue is a beautiful Art Deco office/apartment building that was built in 1928. The building has interesting details from the gilded facial imagines on the cornices to the marble front and lobby inside. Really look at the artwork carved into the outside of the building. Der Scott, the architect of Trump Tower renovated the building in 1988 and added many of the details to the building.

57 West 57th Street is a gilded Art Deco Building

The detail work on 57 West 57th Street

The detail work along the West 57th side of the building.

The detail work over the main entrance on Seventh Avenue

Another beautiful building at 123 West 57th Street #3 is the Calvary Baptist Church which stands guard amongst its more modern neighbors. This interesting church is an example of a ‘skyrise church’ as it is a sixteen story building. It was built in 1929 by architects Jardine, Hall & Murdock and the building was dedicated in 1931 (Wiki). Take a look up at the stone carvings and intricate design of the stone work.

Calvary Baptist Church

Calvary Baptist Church at 123 West 57th Street (being replaced by a new office building in 2024)

Home Page

https://www.facebook.com/CalvaryBaptistNYC/

I started my third afternoon in the neighborhood back at the Turnstyle Underground Market at 1000S 8th Avenue which is in the subway station under the Time Warner Building. This surprising little food court has some innovative and very reasonable restaurants. Last time I ate here was at Daa! Dumplings, the Russian dumpling restaurant and this time I ate at Champion Pizza at the end of the court after eyeing a Mac & Cheese Pizza in the display window.

champion-pizza.jpg

Champion Pizza in the Turnstyle Underground Food Court

The Turnstyle Underground Food court reopened after COVID in 2022

After deciding on that and a Coke (see Review on TripAdvisor), I sat down at one of the busy tables with high school students and tourist staring into their phones. The pizza was delicious and tasted like Kraft Mac & Cheese topped with mozzarella on the top. After my lunch, I was ready for a long walk.

I rounded the corner and entered the more commercial West 58th Street in the early afternoon. This is an interesting block as you head past Seventh Avenue the street is lined with the back of the New York Athletic Club, the Park Lane Hotel and the Plaza Hotel.

One of the more interesting buildings is the Central Park Mews at 117 West 58th Street. This interesting brick apartment building was built in 1900 and show a lot of character with its marble and brick facade. Look at the stone details around the building and interesting windows towards the top.

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Central Park Mews at 117 West 58th Street really stands out

At the end of West 58th Street towards Bergdorf-Goodman is the now closed Paris Theater at 4 West 58th Street, which was once a major art movie theater and noted for its edgy releases. Now Netflix has reopened it for their releases to the public before they start screening films on TV. The 71 year old theater is seeing new life and a lot of new patrons (NYTimes 2019). The theater is the last single screen theater in New York City.

The Paris Theater at 4 West 58th Street is now leased by Netflix

https://www.facebook.com/paristheaternyc/

Just outside theater and in front of 9 West 58th Street, the Solow Building,  is an unusual and very strange statue standing guard on the street. This is “Moonbird” by artist Joan Miro. This strange fourteen foot abstract sculpture had replaced an Alexander Calder sculpture that had been once stood here.

moonbird.jpg

‘Moonbird’ by Joan Miro from 1966 in front of the Solow Building

The sculpture was created in smaller forms in 1966 and was noted as having a cosmic connection to nature. The sculpture was derived from a connection the artist had in the world of birds and the terrestrial and celestial worlds (Artworld 1988).

The statue at Christmas time.

Joan Miro was a Spanish born painter, sculptor and ceramicist whose art gravitated towards Surrealism,  whose goal it is to liberate thought, language and human experience from the boundaries of rationalism (Artworld).  The artist had studied at the Cerle Artistic de Sant Lluc and held is first solo show in 1918 (Wiki).

Joan Miro

Artist Joan Miro in his later years

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/miro-joan/

When crossing the street into the Plaza Hotel and know the hotel of its heyday, it is a much smaller and more compact hotel. When enter from the back of the Plaza Hotel you will come across The Shops at the Plaza Hotel and the Plaza Hotel Food Hall inside the basement area of the hotel at Central Park South and Fifth Avenue.

Looking down West 57th Street at Christmas time

There is a selection of expensive stores and small restaurants inside the Food Hall. You can choose from bakery items, Chinese, Italian and sandwiches. The Shops has an exclusive Plaza boutique and an Eloise shop that even has a tea room for children’s tea parties. There is a nice selection places to visit if money is not the object.

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The Shops at the Plaza Hotel and the Plaza Hotel Food Hall are interesting to visit

When exiting the back of the Plaza Hotel, you will see the service areas and backs of some of the most famous hotels facing Central Park. As you head back down West 58th Street, there are two side by side buildings you might miss under all the scaffolding all over the block.

Tucked behind scaffolding is 213 West 58th Street, now the Unity Center of New York but when it was built was the stables/garage of Helen Gould Miller. The structure was built in 1910 by architects York & Sawyer in the ‘French Renaissance style’ for the daughter of financier Jay Gould. This was the home of her carriages and then cars with apartments for the coachman and then chauffeur. Even in the shadows of all the construction you can see the detailed stone work and carved details of the building.

213 West 58th Street, The Helen Gould Miller Stables

The historical market at 213 West 58th Street.

Next door at 215 West 58th Street is Engine 23, “The Lion’s Den” a FDNY Firehouse that was established on October 6th, 1865 as one of the oldest companies in New York City and two months after the department became paid. The original company had been established in 1810 as Equitable Company 36 then as Harry Howard Volunteer Company named after the Department Chief Engineer.

Engine 23 at 215 West 58th Street “The Lion’s Den”

The building was designed by architect Alexander H. Stevens between 1905-06 in the ‘Beaux Arts style’ (New York YIMPY).

Engine 23, “The Lion’s Den”

This historical marker of the Brothers of Engine 23 who donated the Lion’s statue.

I ended the walk at the Museum of Art & Design at 2 Columbus Circle on the very edge of the neighborhood. This unique museum I have written about many times in my VisitingaMuseum.com site. The museum was opened in 1956 to celebrate American craftsmanship and in it’s current incarnation established at its present site in 2008, the museum studies the art and design process dealing with many art forms including movies, music, painting, jewelry and clothing & textiles (See my review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com).

The Museum of Art & Design at 2 Columbus Circle on the very edge of Central Park South

I went to a walking tour of the museum highlights and then visited the Anna Sui exhibition of her clothing, accessories and cosmetics. Her clothing is an interesting art form itself with each season it gets more interesting.

Museum of Art & Design Anna Sui.jpg

Designer Anna Sui

Musueum of Art & Design Anna Sui.jpg

The collections of Anna Sui at the Museum of Art & Design at 2 Columbus Circle

The walk of the neighborhood ended with dinner at China Gourmet, a tiny hole in the wall restaurant at 877 8th Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor) that I had passed walking up to the neighborhood. This is a big restaurant with the office workers in the area and had been packed for lunch. I had a Sweet & Sour Pork combination platter with an egg roll and Coke ($10.95).

China Gourmet at 877 8th Avenue is in Hell’s Kitchen

https://www.chinagourmet888.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d3385484-Reviews-China_Gourmet-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Even though the portion size was large and the food fresh it tasted like the wok had not been cleaned or the oil was old. The meal was okay but still the place bustled and the most interesting characters walked in and out of the restaurant. There was no lack of entertainment in the customers here at 9:00pm at night.

Sweet & Sour Pork at China Gourmet was okay.

To end the evening, I went to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree which was surprisingly still up on January 8th. Much less crowded than the week before, I was able to walk around the rink and watch the skaters and admire the tree from afar with the gaping tourists taking ‘selfies’ all over the place. I will tell you that tourists spend more time in Manhattan taking pictures than actually admiring what is around them. That is such a pity as I think you miss more if you don’t actually look at what is surrounding you as you walk around.

The Rockefeller Christmas tree January 8th, 2020

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2020!

Skating at Rockefeller Center before and after the holidays.

Places to Eat:

Star Stage Deli

101 West 55th Street

New York, NY  10019

(212) 541-4650

http://www.stagestardeli.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-8:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4369641-Reviews-Stage_Star_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Patsy’s Restaurant

236 West 56th Street

New York, NY  10019

(212) 247-3491

https://www.patsys.com/

Open: Sunday-Thursday 12:00pm-9:30pm/Friday & Saturday 12:00pm-10:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d478026-Reviews-Patsy_s_Italian_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Myzel’s Chocolates

140 West 55th Street

New York, NY 10019

(212) 245-4233

http://www.myzels.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Myzels-Chocolates-332431326808571/

Open: Sunday Closed/Monday-Friday 11:00am-7:00pm/Saturday 12:00pm-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d3671775-Reviews-Myzel_s_Chocolate-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/556

McDonald’s

946 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY  10019

(212) 586-6676

https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/full-menu.html?cid=RF:YXT_LS:SI::MGBM

Open: 24 hours, 7 days a week

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4468379-Reviews-McDonald_s-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/541

Champion Pizza

1000 South 8th Avenue

New York, NY  10019

(212) 315-3335

http://www.championpizzanyc.com

Open: Sunday 10:00am-10:00pm/Monday-Saturday 10:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12849399-Reviews-Champion_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

China Gourmet

877 8th Avenue

New York, NY

(212) 246-8181/8191/Fax: (212) 246-2124

http://www.chinagourmet8ave.com

Open: Sunday 12:00pm-11:00pm/Monday-Thursday 11:00am-12:00am/Friday-Saturday 11:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d3385484-Reviews-China_Gourmet-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Visit:

The Shops at the Plaza Hotel/Plaza Hotel Food Court

Fifth Avenue at Central Park South

New York, NY 10019

(212) 759-3000

plazareservation@fairmont.com

Open: Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm/Monday-Saturday 10:00am-8:00pm

https://www.theplazany.com/dining/the-plaza-food-hall/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d3643072-Reviews-Food_Court-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Turnstyle Underground Market

1000S 8th Avenue

New York, NY  10019

(646) 768-9222

Open: 24 hours (not every restaurant)

https://www.turn-style.com/

https://www.turn-style.com/food-hall

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d11888820-Reviews-Turnstyle-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Museum of Art & Design

2 Columbus Circle

New York, NY  10019

(212) 229-7777

https://madmuseum.org/

Open: Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00am-6:00pm/Thursday 10:00am-9:00pm/Friday-Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d524927-Reviews-Museum_of_Arts_and_Design-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2998

All the interesting buildings in the neighborhood I have mentioned by address and you should take the time to really look up at these beautiful structures. There are coming down too fast to make way for new things.

Myzel’s Chocolates 140 West 55th Street New York, NY 10019

Don’t miss the whimsical window displays at Myzel’s Chocolates during the holidays!

Myzel’s Chocolates

The window display

Myzel Chocolate Store

The inside of Myzel’s Chocolate Shop at the holidays.

Little Shop on Main Street

Myzel’s Chocolates

140 West 55th Street

New York, NY  10019

(212) 245-4233

http://www.myzels.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Myzels-Chocolates-332431326808571/

Open: Sunday Closed/Monday-Friday 11:00am-7:00pm/Saturday 12:00pm-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d3671775-Reviews-Myzel_s_Chocolate-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

I came across Myzel’s Chocolates when walking the Central Park South neighborhood for ‘Day One Hundred and Fifty Eight’ for my ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’ project. This delightful little store sits across the street from the City Center and just down the road from Fifth Avenue.

What attracted me to the store, which was right before Christmas was its whimsical display window with all sorts of colorful Christmas decorations, Santa’s and figurines in the window. Inside it was a mob scene of people buying the store out. You could not get near the counter, let alone fit into the 100 square foot store. I had to wait outside for a few people to leave and then I could walk in.

Myzel’s Chocolates is the brainchild of Kamila Myzel and…

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