Sunset Beach in all its glory in the summer of 2023.
Sunset Beach is a marvelous place to visit for sunset
Sunset Beach in Cape May, NJ is one of the most beautiful beaches in American and is ranked 24# on TripAdvisor as one of the breathtaking beaches to visit. The beach site in Lower Township in Cape May and is at the very end of Sunset Boulevard which is a direct run from downtown Cape May.
One both sides of the parking lot, there are gift shops and a small café grill. These have limited hours after Labor Day Weekend. The grill is closed after the holiday weekend but sometimes stays open depending on the weather after the Labor Day weekend.
The beach is amazing as you can see the pleasure boats in the distance coming in and out of the small harbor just north of the beach.
The Sunset Beach is really beautiful in the off season when not a lot of people are there
The Start of the Sunset in December 2022
Looking out into Delaware Bay is quite spectacular with its moving waves and the way it glitters in the sun. In the warmer months, it is just nice to walk along the shore and watch the birds. In the winter months, the breezes get to be too much and a short visit is nicer.
The beginning of the sunset
Any time of the year though, make sure to be here for sunset and that is when the beach works it beautiful natural magic.
The setting of the sun
The sun disappearing in the horizon
The sun disappearing
At sunset you will see an array of colors with the sun setting in the distance. The last time I visited the beach in September, it was a combination of oranges, purples and blues as the sun set. The lower the sun the more brilliant the colors. They become more complex as the sun gets lower.
The final sunset
Sunset Beachat various times of the year:
The best part of the view is that it is played out on the large stage. It covers the whole sky and it looks like the sun is going to sleep in the bay. You can almost touch it. Each night when the sun sets its a different color in the rainbow in the sky. The backdrop of the small stone formations and the SS Atlantus Concrete Ship make it more dramatic.
SS Atlantus Concrete Ship
Whenever you are in Cape May, try to finish your dinner early and then watch Mother Nature work her magic by the shoreline. It is an experience that should not be missed. Please try to arrive about an hour before sunset to get a space in the parking lot. It is the most spectacular site at anytime of the year.
Sunset Beach area:
The SS Atlantus Concrete Ship:
The SS Atlantus Concrete Ship was built and launched in 1918, just after World War I had ended as a trans-Atlantic steamer to return troops from Europe to home. After being decommissioned in 1926, she was purchased along with two other ships to create a ferry dock for ferries from Cape May to Delaware. The plans were later shelved as she ran aground in a storm along Sunset Beach and could not be freed.
Flag Lowering Ceremony:
The Evening Flag Ceremony held every night at sunset between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The lowering of the American flag at sunset is a 40-year-old tradition. All of the flags that are flown at the flag ceremony are veteran’s caskets flags that families being with them from their loved one’s funeral. The ceremony includes the Pledge of Allegiance, the ‘Stat-Spangled Banner’ and a recording of Kate Smith’s ‘God Bless America”.
The beautiful summer sunset in 2023.
Cape May Diamonds:
While taking a stroll along the beach, look out for Cape May ‘Diamonds’. These are small pieces of quartz crystal found in the sand that are washed from the bay. You can find Cape May diamond jewelry in the gift stores at the beach.
(NJ Leisure Guide)
Sunset Beach
Disclaimer: This information was taken from the NJ Leisure Guide and I give their writer full credit for it. The beach is open all year around but it is the best in the warmer months. Don’t miss this spectacular view at sunset.
Visiting again in 2025:
When I came in the Summer of 2025, for the Firemen’s Convention, that Saturday evening I came on the most spectacular sunny evening and the beach was packed.
Sunset Beach in the summer of 2025
I loved the sailboat in the distance
The beach was crowded with people
Then the sun started to set and the magic began. It was such a clear night it was perfect to see the sun set with no cloud interference.
The setting of the sun at 7:00pm
People getting the birds-eye view of the setting sun
While I was at Sunset Beach, I took a series of videos when the sun was setting to share with all the readers. You really must visit Sunset Beach to experience the beauty and the gracefulness of Mother Nature at her best. Until then, I hope everyone enjoys these videos of the setting of the sun in Delaware Bay.
The pictures and videos of the setting of the sun at Sunset Beach:
I could not believe how fast the Summer came and went. It was like a blink of the eye. I had covered a lot of ground over the last three months that included many neighborhoods in New York City, many Upstate New York and New Jersey towns plus updating older blogs that needed some work. They needed new pictures and updates in the businesses I had featured in the past. A lot has changed since COVID.
I started Alphabet City just before the Labor Day Weekend and a lot has changed here since the 1960’s and 70’s. The whole hippie movement is now over only to be replaced by the current hipster movement where men are wearing knit head coverings in almost 90 degree and still wearing ‘man buns’ that are ‘so 2010’. To each his own.
Looking down Avenue C on a sunny afternoon
I just ignored everyone and started my walk on the Avenue’s of the neighborhood. The neighborhood is broken up that the closer you are to public housing the less gentrified it was on the block. The border seemed to be around 10th Street. The lower the street, the nicer the bars and restaurants.
The one thing I did notice about the neighborhood was the amount of community gardens that popped up in corners all around the blocks. This was the result of the community efforts in the 1970’s and 80’s that saved the neighborhood and what has made the neighborhood as desirable as it is now. It seems you can’t stop gentrification. Even so, these hard working gardeners are setting the tone for the neighborhood.
The signs of the times on top of the old tenements on Avenue C
The other thing I noticed about Alphabet City are the tagging and outdoor murals that line all the blocks. The people who creat this street art are so clever and creative. They really have an eye on color and design.
Some of the art cleverly tucked along the walls and columns in the neighborhood
Some of the art close by
I liked this design
The first of the Community Gardens that J toured that afternoon (they all seemed to be open the Saturday that I visited) was the Francisco ‘Pancho’ Ramos Community Garden at 709 East 9th Street. The garden showed the creative spirit of the people who volunteered there.
The sign for the Francisco “Pancho” Ramos Community Garden at 703 East 9th Street
(The History of the Park from its website)
The Lower East Side of the 1970s was a hard place with little green. Local residents noticed the abandoned, littered lot at the corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C and began to sow seeds and plants along the chain link and among the debris, and so the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park was founded in 1979. Today Pancho’s Garden hosts community events including music, art, and gardening workshops.
The pathways were lined with flower beds and some with vegetable gardens with the latest crops coming in. Here and there were pieces of artwork such as sculptures and paintings.
Walking through the gardens at the end of the summer
Following the paths
Walking through the flowering arbors
Some of the creative artwork that lined the paths
The raised flower beds
Some of the creative touches of the gardens
The Vegetable Gardens in full growth
Even the shed and play areas were colorful
This is what the community spirit of hard work and dedication can create in a neighborhood
Another interesting mural that I came across on the walls of the buildings
Just a reminder that the Alphabet City name is not a negative one anymore
The Alphabet Wine Company at 100 Loisaida Avenue (Avenue C)
Walking through Alphabet City today reminded me of years ago when I toured Bushwick in Brooklyn. The negative connotation of the name was now synonymous with ‘hipster’ cool. When I started to see signs like Alphabet Wine Company, you know times have changed for a neighborhood with not such a great past.
Passing the Lower East Side II still reminds you that public housing is a big part of this neighborhood
The next set of street art I admired was 15C Cultural Center building at 68 Loisaida Avenue (Avenue C). The shop was closed that afternoon so I got to see all the interesting art work on the metal gates.
This was on one side of building of the 5C Cultural Center at 68 Avenue C and 5th Street
Danielle Mastrion is a Brooklyn-born, New York City based painter and muralist who specializes in large scale, brightly colored murals. She holds a BFA from Parsons School of Design (Artist website)
This mural was around the corner dedicated to Puerto Rico
The changes to Avenue C start around East 10th Street as you leave the area around the public housing and walk closer to the areas that cater to a younger NYU/Pace student population. When I visited the neighborhood originally walking the borders of the neighborhood and even this evening, the bars and restaurants exploded with students whose first weekend in New York City was filled with excitement.
They chatted on their cellphones and yelled to their friends and acted like a scene in early ‘Sex and the City’ episodes. I can always tell when an out of towner is trying too hard.
The rebuilt section of Avenue C
I walked through my next community garden, Gustavd Hartman Square. Some of these patches of green were really small and just required a peek inside.
This plot of land, located at Second Street and Avenue C, is named for Gustave Hartman, a municipal court judge and philanthropist who spent most of his life in this neighborhood. Gustave Hartman was born in Hungary and immigrated to the United States with his parents while still a young boy. He attended P.S. 22 on Sheriff Street (now Columbia Street), the College of the City of New York, and received his law degree from New York University in 1905.
This plot of land, located at Second Street and Avenue C, is named for Gustave Hartman, a municipal court judge and philanthropist who spent most of his life in this neighborhood.
The growth of the garden needed a little pruning
I then started my walk back up Avenue C from the border of East Houston Street, which itself on all sides of the street has been knocked down and rebuilt. I have never seen a street go from shabby to chic more in the last fifteen to twenty years. Here the upper parts of the old Chinatown and Little Italy and the Lower East Side have merged with the Village. The lines have been blurred.
The changes to Avenue C start in the lower part of the neighborhood
The next set of public housing is the Bracetti Plaza
The next community garden I visited was the Secret Garden, a tiny park at 293 East Forth Street. Volunteers were hard at work weeding and planting while I walked around
Charlie Doves is a graffiti and fine artist from New York City’s Lower East Side, known for his work inspired by graffiti’s Golden Age and Japanese art. A master of his craft, Doves has moved from street art to fine art, fusing different techniques and styles to create a timeless body of work (Arts AI).
The Secret Garden Community Garden at 293 East Fourth Street
Alfredo Bennett, professionally known as The Royal “Kingbee” is a NYC artist. He was born in Harlem and raised in The Bronx in the early 70’s. He began his career painting graffiti on walls until gathering recognition and eventually being commissioned to perform his artistic abilities all throughout the city of New York. The artist went to JF Kennedy High School in the Bronx (BX 200 Artist.com).
The art was not just limited to the murals that looked more professionally done. The taggers showed their creativity on the closed gates of the businesses and the walls of the buildings around the Avenue.
Tagging art on Avenue C
Tagging art on Avenue C
The next community gardens I visited and one of the original is the Carmen Pabon Del Amanecer Jardin, dedicated to Carmen Pabon.
The sign for the Carmen Pabon Del Amanecer Jardin at
Carmen Pabón, ‘la madrina del Lower East Side,’ was a Puerto Rican community activist, gardener, poet and actress who founded a community garden as an urban sanctuary for children, local artists, Nuyorican poets and the elderly. Carmen helped thousands to create a better life for themselves and fed multitudes of Lower East Siders experiencing homelessness.
While a lot of the neighborhood is low rise and tenement housing, I stopped to admire this unique brick building at 116 Avenue C, with its interesting faces on all levels staring back at you. It reminded me of the many buildings I had passed recently in Lower Chelsea.
Each window had a demonist look in its eyes as you passed it. This building was built in 1900 (Streeteasy.com).
These menacing demons stare back at you from every window
I spent some more time cross crossing through more gardens admiring the work of dedicated gardens. The next I visited was the Flower Door Garden at 135 Avenue C.
La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez Community Garden was founded in 1976 by local residents and greening activists who took over what was then a series of vacant city lots piled high with rubble and trash. In an effort to improve the neighborhood during a downward trend of arson, drugs, and abandonment common in that era, members of the Latino group CHARAS cleared out truckloads of refuse.
Working with Buckminster Fuller, they built a geodesic dome in the open “plaza” and began staging cultural events. Green Guerillas pioneer Liz Christy seeded the turf with “seed bombs” and planted towering weeping willows and linden trees. Artist Gordon Matta-Clark helped construct La Plaza’s amphitheater using railroad ties and materials reclaimed from abandoned buildings.
What I liked about this particular garden was all the interesting metal work along the fencing. It popped all around the fencing like you were living in ‘Whoville’.
One of the entrances of the gardens
Walking around the inside along the paths
The whimsical ironworks on the top of the fencing
As I made my way back up Avenue C, J came across a small museum that I had never heard of before, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space at 155 Loisaida Avenue (Avenue C).
The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space at 155 Loisaida Avenue (Avenue C)
The museum is a time capsule of information from the late 1960’s through the 70’s when the neighborhood had really hit rock bottom with the City’s almost bankruptcy. The neighborhood and its residents banded together to save the neighborhood and clean up all these empty lots of garbage and debris.
The entrance of the museum
The description of the museum’s purpose
The museum has pictures of the neighborhood at various stages of its development. There are the ups and downs of this section of the City and how its residents maintain it. The neighborhood has seen so much change and much of it due to the volunteers who keep improving it.
The inside of the museum
How the changes took place in Alphabet City
The masks and decorations that line the walls
The history of the neighborhood and its triumphs
After my trip through the museum, I continued the walk up Avenue C. Above 10th Street is was a little patchy but you can tell the neighborhood is getting better. I never felt unsafe walking around the ‘Alphabets’.
For the rest of my walk, I enjoyed the ‘open-air’ museum that the sides of the buildings offered me. There were many interesting murals to admire.
I think this one was in honor of the island of Puerto Rico.
Artist Antonio “Chico” Garcia is a New York City based Graffiti artist. He is well known in the neighborhood and has been featured in several periodicals (Wiki).
I saw this on the side of a Chinese restaurant
Then when I got to the top East 14th Street and I came across this mural on the side of a school and I admired the different styles of art in each panel.
The panel that lined the school created by artists from the Thrive Collective
Danielle Mastrion is a Brooklyn-born, New York City based painter and muralist who specializes in large scale, brightly colored murals. She holds a BFA from Parsons School of Design (Artist website)
I loved this whimsical school painting by artists Savannah Zambrano and Andrea Amanda
Savannah Zambrano is a freelance sequential artist that hosts workshops and panels, does face painting and caricatures, and works with Traditional and Digital Media (Artist Bio website).
The artists sign with the Thrive Collective
I loved this mural with the Puerto Rican flag by artist Miki Mu
Michela Muserra is an international muralist and illustrator based in Brooklyn. A graduate of Accademia di Bella Arti in her hometown of Foggia, Italy. The artist has worked as a teaching artist with Thrive Collective since January 2017 (Thrive Collective website).
I love this colorful display of positive behavior of Frank Ape by artist Brandon Sines
Artist Brandon Sines was exposed to many cultures while growing up simultaneously in New York City, Toronto, and Los Angeles. He mixes Pop Art’s mass culture, Surrealism’s private associations, and inventive paint handling to create dreamlike environments. His mark making ranges from experimental techniques to illustrative precision. Parts of the paintings are crystal clear, and other parts reach abstraction.
This was another great mural on the school but I could not find the artist
The piece of art that I noticed was as I was walking down East 14th Street and I came across this taggers work. To me it looked like a surreal ghost.
The piece of street art was East 14th Street
I turned the corner to Avenue B and started my journey down the street. Being closer to the colleges and further from the projects and around Tompkins Square Park, the vibe is different on Avenue B. The restaurants are a bit more expensive and there are more bars.
Walking down Avenue B
Walking through the neighborhood that offers so much to a visitor
I saw this ‘Love’ mural on one of the businesses
On the corner of Avenue B and East 13th Street I saw all this great street art on top of murals
As I continued the walk through this part of the neighborhood, I came across another series of community gardens that dot the street.
The Relaxation Garden was the first of the gardens I passed and this really had nothing to it. It looked like a garden waiting for something to happen to it.
The inside of the Relaxation Garden needs some TLC
I stared up at one of the buildings on Avenue B and this face from above was staring back at me. I thought this was really interesting but do not want to know how this artist did this without falling off the roof.
I thought this face staring back was really cool but I do not want to know how the tagger did this.
While I was walking, I stopped at the various restaurants and bars to look at their menus. I have to admit, they are not cheap. For a neighborhood known for poverty in its pockets, the places are pricy.
Passing the outdoor cafes on Avenue B
I then passed one of the community centers in the neighborhood and came across this series of panels. These were very retro 1970’s.
Panel One ‘Resist’
Panel Two ‘People Power’
Panel Three ‘Educate’
I thought they were profound and reminded me of works from the 1970’s.
Avenue B like Avenue C has its share of landscapers and gardeners and you see this in the creativity of the small community gardens.
The first one I walked through and admired was in front of the Trinity Lower East Side Church at 602 East 9th Street on the corner of Avenue B.
The Trinity Church Lower East Side at 602 East 9th Street
In 1839 German Saxon immigrants began to meet for worship in the home of a baker. By 1843 they were sufficiently strong to incorporate The Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession in the City of New York, since changed to Trinity Lower East Side Parish. In 1850, the congregation built a new church with four apartments below and a one-room school in the back. The present church was designed by Robert Litchfield and built in 1993. Dedicated on July 9, 1996, the facility includes a 100-seat chapel, community center and parsonage (Trinity Church website).
The gardens in front of the old church were a bit over grown but very colorful.
The fenced in garden in full bloom at the height of the summer
The one thing I like about this garden is how tranquil it was that day. Services were over so the church was quiet. It is the perfect place to just sit and think and relax.
Avenue B lines the eastern side of Tompkins Square Park and the park was alive with joggers, musicians, dog walkers and groups of college students stretching across the lawns talking, reading and sunning themselves. This is a far cry from the homeless camps of the early 1980’s.
Tompkins Square Park was extremely busy that afternoon
It’s fun to just walk through the borders of the park and see the neighborhood just conversing with each other. Community is not dead in New York City. Someone had tagged over this mural but I still thought it was interesting. The colors really stood out in the mural,
Romero, is a Korean and Spanish, first-generation American artist, and muralist . She is a New York City based artist. Her art is a contemporary representation, inspired by her mixed cultural background and layered complexities of the human experience. Her work is inspired by human emotion, identity, women’s empowerment, and New York City (Artist bio from website),
YouTube video on Artist Bianca Romero
Some of the community gardens are more creative than others. The next one I visited was the East 6th Street and Avenue B Garden at 84 Avenue B
The East 6th Street and Avenue Garden at 84 Avenue B
All the community gardens seemed to be open the weekend of my walk so I got to see all the gardeners at work. People were digging, pruning and cutting shrubs and trees and cleaning the beds of weeds and then composting.
History of the Garden:
(from the garden website
Throughout 1983 and 1984, garden members surveyed the site, drew up the plans for its optimal use, built over 100 4’ x 8’ plots and a large communal plot (“the Circle”), laid pathways, prepared for the installation of a fence, and laid out ornamental borders. In April of 1984, Green Thumb issued a one-year lease. Garden members were busy planting ornamental shrubs and trees. The Garden received important early technical assistance from the Citizens’ Committee, Green Guerrillas and the Trust for Public Land .
The welcoming French at the entrance of the Sixth Street and Avenue B Gardens
This was one of the larger community gardens and it was fun to stroll down the paths of flowers and vegetables and watch everyone hard at work.
The inside of the entrance of the gardens
Walking along the paths
The Vegetable gardens
The gardens at the height of the summer
The pathways in the gardens
The sitting area in the middle of the garden
The Weed Library and composting area
The tree has been part of this garden for years
I loved the ironwork along the fencing of the garden as I walked up Avenue B
The neighborhood reaction to a empty storefront in a gentrifying neighborhood
The garden was established in 1993/1994 soon after a building there was demolished. The building’s address was 194 Ave B which is also the garden’s address, but the garden’s entrance is at 546 E 12th St (NYC Parks/GreenThumb will eventually replace the garden sign. Down to Earth Garden, which changed its name on July 1, 2020 from Children’s Garden, is a Green Thumb community garden in the East Village/Lower East Side of Manhattan, NYC.
We’re a small community garden, 1261 sq ft, on 12th St, by Ave B, southwest corner. However, we have been very active in composting (in combination with El Sol Brillante’s composting activities) since the fall of 2009
The flowering beds of the garden
The side beds
The artwork against the building was covered with vines and new growth
There was one last garden I visited but is was closing for the evening and that was the Vamps A Sembrar at 198 Avenue B.
The small Vegetable beds and visible art in the garden
The History of the garden:
(from the garden website)
The garden used to be two separate GreenThumb community gardens (Vamos A Sembrar and 200 Ave B Association Garden) until 2019, when they were combined as Vamos A Sembrar under the guidance of GreenThumb
This community garden had just closed for the afternoon so I could only see if from the fence. I could see the beds of vegetables growing. I really admired the artwork on the walls of the building. I will be returning on a future weekend to really explore all of these gardens, which I find are open on the weekends for the members and outside people.
I passed Pop’s Pizzeria at 223 Avenue B that I had eaten at when I walked the borders of the neighborhood. I had gotten at the restaurant late at night so I had not noticed the outside of the restaurant that evening.
When you look up above the restaurant, you see this Skelton painting smiling above the entrance.
The Skelton face that I did not see before when dining here on my last trip to the neighborhood
I finished for the evening around 5:00pm and went to get some dinner.
I checked Google and Avenue D Pizzeria which I had passed when walking down Avenue D was still open. So I walked down one of the side streets to give it a try.
The pizza selection was really good that night and the slices were reasonable at $1.50 for a Cheese slice and $2.50 for a Sausage slice.
The pizza selection that night
The hot food selection is $10.00 for a plate
The pizzeria also has a selection of hot entrees and sides at a reasonable price as well. There is no place to sit down anywhere near the pizzeria so I went back to Tompkins Square Park to eat my dinner. I found an empty bench and ate by one of the gardens.
My dinner that night in the park
I have to say that I was really impressed by the pizza for having to walk for blocks to eat it. The sauce was spiced so nicely and they loaded the sausage on the other slice.
After dinner I walked through the park and watched the bars and restaurants come to life. Most get a younger crowd of college students but there are a lot of family restaurants as well. I was amazed at the amount of kids who were dining with their parents that evening.
Admiring street art on the border of Alphabet City (I could not find the artist)
Since it was such a great night that I decided to walk around both Little Italy and Chinatown since they both border Alphabet City.
Walking around Little Italy on a warm late summer night
Outside the Cannoli King dessert shop a guy was singing Sinatra songs. I stopped to listen and this guy was really good. Everyone in the crowd was filming him.
Singing outside the Cannoli King at 152 Mulberry Street
It was fun to stand there and just enjoy the concert. The singer was wonderful!
The singer was great
Afree the mini concert was over, I continued my walk down Mulberry Street into Chinatown. Once upon a time there were distinct boundaries of Chinatown and Little Italy but they have become very blurred over the last twenty five years with gentrification affecting both neighborhoods.
I walked down Mott Street to Catherine Street and stopped at my favorite bakery that I know is always open late, Great Taste Bakery at 35 Catherine Street. I love the reasonable pastries and buns here and it is one of the last of the Chinatown bakeries that is still open late. This is also one of the few neighborhood bakeries left in a very gentrifying Chinatown. I come here after meals or just having dumplings up the road and finish here for dessert.
I love their Pineapple cream buns with some lemon tea at Great Taste Bakery
Since there was no place to sit down in here too I ate at one of the benches outside near the local park.
These buns are so good!
After all the walking that evening, you would figure I would be tired. There was something about the Lemon tea and the sweet bun that gave me a second wind and I walked from Chinatown to the Port Authority. It was such a beautiful warm night I figured ‘why not’? It was a beautiful walk up Broadway.
Admiring one of the old churches on lower Broadway on my long walk up Broadway to the Port Authority
Looking at Madison Square Park at night
It really ended up being a beautiful evening ing the City. For all its problems, the City really is magical at all times of the day. You just have to look at all the good things that people do that make this City better. Between the small mom and pop restaurants providing wonderful food to the community gardeners who make Alphabet City bloom, it really shows that New York City is bouncing back from COVID in its own way.
I was driving through Hamden on my way to Ithaca and had just left Delhi and wanted to travel through the back roads of the state. I came across the Hamden Covered bridge while driving down the highway. I had never seen one that looked like this and had to stop to see this interesting bridge.
The historic sign
The History of the Covered Bridge:
(From the New York State Covered Bridge Society)
The Hamden Covered Bridge is one of six covered bridges still standing in Delaware County. It is one of three bridges owned and maintained by Delaware County; the other three bridges are privately owned.
Built by Robert Murray in 1859, this 128-foot-long, single span structure incorporates the Long truss design patented on March 6, 1830 by Lieutenant Colonel Stephen H. Long of Hopkinton, New Hampshire. It is New York’s only covered bridge that incorporates a pure Long truss design, unassisted by an arch or Queen post truss and is rare to northeastern covered bridges. The Hamden Covered Bridge is one of three covered crossings that still carry traffic across branches of the Delaware River. A contract to construct the bridge was signed between Mr. Murray and the Town of Hamden on April 27, 1859, for the sum of $1,000.
The beautiful little park that surrounds it
The little park does not have the best parking (as I had to park by the side of the highway) but this is a beautiful and picturesque little park. I loved walking through the gardens and taking a break from all the driving. Its a nice place to take a rest.
The beautifully landscaped park
The signage tells the story of the town, the rail system Upstate and the communities that was affected by it.
The history of the Bridge and the surrounding area
The history of the town
I had never walked through a old covered bridge before and found it fascinating. I loved the architecture and the history behind it. I imagined all the horses and wagons and cars that must have traveled through it over the years.
Touring the bridge
I want to share my tour of the bridge with all of you so you can see how magnificent this little historical bridge. It is amazing and nice to see a part of our history.
My walking tour of the inside of the bridge
The inside of the bridge
Take your time to take this walk through the bridge.
The historic sign
The beauty of the road trip down Route 10
The surrounding around Route 10 is just breathtaking in the summer and I can imagine what this is like during the Fall foliage. I took my time to drive down Route 10. It is just so beautiful to drive down and stop and take pictures.
I started walking the streets of Lower Chelsea after Maricel and I spent the morning wondering around Chinatown with her nephew. I swear that kid has an appetite. We went out for dumplings and roast pork buns and between them and myself nothing was left.
Dumplings is a wonderful place on Henry Street right off Catherine Street in Chinatown and for $5.00 you can get either ten large pork and chive dumplings or ten large pork buns. I opted for the pork buns on this trip.
The Pork Buns from Dumplings
These make the best lunch
We ate in the park and caught up with work. I had to thank her again for that wonderful Afternoon Tea at the Plaza the week before. It was pretty amazing being back in the Palm Court after all those years.
Then it was off the Tasty Bakery on Catherine Street for dessert. We indulged in Cream buns for dessert. Tasty Bakery is one of those very local coffee and bakery places that the older Chinese residents meet during the day and that are quickly disappearing. That’s why you have to visit for these fantastic pastries.
The Cream filled buns are the best
Yum!
After walking around the East Village for a while, they left the City and I ventured up to Lower Chelsea to start the walk of the neighborhood. I walked up from Chinatown as the humidity seemed to die down today. It ended up being a bit cooler than the recent days. The weather had been so hot and humid during some of these walks.
I started the walk on this spectacular day in Madison Square Park. It was such a breathtaking sunny day and the humidity was finally starting to fall. Perfect for walking around the park admiring the gardens and fountains. Everything was in bloom and the park looked spectacular. I love this patch of green in the middle of Manhattan.
The statute of Senator William Sewart, who was famous for the purchase of Alaska ‘Stewart’s Folly’ greets you at the entrance to Madison Square Park at West 23rd Street
The park was in full bloom in the beginning of the summer and the pathways and gardens were just gorgeous.
Madison Square Park in front of Shake Shack
The fountain in the park
The flower pots around the fountain
Looking north of the park with the Empire State Building in the background
Walking along the paths inside the park
Looking west of the park in the trendy NoMAD neighborhood
The Lilly Pond in the northern side of the park
Looking south on the lawn in the middle of the park where office workers and tourists relaxed under the shade trees
Starting the walk on the cross roads of the neighborhood at West 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue
I love the way that the light reflects off the buildings at West 23rd Street
I was lucky that the weather broke. My recent Broadway was ended up being on a 91 degree day. I did not get too far that afternoon as ‘Manhattanhenge’, the alignment of the sun setting to the street grid of the West Side of Manhattan was that evening and I wanted to see it. I needed to get a good spot.
I doubled back that evening to watch ‘Manhattanhenge’, a time when the sun aligns with the buildings on the West Side and set a between the buildings. This happens two times a year and you have to pray for clear weather or else the clouds get in the way. The clouds got in the way this evening.
The start of ‘Manhattanhenge’ at 8:15pm on July 11th, 2025
The sun starting to set
The sun setting on ‘Mznhattanhenge’
Just as the sun set a cloud got in the way
A video of the final setting of the sun
After the sun set, I went back into Madison Square Park and just relaxed. It had been a long week of running around and was going to be busier over the weekend.
Madison Square Park is especially beautiful in the evening. The lights come on and then the park works its magic with all the beautiful lights, cool music from the patrons and the talking and laughter from the many people visiting on a warm New York evening.
The fountain inside the park at twilight
The Flatiron Building across from the park at night
The fountain flowing while looking north in the park
Video of the Madison Square Park fountain at night
The skyline of the park at night with the Empire State Building lit in the distance
During the warmer months, I have found Madison Square Park to be safe due to the sheer number of people in the park and the extra security the park hired. Still like any part of New York, you have to watch yourself. Don’t let your guard down just because there are people in the park. Just like any other part of New York City, have eyes in the back of your head.
I started my walk of the streets of Lower Chelsea around 1:00pm in the afternoon on a Saturday and found the City to be extremely quiet. Most of the residents must have been out of town. I started at the corner of West 22nd Street and Sixth Avenue in the middle of the old Ladies Shopping District.
The old department stores on Sixth Avenue and West 22nd Street
On the way down each block, I admired two things that stood out, the street art and the stone work that seemed to stare out you at every twist and turn on many of the buildings I passed.
The street art at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 22ns Street
The other walk facing West 22nd Street
Walking down West 22nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues
The beautiful brownstones and brick townhouses on the block
One brownstone on this part of the street is 246 West 22nd Street with its interesting embellishments. This building is a pre-war apartment that was built in 1920(Streeteasy.com).
The unusual stonework on the building
The faces can captivate you
Face number one
Face number two
Face number three
Face number four
The next building to stand out was 262 West 22nd Street. This is another pre-war building was built in 1920 (Streeteasy.com).
Another building whose embellishments were rather unusual were outside of 264 West 22nd Street. This building was another pre-war building in the 1920’s. It has a lot of unique embellishments all over the building (Streeteasy.com).
West 22nd Street from Seventh to Ninth Avenues has several blocks of beautiful townhouses and brownstones some dating back to the mid 1880’s. The blocks look something out of a movie set.
Street art on the building at 441 West 16th Street
Street art on the building
Street art on the building
Walking under the High Line Park
Artist Eduardo Kobra painting “The Mount Rushmore of Art” above the Empire Diner at Tenth Avenue and West 22nd Street
The mural, created by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra, “Mount Rushmore of Art”, is the artist’s memorial to some of modern art’s biggest artists including Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat (Vibe Map 2023).
Eduardo Kobra is a Brazilian born artist known for his contemporary and colorful art murals all over the world.
I continued to walk down the road and admired the beauty of each of the streets with their front gardens and plantings.
The beauty of West 22nd Street between Eighth and Seventh Avenues
More faces staring at you while you walk by
I feel like they are passing judgement as you walk by
Even the work sites are home to art work
While making my way down West 22nd Street, I passed NY Cake, a specialty store all the items cake decorating and making. The store has everything you need for both professional and amateur baking. I walked along the aisles looking at all the merchandise when I spotted an fascinating piece of art at the front entrance.
Cake Artist Collette Peters is an American born baker, artist, cake design maker and author of “Collette’s Cakes: The Art of Cake Decorating”.
I the rounded West 21st Street and walked down the street admiring all the beautiful homes and street art.
Sixth Avenue and West 23rd Street
This was in the very heart of what once the ‘Ladies Shopping Mike’, with the former Crawford-Simpson Department store
The first thing I saw as I walked down the street admiring, tucked in between the buildings was the Third Shearith Jewish Cemetery at 98-110 West 21st Street.
The Third Shearith Cemetery at 98-110 West 21St Street
When Congregation Shearith Israel was forced to close its graveyard in Greenwich Village in 1829, it established a new cemetery in an area even further away from the city center. The 21st Street cemetery served as the congregation’s burial ground until 1851, when the city banned burials below 86th Street (New York City Cemetery Project website). Their original cemetery was just off Canal Street in Chinatown and also sits behind a locked gate.
The cemetery is a quiet reminder that the City keeps progressing and builds around the past. It just shows how time marches on.
The inside of the cemetery
There is a real beauty to these small historic cemeteries. You wonder if the families understood the changes and progress in the City over the next hundred years.
The small cemetery seems surreal in this built up neighborhood
I wondered if anyone visited these folks anymore. The cemetery looks like it is taken care of but not on a regular basis.
As I continued to walk down the street more surprises popped up along the way. Along the blocks with townhouses and brownstones, there are small pocket gardens and flower beds bursting with color. Along all these streets in Chelsea, there were little surprises everywhere on buildings architecture, tucked in corners by stairs and along the staircases. There is a lot of detail you can miss if you don’t stop for a moment and just appreciate it.
The beautiful plantings and urban gardens that lined the street
Outside of C.S. Hardware at 189 Seventh Avenue there is an interesting mural
The streets in the neighborhood are really picturesque and look like they are out of a movie set. The streets are lined with beautiful brownstones and brick townhouses. Just be careful as the faces follow you around. You will find one thing about Chelsea, the faces on the buildings are all over the place and each has their own unique look about them.
The beauty of West 21st Street
Faces carved into the doorways around the neighborhood
They just seem to follow you around
Even on the sidewalks faces follow you on the walk to 11th Avenue. The eyes are always watching
I love all the carved faces in the buildings in the neighborhood. These interesting embellishments in some cases are the only decorations the buildings have so I looked out for them as I walked by. The rest of the building is rather plain but the keystone greeting you always has a look of longing.
I wasn’t sure if this was a lion or a demon
The neighborhood has three Fernando Kobra murals painted on the buildings. This is ‘I ❤️ New York’ on 212 Eighth Avenue.
The Kobra painting ‘I Love New York’
The Kobra painting of Albert Einstein ‘We ❤️ New York’
I continued my walk down West 21st Street looking at the treasure trove of outside art and architecture.
The entrance to the Reilly Building
Has the most interesting face guarding the building
The buildings that watch you
Look at you with a look of horror
The residents creating small gardens along the blocks
I loved this stone chair outside on of the brownstones
Passing by the Guardian Angel School on 193 Tenth Avenue with High-line Park in full bloom
The church school was designed and built in 1930 by architect John Van Pelt of the Van Pelt, Hardy & Goubert firm. The building was designed in the Southern Sicilian Romanesque style and has many different religious elements in the detail of the outside of the building. You have to look at it from all directions to appreciate its beauty (Wiki).
On the corner of West 21st Street and 11th Avenue, I came across this interesting drawing on a plastic barrier. I assumed the street artist was from Jamaica.
Walking on the other side of West 21st Street on the way back showed just as many interesting views.
High line Park is in full bloom by 10th Avenue
Walking down West 21st Street near Eighth Avenue
Walking past the historic brick townhouses in the neighborhood
As I passed the school yard, I saw this work on the fence and thought it was really whimsical
As I left West 21st Street, I took another peak at the cemetery and thought about when they buried these people. It must have been wilderness at the time this cemetery was created. The first one is down in Chinatown.
I rounded West 20th Street in the late afternoon and I did notice a change in the architecture as I walked further into the neighborhood. It seemed a little more commercial though the use of the buildings seem to be changing.
Then I passed Chelsea Green Park at 140 West 20th Street
The Chelsea Green Park was an oasis from the hot weather that had been going on the week I walked the neighborhood. It seemed all the parents were trying to escape the heat as well as everyone sat under shade trees while the kids ran through the sprays of water and throwing water balloons at each other.
Chelsea Green Park sign
The parks history
This park sits on a former school and when the building was torn down, the neighborhood rallied to create this park. This much needed green space is the neighborhood focal point on these hot summer days that we experienced in the summer of 2025.
Walking by the busy park in the early afternoon
Some of the businesses are quite unique in the neighborhood. I loved the window display at ‘Purple Passion’ at 211 West 20th Street. If anything stood out was this creative set of ensembles.
The display window at Purple Passion at 211 West 20th Street
Purple Passion has become the darling of fetishists-in-the-know over the last few years almost exclusively by word of mouth. A selection of fetish “toys”, restraints and clothing more diverse than almost any other store in New York is crammed into a tiny shop now so packed with merchandise it’s difficult for more than two or three customers to be inside it at once (The NYCGoth.com website).
This interesting brownstone is a pre-war building that was built in 1920. This rather daring face protects the entrance of the building.
The front door is on guard
The blocks in the center of the neighborhood down each street from Seventh to Ninth Avenue are lined with rows of rows of tree lined streets with classic brick townhouses.
Walking down the picturesque West 20th Street
The garden boxes along the way
Flowers peaking out here and there along the walls
The residents landscaping the tree boxes along the street
A tree growing in the High Line Hotel courtyard at 180 Tenth Avenue
The Cushman Row is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival style of architecture in New York, this superbly designed row of houses has retained most of its handsome original detail. Built by Don Alonzo Cushman, parish leader and financier, in 1840 (from the Cushman Historical Marker).
Then I passed the elegant and beautiful St. Peter’s Church was in the middle of the neighborhood.
The sign for St. Peter’s Episcopal Church at 346 West 20th Street
The historic St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in the summer of 2025
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church was constructed in 1835 and was designed by architect James W. Smith in the Greek Revivial style. The design was also influenced by Clement Clarke Moore, on whose estate the land had been donated (Wiki).
As I passed the 10th Precinct at 230 West 20th Street, I looked at the 9/11 mural and realized that next year would be 25 years since that horrible day. It is amazing how fast it has gone by.
I stopped inside the Chelsea Green Park to relax for a while and it was a lot of kids running around and parents talking amongst themselves. The kids seemed occupied by both a water balloon and a squirt gun fight.
The Chelsea Green Park in the late afternoon
After a nice rest and a lot of water, I turned down West 19th Street to continue my tour.
In front of of the old Siegel-Cooper Department Store building on Sixth Avenue and West 19th Street
Walking past the townhouses along West 19th Street
The street art along the way
The beautiful gardens in front of of the homes
In the middle of the block were the Robert Fulton Houses which along with the Chelsea-Elliott Houses are both slated for demolishing later this year. That will change the completion of this neighborhood. These were opened in 1962 and were designed by architects Brown & Guenther.
Its narrow, 18-foot-width precluded the traditional stable design of a centered carriage bay flanked by a pedestrian entrance and window. The property was a three-story brick house, home to Samuel Weekes and his family who would remain through 1858 (DaytonianinManhattan.com).
I liked the sign at the top of the door way of the “A Hug from The Art World”
I took a break after all the walking at The Sleeping Cat at 160 Seventh Avenue for a quick snack/late lunch. The place was pretty crowded in the late afternoon. They ran out of the three things I wanted to try so I ordered a Chicken with Brie Club sandwich on a milk bun with a Pomegranate soda for lunch.
My lunch that afternoon
The Chicken and Brie sandwich
Yum!
For dessert I chose a Lemon Poppyseed Cake, which was delicious. You could really taste the fresh lemon juice and zest in the cake.
The inside of the unique coffee shop
I continued my tour of the neighborhood a few days later when I came back into the City for the Michigan State Alumni Picnic that Saturday. We ended the picnic at 4:00pm, so I walked from Central Park to West 18th Street after a pit stop to recharge my phone and go to the bathroom.
I wanted to finish the neighborhood before dark but could only finish the blocks from West 18th through West 17th Streets. You just can’t take good pictures after 7:00pm when the shadows hit the buildings.
Starting on West 18th Street
Some of the interesting street art you will see in the neighborhood
This series of what looks like old carriage houses lines West 18th Street just off Sixth Avenue
These buildings were designed in a round arched utilitarian style related to the German Rundbogenstil and incorporate Romanesque and Renaissance Revival details. They were built between 1864 and 1865 and were used as stables (HDC.com). They are now being used as restaurants, shops and art galleries.
A close up of one of the series of buildings at 136 West 18th Street
There were several buildings that stood out along West 18th Street and one of them was 154 West 18th Street, the Hellmutg Building now home to the Lazzoni store.
The Hellmuth Building was designed by architect Adolph Schoeller in the Art Nouveau style in 1907 and was built for William Hellmuth, who was a highly-successful manufacturer of printing and lithographic inks and varnishes (DaytonianinNYC.com)
The details of the Hellmuth Building
The carved embellishment of the building
Another building that stood out was the Art Deco style Walker Tower at 212 West 18th Street
Originally constructed in 1929 as a commercial building for the New York Telephone Company, this historic structure was designed by the renowned architect Ralph Thomas Walker, celebrated for his distinctive Art Deco style (The Walker Tower website).
The Walker Tower in full view
The art deco details to the outside of the building
The details outside of 265 West 18th Street were very unique.
While I was walking down the street, I passed the Room & Board store and saw all the embellishments on the building and wondered what they meant. It was the insignia for the old Seigel-Cooper Warehouse building.
The old Siegel-Cooper Warehouse Building is now home to the Room & Board showroom at 249 West 17th Street with entrance at West 18th Street
The Seigel-Cooper insignia can still be seen on the building
The building was designed by the architectural firm De Lemos & Cordes and opened in 1904. the architects used lusty terra cotta ornaments to distinguish the façade. Each pier culminated with winged orbs bearing a sash emblazoned with SC&Co; and the bay doors were flanked by large, intricate wreaths (DaytonianinManhattan.com).
You can find street art all over the sidewalks in this neighborhood. Just look down and many artists leave their mark.
This interesting twin building with a mansard roof was built in 1910 (Streeteasy.com). What I thought was interesting about the building is how it stands out amongst all the brick townhouses that had a plainer design. It looks like something you would see on the Upper East Side inside of this neighborhood.
As I passed the high school in the area, I came across this mural painted on the playground walls. I saw this mural on the Liberty High School for Newcomers at 250 West 18th Street. I could not get a good look at it as the playground was locked.
The mural outside of the Liberty High School for Newcomers at 250 West 18th Street
A serpent embellishment outside one of the buildings
Tucked in the corners of buildings all over the neighborhood, there were all sorts of interesting and unusual street art and stone carvings and embellishments. While most of the buildings were rather plain, it was a serpent here, a dragon there and a face staring back at you from the front door keystone that gave the building something special to admire.
Some of the street artists, whether hired or tagging were very creative on the sides of buildings. I am sure that the building owners were not happy to see this but the City has its own ideas sometimes.
You have to look up or you will miss this street art on the top of one of the buildings
I have seen this artist’s work all over the neighborhood
With all the unique architecture and street art along West 18th Street, I anticipated more surprises when I rounded the corner of West 17th Street. You never know what you will see tucked here and there along these streets.
Turning the corner along West 17th Street and Sixth Avenue
The mural of ‘I Love New York’ is iconic in this neighborhood. This has been here for many years. This work of art was created by artist Nick Walker.
Artist Nick Walker is a British born artist that now lives in Manhattan. He is know for being part of the ‘stencil art’ movement that was started in the 1980’s. He is know for his large murals of contemporary art and is best known for merging freehand work with stenciled imagery (Wiki/Artsy.net).
As I started to walk down West 16th Street, I passed an old friend in the restaurant da Umberto’s at 107 West 17th Street. I have spent the last three Halloween nights enjoying dinner with other volunteers from the Halloween parade here after the parade was over. The food and service are excellent.
Da Umberto’s Restaurant is where we have our dinners after finishing our night volunteering at the Halloween Parade. I have been here for the post dinner celebration for the last four years and the food and service are wonderful (See review on TripAdvisor.com).
Our dinner at Da Umberto’s on Halloween night
The restaurant’s food and service are wonderful and I highly recommend it.
The irony was just to add to the Halloween lore, these street art bats were right next to the restaurant.
One of the most beautiful buildings on the block is the old Xavier Parochial School now the Winston Preparatory School at 126 West 17th Street. The details on the school are so beautiful and it still has the original entrances of one for Boys and one for Girl’s.
The Winston Preparatory School at 126 West 17th Street
The building at 128 West 17th Street was built around 1853 and had once served as the Xavier Parochial School and now houses the Winston Preparatory School (Wiki).
The old Boys entrance
The old Girl’s entrance
All along the buildings in Chelsea there are the interesting embellishments that stare, surprise and snarl at you. You just have to put down that cellphone and look up.
The top of the building had many snarling tigers staring out into space
Embellishment on the top of the building
The embellishments on the top of the building
Another building that stood was futuristic structure with all sorts of pot holes. This is the former Maritime Union Building that is now the Dream Hotel. It was once part of a series of three buildings that was part of the National Maritime Union. When the Union folded due to lack of membership as industry changed, the building was left empty. The building designed byBronx-born but New Orleans-based architect Albert C. Ledner in 1966 (New Yorkitecture 2015).
When I walked to the end of the block and turned back, it took a look across the street to the Robert Fulton Houses playground and saw the most creative and unusual set of plantings along the wall. I could not find on the artist on these works (but I will keep looking). These are fun!
The paintings in the Robert Fulton figure
This series of paintings was behind the water fountain along the back wall of the park.
The close up of the third painting in the series
This painting of the Chicken crossing the road “Don’t Ask” by Artist Allison Katz. It seemed to replace the Pink Panther mural of a few weeks ago.
Artist Allison Katz presents Don’t ASK. On this monumental scale, a rooster and hen are depicted in the middle of an asphalt street, seemingly bringing to life the classic anti-joke, “why did the chicken cross the road?” (High Line.org).
Artist Allison Katz is Canadian born artist who now lives in London, England. She studied Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montreal and received her MFA from Columbia University in New York. Katz’s work investigates the ways in which aesthetic practices link and absorb autobiography, information systems, graphic icons, and art history (Ago.ca).
At the very end of the road, West 17th Street turned into a cobblestone street and you do not see much of this anymore in Manhattan.
Walking back from Tenth Avenue, I saw the street art from a different angle and I could see the street art peaking out from behind the fence.
The street art in the empty lot along 20th Avenue
There was something unique about this tiny garden just off 10th Avenue
Another face staring out at me
There was another small park on this block to relax and cool off too. The Dr. Gertrude Kelly Park is another patch of green where residents were relaxing that afternoon.
It was nice to be able to sit under a shade tree and just relax. Though it was not as hot as previous days, it got warmer in the late afternoon.
The inside of Dr. Gertrude B. Kelly Park on hot afternoon
The park goes through the two blocks
On the way back to Sixth Avenue, I passed the back of the old Siegel-Cooper Department Store warehouse building that is now the Room & Board store. The same beautiful details were on both sides of the building.
The Seigel-Cooper Warehouse Building
Here and there I kept seeing such interesting street art along the walls and corners of buildings all over the neighborhood.
This interesting looking ‘PAC Man’ figure was on one of the walls of a building on the block
The last building I passed was the Rubin Museum which was closed that day. I had not been there in over a decade and remembered that it did have very interesting art. I had not realized that the museum had closed its doors in the Fall of 2024. It closed October 6th, 2024.
The Rubin Museum at 140 West 17th Street (Closed in October 2024)
The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art (formerly Rubin Museum of Art) was founded in 2004 as a haven for Himalayan art in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City by Shelley and Donald Rubin, who are philanthropists, cultural leaders, and collectors. The opening was the culmination of 30 years of art collecting, six years of planning, and the purchase and renovation of the former Barneys department store (Rubin Museum website-Museum Closed in October 2024).
As I exited West 17th Street to finish my walk of this part of the Chelsea neighborhood, I came across this interesting piece of street art on Seventh Avenue. It always amazes me with people on what they can create.
This was on the wall of an empty store on Seventh Avenue
On my last day walking around the lower part of the neighborhood, the temperature hit 96 degrees and the humidity was worse. Since I only had to walk from Sixth to Eleventh Avenues from 15th to 16th Streets, I thought it would take about an hour. Throw in lunch and a dessert break and it was two and a half hours in the heat.
Starting the walk at the corner of West 16th Street and Sixth Avenue
The tree lined blocks between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
Here and there the small gardens pop up with lots of colorful flowers
I loved this serpent carving at the entrance of 200 West 16th Street. The building was covered with all types of creatures.
t was the first of the four distinguished developments by visionary developer Henry Mandel and was designed by esteemed architects Farrar & Watmough. Farrar & Watmough harmoniously blended the Jazz Age and Gothic Revival styles creating a building with a visually striking and architecturally significant facade adorned with variegated orange brick, limestone and terracotta (Streeteasy.com)
The serpent above the doorway at 200 West 16th Street
I had to stop for some lunch and I came across a pizzeria that had been my ‘go-to’ since I started at NYU. I always enjoyed the specials for lunch and dinner. In just a year, the prices did go up a few dollars but the pizzeria is still reasonable.
J’s Pizza at 96 Seventh Avenue at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 16th Street
I stopped in at J’s Pizza for a quick lunch. I had not realized I had not eaten here since I had graduated from NYU in the middle of last year (did college fly by in the blink of an eye). I forgot how good their food was when I ordered my lunch. I had a slice of their Fresh Mozzarella Sicilian pizza and a Coke and it hit the spot on this hot day.
My Sicilian slice
What a great lunch and a nice break
I continued my walk down West 16th Street passing businesses and homes and noticing the changes in the neighborhood with renovations and new buildings going up. More and more this particular neighborhood is getting very desirable and the homes more expensive.
The embellishments outside of 224 West 16th Street
This interesting pre-war building was built in 1800’s (Streeteasy.com). By the mid-1840’s Timothy Phelan and his family lived in the three story, brick-faced house at 197 West 16th Street (renumbered 319 in 1859), just west of Eighth Avenue. Twenty-five feet wide, its dignified Greek Revival design reflected influences of the emerging Italianate, notably in the understated entrance above a stone stoop (DaytonianinNYC.com)
The stonework in more detail
The end of the block is dominated by the Marine Hotel and its series of high end restaurants
The Marine Hotel with its restaurant, Tao Downtown is in front
Then I saw this very unusual street art right by the Fulton Houses
The High Line Park dominates over this part of the neighborhood with its lush plantings and its interesting display of artwork. Try to walk the distance on the walkways of this incredible urban park.
As I was walking back up the street, I noticed a whole building of faces following me along the sides of 111-114 Eleventh Avenue. You have to look really closely to see the changes by each window.
Along Eleventh Avenue I had not noticed this building at all
You have to look at each window and doorway from across the street to really appreciate the beauty of this building.
The last of art that I saw on the block was this mural for the Bond Vet business around the corner by artist Jade Purple Brown. I thought the colors were so vibrant and that it really promoted this business well.
Jade Purple Brown is a Brooklyn based artist known for her vibrant portrayals of Black women in psychedelic, dreamlike worlds (Artist bio on website).
I finally rounded West 15th and Sixth Avenue in the late afternoon and breathed a sigh of relief as it was getting so hot out.
Reaching West 15th Street and the edge of both Lower Chelsea and the Meatpacking District at the end of a hot afternoon. There was a picturesque view of old New York between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. More tree lined blocks with brick townhouses.
The Old Nee York look about the blocks in Chelsea
Here and there tucked within dome of plain brick and brownstone homes, interesting carvings and embellishments can be found.
Decorated below the windows of 229 West 15th Street, I saw these interesting carvings staring back at me.
This unique pre-war building was built in 1901 (Streeteasy.com)
Face number one staring back with an evil look
Face number two just as evil
As I walked down the street, a French flag and the colors of France when I passed La Sandwicherie Chelsea, which I found out later had two small sister restaurants. I saw these festive signs for crepes and sandwiches, I stopped in to take a peek.
I was still a little stuffed from the pizza but thought a crepe might be nice to tide me through the rest of the evening.
The front of La Sandwicherie Chelsea at 239 West 15th Street
The selling point was the sign. It did remind me of Paris
The sandwiches sounded interesting too
I stopped inside and I swear I was back in Paris again with the tiny chairs and tables and the French music. I was not thrilled that the price was higher inside but only by a dollar and the manager explained it to me. I was still in the mood for that crepe.
The inside of the restaurant brought me right back to Paris
The shelves were lined with the wonderful French potato chips I had tried at the food show
I ordered a Strawberry Crepe, which was a freshly made crepe( he even showed me the crepe batter to prove it), which was filled with strawberry jam and topped with sugar. I ordered a Pomegranate soda to have with my dessert.
The Strawberry Crepe with my soda
Yum!
Now having some more carbs and sugar to wear off, I started back down West 15th Street happy and content. The crepe brought back a lot of memories of my trip to Paris two summers ago.
I continued my walk down West 15th Street with more pairs of eyes watching me at the buildings.
What I love about this building is the extensive embellishment of faces and curvatures throughout the front of the building. Faces stare at you from all directions and passing judgement right by the front door. You have to look up and down to really appreciate this building.
There is emended detail to building
The faces staring back
Don’t pass judgement
The sister building next door at 251 West 15th Street had just as many details.
At Stonehenge Gardens, travel through the private gate and along the walkway where you will find this gem of a building setback between 14th and 15th streets. Built in 1950, this six-story building is located in the center of Manhattan’s trendiest downtown neighborhoods: Chelsea, the West Village and Union Square (From the Stonehenge website).
The private gate and gardens were locked when I was visiting the neighborhood but you could see how beautiful it was right behind the gate.
Finishing my walk down West 15th Street
The Jazz Concert that evening at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens:
After I finished the streets of Lower Chelsea, I took the subway to Brooklyn for a Jazz Concert at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. On the way to the subway, I noticed these two mosaics on the wall of the subway platform. What interesting work by Brooklyn based artist Fred Tomaselli entitled “Wild Things”. These gorgeous and colorful works flank both the upstairs and downstairs of the subway station
Artist Fred Tomaselli is an American born artist best known for his highly detailed paintings on wood panels, combining an array of unorthodox materials suspended in a thick layer of clear, epoxy resin. He studied at California State University and his studio is in Brooklyn (Wiki).
It was a quick subway ride to the gardens on the express subway and I got there in record time . It was enough time to tour the gardens before the concert. The gardens were at their peak in the middle of the summer and everything was so green.
The lawn by the Cherry Bloom Gardens
The Cherry Bloom lawn is where the concerts are held
People getting ready for the concert
Members waiting on the lawn for the concert to begin
I was sunny and warm out when I got there and just about five minutes before they were supposed to start the concert, it poured for the next twenty minutes. They end up cancelling the concert again on me. The weather played havoc that evening.
The only problem was that the moment it stopped those twenty minutes later, the sun came back and it was beautiful as the musicians were packing up. I can tell everyone hoped they would have a change of heart. They kept packing up and I decided to walk around the gardens again. There would be one more concert in the future the next week.
It did clear up after it stopped raining
The sun rose over the Japanese Gardens
So for the next hour, I just wanted to walk around and admire the flowers and the garden beds.
It ended up being a nice night and the best way to end of evening.
Even though the concert was cancelled, it still was a nice evening and I did get my share of exercise. Even as the lights turned on in the Botanic Gardens, there is still such a magic of walking along the beds and admiring the flowers and the other plantings. You should not miss the gardens during any of the seasons. There is always something to see even in the dead of winter. The true beauty though is in the late Spring and early Summer when everything is in bloom.
mywalkinmanhattan 