Sometimes you walk through a neighborhood and you come across a little shop that is just so cute and interesting that you have to stop in to see what they carry. This is the attraction of Epices Bakery on West 70th Street, a small French pastry shop with beautiful and delicious desserts. Not only is the selection nice but the sights and smells when you enter of freshly made coffee and buttery baked goods greet you when you walk in.
There is a nice variety of baked goods in the glass cases to choose from. One side of the store is dedicated to pastries like eclairs, cream puffs and fruit tarts and the other has savory breakfast items like ham and cheese croissants, small quiches…
I put my walk of the Garment District on hold as many of the museums are having their Private Members nights before the holidays get into the full swing. It gives the members a chance to really enjoy the museums before the City gets crazy with tourists and people are beginning to return to the City.
My first event that I attended was “The Met After Hours” event. It was a well-attended event that members were able to explore the first floor at their own leisure for three hours.
It really was a wonderful night. First it was a warm and clear evening and you could see the stars because it gets dark at 5:00pm. We as members got to the museum before 5:00pm and waited in a long line by the Member’s Entrance on the side of the museum and had to show our COVID vaccine cards and ID. Even though we were all vaccinated, we still had to wear masks the entire time we were in the museum. It was not a problem and did not get in the way of us having a nice time.
For the evening, only the first floor was open and only certain galleries and exhibitions but there was plenty to see and do. In all the galleries, there were docents giving talks on the exhibitions and on the gallery displays that were permanent to the museum.
I started my tour of the museum at the Christmas Tree in the Medieval Galleries. It was decorated for the holidays with full detail but it had been corded off and you could not get as close to it as you once could in the past. They had a very interesting docent who went over the not just the history of the Christmas tree with its German-Pagan roots but how it was decorated by people in different countries at different times of history.
The beautiful Christmas tree is a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art tradition
She talked about how the manager and the more religious aspects of the art came from Naples and then made its way to the United States with immigration. The works around the tree were collected over time.
Later that evening, they had a singing trio entertaining the crowd with festive Christmas songs. The ladies were very friendly and had wonderful voices. They really put everyone in the Christmas spirit.
I next went to the “In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at the Met” exhibition in the Robert Lehman Collection. I was viewing all the works by Rembrandt and Vermeer for most of the evening. It was nice to just take my time and look at the works one by one without rushing like you normally do when the galleries are busy. The gallery was full of portraits and still lives and being a smaller gallery, I was not over-whelmed by the exhibition.
In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at The Met should not be missed.
I walked through the American Wing to the American Wing Cafe which was mobbed. Every table was taken and what was really annoying is that in some cases, one person took a table and threw all their things on the chairs and were eating by themselves. They should have had a limit on that type of behavior as I could see that patrons were struggling to find a place to sit down. I just decided to eat when I left the museum. A $16.00 sandwich did not interest me. I just could not believe how much the food had gone up at the museum.
I spent the last part of the evening in the Temple of Dendur Wing admiring the building. I looked over all the ancient carvings and symbols and then realizing that this temple was created during the Roman Era. I thought that was interesting. I remember reading in the book “Dancing with Mummies” on the former director of the museum discussing how New York City beat out other cities to get the temple.
Every time I enter the gallery I think of this scene in “When Harry Met Sally”
It represents what is best about the Met
I ended the evening exploring the Greek Galleries since the rest of the Egyptian Galleries were closed for the evening. I really loved looking at the Cycladic Art and the way that the galleries are displayed. Even though I have been touring these galleries since they opened, it is always fun to see something new or a piece that you noticed for the first time again.
There is something unique about Cycladic Art
After I left the Met, I walked along the Upper East Side, walking down both Third and Second Avenues and noticing all the restaurants and stores that have closed since the Pandemic and it was scary to see. I thought that Madison Avenue was bad with all the empty stores and the cops protecting them but the other avenues were just as bad. It will take a long time for this to come back.
When I reached East 72nd Street at Second Avenue, I stopped at one of my favorite Chinese Take-out places where you can sit down and eat, Shanghai Chinese Restaurant at 1388 Second Avenue right near the subway station. I am telling you this is some of the best Chinese food in the City and very reasonable for the portion size they give you (see my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
Don’t miss Shanghai Chinese Restaurant at 1388 Second Avenue
I had the most amazing Shrimp Szechuan with Roast Pork Fried Rice with a side of Hot and Sour soup, the perfect dishes on a cool night. The soup really warmed me up and the shrimp had a nice fiery flavor to it.
The inside of Shanghai Chinese Restaurant
I was so content from the wonderful meal that I ended up walking all the way back to the Port Authority. It was such a nice night to walk back and enjoy the cool air. It really a beautiful night to walk around Manhattan.
After I returned from visiting my mother for her 85th birthday, I had another Members Night at the Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue to attend the gallery talk of the Founders of the Talking Heads singing group, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, talking about their time with the group and their experiences. Then we watched the film documentary “Stop Making Sense”, which was filmed over a series of concerts in 1984. The talk and the film were both amazing. I never knew that much about the group, so it was an eye-opener.
The Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue
Ms. Weymouth and Mr. Frantz had gotten older but really had not changed that much. They were really engaging and such interesting stories about the band and the clubs that they played in the early 1980’s. It was fascinating to hear of the other artists that they knew like Debbie Harry and the Ramones who played the same clubs and the long-closed clubs that they enjoyed like Danceatiria and the Mudd Club.
They also talked about the work they are doing now and the revival of the music that they performed so long ago. It was a real blast from the past and most of the audience like me were either in high school or college when the group was performing so it was a real Gen X crowd that evening. After the talk, they left the stage with a rousing applause from all of us and then we watched the documentary, which really rocked the room. I could almost see people wanted to get up and dance and the applause from the songs after they were finished matched what was going on in the film (I included the link to the film we watched below).
The “Stop Making Sense” talk and showing of the film with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth
The ‘Stop Making Sense’ talk at the Museum of the City of New York: The Concert Film we saw that night.
“Stop Making Sense”
I went home that evening humming all the songs that I remembered from the film. It was such a great evening and I still could not believe that I never saw the film when it came out my freshman year of college.
Still my favorite videos from the early MTV days: “Once in a Lifetime”
The last museum Members afternoons that I attended was the “Sharks” exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History at 200 Central Park West. This exhibition was open to the members first before opening later in December.
The American Museum of Natural History at 200 Central Park West
I have to say it was interesting and very scientific and technical. I was floored by the number of kids that knew so much about sharks. I was listening to this kid talk to his mother on which sharks were which and he was about eight years old.
The exhibition was on the history of sharks and their habitats and the benefits that sharks bring to the ocean like being bottom dwellers and how their eating habits affect the rest of the ocean population. It was more than the movie “Jaws”.
The exhibition also discussed how sharks have evolved over the years since the era of the dinosaurs and how their population decrease is affecting the rest of the ocean population and food cycles. After about an hour in the exhibition it got a bit over-whelming with the information and I will have to go back again to see it.
‘Sharks’ at the American Museum of Natural History
The exhibition discussion:
After the visiting other parts of the museum in both the Central American Wing and the new Minerals gallery, I went outside and enjoyed the nice sunny day. I ended up walking all over the Upper West Side. Homes were decorated for the holidays and it was festive to see all the garland and trees in the windows and on the outside of the brownstone homes.
For lunch, I went to Tri Dim West, the sister restaurant to Tri Dim Shanghai on the East side at 467 Columbus Avenue for a Dim Sum lunch. The restaurant is right around the corner from the museum and was a nice alternative to the expensive fare at the museum.
I had the most wonderful (but pricy) Dim Sum lunch with freshly made Crab & Pork Soup Dumplings, Roast Pork Buns, Chicken Curry Puffs and a Peking Duck Spring Roll. Everything was made fresh to order and one dish was better than the other. The soup dumplings just slurped off the spoon and burst in my mouth with their juiciness. The roast pork buns had their usual sweetness with the combination of roast pork chopped up wrapped in a sweet dough.
The Peking Duck rolls are delicious
The service was so friendly and welcoming. The guy waiting on me kept spooning the dumplings on my plate. I thought that was taking it to the extreme but it was a quiet afternoon.
It is funny for the people who keep saying that New York City is going downhill and Manhattan is falling apart, yet I see that the museums are doing their best to engage with their members and the public in general with taking all sorts of precautions and safety measures. They are doing their best to keep the public informed while still having a good time.
I could not believe how fast the summer went. After I threw my back out, I was out of commission for three months and I was finally able to get started again by early September. Then we started classes at the College where I work and that has me running as well. It is nice to be busy.
Halloween was not as busy as it has been in the past because we are still dealing with COVID requirements. Some programs that I attended in the past were either cut or had limited space. Also with classes going on and in the midst of Midterms and quizzes for both classes my time was limited this year with the running around. I just did not want to push it. Still I got to do some new things this year.
Halloween weekend start at Blondies on the Upper West Side at 212 West 79th Street for the much anticipated Michigan-Michigan State football game. This has been much hyped because both of our teams were 7-0 and no matter how we play or what we do, Michigan State is always ranked lower than Michigan. It is just a fact. Until we beat them, for a SECOND YEAR, like we did this year!
Blondies is such a great place to watch the game. We have the whole back room for Spartan nation and the place was packed with everyone dressed in Green and White. I had gotten up to the bar just as Michigan scored the first touchdown so it was a touch glum but things got right back to cheery as we got the ball back. By the time I settled in it was 10-0 but things livened up again when we scored our first touch down.
By the time I left at half time, we were ahead 14-13 and my best friend kept calling me while I was on a walking tour of New York City filling me in on the updates. I had to keep breaking away from the tour to take the updates and I could see that was frustrating the tour guide out of the corner of my eye.
Michigan State versus Michigan
I took the “Gotham Ghost Tour of Lower Manhattan” on the day before Halloween and we really lucked out with the weather. It kept going from gloomy to sunny for the whole afternoon, so it added a little spookiness to the tour. We started our tour of Haunted Lower Manhattan on Second Avenue and 10th Street right across the street from St. Marks Church.
We started our tour at the side of St. Mark’s Church at 131 East 10th Street. The church has an interesting history starting with being the Chapel of Peter Stuyvesant, the first Governor of New Amsterdam.
Our first part of the ghost tour was stopping at St. Mark’s Church at 131 East 10th Street. There was a mini carnival going on in the cemetery portion of the grounds, so it took away from the spookiness of the place. That and they made us wear masks outdoors.
St. Mark’s Church during the day.
The church’s historical plaque.
The tour guide told us the story of the former Sexton of the Church was in the church alone one night and heard strange sounds coming from the lower floors. When he went to investigate, he found nothing. He then said that strange sounds started again like a scrapping on the floor. It was here that he confronted the ghost of Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch Director General of New Amsterdam.
The Peter Stuyvesant statue in the park by the church.
He ran out of the church and then mysteriously, the bell in the tower of the church started to ring on its own. No one else was in the church at the time. When they went to investigate, they found that the rope had been cut or separated and there was no way someone could have rung the bell.
The St. Mark’s Church Gardens in the summer months.
When they investigated the crypt of ‘Pegleg Peter’ as he was called, legend has it they found the piece of rope in the crypt. The Sexton never returned to the church after that. When I asked when this was, the guide told us about the early 1800’s. I asked has anyone seen the ghost since. The answer was no but people still feel things in the building. I though it strange that a ghost would only appear once in the church.
The St. Mark’s gardens in the summer months.
Still, we visited the tomb of Peter Stuyvesant, who is buried in the wall of the church that once served has his chapel on the Stuyvesant estate, which this area of the City was part of at that time. The grave was hidden by a table and scaffolding, but we managed to see it. It did look mysterious located at the bottom of the church foundation.
Peter Stuyvesant, Dutch Director General of New Amsterdam
Peter Stuyvesant’s Tomb which was once part of his estate chapel
The Peter Stuyvesant window at St. Mark’s Church.
We walked around the grounds and saw other family crypts around the property that were not covered with tables. Some were family members of the extended Stuyvesant family (those who married into it like most colonial families of wealth did) and other prominent families of the church like the Fish’s, Winthrop’s and the Tompkins, whose names are known throughout the City and New York State.
The Daniel Tompkins statue in the gardens at St. Mark’s Church.
The David Jones and Thomas Addis Vault
The Elizabeth Beekman Vault (one my ancestors by marriage)
The Hamilton Fish is a brick Federal style house was built by Peter Stuyvesant, the great-grandson of Petrus Stuyvesant, the Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam, in 1804. It was a wedding present to his daughter, Elizabeth and his son in law, Nicholas Fish and their future son, Hamilton Fish, the former Governor, Senator of New York State and Secretary of State under the President Grant administration. The house was built on land that had been in the family since the 17th century (Wiki). This union united two famous and influential families and the house stayed in the family until the beginning of the 20th century.
Our next stop on the tour was of Astor Place a few blocks away. We visited the outside of the Astor Building at 418 Lafayette Place, Colonnade Row.
418 Lafayette Place-Colonnade Row today
From both angles
Colonnade Row was built in the 1830’s by contractor Seth Geer as nine private homes on land owned by John Jacob Astor. The architects on the job were Alexander Jackson Davis, Ithiel Town and James Dakin. The building was originally called ‘Lagrange’ or La Grange Terrace after the estate of the Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolution (Wiki).
Some of the famous tenants of these homes were John Jacob Astor III, Julia Gardiner, the former first lady and socialite, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Washington Irving. Today they are a mixed-use building and in need of repair (Wiki).
418 Lafayette Place when it was built in the 1830’s
Its relation to haunted happenings was it was claimed that one of the construction workers who was renovating the property said that a ghostly hand came out of one the fireplaces during the renovation of the building. Since then, things have been quiet. Personally, I thought the guy must have been working too hard.
The next stop was across the street at the Astor Library at 425 Lafayette Street.
The Astor Library was a collaboration effort between John Jacob Astor and New England educator Joseph Cogswell. The library was built to be a research library where the books did not circulate. The library opened in 1854 to the public and in 1895 it was consolidated with the Lenox Library and the Tilden Foundation to become the New York Public Library (Wiki).
The library was designed by architect Alexander Saeltzer who designed it in the Rundbogenstil style. The cornerstone was laid in 1850 and the building was finished in 1853. The library opened in January of 1854 and had later extensions to it (Wiki).
The ghost story of the library comes from Joseph Cogswell himself. In April of 1860, Mr. Cogswell was working late in the library when he walked down to the Research area of the library and spotted the ghost of a local physician who had died recently. Upon approaching the ghost and confronting it, the ghost simply disappeared. This happened for three more nights and each night the ghost would disappear. On the third night, the ghost disappeared again and has not been seen since. He also claimed to see the ghosts of Washington Irving and insurance executive Austin Sands (mrsdaffodildigresses.com/thegothiclibrary.com). Needless to say, they gave Mr. Cogswell some time off.
The famous “Library Ghost” scene from the film “Ghostbusters”
After we left the Astor Library, we made our way across Broadway to the New York University campus, where we visited the Brown Building at 23 Washington Place, home to the famous “Triangle Shirtwaist Fire” of 1911. The building is located between 23 Washington Place and Greene Street.
The Brown Building is now part of the New York University campus containing the Chemistry Department. When it was built between 1900-01, the iron and steel building was designed by architect John Woolley in the neo-Renaissance style. It was named at that time the Asch Building after its owner, Joseph J. Asch. The building was known for their fireproof rooms which is why many garment makers liked the building including the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, which occupied the top three floors of the building (Wiki).
The Historic marker of that day.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory employed many young immigrant women at the factory with terrible wages and almost slave conditions. On March 25th, 1911, the fire started from one of the clothing bins where layers of fabric were stacked and spread quickly through the factory. Between the thick smoke, non-visual rooms and the locked stairwell doors, people died from smoke inhalation, being crushed trying to leave or throwing themselves from the windows. This led to creation of the Ladies Garment Union (Wiki).
According to the tour guide, there have been no sightings of ghosts here but it was a horrific site of tragedy. The site of young women either throwing themselves from the top floors of the buildings or burning to death in the stairwells is hard enough to imagine.
We continued down the block to Washington Square Park, one of the most active parks in Manhattan.
Washington Square Park was its usual active self when we walked into the park for the tour. People were planning a protest in the park on one side, they were sunning themselves in another, some were walking their dogs and others were playing frisbee. Kids were running around and older residents of the neighborhood were sitting on the benches talking to one another.
Washington Square Park in the spring.
Washington Square Park in the Summer.
It was pretty shocking to me to discover that right under us was a massive cemetery. From 1797 until 1825, the area was New York City’s Potter’s Field. Many of the people being indigent or died during the Yellow Fever panic that hit the City. There is an estimated 20,000 people buried below the park.
Washington Square Park at night is not scary.
Washington Square Park at night.
There are also several church vaults that had been found of churches that when they were repairing the water lines in the area. There are still more vaults below the park as well as tombstones and mass graves. The park became Washington Square Park in the 1850’s. Still as repairs still place around the park, remains are still found.
We then walked past the Washington Arch, one of the most iconic symbols of New York City and used in countless movies and photoshoots. Even the arch has a dark history due to its designer, Stamford White.
The Washington Square Arch in Washington Square Park
The Washington Square Arch was designed by architect Stamford White in 1891 for the Centennial Celebration of President George Washington’s 1789 inauguration as President of the United States of America (Wiki).
It seemed that the married Stanford White had a sexual appetite for young women, many of them being underaged. He had had an affair with actress Evelyn Nesbitt about five years prior to her marriage to Henry Thaw. Mr. Thaw killed Stanford White after a performance claiming that ‘he ruined his wife” in June 1906.
When we reached the other end of the park, we passed a very unassuming but huge Elm Tree at the edge of Washington Square Park. It was known as the “Hangman’s Elm” and is thought to be over 300 years old. The tour guide even called it “The Blood Elm”. It was used for executions by the local Newgate State Prison until the local prominent residents protested. The executions were moved to another location.
As we left the park and its sinister past (I never knew any of the this in all the times I have spent in this park), we passed the Jefferson Market Library at 425 Sixth Avenue. This beautiful turn of the century library was once the ‘Jefferson Market Courtyard” and this is where the Stanford White trail was held. The building was built in 1833 by architect Fredrick Clarke Withers of the firm of Vaux and Withers in the High Victorian Gothic style (Wiki). On Halloween night, it is used as the place where the giant spider puppet descents each Halloween Night before the Halloween Parade starts.
Some visitors claim to see the spirits of females roaming the gardens and some standing on the balcony of the clocktower. All I ever see when I pass it is nothing but the spider puppet that one time (The Gothic Library).
The Jefferson Market Library at 425 Sixth Avenue on Halloween Night
Our last stop on the tour was in Waverly Place at the home of Edgar Allen Poe. It seems that Mr. Poe lived in many sections of the City and funny enough ended up in Camden, NJ. The home was at 116 Waverly Place and was supposed to be one of the places that the author had written “The Raven”. Reading an article in the NY Post said that this is a shaky assumption.
137 Waverly Place-rumored to be one of the homes of Edgar Allen Poe
A tour of the house and the neighborhood (if you can afford it)
After we passed the house (I swear as an author he must have moved around a lot when he was writing “The Raven” because that book must have been written in at least four places), this ended the tour. It was a lot of walking but I learned much about the history of the City especially in this neighborhood.
I saw this Halloween looking Frankenstein graffiti on one of the walls before we left the neighborhood. I thought this was cool.
When I finished the tour, the game was over and we WON! I could not believe that especially since we were the underdogs going in and no one ever expects to win that game anyway. It will be a fun year and now wait until the basketball season. Kris was really excited but I could tell that her son, who is a big Michigan fan, was not. Go Green Go White!!
We Won 37-34 so the bragging rights are ours for the year!
The Michigan State versus University of Michigan Game 2021 highlights:
The Celebration in East Lansing, MI begins:
The Battle of the Bands at halftime for a “Spooktacular” sound:
After the long day of touring, I walked back to the East Village for dinner. I took a chance to see if I could eat at San Marzano at 117 Second Avenue. This tiny Italian restaurant in the East Village is one of the most reasonable restaurants in the City in the way of quality of food and service. There are no dishes over $9.00. This is the reason why the restaurant is always packed and try to get in for dinner on a Friday or Saturday night.
I was lucky enough to get there at a time right before the dinner rush. I was able to snag a two top table right next to the window just as the restaurant had quieted down. The food and the service are so good here.
I was so tired from all the running around that day that I kept dinner on the lighter side. I had a mixed Green Salad ($7.00), that was so fresh and crisp with a light dressing. The lettuce was so crisp and the tomatoes actually tasted like a tomato for this time of year. The portion sizes here are just right.
For dinner, I had the Paradelle with Meatballs (I eyed the Meatball appetizer on the menu but knew I could not eat both), which was also delicious. The Paradelle is made fresh in the restaurant and could tell by the quality of the pasta. The sauce was rich with the flavor of the pork and veal in the meatballs. Talk about the perfect dinner on a cool early Halloween night.
The Paradelle here is excellent with Meatballs or Bolognese Sauce
The service could have not been nicer and the guy who waited on me could see how much I enjoyed my meal. He even tried to sell me dessert but I was so tired from the walk around the City I did not want to push it.
After dinner, I walked around the East Village and took the subway back uptown. While I was taking the subway uptown, I saw two Wolverine Alumni from University of Michigan come on the subway. Boy, did they avoid me! When they tried to sneak past me at the 42nd Street exit, I just said politely “Better luck next year!”. They just walked out with their heads down.
What an interesting way to spend Halloween weekend.
Boo!
Watch this! It scared the hell out of me! The short “Hello?”
San Marzano Restaurant at 117 Second Avenue in the East Village
There are some restaurants that develop over time and there are some restaurants that become popular immediately. When I had read a restaurant review on San Marzano a few years ago, it seemed that the restaurant opened and quickly became the ‘go-to’ neighborhood dining establishment for NYU students and residents of the East Village. This was due to the quality of the food and the extremely reasonable prices. Now you can rarely get a table any night of the week.
The main selling point of the restaurant is that all of the pastas are homemade and made inhouse on a daily basis. The prices are very reasonable for a restaurant in NYC. The…
I came across Lucky’s Famous Burgers while walking the Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton neighborhood for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com” and thought it looked like a nice little neighborhood restaurant. It is an excellent combination of food, atmosphere and good customer service. For a burger place, I thought the food was excellent and the portion sizes were really fair.
They have a nice selection of combination meals on the menu to choose from and after walking all day long I was starved. I settled for the Lucky’s Original Special with French Fries and a Boylan’s Black Cherry Soda from the fountain. That was a real treat because I love their sodas and you don’t see them on the fountain too much…
There are times that I walk around Manhattan and things just pop out at you. Tucked inside small pockets of the City are small community gardens, detailed statues, street art and sometimes a small cemetery. I had passed the First Shearith Israel Graveyard or also known as the Chatham Square Cemetery many times when visiting Chinatown since I was a kid. This tiny elevated pocket square of land is located next to a building and locked behind a gate just off St. James Place right at the end of Mott Street strip of Chinatown.
You really have to look for this at the side of 55-57 St. James Place
This is the oldest Jewish Cemetery in Manhattan that was in use from 1683 to…
Don’t miss this unique little store in the Hell’s Kitchen section of Manhattan for unique one of kind merchandise.
Don’t miss this quirky fun store in the heart of Midtown West/ Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen for fun merchandise and personal service from the owners of the store.
The front door at Domus is very welcoming.
The special handmade ornaments on their display tree inside the store
Even in the era of COVID, it is nice to see stores still hold their creativity and vitality in such a hard time. While I was walking around the Midtown West/Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen section of Midtown Manhattan I came across this wonderful little store, Domus at 413 West 44th Street. Sometimes there are little things that set a store apart from another like the window displays or the sign that directs you in the door. Domus has both. The first time I visited the store it was closed for the day but I would visit it another day.
Domus at 413 West 44th Street has eclectic window displays
As I finished by Borders and Avenue walk of the Midtown West/ Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com”…
Sometime you just pass by a restaurant many many times and never stop in. This was the case with Stage Star Deli. It was one of those restaurants that I just ‘passed by’ on my way to another one until someone put out a sandwich board with specials on it and that peaked my interest. There were all sorts of wonderful specials all priced around $8.50. That made me walk in to see what was on the full menu.
Stage Star Deli at 105 West 55th Street
The restaurant is a small deli with about four tables now due to COVID. Pre-COVID there were about seven small tables around the deli. One one side there are all the cold foods, salads and sodas and then on the other…
Each neighborhood in New York City has its share of bodegas and delis that supply everything from grocery items, cleaning supplies and in some cases hardware items for last minute touch ups in apartments.
Where these stores differ from one another is their prepared food sections. This is where you can get your all day Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich on a hero roll to a Chopped Cheese (Two hamburgers chopped with spices and topped with American Cheese, chopped lettuce and chopped tomato) to the classic Bacon Cheese Burgers, Grilled Cheese and a variety of wraps.
I came across Catherine’s Deli & Bagels when touring Chinatown and I just stopped in to look around. I saw the sandwiches that were being made and what was on the grill…
The weather has finally started to break and it is getting warmer out. It has made it better to do my walks in the City. It figured though I would start my walk on the Avenues of Koreatown/Midtown South/NoNaNe on the coldest day of the week. Even though it was a sunny day the wind whipped through the neighborhood. It was Mother Nature letting me know that it was still winter.
The City was quiet on the afternoon that I came in to finish walking the Avenues of Koreatown/Midtown South/NoNaNe. Even Macy’s seemed quiet when I walked through the store to get from Seventh Avenue to Broadway. I needed to warm up before my walk and I wanted to see if the store was going to prepare for the Annual Flower Show during COVID. I am sure that they will cancel it.
I started my day walking Fifth Avenue from East 34th to East 30th Streets. This is where the most elegant of the Beaux Arts buildings are located. In the midst of all this rebuilding in Midtown, it is Fifth Avenue that has kept its historic architecture. Some of the most beautiful buildings in the neighborhood are located on Fifth Avenue.
Walking down from East 34th Street, I looked up and saw the first of several beautiful buildings at 344 Fifth Avenue. This elegant office building was finished in 1907 and was designed by architects Maynicke & Franke in the Beaux Arts style with large display windows on the bottom and details along the middle and edges of the building (Metro Manhattan).
Next to this building is another interesting building that stands out amongst its taller neighbors at 335-399 Fifth Avenue and East 33rd Street is the former A.T. Demarest & Company building. I could tell by its design that it had more of a purpose at one time than being home to a grouping of fast food restaurants.
The building was designed by architects Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell in the Renaissance Revival style with a terra cotta exterior details and large bay windows of a building that showcased the firm’s business in carriages and the dawn of the automotive industry (Daytonian). Look up at the edges of the room for the interesting details of the building.
At the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 32nd Street is 320 Fifth Avenue, the former Reed & Barton Building. Known more now for the CVS at the bottom of the building in the retail space, the former headquarters and showroom of the famous jeweler was built in 1905 by architect Robert Maynicke in the Beaux Art style. You can see by the intricate detail of the top and edges of the building the festoons, wreaths and columns of the building. The company would remain here until 1921 when like the rest of the shopping district moved to upper Fifth Avenue where it remains today (Daytonian/StreetEasy/42 Floors Up).
As I continued my walk down Fifth Avenue, there were several other interesting buildings tucked in between the new construction taking place all over this part of the neighborhood. At 315 Fifth Avenue and East 32nd Street is another intriguing building not just for its beauty but for the shape of the design.
The building is known as “The Rock Building” and was built in 1907 for owner Mathias Rock, a local merchant and tailor who made a fortune in his trade and had this building built for his business. The architects for the building were Maynicke & Franke and the building was a hybrid of French Classical and Beaux Arts trim with cast iron show windows and heavy decoration are the room and around the top windows (Daytonian). The beauty of this building is that it is tall and narrow and the way it fits into its space on Fifth Avenue.
Located in the bottom level of 315 Fifth Avenue is the museum/cafe Ginseng Museum Cafe by CheongKwanJang. This unique little museum/retail store has the most beautifully wrapped merchandise and tells the history, production and trade of Ginseng Tea.
Ginseng Museum Cafe by CheongKwanJang at 315 Fifth Avenue
I noticed the beauty of 303 Fifth Avenue on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 31st Street. This interesting building was designed by architect Buchman & Fox in the Beaux Arts style and was built in 1909. Known as the ‘Jewelry Building’, it has been home to many prominent retailers in the past such as FAO Schwarz and now serves as office and retail space (MetroManhattan).
On the border of Koreatown/Midtown South with NoMAD/Rose Hill is the The Wilbraham Building at 284 Fifth Avenue. Its old charm beauty really stands out. Most of the buildings on 30th Street were non-descriptive. The Wilbraham Building, a beautiful Victorian building built between 1888-90 that was commissioned by jeweler William Moir. The building was designed by architect D. & J. Jardine in the Romanesque Revival style. The building has been home to Shalom Brothers Rugs for many years (StreetEasy.com).
284 Fifth Avenue at East 30th Street-The Wilbraham
As I made my way back up Fifth Avenue and studying the history of the area, I never realized how this part of Fifth Avenue once mirrored the same shopping district twenty five blocks up the avenue. Since the 1990’s, most of these companies have since gone out of business but remembered by us who used to shop there in the 1970’s and 80’s.
Reaching the border of Koreatown/Midtown East/Murray Hill is the former B. Altman Department Store that closed in 1989 and in the other corner is the Empire State Building, once the tallest building in the world.
The B. Altman Building at 361 Fifth Avenue was built by Benjamin Altman for the new location for his ‘carriage trade’ store. The store was designed by architects Trowbridge & Livingston in the “Italian Renaissance Style” in 1906. The palatial store was home to couture clothing, fine furniture and expensive art work.
The former B. Altman Department Store at 361 Fifth Avenue
Still the most amazing building in the neighborhood is the Empire State Building on the corner of Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets. It’s the most impressive and well known building in the neighborhood is the former tallest building in the world at 102 floors, the Empire State Building at 2-20 West 34th Street.
The Empire State Building is probably the most famous building in New York City outside of maybe Rockefeller Center and one of the most prominent. The building sits on the side of the former Astor Mansion and the first Waldorf-Astoria Hotel before the current one was built in the 1930’s on Park Avenue. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon in 1930 (Wiki).
The Empire State Building was inspired during the “Race to the Sky” movement in New York City during the 1920’s prosperity with builders vying for the “World’s Tallest Building” title. This was going on in cities all over the US at a time of great innovation in building. The building was conceived in 1929 long before the Stock Market Crash of 1929 as 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building were being constructed (Wiki).
The Empire State Building at 20 West 34th Street at sunset
As the shopping district left Sixth Avenue below 23rd Street, the former “Ladies Shopping Mile” (read my Victorian Christmas Blog on the shopping district) gave way to stores opening between 34th Street to 42nd Street and eventually to the Fifth Avenue locations between 50th and 60th Streets where what is left of the great stores stand today.
My blog on the Ladies Shopping Mile and a “Victorian Christmas”:
Across the street from the old B. Altman’s building is another impressive building also under scaffolding 10 East 34th Street, The Ditson Building. The impressive building with it intricate details was built in 1906 and designed by architects Townsend, Steinle & Haskell in the Beaux-Arts style for Charles H. Ditson. Mr. Ditson ran the New York division of his family’s company, Charles H. Ditson & Company, a publisher and musical concern (Daytonian).
10 East 34th Street-The Ditson Building
The beauty is in the details at The Ditson Building.
Madison Avenue below East 34th Street changes from its more ’boutique’ image from above East 42nd Street. Like the rest of the neighborhood, this area is ‘in transition’ during the pandemic. I have never seen so much renovation and building going on in one neighborhood. Still you have your ‘architectural gems’ tucked here and there in the neighborhood.
On of the most beautiful and innovative at the time it was built is 181 Madison Avenue on the corner of Madison Avenue and East 34th Street, the Madison Belmont Building.
I walked past the grill work of this interesting office building. The Madison Belmont Building at 181 Madison Avenue was built in 1924 and designed by architects Warren & Wetmore in the Renaissance style with Art Deco details for the Cheney Brothers Silk Company (Wiki/NewYorkArchitecture).
“The Madison Belmont Building” at 181 Madison Avenue
Look up at the interesting grill work and details of the building
Further down Madison Avenue hidden under all the scaffolding is the American Academy of Dramatic Arts Building, the former “Colony Club” at Madison Avenue at 120 Madison Avenue. This very ‘Colonial’ building was built in 1907 and designed by architect Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White.
The club had been founded in 1903 by Florence Jaffray Harriman creating a club that would rival private Men’s clubs at that time (Wiki/Daytonian). In 1917 the club relocated to its new home on Park Avenue and in 1963 was bought for the home of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. It is currently going under an extensive renovation (Wiki/Daytonian).
120 Madison Avenue-The American Academy of Dramatic Arts Building/The Colony Club
Up and down the rest of this part of Madison Avenue is filled with a hodgepodge of new and old architecture as this part of the neighborhood is transforming to newer buildings.
I made my way around to Park Avenue and here like Madison Avenue is made up of many newer buildings and a lot of recent building has been going on. One building did stand out which itself is going through a renovation is 4 Park Avenue. This stately building was once the Vanderbilt Hotel.
The hotel was built in 1912 by Albert Gwynne Vanderbilt and designed by architects Warren & Westmore who had designed Grand Central Terminal for the Vanderbilt family. Mr. Vanderbilt had wanted a luxury hotel built near the terminal and it is located six blocks away. The hotel was designed in the British Adams style with clean lines and a brick face. It remained a hotel until after the 1964 World’s Fair and then was sold and converted into a office building (Daytonian).
Most of the neighborhood was relatively newer buildings either soaring corporate headquarter types or apartment buildings in an ever growing residential neighborhood. It was in front of 475 Park Avenue that I saw a piece of art that just stood out. The piece was “Triad” by artist Irving Marantz. The statue was inspired by Picasso’s “The Three Musicians” (ArtNet).
“Triad” by artist Irving Marantz
Mr. Marantz studied at the Art Student League and graduated from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. He served at the Director of the Princetown Art Association and Museum and taught at the Brooklyn Museum Art School (ArtNet/American Art).
The afternoon grew cooler and I finished my walk of the Avenues of Koreatown/Midtown South with lunch with a little hole in the wall dumpling restaurant in the Garment District. Stick to my Pot Potstickers is at 224 West 35th Street. The food is so good here and made nicer by the fact that you can eat inside. I would never thought that eating inside would be such a big deal but in the era of COVID it has become so.
The dumplings here are so good! They are freshly made on premises and are loaded with freshly ground pork, chives and spices and are pan-fried perfectly ($3.99). Crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Dipped in their spicy soy sauce were perfect on a cool afternoon. Their scallion pancakes were delicious as well ($2.99). Just eating at the bar and relaxing after a long walk meant so much. I forgot how much fun it was to eat INSIDE a restaurant again.
The dumplings here are excellent
Exploring the neighborhood was interesting and good exercise. Its a nice way to spend the afternoon.
My time walking around the neighborhood of Koreatown/Midtown South/NoNaNe:
Walking the Borders of the Koreatown/Midtown South/NoNaNe:
mywalkinmanhattan 