5. Spanish Harlem and Central Park
Our day has started at our wonderful usual spot....Penn Station! and off we all left to another day of exploring......We took the 1 train and 6 train and we reached our destination 103th street
and Lexington...to East Harlem which is known as El Barrio. As most areas of New York City this area is also going through much of gentrification. "The neighborhood, which has been experiencing a wave of gentrification in recent years, has ben home to several different ethnic communities since it was developed in the late 19th century (ENY, 75)." Mike gave us the history of El barrio - The population in 1880's were mostly consisted of Germans and Italians. By 1960's the population changed into mostly Puerto Rican's. By 1970's the city
fell into a very abandoned place where paying rent was difficult and many people would put fire their own homes to get insurance money. During those times crimes were on the rise, by 1990's the community also
blended with many Caribbean natives. Many middle class had moved in and many houses were renovated into brown stone.
Our first official stop was at the Museum of the City of New York which offers exhibitions that explains
the city's history from the Dutch to the present. It was founded in 1923. "The museum has changing exhibitions focused on the history of New York's city, especially its heritage of diversity, oppurtunity and perpetual transformation (ENY, 77)." A lot of work didn't really make sense to me but I was respectful and appreciated their talent. We watched a 25 minute that was created by James Sander and Jake Barton, which explained the history to the present moment of the beautiful city. Henry Hudson had traveled and he found a lot of land which he bought for the current rate of 24 dollars. In 1664 the British had taken over. South Street was one of the biggest port in America which scheduled regular goods. This was expanded towards the
Mid- West by creating the Erie Canal. By 1840's it was the biggest industrial areas around the world. It was good to know the history of the place that we live in. Then we went to the gilded NY exhibit and It was just beautiful and very detailed with jewelry and antique objects. On the way out Mike showed us gustavino tiles (wohooo) and told us the the tiles can hold the structure of a building which I added into my book of life.
Our next stop was El Museo del barrio which means the museum of the neighborhood. It was
started in 1969 it was created of the children in the community which were mostly Puerto Rican or Lationo descent to learn about their culture, artists and poets. (ENY, 77). The public learns to make connection." This is what the museum is about, most artists shows their culture and beliefs through the artwork and people will be able to make a connection with their culture. Then we got the amazing tour guide/educator - LUKE!!
He checked us in by asking us how we were feeling today and he did a stand up poetry which amazed everyone in the group. I still remember his poem' chorus - WE NEED MORE MUSIC!! He told us that it is important to know where we are coming from, what is our culture and heritage. We followed him and walked around the street. It was a little strange to see him talking to strangers and saying hello to people who he doesn't even know. He has a good spirit and that gives us this good happy feeling to all around him. We stopped at this little book store and checked some latino origin books. Then we saw this great art work created by Manuel Vega as known as Manny Vega.
As luke explained that he was a self taught artist. All his art work contains a bow and an arrow. He usually posts sketches for one year before making it into a permanent mosaic piece, this is to get approval and suggestions from the neighborhood. His work is inspired from Brazil. He lived most of his life in el Barrio. Our next stop was at a community garden which was dedicated for the women of the community. "The park was originally a vacant lot and dumping ground when it was converted by east harlem resident ernesto "Tin" Flores into a garden for the neighborhood's inhabitants (ENY, 78)." The statue which is represented in the
garden was a sculpture of Fallopian tubes. Another painting was created in the wall to show the women as poet's and painter's also to show a women is not only for art work but also the bullets around the chest represents they would fight and protect. The painting was created by Yasmin which we were very lucky to meet. The painting had symbols from the culture which consisted of fertility, peace etc. Our last stop in the neighborhood was seeing a painting which was created in 1970's. It was a painting of the people who were
living in the neighborhood. After that we visit the famous Gusto! He is someone who has seen many changes in the neighborhood also he owned a botanico which is a herbal store. He has cures for many illnesses and evil spirits! It was nice to talk to him and most amazing was how many different type of things that were stored inside the stores. It smelled wonderful. After all the tour I finally went to have some ethnic yummy Latino food from "EL aguillo" which was just great and cheap.
Our next stop was Central Park..... We started at the Vanderbilt gate "This impressive entryway to central park was made in Paris in 1894 and originally stood before the Vnaderbilt mansion of 5th avenue and 58th street (ENY, 65)." Then we walked through the conservatory garden and it was such a good day to do central park tour. "The conservatory garden is the only formal garden in Central park (ENY, 65)." I was really enjoying and didn't mind the long walk at all. Central Park is one huge park 843 acres of land with so many different
scenery. After walking a little bit, we decided to have us little "class room time" so we all sat on central
park schist and shared our feelings so far. As i was looking around I saw mostly everyone walking or riding a bike I guess that's why city people are more healthy than others. They were all just enjoying the day. We continued our walking to central park reservoir "The reservoir is 40 feet deep and holds over 1 billion gallons of water (ENY 66)." Then we saw Bethesda Terrace, it was created in 1868 by Emma Stebbins, it was one of the few works especially commissioned for the park. It depicts the biblical angel who stirred the waters
of the Bethesda pool in Jerusalem, conferring healing powers on it. If I knew this before while being there i would of tried my luck by putting a lucky penny for the magical healing power! ( I am not sure if the penny
would work) Emma Stebbins the creator of this magnificent sculpture is one of the most important women sculptor also she is the only women who had a sculpture in Central Park. The next stop was to view the Dakota Apartments from Central Park. This apartment building is important due to the legend John Lennon
had once lived there. Strawberry Park was created in honor of him. He was a songwriter and singer also the member of the well known band Beatles. The name Strawberry park came from the song "Strawberry
Fields Forever" one of Lennon's famous songs which was inspired by an orphanage in his hometown. Another memorable tribute for the legend was a mosaic piece of artwork that says imagine which was also the title of one his hit songs. He was shot in front of his apartment by one his fans.
It was indeed a long day of walking, but thank God they weather was tolerable. Now we are going back to Penn and heading home. What a wonderful day it was :-)
Our day has started at our wonderful usual spot....Penn Station! and off we all left to another day of exploring......We took the 1 train and 6 train and we reached our destination 103th street
and Lexington...to East Harlem which is known as El Barrio. As most areas of New York City this area is also going through much of gentrification. "The neighborhood, which has been experiencing a wave of gentrification in recent years, has ben home to several different ethnic communities since it was developed in the late 19th century (ENY, 75)." Mike gave us the history of El barrio - The population in 1880's were mostly consisted of Germans and Italians. By 1960's the population changed into mostly Puerto Rican's. By 1970's the city
fell into a very abandoned place where paying rent was difficult and many people would put fire their own homes to get insurance money. During those times crimes were on the rise, by 1990's the community also
blended with many Caribbean natives. Many middle class had moved in and many houses were renovated into brown stone.
Our first official stop was at the Museum of the City of New York which offers exhibitions that explains
the city's history from the Dutch to the present. It was founded in 1923. "The museum has changing exhibitions focused on the history of New York's city, especially its heritage of diversity, oppurtunity and perpetual transformation (ENY, 77)." A lot of work didn't really make sense to me but I was respectful and appreciated their talent. We watched a 25 minute that was created by James Sander and Jake Barton, which explained the history to the present moment of the beautiful city. Henry Hudson had traveled and he found a lot of land which he bought for the current rate of 24 dollars. In 1664 the British had taken over. South Street was one of the biggest port in America which scheduled regular goods. This was expanded towards the
Mid- West by creating the Erie Canal. By 1840's it was the biggest industrial areas around the world. It was good to know the history of the place that we live in. Then we went to the gilded NY exhibit and It was just beautiful and very detailed with jewelry and antique objects. On the way out Mike showed us gustavino tiles (wohooo) and told us the the tiles can hold the structure of a building which I added into my book of life.
Our next stop was El Museo del barrio which means the museum of the neighborhood. It was
started in 1969 it was created of the children in the community which were mostly Puerto Rican or Lationo descent to learn about their culture, artists and poets. (ENY, 77). The public learns to make connection." This is what the museum is about, most artists shows their culture and beliefs through the artwork and people will be able to make a connection with their culture. Then we got the amazing tour guide/educator - LUKE!!
He checked us in by asking us how we were feeling today and he did a stand up poetry which amazed everyone in the group. I still remember his poem' chorus - WE NEED MORE MUSIC!! He told us that it is important to know where we are coming from, what is our culture and heritage. We followed him and walked around the street. It was a little strange to see him talking to strangers and saying hello to people who he doesn't even know. He has a good spirit and that gives us this good happy feeling to all around him. We stopped at this little book store and checked some latino origin books. Then we saw this great art work created by Manuel Vega as known as Manny Vega.
As luke explained that he was a self taught artist. All his art work contains a bow and an arrow. He usually posts sketches for one year before making it into a permanent mosaic piece, this is to get approval and suggestions from the neighborhood. His work is inspired from Brazil. He lived most of his life in el Barrio. Our next stop was at a community garden which was dedicated for the women of the community. "The park was originally a vacant lot and dumping ground when it was converted by east harlem resident ernesto "Tin" Flores into a garden for the neighborhood's inhabitants (ENY, 78)." The statue which is represented in the
garden was a sculpture of Fallopian tubes. Another painting was created in the wall to show the women as poet's and painter's also to show a women is not only for art work but also the bullets around the chest represents they would fight and protect. The painting was created by Yasmin which we were very lucky to meet. The painting had symbols from the culture which consisted of fertility, peace etc. Our last stop in the neighborhood was seeing a painting which was created in 1970's. It was a painting of the people who were
living in the neighborhood. After that we visit the famous Gusto! He is someone who has seen many changes in the neighborhood also he owned a botanico which is a herbal store. He has cures for many illnesses and evil spirits! It was nice to talk to him and most amazing was how many different type of things that were stored inside the stores. It smelled wonderful. After all the tour I finally went to have some ethnic yummy Latino food from "EL aguillo" which was just great and cheap.
Our next stop was Central Park..... We started at the Vanderbilt gate "This impressive entryway to central park was made in Paris in 1894 and originally stood before the Vnaderbilt mansion of 5th avenue and 58th street (ENY, 65)." Then we walked through the conservatory garden and it was such a good day to do central park tour. "The conservatory garden is the only formal garden in Central park (ENY, 65)." I was really enjoying and didn't mind the long walk at all. Central Park is one huge park 843 acres of land with so many different
scenery. After walking a little bit, we decided to have us little "class room time" so we all sat on central
park schist and shared our feelings so far. As i was looking around I saw mostly everyone walking or riding a bike I guess that's why city people are more healthy than others. They were all just enjoying the day. We continued our walking to central park reservoir "The reservoir is 40 feet deep and holds over 1 billion gallons of water (ENY 66)." Then we saw Bethesda Terrace, it was created in 1868 by Emma Stebbins, it was one of the few works especially commissioned for the park. It depicts the biblical angel who stirred the waters
of the Bethesda pool in Jerusalem, conferring healing powers on it. If I knew this before while being there i would of tried my luck by putting a lucky penny for the magical healing power! ( I am not sure if the penny
would work) Emma Stebbins the creator of this magnificent sculpture is one of the most important women sculptor also she is the only women who had a sculpture in Central Park. The next stop was to view the Dakota Apartments from Central Park. This apartment building is important due to the legend John Lennon
had once lived there. Strawberry Park was created in honor of him. He was a songwriter and singer also the member of the well known band Beatles. The name Strawberry park came from the song "Strawberry
Fields Forever" one of Lennon's famous songs which was inspired by an orphanage in his hometown. Another memorable tribute for the legend was a mosaic piece of artwork that says imagine which was also the title of one his hit songs. He was shot in front of his apartment by one his fans.
It was indeed a long day of walking, but thank God they weather was tolerable. Now we are going back to Penn and heading home. What a wonderful day it was :-)
6. THE WEST SIDE
Today our class started at our usual time then we all headed to one of the most famous spots in NY which is Times Square and Broadway! As we walked out of penn station, Mike started talking about buildings styles, this time it was Art Deco! The amazing bright lights is what makes Times square so incredible. The city definitely does not sleep at night or day in Times Square.....The time we were able to see Times Square a little sleepy I think was during hurricane Sandy. Times Square is 4 acres of land. "Times square is recognized as both the world's busiest intersection as
well as the world's most popular tourist atraction (ENY, 33)."late 1920's to1940's the place was very famous for the theatres and it had 80 theatres. During that period many independent producers started shows which brought millions of dollars into the city in the period of a year. Many restaurants, hotels, theatrical clubs and agents had started during the the late 1920's. The great depression had devastated Broadway. Many theatres were changed into burlesque theatres or to move houses whose offerings deteriorated from Hollywood hits, to second run movies, to X-rated pornography.
By the 1970's the area was known for crimes, drug dealing and prostitution (ENY, 34)By 1980's changes started to happen as the government took over most space. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is responsible for most of the clean up that has happened such as it became more safer for the public (ENY, 34). He turned into Times Square into a little Disney. As this happened the population had increased and many people were not afraid to walk along the streets day or night. Many public spaces had also been created for people. It was started by Mayor Bloomberg as an experiment to reduce
accidents by creating public spacing for people by closing down some streets. This has made the accidents to decrease and more people are visiting the area. The population and amount of visitors have increased and still increasing as
compared to decades ago. Even this is known as a public place it is owned by private owner.
Rockefeller Center is an attractive place that brings so many people during the holidays. The beautiful amazing Christmas tree with the ice skating ring and how about the musical snow flakes that changes according to beats.
During the summer months the skating ring turns into an outdoor cafe. It is the most famous skating ring in the world. Rockefeller Center is well known for their art deco approach in the city. Rockefeller Plaza a three-block private
street which pleasantly breaks up the long east west block, separates the Lower Plaza from the GE building (ENY,37). GE Building is the first building constructed at Rockefeller Center is still its most famous and imposing. Art Deco beard,
speaks a compass above a glass screen made up of 240 blocks of Pyrex cast in relief in 84 molds (ENY 34). Diego Rivera Fresco was a famous artist that had created murals for Rockefeller Center. His mural was asked to be changed due to Lenin's portrait but then later his murals were removed by John D Rockefeller. Radio City Music hall was the largest theatre when it was built in 1932. It has been taken over but is still one of the best places where art deco
was kept. It still entertains more than a million visitors. (ENY 38).
Our next stop was at MOMA (Museum of Modern Arts) was opened in 1929. It was given by the Rockefeller family. It was started first as having daring art pieces. It was located on fifth avenue by 57th avenue at the
beginning and was relocated in 1932 to the present site. It has many forms of art pieces such as sculptors, paintings, photographs. It holds work of many well known artists. By 1860 photograph became an art. (ENY, 38). 19th century Pablo Picasso changed art saying all paintings are based on what the artist is thinking at that time. His famous works was the painting of a bunch of working prostitutes who is naked. Jackson Pollock was another famous artist from
New York., he was tortured and was living with another artist and attended the social realism school of painting. Robert Ryman was another artist that had a painting of just white plain painting which he made loads of money on........I
guess art depends on the person who is looking at and also how it is based on the luck of the artist because some of the work was not that beautiful. The campbells soup can was pretty cool. Seeing art by Pablo Picasso- Les Demoiselles
DAvignon, was also nice especially when I did learn about his art work in a previous class. Seeing the most famous art piece of Vincent Van Gogh- Starry nights, I was thrilled to see that. I would like to go visit the museum one more time in
future to get a better taste on the work.
Our next walk was to Hell's Kitchen to have our delicious Thai food. We all sat together and tried out some not so great thai food. I didn't think the restaurant was great. It was kind of dark inside and the place was a bit small too. Our next stop Morning Heights a walk with Jim, who has his own business weekday walk. On the way we saw a building
that looked very ancient but surprisingly it was CVS pharmacy. I definitely don't see that in where I live, so it was a happy/surprise moment! St John the Divine Cathedral was our next visit ( The largest church in the US and the largest Gothic style cathedral in the world, the cathedral has room for 3000 worshippers and spans in length of over 600 feet (ENY, 81)."
The Cathedral Church of St. John the divine rises uncompleted splendor on the heights above Morningside Park. The enormous stone arches erected to support the never built dome tower of the crossing stand exposed to the sky and to the eyes of passers-by, who have a rare opportunity to see a mansory cathedral under construction. It is so
beautiful the architect exterior and interior. The detailed work is just stunning. Being inside the church
was so peaceful and serene. Our next stop was Columbia University. Columbia University, the first college established in New York State, and the fifth in the United States, was originally established in lower Manhattan in 1754 as King's College and after the Revolution changed its name to Columbia (ENY, 83). Four American President's have attended this University. It is well known for their medical programs, law etc. May be one day I will be able to go to that school for higher studies. The Red brick building was the start of this amazing famous institute. Next was a walk to see
a nice view of Morningside Park which occupies about 3 acres, including a rocky cliff of Manhattan schist, which plunges down to the Harlem Plain. Morningside Park got the name because the sun rises. Our next was walk towards
Harlem. We started off from Fedrick Douglas Blvd and West 116th street. In 1878 the train started to come on 9th avenue so people can live there and work downtown. (ENY 90). By 1930's Harlem was known for the artists, and 19 groups culture were moving in. A lot of gentrification has happened in this town. Harlem is also the place where Bill Clinton resigned as a president and where Martin Luther King had got stabbed. It was a bit uncomfortable to walk
around the Harlem because of what you see/hear in media. But my experience was different, everyone was minding their own business, we saw a bunch of people sitting together and playing some percussion instruments. The vibe was really different that what I expected. A big statue of Harriet Tubman is kept for the railroad. Magic Johnson has
a theatre in Harlem. Another famous place was the Apollo theatre. It was only for the white community and mostly the people who went to the theatre was German and Jewish during 1913. It has changed over time and it was fallen in 1970 and became a movie theatre. In 1991 it was restored and changed. It still is very famous. So we ended our day at
harlem. I was getting dehydrated so i went to get a bottle of water then headed back to penn.
Today our class started at our usual time then we all headed to one of the most famous spots in NY which is Times Square and Broadway! As we walked out of penn station, Mike started talking about buildings styles, this time it was Art Deco! The amazing bright lights is what makes Times square so incredible. The city definitely does not sleep at night or day in Times Square.....The time we were able to see Times Square a little sleepy I think was during hurricane Sandy. Times Square is 4 acres of land. "Times square is recognized as both the world's busiest intersection as
well as the world's most popular tourist atraction (ENY, 33)."late 1920's to1940's the place was very famous for the theatres and it had 80 theatres. During that period many independent producers started shows which brought millions of dollars into the city in the period of a year. Many restaurants, hotels, theatrical clubs and agents had started during the the late 1920's. The great depression had devastated Broadway. Many theatres were changed into burlesque theatres or to move houses whose offerings deteriorated from Hollywood hits, to second run movies, to X-rated pornography.
By the 1970's the area was known for crimes, drug dealing and prostitution (ENY, 34)By 1980's changes started to happen as the government took over most space. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is responsible for most of the clean up that has happened such as it became more safer for the public (ENY, 34). He turned into Times Square into a little Disney. As this happened the population had increased and many people were not afraid to walk along the streets day or night. Many public spaces had also been created for people. It was started by Mayor Bloomberg as an experiment to reduce
accidents by creating public spacing for people by closing down some streets. This has made the accidents to decrease and more people are visiting the area. The population and amount of visitors have increased and still increasing as
compared to decades ago. Even this is known as a public place it is owned by private owner.
Rockefeller Center is an attractive place that brings so many people during the holidays. The beautiful amazing Christmas tree with the ice skating ring and how about the musical snow flakes that changes according to beats.
During the summer months the skating ring turns into an outdoor cafe. It is the most famous skating ring in the world. Rockefeller Center is well known for their art deco approach in the city. Rockefeller Plaza a three-block private
street which pleasantly breaks up the long east west block, separates the Lower Plaza from the GE building (ENY,37). GE Building is the first building constructed at Rockefeller Center is still its most famous and imposing. Art Deco beard,
speaks a compass above a glass screen made up of 240 blocks of Pyrex cast in relief in 84 molds (ENY 34). Diego Rivera Fresco was a famous artist that had created murals for Rockefeller Center. His mural was asked to be changed due to Lenin's portrait but then later his murals were removed by John D Rockefeller. Radio City Music hall was the largest theatre when it was built in 1932. It has been taken over but is still one of the best places where art deco
was kept. It still entertains more than a million visitors. (ENY 38).
Our next stop was at MOMA (Museum of Modern Arts) was opened in 1929. It was given by the Rockefeller family. It was started first as having daring art pieces. It was located on fifth avenue by 57th avenue at the
beginning and was relocated in 1932 to the present site. It has many forms of art pieces such as sculptors, paintings, photographs. It holds work of many well known artists. By 1860 photograph became an art. (ENY, 38). 19th century Pablo Picasso changed art saying all paintings are based on what the artist is thinking at that time. His famous works was the painting of a bunch of working prostitutes who is naked. Jackson Pollock was another famous artist from
New York., he was tortured and was living with another artist and attended the social realism school of painting. Robert Ryman was another artist that had a painting of just white plain painting which he made loads of money on........I
guess art depends on the person who is looking at and also how it is based on the luck of the artist because some of the work was not that beautiful. The campbells soup can was pretty cool. Seeing art by Pablo Picasso- Les Demoiselles
DAvignon, was also nice especially when I did learn about his art work in a previous class. Seeing the most famous art piece of Vincent Van Gogh- Starry nights, I was thrilled to see that. I would like to go visit the museum one more time in
future to get a better taste on the work.
Our next walk was to Hell's Kitchen to have our delicious Thai food. We all sat together and tried out some not so great thai food. I didn't think the restaurant was great. It was kind of dark inside and the place was a bit small too. Our next stop Morning Heights a walk with Jim, who has his own business weekday walk. On the way we saw a building
that looked very ancient but surprisingly it was CVS pharmacy. I definitely don't see that in where I live, so it was a happy/surprise moment! St John the Divine Cathedral was our next visit ( The largest church in the US and the largest Gothic style cathedral in the world, the cathedral has room for 3000 worshippers and spans in length of over 600 feet (ENY, 81)."
The Cathedral Church of St. John the divine rises uncompleted splendor on the heights above Morningside Park. The enormous stone arches erected to support the never built dome tower of the crossing stand exposed to the sky and to the eyes of passers-by, who have a rare opportunity to see a mansory cathedral under construction. It is so
beautiful the architect exterior and interior. The detailed work is just stunning. Being inside the church
was so peaceful and serene. Our next stop was Columbia University. Columbia University, the first college established in New York State, and the fifth in the United States, was originally established in lower Manhattan in 1754 as King's College and after the Revolution changed its name to Columbia (ENY, 83). Four American President's have attended this University. It is well known for their medical programs, law etc. May be one day I will be able to go to that school for higher studies. The Red brick building was the start of this amazing famous institute. Next was a walk to see
a nice view of Morningside Park which occupies about 3 acres, including a rocky cliff of Manhattan schist, which plunges down to the Harlem Plain. Morningside Park got the name because the sun rises. Our next was walk towards
Harlem. We started off from Fedrick Douglas Blvd and West 116th street. In 1878 the train started to come on 9th avenue so people can live there and work downtown. (ENY 90). By 1930's Harlem was known for the artists, and 19 groups culture were moving in. A lot of gentrification has happened in this town. Harlem is also the place where Bill Clinton resigned as a president and where Martin Luther King had got stabbed. It was a bit uncomfortable to walk
around the Harlem because of what you see/hear in media. But my experience was different, everyone was minding their own business, we saw a bunch of people sitting together and playing some percussion instruments. The vibe was really different that what I expected. A big statue of Harriet Tubman is kept for the railroad. Magic Johnson has
a theatre in Harlem. Another famous place was the Apollo theatre. It was only for the white community and mostly the people who went to the theatre was German and Jewish during 1913. It has changed over time and it was fallen in 1970 and became a movie theatre. In 1991 it was restored and changed. It still is very famous. So we ended our day at
harlem. I was getting dehydrated so i went to get a bottle of water then headed back to penn.
7. LOWER MANHATTAN!!
As we started our day at Penn Station, Our first stop was at St. Paul's chapel, it was sad to hear that the surrounding of the church got destroyed from 9/11. When we walked inside, we saw the pew of George Washington. The chapel
served both as a place of refuge for workers at Ground Zero and as a temporary memorial for visitors, who attached messages and memorials to the fence of the church. Walking into the chapel brought back many memories of
that day. It was very emotional seeing all the people's messages and some of the flyers of missing person was still inside the chapel. The chapel really told a story of many people and their families. There is a tree which is
special to everyone because it is known as the survival tree. The tree survived the attacks also it has outgrown it's life expectancy. It was located in the middle of both towers. We were also able to get a beautiful view
of the 9/11 memorial building which is just so beautiful the architect of the building is amazing.
We then stopped to look at the Woolworth Building which was the tallest building from 1913 to 1930. F.W Woolworth was convinced people would shop more if a five- ten cent store was opened. Eventually he had opened his first five-and-ten-cent store which became a success so he started more chain stores. By 1913 he was able to pay $13,500,000 in cash to built this building. It was known also as a financial building. (PDF, 47) Next stop was the amazing City Hall.
I have heard so much about this place but never had the opportunity to see it. And this time, i lost the chance again, which means i have to come back. Then we walked to see municipal buildings and let me be honest, i never knew we had these type of amazing structured buildings in NY. Then we stopped at African Burial Ground National
Monument. We went inside and saw a 20 mins documentary of how their life was a slaves. It was very moving.
Around 1690 to 1794 an estimated 20,000 Africans and slaves were buried in 6.6 acres round, which in 2007 became a historical memorial of how important African Americans roles were in the United States (ENY, PDF, pg 44 & 45). Then we headed to 9/11 memorial, this was the highlight of my day because I've never been here
before. I took a lot of pictures and reminisced of that day and how many people were lost. This complex is 16 acres that was built between 1966 and 1987, which had seven buildings around it as well as an underground shopping mall (ENY, PDF, pg 48). Then it was time for lunch, and we went to this place similar to chelsea market but much better ambience in battery park. Although, it was a bit costly, we all had the chance to sit down and enjoy our lunch. I had a burger for $13!!!
Our next short stop was Trinity Church for many years it was the highest point. It was the first gothic church that was
made in America. The grave yard outside the church has this Trinity Root, which is a bronze sculpture by Steve Tobin who created a memorial of the tree that protected St. Paul's church from the debris of 9/11 (ENY, PDF, pg 50). Then the highlight of my whole class came which was to take a ferry to go to Governors Island. It was my first time to be on a ferry, even though, it was only for 5 mins I totally enjoyed it. For over 200 years, the island was used as the United States Army post but in January 31, 2003 it had become a recreational area for residents to visit (ENY, PDF, pg 57). We walked around to see the fort and the prisons and it was really hot in there so i can't even imagine how they survived in the building without water/electricity. Then I decided to lie on a hammock and give myself some rest. We headed back from island at 6pm and took the train home. Overall, the day was very interesting.
As we started our day at Penn Station, Our first stop was at St. Paul's chapel, it was sad to hear that the surrounding of the church got destroyed from 9/11. When we walked inside, we saw the pew of George Washington. The chapel
served both as a place of refuge for workers at Ground Zero and as a temporary memorial for visitors, who attached messages and memorials to the fence of the church. Walking into the chapel brought back many memories of
that day. It was very emotional seeing all the people's messages and some of the flyers of missing person was still inside the chapel. The chapel really told a story of many people and their families. There is a tree which is
special to everyone because it is known as the survival tree. The tree survived the attacks also it has outgrown it's life expectancy. It was located in the middle of both towers. We were also able to get a beautiful view
of the 9/11 memorial building which is just so beautiful the architect of the building is amazing.
We then stopped to look at the Woolworth Building which was the tallest building from 1913 to 1930. F.W Woolworth was convinced people would shop more if a five- ten cent store was opened. Eventually he had opened his first five-and-ten-cent store which became a success so he started more chain stores. By 1913 he was able to pay $13,500,000 in cash to built this building. It was known also as a financial building. (PDF, 47) Next stop was the amazing City Hall.
I have heard so much about this place but never had the opportunity to see it. And this time, i lost the chance again, which means i have to come back. Then we walked to see municipal buildings and let me be honest, i never knew we had these type of amazing structured buildings in NY. Then we stopped at African Burial Ground National
Monument. We went inside and saw a 20 mins documentary of how their life was a slaves. It was very moving.
Around 1690 to 1794 an estimated 20,000 Africans and slaves were buried in 6.6 acres round, which in 2007 became a historical memorial of how important African Americans roles were in the United States (ENY, PDF, pg 44 & 45). Then we headed to 9/11 memorial, this was the highlight of my day because I've never been here
before. I took a lot of pictures and reminisced of that day and how many people were lost. This complex is 16 acres that was built between 1966 and 1987, which had seven buildings around it as well as an underground shopping mall (ENY, PDF, pg 48). Then it was time for lunch, and we went to this place similar to chelsea market but much better ambience in battery park. Although, it was a bit costly, we all had the chance to sit down and enjoy our lunch. I had a burger for $13!!!
Our next short stop was Trinity Church for many years it was the highest point. It was the first gothic church that was
made in America. The grave yard outside the church has this Trinity Root, which is a bronze sculpture by Steve Tobin who created a memorial of the tree that protected St. Paul's church from the debris of 9/11 (ENY, PDF, pg 50). Then the highlight of my whole class came which was to take a ferry to go to Governors Island. It was my first time to be on a ferry, even though, it was only for 5 mins I totally enjoyed it. For over 200 years, the island was used as the United States Army post but in January 31, 2003 it had become a recreational area for residents to visit (ENY, PDF, pg 57). We walked around to see the fort and the prisons and it was really hot in there so i can't even imagine how they survived in the building without water/electricity. Then I decided to lie on a hammock and give myself some rest. We headed back from island at 6pm and took the train home. Overall, the day was very interesting.
8.LOWER EAST SIDE!!
Our journey is ending as this is our last class. I am really excited as this is the last day of my undergraduate. As usual we all met at Penn Station. Then we all headed our way to explore the Lower East Side by Delancey Street. In 1850 the Irish and Germans were occupied but caused many crimes. By 1860's many Jewish people came due to all the executions that were happening. By 1880s - 1990s many Italian and Chinese people had arrived, the
population of Chinese people were so much that the government had to shut down immigrants from China. The 1900s Lower East side was the most dense area in the world. Latin Americans and many other different cultures appeared as gentrification started to happen. (ENY, PDF, 65) We went to Kossar's Bialys. I didn't know what it was but I thought I would give it a try and I had an onion Bialy for the first time. Then we walked to seward park "The park was named after William Seward, Governor of New York from 1839-1842 and later Secretary of State during the Lincoln administration" (ENY, PDF,69). We met our tour guide Jim on the way and we all sat down and had our wonderful tasty bialy. It was not bad. Then Jim took us around to see some places like bialystoker synagogue and henry street settlement, it was a proud moment being a nursing student. We were later on able to see Ritualarium which is where Jewish women need to get showered before their marriage to get purified. Lillian Wald is the founder of Henry Street Settlement she is one of New York's greatest figure. She devoted herself tirelessly to the poor to awaken the
awareness of money needed for the poor to work towards diseases, illness and malnutrition. Our last stop was at Congee village Chinese restaurant. It was a beautiful place. Mike ordered us some delicious Chinese food and we all talked about how much we loved this class although, it was really hard taking it in July. But we made
it!! I think it was a good place to end this class. This class was really different and I am glad I met a lot of new people
during my last weeks at Molloy. We wished good luck to everyone and went on our
ways.
Our journey is ending as this is our last class. I am really excited as this is the last day of my undergraduate. As usual we all met at Penn Station. Then we all headed our way to explore the Lower East Side by Delancey Street. In 1850 the Irish and Germans were occupied but caused many crimes. By 1860's many Jewish people came due to all the executions that were happening. By 1880s - 1990s many Italian and Chinese people had arrived, the
population of Chinese people were so much that the government had to shut down immigrants from China. The 1900s Lower East side was the most dense area in the world. Latin Americans and many other different cultures appeared as gentrification started to happen. (ENY, PDF, 65) We went to Kossar's Bialys. I didn't know what it was but I thought I would give it a try and I had an onion Bialy for the first time. Then we walked to seward park "The park was named after William Seward, Governor of New York from 1839-1842 and later Secretary of State during the Lincoln administration" (ENY, PDF,69). We met our tour guide Jim on the way and we all sat down and had our wonderful tasty bialy. It was not bad. Then Jim took us around to see some places like bialystoker synagogue and henry street settlement, it was a proud moment being a nursing student. We were later on able to see Ritualarium which is where Jewish women need to get showered before their marriage to get purified. Lillian Wald is the founder of Henry Street Settlement she is one of New York's greatest figure. She devoted herself tirelessly to the poor to awaken the
awareness of money needed for the poor to work towards diseases, illness and malnutrition. Our last stop was at Congee village Chinese restaurant. It was a beautiful place. Mike ordered us some delicious Chinese food and we all talked about how much we loved this class although, it was really hard taking it in July. But we made
it!! I think it was a good place to end this class. This class was really different and I am glad I met a lot of new people
during my last weeks at Molloy. We wished good luck to everyone and went on our
ways.
FINAL IMPRESSION OF NY!!
My final thoughts about this class is, it was a unique fun class and the BEST class I took! The work that came along with the class was not easy but the journals created on the website made a place that I can look back and take my family or
friends to places I enjoyed the most. I learned so much about the subway system which I can travel alone and manage not to get lost. (hope so)Then I loved the Museum of Moving Images.....it was the coolest museum! I just enjoyed it
very much. I also enjoyed seeing the cola sign in Long Island City also the beautiful water front view. I enjoyed crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and see the difference between Brooklyn Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge. I have a better appreciation for the history and amazing art work, sculptures around the city. I learned so many different things in this class. I thank Mike and Damien for showing us around, you guys were wonderful and to all my wonderful peers - GOODLUCK TO ALL!!!
My final thoughts about this class is, it was a unique fun class and the BEST class I took! The work that came along with the class was not easy but the journals created on the website made a place that I can look back and take my family or
friends to places I enjoyed the most. I learned so much about the subway system which I can travel alone and manage not to get lost. (hope so)Then I loved the Museum of Moving Images.....it was the coolest museum! I just enjoyed it
very much. I also enjoyed seeing the cola sign in Long Island City also the beautiful water front view. I enjoyed crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and see the difference between Brooklyn Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge. I have a better appreciation for the history and amazing art work, sculptures around the city. I learned so many different things in this class. I thank Mike and Damien for showing us around, you guys were wonderful and to all my wonderful peers - GOODLUCK TO ALL!!!