Journal 1
Impressions of NY
New York City is the greatest city on this planet. Most people take for granted that the center of the entire world is right here in our backyard. Any item that one desires can be found some place within the five boroughs; whether it's a certain type of food, flowers, diamonds or even a knockoff Coach pocketbook, New York is the place to find it. The city is rich in all different types of history; every neighborhood has its own unique story.
The Three Villages
During todays class we visited the three villages, Greenwich, East and West. Our first stop was at 75 1/2 Bedford Street. This is the narrowest home in New York City measuring less than ten feet across. The home housed many famous people throughout the years. From there we moved down Christopher Street and saw were the gay rights movement had began at the Stonewall Inn. In the late 1960's the police raided the bar which lead to riots in the streets. Across the street from the Stonewall Inn was Christopher Street Park. Within the park is George Segal's Gay Liberation which contains two gay couples spending time in the park.
From there we headed toward the Merchant's house on Bleecker Street. The house was owned by a wealthy merchant family, the Tredwells. Built in the early 1830's the house is a good representation of how the wealthy lived in New York. Unlike most landmarks in New York City the Tredwell's house had landmark status on the inside as well as the outside. There is only a handful of interior landmark buildings in the city. The interior of the house is not the original, it was renovated in the mid 1850's but has been the same ever since. When first entering the house I was surprised by how high the ceilings were on the first floor. Our tour of the house began in backyard of the house. The backyard was bigger than I expected however when the house was built Manhattan was much more open than it is today. Each floor of the house had two rooms on it, besides the servant's quarters on the top floor. The basement had a kitchen and a living room. The decor in the living room was very plain and simple; the tour guide explained that this was were the family spent most of their time. In the kitchen there was a bell system set up for the family to call the servants; it was in the kitchen because that is were the servants spent most of their time. Each room was connected to its own bell so the help would know where they were being called to. On the first floor there was a grand dining room; or two depending how you look at it. There was pocket doors that could be closed to split the room in half. The two dining rooms were mirror images of each other. The decor in these rooms was much more lavish than the basement; this is where the family would entertain guests. The items in this room were used to "show off" how successful the family had become. The next floors had the bedrooms. The husband and wife had separate bedrooms; in the woman's bedroom there was another bed for a child. This was used throughout infancy and if the child was sick. The top floor of the house was the servant's quarters. The servants worked all day, everyday and were usually given one afternoon off per week. The servants were usually Irish woman because their skills were in housekeeping and were paid around a dollar a week. Every room in the house had a fireplace because originally that was the source of heat. The Merchant's House was very interesting and showed me a side of New York I may have never gotten to see. After the Merchant's House we walked through Washington Square Park. During the 1950's Robert Moses wanted to destroy the park and create a parkway instead. Luckily Moses was not successful and the park remains.
From there we headed over to the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. Inside the museum there was all different artifacts, mostly pictures, that showed the history of the East Village. During the 1980's this park of the city was run down and over flowing with squatters. These squatters would live in the abandoned buildings rent free until the city decided they wanted the space back. This sparked a huge controversy because the squatters felt they had the right to be in the building since they had been abandoned. During our tour of this area we saw two gardens that came to be on these abandoned lots. In one of the gardens, which is now apart of the Green Thumb Program, you could see small pieces of broken bricks from the building that once stood there and also a willow tree. These gardens are maintained by the members of the community but gives the people of Manhattan a place were they can grow their own food. In the huge concrete jungle there are small gardens scattered throughout. I had never spent any time in any of the villages before. There is so much history in these small neighborhoods of Manhattan we could have spent another whole day in this area.
From there we headed toward the Merchant's house on Bleecker Street. The house was owned by a wealthy merchant family, the Tredwells. Built in the early 1830's the house is a good representation of how the wealthy lived in New York. Unlike most landmarks in New York City the Tredwell's house had landmark status on the inside as well as the outside. There is only a handful of interior landmark buildings in the city. The interior of the house is not the original, it was renovated in the mid 1850's but has been the same ever since. When first entering the house I was surprised by how high the ceilings were on the first floor. Our tour of the house began in backyard of the house. The backyard was bigger than I expected however when the house was built Manhattan was much more open than it is today. Each floor of the house had two rooms on it, besides the servant's quarters on the top floor. The basement had a kitchen and a living room. The decor in the living room was very plain and simple; the tour guide explained that this was were the family spent most of their time. In the kitchen there was a bell system set up for the family to call the servants; it was in the kitchen because that is were the servants spent most of their time. Each room was connected to its own bell so the help would know where they were being called to. On the first floor there was a grand dining room; or two depending how you look at it. There was pocket doors that could be closed to split the room in half. The two dining rooms were mirror images of each other. The decor in these rooms was much more lavish than the basement; this is where the family would entertain guests. The items in this room were used to "show off" how successful the family had become. The next floors had the bedrooms. The husband and wife had separate bedrooms; in the woman's bedroom there was another bed for a child. This was used throughout infancy and if the child was sick. The top floor of the house was the servant's quarters. The servants worked all day, everyday and were usually given one afternoon off per week. The servants were usually Irish woman because their skills were in housekeeping and were paid around a dollar a week. Every room in the house had a fireplace because originally that was the source of heat. The Merchant's House was very interesting and showed me a side of New York I may have never gotten to see. After the Merchant's House we walked through Washington Square Park. During the 1950's Robert Moses wanted to destroy the park and create a parkway instead. Luckily Moses was not successful and the park remains.
From there we headed over to the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. Inside the museum there was all different artifacts, mostly pictures, that showed the history of the East Village. During the 1980's this park of the city was run down and over flowing with squatters. These squatters would live in the abandoned buildings rent free until the city decided they wanted the space back. This sparked a huge controversy because the squatters felt they had the right to be in the building since they had been abandoned. During our tour of this area we saw two gardens that came to be on these abandoned lots. In one of the gardens, which is now apart of the Green Thumb Program, you could see small pieces of broken bricks from the building that once stood there and also a willow tree. These gardens are maintained by the members of the community but gives the people of Manhattan a place were they can grow their own food. In the huge concrete jungle there are small gardens scattered throughout. I had never spent any time in any of the villages before. There is so much history in these small neighborhoods of Manhattan we could have spent another whole day in this area.
East Harlem and Central Park
East Harlem and Central Park are both places that in the past few decades has become much safer. We started class in East Harlem, also called El Barrio which means the neighborhood in spanish. This neighborhood used to be overflowing with Irish, Italian and German immigrants but is now predominately Puerto Rican. We started at the Museum of the City of New York where we saw a quick video on the history of New York. The video started with Henry Hudson, ended with the current day city and covered the major development in between. The Dutch were the first Europeans to inhabit the land buying it from the Native Americans for a very cheap price. Originally New Amsterdam was a favorable spot because of the calm waters of the harbor however it would evolve into the center of the universe. The Dutch were kicked out by the English without even firing a shot and the English renamed it New York. The southern tip of Manhattan was originally were all of the people lived however as more and more immigrants poured into the country the people spread out. Once the United States became an independent country New York was the entry way. The goods from the South all started being shipped through New York as well as goods from upstate and the West. The Erie canal connected the city to what was considered the West back then. New York's geographic location played a huge part in the development of the city.
After, we headed toward el Museo Del Barrio where we were given a tour around the neighborhood and got a small taste of the rich history. One of our stops during the tour was at the mural "The Spirit of East Harlem." The mural represents the everyday life of the people of East Harlem. The mural contained men playing dominos, children riding bikes among many other activities that take place on a daily basis in this neighborhood. Our tour guide told us one of the women in the mural did not like how she was represented in the painting and paid some young thugs to spray paint over her face; the community was outraged and insisted that it be fixed. We also saw a couple mosaics done by Manny Vega sprinkled throughout the community. Our last stop was at a schoolyard that contained the graffiti hall of fame. Every year artists compete to win a spot in this schoolyard to tag there name. All of this graffiti was legal unlike most of the graffiti you see scribbled around the city. There was a very strong sense of Puerto Rican pride; there was flags at almost every corner and many of the people in the community were speaking spanish.
After lunch we headed to Central Park. I never realized how big the park was until we had to walk from the very top all the way down to the bottom. In the northern part of the park we walked around the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Water Reservoir over to John Lennon's apartment. From there we headed to Strawberry Fields, the memorial to John Lennon were we saw at least three wedding pictures being taken. We had a formal class meeting to discuss what we learned during the first half of the class; you couldn't ask for a nicer spot to hold class. In the 70's and 80's Central Park was a very dangerous place to be however now there is a police presence all over the park and has become one of the safest places in New York. We walked down the east side of the park and ended up at the Plaza Hotel, from the Home Alone movie, and over to FAO Schwartz. On our way back towards Penn Station we passed St. Patrick's Cathedral. The huge cathedral was built to show the Protestants the the Roman Catholic Church was here to stay.
After, we headed toward el Museo Del Barrio where we were given a tour around the neighborhood and got a small taste of the rich history. One of our stops during the tour was at the mural "The Spirit of East Harlem." The mural represents the everyday life of the people of East Harlem. The mural contained men playing dominos, children riding bikes among many other activities that take place on a daily basis in this neighborhood. Our tour guide told us one of the women in the mural did not like how she was represented in the painting and paid some young thugs to spray paint over her face; the community was outraged and insisted that it be fixed. We also saw a couple mosaics done by Manny Vega sprinkled throughout the community. Our last stop was at a schoolyard that contained the graffiti hall of fame. Every year artists compete to win a spot in this schoolyard to tag there name. All of this graffiti was legal unlike most of the graffiti you see scribbled around the city. There was a very strong sense of Puerto Rican pride; there was flags at almost every corner and many of the people in the community were speaking spanish.
After lunch we headed to Central Park. I never realized how big the park was until we had to walk from the very top all the way down to the bottom. In the northern part of the park we walked around the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Water Reservoir over to John Lennon's apartment. From there we headed to Strawberry Fields, the memorial to John Lennon were we saw at least three wedding pictures being taken. We had a formal class meeting to discuss what we learned during the first half of the class; you couldn't ask for a nicer spot to hold class. In the 70's and 80's Central Park was a very dangerous place to be however now there is a police presence all over the park and has become one of the safest places in New York. We walked down the east side of the park and ended up at the Plaza Hotel, from the Home Alone movie, and over to FAO Schwartz. On our way back towards Penn Station we passed St. Patrick's Cathedral. The huge cathedral was built to show the Protestants the the Roman Catholic Church was here to stay.
Brooklyn
Coney Island was a huge attraction back in the early to mid 1900's. Coney Island is famous for their hot dogs. In 1916 Nathan's opened its doors and has been a staple of Coney Island ever since. There is so much to do in this part of town. During the summer the boardwalk and beach is over flowing with people. There is an amusement park, an aquarium and many freak shows that can keep the family entertained for hours. The Transit Museum is such a huge part of the history of New York. Located in an old subway station the museum goes through the evolution of transit in New York beginning in 1827 with a horse drawn omni bus to modern day mass transit. By the late 1800's the amount of horses being used lead to a huge problem because of all of the manure left in the streets. It wasn't until the 1880's the city began using elevated trains for transit referred to simply as the L. As technology progressed these elevated trains were moved underground to be protected from the elements. Seeing all the different types of train cars that was used throughout the history of New York was very interesting however my favorite part was the advertisement inside the old trains that gave you a glimpse of what it was like to live in those times. The Brooklyn Historical Society originally opened in 1863 as the Long Island Historical Society. The BHS preserves the history of Brooklyn, including a museum, a library and an education center. The BHS is a memorial to all the people and places that been in Brooklyn throughout the years. Brooklyn Heights is a very special part of Brooklyn. The architecture of the buildings was beautiful; the most beautiful part was the stoops. The amount of detail put into these buildings was astonishing and the unique bricks give it that classical feeling. The Brooklyn Bridge was the first suspension bridge ever built. Before its construction the only way to cross the East River was by boat; this bridge revolutionized traveling between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The structure itself is very detailed and elaborate however the best part is the view.