tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70423255473805380302024-03-14T11:17:46.623-07:00This Hidden CityA156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-19533654663354680422017-04-21T15:55:00.003-07:002017-04-23T17:58:29.192-07:00Plymouth ChurchSad to say, this is the last post for <i>This Hidden City</i>, as I've been swamped with new projects, as well as work. Still, you can enjoy this post, and 73 others (dating back to 2013), that should keep anyone busy in NYC for ages.<br />
With that said, let's check out Brooklyn's Plymouth Church, and all the interesting things inside.<br />
Based in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of the borough, at 57 Orange Street (between Henry and Hicks Streets), this historic church was founded in 1847, and built in 1850, when Brooklyn was still its own city. The building was constructed in a classic 19th century urban tabernacle style, with Italianate and colonial patterned architecture, designed by one of the founders of the American Institute of Architects, Joseph C. Wells.<br />
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Started by a congregation of a little over twenty members, which included wealthy businessmen John Tasker Howard, David Hale and Henry C. Bowen, the plot was purchased from the original church that stood on the grounds; First Presbyterian Church. Plymouth flock's first preacher was Henry Ward Beecher (brother of <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i> author Harriet Beecher Stowe), who became infamous for his mock slave auctions, and an important figure in the early abolitionist movement. Thanks to his work, the church became known as "the Grand Central Depot" in what is known as the Underground Railroad.<br />
In the garden along Orange Street, there is a statue of Henry Ward Beecher, which was designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who helped create the Mount Rushmore Memorial (and - strangely enough - was a member of the Ku Klux Klan).<br />
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The garden also holds the original tower bell from when the church was built.<br />
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In what is known as the church's "arcade" there sits what is deemed to be a piece of the Plymouth Rock, above a plaque that reads: "The Door Stone of American Liberty." Plymouth Church acquired the rock (as well as its Tiffany Studios stained glass windows) in 1934 after merging with the nearby Church of the Pilgrims.<br />
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The church gives tours upon request, as well as open tours every so often on Sundays, so you can call them to check all this out yourself. On these tours, one can see the entirety of the grounds, the garden, the Sanctuary, Hillis Hall, and even the basement where many slaves were hidden from persecution.<br />
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Plymouth Church was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on July 4, 1961, and named a National Historic Landmark in 1966.<br />
Well, it's been a fun five years working on this blog, and visiting New York City's lesser known spots. I hope you have enjoyed my posts, and - with or without me - keep on discovering the hidden gems this city has to offer.<br />
Lastly, feel free to check in on the other things I'm up to on my personal website: <a href="http://adelsouto.com/">adelsouto.com</a>A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-15101389309297318672017-02-15T08:44:00.001-08:002017-02-15T08:47:27.733-08:00Bartow-Pell MansionThe Bartow-Pell Mansion is located in the extreme northeast section of the Bronx borough, within Pelham Bay Park.<br />
In 1654, a British doctor living in Connecticut, Thomas Pell, purchased 9000 acres from the Siwanoy tribe of the Wappinger Native-American Confederacy, and King Charles II employed it as the Manor of Pelham in 1666. His nephew, Sir John Pell, was willed the land, and finished building a house on the shores of Long Island Sound in 1670 (which is now gone).<br />
By 1770 the estate was whittled down to 220 acres. and then purchased by Herman Leroy in 1813. A descendant of the Pell family, Robert Bartow, bought it back in 1836, and construction soon began on the house that now sits on the property, which was finished in 1842.<br />
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Built in a Federalist form, the architecture also blended a Grecian style of stone work, and the interior was designed in the Greek Revival spirit.<br />
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The land and home were owned by the Bartow-Pell family until 1888, when it was sold to the state of New York. It laid in ruin for some time, until it was leased to horticulturalist Zelia Hoffman in 1914 to use for her group, the International Garden Club. By 1917, the garden was restored to its current glory.<br />
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The group then turned their attention to the house, where they rebuilt the beautiful spiral staircase.<br />
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One of the rooms still holds a piece of what is called the "Thomas Pell's Treaty Oak"; the only tree to receive an obituary on the front page of <i>The New York Times</i> (April 9, 1906).<br />
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Once found on Shore Road, the tree is said to be the location where Thomas Pell signed the original treaty for the land with the local Native Americans on November 14 of 1654, though the iron fence that once surrounded it still stands.<br />
Out back, behind the garden, is the family burial plot, designed in 1891 by Lord of the Manor (and grandson of Thomas Pell), Benjamin Pell. The four granite posts have the family coat of a pelican, as well as a different inscription - marking an important date in Pell family history - on each post.<br />
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In the summer of 1936, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia used the Bartow-Pell Mansion to oversea the development of Pelham Bay Park's Orchard Beach. The grounds were left unattended until 1946, when it was opened to the public as a museum, and later designated a National Historic Landmark (1978).<br />
In 2008, the land was granted a fund by the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and has since been managed by the Heritage Conservation Network's non-profit organization Adventures in Preservation, which has recently restored the exterior of the building.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-4172593641497188112017-01-17T11:34:00.001-08:002017-01-18T13:01:28.860-08:00The Esoteric In Grand Central TerminalI'm back from vacation, and for <i>This Hidden City</i>'s 3rd Anniversary post, I thought I'd cover some of the lesser known (and seen) aspects of a place most locals and tourist have entered: Grand Central Terminal. I'll also try to dispel some myths along the way.<br />
For the few unaware, Grand Central Terminal is the railroad terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Though another building, also called Grand Central Station, had been in use since 1871, it was torn down. The Main Concourse Building there now was built from 1903 to 1913 by, both, the architecture firm of Warren & Wetmore and Reed and Stem WASA Studio. It is different from what is now known as Grand Central Station, as that is a subway stop, and Grand Central Terminal is where all Metro-North Railroad train lines end (soon the East Side Access project will connect the Long Island Rail Road there as well).<br />
While all other Metro-North stations are owned and managed by Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Grand Central Terminal is owned by Midtown TDR Ventures.<br />
We'll start outside, and work our way around inside, until we reach its very depths and heights. As you enter on 42nd Street, one can look up 48 ft (15 m) to see the statue of Minerva, Hercules and Mercury, titled "Glory of Commerce", which was designed by the French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan, and carved by the John Donnelly Company. Within the statue is the world's largest Tiffany clock, stretching 13 ft (4 m) across.<br />
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The clock was installed in 1914, but was heavily damaged throughout the years. In 1992, Rohlf’s Studio in Mt. Vernon began repairs. Since access to the clock was only available via one set of small stairs, it had to be disassembled piece by piece, and the repairs were not finished until 2004.<br />
Walking to the center of Grand Central Terminal, we find another amazing clock atop the information booth. Created in 1913, by Seth Thomas Clock Company of Connecticut, the clock is worth $10,000,000, due to the huge convex opal faces on all four sides. The top of the clock holds a compass, pointing to true north with 100% accuracy.<br />
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Still looking up, we now notice the ceiling of the Main Concourse. The astronomical design was the idea of Warren Vanderbilt, and it was completed by Hewlett-Basing Studio, with consultation by Warren's friend, portrait artist Paul César Helleu. Sadly, they screwed it up, and drew out the constellations backward (reversed left-to-right). Instead of admitting their mistake, the Vanderbilts claimed it was meant to be seen from the viewpoint of the Heavenly Father. Though that still makes no sense, if it were so, why would most of the star sequences be correct, but the constellation order out of place?<br />
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Now, if you look near Pisces, you may notice a small hole in the sky.<br />
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Myth has it that, in a 1957 bid to redress anxiety due to the successful launch of the Soviet's Sputnik satellite, a U.S. Mercury Redstone missile was displayed in the hall, but at 6 inches (15 cm) too long, they dug out a hole so the rocket could fit. While most of the facts are true, the reason for the hole is not. It is actually what remains from where they installed an anchor holding a stabilizing wire to the rocket's tip. Feel free to do the math: ceiling height = 125 ft (38 m), rocket length = 70 ft (21 m).<br />
On the other side of the ceiling, near the crab constellation known as Cancer, is a very fitting reminder about the hazards of smoking.<br />
By the 1980s, the ceiling was pitch black, and thought to be caused by diesel and coal engine smoke from the idling trains. In 1984, they performed Spectroscopic studies, and found it was actually nicotine and tar from cigarettes. It took 12 years to clean up the mess, but they left one brick as black as they found it, as a reminder of what many of us are doing to our lungs.<br />
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Now, look back to the photo of the Information Booth Clock, and one can see the windows in the background. As you may have noticed, there are walkways within those windows. Known as the "glass catwalks" - as they are made from sheets of glass block, fitted between metal girding - the walkways connect offices on either side of the building.<br />
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The view from up there is pretty great, too.<br />
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Back down on solid ground, we walk under many of the 35,000 exposed light bulbs...<br />
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...to the 2,000 sq-foot (186 sq-m) chamber between the Main Concourse and Vanderbilt Hall, just outside the Dining Concourse. Here, you will find what many call the "whisper gallery". To get a little thrill, just plant your nose in one of the corners, and whisper whatever you'd like to someone doing the same in an opposing corner.<br />
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Oddly enough, no one knows if this effect was purposefully created, or is a happy accident of its construction.<br />
As previously mentioned, Vanderbilt Hall is right next to the Dinning Concourse.<br />
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This area used to be Grand Central Terminal's waiting room, but is currently only used for special events or the terminal's yearly Christmas Market. Though roped off, one can venture in, and see the depressions made on the marble floor (worn out from 100 years of commuters' footsteps).<br />
Heading underground, thirteen storeys down in fact...<br />
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...we pass 500,000,000-year-old bedrock...<br />
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...into one of the world's deepest basements. The 49-acre (20 ha) sub-basement is the largest in the city. It holds one of the most infamous rooms, known as M-42, which accommodates the old rotary AC-to-DC converters. Though all rail lines now run off solid-state converters, these old machines once supplied track current, nonstop.<br />
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Because of that, the room isn't even on Terminal blueprints. Well, that, and fear of subterfuge.<br />
You see, in June of 1942, the Germans launched "Operation Pastorius", where four Abwehr agents were dropped off by submarine off the coast of Amagansett in Long Island (another four landed in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL). They were to sneak into M-42 with explosives, and destroy it, as well as a list of bridges, water treatment plants, and other rail stations.<br />
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The plan failed after one of the crew, George John Dasch (who disagreed with Nazi policies), gave up the rest.<br />
The room known as M-42 also has what is considered to be the world's first electronic computer. It was built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, in 1913, to help the terminal find trains that had broken down in tunnels. It was run through the use of an electric cord a conductor could pull if stalled, causing a bell to ring.<br />
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The system became obsolete by 1922, thanks to radio communication, but the computer is still on display, intact.<br />
Last stop for this post is just under the Waldorf Astoria Hotel...<br />
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...and is known as Roosevelt's Station, though officially titled Track 61.<br />
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The abandoned train line was built in 1929 for all sorts of VIPs, with the first to use the track being General John "Black Jack" Pershing in 1938. It was made most famous by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and used to hide his disability due to polio.<br />
The train that now sits there is said to be FDR's personal armored train car, but a simple internet search of the car's serial number shows it is an old Metro North Commuter baggage car parked there in 1985.<br />
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Still, the elevator that used to take FDR and other important folks up to the hotel is there, though - admittedly - not as exciting to see.<br />
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Thanks for coming with me this far, as I hope to continue to keep posting way past this anniversary.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-84015661273440552042016-11-14T06:10:00.000-08:002016-11-14T10:21:02.319-08:00The HoleAbout a year ago, I posted how - if you wanted to visit a part of New York City that was more small-town, than big-city - you should visit the Vinegar Hill district of Brooklyn (<a href="http://thishiddencity.blogspot.com/2015/12/quarters-aka-commandants-house.html" target="_blank">click here to read more</a>). If even that spot seems too urban for you, I would suggest a visit to an area known as "The Hole".<br />
This is a part of the city that is almost completely rural in look, and feel, yet still retains a very New York quality.<br />
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It's a place where the sidewalks inexplicably end into wooded areas...<br />
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...and the puddles never seem to drain.<br />
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Located on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, the five-block area is disputed to be a part of East New York, Howard Beach or Ozone Park, but neither neighborhood claim it as part of their district.<br />
Located on the north side of Linden Blvd, between S Conduit Ave and Drew St, the whole place lies 10 meters (32ft) below sea level, and is prone to severe flooding.<br />
The following photo is of the intersection of Emerald St and Dumont Ave, with the last rain a week before the pic was taken.<br />
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Sadly, this has caused many of the residents to move out, leaving quite a number of abandoned single-family homes, giving the community its title of being a "lost neighborhood".<br />
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Some lovingly refer to the region as "the Wild West", and there are parts that do seem lawless.<br />
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Speaking of "Wild West", if you're done walking the area, and would still like to check out some of the history nearby, head over to where Linden Blvd meets S Conduit Ave. There sits an idyllic ranch that was once the home to the New York City Federation of Black Cowboys.<br />
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The organization was dedicated to keeping the memory and tradition of African-American cowboys alive, and honored the 8000+ black cowboys of the Western Frontier. The group held youth programs, rodeos, and visits from schools, using horsemanship to teach local youth important life skills.<br />
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The property now belongs to GallopNYC, a non-profit helping the disabled through therapeutic horsemanship, though if you hang around the area long enough, you may just spot one of the ol' wranglers.<br />
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A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-56491898438525841832016-10-17T03:57:00.000-07:002016-10-17T13:20:17.998-07:00John Bowne House + Old Quaker Meeting HouseIn the north-east section of Queens sits much of an old Dutch town, later absorbed by the expanding NYC borough. Flushing, originally called Vlissing, was established in 1645 by a charter of the Dutch West India Company (part of the New Netherland colony).<br />
The area is rich in the history of religious freedom, due to a theological battle between New Amsterdam Director-General Peter Stuyvesant, farmer John Bowne, and the local Quaker population. It seemed the religion of Quakerism was, at that time, prohibited by Puritanical decree. A group of thirty residents drafted, and signed, a petition known as The Flushing Remonstrance, on December 27, 1657, forcing the Dutch governance to allow freedom of religious practice.<br />
After George Fox founded the Religious Society of Friends (more commonly known as Quakers) in England, he traveled to "the New World", and began preaching in a small grove of oak trees in Flushing, 1672. There now stands a pyramid-shaped rock to memorialize the spot where many congregated to hear him speak.<br />
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Directly across the street is John Bowne's house. <br />
Despite the ban on Quakers, Bowne held meetings in his home, and he was soon arrested by Stuyvesant. After expulsion to Holland, John appealed, and won his case to worship freely.<br />
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Built in 1661, the site was also a stop in the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. <br />
Though additions have been added to the original structure, much of the interior is preserved, and holds furniture, clothing, and work tools, dating back to when it was originally constructed.<br />
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Located at 37-01 Bowne Street, family members lived in the home until 1947, when they donated it to the city as a museum. It was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. <br />
Now, walking north, one turns west (left) on Northern Blvd to see the original Flushing Town Hall.<br />
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Built in 1862, it was the seat of the Flushing town government, until the area was consolidated with New York City in 1898. The building became a New York City Landmark in 1968, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.<br />
Just across the boulevard is the Old Quaker Meeting House.<br />
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After returning to the Americas, John Bowne bought the land in 1692, and, now free to hold Quaker services, quickly began work on a house of worship. Finished in 1694, the first recorded meeting was held on November 24th, making it one of the oldest religious chapels in the United States.<br />
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In 1776, the house was seized by the British, and converted to barracks, as well as a hospital and prison. After the Revolutionary War, the Quakers were allowed to return in 1783.<br />
Along the rear of the building is the Quaker graveyard, which was established sometime in the 1670s, and is the reason the land was purchased to construct the meeting house. Though it is believed Bowne (and his wives) is buried here, Quakers did not use tombstones until 1820, so there is no way to know for certain. Graves of note include: abolitionists William Burling and Matthew Franklin; founder of The New York Gas Light Company, Samuel Leggett; John Murray, Jr., founders of the Free School Society and Society for the Manumission of Slaves.<br />
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The Landmark Preservation Commission designated the Old Quaker Meeting House a landmark in 1970.<br />
If you are still walking the neighborhood, looking for old churches and cemeteries, head south on Main Street to see St. George's Church.<br />
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While established in 1702, as a mission of the Church of England by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, their first church in the U.S. was not built until 1746. In 1821, after purchasing new land, a second church was constructed on its current property of 135-32 38th Avenue, though the building there now is the third structure on the site (constructed in 1854).<br />
In September of 2010, the infamous "Brooklyn Tornado" blew the 45-foot wooden steeple off the tower, crushing a NYC bus. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the steeple was rebuilt in 2013.<br />
The church is surrounded by a cemetery, which was in use until 1887. Grave markers (about fifty) and burial vaults (nine) are found throughout the grounds, except for its main entrance along Main St. It is believed a few graves actually lie under 38th Street's asphalt.<br />
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The church, as well as its graveyard, were made a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2000.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-83440078848123349472016-09-19T03:56:00.000-07:002016-09-19T22:02:46.417-07:00East Village Eccentricities Just like my "West Village Weird" pieces (see <a href="http://thishiddencity.blogspot.com/2015/07/west-village-weird-part-one.html" target="_blank">part one here</a>, and <a href="http://thishiddencity.blogspot.com/2015/07/west-village-weird-part-two.html" target="_blank">two here</a>), I'm setting this up as a walk through parts of the East Village, as well as a bit of the Lower East Side, in Manhattan.<br />
Unlike the West Village, the east side has less outlandish spots to see, but there are still quite a few interesting things about the area.<br />
We'll start out on an odd little lane, Stuyvesant Street, near the corner of 10th Street, where stands the oldest house in the Village.<br />
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Built for Nicholas William Stuyvesant in 1795, the building was made a landmark as part of the St. Mark’s Historic District in 1969. It is thought to be the third oldest residential home on the island of Manhattan. On the same block is No. 21, which was built in 1803, by Petrus Stuyvesant for his daughter Elizabeth. After she married Nicholas Fish, the property became known as the Stuyvesant Fish House.<br />
Walking a block over to the southeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 10th Street, we have the Yiddish Walk of Fame.<br />
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2nd Avenue was known as "Jewish Broadway" from 1890 through 1930, and when the owners of Second Avenue Deli thought to honor the local Yiddish community in 1985, they figured something similar to Hollywood's Walk of Fame in front of the restaurant might work. Though the names may be unfamiliar to most, the biggest celebrity on the sidewalk is Paul Muni (born: Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund) who played in <i>I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang</i>. In 1996, the owner, Abe Lebewohl, was murdered, and years later a dispute with his brother and the landlord closed the deli for good - it's now a bank.<br />
If you're into history, or just old buildings, and continue east on 10th Street, until you reach Avenue D, you have the old Dry Dock Banking House, at 145 Avenue D.<br />
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It is the third oldest building in the Village (and oldest in its Alphabet City section), as it was constructed in 1825. The place used to only house those working at the docks along the East River, but after the property was sold by the company, it became a boarding house up until 2005.<br />
Heading down, and west a bit, we come to Tompkins Square Park, as well as St Mark's Place - both having so many wonderfully weird things about them, that I wrote a whole piece last year (read that <a href="http://thishiddencity.blogspot.com/2015/08/tompkins-square-park-oddities.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
One place I didn't mention in that article is the Museum of the American Gangster. Located in the downstairs parlor of a building originally once owned by mobster Frank Hoffman, the spot was a jazz club in the 60s, where greats like John Coltrane played. After a few years as a theater run by Howard Otway, his son Lorcan turned it into what it is today. Though a bit steep in price, visitors can see crime-related items such as the bullet which killed Pretty Boyd Floyd, John Dillinger's death masks, and casings from the final shootout between the cops and Bonnie and Clyde.<br />
Back on 2nd Avenue, just north of St Mark's Place, one can see what many believe to be the most beautiful building in all the East Village: the Stuyvesant Polyclinic.<br />
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Constructed in 1884, in a neo-Italian Renaissance style (by German architect William Schickel), the facade of the building holds a number of terra cotta busts of philosophers, and scientists, such as Hippocrates, Linnaeus, Alexander von Humboldt, and Anders Celsius,<br />
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Known as the German Dispensary, they offered free medical care to the poor German Americans of what what then known as "Little Germany". During WWI's anti-German attitude, the clinic changed its name to Stuyvesant Polyclinic of the City of New York. By 1954, the hospital had treated its 6-millionth patient. Soon after the building was designated a landmark (1976), the clinic was bought out by the Cabrini Medical Center. Though closed in 2007, the Cabrini Center was founded by the first U.S. saint, Mother Cabrini, whose mummy lays in Washington Heights (see <a href="http://thishiddencity.blogspot.com/2014/02/on-rainy-and-foggy-saturday-i-went-to_3.html" target="_blank">my post about her here</a>).<br />
Further south, one can visit the Merchant's House Museum, also known as the Seabury Tredwell House. Located at 29 East Fourth Street, it is the only 19th Century home in the area that is completely left intact, inside and out. Built in 1832, by hat-maker Joseph Brewster, philanthropist, and cousin to the owning family, George Chapman, thought to make it a museum in 1936. With its well-preserved period rooms, the old home is known as "the most haunted building in Manhattan".<br />
Still on 2nd Avenue, but now between 2nd and 3rd Street is the New York Marble Cemetery.<br />
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Founded in 1830, it is Manhattan's oldest non-sectarian burial place, and it is believed that about 2,100 early New Yorkers have been interred on these grounds. Burials of note consist of Chief Engineer for the Erie Canal, Benjamin Wright; Stevens T. Mason, first governor of Michigan; and 1937 Whig mayor of NYC, Aaron Clark.<br />
The second oldest non-sectarian burial place in Manhattan is just one block west, at 52-74 East 2nd Street, with the similarly named New York City Marble Cemetery.<br />
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Establish as year after the New York Marble Cemetery, the graveyard holds 258 vaults made of Tuckahoe marble.<br />
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Designated a NYC landmark in 1969, notable burials include James Lenox (who helped form the New York Public Library) and Mayan archaeologist John Lloyd Stephens.<br />
If you're still looking to walk about, there are another handful of curious features nearby, though outside the East Village.<br />
In Little Italy, there is the marble plaque for Peter Caesar Alberti (who also has a marker in The Battery), out front of the Italian American Museum at 155 Mulberry St.<br />
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Alberti was a Venetian immigrant within the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, and is seen by many as the first Italian settler in the area.<br />
A few blocks northeast is the Mott Hardware Key at the entrance of 52 Kenmare Street.<br />
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The owner of Mott Hardware told me he installed the large work of art in the early 80s, so it's been there for over thirty years now.<br />
Lastly on this trip, one will head further east to Essex Street, just south of Delancey Street, where there is a plaque to commemorate the founding of the very first Jewish service organization, and quasi-Masonic lodge known as B'nai B'rith.<br />
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Led by Henry Jones, and eleven other German-Jewish immigrants, the group was founded at Aaron Sinsheimer's café (which used to be at 60 Essex Street) in October of 1843. Originally called Söhne des Bundes (translated: Sons of the Covenant), they formed to take on "the deplorable condition of Jews in this, our newly adopted country", according to fellow-founder Isaac Rosenbourg. Soon after forming, B'nai B'rith used its growing membership to gain political leverage, and were thanked with the curse of being forever listed by some conspiracy theorists as one of the many masks of the Illuminati.<br />
I'm unaware of anything else one should really take notice of in the immediate stretch, but by all means: if I missed anything, fill me in, as I'd love to take heed.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-65878263360989835742016-08-11T16:50:00.001-07:002016-08-12T03:59:45.824-07:00Hall of Fame for Great AmericansWhat is now known as Bronx Community College was once a part of the University Heights campus of New York University. Much of the original University was designed by architect Stanford White (in a Beaux Arts style), and constructed in 1900.<br />
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Upon the heights once occupied by the British army in the autumn of 1776 now stands the campus' library, which is a beautiful work of architecture - outside...</div>
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...and inside.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNKOIjuwD_rNc7ZNkDeDhkzyAvzEtJaSddIYrKasTLZzqKCjqjugpKS0bXXvYOpsM06jnC870EUj0H9F9mQBdNDRo5jGqnzArgCx7SDJtvG1pWdAamE8n9QeY8c8-KmrtV9ckh9uo8w/s1600/002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNKOIjuwD_rNc7ZNkDeDhkzyAvzEtJaSddIYrKasTLZzqKCjqjugpKS0bXXvYOpsM06jnC870EUj0H9F9mQBdNDRo5jGqnzArgCx7SDJtvG1pWdAamE8n9QeY8c8-KmrtV9ckh9uo8w/s640/002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoX_703Je3G4quxfvtUfGAt3oH5KbV-hA2-1RzYh1_GKkxitDBMY5gDBgP7U64DK1GufTc_6-fmp6mkZG1WuvM9oAq90wTXZgZkPvkTbj9jqWTwXnrv3ZKSwI9wkscj3pr1Ikm9mm1Kg/s1600/003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoX_703Je3G4quxfvtUfGAt3oH5KbV-hA2-1RzYh1_GKkxitDBMY5gDBgP7U64DK1GufTc_6-fmp6mkZG1WuvM9oAq90wTXZgZkPvkTbj9jqWTwXnrv3ZKSwI9wkscj3pr1Ikm9mm1Kg/s640/003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Just behind the building is the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.</div>
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Considered the first "hall of fame" in the U.S., the open-air colonnade was built at the same time as the college, and was the idea of Chancellor of New York University, Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken, though donated by Helen Gould, and dedicated to her in May of 1901.</div>
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The sculpture gallery contains close to 100 portrait busts of famous Americans, and is split up into sections, such as authors, inventors, artists, soldiers and politicians.</div>
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Many of the Great Americans found in the hall truly deserve to be here (though shocked there is no bust for Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain). Some included are: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitl6WVyHnDcAxv_ZE0h839UYe40_GKBei77ieQJq-MCYXufXIx3E1iO7AqYbOTlxJCB3JpPOEadBfE8zYEK6gc0_fQvRs1mxygHPwQLgqAmMRfPkcCsRwDTLmD-sikF9Hjpp1LSQdpdg/s1600/Ben+Franklin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitl6WVyHnDcAxv_ZE0h839UYe40_GKBei77ieQJq-MCYXufXIx3E1iO7AqYbOTlxJCB3JpPOEadBfE8zYEK6gc0_fQvRs1mxygHPwQLgqAmMRfPkcCsRwDTLmD-sikF9Hjpp1LSQdpdg/s640/Ben+Franklin.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Benjamin Franklin</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Booker T. Washington</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Edgar Allan Poe</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">George Washington Carver</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Harriet Beecher Stowe</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWyTg12Z5V-SQH2WlnCdjl3EtunjqloKRRi35IF7BkTx4p86Uk-oRcxCp7vzLylYRazgQR-kfoqkMx-Olq3ZP7RoX-ec1RRMZkYI1MGC37nHBBKlMWtaM73tdrLGjOUOmt11qk0FPxg/s1600/Susan+B+Anthony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWyTg12Z5V-SQH2WlnCdjl3EtunjqloKRRi35IF7BkTx4p86Uk-oRcxCp7vzLylYRazgQR-kfoqkMx-Olq3ZP7RoX-ec1RRMZkYI1MGC37nHBBKlMWtaM73tdrLGjOUOmt11qk0FPxg/s640/Susan+B+Anthony.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Susan B. Anthony</span></div>
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Now, there are a few statues a handful of modern historians wish were not on display, like Andrew Jackson...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbxc7H-l5f7N54yPWF1Ltp_5OVf3L3IhhlPN9iTjZRrvVeJTk2QWHAIEiW4MtYIawmJfBVHnwYTOqA1tEUpLA2kZ6Gq2g4TMUzXhXW_CnakcfpIicBHKpBsbYf524Cio4Cd-ZEYhzDw/s1600/Andrew+Jackson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbxc7H-l5f7N54yPWF1Ltp_5OVf3L3IhhlPN9iTjZRrvVeJTk2QWHAIEiW4MtYIawmJfBVHnwYTOqA1tEUpLA2kZ6Gq2g4TMUzXhXW_CnakcfpIicBHKpBsbYf524Cio4Cd-ZEYhzDw/s640/Andrew+Jackson.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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...but there is one bust that baffles many more as to why it's here, especially since it was placed so soon after the Civil War: Robert E. Lee.</div>
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Due to financial troubles, the campus was sold to the City University of New York in 1973, and it became Bronx Community College. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans fell into disrepair years before the sale, and though new busts were elected to be included (Clara Barton, and Andrew Carnegie), no new ones had been added, besides Franklin D. Roosevelt - which looks much different than the other statues, possibly since it took nineteen years to raise the $25 grand for its commission).</div>
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NY state spent $3 million restoring the colonnade's foundation in 1978, with another $1 million in 2001 for restoration, and expansion.</div>
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While there is not much else to see in the immediate area, the outdoor hall is still a great location for quite reflection, philosophic thought, or just to catch some great views of the cliffs of New Jersey's Hudson River Palisades.</div>
A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-86584153576224101562016-07-11T02:03:00.000-07:002016-07-25T21:31:12.918-07:00Old Calvary CemeteryQueens has such an old, and large, cemetery, it stretches out over two neighborhoods (Maspeth and Woodside) in four sections. Established in 1848, after Old St. Patrick's Cathedral purchased the original 71 acres of land, Calvary Cemetery is now the resting place for three million Roman Catholics, on 365 acres.<br />
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The oldest section is known as First Calvary (or Old Calvary), which is sandwiched between the Long Island Expressway and Review Avenue in Maspeth. It is most famous for the views of Manhattan, as well as being able to photograph tombstones, with dramatic buildings in the background.<br />
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Esther Ennis, who was said to have died of a "broken heart", was the first to be buried there, on July 31 of 1848. With interment only costing $7 (per adult), the graveyard was having close to fifty burials a day.<br />
The site was once accessible by ferry from 23rd Street, but that stopped in the early 1900s, a little after moving it to 10th Street.<br />
Noted graves here include that of Hall of Fame baseball player, Mickey Welch; the actress who played Aunt Jemima, Tess Gardella; composer, Joseph E. Howard; American Civil War officer and commander of the Irish Brigade, Richard Byrnes; NYC mayor, Hugh J. Grant; plus crime figures Ignatius "Lupo the Wolf" Lupo, and Benjamin "Lefty Two Guns" Ruggiero.<br />
Within the cemetery is a small city park called Calvary Veterans Park, and it holds the Calvary Monument honoring the 69th Infantry Regiment of New York.<br />
Movie buffs might like to scene-spot, when they find that Don Corleone's funeral in <i>The Godfather</i> was filmed in Old Calvary. So as not to seem highbrow, a scene in <i>Zoolander</i> was, too.<br />
Though some may think me morbid, aside from the gravemarker/city photos one can take, I find a lot of this place to be rather photogenic.<br />
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Old Calvary was full by 1867, and the Archdiocese of New York soon expanded the cemetery, adding more sections. While still in use today, Calvary only accepts immediate inhumation, and does not sell plots to those looking towards the future, so look elsewhere in advance, or write it up in your will.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-44024048498394966732016-06-09T03:40:00.002-07:002016-06-09T03:40:39.027-07:00The CloistersOne of the lesser known museums in New York City can be found within the Hudson Heights' section of Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan. Known as The Cloisters, it is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and only holds medieval European works, which mostly belonged to American sculptor George Grey Barnard.<br />
The original collection was purchased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., soon after he commissioned the planning of Ft. Tryon Park in 1917, though construction of the museum did not start until 1934.<br />
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Overseen by architect Charles Collens, parts of five French abbeys (Sant Miquel de Cuixà, Sant Guilhèm dau Desèrt, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigòrra, and Froville) were transported - brick by brick - and reconstructed to make up most of the museum, from 1934 to 1939.<br />
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By the time the museum was finished, Rockefeller donated the land to the city of New York, as well as a large portion of his medieval art in addition to the Barnard acquisitions, including the famous "Hunt of the Unicorn" tapestry of 1495.<br />
While the five French abbeys (listed above) consist much of the architecture of The Cloisters, there are also a number of chapels within the building, such as the Gothic chapel of the church of Saint Leonhard (from Austria, Spain - dated 1340)...<br />
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...to the Fuentidueña Apse (dated 1175), which was part of the San Martín church at Castile-León, Spain.<br />
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Besides the architecture, there are about five thousand works of art (from the 12th to 15th Centuries) to be found throughout the museum - including statues...<br />
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...jewelry...<br />
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...stained glass, manuscripts, tapestries, paintings, religious items...<br />
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...and a number of tomb effigies.<br />
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The museum also has a library, which is only one of Metropolitan Museum's thirteen, and it holds 15,000 books, as well as the original museum glass lantern slides, dealer and scholars records, and plenty of old maps,<br />
Though closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day, The Cloisters is open daily, 10am until almost 5pm, and there is only a suggested donation, but do be generous.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-32548794622463319562016-05-23T04:36:00.000-07:002016-05-23T09:52:32.248-07:00Quester I (Calvert Vaux Park) and the Coney Island Parachute JumpThere isn't much to see in Calvert Vaux Park in Gravesend, Brooklyn, but if you happen to be in the area, do check out its shoreline. The park's ground was created out of sand, and rock, trenched from the construction of the Verazanno-Narrows Bridge, and while it holds a few baseball diamonds, and a soccer field, the real reason those who visit this blog would want to stop by would be to check out the remains of Quester I, an abandoned submarine.<br />
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In 1966, a Brooklyn Navy Yard ship worker named Jerry Bianco had the idea to build a small submarine to raise the wreck of the <i>SS Andrea Doria</i>, which shipwrecked off the coast of Nantucket Island on July 17, 1956.<br />
After finding a handful of investors, he, and his two sons, began construction the following year, using mostly salvaged metal.<br />
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By 1970, he had finished his dream, and created a 40 ft (12 m), 83 ton (75 metric ton) submarine, painted with yellow zinc chromate. It passed Coast Guard and Navy inspections, and was ready to launch on October 19, 1970.<br />
Sadly, when lowering it into Coney Island Creek, the crane operator did not listen to Bianco's instructions, and the sub tipped sideways making it unusable.<br />
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Then docked, Jerry worked on the submersible for another year or so, but investors - already weary from its poor launch - backed out, and, without funding, the Quester I just sat there for years.<br />
A storm in 1981 loosened it from its posts, and it became lodged in the muddy banks of the creek, where it has sat since.<br />
If you're into dystopian landscapes, or have a case of cacophilia, keep walking along the shore of the park, and you will see sights that will certainly delight you.<br />
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If you're on the Coney Island side of the creek, you can still see the Quester I submarine from Kaiser Park, though nowhere near as close as if you were on the Gravesend side.<br />
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Still, being on this side of Coney Island Creek does have its advantages, such as seeing the old Parachute Jump up close.<br />
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Originally constructed for the 1939 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens, the now-defunct ride was moved to Coney Island in 1941, as part Steeplechase Amusement Park. It is the only ride, and part, of that park still around today.<br />
Built by the Life Savers candy company for $15,000, two passengers were strapped into one of twelve seats under a closed parachute, then lifted by a cable to the top. There, a latch system would open, dropping them, with their descent slowed by the chute. Each two-person seat took three people to manage, making the ride rather expensive to operate, though it cost adults only 40¢, and children 25¢.<br />
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Steeplechase Park bought the tower for $150,000, and the complete ride was disassembled, and moved to its current location.<br />
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While the park closed in 1964, the Parachute Jump was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and New York City recognized it as a landmark in 1989.<br />
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In 2004, Leni Schwendinger Light Projects was commissioned to create LED lighting for the Parachute Jump. Using 8,000 LED lights, the project debuted in July of 2006, with six computer-programmed animated lighting scenarios.<br />
There were other parks in the area, such as Astroland (1962 - 2008), but, like Steeplechase Park, many of its rides were taken down a little after closing, though some stayed for much longer.<br />
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In 2013, the current funfair, Luna Park, was evacuated because one of the last remaining rides from Astroland, the Astrotower (aka Tower to the Stars), began swaying. Within days, the gyro-tower was gone, and Coney Island's scenery changed once again.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-21608045858519731862016-05-10T02:38:00.000-07:002016-08-23T14:23:48.662-07:00Houdini's GraveIn Glendale, Queens there is a necropolis known as the "Cemetery Belt"; a large group of graveyards pushed there due to the need for space thanks to the Rural Cemeteries Act of 1847. Among them (not too far from the J train, walking north on Cypress Hill Street) sits a small a Jewish mortuary called Machpelah Cemetery.<br />
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Most of the memorial park is abandoned, and unkempt, with even the office buildings being empty - one of which was bulldozed in 2014. Walking around, one can see why this funerary ground has many dubbing it the creepiest grave site in the city.<br />
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There are few sights to see here, besides two graves of note, both of which are in the same family plot.<br />
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Here lies Eric Weiss, who - at 17 years of age - changed his name to Harry Houdini.<br />
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On Halloween of 1926, world famous magician, and escape-artist, Houdini died of peritonitis, due to a ruptured appendix, because two days before some idiot unexpectedly (and purposefully) punched him in the stomach several times, as he was reclining in recovery from a broken ankle.<br />
In pain, Houdini went on to perform his last show at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, MI. After his death, his body was returned to New York, and buried on November 4th, with over 2,000 in attendance.<br />
Though the crest of the Society of American Magicians adorns his family's plot...<br />
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...many locals were upset when a bust of his likeness was added the following year, because images of the dead are not allowed in Jewish cemeteries.<br />
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This has not stopped vandals from either destroying or stealing it, as it has been desecrated four times between 1975 and 1993. The Society of American Magicians gave up replacing it, and even stopped care of the grounds. In 2011, the Harry Houdini Museum in Scranton, PA, replaced the bust, and decided to pay for someone to take care of the grave site.<br />
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The other distinguished burial here is of Ferenc Dezső Weiss, who was Houdini's younger brother, and was also a magician and escape artists, billing under the name Theodore Hardeen.<br />
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Hardeen was the first to perform escape stunts in view of the audience, over hiding behind a curtain. He had also starred in a few movies, such as the Warner Bros short <i>Medium Well Done</i>, and the hilariously bizarre 1941 film <i>Hellzapoppin'</i>.<br />
At 69 years old, he died of complications during surgery, only a year after he founded the Magician's Guild.<br />
If you are thinking of visiting, I would suggest any day of the week, besides Saturdays when the gates are locked due to Shabbat, as well as Houdini's death anniversary of Halloween, because of the deluge of fans, and the curious, plus there tends to be a heavy police presence.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-37317895558795053092016-04-20T04:31:00.000-07:002016-04-20T04:31:58.456-07:00African Burial Ground National MonumentIn 1991, a $275 million project began for the construction of a federal office building at 290 Broadway in the Civic Center section of Lower Manhattan. In October of that year, the General Services Administration announced that intact burials from the largest colonial-era cemetery for freed and enslaved Africans had been discovered during excavations. Though an Environmental Impact Statement was commissioned upon purchase of the site, archaeological surveys predicted no remains would be found, due to the long history of development in the area.<br />
As the GSA attempted construction and excavation at the same time, the African-American community felt the graves were not receiving proper respect, and the area required a more thorough archaeological study, as well as a plan to protect the remains.<br />
In 1992, they halted construction, and a fund was set up to handle further excavations. In total, 420 burials were found, but historians estimate 15,000 to 20,000 were buried during the 1700s, in what was called the "Negroes Burial Ground", which is New York's earliest known African-American cemetery.<br />
While the site became a National Historic Landmark in 1993, and the Ted Weiss Federal Building was soon finished, an area was set aside to rebury the remains. Congress approved the funds for a memorial in 2003, and it was made a National Monument in 2006, though the monument was not completed until 2007.<br />
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Made of granite, from South Africa and the United States to symbolize both coming together, the 25 ft (8 m) shrine holds, within an area named the "Circle of Diaspora", a map of the Atlantic ocean known as the Middle Passage, where slaves were transported from Africa to North America. One may enter the circle via the Ancestral Libation Chamber, through "The Door of Return", which is in reference to "The Door of No Return" (a name given to West African ports involved in the slave trade). The mounds located before the monument's door are where the remains were reinterred .<br />
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In 2010, a museum was opened inside the Ted Weiss Federal Building, to give visitors a history of the finds, as well as of the site. Within the permanent exhibit, "Reclaiming Our History", Amaze Design and Studio EIS created a life-size depiction of African immigrants performing a funeral for an adult and child. There is also a wall with all 420 photos of the remains found...<br />
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...as well as artifacts of those inhumed, including money, jewelry, clothing and tools, plus a replica of the wooden Ghana reburial coffins where the deceased were re-entombed.<br />
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Once done with your visit there, you can walk a few blocks over, just behind 1 Police Plaza, to also see the last remnant of the Rhinelader Sugar House that was believed to have once been used as a prison by British forces during the American Revolutionary War.<br />
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Just off Duane Street, the window is embedded into a wall of a small utility building behind the New York Police Department Headquarters, and dates to 1763. The sugar shack / sap house was replaced by an eleven-storey loft building called Rhinelander Building in 1892. That multi-unit home was demolished in 1968 to make way for the NYPD HQ.<br />
If you'd like to see more of the old Rhinelader Sugar House you'll have to visit Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, which holds a large section of the building, but I'm saving more on that stop for another post.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-51677113007642134982016-04-08T04:43:00.000-07:002016-04-08T21:26:15.455-07:00The Rarely Seen of Central ParkI don't often cover highly trafficked spots here, but if you're stuck with a group who wants to go to Central Park, why not show them to what often goes unnoticed in Manhattan's largest natural ground?<br />
With over 40 million visitors per year, there are a few areas often not trampled by tourists, though sites like the Alice In Wonderland statue are definitely a sight to see.<br />
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Commissioned by philanthropist George Delacorte, created by Spanish sculptor José de Creeft, and cast by Modern Art Foundry of Long Island City, the bronze statue was dedicated in 1959, and contains seven bronze plaques with the lines from the poem <i>The Jabberwocky</i>.<br />
Otherwise, we'll begin in the northwestern section of the grounds, and work our way around, starting with Blockhouse No. 1, which is the second oldest structure in Central Park.<br />
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While the foundation dates back to the time of British occupation, the fort that now stands there was finished in 1814, for the War of 1812, two days before the Treaty of Ghent was signed.<br />
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Assembled by volunteers out of red sandstone blocks carved from the Manhattan bedrock, under the direction of General Joseph Gardner Swift, the station was built awaiting a British invasion that never came. It was later used for storing ammunition, and then as a location to celebrate patriotic holidays.<br />
While continuing south, one can stroll through the North Woods for some bird-watching, and find themselves in The Ravine, which holds many wonderful man-made waterfalls that flow from the stream known as The Loch. Created by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the area was planned as an escape from the urban environment, and is one of the few spots in the park where you cannot see the city.<br />
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The area also has Huddlestone Arch...<br />
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...and Glen Span Arch.<br />
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Walking the west side of the park, the next stop stems from 89th to 81st Street, and is called Seneca Village.<br />
Nearly 200 years ago, it was the largest community of free African-American property owners in New York City, after Andrew Williams and Epiphany Davis purchased land there in 1825. By 1855 the area had 250 residents, and held 70 houses, but public acquisition of the land began the following year. The New York State legislature authorized the use of eminent domain, and moved out the close to 1,600 people who lived within the range zoned for the creation of Central Park.<br />
After public interest grew, archaeologists and scholars began excavation of the site in the late 90s, with the founding of The Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History in 1998. One of the foundations of the homes can be seen just south of Mariner's Gate Playground, near West 84th Street.<br />
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Now going into a section of the park known as The Ramble (also part of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's 1857 "Greensward" plan), it is another section of the park meant to be a getaway from the bustle of city life. There you can find the Ramble Cave.<br />
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Originally discovered filled with fertile soil, the cave was soon emptied. Though opened as a popular attraction near the Ramble Arch, the entrance was sealed off in the 1930s. Along the public path, one can still see the steps leading to the cave's opening.<br />
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Throughout The Ramble (as well as much of the park), you can also see many of the 450 million-year-old boulders pushed here by the Wisconsin glacier about 12,000 years ago.<br />
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The next location is normally kept secret, so it's for serious hunters only: the Central Park Bolt.<br />
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Found north of 65th Street, in line with The Dairy, the survey bolt is believed to be one of the only left from John Randel's city grid, known as The Commissioners’ Plan of 1811.<br />
Heading back north, and on the eastern side of the park, we come across the King Jagiello Monument.<br />
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This statue is of of king of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Władysław II Jagiełło. Built for the 1939 New York World's Fair, by Polish sculptor Stanisław K. Ostrowski (commemorating the Battle of Grunwald in 1410), it originally stood at the Fair's entrance. The bronze monument was a replica of a memorial in Warsaw, but that one was converted into bullets by Germans after the occupation of their capital during World War II. The replica was moved to Central Park in July of 1945, and unveiled by Polish Count Józef Kazimierz Krasicki.<br />
Just a few steps north, and behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art is an obelisk from Heliopolis, Egypt. It dates to the time of the 18th Dynasty of Thutmose III (1479 - 1425 BCE), and actually has nothing to do with the reign of Cleopatra.<br />
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You can read more about the oldest, man-made object, found outdoors in New York City, as well as see other photos, in an earlier <i>This Hidden City</i> post <a href="http://thishiddencity.blogspot.com/2014/06/cleopatras-needle.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Keep walking north on the park's east side, and you will come to the Conservatory Garden, designed by Gilmore D. Clarke, landscape architect for Robert Moses. The entrance is the old Vanderbilt Gate, that previously allowed access to the courtyard of Cornelius Vanderbilt II's chateau on 58th Street and 5th Avenue. While this is a nice break on this walk, I'm more interested in letting you know about the remains of the 1842 Academy of Mount St. Vincent, now known as McGowan’s Pass.<br />
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The Academy closed in 1850, and was replace by a hotel, as well as a museum, and a tavern. The first tavern burned down in 1881, and another (McGown’s Pass Tavern) was built in its place. While torn down in 1917, the original foundations are still there, but Central Park Conservancy uses much of the field for the production of mulch and compost.<br />
Right nearby is Fort Clinton, and its two cannons - one of which is 230 years old, and was recently (2013) found to be fully loaded.<br />
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The once-armed weapon was from a sunken British ship in the East River. It was donated to the park in 1865, and moved around, until finally installed at Fort Clinton in 1905. Removed in 1996 by the Central Park Conservancy to protect it from vandalism, workers cleaning it found it was still loaded. The gunpowder has since been removed, but the cannonball is still within the chamber.<br />
For jazz fans, the last item of note is for you, and while it may seem outside the boundaries of Central Park, it is considered part of it. It's a small circle plot on the very northeast corner, known as Duke Ellington Circle (formerly named Frawley Circle), at 110th Street and Fifth Avenue, and it holds a 25 ft (7.6 m) tall, bronze statute of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, and his piano, held up by nine nude caryatids.<br />
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The memorial was created by Mexican sculptor Robert Graham, and erected in 1997, thanks to the Duke Ellington Memorial Fund.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-40465494820323822532016-03-21T03:39:00.000-07:002016-03-27T09:59:34.557-07:00New York City HallThe oldest city hall in the United States stands in Manhattan's Civic Center district, between Broadway, Chambers Street, and Park Way. While it is the nations longest continuously-operating government building, it is actually the city's third city hall.<br />
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The architects who won the 1802 design competition, are a true testament to New York City's multiculturalism: U.S. architect John McComb, Jr., and freed slave Joseph-François Mangin (some accounts say he was born in Haiti, others France). Mangin, who designed St. Patrick's Old Cathedral on Mulberry Street, and McComb, who designed Castle Clinton, were jointly awarded a prize of $350.<br />
Under construction from 1803 to 1812 (delayed due to City Council's objection that the design was excessive), it was built in a Federalist style, emulating much of what was being built in Paris at that time.<br />
New York City Hall is listed as a National Historic Landmark, and is on the National Register of Historic Places, with landmark designation in 1966 for its exterior, and again in 1976 for the interior.<br />
Before ascending the steps to enter, there is a large plaque on the ground, which commemorates the first excavations for the city's subway system.<br />
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After entering, one will notice the amazing American-Georgian interior design of marble, sandstone, limestone, and painted wood...<br />
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...which leads to one of the United States' largest floating marble stairways.<br />
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Before heading up the stairs to the second floor, take a look up to see the rotunda's dome.<br />
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Sadly, it is the second dome, as the first burned down during a 1858 firework show for the celebration of the laying of the Transatlantic cable. The copper statue of Justice, atop the outside of the dome, is also a replica of the first that came crashing down with the dome, and, strangely, is one of the few in the U.S. to not be blindfolded.<br />
Most rooms within the Hall are not locked, except for one, the Governor's Room, which is normally opened only for tours, or special guests.<br />
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The room holds a large portion of the of the building's oil portrait collection (which is estimated to be worth a total of $100 million), as well as George Washington's desk (seen below at the center of the room).<br />
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Also, if one feels politically motivated, you may take part in Council meetings in the Hall's Council Chambers.<br />
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One may attend Committee, and Stated Meetings to voice your opinion on public matters, which are held twice a month, and are a proud distinction to our admirable democracy. A full listing of public meetings is available at <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Calendar.aspx" target="_blank">this link</a>.<br />
On a morbid side note, this room's balcony was also the scene of a murder.<br />
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While New York City Hall briefly held the bodies of Abraham Lincoln, as well as Ulysses S. Grant, and Colonel Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth (the first Union officer killed in the Civil War), the first to lay in state, due to political assassination within the grounds, was Brooklyn Councilman James E. Davis. In 2003, Othniel B. Askew shot and killed Davis on the balcony of the Council Chamber. A plainclothes policeman, Richard Burt, then shot Askew from the ground floor, hitting him five times, and he later died at Beekman Downtown Hospital.<br />
Anyhow, whether you visit to let your civic voice be heard, or just to see a piece if this city's history, I highly recommend it, and there are groups (such as New York Adventure Club - <a href="http://www.nyadventureclub.com/" target="_blank">link here</a>), that hold after-hours tours of the building.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-20342343406997259242016-03-09T03:54:00.000-08:002016-03-09T03:54:20.519-08:00Moore-Jackson Cemetery + Athens Square ParkOne of the older cemeteries in New York City sits in a crowded section of Woodside, Queens.<br />
The Moore-Jackson Cemetery was first established a little before 1733 on the farmland of Samuel Moore. Samuel was the son of the first reverend of Newtown, Long Island, John Moore, whose family settled the area in 1652. It is thought that Newtown Pippen apples originated from this farm.<br />
While the cemetery's address is "officially" between 31-30 to 31-36 on 54th Street (as the grave markers are visible from there), the entrance is on 51st Street.<br />
One can walk through the graveyard, to view - up close - some of the memorials, such as the well-preserved tombstone of Augustine Moore...<br />
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...as well as other headstones that haven't stood the test of time very well.<br />
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The vacant farmhouse was dismantled in 1901, and during excavations in 1919, it was discovered that the grave site held a total of 42 burials, with surnames including: Jackson, Hallet, Rapelye, Fish, Berrian, and Mecke.<br />
The Works Progress Administration reburied the remains, along with arranging the remaining gravestones in 1936. The area was finally acknowledged as a New York City landmark in 1997, and is now managed by the Queens Historical Society.<br />
If you are still looking for something somewhat nearby, check out Athens Square Park, which is on 30th Avenue, between 29th and 30th Street. The 30-minute walk will certainly let one take in the breadth and compass of Queens.<br />
Named for the modern capitol of Greece, due to the sizable Greek-American population in Astoria, the park first opened as a simple playground in 1967, after it was acquired as public land in 1963. Reconstruction began in 1990, thanks to a one-million dollar restoration project; adding a central court, an small amphitheater, recreational space, plus seating areas along the perimeter, and sculptures throughout the park. In 1993, the first of many bronze statues was unveiled (of philosopher Socrates, and designed by artist Anthony Frudakis). Many of the following icons were donated by mayors of Athens, as well as other cities throughout Greece.<br />
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In 1996, three fluted Doric columns of granite, as well as a curved entablature atop, were built to echo the Tholos of Athena Pronaia in Delphi.<br />
Every summer, the park holds a number of Hellenic-themed festivals, not to mention concerts of Greek music, old and new.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-80847499830551764632016-02-22T03:23:00.000-08:002016-02-22T03:23:21.685-08:00The Toynbee Tiles of NYCFirst some history for those not familiar with what a Toynbee Tile is.<br />
Though no one really knows who created, or exactly why this strange form of street art exists, many believe the mystery has been solved by Justin Duerr, and his amazing documentary <i>Ressurect Dead</i>.<br />
The story goes that, for over 30 years, one Philadelphia man has used linoleum tiles, and an asphalt compound, to spread his near-schizophrenic message of life-after-death, through a hole in the floor of his car. By placing the tiles onto the street to be constantly run over, the tiles would be pushed into the road to create an almost permanent display of his ideas.<br />
Staring in Philadelphia in the early 1980s, and spreading throughout the Northeast in the 90s (as far south as Washington D.C., and as north as Boston, MA), a few have also been spotted in the Midwest (such as Missouri), and even one in South America - with New York having the largest collection outside of Pennsylvania.<br />
The messages, though brief, are thought to originally stem from the book, <i>Experiences</i>, by British philosopher Arnold J. Toynbee, and mixed with some sci-fi from the 1968 movie <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>, which was written by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. Nevertheless, the information contained in the tiles has been known to change from time to time, and some even include stories of secret government attacks on the "artist".<br />
It is now accepted that whoever placed the tiles thinks we can colonize the planet Jupiter with the souls of all human life that have died so far.<br />
There is a wonderful interactive map of all the so-far-discovered pieces (link <a href="http://www.toynbeeidea.com/portfolio/where/" target="_blank">here</a>), which I used to catalog those in New York City.<br />
While there are many spread throughout Manhattan, like the one on the corner of Church and Warren Streets in Downtown...<br />
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...most can be found in the Midtown area.<br />
By taking a walk south on Broadway, starting at 42nd Street, then a left on 35th, heading south again on 6th Avenue to 27th Street, and then north on 5th Avenue from 31st to 38th Street, one can find all those pictured below.<br />
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Try seeing how many you can spot along your way.<br />
Since the tile work has garnered a bit of infamy, there are quite a few fakes, with varying degrees of competence in the original method.<br />
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Happy hunting, and I look forward to someone turning this into some kind of scavenger hunt.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-11500254729483641842016-02-10T03:34:00.000-08:002016-02-10T19:03:38.366-08:00Irving Avenue and Moffat Street, QueensMany are going to ask, "What's so weird about this one corner?" and I'm here to answer.<br />
The end of Irving Avenue, where it meets Moffat Street, in Ridgewood, Queens, is the most radioactive spot in the entire state of New York, and would be the northeast's if not for NJ's McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County (called "the most contaminated base" in 2007 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency).<br />
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In 1918, chemical engineer Alcan Hirsch, and his brother, mining chief Marx Hirsch, opened a chemical plant where today sits most of the businesses on Irving Ave's north side. In 1920, they christen it Hirsch Laboratories, and later added the mining company Molybdenum Corporation (aka Molycorp). The Hirsch brothers sold the lab in 1923 to Harry Wolff and Max Alport, who renamed it Wolff-Alport Chemical Company, but continued their mining operations, and supplied W-A Chemical with the rare-earth metals needed to produce a huge list of products.<br />
The plant processed Monazite sand, which, when treated with Sulfuric Acid, separates into the rare-earth Sodium Sulfate, but also the radioactive waste known as Thorium Pyrophosphate.<br />
It wasn't till the United States’ nuclear weapons program in 1942, known as the Manhattan Project, that Thorium became useful. Until 1947, when the Atomic Energy Commission began to purchase the fertile heavy element from Wolff-Alport, and for the full 20-years prior, the Thorium waste was simply dumped into the area's sewers.<br />
In 1974, the Department of Energy created the FUSRAP initiative, which stands for "Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program", in an attempt to clean up environmental contamination, but it wasn't until 1987 that they notified New York City officials about the dangerous pollutants that stemmed from the Wolff-Alport plant. From 1988 to 2006, tests claimed the levels of radiation in the area were below regulatory limits, but broader tests in 2010 proved this was untrue.<br />
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The land where the chemical depot once stood is now Los Primos Auto Repair and Sale (1127 Irving Ave), and - if you ask nicely - the owner may show you the arches where the kilns once scorched apart the Monazite sand.<br />
While a single X-ray may subject someone to 10 millirem of radiation, a worker at Los Primos is exposed to about 300 millirem per year (100 per year is deemed the highest "safe" dose).<br />
It is said the site is not a danger to those who visit once or twice, but it's so bad within the auto-body shop, the Environmental Protection Agency has asked that no employee rest on their back within the premises, even though a sandwich of 2 inches (5 cm) of steel, 2 inches of lead, and another 2 inches of steel has been laid down under almost the entire block, by the E.P.A., to prevent further spoliation from gamma radiation.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-6009860822334733232016-01-18T14:52:00.002-08:002016-01-28T15:16:41.862-08:00Waterside Plaza (aka Bristol Basin)Nestled along the East River stands Waterside Plaza. Located on the east side of FDR Drive, between 25th to 30th Street. It holds some wonderful views of Brooklyn...<br />
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...Queens, and Roosevelt Island.</div>
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Designed in 1966 by the architecture firm Davis, Brody & Associates, the first building was opened in 1973. Originally a housing development, the Waterside Management Company threw $35 million towards a three-year improvement program in 2004, publicly opening the four towers of 1,470 units and 25 townhouses to all.</div>
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What makes this triangular-shaped landmass so interesting is that it's mostly made up of rubble from England. The structures were built atop a landfill created using debris from the city of Bristol after its bombing by the German Luftwaffe during World War II.</div>
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Brought over in the ballast of ships, the buildings were later constructed on a platform with 2,000 pilings dug 80 feet deep into the scree on the shore of Kips Bay.</div>
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The area was to be expanded in the 1980s, but scrapped due to resistance by the community, as well as environmental concerns.</div>
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The United Nations International School is located just to the south of the complex, with - fittingly enough - the British International School of New York holding lease in a number of the commercial spaces.</div>
A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-2670038152649346462016-01-11T04:08:00.000-08:002016-01-11T04:08:15.680-08:00Irish Hunger Memorial + Teardrop ParkBattery Park City is a beautiful residential area of southern Manhattan, located right next to the Financial District, which was created from the three million cubic-yards of rock and soil excavated from the construction of the New York City Water Tunnel, and the World Trade Center, as well as tons of sand dredged from the city's harbor.<br />
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From the late 1800s to the 1940s, some of the district was known as "Little Syria" due to the large Middle Eastern population, but, in 1966, Governor Nelson Rockefeller proposed the creation of what would become Battery Park City. In 1968, the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) was created by the New York State Legislature, and, in 1972, $200 million was set aside to fund construction.</div>
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Though the area's population has tripled since 1990, there aren't many interesting oddities around here.</div>
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One notable spot, however, would be the Irish Hunger Memorial, off North End Avenue and Vesey Street.</div>
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Designed by artist Brian Tolle, and landscape architect Gail Wittwer-Laird, with backing by the firm 1100 Architect, the memorial is dedicated to the million lives that were lost in the Great Irish Famine of 1741. Construction of the memorial began in early 2001, and finished - despite the 9/11 attacks, which damaged a bit of the area - in July of 2002.</div>
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The plot is made up of soil, and native plants from the western coast of Ireland, while the rocks were collected from all thirty-two original counties of Ireland.</div>
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Within the memorial stands a real Irish cottage from the 19th century. The little home once belonged to the Slack family from Carradoogan, in the county of Mayo. It had been deserted since the 1960s, so the family donated the building for the project, and it was reconstructed as it originally stood back in Ireland.</div>
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Afterward, and especially if you have children, go see one of Manhattan's most beautiful public parks: Teardrop Park.</div>
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Only two blocks north of the memorial (off Warren Street), this park is an amazing place for both children, and adults.</div>
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Built in two separate sections (the north in 2004, and the southern portion in 2008), the park was designed by the NY architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, in collaboration with "play experts" at the Natural Learning Initiative.</div>
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The slabs of sedimentary rock throughout the park, while climbable, are installations designed by artist Ann Hamilton. Collected from all over the state of New York, the pieces are stacked to mirror natural stratum, and even hold a hidden water spout so icicles will form in the winter.<br />
The small doorway is in tribute to Frederick Law Olmsted, who created many of the tunnels in Central Park.</div>
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The park was designed to conform with Battery Park City's Green Guidelines, such as reusing water collected from the surrounding buildings for irrigation, while the soil mixture is designed to help plants grow without using fertilizers, or pesticides.<br />
Now go play, friends.</div>
A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-69823552528049157722015-12-10T03:55:00.000-08:002015-12-30T08:41:18.406-08:00Quarters A (aka the Commandant's House)If you find yourself maddened by the city, and are in the mood for a quieter setting, but don't want to spend much more than subway fare, I suggest taking a stroll through the Vinegar Hill district of Brooklyn - immediately east of DUMBO.<br />
Unbelievably quiet for being so close to the Manhattan Bridge, with hardly a soul around, the streets here have quite a small-town feel.<br />
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The area holds one of Brooklyn's shortest streets, Little Street...<br />
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...which ends at what was once Quarters A of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The three-floor, Federal-styled mansion is mostly known as the Commandant's House, and was built a little after the founding of Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1801<br />
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Overlooking the Navy compound to its east, it has always been the home of the first officer in charge. Residents of note include: Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who signed the 1841 treaty to trade with Japan, and Silas Stringham, who fought pirating along the African seas in 1845. The property was sold by the Navy in 1964, and has been a private residence since. In 1974, the building gained National Historic Landmark status.<br />
Walking this neighborhood has some odd sights for being within the city limits...<br />
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...but, along the way, there are a few reminders of where you're at.<br />
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Never change, NYC.</div>
<br />A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-59155703508188246752015-11-20T09:02:00.001-08:002016-02-21T13:36:58.163-08:00Midtown Marvels (Part Two)Continuing our walk in Midtown Manhattan head over to Fifth Avenue, and 42nd Street, to see the Main Branch of the New York Public Library, known as the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. It holds a lot of inspirational material, both, works that will inspire you, and pieces which have inspired famous writers.<br />
One collection the building holds is what influenced Alan Alexander Milne to write the children's favorites, <i>Winnie-the-Pooh</i> in 1926, and the 1928 follow-up, <i>The House at Pooh Corner</i>.<br />
Passing through the main entrance, between the lions Patience & Fortitude (which were originally called Leo Astor, and Leo Lenox, after the library’s philanthropist founders, John Jacob Astor and James Lenox)...<br />
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...turn right, and then - at the end of the hall - left toward the Children's Room. There you will find a group of stuffed animals under glass. These toys belonged to Christopher Robin Milne, son of Pooh author A.A., and were what influenced him to take literary trips to The Wood. Within the casing you can see the original Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, Kanga, and Edward Bear (later renamed "Winnie-the-Pooh").<br />
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Sadly, Roo had been lost for some time, and is not with his friends. In 2009, Lottie the Otter, was added to the bunch to advertise the Disney book <i>Return to Hundred Acre Wood</i>, but has since been removed.<br />
The doll assortment was purchased at action by Milne's U.S. publisher E.P. Dutton for $2500, and donated to the Main Branch of the NYPL in 1956.<br />
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While the Pooh assemblage alone is a great reason to visit this branch of New York City's many libraries, there is so much more to see just at this one branch.<br />
The building still holds parts of the original Croton Distributing Reservoir, which served as a basin for the city's drinking water from 1842 until 1899 (built after it was a potter's field)...<br />
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...and beautiful pre-WWII swastikas, which adorn the marble walls.<br />
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The Schwarzman Building holds many other oddities, such as a lock of hair from <i>Frankenstein</i> author Mary Shelley (in the Pforzheimer Collection), 40,000+ restaurant menus, cuneiform tablets dating from 2050 B.C. (within the Manuscripts and Archives Division), an 1820 letter from a dying John Keats to his sweetheart, a first print of the Declaration of Independence, Walt Whitman’s personal first edition copy of his book, <i>Leaves of Grass</i>, Charles Dickens' cats paw letter opener (in the Berg Collection room), an original copy of a Gutenberg bible...<br />
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...and quite a number of antique phone booths.<br />
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There are also plenty of free exhibits every so often (check their website <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman" target="_blank">here</a> for events), but this library also contains wonderful permanent art adorning the halls, such as the ceiling of the McGraw Rotunda.<br />
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While one can visit their website for info, if you have a question - any question under the sun! - you can call their Answer Zone at 917-ASK-NYPL (917-275-6975), which has been in service since 1968.<br />
When done indoors, head outside - behind the library - to Bryant Park. This area was designated a public space as far back as 1686 by New York's colonial governor, Thomas Dongan. In 1823, the location was turned into a potter's field (a burial place for the poor and undocumented) until 1840.<br />
In 1980, Dan Biederman (chairman of Time, Inc.), and Andrew Heiskell (of the New York Public Library), founded the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, and began to restore the land. Around this time the library built huge storage facilities under the park, as the public space was renovated above ground. Still, it's odd to find a merry-go-round spinning atop a graveyard, but this blog's all about the weird.<br />
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As you circle about, you can check out many of the statues in the park such as a bronze sculpture of Mexican president Benito Juárez (by Moises Cabrera Orozco), one of writer Gertrude Stein (by Jo Davidson), and a bust of German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (by sculptor Karl Fischer).<br />
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Placed on a Swedish, black, granite pedestal, the bronze statue was originally displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but was relocated to Bryant Park in 1932.<br />
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Lastly, one shouldn't forget that the SW corner of the park (W 40th Street and Avenue of the Americas) is Nikola Tesla Corner.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-24235383014475029422015-11-10T07:13:00.000-08:002015-11-10T07:13:37.878-08:00Midtown Marvels (Part One)The three main spots I'll be writing of this time around are all almost next to one another in Midtown Manhattan.<br />
Starting at 154 W 55th Street, and - almost directly across from a very odd street sign -<br />
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there is an old stable house that still stands. It is the last of a half-dozen that peppered the immediate area.<br />
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Built in 1888 by Charles T. Barney (president of the Knickerbocker Trust Company), the ground floor was for the horses of the area's wealthy. The second floor was for the stable workers' living quarters, but the top floor was rented out cheap to artists who could stand the smell.<br />
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Known as the Holbein Studios they were home to art luminaries like impressionist Frederick Childe Hassam, Cecilia Beaux and John Singer Sargent (who was the leading portrait paint of the time).<br />
Next is around the block, located two streets up, at 123 57th Street. There, one can see the only ATM in New York City that pays out in gold coins or bars.<br />
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Installed in front of a coin store in 2012, it is currently still there, but out of commission. If it were working, I am curious as to how many people would actually use it?<br />
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The only other ATMs in the U.S. that also distribute gold can be found at two Golden Nugget Casinos; one in Las Vegas, and the other in Atlantic City.<br />
Lastly, march one block east to see a huge number nine in front of the Solow Building at Nine 57th Street.<br />
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Weighing in at two tons (1.8 tonnes), the work was erected in 1974, and was designed by artist Ivan Chermayeff. The piece was created - believe it or not - to distract one's eye from the fact that the slope of the Solow Building reflects a poor view of the neighboring properties.<br />
If you find yourself with time to kill, and you want to stay in the district, I have two more sites you must see. They are a bit of a walk from 57th, though I don't think chess fanatics will mind the trip down to 48th to see a giant chessboard.<br />
While the official address of the board is 767 3rd Avenue, you will find it against the side of 212 E 48th Street.<br />
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The four-storey high chessboard uses 2ft (0.3m) diameter pieces, in blue and beige, to recreate world famous matches. A flag indicates whose move is next, with the corresponding piece's action committed each Wednesday. The curious may enter the lobby of the board's address to ask the concierge for a pamphlet on the current game in progress.<br />
The second stop is one which you'll need a few hours to completely take in, so I'll save it for a post of its own. Tune in later this month.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-28641068051137074542015-10-26T08:22:00.000-07:002016-06-08T18:26:25.086-07:00Dead Horse BayDead Horse Bay is many things to many people. It’s a small inlet beach that overlooks Rockaway Point to the south, and Point Breeze to the north. Located on Floyd Bennett Field, which was once called Barren Island, until a landfill created a connection between it, and mainland Brooklyn, in 1926. It’s a place to collect antiques, or find fossilized horse bones, and a testament to mankind’s hubris.<br />
Folks used to live here in the mid-1800s, and from 1850 through 1930 the area got its name from the near-30 horse rendering plants that used the animal’s carcasses to manufacture glue, fertilizer and hair brushes. The addition of fish oil factories, and the odor caused most to move away.<br />
Around the late-1920s, the city began to use the area as a landfill, dumping trash, and later covering it with beach sand from Jamaica Bay.<br />
In 1950, the landfill burst underwater, and the rubbish has been leaking since, washing up along the shoreline.<br />
A visit during high tide leaves one depressed enough with the sight of glass shards everywhere, but low tide can send one into a fit, as you traverse through a line, two meters thick, of full bottles, old machinery and miscellaneous waste that runs the shore of the entire peninsula.<br />
The area hasn’t lost its reputation for garbage collecting, as a few boat owners have beached their unwanted crafts, which are later hit by visiting graffiti artists, and vandals. The trees are often decorated with beach debris, and the trails are normally a dumping ground for those who feel they carried too many superannuated bottles full of sand before heading back to their car.<br />
Dead Horse Bay is a sight that one must see for themselves to truly get a grasp of what we are doing to our planet. <br />
Photos do not do this unnatural injustice to nature any justice, but here you go anyhow.<br />
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A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-75052287911085555552015-10-12T04:29:00.000-07:002015-10-12T09:26:58.749-07:00Normandie Metal + Dodgers' Office + Kennedy(s) + H.P. LovecraftIf you find yourself in Brooklyn, around Borough Hall, start this little walk at the NE corner of Remsen and Henry Streets, at the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Cathedral. The two doors facing both streets hold some of the last remains of the <i>SS Normandie</i>.<br />
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The French ocean liner entered service in 1935, having only the <i>RMS Queen Mary</i> as her closest rival. At that time, she was the largest and fastest passenger ship, and still holds the record as the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship.<br />
In 1940, after France fell to the Germans, the U.S. confiscated the <i>SS Normandie</i>, while docked in New York City's harbor. The ship became part of the United States Navy in 1941, and renamed the <i>SS Lafayette.</i> In February of 1942, as the liner was being refitted off a NYC pier to become a troop ship, a welding spark set off a fire, which caused the entire vessel to burn, and then capsize. The wreckage was not removed until 1946, and took two years to finish.<br />
Not much remains of the <i>Normandie</i>; an entire corner is preserved at the city's Metropolitan Museum of Art, a bronze statue (found in a NJ junkyard in 1954) is in Miami's Fontainebleau Hotel, plenty of scattered crystal from the dining salon's massive Lalique torchières, some silverware, and the ten large dining-room door medallions currently displayed on the church doors.<br />
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Now, walk up Henry, and then right on Montague Street to 211 Montague, once home to the Brooklyn Dodger's offices. The 1998 plaque celebrates that it's where they signed Jackie Robinson in 1945, becoming the first African-American in the major leagues.<br />
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Look across the street, into Columbus Park, and you may lock eyes with Robert F. Kennedy. While the park has a statue to Columbus, and Henry Ward Beecher, as well as hold the Korean War Veterans' Plaza, two Kennedy memorials are here: Robert Kennedy's 1972 bust by sculptor Anneta Duveen, and - just behind it - a tree planted in 1963 by Brooklyn Borough President, Abe Stark, for John F. Kennedy.<br />
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Lastly, head south on Court Street, with a right (west) on State Street to the corner of State and Clinton to see 169 Clinton, the one-time home of horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890 - 1937), inventor of the Cthulhu Mythos.<br />
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Lovecraft lived here in 1925, and hated the area so much he penned the short story "The Horror at Red Hook" while living there, though it wasn't published until 1927 in <i>Weird Tales</i>.<br />
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He wrote to his friend and fellow writer Clark Ashton Smith:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The idea that black magic exists in secret today, or that hellish antique rites still exist in obscurity, is one that I have used and shall use again. When you see my new tale "The Horror at Red Hook", you will see what use I make of the idea in connexion with the gangs of young loafers & herds of evil-looking foreigners that one sees everywhere in New York.</span></div>
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Woops! It's no wonder modern scholars have such a problem with HP's legacy.<br />
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<br />A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042325547380538030.post-67525576152807764812015-09-21T04:44:00.001-07:002015-09-21T11:27:22.769-07:00Green-Wood CemeteryGreen-Wood Cemetery is one of the most beautiful, and therefore famous, in the United States. While the graveyard holds approximately 600,000 entombed, throughout 478 acres (1.9 km²), it has been used by locals as a park since its construction, and was a huge tourist attraction in the 1850s.<br />
Located in an area of Brooklyn known as Greenwood Heights, it was founded in 1838 by social leader Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, and inspired by Cambridge, MA's Mount Auburn Cemetery.<br />
The main entrance (at 5th Avenue and 25th Street) was built in 1861, of Belleville brownstone, and was designed by Richard Upjohn in a Gothic-revival style.<br />
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The groups of sculptures atop the gateways, which are the work of John M. Moffitt, depict biblical scenes from the New Testament, including Lazarus, the Widow's Son, and Jesus' resurrection.<br />
Though the cemetery did not receive landmark status until 2006, the main gate had gained recognition as one by the New York Community Trust in 1958.<br />
There are quite a number of monuments on the grounds, many of which memorialize victims of local tragedies, such as a sculpture of a ship, half-submerged by waves for the six members of the Brown family who perished in the 1854 <i>SS Arctic</i> disaster, or the obelisk which commemorates the 278 lives lost in what became known as the Brooklyn Theater Fire of December, 1876.<br />
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There is also the Civil War memorial, located at the summit of Battle Hill (Brooklyn's highest natural point, 200 feet above sea level)...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcR7rErT9uTUXAGQz0EgPFIbWJDXKYkhWC3k3-k5HDd3TInrS3NRYcF_yexhop2FMtjTZAiotAzW6qdsy4azBsJa2whtbSoHQXbCQ2NW-GtL8KHCgAaWSNJrxuSRs7oZ4mzwhecoOLcg/s1600/009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcR7rErT9uTUXAGQz0EgPFIbWJDXKYkhWC3k3-k5HDd3TInrS3NRYcF_yexhop2FMtjTZAiotAzW6qdsy4azBsJa2whtbSoHQXbCQ2NW-GtL8KHCgAaWSNJrxuSRs7oZ4mzwhecoOLcg/s640/009.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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...as well as the Revolutionary War monument by Frederick Ruckstull, and the Altar to Liberty, which was built in August of 1920, on the 144th anniversary of the Battle of Long Island (the first battle of the American Revolution after the Declaration of Independence, and the largest battle of that war).<br />
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Next to the altar stands a bronze statue of the Roman goddess Minerva holding a wreath in her right hand, and waving "hello" to her sister, the Statue of Liberty, with her left. For good fortune, many visitors leave coins on the altar, within the bronze wreath she holds.<br />
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It goes without saying that there are quite a number of beautiful grave markers in Green-Wood.<br />
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Many of which belong to those who departed in fame, while others in infamy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTMf-OLqRhogqnrlm-Mv9BhTBwevLUTTD4UC3yCsKLEcmDtaZrafPmdRoN7SX2JA_rV1JOLvyOBzHjH0qnOe9vqb_go-Sa4W-qrkDgSjMJVCZjhzujV055iBaqrJjoNzk4kQbV1h-7g/s1600/012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTMf-OLqRhogqnrlm-Mv9BhTBwevLUTTD4UC3yCsKLEcmDtaZrafPmdRoN7SX2JA_rV1JOLvyOBzHjH0qnOe9vqb_go-Sa4W-qrkDgSjMJVCZjhzujV055iBaqrJjoNzk4kQbV1h-7g/s640/012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Composer, Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990)</div>
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Painter and code inventor, Samuel Morse (1791 - 1872)</div>
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Artist and musician, Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988)</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">U.S. Senator, and NY Governor, DeWitt Clinton </span>(1769 - 1828)</div>
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Pianist, Albert Ross Parsons (1847 - 1933)</div>
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Sac Native American "Princess", Do-Hum-Me (1824 - 1843)</div>
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Soda inventor, John Matthews (1808 - 1870)</div>
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Gangster, William "the Butcher" Poole (1821 - 1855)</div>
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Founder of the American mafia, Umberto Anastasio [aka Albert Anastasia] (1902 - 1957)</div>
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And while there are no dogs allowed to be buried in any U.S. cemetery, it won't stop those who can afford it to compliment their beloved pets.<br />
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The property is huge, and it may take a full day (or even two) to walk to many of the sites I've written about, but don't leave without seeing the cemetery's chapel, which was constructed in 1911 (and restored in 2001).<br />
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Designed by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore (who also designed Grand Central Terminal), the small church is a replica of Christopher Wren's Thomas Tower at Christ Church College in Oxford, England.<br />
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In 2012, Hurricane Sandy toppled almost 300 trees in the cemetery, and the damage was estimated at half a million dollars, but the non-profit institution Green-Wood Historic Fund (created in 1999) continues to preserve this wonderful Brooklyn landmark for the public.A156http://www.blogger.com/profile/08456146068285720417noreply@blogger.com