I noticed with some interest that Blizzard is sponsoring a writing competition. I will, of course, be entering this. Please wish me luck. I'm sure there will be an insane number of people submitting stories, and the odds of me getting near the top are probably about equal to the chance that I'll win the lottery. But, I'm still going to give it a shot...
Meanwhile, back on the east coast—
Russell and I left the Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium at street level and emerged to a gorgeous view of Central Park. The park was covered with snow and seemed to be still and silent. I wished we had the time to walk through it, but there were too many other things on our agenda. (In case you lost the bookmark to my pictures, here it is again: Flickr. The following several paragraphs will be ones with a lot of photo-documentation.)
We headed south along the western edge of Central Park. The day was late into morning, and the air was crisp. There was a reminder of Winter in the air without it being too blunt. You had to watch your step and street corners because the ice and slush could be treacherous. All in all, it was a glorious time to be in the city.
We quickly came upon the Dakota Building and walked around to the south side. This is the very entrance of the building where John Lennon was gunned down in 1980. Now, almost 30 years later, it still doesn't seem possible that someone could have done this.
A few blocks south of this is a building whose real name I've forgotten. I think of it— as I'm sure most of the world does— as the Ghostbusters Building. It's the building where Dana (Sigourney Weaver's character) lived in the first Ghostbusters movie. The entire top structure of the building was created via special effects, but the lower portion of the building is very recognizable. Even more recognizable is the short grey church immediately next door. ("Nobody steps on a church in my town!")
There were a few other notable buildings we passed by on our way south, but I have forgotten them. This area of the city is studded with one beautiful building after another. At one point, we crossed the street and sat for a few minutes on a bench with our backs to the park— there was that much to absorb. After a few minutes, however, we continued walking south and then changed directions and headed west to Broadway. In no time we joined the throngs of people walking up and down that famous street, though we were north of the theatre district. In this neighborhood we saw the Alice Tully building as well as Lincoln Center.
Hungry, we began looking for a place to eat. Russell quickly recognized a restaurant named P.J. Clarke's by its location, and we went there for lunch. Though I am a fan of the movie Annie Hall, I would never have recognized this restaurant as Russell had done. In the final scene of the movie, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are standing outside, on a street corner, with an open space (or park) behind and off to one side. This scene was shot from within the restaurant where we ate, and, in fact, we were just a table or two from where the cameras must have been placed. At the time, I misunderstood and had no recollection of that final scene. So, in error, I photographed the area where the cameras must have been, thinking it was where the final scene took place. Had I known otherwise, I would have aimed my camera out the window and duplicated the final shot of the movie in my camera. (In fact, I'm sure I would have sent Russell out to stand where Woody and Diane were.) Oh well, it still makes for an interesting story... and an expensive lunch!
Shortly before lunch, Russell had stepped off a curb badly, and his knee was acting up. Lunch refreshed both of us, but his knee kept us to a slower pace most of the rest of the day. My back was also beginning to act up so the slower pace was mutually beneficial.
From our lunch spot we headed down into the subway and rode across town in the most crowded car I've ever been wedged into. I didn't think I would be able to squeeze in after Russell entered. In fact, I'm sure the doors re-opened once because my butt crossed the safety line. Seeing that, however, I sucked it in, and the doors closed successfully the second time. Fortunately, we only had one or two stops to go. We emerged and caught another train headed south. We left this train at Grand Central Station.
If you've never seen Grand Central, it alone is worth the trip to New York City. There are hundreds, thousands, of people streaming around you. You walk up one set of stairs, and then down a ramp, or maybe you take two or three ramps— it doesn't matter because, unless you are hellbent on being somewhere else, your footsteps lead you up and into the most magnificent structure you've ever been in. The ceiling arches over your head and giant constellations are painted on it, making you wonder if the real constellations might not be closer. Everywhere there are people with schedules and agenda rushing past you. It makes you wonder why there aren't designated tourist zones, where one is allowed to stand and gawk. I have several pictures online of the inside of Grand Central, but not a single one of them does justice to the experience.
We left Grand Central in the latening afternoon walking easterly. In a matter of minutes the Chrysler Building loomed ahead and over us. Russell is a devoted fan of art deco, while I am only a casual admirer. I enjoy it only as much as I enjoy other architectural styles as well. The Chrysler Building is a monument to art deco, however, and it is impossible to remain neutral about the style it its presence. Stepping inside the lobby, we were overwhelmed by the murals on the walls and ceilings. The air is thick with gilt lavishness. We craned our necks for several minutes checking it all out.
From the Chrysler building we walked another block or two to the News Building. Like the Ghostbusters building earlier, this building had also been used in movies— it became the Daily Planet in the Superman movies. Far from those glory days, however, it is now owned by Fox News. Inside the lobby we discovered a giant, slowly spinning globe. Several minutes of examining the globe revealed it to be a few decades out of date, which may go a long way towards explaining Fox News...
Sadly, this is where my camera battery died, and I have no further pictures of New York City. Our day was hardly over, though, and I will continue tomorrow with Part 9.
Until next time!
"New York... When civilization falls apart, remember we were way ahead of you."— David Letterman
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