Remembering September 11, 2001

 

Today I reflect on 9/11/2001; I can't get it out of my head, and that's probably a good thing.  The day it happened I was sitting at my desk working, and my co-worker Valerie came in telling me to check the news.  I think that day showed all Americans that we could pull together in adverse situations.  

 I was fortunate to have gotten to go to New York City last year; it was amazing to see all the sights, but  the most rewarding moments in NY for me was listening to the stories of the crash and seeing the memorial at the World Trade Center location.

One of the stories that I heard was from a tour guide that Robin and I had while taking a night tour through Brooklyn.  The tour guide had been a taxi driver when the attack happened, and his fare was a couple of business men going to the World Trade Center at the exact moment that one of the planes crashed into the building.  He wasn't able to get his customers to their destination; after hours and hours of traffic and smoke, he was finally able to get them back to their hotel.  He said he would have taken them home with him in the event they were not able to get to their hotel.  

The thing that mesmerized me and that I can't fathom was he told us the one memory that sticks out in his mind the most was that there were millions of shoes on the Brooklyn Bridge.  The woman and I assume maybe some men would take off their shoes and drop them on the Brooklyn Bridge to run fast enough to get away from the collapsing building.  I bet since this happened in NY city that there were some expensive shoes.  

 

Our tour guide gave up driving a cab after 9/11; he realized how close he came to dying, and he just wanted to live his life a little easier.  He still thinks about that day often, and I'm so happy he told us his story!

"God Bless America"

Window Displays on Bergdorf Avenue NY

 Ladies and Tigers and Sheep-- Oh MY! There's something storyline in the windows at Bergdorf Avenue. By fusing contemporary designers and classic works of literature, David Hoey and the design team at BG create a feisty celebration of the arts with a twist of modern femininity. Given the opportunity, I could have walked by these windows everyday while in New York!

How do they come up with these window display ideas; I wouldn't want to meet this bug anywhere.  I have heard that the cock roaches are big in New York though.

 Great Moments in Literature Window

Look at the Eye!

 The Jungle Book Window

 Sheep Window

Black Swan in City Park Story

City Park located in New Orleans, Louisiana is home to their own resident black swan, Amanda Erika. Amanda was injured by at least one individual, and all six of her eggs that she had been nesting were broken.

 The black swan had been taking care of her nest and eggs over several  weeks. A City Park police officer called a veterinarian when he found the black swan with an injured ankle in February of 2013.

The story caused such an outrage from the public that  the park extended the offer for the public to help, and they did.  The City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art even offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The perpetrator still has not been caught as of yet, but the black swan has recovered .

She has been returned to the park.

Central Park - An Amazing Park

Central Park, an 843-acre rectangle of open space in the middle of Manhattan, was created in the 1860s and ’70s by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux on the marshy northern fringe of the city, the immense park was designed as a leisure space for all New Yorkers, regardless of color, class or creed. And it’s an oasis from the insanity: the lush lawns, cool forests, flowering gardens, glassy bodies of water and meandering, wooded paths providing the dose of serene nature that New Yorkers & visitors crave.

Dedicated in 1894, this bronze sculpture is a posthumous replica of a marble self-portrait carved by the famed Danish sculptor. It is the only statue of an artist displayed in a New York City park.

 

 Alice and her cast of storybook friends found their way to Central Park in 1959, when philanthropist George Delacorte commissioned this bronze statue as a gift to the children of New York City. Inspired by the zany characters of the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland, the sculpture was also meant as a tribute to his late wife, Margarita, who read Alice to their children. Engraved around the statue are lines from his nonsensical poem, The Jabberwocky.

 Rising from Bethesda Terrace is Bethesda Fountain, with the famous Angel of the Waters statue atop. The statue references the Gospel of John, which describes an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda and giving it healing powers. The fountain commemorates the Croton water system, which first brought fresh water to New York City in 1842. The angel carries a lily in her left hand -- a symbol of the water's purity, very important to a city that had previously suffered from a devastating cholera epidemic before the system was established. The piece is the only statue that was commissioned for the Park. Created by Emma Stebbins, it also marked the first time a woman received a public art commission in New York City.

 

 892 was marked by celebrations of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the Americas and the dedication of Gaetano Russo's Columbus Circle stone monument in Central Park. The Russo monument shows Columbus looking outward with his hand on the tiller of his ship, while the Sunol monument portrays a more spiritual explorer with his outstretched arm and eyes looking upward to heaven in gratitude for his successful voyage. Sunol modified this sculpture from one he had done in 1885 in the Plaza de Colon in Madrid.

 

 The Delacorte Musical Clock brings sweet seasonal chimes on the half hour to a nook of the Park beloved by generations of families. Near the entrance of the Children's Zoo, the clock was dedicated in 1965 with funding from philanthropist George T. Delacorte. It sits atop a three-tiered tower and features a band of whimsical animals: two bronze monkeys banging hammers against a bell; a penguin on drum; a hippo on violin; a bear and his tambourine; a concertina-playing elephant; a goat with pipes; and a kangaroo on horn. 

  

 Curving gracefully over the narrow neck of the Pond at 59th Street, Gapstow is one of the iconic bridges of Central Park. Design aficionados might notice a striking resemblance to the Ponte di San Francesco in San Remo, Italy.

  

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) is best known for his children's stories such as The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling. Like the Alice in Wonderland sculpture nearby, Hans Christian Andersen is meant to be climbed on. The two favorite spots for climbing are on top of the open book displaying the opening lines of The Ugly Duckling and on the freestanding duck. The memorial cost $75,000, contributed in part by Danish and American schoolchildren. The remainder was raised by the Danish-American Women's Association to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Andersen's birth.

 

The iconic Loeb Boathouse that New Yorkers and visitors know so well today opened at the Lake's northeastern tip in 1954, financed by philanthropist Carl M. Loeb. From beneath the green patina of the boathouse's copper roof, visitors can rent rowboats and bikes; hire an authentic Venetian gondola; or dine overlooking seasonal views of the Lake at the Loeb Central Park Boathouse Restaurant.

It was raining so hard the day Robin and I was walking through the park that this was the only restaurant we could get to without dropping from exhaustion.  They did look at us strange when we asked for a table dripping wet; then we had to pay $25 for fish and chips, but they were good.  

 

The Lehman Gates were donated by Governor and Mrs. Herbert H. Lehman in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary upon the opening of the Tisch Children's Zoo in 1961. Designed by Paul Manship, the sculptor of one of the more elaborate gates at the Wildlife Conservation Center in the Bronx (the Bronx Zoo), the animals, birds, and boys are interwoven in a fanciful scrolling lintel.

 

 The entrance to the Delacorte Theatre is guarded by two life-size sculptures, The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet, which feature characters from Shakespeare's plays. Romeo and Juliet depicts the lovers as they are about to kiss, with Romeo bending over Juliet whose head is thrown back. The simplicity of the sculpture lends additional innocence to the moment.

  

Strawberry Fields is a living memorial to the world-famous singer, songwriter and peace activist – John Lennon. During his career with the Beatles and in his solo work, Lennon's music gave hope and inspiration to people around the world. His campaign for peace lives on, symbolized at Strawberry Fields.

 

The Falconer depicts both a human figure, clad in Elizabethan dress, and a falcon, representing the union and communion between a bird of prey and man.

   

Such a beautiful park; there's so much to see, these pictures are only a drop int the bucket.  The only day that it rained the whole day during our trip to New York in October was the day we went to Central Park.  Even in the rain it was magnificent!

"Project Runway"

My favorite reality show, besides the "Housewives of Atlanta, New York, New Jersey and Beverly Hills" and of course "Dog & Beth", is "Project Runway"!  That's probably due to that when I was little I wanted to be a fashion designer.  I didn't become one, but I do shred my clothes sometimes to make something out of the ordinary, and I have my own sewing machine.  Of course, I've only used it once this year!

While in New York in October of 2012, I was such a lucky duck to be able to see where the magic happens; the hotel we were staying at was just a few blocks away, and I dragged Robin there every chance I got!

The statues:

              
Garment Worker                            31 Foot Steel Needle
                                                and World’s Largest Button

Parson's is where the designers make their creations for the runway, and a lot of the PR is done in Bryant Park behind the library..

              
Parson's                                         Bryant Park

The Fashion Walk of Fame includes such designers as Bill Blass and Calvin Kline.


                
 Calvin Kline                              Ralph Lauren 

 
   Bill Blass

Then I got to see Mood; that is where they take the contestants for their fabric.

Here’s some info about the Garment District and the Fashion Center:
New York first assumed its role as the center of the nation’s garment industry by producing clothes for slaves working on Southern plantations. It was more efficient for their masters to buy clothes from producers in New York than to have the slaves spend time and labor making the clothing themselves. In addition to supplying clothing for slaves, tailors produced other ready-made garments for sailors and western prospectors during slack periods in their regular business.
Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, the majority of Americans either made their own clothing, or if they were wealthy, purchased “tailor-made” customized clothing. By the 1820s, however, an increasing number of ready-made garments of a higher quality were being produced for a broader market.

The production of ready-made clothing, which continued to grow, completed its transformation to an “industrialized” profession with the invention of the sewing machine in the 1850s.
The need for thousands of ready-made soldiers’ uniforms during the American Civil War helped the garment industry to expand further. By the end of the 1860s, Americans bought most of their clothing rather than making it themselves.

German and Central European immigrants to America around the mid-19th century arrived on the scene with relevant business experience and skills just as garment production was passing from a proto-industrial phase to a more advanced stage of manufacture. In the early twentieth-century a largely Eastern European immigrant workforce powered the garment trades.

With an ample supply of cheap labor and a well-established distribution network, New York was prepared to meet the demand. During the 1870s the value of garments produced in New York increased sixfold. By 1880 New York produced more garments than its four closest urban competitors combined, and in 1900 the value and output of the clothing trade was three times that of the city’s second largest industry, sugar refining. New York’s function as America’s culture and fashion center also helped the garment industry by providing constantly changing styles and new demand; in 1910, 70% of the nation’s women’s clothing and 40% of the men’s was produced in the City.
Cheaper overseas labor and production has dramatically affected the New York industry for decades. This change has forced many designers who once manufactured their lines in the city to shift production overseas, which has in turn affected small cutting and sewing rooms as well as zipper, button and supply stores in the Garment District.

The Fashion Center Information Kiosk is an award-winning service provided by the Fashion Center Business Improvement District, located on Seventh Avenue (Fashion Avenue) and West 39th Street.  This unique Claes Oldenburg-inspired structure incorporates the world’s largest button appended to the structure’s roof, held upright by a 31-foot-long steel needle.

Famous Places That I Saw in New York - So Exciting!

Katz's Delicatessen - Where Meg Ryan faked her famous orgasm in the 1989 Hollywood flick 

"When Harry Met Sally". 

 FAO Schwartz - Toy store where Mr. MacMillan and Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks) were dancing on the floor piano in the movie "Big".

Empire State Building - "Sleepless in Seattle" on the observation deck Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) finally had her rendezvous with the widower Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) & "King Kong" carried Fay Wray to the top by climbing up the building.

 

 Tiffany & Co - "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) was standing in front of the windows of Tiffany's eating her breakfast in the movie.  I've heard that they do not like you to ask where breakfast is.

Mulberry Street Bar - "Sopranos", "Godfather III", "Donnie Brasco", "Law & Order" Backdrop.  If you had to whack a mob boss, you'd probably take him to this Little Italy gem.

 

 Gray's Papaya - "Sex and the City" & "Fools Rush In"; Carrie on "Sex and the City" grabbed one of their $1.50 dogs and papaya juice after her ritzy book party on the TV show and this was Alex's (Matthew Perry) favorite place in "Fouls Rush In".

 Church of Transfiguration - "Sex and the City"; this is where Samantha tried to catch the eye of a good-looking priest.

Magnolia Bakery - "Sex & the City"; Carrie and Miranda swopped stories about crushes while eating Magnolia's butter cream-topped delights.

The Huxtable House - "Cosby Show"

Friends Apartment Building - Exterior shots of the apartment building featured in "Friends" were taken of this building which is located on the corner of Grove and Bedford in Greenwich Village.

"Ghostbusters" Firehouse - This is the firehouse used in "Ghostbuster's; it is the 2nd oldest firehouse in New York City and is home to Hook and Ladder Company #8.





"People's Court"  - My favorite TV Court Show, unfortunately I didn't have time to get tickets and go see Judge Marilyn Milian!  My picture didn't come out.

New York Public Library - This is where the ghostbusters in "Ghost Buster" movie come running out the front doors of the library and down the stairs after having encountered a ghost.  It was also the backdrop to one of my favorite shows on TV, "Arrow"!

 

South Street Seaport - This is the very spot where "Godzilla" first stepped out of the East River.

Ellis Island - New York City

New York's Ellis Island is one of the most popular attractions for those visiting Manhattan and its surrounding areas, second only to landmarks like the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty.

Ellis Island

That's probably because millions of Americans have a connection to the island, through which their ancestors passed on the way from their homeland to their brand new home in America. Records indicate that more than half of all Americans had a relative who passed through Ellis Island.

What is Ellis Island?

Aerial view of the island

From 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island was the immigrant gateway to America. More than 12 million people would arrive here on the way to their new life in a new country. Many had little or no money, some were ill, others had family waiting for them on the other side of the gate. The stories are many and varied, but all arrived hoping for something different and better than what they had in their homeland.

Immigration Museum

The 27.5-acre (11 hectare) site is located just off the southern tip of Manhattan, within viewing distance of the Statue of Liberty. It was originally built just prior to the War of 1812 to serve as a coastal fortification, known as Fort Gibson.

Immigrants who arrived here (Italy and Austro-Hungary had the largest numbers of immigrants) in possession of a first or second class ticket were given cursory examinations shipboard and allowed to enter America with little delay. Steerage - or poorer passengers - were subject to more rigorous examinations and were denied entry if obviously ill. In all, only 2% of all arrivals were sent back to their countries.

Ellis Island Immigration Museum

Immigrant Museum

Today, Ellis Island is an Immigration Museum and is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Visitors may enjoy self-guided tours of the museum, located in the main building, where they can view artifacts, photographs, prints, videos, interactive displays, oral histories, and temporary exhibits.

The American Immigrant Wall of Honor exhibits the names of 600,000 men and women who passed through Ellis Island on the way to their new home. Descendants of the immigrants paid $100 each to have their relative's name placed on the wall.

Immigrant Wall of Honor

In the Immigration History Center, guests can examine passenger logs from the hundreds of ships that arrived here between 1892 and 1924. Volunteers are on-hand to help you locate the records for which you're searching.

Unfortunately Robin and I were not able to go to Ellis Island; it was closed due to the massive destruction that the last Hurricane has caused.  We did get to see it from the boat in the harbor.

Belvedere Castle

Belvedere Castle is a building in Central Park in New York, New York, that contains exhibit rooms and an observation deck. Since 1919, the castle has also been the location of the official Central Park weather station.

Early history

Built as a Victorian folly in 1869, the castle caps Vista Rock, the park's second-highest natural elevation Constructed of Manhattan schist quarried in the park and dressed with gray granite, it tops the natural-looking woodlands of The Ramble, as seen from the formal Bethesda Terrace. As the plantings matured, the castle has disappeared from its original intended viewpoint. Its turret is the highest point in the park.

Belvedere means 'beautiful view' or 'panoramic view' in Italian and the castle provides impressive views across Central Park and New York City. It was designed as an additional feature of the Central Park "Greensward" plan by the architects Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould after they, along with Frederick Law Olmsted, were reappointed to oversee the park's construction in 1865.

The site, which overlooks the Lower Reservoir, already held a fire tower under the control of the Croton Aqueduct board. In 1867, the board transferred the site to the Park, and the fire tower was demolished.

Design

Belvedere Castle was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the late 1800s. An architectural hybrid of Gothic and Romanesque styles, Vaux's design called for a more weighty Manhattan schist and granite structure with a corner tower with conical cap, with the existing lookout over parapet walls between them.To reduce costs it was revised in November 1870, and completed under the new Tammany Hall regime as an open painted-wood pavilion.

     Mould's bronze cockatrice in a transom of the Castle

Weather Service use

Belvedere Castle was originally built as a shell with open doorway and window openings. Starting in 1919, it housed the New York Meteorological Observatory, which had been taken over by the United States Weather Bureau in 1912. The current weather station in Central Park, an Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), is located immediately south of the castle, though wind equipment is still located on the main tower.

The tower. Note the anemometer and wind vane on the top; these instruments record the official wind speed and direction for Central Park

The two fanciful wooden pavilions deteriorated without painting and upkeep and were removed before 1900.

Closure and decay

After the New York Meteorological Observatory automated its equipment and moved its offices to Rockefeller Center in the 1960s, Belvedere Castle was closed to the public and became an object of much vandalism, neglect and deterioration.

Restoration and reopening

The Central Park Conservancy launched a restoration effort and reopened the structure on May 1, 1983, as the Henry Luce Nature Observatory. Soon after its restoration, the building was used as a filming location for Merchant-Ivory's 1984 film The Bostonians, starring Christopher Reeve and Vanessa Redgrave. Its facade has been used for exterior shots of the castle where Count von Count lived on the children's television series Sesame Street.

In 1995, the Conservancy's Historic Preservation Crew replaced the painted wooden loggia of the castle, working from Vaux's designs, on the granite piers and walls that had survived.

Nature observatory

The Observatory contains family-friendly displays that demonstrate the process by which naturalists observe their world and share their scientific discoveries about it. The displays, which include telescopes, microscopes, skeletons and feathers, are designed to expose children to fundamentals of the scientific method in natural observation. Other Observatory exhibits include a plywood tree with papier-mâché reproductions of birds often seen in Central Park, encouraging people to watch for these birds from the precipice of the castle, which has become one of New York's most popular birdwatching sites.
Free family and community programs hosted at Belvedere Castle include "On A Wing" birding programs, stargazing, astronomy talks, storytimes with the Princess of Belvedere Castle, and the "Spooks at Belvedere" haunted castle event every Halloween.

Surroundings

The new castle faced a rectangular receiving reservoir; today, it overlooks the Great Lawn, an oval of turf with eight baseball diamonds, loosely defined by plantings of trees in clumps in the manner of the English landscape garden, and, at the foot of Vista Rock, the Turtle Pond, redesigned in 1997 as a naturalistic planting, in which no single vantage-point reveals the water's full extent. Sunken concrete shelving at varying depths provide ideal water depths for shoreline plants such as lizard's tail, bullrush, turtlehead, and blueflag iris. The success of habitat for birds, insects, amphibians, and reptiles is embodied in sightings of species of dragonfly not previously sighted in Central Park.

Belvedere Castle in popular culture

• In the 2011 film The Smurfs, Gargamel uses the castle as his headquarters in his plan to capture The Smurfs.

• In Uncanny X-Men #159 (July 1982). Dracula uses the castle as his headquarters to retain Storm.

• In the 2008 videogame Alone in the Dark, Belvedere Castle is one of the locations that Edward Carnby finds a device that pinpoints him in the direction of the Path of Light, as well as the location of the second demonic stone.