Near Union Square, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

My purpose in going near Union Square on this day was to buy a book from the iconic Strand Bookstore for my train ride home. The Strand is an establishment that has stood for nearly a hundred years selling books to New Yorkers. Of course, it being a summer-like weekend, the sidewalks were full of people out and about, there was an ongoing demonstration march down Broadway, and the construction workers had torn up the street repairing a pipe. 

But inside the Strand, library-like calm prevailed as readers browsed as they have for decades while outside, other readers were lined up to sell their used books in another part of the building. What a great store - I left with a used paperback from a favorite writer.



The demonstration march had many marchers and a big street/sidewalk audience. They had a permit and a motorcycle police escort, too.

I'm not sure why New York City had to import sewer covers from India but, here is one of many I saw.

 


I didn't go in. That might have been like an alcoholic going into a liquor store. I do know they sell a chocolate martini among many other things including regular non-chocolate food items.

It's almost 9pm in this image, I'm back at my hotel exhausted and, the temp is still in the 80's. What a day for early June.

Brooklyn Bridge and Park, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

 

On my last visit, I missed seeing the 85-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn with a nice view of lower Manhattan and next to the iconic namesake bridge. I also missed walking the bridge on a weekend day so, off I went again to have both of these experiences.



A nice day for a sail on the East River. Lower Manhattan in the background.



Though it is kind of hot outside today, 90-ish, some folks opt for a picnic on the grass in the Brooklyn Plaza Park.



A walk through the nearby neighborhood adjacent to the bridge. And yes, this is very expensive real estate.



As I turned to walk up the stairs onto the bridge, this was my view to the north - it's part of the Manhattan Bridge in the distance.



There were lots of people on the bridge even in the 90+ degree weather. Mid-river span there was a respite with a wonderful cooling breeze blowing off the water from the south. Lower Manhattan is in the distance at left. On this wooden slatted path, bicycles have the right side and pedestrians have the left side of the white line. Of course, that means there could be four streams at any given time, two in each direction. It can get a bit tight sometimes.



I made the mistake of stopping mid-path for a photo (though I was on the pedestrian side of the line).  I was immediately screamed at by an irate local New York accented woman, "HEY YOU, DON'T STOP THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PATH, WHAT ARE YOU, STUPID?  PEOPLE GET RUN OVER BY BICYCLES AND KILLED DOING THAT AND YOU'RE BLOCKING THE PATH FOR OTHERS." I moved over and didn't argue, polite and clueless tourist that I apparently am. As you can see, I stayed at the side to capture this image above.



It being a summer-like weekend day, there were gazillions of walkers, joggers, bicyclers, scooters, vendors - masses of humanity enjoying one of the great wonders of New York City - walking the Brooklyn Bridge. It's been open here since 1883. I don't think I'd visit the city without planning to make this walk. What a delight! 

Subway Tiles, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Most of the subway entrances are these unassuming but well-signed stairways into the underground world. The green and white ball on the pole is the visual marker from a distance.

I noticed more folks riding on a weekend day compared to the weekdays. Of course, this was a summer-like day and everyone was out and about enjoying the post-pandemic city.

If the street surface and buildings are the body, then the subway represents the veins and arteries. Yes, it is sometimes nasty and gritty and sketchy down there but, the efficiency and speed with which one can traverse a great and large city is shocking. I guess that's true of any dense city in the world with an underground train system. After all, that's the whole point.



I am particularly captivated by the tile signage in the stations. Many of these handmade ceramic signs are more than 100 years old. (I don't know whether these specific ones are or not but, they illustrate my theme).

The curved letters and numbers especially caught my eye.



The amount of custom cutting and shaping that went into each one is remarkable.



I note the added challenge of shaping the lilting leg on the "R."



Here are some enlargements of the details.







But wait, there's more.



Instead of the basic block-style font on the preceding examples, at this station in the Financial District they used a different font with serifs.



Each of which required much more painstaking craft work. What timeless artistry! Again, most of it more than 100 years old.  (I wonder if this artisan was named "Coe"?)

The High Line, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

A late afternoon walk along the High Line. Note the property above at right. It is not part of the High Line but, the owners of that building have landscaped their roof to look like the horticulture of the High Line. What's that saying, "imitation is the highest form of flattery."

Though it was in the 90's F earlier, the lowering sun has brought comfortably reduced temperatures for the evening.



The old railroad tracks are mostly obscured in the lush growth of greenery. The obelisk-looking piece is an artwork, one of many along the High Line.



Some sits and some walks.



I don't know what this flower is but, it was mighty big and it was blooming along the path. I stuck my hand in for a size comparison.



Looking up from the High Line, the jutting glass-floored deck is The Edge in Hudson Yards, a tourist spot with expansive views of the city. It competes with Rockefeller center, the Empire State Building, and the World Trade Center for the tall building tourist dollars.



In the "gee-whiz" department, looking over the rail from the High Line I saw this parking lot below. I can't for the life of me figure out how they get the cars up and down. I am sure it is something simple and practical but, that solution escapes me just looking at it statically.

Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

The hustle and bustle of the Chinatown neighborhood is always fun to wander about.



Street vendors sell fruits and vegetables for the local population.



A bustling street scene. I got honked at and yelled at for standing in the roadway for this picture. New Yorkers love to use their horns.



I couldn't figure out if the lanterns are always there or, if it was a special occasion.



Everyone I asked shook their head in that universal gesture, "I don't understand what you are asking."



I'm not sure what a "Pink Lady Cheese Tart" is - perhaps something was missed in the translation. Could be a good name for a band.



The mighty Manhattan Bridge crosses from Chinatown over the East River into Brooklyn carrying cars, buses, subway lines, pedestrians, bikes - all manner of dynamic commerce coming to and from. I did not walk across it but, maybe next time.

Skyline Views, Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Early morning. It was a stormy day with intermittent showers. I found it interesting watching the changing skyline as the storm progressed so I captured a few images periodically over the course of the day. (The tallest building is the World Trade Center).



Late morning. Perhaps I over-manipulated this one in processing but, it was fun doing it. I was looking for an Armageddon and apocalyptic feel.

Early afternoon.

Late afternoon.

Early evening.

Nearing sunset.

And in the darkness, clearing skies.



The following morning began like this. It's supposed to be 90+ degrees F today. I'll miss the cool of the storm.

A Rainy Day, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

 

It was a cloudy, humid, rainy day so an uptown trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) seemed a good way to spend it mostly indoors. I took a brief detour into this Upper West Side neighborhood for this street scene - it reminded me of the Back Bay neighborhood in Boston - but Boston has broader sidewalks - which I prefer.



I rode a "C" train the 50+ blocks uptown to 86th street and then walked the half mile across Central Park, umbrella overhead, to the Museum.

And even on mid-day in mid-week, the MET was full of people. Not unpleasantly full but still, plenty of humans.



I'm not really a big museum goer and frankly, I found this one just plain overwhelming and the floor layout and galleries were incomprehensible to me. The collection includes works of art among the finest in the world and it was difficult to take it all in for my fine art challenged brain. 

Most if not all of their collection is online so I took very few photos with my camera but, as every school kid in my generation likely recalls, this picture of George Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze in 1851 caught my eye just for its size and scale and deja vu of youth. (And yes, for you literary types, I knowingly missed the diacritical marks on my use of "deja vu").



After the MET, I walked east through part of the Upper East Side neighborhood to catch a subway ride back. Passing down this street, I was struck by this beautiful awning. It seemed so French I thought for a moment I was in Paris.



I took a "6" train down Lexington Avenue the 50+ blocks to 33rd street and then walked back west to my starting point. I am particularly enamored of these delightfully artistic inlaid small tile station names on the white tile walls.  I'll have a separate blog post about them in a few days.

I think they used chocolate brown colored paint combined with rust for this look.

Speaking of age, I haven't noticed very many older folks like me on the subway when I was riding. And no one else had shorts with black socks. Just sayin.'  (They were low socks, not knee socks, I'm not that old yet).