Manhattan - Part Two
The heavy morning rain was cool and refreshing, but I was searching for a taxi from the sidewalk. Of course there were cars parked right outside the awning at the doors of the Hotel Beacon, so I decided to hail a cab standing directly beneath the clouds. This strategy was both fun and fruitful. Suitably drenched, the driver and I loaded my luggage into the boot, and after finding shelter in the back seat I said, “Take me to the Hilton, New York”. I had waited to say those words.
As an aside, I have learned that all cabs in New York City are the Ford Crown Victoria and limousines are the Lincoln Town Car. I know, totally cool eh?
Given the rain, my appearance at the New York Hilton was not entirely debonair, suggesting the hotel was well above my station in life. The lady behind the check-in desk heard me open with “I have a reservation.” I was welcomed with open arms, that is, metaphorical human arms, not weapons ready to direct me to the door.
The cool and cloudy afternoon of Friday 19 August was the right time for a Midtown Manhattan adventure. Starting down Sixth Avenue (also known as Avenue of the Americas), I found the avenue of corporate headquarters: the News Corporation building, Time and Life, McGraw-Hill, Simon and Schuster, UBS, and the CBS Building. Also, the GE Building, part of the Rockefeller Center Complex, housing the New York Studios of NBC and Radio City Music Hall. In the main plaza of the Rockerfeller Center, some magnificent artwork, a statue of Prometheus and behind this, above a door of the building, a depiction of the Ancient of Days (1794) by William Blake above the words, “wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times”. Around the corner on Fifth Avenue, the Atlas statue. It is this type of artwork combined with architecture, that lets you know that New York is the greatest city in the world.
Atlas on Fifth Avenue
Later in the afternoon, shopping at Macy’s on 34th and Broadway. The retailing was so compelling I purchased two pairs of socks. Then the subway downtown to Prince Street station, near SoHo. Could I find a certain location that had proved elusive on an earlier expedition? Was I going the wrong way? (On my first expedition, a lovely German couple offered to purchase the map I was studying, thinking they were more lost than was I. No sale, but together we did work out where we were.) I saw a logo in reflection on a window, was my target near? What side of the street? I crossed the road to be on the left and there it was on the right, the Apple Store SoHo in an old post office on the corner of Prince and Greene. Two levels of Apple goodness, hardware, software, peripherals, accessories, presentations, genius bar, but what to buy? I settled on some iPod socks, my Apple prize from New York.
Apple Store SoHo
After my New York Hilton buffet breakfast, Saturday 20 August was Fifth Avenue Day. I took the subway uptown to about 96th street station, walked across town west through some Upper East Side housing, then left down 5th Avenue. You know just from the name that you have to visit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. An interesting building inside and out, but the art was not for me so I moved on. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is set into central park and was under renovation when I visited. I was excited to see The Death of Socrates (1787) by Jacques-Louis David and Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker (1880). Further down Fifth Avenue, The Frick Collection is worth seeing just for the building in addition to the artwork. It also had a pretty good bookshop.
Business begins where Central Park ends, below 59th Street. Opposite the Plaza Hotel was the toy store F.A.O. Schwarz where there seemed to be too many stuffed toys. Next was Louis Vuitton where I turned down the opportunity to purchase a three hundred dollar umbrella. Thanks, but no thanks. The Tiffany & Co. store is something like seven levels high. In order to reach Men’s Accessories, I walked to the top via the stairs as the elevators were too busy.
At night I saw my first Broadway show, Fiddler On The Roof at 8pm the the Minskoff Theater 200 West 45th Street. Apart from the enjoyment, I found a few lessons in this show: know your Bible, teach it well to your children, and watch out for those communists. I enjoyed many songs including, Tradition, Sabbath Prayer, To Life, Far From the Home I Love, and Sunrise, Sunset. In the song, Do You Love Me? Tevye asks his wife Golde if she loves him after twenty five years of marriage, a marriage arranged by their parents. After considering all she has done for Tevye, being with him through struggles and starvation, Golde concludes, “I suppose I do.” Perhaps after all this time they finally discover that love is not happy feelings, but rather, is expressed in concrete actions. A relevant message for today.
I woke up a little late on the morning of Sunday, 21 August. So after a quick breakfast at McDonald’s, I caught a cab to attend the 9.30 am meeting at Trinity Baptist Church on East 61st Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. I enjoyed singing Crown Him With Many Crowns, Amazing Love and after the message, It Is Well With My Soul. The message, titled What do you want me to do for you? was from Mark 10:32-45. After the meeting, I introduced myself and spoke with a few people. Being a visitor, rather than a regular, I appreciated being welcomed.
After church, I walked right across town to Pier 83 (on the other side of 12th Avenue on 42nd Street) and purchased a ticket for the 1.30 pm three hour Circle Line Full Island Cruise, around the entire 35 miles of Manhattan Island, anti-clockwise. I could tell people were interested in the Manhattan side of the river because for the entire cruise, the boat was leaning to the left.
The views were great. After discovering that one of the Chelsea Piers is a golf driving range, we saw Battery Park City, Jersey City (including a clock sponsored by Colgate), Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, Financial District, Brooklyn Bridge, United Nations Headquarters, as well as many parks and unit blocks. The rail-only Hell Gate Bridge connects Queens and the Bronx over a part of the East River known as Hell Gate. Apart from being painted red, this bridge looks exactly like the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Brooklyn Bridge
On the east side of upper Manhattan, perhaps in Washington Heights, I saw what seemed to be a shantytown, roughly built Harlem River side housing, complete with small boats. At the most northern tip of Manhattan is Inwood Hill Park, appearing to be far away from any city. After moving under the Henry Hudson Bridge and through the Spuyten Duyvil Swing Bridge the cruise turned south into the wide Hudson River. There was forest and park on both sides. The cruise continued south under the George Washington Bridge, returning to Peir 83 just as the Norwegian Dawn Cruise Line was reversing out of the parking space next-door.
Spuyten Duyvil Swing Bridge, and Henry Hudson Bridge
Thoroughly relaxed, I returned to the New York Hilton via 42nd street and then to a party with a friend I had met earlier that day.
© Danny Haynes
