Exteriors, Familiar and Not

Where to, next? Central Park!

Ms. C was keen to see Belvedere Castle, but alas it was shrouded in scaffolding and closed for renovation.

We checked out the reservoir, the lake, and the turtle pond (where yes, we saw some actual turtles swimming).

Another request: Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Why not, from Brooklyn? I don't think I've ever taken the subway to Brooklyn before, but Google Maps led us to the right station.

We made our way to the World Trade Center site.

To the North Tower Pool.

I know where to find Paul's name. This is not something I would forget.

We walked along the High Line, from Chelsea to the north end overlooking the tracks at Penn Station.

On to Grand Central, to admire the nearby Chrysler Building by day.

A day to reflect on the old and the new, on what is here and what is not, before heading home.

The Art of the Subway

I had passed through the station many times before this little fella caught my eye, perched on a beam overhead.

Was this a rogue artistic statement? [No.]

There were more figures dotted about, and a larger installation below a staircase.

The subway system has a budget for art, I learned. We had some fun on a tour underground with a bona fide subway railfan.

Sure, I'd enjoyed the fossil replicas in the station below the Museum of Natural History. And I'd noticed the full-sized mosaics of revelers in the passages near Times Square. But there is real history throughout the system. The original lines were private, and the tile banners in each station followed their distinct color schemes of their owners.

More importantly, each station had a theme (localized to the neighborhood, in some fashion) to help riders recognize their stops. Not everyone could read, back in the day.

The Statue of Liberty is just barely visible beneath the bridge in the design at the Chambers Street station. The white tiles lining the walls were chosen to counteract the subterranean darkness. Despite layers of grime, they still reflect a lot of light.

A beaver, at Astor Place. It seems lucky that these pieces have endured in situ—not having been pried loose and stolen, nor defaced.

Our enthusiastic guide led us to some uncommon sights, like this intimate view of the tracks curving out of a station. We were standing, comfortably, behind a railing on the platform (not, as it might appear, on the tracks).

He made sure that we passed below the Roy Lichtenstein mural at the Times Square Station.

(A Roy Lichtenstein mural, in the subway?!)

Oh, the things you see when you take a moment to look around!

Interiors, Unfamiliar

It's easy to be overwhelmed by New York, with endless options for places to go and things to see. Sure, I have my favorites ... but when I visit with friends, it's the unexpected finds I relish most.

Like The Church of St. Francis Xavier, tucked into a neighborhood near Chelsea. I'm sure the area looked very different when it was built more than a century ago.

How many commuters, bustling through the corridors of Grand Central, take a moment to gaze up?

So many years ago, I would stay at the Plaza— a single room was (dare I say) a bargain during the summer months. Today, we eyed the Palm Court.

We're staying at an “affordable” Pod hotel, where they have refined the art of packing the maximum number of rooms into the available space. (“Affordable” is relative, I might add ...)

We explored a few galleries at the Metropolitan Museum, but popped into the Guggenheim just to admire the building.

One of Ms. C's “must-visit stops” was, of course, the New York Public Library. With some planning, we could have enjoyed a tour. The Rose Main Reading Room was packed (and very quiet, despite the prevalence of electronic screens).

The building is a veritable palace of books (though the stacks are hidden away). Nothing like this would be built today. Nothing.

An exhibit presented the work of Anna Atkins, the first examples of photographs (of seaweed) in a book. Remarkable, and ... who knew? (Not I.) For those who will not have the rare opportunity to study the physical pages, the library has shared them online.

From cyanotype, to high-resolution digital, to ... whatever the future holds.

Scenes of the City

Autumn in New York.

Staying in Manhattan is an extravagance, but so worth it.

Surprises await around every corner.

Work has brought me here for a few days, and of course I've extended my visit.

The skyline is less familiar to me now.

A dramatic new tower has risen somewhere beyond the New York Public Library, but ...

Will it age as well as the Chrysler building?

Or St. Patrick's Cathedral?

It's a transitional season—holiday trimmings are beginning to appear. The Christmas tree is weeks away, but skaters are already circling at Rockefeller Center.