New York City!
New York, New York, is everything they say
And no place that I'd rather be
Where else can you do a half a million things
All at a quarter to three
The Heart of Rock & Roll by Huey Lewis and the News
M
y first trip to New York City was in 1982. Back in the day, every graduating class voted on where they wanted to go for their senior trip. We selected New York City and Washington, DC.As you’d expect, we were all pretty stoked to go somewhere outside of Maine as most of us probably hadn’t gone any further than New Hampshire in our entire lives. I was in that group.
I wanted to see the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, experience the subway system and just walk the streets of New York City itself. For Washington, DC...the Lincoln Memorial, White House and the Washington Monument for top priorities. We got to see them all.
Word got around that the legal drinking age for New York and Washington, DC was only 18. Our chaperones were not happy about this. The drinking age wouldn’t be raised to 21 until 1985 and 1986 respectively. Thankfully, no one got into any trouble.
Some members of the Class of 1982 high school senior trip. One day's purchase! (Washington, DC)
Many years later I’d revisit New York City two more times. Being older and having a different perspective--consuming alcohol not being an objective--I was able to appreciate the lively NYC environment more so than when I was 18 years old.
My most recent visit to NYC, this being my fourth time to the Big Apple, I had actual objectives. I wanted to see photo exhibits of two of my favorite photographers: Vivian Maier and Bruce Gilden. My secondary objectives were to visit the Flatiron building and walk the Brooklyn Bridge.
I decided to take a Greyhound bus to NYC. Be warned, Greyhound buses stay on a strict time schedule. They will depart and arrive within minutes of the expected times. My bus arrived at the NYC bus terminal on time even though the area was experiencing heavy rains and flash flooding, resulting in downed tree limbs and partial road closures. We still arrived on time.
Lodging in NYC is expensive. There’s just no deals to be had. I opted to stay in a hostel for the first time ever. My hostel had several floors. Each floor had private rooms that were just big enough for a single sized bed and a small bed. The “ceilings” were topped off with a wooden lattice, the same as you’d use to hide the underneath of your outdoor deck.
Quiet hours were strictly enforced. You could hear someone open a suitcase zipper from across the room. People who snored were not allowed to stay here. Those that snored were woken up and told to stop or leave.
The weather would stay gloomy and drizzly for my entire time in NYC. However, I did accomplish all of my primary objectives and then some. My first full day was spent viewing the two photo exhibits, both of which were located inside of this amazing looking building called the Fotografiska Museum.
First up, the exhibit for Vivian Maier. Two floors of some of her best work...mostly black and white. She took many self-portraits, which I appreciate and try to do for myself since I am always the photographer.
VIVIAN MAIER
Vivian Maier selfie
I got to the photo exhibit when it first opened. It was nice to have the place to myself. But, as the morning progressed many more people came to appreciate her work along with me.
BRUCE GILDEN
Unlike Vivian Maier, Bruce Gilden is still alive and taking photographs. His work, also unlike Maier, is mostly in color. The detail within his photographs is UNREAL! It’s almost as if they are real, right in front of you. Gilden photographed most of these people on the streets of New York City.
THE FLATIRON
Next on my to-do list was to see the Flatiron building. This is one of the most unique looking buildings in New York, in my humble opinion. It resembles the bottom of an old fashioned clothes iron. Unfortunately, the building is undergoing renovations and every side, top to bottom, was covered in scaffolding. Still, it looks impressive.
Due to the on again, off again rain...I had tried to stay inside as much as possible. As luck would have it I discovered that Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelte’s childhood home was open for tours! Roosevelt was our 26th president. It was a very interesting tour.
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt - 26th President of the U.S. (1901-1909)
The parents room of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. Their original bed where all of their children were conceived.
White shirt worn by Roosevelt when shot before 1912 campaign speech. Bullet went through coat, 50 page speech and glasses case before lodging next to his left lung. The bullet was never removed.
Who yah gonna call?!
Since I was in the area, why not visit Ghost Buster's Headquarters? It’s actually a working firehouse.
At this point in the trip I had achieved almost all of my goals. Thursday, my last full day in NYC, I’d finish them up. Once again, it was an overcast and drizzly day. It took me about 45 minutes to walk to my last goal, walking the Brooklyn Bridge. I sheltered underneath some large trees until the rain let up. The Brooklyn Bridge was dead ahead of me!
Brooklyn Bridge
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait more than 15-20 minutes for the rain to let up. It seems that many other people were waiting for the rain to stop. A herd of people rushed to the entrance of the bridge. As you’d expect, many people stopped to take selfies or have other people take a picture for them.
It took about twenty minutes to walk the entire length of the bridge, stopping along the way to admire the views and to take pictures. You can even see the Statue of Liberty from the right side of the bridge! Off to the left was another bridge called the Manhattan Bridge. It’s not as famous, not as old but still a marvel of engineering and a beauty in its own right.
The Manhattan Bridge as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge.
I was still feeling pretty good after walking quite a few miles. And, since I had to get back to Manhattan--which is where my hostel was located--I decided to walk back on the Manhattan Bridge after I got some lunch. With the Brooklyn Bridge to my back, I needed to find the on-ramp for the Manhattan Bridge.
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge had far less traffic on it than the Brooklyn Bridge by a factor of 100, and that’s no exaggeration. The walkway wasn’t nearly as pretty, either. But, the views were nearly as good.
The Brooklyn Bridge as seen from the Manhattan Bridge. Notice the outdoor covered carousel?
When I think of NYC one of the things that comes to mind is the graffiti. It’s almost everywhere. Yet, I’ve never seen so much of it in one place as I did from the Brooklyn Bridge. And, instead of feeling that the graffiti artist “defaced” the building surfaces I think that they enhanced them. Notice the difference between the building in the foreground versus the background. Which do you think looks better?
Rounding out my walk across the Manhattan Bridge, I got a very nice view of a section of China Town.
It was at this point when the drizzle started to turn to rain. It was a good time to stop off in a warm cafe and drink some coffee while reading a book. Once the rain stopped I made my way back, stopping off in Times Square before going back to the hostel for the night.
Times Square
The following day it was time to leave. My last goal was to walk to the famous Grand Central Terminal and be inside the beautiful main gallery. I had to get an Uber so that I could get there and visit for a few minutes before I had to leave and catch my bus back home.
Visiting New York City—for the fourth time—was fantastic. Though I’ve seen the most popular NYC locations several times I still see something new or gain a new perspective. Stay someplace that is centrally located to the sights that you are interested in seeing and walk everywhere. You’ll get a lot more out of New York City if you do.
