Today was a rough start for myself. I barely got any sleep from the night before and was running so late I wound up not eating before making my train. The class met at our usual location, Penn Station where we took the one-uptown to 42nd street, Time Square, where we caught the S-shuttle train to the 6 and up-town again towards Harlem.
We ended up at the Museum of the City of New York, which was quite fascinating. It had a collection of interesting artifacts on display and the rooms were filled in interesting décor.
Timeline of New York City: (Notes taken from our NYC short history film.)
1609: Native Environment
1609-1783: Colonial City
· New York City was purchased from the Native Americans for $24.
· New Amsterdam became New York in honor of the Kings brother, the Duke of York.
1783-1825: The Great Port
· After the revolution, the South Street Seaport became the most popular one from trade.
· In 1811, the commissioner’s plan really mapped out the streets of New York City.
1825-1865: City of Strangers
· The workforce populated due to the industrial era.
1865-1900: The Metropolis
· Above ground trains or L’s as they would refer to them as, became popular.
· The Brooklyn Bridge was built in the early 1880’s.
1900-1920: Modern City
· Skyscrapers were created
· New York City became the “first city of the sky.”
· The lower east side became known as “immigrant central.” The sanitary conditions were terrible.
1920-1945: Cosmopolitan City
· Artists populated to Greenwich Village.
· African American Artists centered themselves in Harlem by the 1930’s.
· In 1931 the Empire State Building was built.
· After the Great Depression, the government had more of an impact and say on what went on in the city.
1945-1975:
· In 1970 a new flight of immigrants migrated into New York City.
1975-2001:
· On September 11, 2001 a little fewer than 3,000 people were killed during a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center buildings.
· New York is more diverse then ever before.
We then went on a one-hour tour of “Spanish Harlem.” Our tour guide Luke is a poet, activist, and proud Puerto Rican. He took us to a community center to explore local art and during our walking tour; we examined murals that have been painted on the buildings of Harlem that each hold an individual story. One that struck me the most was a mural painted by elementary school kids. Luke explained how this one was so important to the areas culture because he feels everyone’s voice deserves to be heard in some way, shape, or form. After his tour, some classmates and I enjoyed an inexpensive meal off Third Avenue.
After lunch we walked through the northern part of Central Park, one of the worlds greatest public parks. “Central Park is the heartland of Manhattan, 843 acres set aside for the recreation of New Yorkers and visitors alike. Although the park seems “natural,” the largest surviving piece of Manhattan un-encrusted with asphalt and masonry, its landscape and scenery are completely man-made, based on designs by Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.” [BG Pg. 279]
We passed through the Conservatory Gardens on 105st along the Central Park Reservoir until we hit the Guggenheim Museum. Continuing our walk down “museum mile,” we arrived at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on 82nd Street.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, generally called imply The Met, is the largest, most comprehensive art museum in the world. The building occupies 1.5 million square feet and its collections include more than two million objects, whose range includes the whole world and the entire sweep of civilization. Every year more then five million people visit.” [BG pg. 326]
At the museum, a PUNK exhibition was being featured. Articles of clothing were displayed; ones that mostly only Lady Gaga or Madonna would be seen wearing. The clothing were enriched with dark colors, black spikes, and even common household items such as plastic bags.
It was known as heaven for anyone interested in “plastic couture.”
We left the museum on foot and explored more of central park. We stopped by the boat pond, the lake, strawberry fields, and the famous Dakota where John Lennon was shot and murdered. Our last leg of this class was interesting. We had a short class lecture in Central Park given by Mike and when we got to strawberry fields, a man of homeless decent shared his visions and descriptions of the memorial ground, calling himself the mayor of strawberry fields.
I had enough of the walking (over 70 blocks total), I had enough of the crazy homeless men talking to us, and I had enough humidity/rain for the day. It was time to head home, and that we did.
We ended up at the Museum of the City of New York, which was quite fascinating. It had a collection of interesting artifacts on display and the rooms were filled in interesting décor.
Timeline of New York City: (Notes taken from our NYC short history film.)
1609: Native Environment
1609-1783: Colonial City
· New York City was purchased from the Native Americans for $24.
· New Amsterdam became New York in honor of the Kings brother, the Duke of York.
1783-1825: The Great Port
· After the revolution, the South Street Seaport became the most popular one from trade.
· In 1811, the commissioner’s plan really mapped out the streets of New York City.
1825-1865: City of Strangers
· The workforce populated due to the industrial era.
1865-1900: The Metropolis
· Above ground trains or L’s as they would refer to them as, became popular.
· The Brooklyn Bridge was built in the early 1880’s.
1900-1920: Modern City
· Skyscrapers were created
· New York City became the “first city of the sky.”
· The lower east side became known as “immigrant central.” The sanitary conditions were terrible.
1920-1945: Cosmopolitan City
· Artists populated to Greenwich Village.
· African American Artists centered themselves in Harlem by the 1930’s.
· In 1931 the Empire State Building was built.
· After the Great Depression, the government had more of an impact and say on what went on in the city.
1945-1975:
· In 1970 a new flight of immigrants migrated into New York City.
1975-2001:
· On September 11, 2001 a little fewer than 3,000 people were killed during a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center buildings.
· New York is more diverse then ever before.
We then went on a one-hour tour of “Spanish Harlem.” Our tour guide Luke is a poet, activist, and proud Puerto Rican. He took us to a community center to explore local art and during our walking tour; we examined murals that have been painted on the buildings of Harlem that each hold an individual story. One that struck me the most was a mural painted by elementary school kids. Luke explained how this one was so important to the areas culture because he feels everyone’s voice deserves to be heard in some way, shape, or form. After his tour, some classmates and I enjoyed an inexpensive meal off Third Avenue.
After lunch we walked through the northern part of Central Park, one of the worlds greatest public parks. “Central Park is the heartland of Manhattan, 843 acres set aside for the recreation of New Yorkers and visitors alike. Although the park seems “natural,” the largest surviving piece of Manhattan un-encrusted with asphalt and masonry, its landscape and scenery are completely man-made, based on designs by Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.” [BG Pg. 279]
We passed through the Conservatory Gardens on 105st along the Central Park Reservoir until we hit the Guggenheim Museum. Continuing our walk down “museum mile,” we arrived at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on 82nd Street.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, generally called imply The Met, is the largest, most comprehensive art museum in the world. The building occupies 1.5 million square feet and its collections include more than two million objects, whose range includes the whole world and the entire sweep of civilization. Every year more then five million people visit.” [BG pg. 326]
At the museum, a PUNK exhibition was being featured. Articles of clothing were displayed; ones that mostly only Lady Gaga or Madonna would be seen wearing. The clothing were enriched with dark colors, black spikes, and even common household items such as plastic bags.
It was known as heaven for anyone interested in “plastic couture.”
We left the museum on foot and explored more of central park. We stopped by the boat pond, the lake, strawberry fields, and the famous Dakota where John Lennon was shot and murdered. Our last leg of this class was interesting. We had a short class lecture in Central Park given by Mike and when we got to strawberry fields, a man of homeless decent shared his visions and descriptions of the memorial ground, calling himself the mayor of strawberry fields.
I had enough of the walking (over 70 blocks total), I had enough of the crazy homeless men talking to us, and I had enough humidity/rain for the day. It was time to head home, and that we did.
| Here is a view from one of the museums the class went to: The CIty of New York Museum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE5NMVRD6XA&feature=youtu.be | Here is a view of Central Park from where the class decided to take a break at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS1PQkd3UJg&feature=youtu.be | Here is Luke our tour guide reciting one of his poems to the class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yafSKbq2vRw&feature=youtu.be |
City Museum |
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