Walk in New York: février 2008

jeudi, février 28

Bronx : Zoo : show off

Manhattan : Hotel : Bryant Park

Brooklyn : Coney Island : Childs Restaurant

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Coney Island : Childs Restaurant

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Coney Island : Childs Restaurant 1923

New York Vintage : Childs Restaurant : 21st Street and the Boardwalk : Coney Island, Brooklyn : 1923

mercredi, février 27

Brooklyn : Coney Island : Wonder Wheel : Astroland

Astroland "first billed itself as a 'space-age' theme park. Today a visit is more like stepping into the past than the future." Some of the current rides are similar to regular carnival rides, but others offer a kitsche experience that is lacking in modern amusement parks.

In 1955, Dewey Albert and his friends Nathan Handwerker, Herman Rapps, Sidney Robbins and Paul Yampo formed a corporation called Coney Island Enterprises. In 1957, Rapps and Alpert announced they would build Wonderland. Through a series of acquisitions, together they built what is today known as Astroland. On July 12, 1975 an early morning fire wiped out much of the park but they were able to rebuild.

On November 28, 2006 Astroland was sold by the Albert Family to Thor Equities for US $30 million. According to the article in Newsday, the Alberts will continue to operate the Cyclone, the famous wooden roller coaster
(c) Wikipedia

Brooklyn : Coney Island : The Wonder Wheel

Brooklyn : Coney Island : The Wonder Wheel

Wonder Wheel. Built in 1918 and opened in 1920, this steel ferris wheel has both stationary cars and rocking cars that slide along a track. It holds 144 riders, stands 150 feet tall, and weighs over 2,000 tons. It is part of Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Coney Island, A Free Show 1912

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Coney Island, A Free Show 1912
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Coney island Wonder Wheel 1941

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Coney island Wonder Wheel 1941
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Coney Island, the Iron Pier 1902

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Coney Island, the Iron Pier 1902
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Shooting the chutes, Luna Park, Coney Island 1903

New York Vintage : Video : Brooklyn : Shooting the chutes, Luna Park, Coney Island 1903
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

vendredi, février 22

Greenwich Village : Christopher Park - Gay Liberation sculptures de George Segal

Greenwich Village : Christopher Park - Gay Liberation sculptures de George Segal

Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, and was at the center of New York's gay rights movement in the late 1970s. To this day the street serves as a symbol of gay pride.
The street was once called Skinner Road after Colonel William Skinner, the son-in-law of Admiral Peter Warren who once owned much of the land in the West Village. The street received its current name in 1799, when the land was acquired by Charles Christopher Amos. See also Charles Street, and Amos Street.
Christopher Street is the first stop in Manhattan on the 33rd Street Line of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson rapid transit railroad. The PATH identifies Christopher Street station with a large single capital 'C'. The street also has a station on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line (1 2) at Christopher Street-Sheridan Square.
Sheridan Square Park is decorated with sculptures by George Segal, called Gay Pride, to commemorate the gay rights traditions of the place.
(c) Wikipedia

Greenwich Village : Christopher Park - Gay Liberation sculptures de George Segal

Greenwich Village : Christopher Park - Gay Liberation sculptures de George Segal
George Segal (November 26, 1924 , New York - June 9, 2000, New Brunswick, New Jersey) was an American painter and sculptor associated with the Pop Art movement. He was presented with a National Medal of Arts in 1999.

Although Segal started his art career as a painter, his best known works are cast lifesize figures and the tableaux the figures inhabited. In place of traditional casting techniques, Segal pioneered the use of plaster bandages (plaster-impregnated gauze strips designed for making orthopedic casts) as a sculptural medium. In this process, he first wrapped a model with bandages in sections, then removed the hardened forms and put them back together with more plaster to form a hollow shell. These forms were not used as molds; the shell itself became the final sculpture, including the rough texture of the bandages. Initially, Segal kept the sculptures stark white, but a few years later he began painting them (usually in bright monochrome). Eventually he started having the final forms cast in bronze, sometimes patinated white to resemble the original plaster.
Segal's figures had minimal color and detail, which gave them a ghostly, melancholic appearance. In larger works, one or more figures were placed in anonymous, typically urban environments such as a street corner, bus, or diner. In contrast to the figures, the environments were built using found objects.
From the 1950s until his death Segal lived on a chicken farm in South Brunswick, New Jersey. He only ran the chicken farm for a few years, but he used the space to hold annual picnics for his friends from the New York art world. His location in central New Jersey also led to friendships with professors from the Rutgers University art department. Segal introduced several Rutgers professors to John Cage, and took part in Cage's legendary experimental composition classes. Allan Kaprow coined the term Happening to describe the art performances that took place on Segal's farm in the Spring of 1957. Events for Yam Fest also took place there. Segal was married to Helen Segal from 1946 until his death in 2000...
(c) Wikipedia

jeudi, février 14

Video : Bronx : Little Italy : Arthur Avenue

Bronx : Little Italy : Arthur Avenue

Arthur Avenue is located in the Fordham section of New York City's northernmost borough, The Bronx, It was once the heart of the Bronx's "Little Italy". In this context, "Little Italy" generally refers to Arthur Avenue and East 187th Street. Although the historical and commercial center of Little Italy is Arthur Avenue itself, the area stretches across East 187th Street from Arthur Avenue to Prospect Avenue, and is similarly lined with delis, bakeries, cafes, and various Italian merchants. Most recently, this retail strip has transitioned with a growing number of Albanian and Mexican restaurants, bodegas, and other businesses.
Over the past few decades the Italian population in the Belmont area has almost completely vanished and many look to Morris Park as the Bronx's new primary Italian community.
The road is named in honor of President Chester A. Arthur.
(c) Wikipedia

New York Vintage : Bronx : Little Italy - vendor with wares displayed

New York Vintage : Bronx : Little Italy - vendor with wares displayed
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

New York Vintage : Bronx : Little Italy

New York Vintage : Bronx : Festa in Little Italy
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

mercredi, février 13

Brooklyn : Brighton Beach

Brooklyn : Brighton Beach (Little Odessa)

Brooklyn : Brighton Beach

Brooklyn : Brighton Beach (Little Odessa)

Brooklyn : Brighton Beach

Brooklyn : Brighton Beach (Little Odessa)

Brooklyn : Brighton Beach

Brooklyn : Brighton Beach (Little Odessa)

It is bounded by Coney Island at Ocean Parkway to the west, affluent, but non-gated Manhattan Beach at Corbin Place to the east, Gravesend at Neptune Avenue to the north (at the Belt Parkway), and the Atlantic Ocean to the south (at the Riegelmann Boardwalk/beachfront).
Brighton Beach was dubbed "Little Odessa" by the local populace long ago, due to many of its residents having come from Odessa. In 2006, Alec Brook-Krasny was elected for the 46th District of the New York State Assembly, the first elected Soviet-born Jewish politician from Brighton Beach.
Brighton Beach is home to many other ethnic groups. On Brighton 7th Street and Neptune Avenue, there is a mosque where Muslims (mostly from Pakistan and Bangladesh) pray, and another between Brighton 8th Street and Banner Avenue known as Al-Arqam. Nearby areas are sometimes called "Pakistani Brighton". There are numerous Polish, Russian and Georgian residents, but relatively few Italian-Americans or African-Americans remaining. There are also some Korean markets, but for the most part their owners do not reside in the neighborhood. Notable past residents include talk-show host Larry King and current General Bancorp President Adnan Mohammad.
Brighton Beach is replete with restaurants, food stores, cafes, boutiques, banks, etc., located primarily along Brighton Beach Avenue and its cross streets. The neighborhood, with an estimated population of 350,000 (mostly from Russia and Ukraine), has a distinctively ethnic feel – akin to Manhattan's Chinatown. The proximity of Brighton Beach to the city's beaches (Brighton Beach Avenue runs parallel to the Coney Island beach area and the Boardwalk) and the fact that the neighborhood is directly served by the Brighton Beach Avenue subway station, makes it a popular summer weekend destination for thousands of New York City residents.
(c) Wikipedia

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Brighton Beach 1905

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Brighton Beach 1905
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Brighton Beach 1901

New York Vintage : Brooklyn : Brighton Beach 1901
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

Video : Bryant Park - Chrysler Building - Grand Central Station

Manhattan : The Chrysler Building : Grand Central Terminal

Manhattan : The Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at 319 m (1,047 ft) high, it was briefly the world's tallest building before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931. However, the Chrysler Building remains the world's tallest brick building. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it was again the second tallest building in New York City until December 2007, when the spire was raised on the 365.8 m (1,200 ft) Bank of America building, pushing the Chrysler Building into third position. In addition, the New York Times Building, which opened in 2007, is exactly tied with the Chrysler Building in height, making the two buildings tied for 3rd position. Despite the change in tallness ranking in New York, the Chrysler Building is still a classic example of Art Deco architecture and considered by many, at least among contemporary architects, to be one of the finest buildings in New York City

(c) Wikipedia

mardi, février 12

New York Vintage : Manhattan : The Chrysler Building 1932

New York Vintage : Manhattan : The Chrysler Building 1932
(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

New York Vintage : Manhattan : The Chrysler Building 1932

(c)the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division

Manhattan : Irish Hunger Memorial

Manhattan : Irish Hunger Memorial : Dublin

Manhattan : Irish Hunger Memorial

Manhattan : Irish Hunger Memorial

The Irish Hunger Memorial, designed collaboratively by artist Brian Tolle, landscape architect Gail Wittwer-Laird, and 1100 Architect, is located on a one-quarter acre site at the corner of Vesey Street and North End Avenue in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City (USA), and is dedicated to raising awareness of the Great Irish Famine that killed millions in Ireland between the years 1845 and 1852. The memorial was dedicated on July 16, 2002. It is a uniquely landscaped plot, which utilizes stones, soil, and native vegetation brought in from the western coast of Ireland. The memorial contains stones from all of the different counties of Ireland. The memorial also incorporates an authentically recreated Irish cottage of the 19th century.
(c) Wikipedia