Class #3 The Enchanting
Eastside
When I got out of bed this morning and looked outside I saw
that there were clouds outside. By the time I got on the train it was raining
and humid out which is an awful combination in my opinion because not only do
you get wet but you sweat as well. I brought my umbrella and I’m happy I did
because it rained all day and our instructors warned us not to complain because
we were going everywhere on the agenda, rain or shine.
Our first stop today was at the New York Public Library.
Mike informed us that the lions in the front of the library are famous. Mayor La
Guardia named them Patience and Fortitude. Patience was to represent the south
side and Fortitude was to represent the north side. “He gave them these names for
the struggling public during the Depression “(BG, 208). The library is famous
for many different artists and writers going there to do their work. “The
library mounts brilliant exhibitions on literary, artistic, and historical
subjects in Gottesman Hall on the ground floor and also upstairs in the smaller
galleries” (BG, 207). We got to sit down at the multitude of tables and think
of a haiku. I came up with two and here they are:
In
the library
We
sit and ponder our thoughts
Like
writers we are
Escaping
our thoughts
Studious
people all over
Drowning
in their thoughts
After the library we went to Saint Patrick’s
Cathedral. Although there was a lot of
construction going on in the Church we were still able to awe in its beauty.
After reading the Blue Guide I learned that the church bought the property
intending for it to be a burial ground. Unfortunately the land was too rocky
for a burial ground so in “1850 Archbishop John Hughes announced his intention
to build a new Cathedral on the site.” (BG 254) The Church was as magnificent
and beautiful today as it was in the pictures I looked up on the internet from
when it was first built. As we walked into the Church I noticed that there was
12:30 mass going on and I felt bad for disturbing the congregation and the
priest but this was not an opportunity I wanted to pass up. I quietly walked
around the Church taking pictures and reading what I could before scurrying out
of the Church after receiving some nasty looks for taking pictures while Mass
was going on.
Next on the tour was 53rd street. On this
street there were many different stores including Tiffany and Co. and FAO
Schwarz. Mike kindly let us walk around FAO Schwarz. FAO Schwarz is known worldwide
as being the greatest and most expensive toy store in the country. As I walked around I could imagine a child
walking around the store wanting every item the store has to offer. There was something
for everybody, and even as a 21 year old I found the area that I loved, LEGO.
As a child I grew up on Legos and loved seeing what they had to offer children now
a day. I found a Lego batman and a Lego Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.
We quickly made a pit stop from our tour and walked into
the Plaza hotel. “The Plaza, one of the city’s most famous hotels, was upscale when
it opened in 1907; a hundred years later it reopened after a $400 million
makeover…” (BG 530). This is one of the most expensive hotels in the city but,
on the other hand Mike informed us that the food is actually priced reasonably.
Our next stop on our tour was Central Park. At this point
everybody in the class was wet and uncomfortable but we kept going strong. The
park was created in 1856 so that the people who lived in the city could escape
the ugliness of the city. They wanted something completely different and now
New Yorkers can find that only a few blocks away. There are millions of people
in the park on a daily basis. The
Central Park Conservancy is responsible for taking care of the park. It is “a
not-for-profit group that maintains the park and keeps it up to date and clean”
(BG, 281).We also saw the Belvedere Castle. Although we got a little separated from
the group at one point, it was fascinating to find out the history of the
castle. Finally it was time for lunch and for lunch we chose Dallas BBQ.
The last stop on our tour was the Metropolitan Museum of
Art. This is known as the largest museum
in the world with different exhibits going in and out all year round. According to the Blue Guide there are over
two million objects (BG 326). As a class we took interest in Jackson Pollock.
His style was taking a huge canvas and splashing layers of paint all over. When
looking at a Pollock painting we are supposed to look for emotion, power or
rawness in the painting and in our selves. By looking closely we can see that
there is an order and a balance to everything he does. Damien suggested that we just take a chance on
his work instead of merely writing it off because we thought it was something a
four year old could do. He informed us that scientists have actually taken
young children to see if they could imitate Pollock and they were unsuccessful.
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