Class #6: Lower Manhattan and Captivating Chelsea

            Today we started off class by going to the World Trade Center Memorial. This is a spot that I always enjoy going to so that i could pay homage to the lives lost in 2001. Because my father works for the government he was down at the Trades Center working 14 hour days along with all of the people in his squad. He along with all other government workers along the east coast came rushing to the towers to help remove rubble, search for victims, basically anything they could do to assist in any way. I remember him coming home with free boots, hard hats and flashlights all of which were generously donated by different companies in a most charitable manner. I have visited here before but enjoyed going back and saying a prayer for all of those who lost their lives on this awful day in American history. Mike let us walk around and see the new Freedom towers being built from every direction.

            We also got to go to St Paul's Church which was built in 1764 in Georgian style. One thing that is interesting about this church is that George Washington attended services in this church in his reserved booth. There is also a booth reserved for the governor. What the church has become famous for in the famous 9/11 memorial inside. This was a place where the victims and workers came during the weeks following the attacks to rest and eat. This church became a shelter for the workers who could not go home because they only got a certain amount of time off during the weeks after the attacks.

          After St Paul’s Church we went to Trinity Church which was built in Gothic Revival style. The bronze doors on the front of the church were done by Richard Morris Hunt in 1893. This church has been here for a long time. When our country was founded these churches were here. This church holds great significance in the history of our country. As our founding fathers were in New York they most likely would have attended churches just like this one. I was intrigued and wanted to go inside and take a peak but there was a service going on and i realized it wasn't Catholic when I saw a woman minister on the alter, so I decided not to enter the church.

            After we visited all the different churches we walked by the New York Stock Exchange and I was surprised to see all of the barricades and police officers protecting the building. After that we went to Federal Hall National Monument. This was one of my favorite places that we visited during this class. It was so cool to see where George Washington was sworn in as our president and all of the things that were included with him becoming president. After this we strolled through Battery Park and saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island which are not part of the course but still fun to see. During our walk we saw the World Financial Center and the Irish Hunger Memorial.

            Finally after a couple of miles of walking we reached the Poet’s House. This building is completely devoted to the art of poetry. They take in hundreds of works every year from a variety of different writers. One unique thing about this place is that you do not need to be famous to enter poetry. Anyone can walk in and get their works put on the shelves of the house.

            Next on the agenda is Chelsea Market for lunch. This market has a wide variety of food to eat ranging from pizza to cupcakes to sushi. From the Market we walked on the  much-admired High Line. The High Line is an abandoned freight line that has been phenomenally converted into a amazing garden in which the people of New York can walk through and admire.

            Finally we took the stairs from the high line down into the heart of Chelsea’s art gallery scene. This area has undergone huge gentrification because it used to be a hot crime stop and a very bad place to be but now it had become one of the most famous art gallery scenes in the world. While in this area we did what any other wealthy person would do we gallery hopped. We walked into 10 galleries, looked at a couple of weird paintings or sculptures and walked right out. We spent no more than 5 minutes in each gallery. It was quite an experience.