Images from New York City: Art, Music, Architecture, and Nature (A Look Back)
As most of you already know from my last few posts, I was happily back in New York City a few weeks ago (it had been too long!) to spend time with the family during the Easter weekend. Not to mention to catch former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant performing with his band Saving Grace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Amsterdam Avenue between West 110th Street and 113th Street.
With my daughter Miranda catching up on work after taking a few days off to volunteer at VACC Camp the week prior, and ladyfriend Serena also stuck at home finishing a work project, I was flying solo on this trip – but in very good company. I arrived in NYC on Good Friday and with the Robert Plant show the coming Tuesday, I had a few days to reacquaint myself with my beloved city and the first order of business was to explore the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Despite living in NYC for the first 33 years of my life, I had never visited the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (not to mention only walking past St. Patrick’s Cathedral – never bothering to go inside). That said, I also never had a reason to go up to Amsterdam Avenue from the Bronx. I mean, with Greenwich Village and Times Square a relatively short D Train ride away, why would I even bother, right? So with my sister Elisa behind the wheel, we were off to West Harlem.
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The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is recognized as one of the world’s largest Gothic cathedrals (second only to the Seville Cathedral in Spain in square meters) and one of the sixth largest church buildings on the planet. The cavernous interior spans roughly 121,000 square feet with a nave vaulting of 124 feet. It can hold over 5,000 to 8,000 people. It was incorporated in 1873 with its foundation being laid on Dec. 27, 1892, the Feast of St. John.
After meeting up with my brother Ruben at the cathedral, we stopped by the only attraction I would have ever considered going to Amsterdam Avenue to see, Tom’s Restaurant on 2880 Broadway (the iconic diner from “Seinfeld”), a block over from the cathedral.
Le Poisson Rouge
We didn’t eat at Tom’s, instead the three of us headed downtown to the West Village for a bite at Sarabeth’s before popping in to my favorite live music venue (and it’s not just because my lil brother is head honcho there) Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street to catch DJ K Styles hosting the Matinee Social Club, a community of seasoned party people creating a new type of “night life” – hosting dance parties with some of NYC’s best clubs & DJs from 5-10pm for the 30+ crowd.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
After spending Easter with the family and everyone returning to work on Monday, I decided to spend the afternoon strolling up and down the Guggenheim Museum…
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The museum, a landmark work of 20th-century architecture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, drew controversy for the unusual shape of its display spaces and took 15 years to design and build; it was completed in 1959. It consists of a six-story helical ramp which extends along the main gallery’s perimeter, under a central ceiling skylight.
Central Park
After a few hours at the Guggenheim, I decided to do something I rarely decide to do. Walk. It wasn’t a particularly long walk but it was to one of my favorite spaces in the world, Central Park…
Central Park is a massive, entirely man-made 840-acre oasis in Manhattan. It is the first public park built in America and is visited by over 40 million people annually. Construction on Central Park began in 1857, and it was a monumental project that spanned 16 years, finally finishing in 1873.
The park’s area is almost six times larger than the country of Monaco, and it’s nearly three times the size of Vatican City. Just like the rest of New York City, Central Park has been featured in over 350 films and counting over the years and holds the title of the most filmed public park in the world.
The park’s designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, meticulously planned every element to achieve a perfect blend of natural beauty and practical functionality. Over 20,000 trees were planted to create the lush environment we see today, and more than 10 million cartloads of soil and rock were moved to reshape the land.
No visit to Central Park would be complete without a visit to the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain…
Unveiled in 1873, the Angel of the Waters statue atop the Bethesda Fountain is the masterpiece of female sculptor Emma Stebbins and was the earliest public artwork by a woman in New York City.
Church of St. Vincent Ferrer
After a few hours walking the park, I found myself hungry. And when in New York, you do as the New Yorkers do – ask Google to locate the nearest pizza joint, preferably on my way to catch the 4 Train back to the Bronx. It came up with Pizza Napoli on Lexington Ave. between East 65th and 66th. On my way there, I came upon a small cathedral with a very intricately carved exterior. And considering I’d already visited my first cathedral in NYC, I decided I’d add another one to the list. What I wasn’t expecting was how impressive the inside would be…
Built in 1918 by the Dominicans (a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by the Castilian priest Dominic de Guzmán), the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer is under the patronage of Saint Vincent Ferrer (who else?), a Dominican preacher from Valencia, Spain.
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It was made a New York City designated landmark in 1967. In 1984, the church and priory, designed in 1881 by German-American architect William Schickel, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was probably one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve enjoyed during any visit to New York City – a truly beautiful church.
Robert Plant with Saving Grace
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I wrapped up my New York City trip by returning to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine to watch Robert Plant captivate the sold out crowd accompanied by Saving Grace and singer Suzi Dian. A fitting end to a very memorable time in my beloved New York City…
Spending time with family (even managed to squeeze in a dinner with my oldest friend from kindergarten!), discovering previously unexplored locations, satisfying my inner art nerd, walking the most beautiful park in the world (that’s right, I said it), and wrapping it all up watching that guy from Led Zeppelin perform inside one of the world’s largest Gothic cathedrals – that’s what you call four days very well spent. Nuff said.
