Empire Area; Blast from the Past; Madison Sq. Play area

Another grab bag of photos this time: First, building next to Empire State has interesting glass arches...wonder if were ever modified after it was built...

Second, photo of me and friend named Sioux Oehler McLane in a 1963, end -0f-high-school summer stock production of "L'il Abner"--we are Senator Phogbound and Stupefyin's Jones...the group was called Summerset Players and I ought to google it to see if it still exists...

Finally, a nice children's play area in Madison Square...east midtown and Murray Hill have a certain number of playgrounds for kids, but not all that many.

nycgo.com, Norman Thomas HS building

Banners in Midtown announce nycgo.com--which turns out to be a pretty interesting website on NYC places and activities-- oriented towards tourists but useful for locals as well.

Sunday finds this office building plaza empty....Monday afternoon, it will be chaos as the students stampede out of Norman Thomas High School, which is in the building.

Have a friend whose brother went there...wonder if he knows yet who Norman Thomas was ( or cares).

Find the office building itself sort of an eyesore...some buildings and sculpture grow on you, others do the opposite...this building I find more and more oppressive with each passing year.

Balmy Spring Evening, Pedicab, Shutterbugs

Balmy spring evening brings people outside to enjoy the weather, sightsee and hang out..

First, my neighbors Craig and John sit over at St. Vartan Park boundary and hang out, probably discussing activities involving the Tenants' Association of our building....Craig is the Chair of it.

Know pedicabs are proliferating in Midtown but this is first time I have been able to get a shot of one...

Finally,--I could get a shot of this every day-- people photographing the Empire State Building from nearby ( men often crouching down). Every one you know who visits NYC probably has a shot of the Empire State...which is why I try to avoid having it on this blog!

Fifth Avenue, New Sunlight, & Guinness is Good 4U

Another grab bag of Midtown snapshots:

Bald mannequins with sunglasses on Fifth Avenue,

Apartments that had not seen daylight in scores of years do again after building next door is set back from street, and Paddy Reilly's bar poster extols the merits of Guinness...

Steam Heat, "French Nails" and the UU's

"Dig We Must" used to be Con Ed's catchphrase ( now they use the silly "On It!" with an upturned thumb....yeah, they are probably " on it" like BP is on the Gulf of Mexico crisis.

Always wondered where this "French Cleaners" cliche came from in NYC--notice this place has "French Nails" too-- yes, another Nail Salon!

The local Unitarian Church is celebrating Love, which sounds sort of wishy washy ( what is this, "All You Need is Love?" "Agape" or something?)--which is why I only occasionally attend services there. The UU's are certainly well intentioned, though....

Naked Statue, Museum of Sex, Madison Square

Down near Madison Square, the Museum of Sex seems to generate a good deal of interest on Mother's Day...

Recently heard on BBC that Museum had bought ( at auction) Dominatrix's paraphenalia ( leather, chains, whips,etc.) for about $70,000...isn't on display yet.

Nearby, tourists and Naked Man Statue ( part of a big Arts Project) linger at street corner...

Figures were posed on top of buildings and it caused a problem: people were calling in to 911 in droves saying someone was going to jump from the top of the building.

Meanwhile, in Madison Square Park, a photographer and his model prepare for some kind of shoot in front of Statue of Naval hero Farragut.

And flowers bloom in the very crisp weather today...heat will be on in building tonight...

Gabarron Center; Loews Kips Bay

Have no idea really what this Gabarron Arts Center is, will have to Google it...

Certainly is a charming European style building.

I am looking to take a watercolor class this summer and wonder if this place can be any help...

Meanwhile, the local Loews Cineplex keeps perking along with all the new big movies...wall along Second Avenue is decorated with fading color images of such classic as the Wizard of Oz, the African Queen, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid among others.

End of the Pizza Man

Well, I guess it had to happen-- the statue of the Pizza Man is gone now from in front of Rosa's Pizzeria on Second Avenue.

Most people just see this kind of artwork as kitsch with no redeeming value, which is a shame...

Statue looked in good shape last time I noticed it, and then whammo, it was gone... in the proverbial New York Minute....

Now just two street statues left ( both in same place to the West) that I know of.

Flowers, Setbacks, Add-Ons

New waves of flowers keep blooming around here, I am not sure what all of them are...

Deep in Midtown, classic set backs on skyscrapers are supposed to let in more light. Doesn't quite work--but suppose without them it would be worse.

As in a lot of congested areas, people keep adding floors to older structures. Understand that in some places, like Rome, this is almost always done illegally and is a safety hazard. These places no doubt have permits from the City, but given the level of corruption historically in NY, who knows what that is worth.

Midtown Mixed Bag

Within easy walking distance of each other in the lower East 30's, these sights are a sign of the crazy quilt of the area..

First, an Irish pub which also advertises an Orange sign, which means I suppose they welcome all and any...sign of new Ireland, maybe?

Then there is a Baptist Church which doesn't look much like a traditional church. But then, this is Midtown.

Finally, a very ordinary row house which is being auctioned at high-end Sotheby's. Thirty years ago, it would have been hard to sell this building, now it is considered prime real estate...

Such are the myriad delights of Midtown East.

Gramercy Park- Leafy as Hell

Gramercy Park is where Lexington Avenue begins, a couple of blocks south of 23rd Street.

Historically a Private Park, only the buildings around it had keys for the gates. This has probably been challenged in court and it looks to me like nothing has changed though.

On one side of the Park (East) are some townhouses, one of which is where Stanford White used to live and have a private studio. (Think it is one most obscured by trees. This area is so leafy and green, it's sort of a shock to come across it.

Inside the park are of course beautiful plantings and neat sculptures.

On the East Side of the Park is the classic building guarded by knights in armor. Surprisingly, this building was once ( guess in the late 70's) sort of run down but has been refurbished in all its pricey splendor.

Korean Store Enclave

Noticed a small Korean enclave over in the 30's...think Korean shops are sprinkled around an even wider area there.

Remember when it seemed like every fresh fruit and vegetable store seemed to be run by Koreans.

Rumor was at the time that they were all controlled by that Rev. Moon whom we have not heard much about in....many a moon.

Lower Fifth Avenue- The North Village

The North Village, which is pretty but not spectacular, is now billed as "The Gold Coast" by real estate agents...

This handsome Beaux Arts building on the corner recently listed a floor-through apartment for $25 million ( reduced to $19 million)-- in a building that apparently has no pool, gym or roofdeck for instance.

It's the thrill of living besides Drug Lords and executives from Goldman Sachs ( this I did not make up, --googled the area and found an expensive apartment recently bought by GS exec and her husband).

Nearby street has plaque honoring Eleanor Roosevelt...there are a good number of plaques around this area and a lot of the buildings are landmarked.

Remember farther back than I would care to admit when area was expensive but not astronomical!

Very Superstitious?

There are more psychic and spiritual seeing/healing places than these four around here...

Why are there so many around here?

Rents around here are high, so there must be just as big a demand for these places as for nail salons!

Have never been to a Psychic or a Spiritual healer or anything....and don't intend to.

Murray Hill houses-- with an eye for detail

Murray Hill houses are often very distinctive in their architectural detail...and, of course, fun to look at.

First building shown here harks back to era when there were a lot of buildings built with sloping glass windows to catch the North Light ( supposedly great for an artist).

Note craftsmanship in other buildings...and there is so much of it on so many of these houses.