Hamilton Heights, Broadway at 145th Street

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Banco Popular sits diagonally across from McDonald's on the southeast corner of the intersection, with its cool colors making a good foil for the hot reds across the way.

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Hamilton Heights, 145th Street at Broadway

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

And here is McDonald's at Broadway. I was kind of hoping to find a Taco Bell so I could talk about all the sensational videos of rats running around in a Taco Bell in Greenwich Village, but this'll have to do.

And anyway, don't you think this is the best photo of McDonald's you've ever seen?

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Hamilton Heights, 145th Street Between Riverside Drive and Broadway

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

When I got off the subway at 145th Street, I first walked west one block to Riverside Drive where we saw the bridge. Now this is on my way back to Broadway. For a long shot of the street go here. You will see a faint red rectangle at the far right, which is the back of McDonald's on Broadway.

Above is a close up of some of those row houses. I love the white one with its columns and second story verandah. Next door, two small stone lions, somewhat eroded by the urban elements, look haughtily down at the street. I'm not imagining this, I walked right by them on my way down.

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Hamilton Heights, Riverside Drive at 145th Street

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Well, just look at this pretty little bridge all color coordinated. It doesn’t go across the river but seems to lead to the Riverbank State Park.

Did you know we had a State Park right here in Manhattan? This is the park that was built on top of a sewage treatment plant, (the first in the western hemisphere!), apparently to placate Harlem residents who were outraged that the plant was being built in their back yard. It had originally been planned for 72nd Street, but you know what happens when wealthy, influential folks are threatened with a sewage treatment plant. Yep, it gets moved. In Harlem, they weren't wealthy enough or influential enough to get it moved, but they did get this park.

Now, after all, or most of, the trouble with bad smells has been resolved, it seems to be a great success; New York Magazine gives it a glowing review. Of course, there is an expensive restaurant, The River Room, with spectacular view, atop.

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Hamilton Heights, Broadway at 145th Street

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Winter photoblogging is very different from warm weather photoblogging. Before it got cold, I was always ahead of myself with photographs; I had to leave many of them behind because I wanted to keep fairly up-to-date, that is, not be posting photographs more than 2 weeks old at the very latest. Now I'm scrambling. I had to go out today to get something to post tonight.

It needed to be fairly close because I didn't have a lot of time, but I didn't want Washington Heights because I did that two walks ago. So I took the No. 1 train to 145th Street – a new area, Hamilton Heights – and walked across to St. Nicholas Avenue where I took the A train home.

Hamilton Heights is part of Harlem, West Harlem, named for Alexander Hamilton who lived there around the end of the 18th century. More on that later when I visit Hamilton Grange. The boundaries are 155th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue, 135th Street and the Hudson River.

This is where I got off the subway at Broadway and 145th. Those bumps on the tree are Christmas lights. Or maybe they keep them there year round. The Hot Dot is a clothing store, seems to be for men only.

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Murray Hill, Madison Avenue Between 33rd and 32nd Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Heading back to the office, down Madison Avenue. For a long shot of this stretch of street go here.

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Murray Hill, 36th Street Between Park and Madison Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Now on the destination block, 36th Street, this is a small piece of the Morgan Library, a small old piece. The library recently underwent a major expansion and renovation and reopened last spring to some controversy. But the renovation occurred on the Madison Avenue side and I'm not walking that way today, so we'll have to take it up another day.

Other photograph: long shot of 36th Street, looking west. This gives you a pretty good view of the Morgan on 36th Street.

Now that I have a place to link to other photos, I'm going to try to remember to take long shots at every site and give you the link. You should be able to see where you are, don't you think?

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Murray Hill, 35th Street Between Park and Madison Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Park Avenue South becomes Park Avenue at 32nd Street, thus injecting a bit of unnecessary confusion into mail delivery and address finding. On the downtown side of 32nd Street, the address is 470 Park Avenue South and on the uptown, it's 2 Park Avenue. This upsets my rational, orderly mind. What was the 1959 City Council thinking? I'm thinking of researching those City Council minutes. Just thinking.

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Murray Hill, 32nd Street at Park Avenue South

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Last Friday, I took my camera out at lunch time and walked up Park Avenue South to 36th Street, to walk the block between Park Avenue and Madison. It was cold, lower 20's, and sunny. First I stood for a while here at the corner of 32nd and Park Ave South and took pictures of people at the corner waiting to cross. Here are my two favorites, since I couldn't chose between them. I think they make a nice pair.

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Washington Heights, Fort Washington Avenue Between 173th and 176th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This is J. Hood Wright Park and that's the George Washington Bridge in the distance. From the link just given I learned that the playground equipment was designed to resemble the George Washington Bridge and that there is a sculpture there by Terry Fugate-Wilcox, installed in 1974, which is expected to diffuse by the year 3000. I, myself, have no expectations about the year 3000.

For more photos of the park, including what must be the aforementioned sculpture, go to the Bridge and Tunnel Club site and scroll down the page to the two side-by-side photos.

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Washington Heights, Fort Washington Avenue Between 173rd and 174th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This is PS 173. It has over 1,000 students, pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. I couldn't find out when the building was built but it's safe to say it was way before PS 5 was built.

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Washington Heights, Fort Washington Avenue Between 169th and 170th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This is across the street and down from the Shangri-La and this is a picture of a car. Please enlarge this beauty.

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Washington Heights, 169th Street at Fort Washington Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This is the Shangri-La Deli and Salad Bar. To quote Wikipedia:

Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia — a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world.

Right here on Ft. Washington Avenue.


Other photo: long shot.

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Washington Heights, 168th Street Between Broadway and Fort Washington Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

To remind you, this walk was taken last Saturday, weather cold and windy, on my way to pick up cat food at 187th and Fort Washington. My plan is to walk to the subway stop at 175 and ride up to 190. I told you it was cold.

This whole block is part of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, but this section could be something else entirely. Every time I see a ladder like that, seemingly leading nowhere, I think of Robert Wilson. Tried to find a good link for that ladder, but I'm not willing to spend more than 45 minutes on something like that. You'll have to take my word for it. Or find a ladder and let me know.

Other photographs: 1) this one taken in the same area was a close contender for posting. I'm still not sure I made the right choice. 2) I wanted to post this one but just didn't have the confidence in it. Still, every time I look at it, I smile.

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Inwood, Broadway Between Isham and 212th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Now we've turned onto Broadway, facing the downtown section of Inwood. Looks like any small town downtown, especially with the trees of Fort Tryon Park in the distance, no sign of big city buildings anywhere. However, once you see the subway entrance, barely visible through the clutter of bicycles and signs, you know you're not in Kansas. This is the mighty A Train, last stop, last stop.

I was suddenly struck by the fear that somewhere in Kansas, there was a subway, and I would be exposed as a provincial New Yorker, totally ignorant about the rest of the country, so I googled US subway systems in total confidence that a list would pop up. Well, lists do pop up, and I guess I got my answer in that Kansas was not on any of them, but I wasn't able to find out in my admittedly brief search exactly how many subway systems there are in the U.S. The problem is they're grouped in with other rapid transit systems.

Note the top right corner which shows the end of the street art from last night's posting.

And so, I boarded the mighty A train and rode it to 168th Street where we'll take up tomorrow night.

In other news, we had our first snow storm of the year today and I wish I had a photo to show, but this was not one of those snows that make your heart lift when you walk outside; it was a mean one with winds beating sleet into your face. Not good for the camera. But later, I realized I might have gotten some good shots from the subway at its elevated stops. I'll note for next time.

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Inwood, Just off Broadway Between Isham and 212th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

One way to get to the A Train is to walk down Park Terrace East to Isham Park, then walk through the park (it's a small park, only a few blocks long, as you can see if you click on the map link) and down the stairs to a paved walkway that leads to Broadway. This building is on the other side of the walkway. It fronts on Isham Street and backs onto Isham Park.

The graffiti is on the side of a smaller building which faces Broadway, and as long as I've lived here, that wall has been painted, but it changes from time to time. Not being a follower of street art, I can't tell you who did it or if the artist is well known in the street art world. Anyone know?

I have to show two photos tonight. I tried to pick one, but I can't.

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

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Inwood, Park Terrace East between 215th Street and Isham Park

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Can you find the sparrow? Well, okay. But I bet if I hadn't told you, you wouldn't have seen it. This is in the wooded area beside the last building on the street, before you get to the park, but it's still Park Terrace East, and down below, lies Broadway.

Other photo: 2 sparrows up close, looking windblown

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Inwood, Park Terrace East between 215th Street and Isham Park

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Here's a pretty little doorway I've walked by 923 times and never noticed till now.

Other photos: building façade, long shot of street. The building above is the middle building in the long shot.

In other news, last night I discovered wikimapia, and there went an hour or two. If you don't already know it, check it out. It's done on the same general principle as wikipedia, allowing contributions from anyone, subject to approval. People put in names of places along with information about them, including photos at times. Someone had a little box with an address in it and the information said "my house". Naturally, I didn't approve.

Very absorbing, and best of all, it's beautiful. Someone has taken pains to make aerial shots not only fascinating but beautiful to look at. Thank you, whoever you may be.


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Inwood, Park Terrace East between 215th Street and Isham Park

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

As I said last night, I HAD to get out today with my camera. Had to. Didn't want to, but had to. The temperature was in the low 30's, not that bad, but it was windy, and that makes all the difference. So, once again, the monthly catfood pickup provided me with a destination. But first, just in case my fingers froze later, I took some shots close to home.

Park Terrace East is three blocks long, ending at Inwood Park, and this boarded up building has been there since I moved here in 1995. Do I know what it is (or was) or what happened to it? No. You would think . . . ....I'll find out.

Click here for a view of the whole building.

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Chelsea, Eleventh Avenue Between 24th and 25th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This is the last photo from the walk I took almost two weeks ago. I like to have my photographs more current, but, damn, it has been cold. Windy. If I don't get out tomorrow, and I do plan to get out tomorrow, but if I don't, I'm going to have to start pulling out even older stuff.

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Chelsea, 26th Street Between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Same block, farther down. This photograph depends entirely on those red lights, and why they are red, I do not know, but I promise you they were really that red.

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Chelsea, 26th Street Between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Now we're on the most westerly block of 26th Street. I just did what I should have done before I started the gallery photos, which is to go online to get a map of Chelsea galleries. If you take a look at it (be sure to enlarge it or you won't be able to see a thing), you'll see that most of the galleries are massed between 10th and 11th Avenues. But this block, between 11th and 12th, boasts Roebling Hall on the south side and a whole building of galleries on the north side. I didn't get a good shot of Roebling Hall, but you can see its windows just past the van here.

So what about this photo? Well, this is one of my favorite kinds of photograph; in part because its strength depends on its abstract elements rather than on its intrinsic interest. This is a van backed up to a loading dock. Who cares about seeing that?

I like it.

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Chelsea, 26th Street Between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

We've seen the last of the galleries on this walk; now we're looking at galleries yet to be. Can't you just see replacing the metal gate with a nice glass door? Quite an imposing doorway.

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Chelsea, 26th Street Between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Of the photos I've posted on this walk, this one of the Stephen Haller Gallery shows most clearly the kind of spaces these art galleries took over. The glass door and doorframe are new, but the windows look original and you can just imagine a truck driving through the doorway. Many of the spaces in SoHo were in office buildings and, although wonderful in their own way, were smaller and much tighter, and I'm sure large art was a lot more of a hassle there than it is here.

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Chelsea, 26th Street Between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Galerie Lelong is on the second floor at 528 West 26th Street. It's the least colorful gallery tonight, except for the human drama being played out (note the suspicious character lurking in the back doorway).

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Chelsea, 26th Street Between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

And here's the James Cohan Gallery. Here's a review of the show you can see a bit of through the front window. I saw a good amount of art through gallery windows, but I didn't actually see it; I was looking at it for photo possibilities. So now I'm thinking I wish I had at least stepped into the entryway to check out that piece that seems to be created around the doorway.

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Chelsea, 26th Street Between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


The Mary Ryan Gallery is downstairs with the red window coverings, having just moved to Chelsea from 57th Street. It is opening on February 27 with Donald Sultan in its first Chelsea show. Upstairs is the George Adams Gallery about which I know nothing. Quick, the internet! Okay, here you go.

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Chelsea, 26th Street Between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Yes, we'll get to the galleries. One more day. I couldn't let this shot go, could I?

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Map 2/1/07

I missed the December and January updates, so this one should be impressive, the changes in three months, since November 1. But unless you go to the trouble to open another window so you can compare them side by side, it's hard to see much difference. Well, actually, even then, it's not that easy to see. Sometimes I think I should have started the blog with an unmarked map; it would've been more dramatic.

Now I have to stop to laugh, for thinking that anyone but I would find it dramatic.