Midtown, Broadway at 59th Street

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Here's the Time Warner Building seen in its entirety for the first time in this blog.  It has appeared in previous posts in supporting roles.

I love this photo for its look of unreality.  I feel like I'm a player on the board game, Candyland.  Notice the two-dimensionality of the left tower.  You may want to check the previous posts to reassure yourself that it is indeed a real tower.

Midtown, Broadway at 57th Street

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These walks are getting interminable; this one started on May 5th.  Time to wind down, go home.  So I've made it to Broadway, on my way to the 59th Street subway station.  I took this shot because of the Hearst Building over on Eighth Avenue - the building with the triangles.

I've hated this building from the moment I set eyes on it - as it was being constructed.  It has a lot to do with the building it sits atop, which is ludicrously incompatible.  Imagine my bafflement when all the architectural critics loved it.  I can only conclude they are drinking some funny Kool-aid.  To see what I'm talking about, go to the Wikipedia article and look at the first image.  Then scroll down to the 3 images and enlarge the third one.  Is that coherent?  Does it make any sense?  NO, no, no.  I will probably carry on some more when I do a photowalk closer up.  Perhaps I should take an architecture class in the meantime.

Inwood, Broadway Between Isham and 207th Streets

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Here is the shell of Dick's Hardware Everything for the Home, now closed for some weeks.  It was here, looking like it was a founding store, when I moved here in 1995, and I found it to be a useful store indeed.  Yelp has two reviews:  the first one vividly describes the store while it was still here; the other laments its demise and asks "When, oh when,will this stretch of Broadway EVER get itself together?"  Lost City hasn't discovered its demise yet, but in June 2009 posted an appreciation for its nice handpainted sign.  Included is a comment from NYC Momma with a little history.

Inwood, Broadway Between Isham and 207th Streets

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This is New York City!  Broadway!  But-but I thought it'd be bigger'n this.




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Inwood, Broadway at Isham Street

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Las stop, las stop.  You'll always get a seat on the A at the 207 Street Station.

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Inwood, Broadway Between 220th and 219th Streets

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And now, safely back in Manhattan, we're walking back home. Thiss is one side of the block.




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And this is the other.



Damn you Google Maps.  It won't even come close, no matter what address I put in.

Don't see map.

Inwood, Broadway between Ninth Avenue and 225th Street

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Now we're on the Broadway bridge. Or is it the Harlem River Bridge?  Whatever you call it, it's not one of New York's loveliest.







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And there's the Manhattan bound No. 1 train.



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Inwood, Broadway at Ninth Avenue

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Okay, everybody, we're at the tippy top of Manhattan Island! Pretty exciting, huh? Back there on the left, behind the man's shoulder, is the pedestrian entrance to the Broadway Bridge. We'll go there. Across the bridge is . . . Manhattan! That's why I keep saying Manhattan Island.

I've mentioned before there's a little piece of Manhattan, Marble Hill, which was originally part of the island of Manhattan, but is now part of the mainland. How can that be, you wonder?

1. A canal was dug, cutting Marble Hill off from Manhattan.
2. It lived a while as an island.
3. The other older river bed was filled in between Marble Hill and the Bronx. Easy!


But when I say I'm walking every street in Manhattan, I mean the Island of Manhattan. That's part of the appeal to me. The clear boundaries.

I hesitate to bring up another confusing issue, but it must be done. If you could read that street sign, you would see that it says Ninth Avenue. Ninth Avenue crossing Broadway. It doesn't sound right.

I did a little rant on Ninth Avenue about 3 years ago, and stated wrongly that it ended at 208th Street. It does look like it ends there if you're standing there, but all you have to do is look at your map to see that it jumps the subway yards and picks up again at 215th Street. Then it comes to the end of the island, turns sidewise, and stops at Broadway. How it can call itself an avenue is beyond me.


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Inwood, Broadway Between 219th and 220th Streets

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This group may have just come from the Allen Pavilion.




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The Allen Pavilion is part of New York Presbyterian Hospital, but much handier. To me, anyway.  It was built in 1988 before I moved here.  I wonder if they bought the land from Columbia University.

Right after I took this shot, a guard came out and told me I couldn't photograph the hospital. Okay, I said, but why? Because it's private, he said, it's not city. But why? I asked, why do they care? I don't know, he said, but they care, so I care. Okay, then. So I photographed it from across the street.

Hudson Heights, Broadway at 190th Street

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There are two things I'd like you to notice about this subway station (besides its unusual decor). The first is the sign that says 191st St. Entrance (enlarge!).  There is no 191st Street at Broadway.  This station is directly opposite 190th Street.





Mary Sargent © 2009 ………………….. click to enlarge


See? This is 190th Street. You'll have to take my word for it, but I don't lie about map issues. What they should have said was 191st St. Stop Entrance. The main station is over on St. Nicholas at 191st Street.


The next thing is the sign that says "No bicycle riding in subway tunnel." Why in the world would that be necessary?







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Oh.



By the way, google maps shows the subway station before it was painted.  Don't you think they should date those street photos in google maps?

Hudson Heights, Broadway Between 189th and 190th Streets

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What's this then? Why, it's Gorman Park, honoring Gertie Amelia Gorman (1859-1920), a real estate investor. Well, see, her family donated the money for the park.







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Here's a long shot, so you can see it in context. It's not very wide, but it's tall.





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And here's a lovely path just inside the park, leading to – well, I don't know what, because I'm not going into the unknown in a strange neighborhood at dusk. For a description of what might await you, go back to the park link and read the last comment.


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Hudson Heights, Broadway at 187th Street

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This may look like an ordinary humdrum photograph, but I wanted you to see the house in the middle; from here it looks like one of the few stand alone homes in Manhattan. I'm afraid that by the time I get back here to walk 187th Street, it will be gone.

In other news, a reader kindly furnished me with Riva Breuer's death notice, so now I can tell you she died in 1953.

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Hudson Heights, Broadway at 186th Street

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This is the Police Officer Michael John Buczek School. Whew. Imagine a first grader trying to tell someone what school he goes to.

Michael Buczek was a young police officer who was killed by drug lords in 1988 in Washington Heights. His father, Ted Buczek, responded by throwing himself into community work and, among other things, founding the Police Officer Michael John Buczek Little League. Here is the concluding paragraph of a 2008 Press Release from the Police Officer Michael John Buczek Foundation.

And on the 19th Annual Opening Day, Saturday, April 5, because of his efforts, "Mr.B." [Ted Buczek] will see his dream come true, and watch the children of Washington Heights, coached by officers of the 34th precinct, playing on the state-of-the-art Police Officer Michael J. Buczek Field in Highbridge Park, in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, in a safe community. A field of dreams for all.

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Hudson Heights, Broadway Between 185th and 186th Streets

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My second post of the day. This was too pretty to leave out.


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Hudson Heights, Broadway at 185th Street

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I have decided to increase my number of posts when possible. One walk just goes on too long since I can't seem to skip any blocks. Does this mean more work for you? NO. It's okay if you don't look at the extra posts.

It's not at all unusual in upper Manhattan to see people appropriating the sidewalk for their own uses. Of course people have always stood around on sidewalks, but bringing furniture out raises it to another level. I like to see it and I'd have more shots of it if I weren't so adverse to being scowled at. I have to be more willing to be obnoxious. This isn't about me, after all.


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Hudson Heights, Broadway at 185th Street

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This is all about the color.

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Hudson Heights, Broadway at 184th Street

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Hudson Heights, Broadway at 184th Street

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When I saw the El Conde Steak House, I couldn't help thinking of the pork and beans and rice I had at their other location. I was hungry. I stood on the corner a while thinking about the corn and tomatoes at home that I had bought that morning at the Farmers' Market. But I finally realized I owed it to my readers to go in and get some pork and beans and rice. I would photograph it!

I didn't see pork and beans and rice on the menu, so I settled for pork chunks with fried plantains. Here's a photo.


Mary Sargent © 2009
click to enlarge

Can you see the "pork chunks" are like huge slabs of bacon? Huge, very thick slabs? With more fat than meat? It wasn't smoked, so it wasn't bacon, but other than that they were huge, very thick slabs of bacon. Luckily, I've never lost my taste for fat, so I actually ate 3 of them. The tostones (fried plantains) were good and the lime juice on both was a nice touch. And the Corona came with a frosty glass. Nice.

I copied the Spanish words for what I ate: Chicharron villa mella con tostones. All you Spanish speaking readers are laughing at me, right? Chicharron means (Cracklings) Pieces of fat cooked slowly until lard is rendered out. Lightly salted, may be served as a warm or cold hor d'oeuvre. Or it means Crackles, morsel of fried lard left in the pan. (m). Or it means pig skin according to Ben.

I gotta learn Spanish.


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Hudson Heights, Broadway Between 183rd and 184th Streets

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Could you even bear to look at this without the blue fence?



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Hudson Heights, Broadway Between 182nd and 183rd Streets

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This is looking back toward Col Robert Magaw Place.





Mary Sargent © 2009 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

I wonder what theory of government buildings was in play here? You couldn't make it any more soul deadening. No, wait! They could have omitted the windows.



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