Upper West Side, 86th Street at Amsterdam Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2008 ……. click to enlarge
The West Park Presbyterian Church is on the corner of the block my therapist lives on and so I see it weekly and think about photographing it. Not because I like it but because it's there. Not liking it has been a stumbling block, but this photograph almost does it for me. I hasten to add that better people than I have great admiration for it:

Christopher Grey in The New York Times says " . . . its lush, reddish-brown stone is a rare work of rich color." Of course, that was in 1988. He may have changed his mind by now.

The AIA Guide calls it ". . . one of the West Side's loveliest landmarks."

I just can't get with these rough cold stone buildings. Especially if they're that reddish-brown color.

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Morningside Heights, 110th Street Between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine faces Amsterdam Avenue, and its grounds spread over 11.3 acres, from 110th Street to north of 112th Street and Amsterdam to Columbus Avenues. This is the southern border along 110th Street. Here we see . . . construction! What are they up to? I asked myself, and no sooner did I ask then I was googling. Well, after much tedious research, I discovered – you'll never guess. Yes! They're building an apartment house on the Cathedral's grounds!

It was only when I began writing this post that I looked for a link directly to the Cathedral and it was then I discovered the most exhaustive information about the project is right on their site. Slide shows and all. But it's always good to have a little controversy from the New York Times to balance the positive reporting from the Cathedral.

On another subject altogether, I don't think I've ever seen a structure that looked more like a face than this one at center. It had to have been done on purpose, don't you think?

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Morningside Heights, 110th Street Between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

These building scaffoldings are everywhere and usually they mess up shots, but sometimes they make them.

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Morningside Heights, Columbus Avenue at 110th Street

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

We're standing in Central Harlem, looking across Columbus Avenue to Morningside Heights where that building has the longest drycleaner/laundry I've ever seen. The yellow and orange sign defines it.

Columbus Avenue stops here – across 110th is Morningside Drive which is narrower, curves around Morningside Park and deadends at 122nd Street. You may be aware that Columbus Avenue used to be Ninth Avenue, but I bet you don't remember that Ninth Avenue lives again 91 blocks uptown.

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Central Harlem, 110th Street Between Manhattan and Columbus Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Right next door to Check Cashing is Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too.



Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Being appropriately hungry, I walked right in and had myself some authentic Southern cuisine. That being fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and sautéed spinach. Cornbread. And coconut layer cake. I hate to say this, but since the only iced tea they had was sweet (as in sweet tea), I had white wine instead. I know you don't drink white wine with fried chicken, but I couldn't come up with anything else. I don't like sweet drinks. Except for the occasional cocktail. Whiskey sours are good with Asian food. I mean the old fashioned kind of Asian food. With the stylish regional Asian food, of course, sake. But I'm off the subject here. OH. Wny didn't I ask for iced coffee? Anyway, when the food came, I'm afraid I forgot all about my readers and didn't photograph it. How was it? Satisfying, no complaints, but not outstanding. Of course, my mother was Southern.




Mary Sargent © 2008 …….. click to enlarge

When I went in, it was still kind of early, 6:30, and there were no tables outside, but a bit later when I came out, it was darker and their outdoor café had appeared. I had a disagreement with Luka the other night about whether picket fences are appropriate on New York streets. True to my uncompromising and rigid sense of what's right, I don't think they are. Let me hear from you out there so we can break this tie. If you want to vote against me, just sign yourselves anonymous.

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Central Harlem, 110th Street Between Manhattan and Columbus Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …….. click to enlarge

Along about here, I started wondering where all those people in Towers in the Park ate, as I hadn't seen a restaurant since I started this walk. The answer lies straight ahead (tomorrow).

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Central Harlem, 110th Street Between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


This is only a small part of the stacks of construction materials along the street here. I asked a man walking with a baby stroller if he knew what all that stuff was and he said materials for the reconstruction of Frederick Douglass Circle. Those were tiles to lay down. It's been going on for three years, he said. Not happy.


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Central Harlem, Frederick Douglass Circle at 110th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard

Mary Sargent © 2008 ………….. click to enlarge


This is Towers on the Park, a condominium built in 1988. I remember there was some stir about it at the time; according to The New York Times, in an article dated August 27, 1989, and titled A Housing Renaissance Sweeps Central Harlem ". . . it was hailed as the start of a housing initiative that would put home ownership within reach of many more Harlem residents." The article goes on to discuss at some length the other projects in the works, the problems and concerns and the cautious optimism.

Now 20 years later, I guess I should track down all those projects and see if they actually happened.

As for Towers on the Park, while it's not hideous, it could certainly look better. Maybe some nice graffiti.

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Central Harlem, Central Park North Between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Boulevards

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

After I took this shot, the woman in the middle called me over and with a few friendly remarks handed me the Watchtower pamplet, Awake! The cover article was "Should You Fear the Future?" I guess I'd have to say yes. So I took it. I didn't promise to read it, though.




Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

How would you like to live across the street from this?

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue at 110th Street

Mary Sargent © 2008 ………click to enlarge

The plaza beside the new condominium. A group of kids were taking turns jumping on this curb and sliding down. I'm used to seeing kids practicing with their skateboards, but this is skates only.

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue Between 111th and 110th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 ……… click to enlarge

Well, look at this. This was not here when I was here a little over a year ago. I fell into a conversation with a man waiting for a bus in front of the building and he told me, yeah, they started it about a year ago. He said apartments were selling for 4.5 milliion. He said if he had 4 and a half million, he would not live in this neighborhood. This is not a good neighborhood, he said. We agreed that there was an unbelievable amount of construction going up and they were selling apartments for an unbelievable amount of money, and I said people have more money than they know what to do with, and we both deplored such a state of affairs and then his bus came and we parted friends, having been in agreement on the issues.

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue Between 114th and 113th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………........………….. click to enlarge

Carved at the top of this building is "Westminster Hall". I don't know what it was originally, but now it houses a community services organization, called Create, providing rehab and counseling services and shelter, among other things.

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue Between 115th and 114th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

It was a beautiful day; I had to take my jacket off and tie it around my waist, and lots of little children on the street. Parents standing in groups waiting to pick them up.

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue at 116th Street

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Now the real walk begins. I took the 1 train to 96th Street and then the 3 uptown to 116th Street at Lenox Avenue. We've been here before when I was walking west on 116th Street.

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Inwood, 215th Street Between Broadway and Tenth Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

I have no excuse for delaying our trip by posting another photo on the way to the subway except that this is a perfect photograph. It's one of only 3 so far, at least that I remember. Perfect doesn't mean great or best or favorite. It means I sit here and look at it and I marvel that everything is just right. The multiplicity of rectangles countered by the diagonals, the tiny square at the back which echoes the not quite square in the window at front, the light and dark in the alley, the delicate laundry stretched across the alley, and the presence of a man walking in the alley are all just right.

I don't mind if you disagree.

I'm going to put in a new label called Perfect.

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Inwood, 215th Street Between Broadway and Tenth Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Now we're talking. I went on a photowalk today. This is a photograph from today. Fresh off the camera. This was a free day; I could go anywhere I wanted to, so I looked long and hard at the map. I finally decided on Lenox Avenue south from 116th Street, which connects a couple of streets, and then west on 110th Street to Broadway, which finishes the top of Central Park and completes 110th Street. This is a walk that's caught my eye a lot, so it was satisfying to finish it.

But first: right here in my neighborhood, on the way to the subway, this lush little scene.

This is the club, I mean former club, I first mentioned here. More turquoise paint has been revealed since then.

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Upper West Side, Riverside Drive Between 108th and 107th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 ………. click to enlarge

See the plaque beside the door? That teeny little dark rectangle there on the right side of the tree? It says "This House (1899-1901) is listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior". Sometimes it's obvious why a building would be listed, but in many cases, like this one, it's not apparent why this one would be listed and, for example, the one next door (see below) would not be.



Mary Sargent © 2008 ……. click to enlarge.........Mary Sargent © 2008 ………. click to enlarge


[Wow, look at that - side by side]

I looked up the National Register on the Web. It's not user friendly, but one can find a specific listing by scrolling through all of the listings. The address of the house with the plaque is 352 Riverside Drive. I did not find that listing, but I did find a listing for 351 Riverside Drive, which is the address of the building next door (above) (which has no plaque). And the dates on this listing are 1875-1899.

Another Manhattan mystery. I'll investigate further as soon as I have time. You bet.

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Upper West Side, 108th Street Between Broadway and Riverside Drive

Mary Sargent © 2008 …….. click to enlarge

Finally we're in May. Sunday night I did a little two street pickup on my way to have dinner at Henry's on Broadway and 105th. When I first mentioned Henry's on this blog in July 2006, it had no website; now it does. Uh, oh. I don't want anyone else to know about it besides all of us.

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Times Square, 50th Street Between Ninth and Eighth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

In a city where restaurants turn over so fast that often you don't even bother to remember their names, as in, where did you eat? Oh, you know, that restaurant on the corner of Broadway and whatever. As I was saying, in such a city, I'm always surprised when every ten years or so I see that Seeda Thai still stands. In 1982 when I was a temp at Equitable Life Insurance around the corner on Broadway, my friend June came to town and we had lunch at Seeda Thai. In 1982 Thai food in New York was basically sweet food; think pineapple and marachino cherries. I don't think we had yet heard of pad thai. Be that as it may, I have no recollection of what I ate that day.

So here it still is. I walked on by and over to Thalia where I had my first gin and tonic of the warm weather season. Can't find a link to Thalia that shows its beautiful bar. By the way, they have hooks under the bar that you can hang your bag on. So smart.

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Times Square, 50th Street Between Ninth and Eighth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Ah, my destination. Originally, in January, I think, Carolyn and I booked dinner at Chez Napoleon, knowing nothing of it, only because it was across the street from William Finn's Make Me a Song, a theatrical review we thought we were attending. Alas, it turned out that the production had already closed unbeknownst to us since I had ignored the notification from Ticketmaster, thinking it just another annoying email.

Soooooo, we went to a movie instead. No Country For Old Men, a pretty good movie with a really scary villain.

And then we had dinner at Chez Napoleon. Oo la la. This is unrepentant French food, the full fat, uninventive, tried and true version. Snails in garlic butter, the best I've had maybe ever. The night turned out to be pretty fine after all.

So on our recent visit, our third, Ilana also came in celebration of her brand new American citizenship. I guess we should have taken her to, uh, an American place.

Nah.

They had my book.

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Times Square, Ninth Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


Doubling up again, I need to get out of April. But these are very much like they could be shot today, yes?


Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

I love these photographs. I would never live anywhere else.

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Times Square, Ninth Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

L'Allegria is one of many restaurants in this area offering pre-theater menus. I know nothing about the place, but based on the tacky Italian theme music that plays at their site, I wouldn't set a foot into it. Ordering pizza from them may be a different story.

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Times Square, 43rd Street Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

Over two weeks ago, on April 23, Wednesday, after Cathy took me out for a birthday lunch, I took the subway to 42nd Street and walked up Ninth Avenue to 50th Street. I wanted to pick up a book I had left at Chez Napoleon on Saturday night. The book? A History of Venice. You can understand why I needed it. I was going to Venice.

Here are two photographs from 43rd Street.


Mary Sargent © 2008.......................................... click to enlarge

I was intent on the twin narrow buildings still standing in the midst of this parking lot wasteland and didn't notice the odd appearance of the baby car in the midground until I got home and saw it on the computer monitor.



Mary Sargent © 2008.......................................... click to enlarge

Note the hands of the children reaching out through their cage – I mean playground fence – waiting for their ices. The sign on the cart says Dominican Ice's, mango, cherry, tamarindo, coco, rainbow.

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Downtown, Varick Street at Houston

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Back to the subway station, and home, passport in hand.

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Downtown, Houston Street Between Hudson and Varick Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge



Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge



Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


Must post and run. Indiana still too close to call. Whew.

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Downtown, King Street Between Hudson and Varick Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Concerning this neighborhood that has no name: a visitor was kind enough to send me this link to Time Out New York which calls it (without explanation or apology) Hudson Square, one of the four best places to move to now.

Hudson Square? They define it as "this former no-man's-land bounded by Varick, Canal and West Houston Streets." Try as I may, I can't bring myself to use that term. Surrounded by the Village, Soho and Tribeca. Hudson Square?

I also found a designation in the AIA Guide to New York City. They call it the South Village.

Please register your opinion in a comment. Should I call it (nothing) or Hudson Square or South Village? Or something else. All opinions will be carefully considered. My default position in case of a tie or no opinion at all is (nothing).

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Downtown, Hudson Street Between Houston and King Streets

Three photos below. I'm going to be doubling (tripling) up for the next few days, so I can get caught up. These are all shots of the building that the advertising giant, Saatchi & Saatchi, inhabits in New York. In case you missed this fun little controversy last year, as I certainly did, here is the old news on Dr. Martens, Kurt Cobain, Joe Strummer, Joey Ramone, Sid Vicious and Saatchi & Saatchi. And here is some even older news about another controversy, oddly enough, involving another shoe company. If you like the truly bizarre, click the link immediately.



Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Hudson Street at the corner of King. Yes, this is the corner of the Saatchi & Saatchi building. Cute, huh?


Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

And this is the grand entrance. The building is across the street from the Passport Services building (which you can see reflected at the top of the photo), where I went to get my passport renewed on Monday, April 21. When I came back in the afternoon to pick up my passport, I walked across the street to get a closer look. I could see some major art in the lobby and simply walked inside, can you believe it? Simply walked inside, like in the days of yore. There was no one there to stop me, question me, ask for ID. I had free run of the lobby and unlimited photo opportunities.


Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

All of the lobby art was done by Frank Stella, a former minimalist painter, minimalist no more.

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Venice, Italy

Apologies for digressing from the subject matter of this blog, but I can't stop myself from showing several photographs from Venice, where I just was.

As cities go, Venice is the opposite of New York. But not in a bad way.

It was beautiful, but so beautiful, in such a consistent harmonious way, that on the second day, I got irritable and felt like saying, "oh, get over yourself." Luckily, that was a passing fit.



Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This is my campo (piazza), Campo San Polo, one of the largest.

I stayed in a hotel just off the campo, on Calle Pezzuna, a short street which ended in a canal.



Mary Sargent © 2008 .........click to enlarge

Calle Pezzuna.

Mary Sargent © 2008 click to enlarge

Canal at the end of Calle Pezzuna.

I'll be over this by tomorrow night.