Inwood, 215th Street Between Broadway and Tenth Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………….…………… ………………….. click to enlarge

I have slept on it and I have decided to take it as it comes, just go with the flow as it were.  Tonight the flow led to this truck shot just down the block.  Tomorrow, who knows?

Inwood, 215th Street Between Broadway and Tenth Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………….. click to enlarge

The usual practice of this blog is to slog on through a walk, no matter how tedious, until it finally reaches its destination and can be filed away.  In a radical departure, I am interrupting the Ft. George Avenue walk to post a timely photograph, a snow photograph, taken today.  As most of us are aware, it has been snowing. 

The only thing I had to do today was go downtown to get a haircut, and that is the only reason you are getting a picture of snow.  This was taken on the way to the subway.  I wanted to show you how we shovel snow in Inwood -- look at those squared off sides.  When I got downtown and saw the sloppy shoveling, I had to sneer.  Inwardly, of course.  Outwardly, it was taking all my concentration to avoid falling into the lagoons at the curbs.

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I'm not sure where I'm going from here.  Should I go back to the Ft. George walk or abandon it?  I'll sleep on it.

Washington Heights, Amsterdam Avenue Between 190th and 193rd Streets

Mary Sargent © 2010 ……………………….. click to enlarge

Tonight I went to the trouble of photographing a section of my map and posting it here because I know you don't look at the map links I usually include and you need to know where this walk took place.




I'm not sure if this helps though.  Too little.  (You could enlarge it.)  And yet I had to give you enough for location purposes.  Okay, see the curvy street in red at the center right?  The top part of that is Ft. George Avenue.  The straight part is Amsterdam Avenue.  There is no indication, either in actual reality, or online, where one stops and the other begins, so I'm going to say that Ft. George is the curve and Amsterdam is straight.  You needed to know.

You also need to see High Bridge Park on a map because it's quite large and yet largely unknown in Manhattan.

In case you still don't know where you are, this is at the top of Manhattan; there's the Cloisters on the left, Dyckman Street, the southern border of Inwood, is above the Cloisters.

Washington Heights, Amsterdam Avenue Between 190th and 193rd Streets

Mary Sargent © 2010 ……………………….. click to enlarge

Washington Heights, Amsterdam Avenue at 190th Street

Mary Sargent © 2010 ……………………….. click to enlarge

This is one entrance to Highbridge Park, which runs from 155th to Dyckman Street along the Harlem River.  There is plenty to say about Highbridge Park and we will say it in nights to come but tonight is but a lick and a promise because I'm falling asleep over my keyboard.

Washington Heights, 190th Street Between St. Nicholas and Amsterdam Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………….…….……… ………………….. click to enlarge

Two blocks of 190th Street on the way to Ft. George Avenue.  This is part of a 4-block section of 190th Street; there are also a 2-block and a 1-block section.  Many geographical disturbances up here, causing fragmented streets.  I'm talking hills.

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Highly recommended:  Tino Sehgal at the  Guggenheim.  So interesting, what fun!  It's there through March 10, so you have time.  If you don't live in New York, you might want to plan a trip.

See map.

Washington Heights, 191st Street at St. Nicholas Avenue

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Truck shot!  About time, I hear some of you muttering.  You've seen this corner before, twice; if you get off the No. 1 at 191st Street, this is the corner you're looking at, and so far I've gotten off at 191st Street three times.

A new walk today and thank God the weather was okay and the sun was out.  Blue skies for a change.  Fort George Avenue is up ahead and to the right, but more on that later.  For now, good night.

See map.

Inwood, 207th Street Between Broadway and Cooper Street

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………………….. click to enlarge

The destination and the last photo of this walk.  Alex Shoe Repair.  Bill (my son) arrived today and tomorrow we plan to walk on Ft. George Avenue.  Come back tomorrow to find out where that is.

See map.

Inwood, Broadway Between Isham and 207th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………….…………… ………………….. click to enlarge

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

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………….…………… ………………….. click to enlarge

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




See map.

Inwood, Broadway at Isham Street

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………….….. click to enlarge

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

See map.

Inwood, Isham Park between 212th and Isham Streets

Mary Sargent © 2010 …………………….. click to enlarge

There's Broadway below and the steps leading down and a giant ginkgo tree.  I thought I was going to be talking about how big this tree is, but research shows that the ginkgo tree is, in fact, a large shade tree.  I've seen them mostly on city streets and they don't let them get that big, I guess.

Many things to know about the ginkgo.  Two of them are:  it is over 150 million years old with no close relatives, and it is a member, the only member, of the class Ginkgoopsida.  For the rest of them (things to know), go to Wikipedia.

Oh yes, and notice how the branches attach to the trunk, just kind of awkwardly stuck out straight.  That's how you can recognize the tree when the leaves are gone.

Inwood, Isham Park

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………..……………….. click to enlarge

Proceeding through Inwood Park, the shortest way to get to Broadway. 

See map.

Inwood, Park Terrace East at Isham Park

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Having covered 217th Street pretty thoroughly, I proceeded to "downtown" Inwood to pick up my boots.  This is where Park Terrace East begins at Isham Park.

See map.

Inwood, 217th Street Between Park Terrace East and Park Terrace West

Mary Sargent © 2010 …………………….. click to enlarge

Here we have the highly esteemed Park Terrace Garden apartments, a complex of 5 buildings surrounding a garden.  Try to overlook the garbage bags.

I have lived in or close to the cities of Washington, D.C., Chicago and St. Louis, and never saw garbage bags on the sidewalk.  That is because those cities were constructed with alleys to handle all the unsightly necessities of life.  The first time I saw garbage bags piled on the sidewalks was in Cincinnati and I thought it was a backward and provincial city.

So you can imagine my horror to discover that New York was just as backward.  I found the explanation in a footnote in Gotham:  "Nor, as was customary, had the commissioners provided service alleys through the center of blocks:  this maximized salable land . . ."  (This refers to the Commissioners Plan of 1811 which laid out the numbered streets and avenues of Manhattan.)  It was to maximize salable land.  Figures.




Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………………….. click to enlarge








Mary Sargent © 2010 ……………………….. click to enlarge


Just thought I'd show you a little art deco detail and bits of shrubbery from their roof terrace.  All lovely . . . except for that band of paint over the brick at the top.  You should enlarge it to get the full effect of its ugliness.  They were covering up something?  Surely there was a better solution.  If only they would come to me first.

But to end on an upbeat note, you must check out Every Person in New York.

Inwood, Park Terrace West at 217th Street

Mary Sargent © 2010 …………………………….. click to enlarge

We're looking at Park Terrace West at the end of 217th Street.  How do you like that second floor porch?  Just imagine a soft summer evening sitting out there on your glider with your gin and tonic, just watching the traffic go by.  Not a care in the world.

Inwood, 217th Street Between Park Terrace East and Park Terrace West

Here they are, three actual houses with yards and driveways, right here in Manhattan.



Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………….……………….. click to enlarge


A visitor sent me an email (thank you!) with this information about these houses:

The houses on W. 217th Street all date from 1934 and were developed by a single builder - most share similar floorplans. According to the original notice of construction in the New York Times, they were designed by Benjamin F.V. Driesler, an architect who was very active in the residential parts of Brooklyn (many of his buildings are now in historic districts there). The Park Terrace Gardens apartment complex began construction soon afterwards, in 1938, replacing the old Seaman-Dwyer mansion. Note that the street was at one time also known as Park Terrace North but eventually that name fell out of use.

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………….. click to enlarge



 




Mary Sargent © 2010 ………….. click to enlarge

Inwood, 217th Street Between Park Terrace East and Park Terrace West

Mary Sargent © 2010 …………………….. click to enlarge


Here is 217th Street, 1 block long.  See those buildings that look like real houses?  They are real houses with driveways and yards and many people covet them. Tomorrow I'll show them to you up close.  It's too late to do that tonight.

See map.

Inwood, Park Terrace East Between 215th and 217th Streets

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Suspense over.  It wasn't so bad outside, but at the same time, it wasn't that good, so I stuck to my neighborhood and photographed 217th Street, one block long, between Park Terrace East and Park Terrace West.  But before I got there, this scene caught my eye.  It's hard to believe there's anything behind that wall, but I'm pretty sure there is.

See comment for answer.  Thanks, Dhalgren.

See map.

Upper West Side, Amsterdam Avenue at 84th Street

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


Ah.  Le Pain Quotidien across the street.  I bet they have hot coffee.  Yes, they do, you can sit at their communal table, get yourself a latte, it comes in a bowl like in Paris, and you pay, um, with tax and tip, you pay $5.00.  Bit steep, but I had to have it.  The bowls are good for warming your hands.

And this, my friends, is the end of this walk, as I went straight home after this.  Who knows if I will get out tomorrow?  Not I.  I can't shake this cold and if it's bad outside, I'm staying inside.  We'll see.

Upper West Side, 84th Street Between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues

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

This is the playground next to the Sarah Anderson Elementary School, and that boy is making it hard for you to believe my claim that I was getting really cold.  But I was!  He's more active than I was.  In fact, I was standing still.  Anyway, whether you believe me or not, I was on the lookout for hot coffee and a place to sit down.

Upper West Side, 84th Street Between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues

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

So the building we saw last night with no windows is P.S. 9, Sarah Anderson Elementary School.  I thought I would just complain about the architecture and leave it at that, but I discovered there is much to know about this school.  I was entraced to see that the Wikipedia article (follow the above link) has a lengthy discussion of the architecture (wouldn't you know it was built in the 1960's).  It also states that before this block was razed in preparation for building this school and the Louis D. Brandeis High School across the street (see below), it was known as "The Worst Block in New York."  As for who Sarah Anderson was, she was a single mother of 3 children, and a "beloved school paraprofessional" for whom the school was named when she died in 1981 at the age of 59.


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

The Louis D. Brandeis High School.  Quick, who was Louis Brandeis?  U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1916-1939, and,

as Justice William O. Douglas wrote, “Brandeis was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible. . . [and] the fears of the Establishment were greater because Brandeis was the first Jew to be named to the Court."

Upper West Side, Columbus Avenue at 84th Street

X


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

I'm standing on the corner, waiting to cross Columbus Avenue, so that's the northwest corner we're looking at, from 84th Street, looking up to 85th.  Below, you will see what's on the southwest corner.  But this isn't a bad looking block, right?


Now:




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

Ugh!  What were they thinking?  And wait till you see what it is.  Tomorrow night, after I cross the street.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned how Verizon won't transmit email with hyperlinks in it, remember?  At the time, I wasn't thinking about how that meant that I wouldn't get notification of comments left on this blog because Blogger includes a link. 

That means that I would never see comments left on older posts.

Now Verizon has backed down because yesterday I started getting the notifications again.  One of them was a link to a comment on a December 2007 post.  And by a fortunate coincidence, there was another one on that same post that was sent the week before, which I never saw and probably never would have.  From someone who used to live there asking me a question!

So if anyone is wondering why I haven't answered their comment, that's why.  Send it again.  And curse Verizon.