Chelsea, 16th Street Between Ninth and Tenth Avenues

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This block has a different character and here are three photographs to illustrate it.




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






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







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


Pretty nice, huh?

Chelsea, 16th Street Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

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

In 2003, the glamorous Maritime Hotel opened, with the well-regarded Japanese restaurant Matsuri tucked underneath and on the side.  I must have been distracted in 2003, because I only learned this tonight.  However, the chef, Tadashi Ono, somehow sounded familiar.  Sure enough, he was the chef at Sono, where I had dinner one time only, years ago.  The food was wonderful but I had no desire to return, something that puzzled me a little.  I think it was too quiet.  It subsequently closed, perhaps because it was too quiet.  If you follow the Matsuri link, the first picture you see makes it clear that this restaurant is different.  Here's another link that will confirm that.  Oh, that Japanese sense of humor.

Chelsea, 16th Street Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

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

I shouldn't have been surprised to see this building of the School of Visual Arts; they have buildings scattered all over lower Manhattan, including Gramercy, the Lower East Side, and West Chelsea.  This particular building houses the BFA (Batchelor of Fine Arts) Department.  If you'd like to know more about their real estate holdings, go here.  An interesting way to build a campus as compared to the NYU way and the Columbia way.

By the way, the SVA website linked to above is remarkably ugly and unpleasant to use.  I would think twice about attending an art school with such a poor website.

Chelsea, 16th Street Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

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

Why did I take this picture?  Probably I was interested in the new glass building next to the old tenement.  Why did I post this picture?  The curiously hovering street cone was irresistible.

Chelsea, 16th Street Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

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

This is Atlantic Stage 2 of the Atlantic Theater Company.  I'll say more about this tomorrow, but now I'm incoherent from exhaustion.

Chelsea, 16th Street Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

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

Looking across Eighth Avenue to the next block.  What the heck is going on over there?




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Here's Joe, who stopped me from walking farther and then kindly explained what the heck was going on.







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

See that square object suspended in the background?  Actually it's a cube and it's a transformer being lifted to the roof.  Joe told me it weighs just a hell of a lot of tons.  He did tell me the exact amount but I didn't write it down, so just know it weighs a lot.

This is a pretty good photograph so you might want to enlarge it and admire it.



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

See those red platelike things stacked on the truck bed?  Those are weights to counterbalance the transformer.  You would think the truck itself would be enough but no.



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

The transformer cleared the roof and we were allowed to walk on.

Chelsea, 16th Street Between Sixth and Seventh Avenues

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

This is the French Evangelical Church, or the Eglise Evangelique Francaise de New York, as the sign states.  I could find nothing about it on the web except the address.  It has no web site.  The sign is written entirely in French.  I have questions.  How big is the congregation?  Are they all French?  Do they have services in English as well as French?  A phone number is listed so I could call and ask.  But that would be tomorrow, and tomorrow I will be considering the block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

So tonight we will instead consider the architectural style Rundbogenstil.  The AIA tells us the facade was done in 1886 and that this building is a "robust example of what the Germans called Rundbogenstil.  The dour dark paint almost kills it."  Yes, doesn't it?  Imagine this building painted creamy ivory and without the sign (an ugly sign insensitively placed).  Wouldn't it be pretty?  By the way, do you know how to pronounce dour?  It's door, not dow-er.  Hard to believe, isn't it?

So Rundbogenstil.  A German style meaning round arch style, part of the Romanesque revival, and created in the 19th century by German architects seeking a national style of architecture.  Go to New York Architecture to see other New York buildings in this style.

Chelsea, 16th Street Between Sixth and Seventh Avenues

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

Apologies for the skewed photograph.  It's the fault of the sun.  When I was in the best spot for shooting, the sun was shining over the building right into my camera.  Then when I moved up to get in the shade, I was too close.  If my goal was to shoot this building, I would go on a cloudy day or I would go in the morning or late afternoon, but since my goal was to shoot this walk on this day at the time I was taking it, you end up with a skewed photograph. 

This building was built in 1878 to house the New York House and School of Industry, an institution founded in 1851 to help destitute women by providing them with employment doing needlework.  It is supposedly the first in the city to be built in the Queen Anne Style, and it was landmarked in 1990.  Christopher Gray's 1987 column on this building is well worth reading for its explanation of why this is considered Queen Anne, anyway, and for the bit of history about charities in the 19th century.

Chelsea, 16th Street Between Sixth and Seventh Avenues

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

We are now in Chelsea, having crossed Sixth Avenue, and already things look livelier and more colorful.

Flatiron District, 16th Street Between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

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

This is The Church of St. Francis Xavier, built in 1887, and described in the AIA as neo-Baroque and monumental.  Unfortunately, you don't get a sense of its monumentality from this photograph, which kind of flattens it.  It was monumental.  Christopher Gray wrote a column on it in 2005 when it was being renovated.



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


And here is the interior. 

Flatiron District, 16th Street Between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

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Between buildings 5, 7 and 9 and building 17 (see last night's post) is The Center for Jewish History, there since 2000.  I walked across the street to check it out and spoke to two police officers standing there (why?  I mean why were they standing there?).  I never knew it was here, I said.  Neither did I, said one.  That's what's great about New York, he said, you never know what you're going to see.

It was closed, it being Saturday.

Flatiron District, 16th Street at Fifth Avenue

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

This is a window display in the Paul Smith menswear store on Fifth Avenue.  I know it's hard to make it out because of all the reflections, but try the extra large enlargement.  It consists of a number of so-called robots by Gordon Bennett.  I say so-called because they don't do anything; they just look like they would.  They are sculptures and are priced accordingly - up to $6,000.  But you can buy a robot poster for only $50.





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This one is named Adlake Kero and costs $3,000.

Flatiron District, 16th Street Between Union Square West and Fifth Avenue

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Three more restaurants on this block.


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

This is the restaurant that started the whole Union Square resurgence:  Union Square Cafe, which opened in 1985.  It was Danny Meyers' first restaurant, and was considered revolutionary because the staff was so nice.  New Yorkers discovered that while they prided themselves on being tough, they actually enjoyed being welcomed and smiled upon.

Since then, Meyers has built an empire of high end restaurants, including Gramercy Tavern, 11 Madison Park, Tabla and Blue Smoke, and all of them are notable for how nice everyone is.  Also the food is great.



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

And here is a restaurant of a different sort:  Chat 'n Chew.  It serves things like macaroni and cheese and fried chicken and coca-cola cake.  I did not know until now that Chat 'n Chew, Steak Frites, coming up in next photo, and Sushi Samba are all owned by Andrew Silverman.



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

Yes, here is Steak Frites, at the bottom, but I wanted to show you this building because of how ornate it is.  Enlarge it and check out the details.

Flatiron District, 16th Street Between Union Square West and Fifth Avenue

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

This is Blue Water Grill, a highly rated seafood restaurant located in the landmarked former Bank of the Metropolis.  I have not eaten at this restaurant (must remedy), but I was in the previous restaurant for drinks.  And what was its name?  I spent a great deal of time online trying to discover the answer.  Shouldn't there be a website devoted to listing the consecutive restaurants operating at one location?  You know there should. 

I was about to give up when suddenly inspiration struck.  My collection of Zagat Surveys!  I found it in the 1991 edition:  Metropolis Cafe.  Doesn't ring a bell, but I'll accept that.

Later, I discovered that if I had actually read the review of Blue Water Grill linked to above, I could have saved myself a lot of time.

Union Square, 16th Street at Union Square West

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

Yay, Nancy Pelosi!  Yay, Obama!  Yay, Bart Stupack, even!  Happy again.  Proud again.  Health care at last.  Yes, it'll have to be fixed.  At least we have something to be fixed.  It will be fixed.

We're looking at the Coffee Shop, an American/Brazilian restaurant known for its beautiful servers.  It's been here since 1990, so the initial buzz has faded, but it's still busy all the time.