QueensQueensQueens

Since I missed the first two classes, I was granted the opportunity to make-up one tour. Mike and Meritta thought that Queens would be the easiest. So I called up Silvia and asked her to help me out and show me around town.
First stop was the Unisphere in Fresh Meadows Park. It is a sight that I see everyday driving down the Long Island Expressway, so I really didnt see the beauty in the object until Silvia explained the whole 1964 World Fair concept. I was drawn in! The American Steele company sure proved their power and influence when they decided to build the piece.
The next thing I asked Silvia was if the class discussed the three looming UFOs on sticks.... Apparantly it was not brought up but I in fact know a little bit about the project. Unsure of the names, the towers used to be home to restaurants and an observation deck that gave a 360° look around the boroughs. Silvia was enlightened and I am sure everyone else would have been!
She then brought me into the Queens Museum (exciting!) to check out the Pandorum Exhibit. I was definitely taken aback by the vast beauty of this project. The entire room of about 600 square feet was dedicated to a miniature scale of he five boroughs, to detail. It was truly remarkable.
Instead of taking a hike in the freezing cold, we took my car to the next location which was a small place called 5-Pointz. I was thinking that maybe this place is a museum of some sort. WAS I MISTAKEN. Abandoned buildings dedicated by graffiti artists to the lively, vibrant aspects of a city which they call home. Tears nearly came to my eyes when I parked the car and took a look at grand scale of the art. It seems as if people take much of their time to work on a project they dont really get paid for. They paint their mural on the wall hoping someone takes a snapshot of it and makes it famous, then by the next few weeks it is painted over. I really appreciated this section of Queens.
Final stop! The Gantry section of Long Island City. It was pretty cool to stand in the middle of what became historically an important port of Queens and Long Island. On the top of the gantries are printed the words "LONG ISLAND". I asked Silvia, why does it say that, are we not in Queens? She said that the reason behind that is Queens is technically part of Long Island, hence the name of the area, Long Island City. Interesting facts, quite interesting.
Well during our visit to Gantry Park, it began to rain so we booked it out of there and called it a night. Queens has some hidden treasures and it is humble to know that this class brings them to light.

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WestSYDE

There is apparently so much to do in Westside, Manhattan. I thought the last adventure was tiring.... Mike pushed us to the EDGE by having us trek the Westside like it was a Sunday stroll through Central Park. By the time we were through I felt like Gumby and needed to recline on my couch.

The day started with a visit to Herald Square then to Times Square. I have visited both Squares in the past, and have never took much thought to the areas. Apparently, Herald Square Park was named after the City Herald and Times Square respectively after the New York Times. Of course this makes sense. 

Times Square has quite a history. From the elegance of the early 20th Century to the filth late in the same millennium, the crowd has changed in the same fashion. The 20s and 30s were characterized by the theatres in the area. We passed by grand theatres that transformed Longacre Square into an industrious center of economic prosperity. Mike had mentioned to us that Times Square went south in the 70s with the emergence and overwhelming expansion of pornography and prostitution. This crippled the area for some time until Mayor Rudolph Giuliani enforced strict regulations in the 90s that cleaned up 

the Square and welcomed a family-friendly crowd .

The next stop was Rockefeller Center, home of the General Electric Building which houses NBC Studios. We enjoyed the beautiful murals that blanketed the interior walls. The original murals were painted by Frida Kahlo's husband Diego Rivera when the building was built in 1933. Interestingly, the murals were stripped and repainted by 

Josep Maria Sert after Rockefeller found the murals depicted 

Communist Lenin.

Helicopter suspended inside MoMA

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (MoMA)

After we left NBC, we took a trip to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). This, I believe, was my first time here for I was truly taken aback by the paintings and sculptures displayed. My favorite paintings are those of Jackson Pollock. His work is quite...random and unique. It is that of a neat mess, for lack of better words.

I am the type of person to enjoy the quality of many ethnic foods such as Chinese and Dominican cooking.

Never had I conceived eating Thai food. The experience at Yum Yum Bangkok was exciting! I decided, rather got influenced by Mike to try the Pa Thai, a concoction of noodles, eggs, and other things. (look at the picture to figure it out) It was by far the most tasty and delectable dish I have consumed in a long time. (I hope Mom is not reading this!!!) 

We choochooed on up to Harlem, which I feel many were intimidated by the poverty of the area. It ain't Long Island!!!! I actually felt intimidated by the beauty of the Brownstones in the area and how after many years of immigration and tenement living, that they could be renovated and worth millions. We literally walked around the block and checked out the neighborhood. It was quiet and peaceful. On the Malcolm X Blvd, there lay a ginormous church, once a temple. It is named the Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Mike had mentioned that the area was once dominated primarily by the Dutch in the late 1600s, then by the Jewish population in the 1800s. The church at first glance will seem indifferent, but a closer look at the top of the large columns prove with the Star of David, that the edifice was once a temple.

We trekked up the long set of stairs of Morningside Park that connects Harlem to Morningside Heights. Let me say something, I CAN BEAT ANYONE UP THOSE STEPS! I digress. We encountered a voluntarily homeless man trying to test our educational level by asking what the five Great Lakes were. What are the names of the five Great Lakes? Who knows.... Mike led us to the Riverside Church and then to the Grant Memorial. Both edifices were large, breathtaking structures that we unfortunately could not enter.

After a long day, we were taken through Columbia University. I must say, this is a gorgeous campus. It was vast and luscious with green leaves. The campus buildings were so large and plentiful. Although it was so nice there, I would never want to enroll to Columbia, that is unless Mike or Meritta could pay the tuition costs!

Final Stop: St. John the Divine Cathedral. It is the FOURTH largest church on planet Earth. Unfortunately the doors were closed by the time we got there, but from the outside I could tell it was beautiful throughout.

Overall this was a great experience and I can not wait for the next tour!!!

EASTSIDE!

Wow. To imagine that I joined the NY Experience course for this?! Well, let me say.... AMAZING!! Since I am behind two classes, this Eastside tour was a doozy. I was so tired after all the walking that Mike made us do. However, there were some excellent sights we toured and beautiful pieces of art studied.

It was my first time in about ten years that I have been to the Met. Although it was a wet one outside, it was a one-a-kind experience for me. With the guidance of Professor Hazlitt, I was able to understand the meanings behind some paintings, sculptures, and drawings.
The building itself was breathtaking. As an ten year old, one does not comprehend the beauty of art. We just see a enormous edifice with a giant columns in front. At 21 years old, the structure has a different, more elegant meaning. The foyer of the building was astounding and made me drop my jaw; beyond this grand lobby was just remarkable.

One of the paintings that caught my attention at first sight was Georges Seurat's "A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte". He painted this piece in 1884, which is one of many of his Pointillism pieces. As a child teachers would show us this painting in textbooks but there was no meaning to them. To have the actual piece in front of my face and to literally see all the paint strokes, was truly amazing.