The Enchanted Eastside!
Waking up this morning I was definitely hoping this week was nothing like last week. I was looking forward to this week though because we were going to Central Park. I have been around Central Park so many times but have never walked through it. Let's begin our journey…our first stop was East Harlem also known as Spanish Harlem/ "El Barrio"(ENY 161). East Harlem is the largest Latino community in the country, despite demographic changes, the neighborhood still retains its Latino flavor (ENY 161). The first place we stopped at in East Harlem was Carver Houses. It was created for low income residents of the neighborhood and completed in 1958(ENY 162). We were then on our way to the Museum of the City of New York(founded in 1923) to watch a film on the history of NYC called Timescapes. It was a perfect movie that tied in everything we have learned so far about New York. The museum looked very nice and had lovely pieces of artwork throughout the museum. The chandelier of light had me engaged right away I also found a few pieces of art that I liked and you can see them below.
Waking up this morning I was definitely hoping this week was nothing like last week. I was looking forward to this week though because we were going to Central Park. I have been around Central Park so many times but have never walked through it. Let's begin our journey…our first stop was East Harlem also known as Spanish Harlem/ "El Barrio"(ENY 161). East Harlem is the largest Latino community in the country, despite demographic changes, the neighborhood still retains its Latino flavor (ENY 161). The first place we stopped at in East Harlem was Carver Houses. It was created for low income residents of the neighborhood and completed in 1958(ENY 162). We were then on our way to the Museum of the City of New York(founded in 1923) to watch a film on the history of NYC called Timescapes. It was a perfect movie that tied in everything we have learned so far about New York. The museum looked very nice and had lovely pieces of artwork throughout the museum. The chandelier of light had me engaged right away I also found a few pieces of art that I liked and you can see them below.
We then went on to El Museo del Barrio. El Museo del Barrio was founded in 1969 in a public school classroom in PS 125 by Puerto Rican activists from East Harlem, to preserve their cultural heritage (ENY 163). We had an amazing guy name Luke who works at this Museum give us a tour of East Harlem. One of the places I loved in East Harlem was the Modesto "Tin" Flores Garden, it was oh so tranquil and I can see why the people of East Harlem love it here and they should definitely keep it around forever(ENY 163). It is operated in collaboration between Hope Community and GrownNYC. The park was originally a vacant lot and dumping ground when it was converted by Harlem resident Ernesto "Tin" Flores into a garden for the neighborhood's inhabitants. This garden is unique from many other gardens because of its inspiring works of art. In the center of the garden is an outdoor fountain sculpture, called "Seed of Growth" which was designed by Line Puerta, much of those works explores the female body and female experience (ENY 164). The fountain celebrates the strength and diversity of women. At the back of the park is a mural called "Soldaderas." The mural depicts Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos. The mural is a tribute to the struggles of the Puerto Rican and Mexican inhabitants and the ties that bind communities together. Both of the women are political radicals, feminists, and fiercely devoted to their native homeland (ENY 164). They both also lost children. This mural is very inspiring and it is something the community I'm sure admires greatly have these to strong women devote their lives the way they did. We then went on to look at other murals and then went to Justo Botanica( a spiritual practice). We met the son of parents who wants owned this botanica and told us about things that were sold in their store and just more on East Harlem in itself. It was now time for lunch so a few classmates and myself went of to El Aguila for some tacos.
So I am now officially stuffed and our next stop is Central Park. I am excited but I also didn't expect Central Park to be as lovely, tranquil, and people friendly as I've seen today. I am definitely returning after walking just about the entire park. It was hard at first being full but it was a very nice walk and towards the end I got an icee which was refreshing. In 1873 Central Park was completed and became the first major public park created in any city in the United States. It provided relief for the working poor and the opportunity for the affluent to go on carriage or horseback rides through the park's tree-lined streets(ENY149).In the 20th century the park began to decay but Mayor Fiorello La Guardia placed Robert Moses in charge of all of New York's parks and tasked him with rehabilitating Central Park(ENY 150). He created the Great Lawn, the development of recreational areas for playgrounds and baseball fields, and the renovation of the park's zoo. Once Moses left office the park was once again neglected. It wasn't until 1980 the not-for-profit Central Park Conservancy was formed to raise funds for the park and restore it to its former glory. They provided 80% of the parks operating budget and was placed in charge of all basic maintenance for the park. We passed by the Obelisk, which is the oldest monument by far in the City of New York. It was built on the Nile in honor of Pharaoh Thutmose III. It was built to facilitate good will and improved trade between Egypt and the United States. Looking out from the Obelisk you can see the Great Lawn. It occupies the site of 35 acre Lower Reservoir that originally stood on this site from 1842 and which Olmstead and Vaux had to work around when planning the park. The Belvedere Castle was built by Olmstead and Vaux, it was built in 1869(ENY 154). It is actually not a castle which I never knew but a Victorian folly-a structure built merely for ornamentation. Belvedere means "beautiful view" and my is the view amazing from the castle. The Belvedere Castle and the Three Dancing Maidens fountain were my favorite. Both spots of the park were just a place to get away and have a clear mind but just relax with a family, friend, or loved one and just have a good time. We came up to Boat's Pond no wait this was also another one of my favorite's! Once I saw everyone in the boats with a significant other, family or friend I just knew I have to come back and do the same it looked like so much fun, so peaceful, and so relaxing as it is also filled with wonderful statues.
To end our day we went to Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields is dedicated to the memory of former Beatle and peace activist, john Lennon. Once the beatles broke up Lennon decided to make his home New York City. He bought an apartment in the Dakota Hotel across from Central Park. One day on his way home he was shot on the corner of the Dakota Hotel by an obsessed fan, Mark Chapman. In 1985, Mayor Ed Koch dedicated 2.5 acres on the western edge of Central Park as a tribute to Lennon (ENY 156). After this we headed back by the pond and talked a bit and then headed to the trains to go home!
Next week its the Westsideeee, can't wait!
To end our day we went to Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields is dedicated to the memory of former Beatle and peace activist, john Lennon. Once the beatles broke up Lennon decided to make his home New York City. He bought an apartment in the Dakota Hotel across from Central Park. One day on his way home he was shot on the corner of the Dakota Hotel by an obsessed fan, Mark Chapman. In 1985, Mayor Ed Koch dedicated 2.5 acres on the western edge of Central Park as a tribute to Lennon (ENY 156). After this we headed back by the pond and talked a bit and then headed to the trains to go home!
Next week its the Westsideeee, can't wait!
WEST SIDE!
Waking up this morning being so excited to explore Times Square, Rockfeller Center, Radio City Music Hall….to…..finding out there is a change in the plans today was quite upsetting especially because this was the week I was looking forward to. But we as a class were just going to make the best of what we were getting into today which was and Central Harlem.
Our first stop was the Frick. The Frick Collection is housed in the former residence of Henry Clay Frick which was designed by Thomas Hastings in 1913-1914. We were given a tour of the museum. We started at the garden court, which is the center of the museum, the rest of the museum wraps around it.Unfortunately the Garden court was the only room we could take pictures in. The room was very beautiful and tranquil but it would've been nice to get pictures of the rest of the museum. In Henry Clay's will he stated that he wanted his home to one day be turned into a museum and thats how we now have the Frick Museum. The doors to the Museum open in 1935. Frick had four children but only one child lived in the home.
The first room we went into was the picture gallery room. Most people would have of thought of it to be a ballroom but it was a picture gallery it was quite unique. My favorite room was the feminine room which was called the Fragonard room. In this room the paintings actually fit into the architecture and it was the only room where women were painting. The feeling of the room was just warm and it told a love story. It was a lot different from the rest of the house.
Before we left we got to see the stairs that lead to upstairs which many of the classmates including myself found it very unfortunate that upstairs was entirely taken over by the workers offices and the basement which seemed like so much fun had a bowling alley in it. It looked great! Unfortunately this was somewhere else we couldn't see in person.
For lunch we went to Yum Yum. I am a fan of Thai food so I was excited because I had never been here. The lunch deal they had for us was a pretty good deal we got to choose an appetizer, entree and a drink. I was stuck between so many different entrees it was hard to choose. In the end I chose the steamed dumplings, sweet and sour chicken and a drink. The food was prepared so quickly and it taste amazing. The dumplings were only two and I already wanted more food, but once I received my entree I was more than stuffed. The food was great and I would definitely come back for some more.
After lunch we headed to Central Harlem. Central Harlem contains of the most cultural and religious institutions( ENY 178). The first cultural institution we hit was the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The center is housed in a 1905 landmark branch of the New York Public Library, designed by McKim, Mead and White, who we should know very well after this class, and contains one of the largest archive collections relating to black culture in the world as well as temporary exhibits on African American history(ENY 178). The center was founded by Arthur Schomburg, a leader of the Harlem Renaissance movement, whose aim was to showcase the richness of African American history and culture. We walked a few blocks down to the Mother AME Zion Church. The church was founded in 1796 by a group of prominent black Methodists, making it the oldest black church in stands for "African Methodist Episcopal." It has been established in Harlem since 1925 and designed by George Foster Jr, first registered black architects(ENY 180). Towards the end we came to what Professor Russo said to be the best view in New York City Striver's Row. The area contains 130 of the best preserved row houses in Manhattan. King's plan was to build homes for upper-middle-class white families. I didn't expect to see lovely apartments to this neighborhood(ENY 181). But then again every neighborhood has good and bad neighborhoods. Composers such as William Cook, songwriter Eubie Blake, and musician W.C. Handy( ENY 182) lived in these apartment. King wanted each apartment styled differently. Stanford White designed the Italian Renaissance(ENY 183).
Lastly, we walked down the Harlem Hall of Fame, commissioned by the Harlem Chamber of Commerce in 1995. The walk contains a series of bronze plaques designed by Otto Neals and Ogundipe Fayoumi to honor African-Americans who have made notable contributions in music, science, and public service( ENY 183.)
Let's see what next week has in store for us….
Waking up this morning being so excited to explore Times Square, Rockfeller Center, Radio City Music Hall….to…..finding out there is a change in the plans today was quite upsetting especially because this was the week I was looking forward to. But we as a class were just going to make the best of what we were getting into today which was and Central Harlem.
Our first stop was the Frick. The Frick Collection is housed in the former residence of Henry Clay Frick which was designed by Thomas Hastings in 1913-1914. We were given a tour of the museum. We started at the garden court, which is the center of the museum, the rest of the museum wraps around it.Unfortunately the Garden court was the only room we could take pictures in. The room was very beautiful and tranquil but it would've been nice to get pictures of the rest of the museum. In Henry Clay's will he stated that he wanted his home to one day be turned into a museum and thats how we now have the Frick Museum. The doors to the Museum open in 1935. Frick had four children but only one child lived in the home.
The first room we went into was the picture gallery room. Most people would have of thought of it to be a ballroom but it was a picture gallery it was quite unique. My favorite room was the feminine room which was called the Fragonard room. In this room the paintings actually fit into the architecture and it was the only room where women were painting. The feeling of the room was just warm and it told a love story. It was a lot different from the rest of the house.
Before we left we got to see the stairs that lead to upstairs which many of the classmates including myself found it very unfortunate that upstairs was entirely taken over by the workers offices and the basement which seemed like so much fun had a bowling alley in it. It looked great! Unfortunately this was somewhere else we couldn't see in person.
For lunch we went to Yum Yum. I am a fan of Thai food so I was excited because I had never been here. The lunch deal they had for us was a pretty good deal we got to choose an appetizer, entree and a drink. I was stuck between so many different entrees it was hard to choose. In the end I chose the steamed dumplings, sweet and sour chicken and a drink. The food was prepared so quickly and it taste amazing. The dumplings were only two and I already wanted more food, but once I received my entree I was more than stuffed. The food was great and I would definitely come back for some more.
After lunch we headed to Central Harlem. Central Harlem contains of the most cultural and religious institutions( ENY 178). The first cultural institution we hit was the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The center is housed in a 1905 landmark branch of the New York Public Library, designed by McKim, Mead and White, who we should know very well after this class, and contains one of the largest archive collections relating to black culture in the world as well as temporary exhibits on African American history(ENY 178). The center was founded by Arthur Schomburg, a leader of the Harlem Renaissance movement, whose aim was to showcase the richness of African American history and culture. We walked a few blocks down to the Mother AME Zion Church. The church was founded in 1796 by a group of prominent black Methodists, making it the oldest black church in stands for "African Methodist Episcopal." It has been established in Harlem since 1925 and designed by George Foster Jr, first registered black architects(ENY 180). Towards the end we came to what Professor Russo said to be the best view in New York City Striver's Row. The area contains 130 of the best preserved row houses in Manhattan. King's plan was to build homes for upper-middle-class white families. I didn't expect to see lovely apartments to this neighborhood(ENY 181). But then again every neighborhood has good and bad neighborhoods. Composers such as William Cook, songwriter Eubie Blake, and musician W.C. Handy( ENY 182) lived in these apartment. King wanted each apartment styled differently. Stanford White designed the Italian Renaissance(ENY 183).
Lastly, we walked down the Harlem Hall of Fame, commissioned by the Harlem Chamber of Commerce in 1995. The walk contains a series of bronze plaques designed by Otto Neals and Ogundipe Fayoumi to honor African-Americans who have made notable contributions in music, science, and public service( ENY 183.)
Let's see what next week has in store for us….
lOWER EAST SIDE!
Woke up thinking wow…we are getting closer and closer to the end! So today we are going to the Lower Eastside .The Lower East side is where it all began. Lower Manhattan is between the New York Harbor to the south and City Hall to the north(ENY 39). When we first got off the train one of our first sites was the Woolworth Building. F.W. Woolworth was the founder of the 5 and 10 cent stores that still bear his name today. The building is Neo-Gothic, was designed by Cass Gilbert, who was inspired by medieval cathedrals that he had seen in France. It is the second tallest building in New York City right after the Chrysler Building. Unfortunately it has been closed since September 11, 2001 (ENY, 40). The Municipal Building was built by McKim, Mead, and White. It was constructed between 1907 to 1914. We had passed a granite monument which was used to represent slave trade. Slave trade was very popular in Nyc. We tried to go into the Tweed Courthouse but they would not let us in unless we already had a planned tour. So we had to observe the architectural style from the outside and the lobby. It is a combination of Roman, Italian Renaissance, and Classical styles( ENY,40). Our next stop was City Hall. The City Hall that is now standing is the third time it has been built, which was in 1811. It is the oldest French Renaissance city hall. The interior of City Hall is amazing. Our class had the pleasure of having a tour given to us of City Hall by Jill Cornell. City Hall is 202 years old. The dome is invisible from the outside it was hidden behind the clock. I would have to say my favorite room was the City Council Chamber. You just got an idea of how it felt years ago when they actually held cases there. I admired the picture on the ceiling. It was a woman (Lady of NY) sitting on her throne with the Brooklyn Bridge behind her.Our next stop was the African Burial Ground. The Burial ground was a place for peace and rest. It was sold in 1975. The Burial was rediscovered in 1991 during the construction of the Ted Weiss Building. IN 2007 a memorial opened in the building to highlight the important role that African slaves played in the development of New York City. They built broadway and shaped the Americas.
We then broke for lunch. Erica, Kayla, and myself went to Sophia's. The food was pretty good I had a hard time deciding what to get but I stuck with simple that day and just got Chicken, plantains, and rice. After lunch I had to stop in Dunkin Donuts to get team because it was just very chilly on Friday.
After lunch our next stop was St. Paul's Church. It is the oldest church in Manhattan, Georgian style and still used today. The chapel was designed by Thomas McBean and was completed in 1766. It is the oldest building in continuous use in New York City. The Chapel managed to survive the great fire of 1776 that destroyed much of the original city of New York. The chapel has now become a memorial to those who died at Ground Zero. The chapel has survived the terrorist attacks on September 11th, that destroyed the Twin Towers without even a broken windows. Supposedly a sycamore tree that stood in its cemetery. The root of this tree has been preserved at the Trinity Church (which we also stopped at). The Trinity Church was built in 1697, was destroyed in a fire that swept through much of Lower NY in 1776 and the second in 1790 was torn down after a damaging snow storm. The church we saw today was built by Richard Upjohn in Gothic Revival style and completed in 1846. In the back of the church you will find the memorial of the sycamore tree that protected St. Paul's from falling on September 11th. We then stopped at the 9-11 memorial. We all remember this day to be a very devastating time for all of us. It forever changed our lives some more than others. The World Trade Center was built between 1966 and 1987, which contained seven buildings and an underground shopping mall. On September 11th, 2001, 19 terrorists affiliated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four commercial airlines, crashing one into the Pentagon in Virginia and two into the Twin Towers. The attack killed 2,977 victims, making it the worst terror attack in American history (ENY48).
The 9-11 memorial, opened in 2011. The memorial site is also home to the 9-11 memorial museum which we also took a walk through before getting to the memorial site. We then went on to the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse. It was designed by Cass Gilbert and was completed by his son Cass Gilbert Jr. in 1936. The building currently houses the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District for the Southern District of NY. Once you walk around the building you will see murals that depict evolution of law in five sets of civilizations. Those civilizations are babylonian, persian, roman, frankish, and american and above the murals are six of the world's greatest law givers: Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Justinian, Blackstone and John Marshall (ENY 44) which we have definitely heard all of these names several times before. Federal Hall was built as a city hall for New York by British in 1703. Many important events have happened in this building, John P Zenger was acquitted of libel changes in 1735, an event that gave rise to freedom of the press. In October 1765, the Stamp Act, George Washington sworn in as President in 1789 and many other events to follow. This building was declared a historic site in 1939 (ENY 52).
After the Federal Hall building as we passed the Stock Exchange building Professor asked us to tell him about the freeze above the building . The freeze is a woman which they call integrity who stretches both her arms out as a sign of sincerity and honesty. There are ten other figures and Integrity is protecting the "Work of man." We then waited for the Professor to figure out our next stop so we saw a little Flea Market that we had to walk through of course many of us could not just walk by. A few of us grabbed something from it. The class was then ended because it began to drizzle. Another class in the books….one more class to go!
We then broke for lunch. Erica, Kayla, and myself went to Sophia's. The food was pretty good I had a hard time deciding what to get but I stuck with simple that day and just got Chicken, plantains, and rice. After lunch I had to stop in Dunkin Donuts to get team because it was just very chilly on Friday.
After lunch our next stop was St. Paul's Church. It is the oldest church in Manhattan, Georgian style and still used today. The chapel was designed by Thomas McBean and was completed in 1766. It is the oldest building in continuous use in New York City. The Chapel managed to survive the great fire of 1776 that destroyed much of the original city of New York. The chapel has now become a memorial to those who died at Ground Zero. The chapel has survived the terrorist attacks on September 11th, that destroyed the Twin Towers without even a broken windows. Supposedly a sycamore tree that stood in its cemetery. The root of this tree has been preserved at the Trinity Church (which we also stopped at). The Trinity Church was built in 1697, was destroyed in a fire that swept through much of Lower NY in 1776 and the second in 1790 was torn down after a damaging snow storm. The church we saw today was built by Richard Upjohn in Gothic Revival style and completed in 1846. In the back of the church you will find the memorial of the sycamore tree that protected St. Paul's from falling on September 11th. We then stopped at the 9-11 memorial. We all remember this day to be a very devastating time for all of us. It forever changed our lives some more than others. The World Trade Center was built between 1966 and 1987, which contained seven buildings and an underground shopping mall. On September 11th, 2001, 19 terrorists affiliated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four commercial airlines, crashing one into the Pentagon in Virginia and two into the Twin Towers. The attack killed 2,977 victims, making it the worst terror attack in American history (ENY48).
The 9-11 memorial, opened in 2011. The memorial site is also home to the 9-11 memorial museum which we also took a walk through before getting to the memorial site. We then went on to the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse. It was designed by Cass Gilbert and was completed by his son Cass Gilbert Jr. in 1936. The building currently houses the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District for the Southern District of NY. Once you walk around the building you will see murals that depict evolution of law in five sets of civilizations. Those civilizations are babylonian, persian, roman, frankish, and american and above the murals are six of the world's greatest law givers: Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Justinian, Blackstone and John Marshall (ENY 44) which we have definitely heard all of these names several times before. Federal Hall was built as a city hall for New York by British in 1703. Many important events have happened in this building, John P Zenger was acquitted of libel changes in 1735, an event that gave rise to freedom of the press. In October 1765, the Stamp Act, George Washington sworn in as President in 1789 and many other events to follow. This building was declared a historic site in 1939 (ENY 52).
After the Federal Hall building as we passed the Stock Exchange building Professor asked us to tell him about the freeze above the building . The freeze is a woman which they call integrity who stretches both her arms out as a sign of sincerity and honesty. There are ten other figures and Integrity is protecting the "Work of man." We then waited for the Professor to figure out our next stop so we saw a little Flea Market that we had to walk through of course many of us could not just walk by. A few of us grabbed something from it. The class was then ended because it began to drizzle. Another class in the books….one more class to go!
CHINATOWN!
Waking up this morning was bittersweet…finally it was the last day but then no more amazing New York City experiences.
We started out in Lower East side where we attended the tenement museum. The tenements were built in 1863. The Museum provides a glimpse into the life of the immigrant families who lived in this building during the mid- nineteenth century. The Museum was built by Lukas Glockner and has been modified over the years to keep up with the tenement laws (ENY 67). In 1935 instead of working with the tenement laws the landlord evicted all the tenements and sealed up the building. These tenements held an estimated 7,000 people from over twenty countries who mostly came from Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe(ENY, 67).The Tenement Museum itself was founded in 1988 and was considered a National Historic Landmark in 1994. The tenement is five floors, all twenty apartments are the same size. In one of the rooms there was a glass table that had artifacts which were advertising for improvement of english language, jacks, thread, scissors, buck weed which was a breakfast drink but it had not been open since the 1930s so I definitely don't think anyone would want to drink that. This area was the most densely populated area there was eight to ten people in one bedroom. Each apartment consisted of a bedroom, kitchen and a parlor. Working conditions were nothing anyone of us would want to do in this day and age. Minors were working sixty hours a week. I could not believe that a minor working SIXTY hours a week! So clearly anyone who wasn't a minor was working way more. It took a total of two hours a day to make one dress, there were a total of six to eight made a day. Each dress was fifteen dollars the same price as ones rent. We then went on to see the way another family lived in the tenement which wasn't great but it was better than the first family. After the tour was over we met back in front. Unfortunately we were not able to take any pictures during the tour.
So next Professor Russo is sending us out to give ourselves our own little tour of Chinatown and we are guided by a sheet with directions on it. Although we are all trying to see who will get through to everything first we must always stop at places and take pictures. Lucky enough our group had Jane in it who is always in Chinatown so she knew where everything was. Going into Chinatown you definitely feel like you are in a whole other world. When Chinese immigrants first started coming to the United States it was mostly men but they wound up staying longer than they thought and bought their culture, tradition, and their cuisine to the neighborhood(ENY,72). The ratio of Chinese men to women was 200 to 1 many men were marrying Irish women. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act halted immigration. Chinese were the first ethnic group ever to be denied into the U.S. (ENY, 72). The act was later repealed and the Immigration Act of 1965 eventually led to 20,000 Chinese immigrants into the U.S. (ENY, 73). Chinatown went from being a seven block enclave to a fifty-five block area. So as a group we went around to different shops and we passed Chinatown's Ice cream Factory and Mei Lai Wah where we tried Sweet Bread. Which is exactly what it sounds like a bun that is sweet is what pretty good I would definitely go back for more. As we continued to walk around we stopped at a stand that had mini cakes which pretty much just tasted like tiny pancakes. We continued to walk around some more through jewelry stores and then we went to a Columbus park.
After the our Chinatown adventure we met back by the tenement museum to have lunch at Congee Village. Our last lunch as a class!
The food was pretty good my favorite was the pieces of broccoli I forgot what they are called exactly, the sesame chicken was amazing I wish we got more than one plate of that because that was the best!
After lunch we met with our favorite tour guide Jim. We went to economy candy, which is a candy store like no other! This candy store is huge and had so many different types of candy that I use to eat as a child. It was so hard to choose what candy to get but I did pick up a few things. We then went to the Henry Street Settlement. It was founded by Lillian Wald who was a 25 year old nursing student who was volunteering at Lower East Side to teach immigrant women about health care and she disliked the conditions (ENY, 69). In 1893 she founded the Nurses' Settlement to bring nursing care, education and the arts to the immigrant population of the community (ENY, 69). Thanks to Jacob Schiff the organization would receive a permanent home and a new name in 1903. Wald was also able to begin the Visiting Nurse Service to care for the sick rather than having sick people go to a clinic. Two additional buildings were bought by wealthy philanthropists which caused an expansion in services (ENY 69). We then went to Seward Park. The park was named after William Seward, who was the governor of New York from 1832-1842, and later became Secretary of State. It was the Small Parks Act of 1887 that the City of New York gained power to take over private lands and turn them into public parks. Seward Park was opened in 1903, becoming the first municipal playground in the United States. Seward Park opening did cause 3,000 people who lived in tenements to lose their homes. The Seward Library was opened seven years later it served the Jewish community in the neighborhood and for a very long period of time had the largest Yiddish collection of books in the city (ENY, 70).
Our last stop was the Eldridge Street Synagogue. It is an architectural masterpiece of the Lower East Side. The synagogue was constructed in 1887 and was the first to be built in New York by Eastern Europe Jews. It is located in Chinatown but when it was first built it was in a heavily populated by Jews. It was designed by Peter and Francis Herter out of brick and terra-cotta which has both Moorish and Gothic influences. Moorish was a popular style in the 19th century for synagogues. From 1950 to 1986 the synagogue membership began to lessen until it was left empty. The Eldridge Street Project, launched a campaign to restore it. In 2007, after twenty years of restoration, the synagogue reopened with a new museum showcasing its rich history (ENY 72). We then took our final class picture the few times we got a group photo with Mike. Another fulfilled week has official come to an end, although this was our last one.Overall it was a great seven weeks!
Waking up this morning was bittersweet…finally it was the last day but then no more amazing New York City experiences.
We started out in Lower East side where we attended the tenement museum. The tenements were built in 1863. The Museum provides a glimpse into the life of the immigrant families who lived in this building during the mid- nineteenth century. The Museum was built by Lukas Glockner and has been modified over the years to keep up with the tenement laws (ENY 67). In 1935 instead of working with the tenement laws the landlord evicted all the tenements and sealed up the building. These tenements held an estimated 7,000 people from over twenty countries who mostly came from Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe(ENY, 67).The Tenement Museum itself was founded in 1988 and was considered a National Historic Landmark in 1994. The tenement is five floors, all twenty apartments are the same size. In one of the rooms there was a glass table that had artifacts which were advertising for improvement of english language, jacks, thread, scissors, buck weed which was a breakfast drink but it had not been open since the 1930s so I definitely don't think anyone would want to drink that. This area was the most densely populated area there was eight to ten people in one bedroom. Each apartment consisted of a bedroom, kitchen and a parlor. Working conditions were nothing anyone of us would want to do in this day and age. Minors were working sixty hours a week. I could not believe that a minor working SIXTY hours a week! So clearly anyone who wasn't a minor was working way more. It took a total of two hours a day to make one dress, there were a total of six to eight made a day. Each dress was fifteen dollars the same price as ones rent. We then went on to see the way another family lived in the tenement which wasn't great but it was better than the first family. After the tour was over we met back in front. Unfortunately we were not able to take any pictures during the tour.
So next Professor Russo is sending us out to give ourselves our own little tour of Chinatown and we are guided by a sheet with directions on it. Although we are all trying to see who will get through to everything first we must always stop at places and take pictures. Lucky enough our group had Jane in it who is always in Chinatown so she knew where everything was. Going into Chinatown you definitely feel like you are in a whole other world. When Chinese immigrants first started coming to the United States it was mostly men but they wound up staying longer than they thought and bought their culture, tradition, and their cuisine to the neighborhood(ENY,72). The ratio of Chinese men to women was 200 to 1 many men were marrying Irish women. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act halted immigration. Chinese were the first ethnic group ever to be denied into the U.S. (ENY, 72). The act was later repealed and the Immigration Act of 1965 eventually led to 20,000 Chinese immigrants into the U.S. (ENY, 73). Chinatown went from being a seven block enclave to a fifty-five block area. So as a group we went around to different shops and we passed Chinatown's Ice cream Factory and Mei Lai Wah where we tried Sweet Bread. Which is exactly what it sounds like a bun that is sweet is what pretty good I would definitely go back for more. As we continued to walk around we stopped at a stand that had mini cakes which pretty much just tasted like tiny pancakes. We continued to walk around some more through jewelry stores and then we went to a Columbus park.
After the our Chinatown adventure we met back by the tenement museum to have lunch at Congee Village. Our last lunch as a class!
The food was pretty good my favorite was the pieces of broccoli I forgot what they are called exactly, the sesame chicken was amazing I wish we got more than one plate of that because that was the best!
After lunch we met with our favorite tour guide Jim. We went to economy candy, which is a candy store like no other! This candy store is huge and had so many different types of candy that I use to eat as a child. It was so hard to choose what candy to get but I did pick up a few things. We then went to the Henry Street Settlement. It was founded by Lillian Wald who was a 25 year old nursing student who was volunteering at Lower East Side to teach immigrant women about health care and she disliked the conditions (ENY, 69). In 1893 she founded the Nurses' Settlement to bring nursing care, education and the arts to the immigrant population of the community (ENY, 69). Thanks to Jacob Schiff the organization would receive a permanent home and a new name in 1903. Wald was also able to begin the Visiting Nurse Service to care for the sick rather than having sick people go to a clinic. Two additional buildings were bought by wealthy philanthropists which caused an expansion in services (ENY 69). We then went to Seward Park. The park was named after William Seward, who was the governor of New York from 1832-1842, and later became Secretary of State. It was the Small Parks Act of 1887 that the City of New York gained power to take over private lands and turn them into public parks. Seward Park was opened in 1903, becoming the first municipal playground in the United States. Seward Park opening did cause 3,000 people who lived in tenements to lose their homes. The Seward Library was opened seven years later it served the Jewish community in the neighborhood and for a very long period of time had the largest Yiddish collection of books in the city (ENY, 70).
Our last stop was the Eldridge Street Synagogue. It is an architectural masterpiece of the Lower East Side. The synagogue was constructed in 1887 and was the first to be built in New York by Eastern Europe Jews. It is located in Chinatown but when it was first built it was in a heavily populated by Jews. It was designed by Peter and Francis Herter out of brick and terra-cotta which has both Moorish and Gothic influences. Moorish was a popular style in the 19th century for synagogues. From 1950 to 1986 the synagogue membership began to lessen until it was left empty. The Eldridge Street Project, launched a campaign to restore it. In 2007, after twenty years of restoration, the synagogue reopened with a new museum showcasing its rich history (ENY 72). We then took our final class picture the few times we got a group photo with Mike. Another fulfilled week has official come to an end, although this was our last one.Overall it was a great seven weeks!
Summing it all up!
This class was a great experience. How often can you avoid the average classroom lecture classes. This class you are able to experience hands on the history of New York City as you leave about it. From learning the history of NY to all types of architectural structures, going to different parts of New York City each week which as long as I have lived here did not ever take the time to go to any of these places, the people I got to experience all the with, our wonderful professors, and the lovely food we had each week. I couldn't have asked for two better professors to share this experience with. I took a class with Professor Russo my freshman year and now I got to experience a whole different side of him my senior year with taking his Gotham Class. Having class with Meritta she is a very nice professor, I have never taken a class with her before. The two of them together is just a blast they compliment each other very well. If I could do it all over I wouldn't change these past seven weeks I have seen some unforgettable beautiful areas that I can't wait to share with loved ones and friends.
This class was a great experience. How often can you avoid the average classroom lecture classes. This class you are able to experience hands on the history of New York City as you leave about it. From learning the history of NY to all types of architectural structures, going to different parts of New York City each week which as long as I have lived here did not ever take the time to go to any of these places, the people I got to experience all the with, our wonderful professors, and the lovely food we had each week. I couldn't have asked for two better professors to share this experience with. I took a class with Professor Russo my freshman year and now I got to experience a whole different side of him my senior year with taking his Gotham Class. Having class with Meritta she is a very nice professor, I have never taken a class with her before. The two of them together is just a blast they compliment each other very well. If I could do it all over I wouldn't change these past seven weeks I have seen some unforgettable beautiful areas that I can't wait to share with loved ones and friends.