Thoughts & Reflections

Category: Around Town

Chihuly at the New York Botanical Garden

On a hot June day, I hopped aboard a train and headed up to the Bronx. It was the weekend after the New York Botanical Garden’s Rose Garden Weekend but the roses were still in full, vibrant blooms and I wanted to catch the flowers while they were still in peak color. One bonus to visiting the garden was to check out the Chihuly exhibit currently on display.

My first experience (and the only one that I can remember) with Dale Chihuly was at the Victoria and Albert museum in London. Suspended from the ceiling in the rotunda was a big, beautiful blown glass sculpture hanging down like a neon chandelier. It’s one of those amazing works of art that one can see only once and not really forget. That was years ago and it’s still there to this day.

The NYBG’s exhibit allows visitors to get more up close to each work of art, and the pieces are scattered around the garden. Some are camouflaged amongst the plants in the Conservatory while are others are floating in a lake or standing boldly on the grass or fountains. My personal favorite was the “Float Boat”, a small wooden boat floating in the lake by the Native Plant Garden and carrying what appeared to be giant marbles.

Many of the sculptures are located in and around the Conservatory and the style of the pieces there varied. There were tall, elaborate and curvy pieces shooting out from water or into the sky, while others were shorter and more stick-like, resembling yards and yards of neon tubing. I wasn’t really interested in the latter since they were a bit dull compared to some of the other pieces.

And right outside of the Conservatory entrance was a reminder of the London sculpture. This was my second favorite piece in the garden, and just looking at it, one can really appreciate the skill and time it must have taken the artist to create such a work of art like this. On certain nights, the garden remains open till 10:30pm and the artwork is all lit up so that’s another fun way to view and interact with the art. I do recommend people going to check it out; the exhibit runs through October 29 so there’s still plenty of time to see it.

July 4, 2017
Hallett Nature Sanctuary

A few months ago, I made several unsuccessful attempts to check out the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, a protected area in the southeast corner of Central Park. Closed to the public since the 1930s, it had been opened with strictly limited hours over the past few years but I had been unable to visit during those times. But now, there are open hours every week and with my current office located close by, I was finally able to drop in and take a look around.

I met up with my friend M one weekday afternoon (she had taken the day off) for a late post-lunch stroll. With no real plans in mind, I suggested we try to visit the Sanctuary. I had expected long lines (as it had been when I walked by last year and even on the first official day it opened this year) but was pleasantly surprised to see people come and go freely.

Members of the park staff were stationed at the entrance and along the different paths inside to answer questions. We soon entered through the rustic wooden gate and proceeded down a path. There are lovely lookouts and vantage points around the promontory, with views of skyscrapers above and the lake below. Though it’s very close to the traffic along Central Park South, most of the noise was filtered out and we heard mainly birdsong and the rustling of leaves.

My favorite area is where a waterfall cascades down into the lake. I’ve seen it often from outside along a path that circles the lake and have always wondered what the source looked like. It’s fun to stand up on the rocks and watch and listen to the water as it trickles downward. By chance, I caught a sparrow bathing briefly in the shallow grooves of the large smooth stones before taking flight. It was so lovely!

One can probably walk through all of the Sanctuary in about 10-15 minutes without stopping. I definitely need to revisit and take my time to fully appreciate the views and the peacefulness of the site (and in much more appropriate footwear). Maybe next time I’ll bring a book and just sit one of the benches up there and just be surrounded by nature.

June 28, 2016
Park Walks

The last month and a half has been some of my busiest weeks ever with far too much going on for my own good. Theoretically, there should have been a decent amount of free time on my hands but that was rarely the case. In between a month-long visit from family, a long weekend visit from a friend and enough interviewing to last a lifetime, I did manage to find some brief moments to escape and actually enjoy living in the present.

There’s been a lot of walking around in Central Park, which looks fabulous this time of year. Instead of my usual haunts, I decided to really explore the northwestern corners of the park which has some really amazing landscapes. Skirting the Harlem Meer, I made my way south and trekked along paths through the North Woods and saw the Ravine, the Loch and the Pool. That entire area of the park is delightful and I discovered a lot of bridges, streams and waterfalls. There was birdsong and looking up, I admired the beauty of the bare trees before Spring finally took hold of the city.

Another day, I walked from one end of the park to the other, sticking to the west side and made it down to Columbus Circle in just over an hour via a curvy, scenic route that took me past the Reservoir and the Lake. And during my most recent trip, it was to check out what was blooming in the Conservatory Garden. I was hoping to see the wisteria flower but it was still a bit early and chilly for that. But there were plenty of flowering trees all around so it was still worth the visit.

One nice thing about these frequent trips to the same park is being able to watch the landscape gradually transform from late winter greys and browns to grass greens, pastel pinks and whites, and bright, bold hues as flowers paint huge swatches of color across the ground. I can’t wait till for all the trees to be covered with leaves; there’s nothing better than enjoying the soon-to-be summer weather with a picnic beneath bright green canopies.

May 3, 2016
A Weekend of Holiday Trains

With the holidays now upon us, life has gotten more busy during the last few weeks. Between checking out all the holiday shops, craft fairs and pop-up stores as well as meeting up with friends, I did make room for a few free events going on around the city this month.

During a recent stopover at Grand Central Terminal, I walked by the Transit Museum Annex and detoured inside to take a look at the holiday train show the museum puts on display every year. The tiny shop/museum annex was full of people as some bought gifts while others (like me) went in to admire the models of trains, buildings and city and country landscapes.

The biggest set was a miniature version of Grand Central Terminal itself, with taxis, cars and buses driving up Park Avenue and into and around the terminal. Crouching down below is a cut-away view of tracks, platforms and vintage trains. I love the retro feel of it as it reminds one of the golden age of travel by train.

And the following day, I decide to enjoy the real vintage trains by hopping on for a nostalgia ride. I took a regular train to Queens Plaza and arrived in time to watch the vintage train entering the station. There were plenty of people already waiting for it at this end of the route and we all hopped on board once it arrived on the other track to head back into Manhattan. The car I happened to enter was already filled with people as there were musicians and a singer already there, entertaining the people who had stayed on board the train.

The Grand St. Stompers sang and played throughout the ride to the Lower East Side, filling the car with holiday songs. Everyone took photos (of course) and enjoyed the music as well. Once we arrived at the end of the route, another band greeted us on the station platform as well dancers and many more people dressed in fashionable vintage attire. It was nice to get a glimpse of the past.

For those interested, there’s one more Sunday left to hop aboard and ride the old trains before they go back to the Transit Museum in Brooklyn. And the holiday train show at the Transit Museum will be on display through mid-February of next year.

December 21, 2015
The Lowline Lab

In an old market building in the Lower East Side, a lush miniature scale version of a park is blooming inside. With the Highline finally completed, the next new park we can hopefully look forward to is the Lowline.

There are a lot of abandoned underground spaces throughout the city, many former train stations and tunnels. One of these is an old trolley terminal that is still visible from the platforms at the Essex Street subway station. It’s a vast space with minimal reminders of its past and one idea on how to reuse it is to convert it into a park.

The Lowline is far from reality but visitors to their lab can see the potential thanks to a model of what park advocates want to do with the space. As you enter, there are large billboards that describe the project and what efforts the Lowline team have made so far to try to bring this to fruition.

One very interesting and important question is how to bring in natural light to the underground park. Through a combination of reflectors and tubes, sunlight will reach down and into the space and just like above ground, the light will move around the space, mimicking the path the sun would travel.

The scale model is very lush and there’s a variety of plants growing in there. Greenery not only grows up from terraced planters but also grow down from the ceiling reminiscent of stalactites. Walking around the model, one can see moss, ferns and lots of tropical plants and even a pineapple growing among the foliage.

It’s a teaser for what may come and I think an underground park would definitely be a good use of the space. Think of it as one way Nature can reclaim a bit of land now that man has no use for it anymore.

November 12, 2015
Untermyer Park and Gardens

I’m one of those people who tend to stick to the city when I want to experience arts, culture and the great outdoors. New York has plenty of beautiful parks and gardens in each of the five boroughs, though I’ve yet to find any that would rival the great European formal gardens such as those at the Alhambra, Schönbrunn and Versailles. Bryant Park is modelled after the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Conservatory in Central Park are similar in design but only a fraction as big.

My friend M recently had use of a car and after tossing out some ideas, we headed north to Yonkers to visit Untermyer Gardens. I think I first learned of this place via some short feature on a TV show (most likely on PBS) I’ve forgotten now but the pictures I saw of it intrigued me. Technically, it was a half-hour drive from our starting point in Queens but we were stuck in traffic for a bit in the Bronx; even so, we still arrived fairly quickly. As we left the city limits, the traffic and buildings gave way to beautiful, multi-color trees that lined the parkways.

The Untermyer Park and Gardens are located close to the Hudson River, offering beautiful views of the cliffs on the other side of the river. It’s a bit similar to Wave Hill in the Bronx but I think Untermyer Gardens is a lot more visually interesting with all the beautiful ruins and architecture situated throughout the park. Originally, there was a mansion called Greystone on the site, built by Samuel Tilden back in 1862. Samuel Untermyer bought the property in 1899 and added to it, comprising a total of 150 acres. The current park is only 43 acres now; Untermyer gave it to the state after his death but the upkeep costs were too high and much of it was sold.

The Untermyer Conservancy was established to help restore this beautiful park and so far they’ve done a beautiful job of it. From the parking lot, we walked to the entrance of the walled garden. High walls surround a beautiful Persian garden and once I stepped through the gate, I was reminded a bit of the Alhambra gardens. It was absolutely gorgeous with flowers and bushes lining the streams, pools and fountains and Greco-Roman columns and temples standing majestically inside. Since it was a weekday, there were few visitors which was nice but there was a wedding couple on the lower terrace taking pictures; even though it was a cloudy day, I’m sure the pictures looked wonderfully with the bright, vivid colors of autumn leaves in the background.

There’s a path from the walled garden that slopes downwards to a circular overlook where two lone columns stand at attention. The path and steps were partially covered with a carpet of red and orange leaves from the trees that lined the path. From the overlook, we could see the remains of an old gatehouse at the bottom of the hill that offers an alternate entrance onto the grounds. We didn’t go that way but turned back, walking up a little and detouring off to a woodland trail that retraced our steps and led us toward the rock garden and the Temple of Love. There was construction going on as crews were making repairs to those features so we couldn’t get too close to them. Even from a distance the Temple of Love was lovely to look at.

The sun did peek out for a brief ten minutes while we were on the grounds. Blue skies did make an appearance later on but we had left by then to grab lunch. I would like to revisit the park again in the spring or summer, when everything is lush and in bloom. It was definitely worth the drive there.

November 10, 2015
A Visit to the World’s Fair Pavilion

New York hosted two World’s Fair events in the last century and alas, I wasn’t born yet when either one took place. Not much has remained from either Fair but there are still bits of the 1964 World’s Fair that are still accessible to the public. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the Fair and after a multi-million dollar restoration, the old New York State Pavilion was finally opened to the public on very limited tours. I wasn’t able to attend then but fortunately, it was open recently for the annual Open House New York Weekend.

When I was younger, I often wondered about those strange looking structures in the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park as we drove through along the expressway. To be honest, I always thought they were rather an eyesore that marred the view of the park and it was a very long time before I learned what they actually were. And then it just seemed a pity that they were left standing derelict for decades, a reminder of days gone by. But the site’s been cleaned up and there are fresh coats of bright paints in similar colors as were there originally in the 1960s.

The Pavilion is made up of several structures but it was the “Tent of Tomorrow” that we were coming to see. It opened at 1pm and there were about 20 or so people ahead of me in line when I arrived around 12:45pm. It was a cool, bright day and chilly but at least the sun helped to keep us warm. As we waited, music and old advertisements from that era played loudly from inside the pavilion to remind us of that time. And at the front of the line, everyone was given a mesh cap to wear and over that, a hard hat. Once the safety gear was on, I walked inside to find these glorious views:

The ceiling was originally made up of many translucent colored tiles. Only the skeleton remains but I suppose one could imagine what it might have looked like (or take a look at the photos in this WNYC article instead).

Even the floor was worth looking at. Originally, one would look down and see a highway map of New York State; most of the floor did not survive but there were two small portions on display for the weekend. Other items found during the restoration were placed in various spots inside the Pavilion as well as photos past and present of the site. There were several signs still hanging along the perimeter that indicated where a restaurant once was as well as access to a mezzanine. Unfortunately, heading upstairs is prohibited but we could see the remnants of old stairs and escalators just beyond a wire fence.

The other two structures that are part of the Pavilion still remain to this day. The Theaterama is now home to the Queens Theater; I walked by as I was leaving and was tempted to stop in its cafe to grab lunch but didn’t. Next to and slightly behind the Theaterama are the Observation Towers; the Towers are still off-limits and haven’t been restored. It would be wonderful if they too were cleaned up and accessible but there doesn’t seem to be any plans for that. Maybe one day…

October 22, 2015
The Dyckman Farmhouse

I recently spent a weekend up in Inwood, the neighborhood at the northern end of Manhattan island (though it’s not the furthest neighborhood of the borough; that honor goes to Marble Hill). Usually, I’m only in the area for the annual Medieval Festival or a visit to the Cloisters but for once, I travelled beyond Fort Tryon park and rode the A train to the end of the line.

The Dyckman Farmhouse is over 200-years-old and the last remaining farmhouse left in Manhattan. It currently sits a few blocks south of where the original house was located; the one that stands today is of a later date since the first house was destroyed during the American Revolution. Almost a century ago, it was converted to a museum that is now run by the New York City Parks Department.

Surrounded by modern construction, the farmhouse sits on a corner lot atop a slight hill. Enter at the corner and climb up the path to reach the front porch. On the day I went, the museum was hosting a fall festival event so there were a lot of children poking around indoors and out. Most of the rooms are open to the public so one can walk inside and examine the furniture and objects up close to get a sense of what life must have been like for the Dutch settlers.

There is a large garden behind the house as well as two smaller buildings. The larger of the two is a reconstructed military hut used by the British and Hessians when they had an encampment in Inwood during the Revolution. It was locked but there is a plaque just outside the hut with more information. With their fair going on, there were a few tables set up in the gardens for children’s arts and crafts as well as a demonstration of an old press for making apple cider. There were different events set up throughout the day but I didn’t stick out for most of them. The farmhouse is fairly small and one can see pretty much everything in under an hour.

October 14, 2015
Sunday Morning in Coney Island

It’s been well over two decades since I ventured down to Coney Island. I asked my mother and her last memory of the family heading down there was a visit to the Aquarium. That would definitely be elementary school, and I’m almost certain it was no later than the third grade. So yes, many, many years.

I took the subway down there on Sunday, intending to visit a pop-up crafts market last weekend. An hour on the trains till I reached the end of the line, stepping out of the carriage with tourists, who were the only other passengers I could see. It was a cool and cloudy day and once I started down Stillwell Avenue the first sight that greeted me was the very large (and original) Nathan’s hot dog stand.

There’s been a lot of development in Coney Island but at least some things never change. My recollections of the beach and boardwalk are fuzzy at best so I felt very much like a tourist walking around the area. The craft market was in a large lot that currently hosts one version of Smorgasborg but it was early when I got there and the food stalls weren’t open. As for the craft vendors, there were less than a dozen of them and not very interesting to me, unfortunately. But since I made the journey down, I decided to head to the beach and the water.

The boardwalk separates the amusement parks from the beach. A few of the rides were open early and there weren’t many people on the beach yet. There were plenty of people strolling along the boardwalk though: families, tourists, joggers and fishermen. I really enjoyed the sight of an empty beach and despite inappropriate shoes (I wore flats), I made my way to the sea. There are jetties along the shore and sometimes, one could see gulls perched on the rocks. It was very bright and the sun peeked out through the clouds every once in a while, and the sea just sparkled. It was really lovely.

And for those of us who wanted to get closer to the ocean but not get wet, the pier was a good place to go. Alas that all the good spots were taken by many, many fishermen who leaned their poles all along the rails hoping that something would bite. It was a bit annoying not to reach the every end of the pier but I made do and so did all the other visitors who were to admire the sights and not fish. Also of note was that one one side of the pier was the cloudy beach and sea; on the other a view of nearby apartment towers edging towards the bright blue waters and clearing skies.

By the time I was ready to leave, things were beginning to come to life. It was lunchtime, some of the boardwalk eateries were open for business and Luna Park was finally letting people inside to play or ride. Coney Island was coming to life once more.

September 24, 2015
Alice in Wonderland Tea at the Morgan Library

Currently, there is an exhibition at the Morgan Library devoted to Alice in Wonderland. I love children’s literary classics and Alice is one of them, what with the rhyming, songs and cast of crazy characters. I met up with my friend Q once more and we went to check out the exhibit the day after her birthday.

Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t feeling well at all that morning but I went anyway (I did feel much better later on in the day) and tried to enjoy it as much as I could. The exhibit is titled Alice: 150 Years of Wonderland and some of the items on display included photos of Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, sketches and illustrations from the book by Carroll himself as well as John Tenniel. And of course, there were copies of the book itself including a limited first edition that had been recalled because Tenniel wasn’t satisfied with the quality of how his illustrations appeared in the printed copies.

We also checked out a photography exhibit upstairs after we finished with the Alice exhibit and then went down to the cafe for the Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea that is currently on their lunch menu. We ordered one tea set and split it between us. The tiered tray was absolutely adorable, decorated with illustrations from the book and topped with a sign that said “Eat Me”.

The were four tea sandwiches, cut into spades and clubs. The ones I tasted were egg salad and I think a chicken salad; there was a salmon one and I’m unsure what the last one was. On the top tier was a scone (with jam and clotted cream topped with purple glitter), a treacle tart and a heart shaped linzer cookie. For a casual cafe, I thought the offerings were fine though Q didn’t enjoy it much. Since it wasn’t a fancy hotel tea, one should not have high expectations but for me it was enjoyable. I might have been more critical if I had been feeling better but a cup of hot tea did go a long way in helping me out (I was freezing in the exhibit rooms).

For those that are interested, there’s still time to check out the exhibit. It runs through October 12, 2015.

September 22, 2015