Before I start today’s post I would remiss if I didn’t wish you all a belated Happy Canada Day with a photo of my favorite Canadamericans:

2017-07-01 McAnoy

 

Sunday dawned quite nicely, and we drove the 1.9 miles through the park to the local train station. We bought our tickets for a round trip to New York City; it is about a 55 minute ride.  I find it quite amazing that we are less than 1 hour from NYC, yet we are far out into the country. This is the same timing as the train from Irvine to downtown Los Angeles, yet Irvine is not even close to being “in the country”…

The train trip was uneventful. We did notice a lot of barbed wire fences when passing through the city of Ossining. A quick Google search found this:

“Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, in the U.S. state of New York. It is located about 30 miles (50 km) north of New York City on the east bank of the Hudson River…

The prison property is bisected by the Metro-North Railroad’s four-track Hudson Line.”

2017-07-02 NYC Train 01

After arriving at Grand Central Terminal, and exiting onto the street, we gawked at the beautiful buildings:

 

Then we walked to Un Deux Trois Cafe for breakfast. It is a big place, not exactly a mom-and-pop operation, but it is very French, the food was good, and it was a fun time.

2017-07-02 NYC 123 01

 

As we walked towards MOMA, our main reason for this trip, we passed through Rockefeller Center. I had learned from my reading that it was developed during the Great Depression by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. on land owned by and leased from Columbia University. It was a major effort of “Urban Renewal” in the 1930s; however, Jr. never made any money from the development due to onerous terms imposed by Columbia. Finally, after Jr.’s death in 1960, when the center was falling into disrepair due to lack of capital for improvements, Jr.’s sons were able to renegotiate the deal and gain financial backing for improvements. It is a marvelous complex, the grounds teaming with people on this sunny Sunday morning.  It is no longer owned by the Rockefellers…

Across the street we found St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  Being Sunday morning, we stopped in for the 10:15 am services.  In celebration of Independence Day the great organ played “Stars and Stripes Forever”, and our final hymn was “America the Beautiful”…

2017-07-02 NYC St Patrick Cathedral 08

2017-07-02 NYC St Patrick Cathedral 062017-07-02 NYC St Patrick Cathedral 01

2017-07-02 NYC St Patrick Cathedral 04

 

Then  we were off to MOMA.  The Museum of Modern Art was a true grassroots effort, started by three ladies on their kitchen table, with nothing except a few hundred million dollars of Rockefeller money.  The main driver was Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, wife of Jr. (Jr. himself hated modern art…)  If fact, when MOMA needed land for a sculpture garden, Abby and Jr. donated their 9 story house next door, which was promptly demolished.

We were there for an exhibit of Frank Lloyd Wright drawings and models, in celebration of FLW’s 150th birthday:  Unpacking the Archive

It was a delightful exhibit. FLW used his drawings as working papers, to be scribbled on, torn in half, and reassembled; they were teaching tools, not precious objects d’art. There were models, too: The Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK. (See my blog post onJune 14, 2017), as well as the previously designed skyscraper that FLW designed for NYC, but which was never built.

After the FLW exhibit we took a quick detour upstairs to see Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Wonderful…

So, with the afternoon still free, we headed downtown on the subway to see the 911 Memorial. It was mobbed with tourists, and it was quite hot.

2017-07-02 NYC World Trade Center 02

2017-07-02 NYC 911 Memorial 02

We saw one of the beautiful fountains, then headed back north to experience the High Line.  The High line is a linear park located on an abandoned railroad viaduct, about 1 1/2 miles long, on NYC’s west side. It is a delightful walk, and it was crowded with locals and tourists, alike.  We had lunch in its shadow, which was also nice…

2017-07-02 NYC Lunch 03

2017-07-02 NYC High Line

2017-07-02 NYC Lunch 01

2017-07-02 NYC High Line 01

 

Then we walked back to Grand Central Terminal and had afternoon drinks in the Campbell Apartment.  For 30 years this space was the private office and apartment of John Campbell, one of the Directors of the Grand Central Railway. After Campbell’s death in 1957 the space was underused, and its glory faded. It was reopened as a bar recently and it was a lot of fun. Drinks and food were good, and it was fun being in this “secret” space.

We caught a return train back to Croton Point, had a short drive back to the Villa; this is what camping is all about for us: cities and country, highways, subways, and railways, beaches, waterfalls, houses, museums, and cathedrals; an enjoyable time was had by all.