This awning stretches out over a Park Avenue sidewalk and is attached to the Waldorf-Astoria.
Built in 1931, The corners are accented with beautiful art deco flourishes.
The best part of this iconic NYC logo? The words are separated by an equal sign. Genius! The Registered mark kind of spoils it.
Fun fact: Gangsters Frank Costello, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and Charles “Lucky” Luciano once lived in the Waldorf-Astoria.
Isn’t “Downtown” one word? Don’t they proof their tile mosaics?
If you stand on the balcony that overlooks the main entrance inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art and look up, this is what you’ll see:
Arches within arches within arches. Do you see the smallest one at the bottom center of the photo? Artistè Florenza pointed this out to me and I thought it was simply beautiful. I don’t know. Maybe you need to see it in person…
I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Pierre Bonnard exhibit. It’s 80 paintings from his late period. It was nice show but I wasn’t blown away. As usual, I dragged Artisté Florenza with me. Among her many interesting perspectives, she offered that since these works were from late in Bonnard’s career, his sight and skills may have been diminished. Perhaps. There were lots of drawings of fruit in bowls. Do you know what? I hate fruit bowl drawings. Save fruit bowls for art school. Keep them out of the museums, okay?
This was probably the best of the bunch.
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I am a creature of habit. After a special exhibit at the Met, I typically beat the same path to 19th- and early 20th-Century paintings and Modern Art but this time, upon Artisté Florenza suggestion, we visited the American Wing instead. That museum is so immense that you can spend an entire day ogling one genre of art.
The path to the American Wing runs through Egyptian Art. Here’s one of the MANY mummies that are on display.
Just think about how creepy this is for a moment. They’re dead bodies, robbed from their graves and put on display. I’m pretty sure that The Metropolitan Museum of Art was never meant to be their final resting place. Can you imagine if, say, a museum in China did that to a Catholic?! Or a Muslim?! It’s a miracle that everyone who stares at these doesn’t walk away with a pox on their family. But they are kind of cool.
After the mummies, you have to walk through the Temple of Dendur. The back wall of this Wing is a huge window that looks out over Central Park. Light streams in onto the Temple and reflecting pools that surround it. The best part of this photo is the silhouetted figures. It was an accident!
Again, what are we doing with an ancient temple in the middle of Manhattan? It’s madness. I don’t want to think about the payback implications.
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If you enter the American Wing from the right corridor, you are greeted by this stunning Tiffany stained glass window.
Not bad, eh? There are a lot of Tiffany vases, windows and jewelry on display. Tucked away in a corner is Louis Comfort Tiffany’s actual workbench!
Right off of the Tiffany exhibit is the Frank Lloyd Wright room. This was originally the living room of the summer residence of Frances W. Little, whoever the hell that was. Some wealthy bloke, I suppose. All of the furnishings, windows, light fixtures, carpeting, etc., were designed by Wright. Here’s a good write-up on the room (for Jon, esp).
The Chrysler Building through Bryant Park branches in the early evening. I love how this pic turned out. It looks like one of those great René Magritte paintings with a daytime sky and a nighttime street scene.
There are many beautiful skyscrapers in New York City but the Chrysler Building is my favorite bar none. The closer you get to that building, the more stunning it is.
The Woolworth Building is also in my top five. The lobby features a series of carved wooden gargoyles that depict F.W. Woolworth (clutching money), the architect Cass Gilbert (clutching a model of the building) and other personalities of the day. In the lobby ceiling, you’ll find a Tiffany stained glass mural—the largest piece of Tiffany glass in the world!
The World Trade Center was always in my top five as well, even though it was scoffed at by architectural critics. But… yea… well, you know. I miss it.
Exile on Pain Street 