Journal #5: The Wonderful West Side

            Walking out of my house today I was taken back by the humidity. It was 95 degrees and almost unbearable to breathe. The forecast said a chance of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon and I was sort of excited for that. We all needed some relief from the sun beating on us all day long. Upon arriving at Penn Station I learned that Mike brought along Don again for our adventure to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but our day was going to start off by walking through Times Square.

            Our walk to Times Square was brutal and tiring. I felt like it was the end of the day when it had only just begun. I tried to keep an optimistic attitude because I wanted to enjoy what the rest of the day held. Times Square was known as Longacre Square before 1904. It was occupied by horse exchanges, carriage factories, stables and blacksmith’s shops. Thankfully in 1904 a publisher from The New York Times was able to change the name to Times Square (BG, 217). I don’t think that Times Square would be as popular or as lavish as it is if it was named Longacre Square. The name is just silly! Now, on Broadway, there is an area that is closed off from traffic, called a pedestrian zone. A pedestrian zone simply is a place where cars are not allowed to drive through and people can go and take a load off. All day long you can see people eating, drinking coffee and chit chatting. The pedestrian zone has cut done on accidents and traffic and has increased  the use of taxis. There is more room for people to walk leisurely and not be hassled by the crazy driving. This pedestrian zone is helping NYC be up to par with other countries that already have places like this for the public to go. Times Square is one of the most popular places to go in NYC, and this pedestrian zone is friendly to the residents of the city and its visitors.

When we walked into the GE Building, I was just happy to be in a cool place. I have been in the GE Building many of times, but mostly at Christmas time. The GE Building, formerly the RCA Building, was the first building constructed at Rockefeller Center and is still the most famous. This famous iconic building houses major tenants, which include General Electric and NBC Studios (BG, 248). I have been lucky enough to have been on a tour of NBC Studios. I was able to see where Saturday Night Live, America’s Got Talent, and Dr. Oz are filmed.

Rockefeller Center consists of commercial buildings, theaters, plazas, underground concourses and shops. These were all developed during the Great Depression and have become the world’s largest privately-owned business and entertainment center (BG, 243) When I think of Rockefeller Center I think of Christmas and the New Years Eve ball. In 1904, a publisher from the New York Times started the grand festivities that we still celebrate today. With the celebration of the new paper, The New York Times, also came along a New Year. He decided to celebrate by having an all-day festival and fireworks, but the fireworks were banned two years later. He then came up with the idea to lower a wooden ball illuminated with 100 25-watt light balls (BG, 221). The ball today is now encrusted with crystals and has become one of the most enchanting sights to see and experience. New Years in the Big Apple would not be the same without this ball and the people of the city would not be able to see such a magical wonder.

After Rockefeller Center, our next stop was the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the MoMA. I have been to the lobby of the MoMA once with my family, but the line was too long so we ended up not entering the museum. I was excited to see what this museum houses. The MoMA is one of the city’s premier cultural institutions. It is one of the great repositories not only of modern painting and sculpture, but also of drawing, design, photography, and film (BG, 260). The museum was very white and very clean. It looked like the house of a perfectionist. We saw work of Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gough. I really liked the work of the American artists, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns. The Target with Four Faces by Johns I took a liking to. It looks like a typical target, but the way Johns built up the surface with wax encaustic, made the painting seem real. Don was very informative on how Johns painted his work. He continued to tell us that the encaustic paint that John used was a mix of molted wax, and pigment that created the lumpy surface. The flag also had the same affect. The way it was painted on top of real objects, made the painting become alive. It was amazing to see how something that was supposed to be a painting somehow became a real object. Rauschenberg’s work, Bed, was by far the most amazing thing I had ever seen in an art museum. It actually looked like a real bed. This piece of art was combined with many different objects. There is a sheet, a quilt and a used pillow all mounted and framed together. Just like John’s, this piece was a real and tangible object. If I was allowed to touch it, it would have feeling and body to it. I am so thrilled that I was exposed to such amazing art and am truly thankful to now have the knowledge that I do about it.

Then it was time for lunch. I was so hungry I thought I was going to pass out. Mike told us that we were having Thai food and I was pumped. I love Thai food and couldn’t wait to eat. We went to this restaurant called YUM YUM. It was absolutely delicious and everything tasted scrumptious. It was also Ashley’s birthday and Mike was nice enough to tell the restaurant and we were able to sing to her. Mike told us that it was the worst rendition of happy birthday he had ever heard. HAHA! No one told him that it was going to be American Idol status! All in all it was a good and entertaining lunch.

After lunch it looked like it was going to pour! YES! We jumped on the subway and made our way up to Harlem. I have to say I wasn’t too excited about this. When I think of Harlem I think of crime and violence. I don’t ever think about how Harlem houses the prestigious Colombia University or the Apollo Theatre. I was going to keep an open mind though and see what Harlem had to give me. In 1658, the Dutch were attracted to Harlem for its fertile soil and the strategic advantages it had to offer. This land attracted gentlemen farmers and wealthy merchants who developed estates and built country mansions in the 18^th and 19^th centuries (BG, 437). Harlem is being exposed to gentrification. The population is increasing and so are property values. The buildup of brownstones is making Harlem more modernized (BG, 438). When I got off the subway I was shocked. The image I had of Harlem was not what I was seeing before my eyes. It was a new and exciting place that I had never been to before. My attitude had gone from reluctant and cautious, to curious. Unfortunately, it started to downpour rain and thunderstorm. Mike told us that we were not going to be able to go on our tour of Harlem and Morningside Heights. I was very disappointed, after opening my mind to experience Harlem and what it had in store for me. I hope that we have time to revisit Harlem and experience it the way we were supposed to. If not, I am going to make it a goal of mine to go back and visit on my own.

Although the weather got in the way of us going to see Harlem today, it was another exciting and knowledgeable day for me. I was able to learn something about the GE Building, about the history of Times Square and Rockefeller Center. I was exposed to new and interesting art and was even able to get a little taste of Harlem. The weather may have brought us down today, but I know next class I am not going to let it!