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Philadelphia: Midtown Village

Paul
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Philadelphia: Midtown Village

Philadelphia’s Midtown Village is the area between the Central Business District and the Old Town.  It’s contains a wide variety of buildings covering many centuries and architectural styles.

Walking through Midtown Village, I started to learn just how important this city was to the United States. Pennsylvania Hospital was the first hospital in the country, founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond. The original building still stands.

Pennsylvania Hospital. philadelphia midtown village

Pennsylvania Hospital. philadelphia midtown village

The main hospital building and the surrounding gardens are beautiful, and you really get a feel for what this part of the city must have been like back in the days of the founding fathers.

Pennsylvania Hospital. philadelphia midtown village

Pennsylvania Hospital. philadelphia midtown village

Pennsylvania Hospital. philadelphia midtown village

When Napoleon Bonaparte lost the Napoleonic Wars, his brother Joseph fled to the United States. The house that he lived in while in Philadelphia still stands.  It’s quite fascinating to read about how many relatives of famous European historical figures ended up in the USA over the years.

Bonaparte House. philadelphia midtown village

Walnut Theatre. philadelphia midtown village

“Jewelers’ Row” is the oldest diamond district in the United States, and is home to over 300 retailers, wholesalers and craftsmen.  Many of the businesses are independent family run operations, that have been trading for several generations.

philadelphia midtown village

philadelphia midtown village

A few years back, the city council introduced a scheme whereby local artists would be invited to paint massive murals that represented what Philadelphia meant to them, on many of the blank concrete walls around the city. Some are in obvious places, others are hidden – for example behind buildings in vacant lots.

I couldn’t tell if this was actually a fallout shelter or if it was some kind of artistic statement.  The  door certainly looked the business.

Philadelphia: South Street

Paul
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Philadelphia: South Street

South Street Philadelphia is an artistic, bohemian part of the city, and you can very easily tell when you have left the Central Business District and entered this artistic district.

Something that was very noticeable in Philadelphia in general, but especially on South Street was the abundance of tiled murals. So many buildings all over the place had these tiled murals completely covering them.  I think that they look great.

south street philadelphia

south street philadelphia

south street philadelphia

south street philadelphia

south street philadelphia

south street philadelphia

south street philadelphia

South Street is full of bars, cafes, restaurants, organic grocery stores and independent shops selling all kinds of goods.  It is a very long street and there’s a lot to check out.

The food scene in Philadelphia is really great, and there are a lot of places doing great things with local, seasonal ingredients.  On this one day trip, however, there was only one item that I wanted to try, and that was Philly Cheesesteak.

On the train, I did a lot of research to find out where the best place to get a Philly Cheesesteak was. Bottom line – everyone has a different opinion as to which is the best. I narrowed it down to a handful, and this was the most accessible. I don’t have anything to benchmark it against, but I can definitely recommend Jim’s Steaks. Grilled steak, onions, squeezy cheese, in a roll. Simple, greasy (but not in a sickly way), and very tasty.

Dr. Browns is like Dr. Pepper, but better.

A stroll through Queen Village, which contains some beautiful residential streets and houses.  We were thankful that we visited the United States just before Halloween, as we go to see all of the decorations.  Other countries try to jump onto the Halloween bandwagon these days, and it feels very fake and commercialised.  In the United States however, it feels real and authentic.

Just east of Queen Village is what appeared to be an Italian (or at least historically Italian) part of the city.  There was lots of Italian related street art, lots of delicatessens and other Italian shops, and the unmistakable sound of Italian-American accents in the area.

Philadelphia: Central Business District

Paul
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Philadelphia: Central Business District

The decision to go to Philadelphia was made simply on the basis that it was the cheapest city to get to by train from New York that we could do a day trip to. Not knowing what to expect, and having done basically no research, my fiancée and I got onto the train at Penn Station in New York, and less than 2 hours later, were at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.

Walking straight ahead from the station along JFK Boulevard, we entered Philadelphia’s Central Business District. It’s a modern business district, and is full of skyscrapers and beautiful old buildings.

philadelphia central business district

philadelphia central business district

philadelphia central business district

philadelphia central business district

“That van doesn’t have any front license plates.” I hear you say. “Must just be something special about it.” I hear you say. Special it is not. Philadelphia is the only place I have been to in the world where none of the cars are required to have front license plates. It’s very odd to see them all parked and driving about like that.

philadelphia central business district

philadelphia central business district

One of Philadelphia’s most recognisable landmarks is Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture, which was installed in John F. Kennedy Plaza in 1976.

philadelphia central business district

philadelphia central business district

Philadelphia appeared to me to be a city that is very supportive of the arts.  One the surface at least, there are lots of sculptures and installations about.

philadelphia central business district

philadelphia central business district

I’m not a skater, but damn it would be hard to resist!

These plaques are dotted all over the city, and give a brief explanation of the historical significance of the site, building etc. I think it’s a great idea, and I learned a lot about the history of the city just by walking around and stumbling across them.

As is obvious by looking at it, Philadelphia’s town hall is based on the grand buildings of Paris.  It is the second tallest masonry building in the world.

Occupy Philadelphia outside the town hall, on our way to Broad Street.

South Broad Street (“Avenue of the Arts”) is home to many of Philadelphia’s cultural institutions, including the theatre district south of City Hall.

A few years back, the city council introduced a scheme whereby local artists would be invited to paint massive murals that represented what Philadelphia meant to them, on many of the blank concrete walls around the city. I think it’s a great idea, and it was always interesting when I stumbled across one, whether it be in a very obvious place, or hidden.

Brooklyn Bridge, New York

Paul
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Brooklyn Bridge, New York

I almost considered not walking across the bridge because, for lack of a good reason to be honest, I just couldn’t be bothered and didn’t think it would add anything particularly special to my New York experience. I was wrong, and am very glad that I did cross the bridge on foot. The views are great, you learn some interesting facts by reading the plaques on the bridge about the construction of the bridge, the context in which it was built, how New York and Brooklyn really were two separate cities at the time etc. Highly recommended, even though to look at, it is, in my opinion, less impressive than the Williamsburg Bridge just up the river.

I couldn’t really capture this properly. It was, as far I could tell, a gutted old warehouse with a temporary installation in it. Each of those red tubes was glowing red – fluorescent tubes I assume. It looked much better in real life. This is all sort of just behind the East River, on the walk towards the stairs up to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. Of course it’s logical once you think about it, but being such a big bridge with multiple lanes of traffic, the onramp actually beings a not insubstantial distance from the river.

Completed in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. With a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m), it was the longest suspension bridge in the world from its opening until 1903, and the first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world. Reading through the plaques alongside the pedestrian walkway of the bridge, I recognised many of the names from streets that I’d walked through in Brooklyn.

City Hall, just after you’ve crossed the bridge into Manhattan.

The High Line, New York

Paul
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The High Line, New York

After a morning of exploring Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights, and doing some various bits and bobs, my fiancée and I walked over to Chelsea and checked out the New York High Line, which was one of the highlights of my trip.

The High Line is a 21km (13mi) rail line that used to connect the docks and factories of the lower Westside to businesses along West Manhattan. The line stopped being used in 1980 and remained abandoned into the 1990s, with calls for its demolition occurring.

In the 1990s, certain people noticed that nature had, in effect, taken over the line, and that there were lots of plants and wildlife on the line. In 1999, a group called “Friends of the High Line” was created, who lobbied for the retention of the line, hoping to have it converted into an elevated urban park. They succeeded, and in 2009 the first stage was opened. The second stage opened in 2011 and plans are underway for a stage 3 extension. There are several “hop on/hop off” points along the line and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

What I really liked about the High Line was that it’s the perfect example of what can happen in a city where ideas and creativity are allowed to thrive. In so many cities around the world, the line would have been demolished however a great park has been created. You walk through it and get a really unique perspective of the city. There are viewing platforms, chill out areas, bird feeders and all sorts of things along the line. It’s the kind of place that inspires you to want to do something worthwhile with your life.

new york high line

new york high line

new york high line

new york high line

new york high line

new york high line

new york high line

new york high line

new york high line

After the High Line, I checked out out the West Village, which is another cool little district in Manhattan with a great selection of bars and restaurants, amongst other things.

Union Square subway station. A maze of lines and tunnels.

Cobble Hill Historic District, Brooklyn

Paul
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Cobble Hill Historic District, Brooklyn

Today, I decided to explore a different part of Brooklyn. In my mind, Brooklyn was supposed to be gritty and industrial (well formerly industrial to an extent I suppose these days), however I was completely unaware of the more “upmarket” part of Brooklyn.

Around the Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill areas is the “Cobble Hill Historic District”, which is full of beautiful houses and architecture dating from the 1830s to the 1920s. It is a very nice area. Even outside of the historic district, you can tell that the surrounding area was different than the other parts of Brooklyn which I had visited.

There are lots of little bars, cafes and family run stores, as well as the usual suspects of chain stores and lots more parents with prams (note the specific use of parents rather than nannies).

I saw a few houses in New York that had this mosaic tile art done one them, but it was not a big thing. If you look at my Philadelphia photos, you’ll see just how much this was a feature of that city.

As you would know if you are a regular reader of my blog, I’m not generally one for chains, by virtue of their poor price to quality ratio, however when it comes to Starbucks I will admit that they do the flavoured coffees in a way that sometimes you just want. The Pumpkin Spice Latte really did hit the spot on more than one occasion. Perhaps the novelty of not being able to get the flavour outside of the USA had something to do with it?

New York: Times Square By Night

Paul
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New York: Times Square By Night

Times Square at night is very different than during the day. The bright lights are much more intense, the noise seems louder and the whole vibe is ramped up a level. It’s great to just sit down and watch the intensity of it all. Sitting on the big glowing red stairs, for a while I was just in a zone. It was if I’d paused and the rest of the world was moving about around me.

Times Square by night is different enough to warrant visiting both during the day and at night.

Something that I thought about quite a bit, especially when here at night, was just how different Times Square is today compared to the 1970s and 1980s. Full of lights, advertising and tourists, it used to be so super seedy, and not somewhere that you’d want to walk around at night. It’s that old chestnut really – by all accounts Times Square had a lot more character back in the day, and has really lost its soul in modern times – on the other hand though, it’s now safe. I suppose we are often nostalgic for the good stuff that existed in the past, and find it easier to forget how bad some of it was.

times square at night

times square at night

times square at night

times square at night

times square at night

times square at night

times square at night

Times Square gets a lot busier during the night.  A mixture of tourists wanting to see the bright lights, locals and tourists heading to the theatre on Broadway and a variety of other things – everything steps up a notch at night.

times square at night

times square at night

I like this photo quite a lot.  Something about it feels very “New York” to me.

Being the week before Halloween, there were carving pumpkins for sale outside of many of the little stores around the city. Being from Australia, where Halloween is not really a tradition, but something that corporations have tried to co-opt from America in recent years, it was nice to see what “real” Halloween felt like in New York.

New York: Times Square By Day

Paul
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New York: Times Square By Day

Today I’d like to take you on a tour of New York City’s Times Square during the day.

Gentrified, corporate, tacky, touristy, fake and over-the-top are just some of the terms used to describe Time Square these days, and if I lived in New York I doubt that, apart from when I wanted to go to the theatre, I’d ever venture near it (or so I thought…)

All of the above might very well be true, but there’s also no doubting that Times Square is a complete assault on the senses, unlike anywhere else in the world.

times square during the day

Advertising – static and electronic, stands alongside news tickers and live television broadcasts.  No matter where you look, you can’t escape all of the images and sounds that are vying for your attention.  Somewhere behind all of this, are the facades of the actual buildings – what many of them look like, who knows.

times square during the day

times square during the day

times square during the day

times square during the day

times square during the day

It really is hard to imagine that (relatively) not so long ago, Times Square was a seedy part of New York, full of prostitutes, crack dealers, porno cinemas, sex shops and the like.  I’m always amazed at how cities can change so much.  It’s a shame we can only travel to different destinations, and not to different eras.

times square during the day

times square during the day

times square during the day

The pedestrianism of Times Square was met with controversy, but it has been extremely successful and further pedestrian enhancements are in the planning stages.  When it’s not pouring down with rain, the seats in the image below are all occupied.

times square during the day

times square during the day

times square during the day

This has been the desktop image on my laptop for a long time.  I love this picture, and it takes me back to this place, this day, and New York in general every time that I see it.

One of the advantages of the weather that New York was experiencing on this day was the atmospheric effect caused by the venting of steam from the subway tunnels below.  It always happens, but is much more visible when it grey and rainy.

What I said earlier about likely never visiting Times Square if I lived in New York – scratch that.

When I lived in London, and felt like the daily grind of life was getting me down, I’d head to Piccadilly Circus and being somewhere that was such a central, globally known spot, full of lots of things going on would give me some perspective, and make me remember how lucky I was to be living in such an amazing, global city.

If I lived in New York, I think that being in Times Square, sitting on the raised stairs in the middle and just taking it all in would have the same effect on me.  As a tourist it certainly did.

New York: Upper Westside & Central Park

Paul
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New York: Upper Westside & Central Park

The Upper Westside of Manhattan has some of the main tourist sites, such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and borders Central Park. Aside from that though, I didn’t really connect much with the area. It’s (for New York) very quiet and mostly has nannies with strollers spending time with the children of their affluent employers. An expensive part of the city, but lacking that buzz that the other parts of the city have.

Having said that, it is a beautiful part of New York and if somebody offered me an apartment here I most certainly wouldn’t be saying no. If you’re actually living in New York on a regular basis, you’d probably want to live somewhere which is a bit quieter than the rest of the city, but still gives you quick access to all the other good stuff in Manhattan.

Would you believe that I didn’t actually eat at one of these the entire time I was in New York. A hot dog and papaya juice whenever I’m next in New York is on the list.

While the Guggenheim is worth visiting for the building, I wasn’t overly impressed by the collection of art in there – just not my thing I guess, with MoMa containing more of the stuff I’m interested in.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is, on its own, certainly worth visiting as it has a lot of artefacts from all over the world. If, however, you have been to Europe and seen, for example, the British Museum or the Louvre, there’s not much new to see here.

Central Park is, as would be expected, a really beautiful park and great just to wander through and relax. All these photos are from the “bottom half” of the park

The park contains a zoo for children.

Back on 5th Avenue.

New York: Empire State Of Mind

Paul
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New York: Empire State Of Mind

Having visited Times Square, it was time to head down to check out the Empire State Building. The whole night, I had the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys song “Empire State of Mind” in my head. So many songs just make perfect sense in this city, even ones that aren’t as obvious as Empire State of Mind.

Macy’s was great. A good selection of mid-range items and decent prices. Living back in Australia and my fiancée and I still shop here online.

Korea town, which from what I could tell was really just the one street. From what I have been told, New York’s “real” Koreatown is in Flushing, Queens. I didn’t make it out to Queens this time around, but certainly want to check out the borough next time I’m in New York.

The Empire State building is a mighty fine piece of art deco architecture and is well worth visiting, not just for the building itself, but for, of course, the amazing views. Standing 102 stories tall, the skyscraper was named after New York’s nickname “The Empire State” and was the world’s tallest building from 1931-71. Unlike the usual scenario, the Empire State Building was actually finished early and under budget!

One of the major attractions in New York is the view from the top of the building, and on the way up you get to walk through several halls and passageways full of interesting information about the building.

The view from up here is nothing short of spectacular.

Walking through the West Village towards the Spotted Pig, we passed through a semi-seedy area. Something was going on along the street in the bottom photo and there were stacks of cops and bystanders but I wasn’t game to start snapping pics as the situation hadn’t yet settled.

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