Along The Side Roads: The People and The Buildings of New York City

It is hard to say what was most impressive about my first visit to The Big Apple. I did enjoy the herds and droves of people. It was rare to see just one person; people come in big moving masses in NYC. We took tours of several parts of this megatropolis. On one of those tours we passed by a park near Wall Street where there was an old fashioned protest going on... problem was that this crowd wasn't really sure what they were protesting. They just know they don't like what is happening on Wall Street. According to our guide, the group had been there several days and nights. I still have not figured out what this guy's sign means.

You can see the sleeping bags on the left of this picture - sleeping bags are OK in New York city parks, you just can't pitch a tent..

And this park was definitely in the heart of Manhattan.

And in another park, we saw what was Barry's favorite... Pilots protesting low wages and an unsettled contract.

These people tend to blend into the mural in front of which they stand.

To get from one place to another, there are many options from the carriages in Central Park to the open air buses and taxis. Oh yea, and don't forget the subways and city buses. Very few of the masses own cars which is a good thing!

Students hang out on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We were told that the hot dog and shirt and hat vendors pay up to a half million for there location in some of these prime spots. And some of those prime spots are near some of the best buildings in the city. I have never really liked cityscapes until coming to New York. During tours I was seeing a picture on every block. Do you know there are streets that never see sunlight because the buildings are so tall on both sides.

This building was a good example of New Yorkers wanting tall buildings; the taller the better. This was a perfectly good office building, but it was only 5 or 6 stories...

so the owners built 20 or 30 more stores on top to make the building taller and very unique. Yep, the glass building with geometric design is the upper stories of the older building below - it took twice by this one for me to believe it!

And then, of course, there is one of Trump's Towers. That is a window washer you see on the side near the top and a reflection of a neighboring building on the side.

We saw Belview Psychiatric Hospital. This isn't it, but it used to be. One guide told us this building has been used in many movies and is slated to be torn down soon to make way for new construction.

The guards at the door to this building take their job very seriously!

They work at an exclusive address.

This is the building where John Lennon lived and where he died. It is where his wife still resides. The view out the window is of Central Park - the basis for the song about "strawberry fields forever".

This is another street in the area along Central Park. I loved the different architecture all mixed together.

Some buildings are important because of the history associated with them. The Apollo Club has launched many careers in music (so I am told, I don't really follow that stuff). We went by about 4:30 in the afternoon and there were people lined up to get in (too many heads in front of me on the bus to get a picture of the line).

Others have religious importance. If I ever return to NYC, I want to take a tour of the city's places of worship - now that would be interesting.

Some are just beautiful to behold. (Sorry I can't remember what this is.)

And then some are famous because of what they are not. In Harlem, we saw buildings that, until recently, the city was trying to sell for as little as $100 just to get the neighborhood

thriving again. Since rents have sky rocketed in the last couple of years (think home foreclosures), these spots are no longer being offered... now, does that make sense to you???

This building is the Harlem Market; looked like an interesting shopping experience.

When we were in the oldest parts of the city, we heard stories about how working class citizens lived in these tenement buildings. The only windows were those in the front and there would be three rooms going back - just think of it - no electricity, no water or sewer system and only one room in which there was a window. These are the improved buildings with windows in the back as well and fire escapes... improved...

and occupied!

When we took the harbor tour, buildings on Manhattan Island took on a different appearance. This mesh structure with the Empire State Building in the background is... a driving range! Only thing we saw in all of New York that related to golf and it was right on the harbor.

And this building became more important to us each time we traveled from our campsite to the city... it is the ventilation system for the Hudson Tunnel through which we traveled every day.