New York 2010 Day 2 Part 1: Brooklyn Bridge, Downtown Manhattan, Financial District.
The first full day in New York. Sleep wasn't perfect, but because I went to bed at normal East Coast time I had no meaningful problems to adjust to the different time zone and was ready to go the next morning. As you can see, the clouds of the previous day were gone and there was blue sky as far as the eye can see. We took the subway down to Brooklyn (which in my head sounds like a very New Yorker thing to do).
Brooklyn Borough Hall, already built in 1849. Back then it was Brooklyn's City Hall. But after Brooklyn became part of the City of New York it got downgraded to Borough Hall.
As always, you can click on the pictures for a larger version.
The reason why I included this picture of two buildings close by is that it gives a bit of an optical illusion. The left one looks like it's leaning back and the right one seems to be falling forward.
Since I'm neither Harold nor Kumar I didn't go in.
Making our way back to the East River we passed this church which I unfortunately wasn't able to identify. Thank you keever! It's the St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church.
The area is called Brooklyn Heights and there you can find many pretty houses. Many smaller row houses, or larger ones like this one with the typical fire escapes which I never got enough of. There are also many trees along the streets and it's easy to imagine living there.
You then reach the Brooklyn Heights Promenade at the East River.
From where you have a very nice view of Downtown Manhattan.
A look slightly more North reveals the Brooklyn Bridge. You can see how they have begun to transform the run-down East River bank on the Brooklyn side into a park.
Full view of Brooklyn Bridge. Only slightly obstructed by some dude insisting to be in the picture. You can also see the promenade with its benches to sit on and enjoy the view. The Empire State Building peeking out in the distance.
Walking towards Brooklyn Bridge you have the pleasure to pass the World Headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
A closer look at one of the pillars of Brooklyn Bridge.
Passing Brooklyn Bridge you get to close-by Manhattan Bridge.
My accidental art shot. Taken somewhere on the streets between the bridges.
The entry to Brooklyn Bridge Park which will get expanded in the coming years along the river.
From where you have on one side a nice view of Brooklyn Bridge and Downtown Manhattan (the former World Trade Center would be peeking out on the right half of the picture).
And Manhattan Bridge on the other side.
Which is a bit rusty when you have a closer look at it from underneath.
It was then time to get on Brooklyn Bridge. At a length of almost two kilometres it was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1883. As you can see there's an elevated path in the middle of the bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
And on each side below are three lanes for motor vehicles.
You can see Manhattan Bridge and the tops of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings in the distance in Midtown on one side,
and the skyscrapers of Downtown Manhattan on the other.
The cable ropes make for interesting pictures.
A look at Pier 17 which is part of South Street Seaport, an area that consists of some historic buildings, a museum and a collection of old ships along the river. It's made into a tourist attraction with shops and cafés.
And a last look back. Walking across the bridge in such good weather was certainly a highlight of the trip.
A building that's already been visible on some other pictures, The Beekman. A skyscraper currently under construction designed by star architect Frank Gehry. Once finished it will be among the highest buildings in New York, mostly consisting of luxury apartments but also with an elementary school taking up the lower floors.
In the area around the end of Brooklyn Bridge you can find a lot of court, municipal and other administrative buildings. Among them on the left the Manhattan Municipal Building and the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse which looks more impressive on the entry level with lots of columns but we didn't go there.
A closer look at the top of the Municipal Building.
Still impressive, the Woolworth Building. It was opened almost one hundred years ago in 1913 with a height of 241 metres and paid for in cash by Mr. Woolworth. It was the tallest building of the world until 1930.
A look at its back with a picture taken later in the day.
And a more detailed view of its entrance.
Time for a short break at City Hall Park.
Where you are greeted by squirrels!
New York City Hall, home of the Mayor's Office. Direct access is sadly restricted, you can only have a look at it by peeking through the trees.
St. Paul's Chapel on Broadway. It's very close to the site of the former World Trade Center. After the events of 9/11 it was turned into a makeshift memorial shrine.
A look along a street called Trinity Place that shows how narrow some streets are.
We were in that area around noon, and it was interesting to see a plaza filled with dozens of construction workers from Ground Zero on their lunch break.
The view when you look up at that plaza, One Liberty Plaza formerly known as the U.S. Steel Building.
A peek between The Trinity and U.S. Realty Buildings which are connected at the top.
Trinity Church and cemetery in the heart of the Financial District, built in its current form in 1846.
The Equitable Building built in 1915. It lead to the zoning laws of 1916 which, in order to prohibit such massive buildings, mandated that further construction must allow for enough light and air to reach the street level.
Its entry.
The Red Cube designed by Isamu Noguchi in front of the Marine Midland Building, now also known as the HSBC Bank Building.
You're wondering what you are looking at here? At about $250 billion, give or take. In gold. Strictly speaking it's the wrong angle since the gold is stored more than 20 metres below ground. This fortress like building is the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and it stores 5,000 metric tons of gold bullion in the name of foreign nations. More than Fort Knox, as fans of "Die Hard: With a Vengeance" are very well aware of.
Formerly known as the Bank of Manhattan Trust now it's called The Trump Building or by its street address 40 Wall Street. With a height of 283 metres it topped the Woolworth Building to become the world's tallest building ... for about month in the spring of 1930. Then it was eclipsed by the Chrysler building.
Federal Hall National Memorial, which is built at the site of the original Federal Hall on Wall Street, the place of George Washington's 1789 inauguration as the first President of the United States and where the Bill of Rights was ratified.
What's commonly referred to as "Wall Street" because of its location, the New York Stock Exchange. I actually thought we wouldn't be allowed to get to the front of the building. But only half of the street is closed off. There are police officers, dogs and various kinds of barriers noticable. Probably not a good place to cause a scene.
To give you an idea why it's often so difficult to take a picture of a building as a whole like the NYSE in that area without special lenses.
The Charging Bull at the plaza at Bowling Green, symbolising financial optimism. A friend of mine challenged me before the trip to take a picture of it without visitors from Asia. Now I know what he was talking about.
But the real action took place at the back of the sculpture. One of the highlights of the trip. Elderly, I suspect Chinese, women touching the balls of the bull. The things you do for good luck.
Living Statue.
Some of the Southern part of Broadway is called Canyon of Heroes, the place where the traditional ticker tape parades are held. In the last couple of decades those mostly took place after championship wins by New York sports teams. But before that it were mainly political events. You can read a list of the parades here. And on the side-walks you can find black granite strips that list the honourees of the parades.
The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House built at the beginning of the 20th century. It now houses part of the National Museum of the American Indian. Admission is free.
Fraunces Tavern, which is said to be Manhattan's oldest building, originating in its current form in 1719. It also played a role during the Civil War. It's now a restaurant and a museum.
Which marks the end of our walk through the historic part of Manhattan in the Financial District. Now it was time for a short lunch break. Which I will take as an opportunity to end the first half of the travelogue for that day.
Brooklyn Borough Hall, already built in 1849. Back then it was Brooklyn's City Hall. But after Brooklyn became part of the City of New York it got downgraded to Borough Hall.
As always, you can click on the pictures for a larger version.
The reason why I included this picture of two buildings close by is that it gives a bit of an optical illusion. The left one looks like it's leaning back and the right one seems to be falling forward.
Since I'm neither Harold nor Kumar I didn't go in.
Making our way back to the East River we passed this church which I unfortunately wasn't able to identify. Thank you keever! It's the St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church.
The area is called Brooklyn Heights and there you can find many pretty houses. Many smaller row houses, or larger ones like this one with the typical fire escapes which I never got enough of. There are also many trees along the streets and it's easy to imagine living there.
You then reach the Brooklyn Heights Promenade at the East River.
From where you have a very nice view of Downtown Manhattan.
A look slightly more North reveals the Brooklyn Bridge. You can see how they have begun to transform the run-down East River bank on the Brooklyn side into a park.
Full view of Brooklyn Bridge. Only slightly obstructed by some dude insisting to be in the picture. You can also see the promenade with its benches to sit on and enjoy the view. The Empire State Building peeking out in the distance.
Walking towards Brooklyn Bridge you have the pleasure to pass the World Headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
A closer look at one of the pillars of Brooklyn Bridge.
Passing Brooklyn Bridge you get to close-by Manhattan Bridge.
My accidental art shot. Taken somewhere on the streets between the bridges.
The entry to Brooklyn Bridge Park which will get expanded in the coming years along the river.
From where you have on one side a nice view of Brooklyn Bridge and Downtown Manhattan (the former World Trade Center would be peeking out on the right half of the picture).
And Manhattan Bridge on the other side.
Which is a bit rusty when you have a closer look at it from underneath.
It was then time to get on Brooklyn Bridge. At a length of almost two kilometres it was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1883. As you can see there's an elevated path in the middle of the bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
And on each side below are three lanes for motor vehicles.
You can see Manhattan Bridge and the tops of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings in the distance in Midtown on one side,
and the skyscrapers of Downtown Manhattan on the other.
The cable ropes make for interesting pictures.
A look at Pier 17 which is part of South Street Seaport, an area that consists of some historic buildings, a museum and a collection of old ships along the river. It's made into a tourist attraction with shops and cafés.
And a last look back. Walking across the bridge in such good weather was certainly a highlight of the trip.
A building that's already been visible on some other pictures, The Beekman. A skyscraper currently under construction designed by star architect Frank Gehry. Once finished it will be among the highest buildings in New York, mostly consisting of luxury apartments but also with an elementary school taking up the lower floors.
In the area around the end of Brooklyn Bridge you can find a lot of court, municipal and other administrative buildings. Among them on the left the Manhattan Municipal Building and the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse which looks more impressive on the entry level with lots of columns but we didn't go there.
A closer look at the top of the Municipal Building.
Still impressive, the Woolworth Building. It was opened almost one hundred years ago in 1913 with a height of 241 metres and paid for in cash by Mr. Woolworth. It was the tallest building of the world until 1930.
A look at its back with a picture taken later in the day.
And a more detailed view of its entrance.
Time for a short break at City Hall Park.
Where you are greeted by squirrels!
New York City Hall, home of the Mayor's Office. Direct access is sadly restricted, you can only have a look at it by peeking through the trees.
St. Paul's Chapel on Broadway. It's very close to the site of the former World Trade Center. After the events of 9/11 it was turned into a makeshift memorial shrine.
A look along a street called Trinity Place that shows how narrow some streets are.
We were in that area around noon, and it was interesting to see a plaza filled with dozens of construction workers from Ground Zero on their lunch break.
The view when you look up at that plaza, One Liberty Plaza formerly known as the U.S. Steel Building.
A peek between The Trinity and U.S. Realty Buildings which are connected at the top.
Trinity Church and cemetery in the heart of the Financial District, built in its current form in 1846.
The Equitable Building built in 1915. It lead to the zoning laws of 1916 which, in order to prohibit such massive buildings, mandated that further construction must allow for enough light and air to reach the street level.
Its entry.
The Red Cube designed by Isamu Noguchi in front of the Marine Midland Building, now also known as the HSBC Bank Building.
You're wondering what you are looking at here? At about $250 billion, give or take. In gold. Strictly speaking it's the wrong angle since the gold is stored more than 20 metres below ground. This fortress like building is the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and it stores 5,000 metric tons of gold bullion in the name of foreign nations. More than Fort Knox, as fans of "Die Hard: With a Vengeance" are very well aware of.
Formerly known as the Bank of Manhattan Trust now it's called The Trump Building or by its street address 40 Wall Street. With a height of 283 metres it topped the Woolworth Building to become the world's tallest building ... for about month in the spring of 1930. Then it was eclipsed by the Chrysler building.
Federal Hall National Memorial, which is built at the site of the original Federal Hall on Wall Street, the place of George Washington's 1789 inauguration as the first President of the United States and where the Bill of Rights was ratified.
What's commonly referred to as "Wall Street" because of its location, the New York Stock Exchange. I actually thought we wouldn't be allowed to get to the front of the building. But only half of the street is closed off. There are police officers, dogs and various kinds of barriers noticable. Probably not a good place to cause a scene.
To give you an idea why it's often so difficult to take a picture of a building as a whole like the NYSE in that area without special lenses.
The Charging Bull at the plaza at Bowling Green, symbolising financial optimism. A friend of mine challenged me before the trip to take a picture of it without visitors from Asia. Now I know what he was talking about.
But the real action took place at the back of the sculpture. One of the highlights of the trip. Elderly, I suspect Chinese, women touching the balls of the bull. The things you do for good luck.
Living Statue.
Some of the Southern part of Broadway is called Canyon of Heroes, the place where the traditional ticker tape parades are held. In the last couple of decades those mostly took place after championship wins by New York sports teams. But before that it were mainly political events. You can read a list of the parades here. And on the side-walks you can find black granite strips that list the honourees of the parades.
The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House built at the beginning of the 20th century. It now houses part of the National Museum of the American Indian. Admission is free.
Fraunces Tavern, which is said to be Manhattan's oldest building, originating in its current form in 1719. It also played a role during the Civil War. It's now a restaurant and a museum.
Which marks the end of our walk through the historic part of Manhattan in the Financial District. Now it was time for a short lunch break. Which I will take as an opportunity to end the first half of the travelogue for that day.