NYC Scenes

I frequently took solo morning walks while in NYC...Ol' Dave would still be in bed, and Wendy would be getting ready for the day.  Last Sunday I went west into Chelsea, a trendy part of Manhattan.  There are fine brownstones here, with cool iron railings on the steps of almost every building.

One of NYCs newest attractions is the High Line, along the Hudson River in Chelsea.  The line used to be an elevated railway, which was closed decades ago.  It's now gradually being landscaped and made into a pedestrian promenade, about 30 feet above the city.  In places there are even wooden chaise lounges where you can recline and watch the city pass by.

Cool billboard on the High Line.  On weekends there are vendors, food carts, maybe artists, enhancing the scene.

Had to throw in another shot of the Flatiron Building...one of my favorites.

We took a harbor cruise...thanx Suz for the recommendation!  Here we're passing the Ellis Island immigration station.  Millions of people passed through here, mostly in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  I believe my grandparents on both my father and mother's sides were here around 1909.  The prospective immigrants were given a physical examination...hundreds of thousands were rejected, and saw no more of America than New York harbor.  But over 90 percent of the people who came here were admitted...until the 1920s, when stricter immigration laws were passed. This is an issue I haven't studied much...it's a topic for research on my part.

The statue of Liberty...an American icon since 1886.  Lookin' as good as ever!

The large orange boat is the Staten Island Ferry.  It runs from the southern tip of Manhattan to Staten Island and is free!  I enjoyed the harbor cruise...the narrator provided a wealth of good info and the cruise was well worth the cost.  But now that I've done it, on future visits if I want to get out on the water I'll simply hop aboard this ferry.  Also, Staten Island is the only borough I didn't visit on this trip, so I should get over there next time.

The Brooklyn Bridge from water level.  Quite majestic, I reckon.

This picture from the cruise shows the Empire State building on the left, the Chrysler building on the far right, and a power plant in the middle.

The power plant in silhouette, probably coal fired...East coast industrial scene.  There are a lot of drab buildings on the waterfront of the East River, mostly high rise apartments constructed in the mid 20th century.  I imagine that in the coming decades, many will be replaced by more attractive structures...the process is already underway.

The two tallest buildings in this pic are new elements of the World Trade Center.  Five buildings were originally planned to replace the structures lost on 9/11; now four are slated to be built.  Two are currently under construction.  The tower on the left will be the main skyscraper; it recently passed the Empire State Building as the tallest in NYC.  When it's finished in 2014, it will be 1776 feet high.

The dazzle and vitality of New York are just too much for this elephant, who has to stand on the tip of his trunk to cope with it all.  He's near Union Square, on the corner of 14th street and Park Ave.