Journal 3
Brooklyn
Riding the Cyclone in Coney Island
On wed 07/09, my Gotham experience started in Penn station (as always) in order to taking the train to Coney Island, Kings County. There was a beautiful beach and an excellent place to relax from the rush of NYC, there are also hours of entertainment for the whole family. Luna Park is the company in charge of the rides and offers a variety of games to play, as well as bumper cars, go carts and roller coasters. The cyclone is a wooden roller coaster made in June, 1927 and one of the oldest in the area, if not in the country. A couple of us rode the cyclone and had the time of our lives, it was exciting and so much fun.
Coney Island has been a scenario for many movies, the New York Aquarium (nyaquarium.com) is located few blocks away with a collection of over 8000 animals, and Nathan’s famous hot dogs which also hosts their hotdog eating contest annually; just to mention a few attractions.
According to the New York essential (NYE), Coney Island was originally discovered by the Dutch in 17th century and called the island Conyne Eyland, or Rabbit island. However, later it was changed to Coney Island by the British after the civil war. By the 19th century, with the coming of the railroad it became a major destination for tourists and New Yorkers escaping from the summer heat. Coming from Manhattan, Coney Island feels like another world with a ton of retro looking business. Visiting Coney Island is free of charge, which makes it a desirable destination, but the rides can cost serious money.
Brooklyn Heights
The NY Transit Museum (http://web.mta.info/mta/museum/) is administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), located in Court Street, Brooklyn Heights. At the exhibition “Steel, Stone and Backbone” the tour guide explained about the evolution of the NY Subway System, and how it was constructed using methods like ‘cut and cover’ and ‘deep water tunnel’. It was interesting to learn about the construction challenges and how the subway evolved from steam to electric power. This museum has many historical artifacts, tactile activities, real size railroad workers pictures and videos to explain how electricity gets conducted to move the trains.
In the current exhibition you can see all different kinds of turnstiles, subway cars, buses and fare collection devices (from paper tickets, to coins, to metro cards) used through the history of the subway. Certainly, it was amazing to see really old cars dating from over 100 years ago. Before the air conditioning era, some old cars had a fans on the ceiling and windows could be opened; also, their seats had cushion, which tells me that those trains where somehow comfortable. It’s really awesome to sit in the seats and imagine how the ride would have been back then. I really enjoyed this museum and even got a souvenir from the gift shop.
On our walk across Brooklyn Heights, we saw outstanding and awesome works of architecture such as Greek Revival, Federal Style, Brownstones and Gothic Revival. As per ENY (p.149) explains the brownstones can be worth millions of dollar and are desirable because were made of brown sandstones from Portland Brownstones Quarries in Connecticut, and such quarry closed operations in 2011 after centuries of working. Even though, many brownstones buildings you see in Brooklyn may not be authentic brown sandstones, but rather are actually covered in brown cement masonry.
As we get to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and walk towards the famous Brooklyn Bridge, you cannot miss the awesome view across the water and the city’s skyline, which is just breathtaking. This point explains why its called ‘heights’, since there is an actual slope down to the river. We also got the BQE running right under us, it was built in 1953 by Robert Moses ‘The Master Builder’. However, many of his constructions created many destructions of neighborhoods that got New Yorkers angry at him, and with that some movements began to preserve BK Heights.
A very important site in Brooklyn Heights is the Plymouth Church with the statue of the Preacher Harriet Henry Ward Beecher. He preached from 1849 to 1887 and was one of the most famous abolitionist of the 19th century in United States. Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln were among his admirers.
DUMBO
Finally I see the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge, and have arrived to DUMBO (stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighborhood, which in 2007 became a NY landmark site. Most of the old factories have been converted into luxury lofts and old warehouses into art galleries and theaters, and sitting along the water side is ‘Jane’s Carousel’ in a crystal box. As per ENY (p.152), Jane Walentas spend 20 years restoring the carousel after being damaged by fire in 1984. I really fell in love with this carousel, and ended up paying the $2 fee for a ride. It was so worth it, that I got tears of joy in my eyes.
By this time the sun is still shinning. However, the icing on the cake was our visit to Jacques Torre Chocolatiers (www.mrchocolate.com/). They have the best ice cream in New York. My mouth gets watery with just the mere thought of it.
Finally, it was time to cross the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. According to ENY (p.153), this bridge was completed in 1883 and holds many records, such as oldest suspension (cables) bridge in U.S., longest suspension bridge (1.1 mile) in the world and tallest structure in the western hemisphere.
On wed 07/09, my Gotham experience started in Penn station (as always) in order to taking the train to Coney Island, Kings County. There was a beautiful beach and an excellent place to relax from the rush of NYC, there are also hours of entertainment for the whole family. Luna Park is the company in charge of the rides and offers a variety of games to play, as well as bumper cars, go carts and roller coasters. The cyclone is a wooden roller coaster made in June, 1927 and one of the oldest in the area, if not in the country. A couple of us rode the cyclone and had the time of our lives, it was exciting and so much fun.
Coney Island has been a scenario for many movies, the New York Aquarium (nyaquarium.com) is located few blocks away with a collection of over 8000 animals, and Nathan’s famous hot dogs which also hosts their hotdog eating contest annually; just to mention a few attractions.
According to the New York essential (NYE), Coney Island was originally discovered by the Dutch in 17th century and called the island Conyne Eyland, or Rabbit island. However, later it was changed to Coney Island by the British after the civil war. By the 19th century, with the coming of the railroad it became a major destination for tourists and New Yorkers escaping from the summer heat. Coming from Manhattan, Coney Island feels like another world with a ton of retro looking business. Visiting Coney Island is free of charge, which makes it a desirable destination, but the rides can cost serious money.
Brooklyn Heights
The NY Transit Museum (http://web.mta.info/mta/museum/) is administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), located in Court Street, Brooklyn Heights. At the exhibition “Steel, Stone and Backbone” the tour guide explained about the evolution of the NY Subway System, and how it was constructed using methods like ‘cut and cover’ and ‘deep water tunnel’. It was interesting to learn about the construction challenges and how the subway evolved from steam to electric power. This museum has many historical artifacts, tactile activities, real size railroad workers pictures and videos to explain how electricity gets conducted to move the trains.
In the current exhibition you can see all different kinds of turnstiles, subway cars, buses and fare collection devices (from paper tickets, to coins, to metro cards) used through the history of the subway. Certainly, it was amazing to see really old cars dating from over 100 years ago. Before the air conditioning era, some old cars had a fans on the ceiling and windows could be opened; also, their seats had cushion, which tells me that those trains where somehow comfortable. It’s really awesome to sit in the seats and imagine how the ride would have been back then. I really enjoyed this museum and even got a souvenir from the gift shop.
On our walk across Brooklyn Heights, we saw outstanding and awesome works of architecture such as Greek Revival, Federal Style, Brownstones and Gothic Revival. As per ENY (p.149) explains the brownstones can be worth millions of dollar and are desirable because were made of brown sandstones from Portland Brownstones Quarries in Connecticut, and such quarry closed operations in 2011 after centuries of working. Even though, many brownstones buildings you see in Brooklyn may not be authentic brown sandstones, but rather are actually covered in brown cement masonry.
As we get to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and walk towards the famous Brooklyn Bridge, you cannot miss the awesome view across the water and the city’s skyline, which is just breathtaking. This point explains why its called ‘heights’, since there is an actual slope down to the river. We also got the BQE running right under us, it was built in 1953 by Robert Moses ‘The Master Builder’. However, many of his constructions created many destructions of neighborhoods that got New Yorkers angry at him, and with that some movements began to preserve BK Heights.
A very important site in Brooklyn Heights is the Plymouth Church with the statue of the Preacher Harriet Henry Ward Beecher. He preached from 1849 to 1887 and was one of the most famous abolitionist of the 19th century in United States. Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln were among his admirers.
DUMBO
Finally I see the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge, and have arrived to DUMBO (stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighborhood, which in 2007 became a NY landmark site. Most of the old factories have been converted into luxury lofts and old warehouses into art galleries and theaters, and sitting along the water side is ‘Jane’s Carousel’ in a crystal box. As per ENY (p.152), Jane Walentas spend 20 years restoring the carousel after being damaged by fire in 1984. I really fell in love with this carousel, and ended up paying the $2 fee for a ride. It was so worth it, that I got tears of joy in my eyes.
By this time the sun is still shinning. However, the icing on the cake was our visit to Jacques Torre Chocolatiers (www.mrchocolate.com/). They have the best ice cream in New York. My mouth gets watery with just the mere thought of it.
Finally, it was time to cross the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. According to ENY (p.153), this bridge was completed in 1883 and holds many records, such as oldest suspension (cables) bridge in U.S., longest suspension bridge (1.1 mile) in the world and tallest structure in the western hemisphere.