Journal # 5
El Barrio and Central Park
El Barrio Museum
Just like every class, we met at Pennsylvania Station as Mike took attendance and discussed the plans to visit East Harlem and Central Park for the day. We proceeded to take the Number 1 train to Time Square, the shuttle to Grand Central Terminal and the Number 6 train to 103rd Street in East Harlem. Up until the 19th century with the rise of the rail road system to the north of Manhattan, this was a generally rural area. With the installment of the subway, the economy grew stronger and now this uptown neighborhood is thriving and known as East Harlem, Spanish Harlem or El Barrio. After World War I, Puerto Ricans came to East Harlem and brought their own culture and traditions. They refer to themselves 'Nuyoricans' and celebrate their legacy with extensive and colorful outdoor murals throughout the neighborhood. By the 1980s-1990s, people from Mexico, the Caribbean and China joined the mix and gentrification changed even more of the neighborhood with installments of tall crystal building apartments with high renting prices (ENY p.75-76).
Once we arrived in "El Barrio", we visited the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY.ORG) located on 1220 Fifth Avenue between 103rd-104th Street. We arrived just in time to watch a 22-minute documentary called 'Timescapes', a multimedia portrait of New York City. It covered the history of New york City beginning with the settlement of the Europeans, Africans and Native Americans to its present status as one of the world's greatest cities. We watched this documentary of New York history on three big screens inside a darkroom filled with chairs. The message was so powerful and it really hit me when it spoke of the tragedy that occurred on 9/11/2001. It still feels like yesterday.
This museum also had other interesting and important exhibitions such as 'Cityscapes, In a World of Their Own--1961/63' which was a collection of photographs of Coney Island, 'Palaces for the people--Guastavino' and the art of structural tile, 'The City as Canvas' which was about graffiti as a form of art and 'Gilded New York' which was about beautiful customs jewelry and decorative objects from the Gilded age.
As we exited the museum and walked one block north along Fifth Avenue, we found Luke Nephew from The Peace Poets y Barrio Libre Organization waiting for us outside El Museo del Barrio. He was full of energy and enthusiasm as he explained to us the origin and purpose of the museum. This time around, the plan was for all of us to walk around the neighborhood and see all the murals on the street but not before Luke recited one of his famous poems 'Girl on the D Train'. It had a very powerful message and such descriptive imagery that it made me feel like I was on the train too. We all then proceeded to explore the public art outside which contained paintings celebrating their multicultural heritage. On 104th St., there is a mural dedicated to Rev. Pedro Pietri, an East Harlem community activist and founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Across the street as well, is the immense four-story mural called 'Spirit of East Harlem' which was painted by Hank Prussing in the mid 1970's. The mural depicts kids playing hoops, a man playing dominoes around a table, mothers and musicians amongst other things. To me, the mural represents all the members and culture of the community. Such a mural is maintained by Prussing's apprentice, Manny Vega who is a painter and sculptor (ENY p.77). As we turned onto Lexington Avenue, we went into Modesto Flores Garden,filled with a curious water fountain. One of the fountains called 'Seed of Growth' by Lina Puerta, was depicting a woman's anatomy. Along the big back wall of the garden was a mural named 'Soldadares' by Jasmin Hernandes (2011); an interesting painting of two cultural Latin icons, Frida Kahlo from Mexico and Julia de Burgos from Puerto Rico, holding hands with intertwined hearts and wearing their own flag. , Both Kahlo and de Burgos were political radicals, feminists and reflect a part of the population in El Barrio. The mural represents the struggles and the ties that bind such communities together here in Spanish Harlem. We also visited Taller Boriqua, a non profit artist workshop which is a gallery at the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center located on 1680 Lexington Avenue and La Casa Azul Bookstore located on Lexington and Park Ave, where the owner shared her experience on how she use online crowdfunding to create the only Latino bookstore in the community.
Just like every class, we met at Pennsylvania Station as Mike took attendance and discussed the plans to visit East Harlem and Central Park for the day. We proceeded to take the Number 1 train to Time Square, the shuttle to Grand Central Terminal and the Number 6 train to 103rd Street in East Harlem. Up until the 19th century with the rise of the rail road system to the north of Manhattan, this was a generally rural area. With the installment of the subway, the economy grew stronger and now this uptown neighborhood is thriving and known as East Harlem, Spanish Harlem or El Barrio. After World War I, Puerto Ricans came to East Harlem and brought their own culture and traditions. They refer to themselves 'Nuyoricans' and celebrate their legacy with extensive and colorful outdoor murals throughout the neighborhood. By the 1980s-1990s, people from Mexico, the Caribbean and China joined the mix and gentrification changed even more of the neighborhood with installments of tall crystal building apartments with high renting prices (ENY p.75-76).
Once we arrived in "El Barrio", we visited the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY.ORG) located on 1220 Fifth Avenue between 103rd-104th Street. We arrived just in time to watch a 22-minute documentary called 'Timescapes', a multimedia portrait of New York City. It covered the history of New york City beginning with the settlement of the Europeans, Africans and Native Americans to its present status as one of the world's greatest cities. We watched this documentary of New York history on three big screens inside a darkroom filled with chairs. The message was so powerful and it really hit me when it spoke of the tragedy that occurred on 9/11/2001. It still feels like yesterday.
This museum also had other interesting and important exhibitions such as 'Cityscapes, In a World of Their Own--1961/63' which was a collection of photographs of Coney Island, 'Palaces for the people--Guastavino' and the art of structural tile, 'The City as Canvas' which was about graffiti as a form of art and 'Gilded New York' which was about beautiful customs jewelry and decorative objects from the Gilded age.
As we exited the museum and walked one block north along Fifth Avenue, we found Luke Nephew from The Peace Poets y Barrio Libre Organization waiting for us outside El Museo del Barrio. He was full of energy and enthusiasm as he explained to us the origin and purpose of the museum. This time around, the plan was for all of us to walk around the neighborhood and see all the murals on the street but not before Luke recited one of his famous poems 'Girl on the D Train'. It had a very powerful message and such descriptive imagery that it made me feel like I was on the train too. We all then proceeded to explore the public art outside which contained paintings celebrating their multicultural heritage. On 104th St., there is a mural dedicated to Rev. Pedro Pietri, an East Harlem community activist and founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Across the street as well, is the immense four-story mural called 'Spirit of East Harlem' which was painted by Hank Prussing in the mid 1970's. The mural depicts kids playing hoops, a man playing dominoes around a table, mothers and musicians amongst other things. To me, the mural represents all the members and culture of the community. Such a mural is maintained by Prussing's apprentice, Manny Vega who is a painter and sculptor (ENY p.77). As we turned onto Lexington Avenue, we went into Modesto Flores Garden,filled with a curious water fountain. One of the fountains called 'Seed of Growth' by Lina Puerta, was depicting a woman's anatomy. Along the big back wall of the garden was a mural named 'Soldadares' by Jasmin Hernandes (2011); an interesting painting of two cultural Latin icons, Frida Kahlo from Mexico and Julia de Burgos from Puerto Rico, holding hands with intertwined hearts and wearing their own flag. , Both Kahlo and de Burgos were political radicals, feminists and reflect a part of the population in El Barrio. The mural represents the struggles and the ties that bind such communities together here in Spanish Harlem. We also visited Taller Boriqua, a non profit artist workshop which is a gallery at the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center located on 1680 Lexington Avenue and La Casa Azul Bookstore located on Lexington and Park Ave, where the owner shared her experience on how she use online crowdfunding to create the only Latino bookstore in the community.
Grand Central Park ( Upper and Lower)
We began at the Vanderbilt Gate on Fifth Avenue and 105th Street, where Mike explained that before the park was created, the city immigrants used to visit cemeteries to escape from the harsh realities in their urban life. According to ENY p. 63, during 1820-1850, lower Manhattan was a very different place. It was filled with European immigrants living in crowded tenement buildings with precarious sanitary conditions where frequent outbreaks of cholera, tuberculosis and smallpox would kill thousands of people. There was not enough green space in the lower side and to solve the problem, the city made laws to buy 765 acres of land and design a new park for the inhabitants of the city. In 1857, Frederic Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux were commissioned to design what is now Central Park. Their winning design ''envisioned the park as bucolic, naturalistic landscape with 'separated circulation' system for pedestrians, horseback rides and vehicles". Such design was called "The Greensward Plan" and would include 36 bridges, each a distinct design.
In 1873, Central Park was deemed the first major public park in any city of the United States. While it became a relief for the working class that worked all week, it was more of an enjoyment for the affluent that would go on carriage and/or horseback rides along the tree lined roads, according to ENY p.64.
Central Park has had its own ups and down throughout history and has been used for different purposes. It's image and esteem suffered from garbage, graffiti, vandalism, crime and drug abusers. Until 1980, the non-for-profit Central Park Conservancy began to raise funds to restore it. As a result of the efforts of the conservancy, Central Park today is one the most visited, famous and popular park destination in the U.S.
The impressive Vanderbilt Gate on the upper park located on the corner of 110th Street and 88th Street was made in Paris in 1894, and was donated by Gertrude Vanderbilt from her mansion's gate. After passing the magnificent gate, there is the Conservatory Garden which is divided in three distinct formal gardens of English, French and Italian style. The gardens had a perfect manicured landscape with beautiful and sophisticated styles of sculptures, water fountains and lily pads (see pictures). There on top of the 'schist', Manhattan's natural rock, we found a nice place to have a class discussion.
As we walked towards the south of the park and around the park's reservoir, we encountered many health conscious New Yorkers running and exercising on a very transited area called 'Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir' who also was a regular jogger as well.
Our stroll through the park landed us in the lower side of the park located on the intersection of 82nd Street and 59th Street. We then proceeded to pass by the oldest monument in New York City, a 3,500 years old, 69 feet tall and 224 tons in weight of red granite Egyptian Obelisk called 'Cleopatra's Needle', sitting in the center of the park, full of hieroglyphics that are being eroded by the inclement weather (ENY p. 68). The Belvedere Castle which is located next to the Turtle Pond, is made out of schist quarried from the park's natural stone and it was just for decoration and to be admire. The word Belvedere derives from Italian meaning "beautiful view." The castle is now used as weather station and as a visitor's center. However, from here, there is a spectacular view of the city and the pond because is the second highest point in the park (ENY p. 70). This castle had a fairy tale like essence. We later went down stairs through the Ramble, a great place completely surrounded by nature, just to encounter some great statues at the very end created for children like an Alice in Wonderland statue created by Jose de Creeft in 1959 and a Hans Christian Anderson statue reading a book with a duck sitting at his feet created by George John Lober in 1955.
The Bethesda Terrace (1864) contains the fountain Angel of Waters which depicts the blessing of the water supply from the frequent outbreaks of cholera infection in the city's past. Under the angel, there are four cherubs representing Temperance, Purity, Peace and Health. However, this terrace is full of tourists, resting and taking pictures and there are even back massages being offered by some Oriental people. We continued to the Strawberry Fields located on 72nd Street which was dedicated to the memory of Beatles member John Lennon and named after the song 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. The memorial is located directly across the Dakota Apartments, where he lived with his wife,Yoko Ono who still currently lives there. He was fatally shot by an obsessed fan on December 8, 1980 when he was returning home. The memorial is a circular mosaic with the caption 'Imagine' which used to be covered with flowers by one of his biggest fan named Gary dos Santos. The flowers were often placed in the shape of a peace sign until he passed away in November 2013. Mike marked this place as the saddest part of the park and I really agree with him.
Closer to the south end of the park, we found the zoo with amazing animal sculptures of a honey bear and a dancing goat. By this time, we were all exhausted from the long walk and ready to go home. While exiting the park at Grand Army Plaza on the corner of 59th St. and Fifth Ave., by the legendary and elegant Hotel Plaza, I was so grateful to finally go into the subway and make my way home. I thanked Mike and Dan for sharing the experience with us.
We began at the Vanderbilt Gate on Fifth Avenue and 105th Street, where Mike explained that before the park was created, the city immigrants used to visit cemeteries to escape from the harsh realities in their urban life. According to ENY p. 63, during 1820-1850, lower Manhattan was a very different place. It was filled with European immigrants living in crowded tenement buildings with precarious sanitary conditions where frequent outbreaks of cholera, tuberculosis and smallpox would kill thousands of people. There was not enough green space in the lower side and to solve the problem, the city made laws to buy 765 acres of land and design a new park for the inhabitants of the city. In 1857, Frederic Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux were commissioned to design what is now Central Park. Their winning design ''envisioned the park as bucolic, naturalistic landscape with 'separated circulation' system for pedestrians, horseback rides and vehicles". Such design was called "The Greensward Plan" and would include 36 bridges, each a distinct design.
In 1873, Central Park was deemed the first major public park in any city of the United States. While it became a relief for the working class that worked all week, it was more of an enjoyment for the affluent that would go on carriage and/or horseback rides along the tree lined roads, according to ENY p.64.
Central Park has had its own ups and down throughout history and has been used for different purposes. It's image and esteem suffered from garbage, graffiti, vandalism, crime and drug abusers. Until 1980, the non-for-profit Central Park Conservancy began to raise funds to restore it. As a result of the efforts of the conservancy, Central Park today is one the most visited, famous and popular park destination in the U.S.
The impressive Vanderbilt Gate on the upper park located on the corner of 110th Street and 88th Street was made in Paris in 1894, and was donated by Gertrude Vanderbilt from her mansion's gate. After passing the magnificent gate, there is the Conservatory Garden which is divided in three distinct formal gardens of English, French and Italian style. The gardens had a perfect manicured landscape with beautiful and sophisticated styles of sculptures, water fountains and lily pads (see pictures). There on top of the 'schist', Manhattan's natural rock, we found a nice place to have a class discussion.
As we walked towards the south of the park and around the park's reservoir, we encountered many health conscious New Yorkers running and exercising on a very transited area called 'Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir' who also was a regular jogger as well.
Our stroll through the park landed us in the lower side of the park located on the intersection of 82nd Street and 59th Street. We then proceeded to pass by the oldest monument in New York City, a 3,500 years old, 69 feet tall and 224 tons in weight of red granite Egyptian Obelisk called 'Cleopatra's Needle', sitting in the center of the park, full of hieroglyphics that are being eroded by the inclement weather (ENY p. 68). The Belvedere Castle which is located next to the Turtle Pond, is made out of schist quarried from the park's natural stone and it was just for decoration and to be admire. The word Belvedere derives from Italian meaning "beautiful view." The castle is now used as weather station and as a visitor's center. However, from here, there is a spectacular view of the city and the pond because is the second highest point in the park (ENY p. 70). This castle had a fairy tale like essence. We later went down stairs through the Ramble, a great place completely surrounded by nature, just to encounter some great statues at the very end created for children like an Alice in Wonderland statue created by Jose de Creeft in 1959 and a Hans Christian Anderson statue reading a book with a duck sitting at his feet created by George John Lober in 1955.
The Bethesda Terrace (1864) contains the fountain Angel of Waters which depicts the blessing of the water supply from the frequent outbreaks of cholera infection in the city's past. Under the angel, there are four cherubs representing Temperance, Purity, Peace and Health. However, this terrace is full of tourists, resting and taking pictures and there are even back massages being offered by some Oriental people. We continued to the Strawberry Fields located on 72nd Street which was dedicated to the memory of Beatles member John Lennon and named after the song 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. The memorial is located directly across the Dakota Apartments, where he lived with his wife,Yoko Ono who still currently lives there. He was fatally shot by an obsessed fan on December 8, 1980 when he was returning home. The memorial is a circular mosaic with the caption 'Imagine' which used to be covered with flowers by one of his biggest fan named Gary dos Santos. The flowers were often placed in the shape of a peace sign until he passed away in November 2013. Mike marked this place as the saddest part of the park and I really agree with him.
Closer to the south end of the park, we found the zoo with amazing animal sculptures of a honey bear and a dancing goat. By this time, we were all exhausted from the long walk and ready to go home. While exiting the park at Grand Army Plaza on the corner of 59th St. and Fifth Ave., by the legendary and elegant Hotel Plaza, I was so grateful to finally go into the subway and make my way home. I thanked Mike and Dan for sharing the experience with us.