Tag: Landmark

The United Nations

It seems only fitting that the world’s largest international organization would have its headquarters in one of the world’s most international cities.  The United Nations (U.N.) occupies a swath of real estate bordering Turtle Bay on Manhattan’s east side.  The row of nearly 200 flags welcomes people into the “international zone” of the U.N.’s headquarters complex.

The location of the U.N. was not immediately decided after the founding of the organization in the wake of World War II.  Several sites were considered such as Lake Success, NY, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Philadelphia, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and San Francisco, among other locations.  The site of the U.N. was settled when the Rockefeller Family donated industrial lands they owned for the project.  After the location was decided, Architect Wallace Harrison was the leader in a project that would include several international architects, including several “starchitechts” of their day such as Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier.  Construction started in 1948 and was completed in 1952, with several additions since then.  The predominating International Style is the architectural motif of choice for this project.  The main part of the complex is the Secretariat Building (509 feet tall), where the organization’s offices are located.  There are also buildings holding the U.N. General Assembly, the Conference Building (which houses the Security Council), and the Dag Hammarskjold Library.

If you have not done so before, it is recommended to tour the facility.  A U.N. employee will show the chambers of the General Assembly, Security Council, and other parts of the building.  Not surprisingly, the U.N. contains an incredible collection of art work in and around its complex—with works by Ferdinand Leger and Norman Rockwell among them.  For philatelists and stamp collectors, one of the highlights of the tour is the U.N.’s post office.  The post office stocks unique stamps and any letter sent from U.N. Headquarters has a unique postmark imprinted on it.  A related place on the U.N. grounds to check out is the Delegates Dining Room.  Although advance reservations must be made, the clientele are mostly diplomats and other workers in the U.N.

Owing to New York’s unofficial title as the world’s capital and its myriad of residents from every country, the U.N. Headquarters adds to this assertion.  Although the merits of the organization are hotly debated the world over, the very presence of the U.N. and the complex itself have become an easily identifiable and essential part of the city.  This is the type of information you will learn on a Sights by Sam tour.

The Chrysler Building

Built to be the headquarters of the Chrysler Corporation, the Chrysler Building is the world’s tallest brick building and the defining masterpiece of the Art Deco architecture style.  It has spawned numerous imitators—most notably One Liberty in Philadelphia.  Although it was the tallest in the world for less than one year, it is routinely voted among the favorites of New York natives and tourists.

The Chrysler Building stands at 1049 feet tall (coincidently the same as the New York Times Building).  The building, designed by architect William Van Alen, was commissioned at the behest of Walter P. Chrysler as his headquarters.  Notably, the tower was paid for in cash by Chrysler so his children, not his company, would own it (it has been sold numerous times since then).  Chrysler was obsessed with having the tallest building in the world.  When it was learned that 40 Wall Street was going to be taller (the old Bank of Manhattan headquarters, now owned by Donald Trump), Van Alen added a 125 foot spire that was secretly constructed inside the building and hoisted through the top.  In October of 1929, after a ninety minute procedure, the spire was secured in place. The building opened for business in 1930.  Although the building wears a metallic crown, the crown of the world’s tallest building title would travel a little further south to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street to the Empire State Building in 1931.

Although not open to the public (the building did have an observation deck for a time), the Chrysler Building is known for its metallic crown and spire.  Decorating the building, there are several gargoyles on the outside of the structure that are designed to look like components of 1930s Chrysler and Plymouth autos.  The lobby of the building also has a rich mahogany wood Art Deco theme.  It is also rumored that a speakeasy operated at the top of the building for New York businessmen during Prohibition.

Although quickly displaced by the Empire State Building and losing the title of tallest in the world (and later its broadcasting aerials), the Chrysler Building holds a special, shiny place in the heart of many, and is seen on multiple Sights by Sam walking tours.

Grand Central Terminal

Only in New York would mere commuters arrive in the most stately of train stations.  Grand Central Terminal has welcomed travelers into the city since 1913.  Although Penn Station has the title for the busiest train station in the country (and even that is far from the busiest in the world),  it has 44 platforms and 67 tracks, the largest in the world.  Grand Central also has a cachet that is richly deserved among train station enthusiasts and visitors to the city.

The current terminal, once property of the New York Central Railroad, was built to replace the former Grand Central Depot and Grand Central Station that once graced the site.  Completed in 1913, it was designed by Warren and Wetmore.  The terminal was New York Central’s answer to the recently completed Penn Station, built by the rival Pennsylvania Railroad.  Grand Central and Penn Station would be in competition until the rivals united as Penn Central in 1968.  The Pennsylvania Railroad had already demolished Penn Station’s overground sections to get money to the struggling company.  Penn Central sought to reduce the costs to the company by repurposing the Grand Central Terminal site as a skyscraper with the station underground.  The station became the center of a preservation battle until the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of New York City’s historic preservation laws.  The terminal would gradually be restored and come under the management of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.  A massive project to connect the terminal to the Long Island Railroad and alleviate commuter pressure on Penn Station is currently underway.

Grand Central Terminal contains the most well-known meeting place in the city… the clock over the information booth in the central concourse.  The clock is valued at over one million dollars.  The star of the terminal, however, is the mural painted by Paul Cesar Helleu, which shows the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere.  The perspective, however, is flipped so that it is the view from heaven instead of the one we mere mortals see.  A shopping arcade and market remain popular among the thousands using the station daily.  Of interest to tourists are the Grand Central Oyster Bar on the dining concourse (known for its whispering galleries made of Guastavino tiling).

Grand Central Terminal remains a nerve center of Midtown Manhattan.  Its development helped to make Midtown the preeminent business center of the city.  Additionally, a space as utilitarian as a train station is elevated to a high art form here.  Consider seeing Grand Central as part of a Sights by Sam tour of Midtown Manhattan.

The Unisphere

The Census Bureau has reported that Queens County is the most linguistically and ethnically diverse county in the U.S., with over 130 languages spoken and nearly half of the population born outside of the U.S. or born to parents from abroad.  Queens has replaced the Lower East Side of Manhattan as the place where America begins for many recent arrivals to New York.

A fitting symbol of the sway that Queens has on the world (or vice versa depending on your perspective), is the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.  Located slightly over half a mile away from the Mets-Willets Point Station on the 7 Line, the stainless steel globe, clocking in at 350 tons, 140 feet high, and 120 feet wide, was part of a display by U.S. Steel for the 1964 World’s Fair.  During the fair, the Unisphere had lit areas showing the world’s capital cities at night (this feature has been since discontinued).  The three orbits show the paths of the three satellites in Earth’s orbit that existed during the fair.  The Unisphere sits in front of the Queens Museum and on the former site of the Perisphere and Trylon, the main structures of the 1939 World’s Fair, held at the same location.

After decades of neglect, the Unisphere was restored and declared a city landmark in 1995.  The fountain lining the giant globe was also restored in the early 2010s as well.  According to a 2011 New York Times article, the island nation of Sri Lanka was blown off the massive globe during a freak tornado.  The NYC Parks Department immediately restored the island to its proper place off the coast of India.  The repair was appreciated immensely by New Yorkers hailing from the island nation.

Aside from the Unisphere, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is one of the largest parks in the city and contains other attractions.  The New York Hall of Science, the New York State Pavilion (currently being restored), and the Queens Museum all reside in this park that was once the infamous “ash heap” F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about in The Great Gatsby.  The Mets’ home at Citi Field and the U.S.T.A. Billie Jean King Tennis Center are nearby at the fringe of the park.  After appreciating the Unisphere and the other attractions, the 7 Line is nearby to whisk you away to Flushing Chinatown for some great dumplings or the multitude of other ethnic foods that can be found along the so-called “International Express.”  See Queens in a new light by booking a custom tour with Sights by Sam.

Grant’s Tomb

Given that New York City is the home of only one president (Theodore Roosevelt), it would seem odd at first glance that a president who was born in Ohio and lived much of his adult life in Illinois would be buried there.  With that said, Ulysses S. Grant is the only president interred within the city limits, along with his wife, Julia.  The story of the tomb is compelling and is a comment on changing times in the city.

Grant died of throat cancer in Upstate New York in 1885 (rumored to be from his hard drinking and heavy-smoking ways).  While he was not a memorable president, his command of the Union Army in the Civil War and his influence on warfare gave him everlasting fame.  Grant’s family agreed to have him buried in New York.  An association (the Grant Monument Association) was formed to raise money for and construct the tomb.  After delays regarding its location, funding, and design, the tomb opened in 1897, with the mausoleum patterned off of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  The spartan interior of the mausoleum was decorated in the 1930s with paintings of famous scenes from the Civil War and busts of other great Civil War generals.

The tomb began to suffer serious decay starting in the 1950s, becoming a vandalized, graffiti scarred mess.  The tomb was hardly visited and became a symbol of decay in the city.  Grant’s relatives threatened to remove his and Julia’s bodies to another location if something was not done.  After the National Parks Service was unwilling or unable to do anything,  a Columbia University student successfully got the gears moving by getting the Illinois state government to threaten to move President and Mrs. Grant’s bodies.  The federal government eventually appropriated money to restore the tomb.  The restoration of the tomb was completed in 1997.  In a tomb fit for one of the giants of American history, the interior and exterior are now in immaculate condition.  The interior contains the tombs and scenes of pivotal Civil War moments, such as the surrender of the Confederates at Appomattox.  There is also a collection of flags used in battle in the Civil War.

Although Grant’s Tomb does not figure highly on the itineraries of many visitors, it is an architectural master work and a slightly larger-than-life tribute to a giant of American History.  Grant’s Tomb can be seen on a Sights by Sam tour.

The Whitney Museum

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was born into the wealthy Vanderbilt family–the ones that owned the New York Central Railroad. She married Harry P. Whitney, becoming even richer as the Whitney family owned substantial oil interests. Whitney turned toward art as a hobby and became an impressive sculptor in her own right.

Starting in 1914, Whitney began to amass American art. She felt that American artists needed to be exhibited and promoted. In 1929, she attempted to donate her collection of American modern art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which declined her collection–as did the Museum of Modern Art. Whitney’s artwork would be formed into what is now known as the Whitney Museum of Art in 1931.

The museum has moved from Greenwich Village to Midtown to the Upper East Side (in a Marcel Breuer-designed building now housing an extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art), to a new, Renzo Piano-designed edifice opened in 2015, which anchors the southern entrance to the High Line Park and contains 200,000 square feet of exhibition space. Many of the galleries have decks outside which provide great views of the surrounding city. The immediate neighborhood provides many opportunities for walking and eating in several restaurants and bars that have proliferated in recent years.

In addition to hosting a permanent collection of American artists such as Charles Demuth and Edward Hopper among more contemporary artists, the museum also has many temporary exhibits and hosts the famous Whitney Biennial every other year (next scheduled for 2017). Between 7:00PM and 9:30PM on Fridays, the museum has a “pay what you wish” policy. The Whitney should be on your itinerary for the modern building alone. A Sights by Sam walking tour of New York should be on the itinerary of any visitor to this great city.

The Empire State Building

Rising 1454 feet tall and the tallest building in the world for nearly forty years between 1931 and 1970, the Empire State Building has featured in the imaginations of tourists, immigrants, and New York natives since it punched through the clouds. It has made numerous appearances in movies, tacky souvenirs, and even New York license plates.

The building was constructed in a record 410 days at the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The site was the original home of the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel. The firm of Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon was tasked with constructing the tower. The tower is allegedly patterned off of the then recently-completed Carew Tower in Cincinnati (which also coincidently is the home of the prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge). Over 3,400 workers labored on the structure, which provided needed jobs during the Great Depression. Construction proceeded at such a fast pace and such a precise timetable that workers reported the steel from mills in Bethlehem, PA, was still warm when it arrived. The tower was designed in an Art Deco style and clad in Indiana limestone.

Although the building was the tallest in the world, it was not fully occupied until the 1950s, leading it to be called the “Empty State Building.” The observation deck and its broadcasting antenna (added later) proved to be major sources of income for its owners. A well-circulated story about the building’s mast being used as a mooring mast for airships is unfounded–a U.S. military test showed an airship could be anchored, but no one could enter or exit easily. The tower was a sight of tragedy in 1945 when a lost B-25 bomber crashed into the tower between the 79th and 80th floors. Fourteen people were killed in the incident.

The tower itself has over two million square feet of usable office space. Environmental retrofits over the years have earned the Empire State Building LEED certification. Special occasions have been observed since 1976 with the color of the floodlights of the tower being changed for the occasion. In 2012, LEDs replaced the floodlights, allowing thousands of color combinations.

If you are going up to the tower, it is recommended to buy tickets on their site in advance, lest you be subject to lines that will take away most of a day of sightseeing. If you can splurge for it, go to the 102nd floor observation deck to get an incredible view of the city, although the deck is no longer the tallest in the city–1 World Trade Center’s deck is–for now… Many tourists go to 30 Rockefeller Center nearby to get a less crowded view of the city and see the Empire State Building standing proud among the concrete and steel canyons of Manhattan. Even if you do not go up the tower and despite the massive construction boom, you cannot help but see one of New York’s tallest ambassadors from most vantage points in the city. This building’s towering profile and more can be seen on any Sights by Sam tour.