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WOODMAN’S GATE, Central Park
January 19, 2017Central Park masterminds Frederick Olmsted and Calvert Vaux whimsically named several main park exterior openings as ‘gates’ when the park was being built in the 1860s. Running clockwise around the park from Columbus Circle they are: Merchants’ Gate: Columbus Circle Women’s Gate: Central Park West at West 72nd Street Explorers’ Gate: CPW at West 77th Street […]
Categorized in: One Shots Tagged with: Central Park Manhattan
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HAGSTROM 1922 — CONEY ISLAND
January 18, 2017I was recently tipped off to the downloadable presence of some 1922 Hagstrom maps of NYC, at least 4 boroughs minus Staten Island, on the New York Public Library website Digital Collections. Allow me to reminisce. I may have mentioned this previously, but I have been fascinated with street maps almost since birth, especially my […]
Categorized in: MAP ROOM One Shots Tagged with: Brooklyn Coney Island
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HAGSTROM 1922 — LONG ISLAND CITY
January 17, 2017I was recently tipped off to the downloadable presence of some 1922 Hagstrom maps of NYC, at least 4 boroughs minus Staten Island, on the New York Public Library website Digital Collections. Allow me to reminisce. I may have mentioned this previously, but I have been fascinated with street maps almost since birth, especially my […]
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SELFIE: Bertel Thorvaldsen, Central Park
January 16, 2017Located in a dead-end park path just south of the 96th Street Transverse Road just off 5th Avenue, this replica of a lifesize portrait of Danish sculptor Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) is the only portrait statue in New York City that is a self-portrait and the second statue of a Dane (Hans Christian Andersen, elsewhere in […]
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Tagged with: Central Park Manhattan
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SOUTHERN STATEN ISLAND: Richmond Valley, Charleston, Kreischerville, Part 2
January 15, 2017Continued from Part 1 About once or twice a year, I’m in south-southwest Staten Island, the southernmost point in New York State. Though “suburbanity” long ago made its way into places like Tottenville, Richmond Valley, and Charleston there are still pockets of wilderness and still touches of small town life left over. Soon enough, these […]
Categorized in: Neighborhoods Walks Tagged with: Charleston Kreischerville Staten Island
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STREET SIGNS, Hamilton Park, Jersey City
January 14, 2017Categorized in: One Shots Signs Tagged with: Jersey City New Jersey
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ALLEN-BEVILLE HOUSE, Douglaston
January 12, 2017Tucked away in tony Douglaston are a few buildings that go back to the colonial and postcolonial era. One of these is the Greek Revival Allen-Beville House at 236-12 Center Drive at Forest Road. Though Douglaston has Queens-style hyphenated address numbers, most of its streets carry suburban-style names. Apparently there was once an effort to […]
Categorized in: One Shots Tagged with: Douglaston Queens
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ENGINE COMPANY NUMBER 2, Hoboken
January 11, 2017Tucked in at Hoboken’s north end, at 1313 Washington (numbered addresses are easy in Hoboken; it’s between 13th and 14th Street) is the Romanesque Revival Engine Company #2, which is still active and has been since 1890 when it replaced an earlier firehouse that ironically burned down. One of the hallmarks of Romanesque and most […]
Categorized in: Hoboken One Shots Tagged with: Hoboken New Jersey
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GENERAL ELECTRIC M400
January 10, 2017Here’s a dayburning General Electric M-400 I found during a walk in Hoboken. These lamps shine a greenish-white when fully illuminated at night, but during the day, or when first coming on, they’re distinctly green. Also, they emit an unmistakable buzz when first coming on at dusk, too. The light comes from mercury vapor. The […]
Categorized in: One Shots Street Lamps Tagged with: Hoboken New Jersey