Madcap Manhattan Week
In mid-January 2018, I visited Manhattan, New York with my brother, Alex and my son, Zach.
We were in a similar situation. None of us had a permanent home. When people asked us “Where are you from?” we would say that we were all born in Alaska. Then we’d explain that Alex had lived in New York City for 22 years, although now he primarily lives on a steamboat on the Mississippi River. And Zach had just returned from two years in Argentina and was heading back to Alaska until getting accepted at a school in Europe. And Kat had just driven from Alaska and traveled across the United States and was spending the next year in Santa Fe, New Mexico. So, yeah, it was a bit complicated to answer the question.
Zach and I met at the LaGuardia Airport where we purchased subway cards for a week ($33 each) and took a shuttle bus to the closest subway station to go to our hotel.
WHERE WE STAYED…
We stayed at the elegant and clean Wolcott Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. I’ve stayed in a lot of hotel rooms in the United States and Europe and can give it a high recommendation. Historic, the hotel opened on March 1, 1904, and the lobby and winding stairs are stunningly beautiful. The rooms have the feel of an older time as well, but are surprisingly spacious and clean.
We were fortunate to have a view of the Empire State Building. I could see it through the window while lying down in my bed! It was also very affordable, which was a great relief. Included with the room were muffins and coffee in the morning and the hotel staff was courteous and helpful. If you’re planning a trip to the New York City area, check out the Wolcott Hotel!
WHAT WE DID…
We learned a lot about the history of New York City. On our “Small Museum Days,” we visited:
The Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Ave in Midtown
Open various hours Tues-Sun (11 am-5 pm is safe each day), closed on Monday
Admission: $20 Adult, $13 over 65, $13 Students
J.P. Morgan’s father, Pierpont Morgan was both a successful financier and an avid collector. His house with its collections became a public museum in the 1920s. His library with secret stairways is beautiful. There is an original copy of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, original drafts from composers such as Mozart, Schumann and Liszt, cuneiform writing samples from Mesopotamia, ancient Near Eastern cylinder seals, one of the first Gutenberg Bibles, and numerous works of art. Various exhibitions rotate through as well.
Museum of the City of New York
5th Ave & 103rd Street, Upper East Side, part of Museum Mile
Open every day, 10-6 pm
Admission: $18 Adult, $12 over 65, $12 Students
We watched a film about the history of New York City. Lower Manhattan was called New Amsterdam when the Dutch settled there in 1624. We found out that “the Wall” was the boundary between the Dutch settlement and where the Native Americans lived that is now known as Wall Street. When the English peacefully claimed the settlement in 1664, they renamed it New York. It is also interesting to note that Broadway was originally a Native American trail and then a “broad way” for cattle driving before becoming a mecca for creative immigrants. In the early 1900s, people from all over the world flocked to New York City to make a mark on the world. The 1960s and 1970s were violent and turbulent times for the city and a big clean-up effort successfully followed in the 1980s and 1990s. There were also displays with artifacts and videos from different eras of New York City’s history.
There were displays about New York City and ice skating, women’s suffrage, fashion, and political activism.
We enjoyed the Art in the Open Display about Public Art in New York City over the years. I was intrigued by the artist who painted images along a subway line so that it would move like a motion picture when a subway passed by. He said that he wanted the viewers to experience the same awe the first people to see a motion picture experienced. Pretty cool.
Here is a current example of public art in Madison Square Park. The lights would glow on and off in different mesmerizing patterns.
The Houdini Museum of New York City
Not sure. I think they just moved.
Open daily, 10-5 pm
Admission: FREE
Visitors are encouraged to purchase some magic trick tools to bring home.
It intrigued me that their first question was: “How did you find us?” Fitting for the Houdini Museum to be obscurely an elevator ride up on the fourth floor of a New York City building and equally fitting that Alex was able to find it. We enjoyed the displays and the clerk did some impromptu magic for us.
On the day Zach and I explored Manhattan together, we went to the 911 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan.
911 Museum
Open daily, 9 am – 8 pm
$24 Adult, $15 Youth, $20 Young Adult, $20 over 65, $20 Student, $18 Veteran
The Memorial and Museum are worth visiting. Plan a couple of hours to walk through the timeline of the events on September 11, 2001 from the perspective of the airplane passengers, public, and terrorists. There are cycles of news footage that bring back memories. Afterward, plan to sit on one of the benches just outside the exhibit to talk about where you were that day and how it has impacted your life.
Here are Alex, Zach and Kat’s 911 Stories:
Alex: He lived in Manhattan near the World Trade Center towers at the time. He was working nights, so he was sleeping when it happened. His roommate woke him up and they watched the news. They did not have any debris, but the air was smoky and heavy for several days. Alex saw people walking up from lower streets who were covered in dust. He didn’t work for a few days. He and his boyfriend helped out at a shelter.
Zach: He was nine years old. He saw the news that morning. It looked like a new movie to him. At school, he was given a message to take to the office and ended up spending an hour or so standing in the hallway near the office watching the news on TV. Apparently, it was the sort of emotionally charged day that the teacher didn’t notice his absence.
Kat: I saw it on the news before driving to work at the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau. All I could think about was Alex. It was possible that he worked in one of the tower buildings. At some point, I found out from my mother that Alex was okay; it seemed like it took forever. Everyone was shaken up at work. And soon, planes were grounded at the airport and we were part of facilitating lodging for the suddenly stranded. Thankfully, Fairbanks had the infrastructure to handle an influx of unexpected guests. I remember organizing an impromptu candlelight ceremony in the conference room for staff who wanted to participate. We held hands and sang “God Bless America.” Some of the most cynical among the staff participated. It was that kind of day. Everyone in the country needed hope, even way up in the middle of Alaska.
We went to the relatively new Broadway Musical “Come From Away.” Set in Newfoundland Canada, it tells the story of the thousands stranded and the locals who took care of them when planes were grounded during 911. The music is terrific. We hoped to say hello to Caitlin Warbelow, the musical’s violinist who, like Zach, grew up in the Suzuki violin program in Fairbanks, Alaska. Either her appearance had changed so drastically that neither of us could recognize her or she was taking a night off.
We heard the Laura Campisi Trio at Bar Thalia next to Symphony Space, a creative place with short story readings, concerts and more that I’ve followed for years, but hadn’t had the chance to visit. Laura Campisi is originally from Palermo, Sicily. Go to www.lauracampisi.com to find out more about her. It was great to hear an instrumental jazz vocalist live again!
And for those of you, like us, who prefer to interact with each other to solve puzzles, we did two Escape Rooms at Escape the Room NYC: the Dig and the Clock Tower. We made it out of the Dig just under the hour time limit with ten seconds to spare. We didn’t make it out of the Clock Tower, but were solving the final, and complex, puzzle when the time ran out. They were great adventures we will talk about for years.
The three of us walked from the northwest corner of Central Park to the southeast. It’s 2.5 miles long and 1/2 mile wide. Trees, trails, waterfalls, ponds, skating, and many, many squirrels.
Zach and I also visited the place where ee cummings lived (Patchin Place) in Greenwich Village and popped into some interesting bookstores including Unoppressive Nonimperialist Bargain Books.
And we watched skating at Rockefeller Center while Zach spoke Spanish with me and I attempted to name the country for all the flags around the rink.
WHAT WE ATE (in order of Kat’s preference)…
Ariana Afghan Kabab Restaurant — inexpensive, quality food served by a witty owner in Hell’s Kitchen
John’s of Times Square — inexpensive, great brick oven pizza in a historic church near Time’s Square
Jacob’s Pickles — slightly expensive, quality food, great customer service, on the West Side
Rosa Mexicano — slightly expensive, guacamole made at the table, a number of locations throughout Manhattan
Buenos Aires — slightly expensive, authentic Argentinian food in East Village / Alphabet City
Magnolia Bakery — inexpensive busy bakery, a favorite of Zach’s, famous for its Banana Pudding and cupcakes, a number of locations throughout Manhattan
The Smith — mid-priced, busy, great brunch near the Flatiron Building
Joseph Leonard — mid-priced, quaint European café style in Greenwich Village
Hummus Place — mid-priced, Middle Eastern hummus and falafel in Greenwich Village
Miss Korea BBQ — very expensive, exquisite Korean BBQ in Midtown
I hope our week can give you ideas for your own madcap Manhattan trip!
