New York City 7/28 -- 8/1/2012 [New York Gallery] [Back to Photo Page] [Slide Show]

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Day 3 ...

• Statue of Liberty
  The Statue of Liberty is not only the icon of New York City, but also a symbol of American freedom.  The statue was a gift from the French government for the 100th anniversary of America's independence, and was designed by a young French sculptor, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi.  The statue's face was modeled after his mother's and the story goes that the body was modeled after a prostitute. The Statue of Liberty is 46.5 meter (151ft) high and together with the pedestal it reaches a height of 93 meters (305ft).
  We took the ferry from the Battery Park (with a long waiting line).  Although visitors can explore the exterior grounds on Liberty Island, the access in the Statue of Liberty is currently restricted as the 125 year old Statue undergoes a year-long renovation. 
  After a quick lunch on the Liberty Island, we took the ferry back to the Battery Park directly (skipping Ellis Island since we needed to go to 911 Memorial at 1:30PM).

• Lower Manhattan, 911 Memorial
  It was a short walk through the lower Manhattan to the 911 Memorial.  The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a 16-acre complex built between 1966 and 1987 with 7 buildings and a large plaza.  The centerpieces of the complex were the Twin Towers (1360 feet tall), tallest buildings in NYC.  On 9/11/2001, the entire complex was destroyed.
  The fully redeveloped WTC will include the Memorial and Museum, and new towers around the 8-acre Memorial, consisting of two pools set in the footprint of the original Twin Towers.  The new 1 WTC (still under construction) will become the tallest building (at 1776 feet) in the United States.

• Wall Street
  Before we headed to Wall Street, my brother's family decided to go shopping at Century 21 while Linus, Iris, and I went to a McDonald's to have some cold drinks.
  Records show that in the years after the Revolutionary War, traders and speculators would gather under a particular buttonwood tree that sat at the foot of Wall Street. They soon formed the Buttonwood Association (1792), which is believed to be the roots of the New York Stock Exchange.  By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Wall Street was "the place" to be if you were a large financial institution or other big business. So many buildings sprung up on this tip of Manhattan that the Wall Street district began to boast its own distinct skyline, separate from the buildings in Midtown.

• Empire State Building
  On March 17, 1930, construction of the Empire State Building began.  With a peak labor force of 3,000 men, framework rose at a rate of 4 ½ stories per week.  On May 1, 1931, President Hoover pressed a button in Washington, DC, which turned on the Empire State Building's lights and officially opened the building.   The skyscraper towered over the neighborhood with its height of 381 meters (1250 ft). As the Empire State Building was one of the last skyscrapers built before the Great Depression hit the real estate market, it wouldn't be topped until 1972, when the twin World Trade Towers dethroned the Empire State Building as the world's tallest building.  Today, although the building has been stripped from its title of the world's tallest building, it is a symbol of New York itself visited by 2 million people each year. 
  While we were waiting in the line to the observatory, my brother's family decided to go shopping nearby (Macy's?). We met back in hotel after dinner before we went to our evening program: the Broadway show.

• Phantom of the Opera
   

  Opening on 26 January 1988 at the Majestic Theater on 44th street, Andrew Lloyd Webber's romantic musical masterpiece is the longest running show in Broadway history.  It is based on Gaston Leroux's gothic novel of life beneath the stage of the Paris Opera House where The Phantom reigns.  Hideously deformed, he passes his time terrorizing the members of the Opera until he falls in love with Christine Daae, a chorus girl who he teaches to sing the 'Music of the Night'.  Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpiece combines a quality of music genius with a strength of storyline and use of breathtaking theatrical effects that have enthralled audiences across generations. Although we have seen the Phantom a couple of times in San Francisco before, we still loved seeing the show again at Broadway as we all like the music so much.

Day 4 ...

• Grand Central Station
  The monumental railway station was constructed in 1903-1913.  It was saved from the fate of destruction by New York City's new landmark preservation laws, which was implemented in part thanks to the outcry over the demolition of Penn Station in 1963-1966.
  I got up early to go to the Grand Central Station at about 7AM before the rush hours.  The main concourse inside is most impressive. It is 470ft long, 160ft wide and 150ft high (143 x 49 x 43 meter) with a ceiling painted by the French artist Paul Helleu.  I tried to setup my tripod for some long exposure shots, but I was stopped (after only 2 shots) by 2 marines who were patrolling in the station.  I had to fold my tripod before I could continue taking pictures.

• Metropolitan Museum of Art
  With more than two million works of art spanning thousands of years, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the most expansive and prolific art museums in the world and it is almost on everyone's New York to-do list.  With only about 2 hours timeframe, we only sampled a few exhibitions from the incredible collections.

• Central Park
  The Central Park, 843 acres, is located in the center of Manhattan. Its design is an example for city parks around the world.  We walked from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, through the heart of the park, to the Natural History of Museum.

• American Museum of Natural History
  From giant dinosaur skeletons to a state-of-the-art planetarium, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) has been devoted to bringing the public cutting-edge anthropological and natural history information and displays.  One of the reasons we decided to visit this amazing museum was because of the movie "Night at the Museum" :-)

• Lincoln Center
  The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is more than just one building. It's an entire area - 16.3 acres in all - devoted to music, dance, and theater.  It is home to 12 institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Lincoln Center Theater, the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet, and the Juilliard School. We took a guided tour which had access to some concert halls and stages (unfortunately, the Opera House was closed for renovation).

Day 5 ...

• United Nation
  In 1946, the United Nations were looking for a location for their new headquarters in New York. John D. Rockefeller Jr. bought the 18 acre (7 ha) plot and donated it to United Nations. This site was then used to build the UN's headquarters. The whole area was converted into international territory and does not officially belong to the United States.
  We took the group audio tour which consisted of prerecorded messages controlled and synchronized by the group guide who actually did not do much talking.  We passed by the General Assembly Hall where a real meeting was taking place so we could not take any pictures inside the Assembly Hall.  We also visited the Security Council Chamber and some other exhibitions.

Going Home ...

After another Chiptole lunch, it was time to go home where, my brother's family would stay for the next few days.  We walked back to 8th Ave (Port Authority) to take the bus to JFK.  I thought we had plenty of time, but you can never know the traffic in New York.  The afternoon showers started to kick in and traffic began to build up.  At one point, I really thought we were going to miss our flight to San Francisco.  Luckily we did not get any further delays and concluded our East Coast journey with a smooth flight back home.

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