Lower Manhattan and Captivating Chelsea

Lower Manhattan and Captivating Chelsea

            This is the second to last trip for this class and like always it started at Penn Station. We began our trip and saw the Freedom Tower or in Meritta’s case, The World Trade Center. I agree with Meritta in that New York must still call it by its original name. For me this has been the first time to have visited the World Trade Center since I visited back in August of 2001: only one month prior to the devastating day of 9/11. Right across the legend that is the World Trade Center, is a building that has its own place in history: Trinity Church.

            This church has definitely earned its place in history. It is one of the oldest churches that still stand. George Washington, America’s first president attended this church himself. One really interesting aspect of the church is the cemetery that contains three burial grounds. It holds some of the most influential and important persons in history.  Such people include: Alexander Hamilton, William Bradford, Franklin Wharton, Robert Fulton, Captain James Lawrence and Albert Gallatin.  Alexander Hamilton is one of the most influential men of early America. He was responsible for the establishment of national banks. For people of our generation, Trinity Church was a safe haven for those affected on the tragic events of 9/11. It housed the rescue firefighters and police officers that were on call and volunteering. In a way, Trinity Church stayed true to its name by allowing New Yorkers to come together during a time of tragedy.

            We then walked down Wall Street past the New York Stock Exchange to Federal Hall; where George Washington was inaugurated.  Wall Street got its name because it was originally a wall. The wall was built around the original settlement to keep away intruders such as the Native Americans. Many important events happened in this building such as the establishment of America’s first Congress and freedom of the press. This historical Neo-classical building can now be enjoyed for everyone to see. One particular piece that caught my eye was the exact bible used to swear in President Washington.  After leaving Federal Hall,  we headed toward Batterypark. Although we did not have a chance to go inside, we passed by the National Museum of the American Indian which contains “featured headdresses and buffalo-hide robes from the Plains Indians; masks and ceremonial wood carvings from the Northwest Coast robes; feather-work from the Amazon; and Peruvian and Navajo fabrics.”(BG,  p44)

            After Passing through Battery Park, we made our way to Castle Clinton. “Renamed to honor Dewitt Clinton, mayor of the city and later state governor,”(BG pg48) this was once built to protect America from the British and others from a naval invasion. Battery Park was very reminiscent of DUMBO. We were then brought to theWorld Financial Center. The one aspect that makes this building stand out is the glass windows and walls that make up the main entrance and lobby. Commonly known as the Winter Garden, its palm trees and great glass windows is sued for exhibitions and art events. Here Meritta told us that during 9/11, the glass was completely shattered. 9/11 really had a huge impact on NY. “The atrium itself became an escape route for thousands of workers in the towers who fled west toward the river.” (BG pg61)

 I can only imagine how it felt to be those who were inside the World Financial Center and witnessed the glass shatter. We then found ourselves at the Irish Hunger Museum. From the outside, it only looks like a coble stone balcony, but when you enter, it really looks as if you were Ireland. At least for me it looked like a scene out of the movie “P.S I love you”; a movie that had a scene in Ireland.

            The PoetsHouse, Mike and Damien’s favorite place in all of New York was the next stop. I appreciate some poetry. Some have very clever metaphors that really make a person think. I guess I can call myself a poet in a way because I have tried to write songs. One poem that I stopped to read was entitled “Close Your Eyes”.  One line stood out: “She’d given up long ago. But he hadn’t”. Although this poem was kind of hard to understand, it was about a girl who was told to close her eyes and forget the past and pretend that she is only four years old. She follows the man who had instructed her to close her eyes and followed him through a forest and swamp. Throughout the adventure she sees the same grey cat. To me this poem teaches that no matter how far you’ve come and how much things have changed, don’t forget where you came from and what got you to where you are now.

            We stopped for lunch in Chelsea in none else than the Chelsea Market. Meritta explained that we were in an area known as the meat packing district. Back then the area was packed with big warehouses that distributed meat. Now a days gentrification as taken place to the point where most of the meat packing buildings are now places for fine dining. After lunch a couple of gotham-ites and I explored and found a lot of bakeries known for their cupcakes.

            The last part of our trip brought us to multiple art galleries and an art store called “Printed Matter, Inc. To be honest, I can appreciate modern art but some pieces just look like they do not belong. At MOMA, I understood why those paintings were in such a prestige museum, but some pieces in the galleries did not look like much of anything. The stabbed canvas looked so ordinary and I really could not see that as art. My favorite gallery was the one filled with the burned wood all around. It reminded me of a huge fort bringing back to my child hood. My favorite piece of all the galleries was a piece that looked like a part of a tree being peeled off with the NYC skyline built inside. That was something I can proudly call a work of art. Next week is our final class and I am excited to see how we will end what is already been a fun adventure.