Through another's eyes

The day dawned with brilliant blue skies and mild weather. The meetup description said..


Let's get one last taste of the holidays by visiting spectacular displays that are still standing after the new year. In addition, we'll visit the New York Public Library, with exhibitions about the history of lunch in NYC, Charles Dickens, and some great photography; Scandinavia House, with paintings of the Icelandic sagas; the skinniest building in the city; the wizard of Park Avenue; a huge gallery of antiques; and several beautiful churches. Along the way we'll spot many remnants of the city's golden age of architecture, still glowing amidst the steel-and-glass towers.

The architecture of the public toilets in Bryant Park

It was an ambitious itinerary and took a lot longer than the organizer planned but it was a glorious day and I also got to do two more things on my 13 in 13 list .  The meetup and places I haven't been before I guess the Dickens & The lunch exhibitions also add to my 13 in 13 tally.

Bryant Park was still in the splendour of Christmas. I walked to the park from home and along the way there was much dismantling of Christmas decorations in particular the lovely red Christmas trees on the corner of 6th and 48th.

Bryant Park's Christmas tree had a blue theme. I don't know how I missed seeing it with Fran.

 The skinniest building in midtown.

This renovated brownstone, wedged between two much larger buildings, is only 12.5 feet wide and does not connect with either of the neighboring properties. (Scouting New York blog)

The crumbling brownstone sliver at No. 19, built in 1865, is in a tumbledown state, the cornice loose, the mansard slate erratically patched. Some holdout Midtown resident must have a picturesque little garret there.  (NY Times)

The French building  was erected in 1927 with a striking art deco facade contributing significantly to the international reputation of Fifth Avenue. The building measures approximately 430,000 rentable square feet and is currently owned by The Feil Organization. It is used primarily as an office building and also houses classrooms of Pace University. The building is one of the better known projects of the real estate developer Frederick Fillmore French. The lead architects were H. Douglas Ives and Sloan & Robertston. The tallest building on Fifth Avenue when completed, by the 1990s underwent a complete restoration, subsequently earning the Building Owners and Managers Association 1994/1995 Historic Building of the Year Award. The National Register of Historic Places listed the building in January 2004. (Wikipedia)

Where do you think this one is?

And this Tudor building?

The Scribner  Building former publishing house now?... Sephora.

Anthropologie windows- love them!

Paley Park was named one of the best parks in the world by the Project for Public Spaces. One of their favorite aspects of the park is that it provides “an intimate relationship with the street.” The park appears to be an extension of its midtown surroundings while simultaneously transporting you away from the hustle and bustle. The next time you are in midtown take a break and enjoy Paley Park.

Everywhere one goes there are Rockefeller architectural features. Love the star patterns.

A 1990 addition to the park on the north side of East 53rd Street, just west of Madison Avenue, included a piece of the Berlin Wall.  The five sections were originally located along the Waldemarstrasse and were decorated by German artists Thierry Noir and Kiddy Citny in 1985.

Amazing!

 A day in itself could have been dedicated to looking in the library!

The library still had it Christmas splendour although the lions didn't have their wreaths this year.

It was dark by the time I left the walk- 5 hours was enough!