Day three of our New York City theater trip began with a quick cup of coffee and a scone at a little coffee shop across the street, and then we were off for a combo driving and walking tour of Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side. We drove down Fifth Avenue and learned a great deal of the architectural history of Manhattan from Dr. Rosenberg. Unfortunately, I was not at a good angle on the bus to snap a shot of the Flatiron Building, but it was a thrill to see it. Then we drove into the heart of Greenwich Village and stepped out onto Washington Square.
While I am still leaning towards the professional sector for a career, I find myself considering the benefits of academia after seeing a bit of the New York University (NYU) campus and walking down Washington Mews, where some lucky NYU faculty get to live. What a great setting for a campus environment.
From there it was off to the enclaves in the Lower East Side. While there is still one street in Little Italy that is almost entirely Italian, much of the rest of the area has changed over to Chinese shops. This is a very recent change in demographics. We learned about how different ethnic groups, such as the Germans, had moved into neighborhoods in the Lower East Side and then were replaced by the Irish, or Eastern European Jews or Italians. That dynamic is continuing today, and as the demographics of the neighborhoods change, each generation has a different cultural gift to share. For me, one of the greatest gifts is great food. So I was excited when we stopped in at Ferrara's, and I bought a mini cannoli and a coffee. There are simply no words to describe how tasty it was.
Then we strolled into what has traditionally been the heart of Chinatown. There were great shops, interesting architecture and, of course, great stories. We went down one odd street that meandered a bit and learned that this was where Chinese gangs used to stage hits back in the day. So, as a good tourist, I took a picture of it. Aside from an exciting bit of the macabre, it got me to thinking about the struggle of people from a different culture trying to carve out a place for themselves in a country where they are initially met with much hostility.That is probably exactly what Dr. Rosenberg wanted us to be thinking about, because the next stop was the much heralded Lower East Side Tenement Museum. My summer course with Dr. Spencer Crew on sites of conscience involved a good deal of discussion on the programming of this particular museum. It is a founding member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience and continues to engage the public on difficult and controversial topics.
We did the Moore family tour, which mostly focused on the Irish Moore family, but also included the Jewish Katz family, and there was a brief interaction that I had read about in articles about the Tenement Museum. One of our guides, Rey Calderon, spoke up about his immigrant experience because he is Latino and from Costa Rica. One of the women on the tour spoke about her Irish ancestors and wanted to compare their experiences to Rey's experience. It was a great discussion, and it got everyone thinking about how some things change, some dynamics stay the same and what exactly does that mean? What should we do about it?
After that tour, we came back to the hotel (my mother and I picked up a hot dog from a street vendor along the way), and then we mapped out a few more must see spots for us to see on our own. We visited the New York Public Library for a couple of reasons. One, it was a necessary landmark on our "Ghostbusters" scavenger hunt, but it is also undergoing extensive renovations. The exterior is currently in progress, but the interiors are back to their full glory. We visited the map exhibit and the gift shop, after wandering through the main reading room. Sadly, we did not see any ghostly librarians stacking books. Maybe we needed ghost-busting equipment for that?
We also took in the landmarks of Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building and made a visit to the United Nations (U.N.) Since it was Sunday evening, all of the flags were down at the U.N., so we'll make a return trip to see the site in all its glory. As we began to make our way back to the Algonquin, we had two fortuitous types of run-ins. We began to see runners from the marathon making their way back to hotels. Some were wrapped in their shiny blankets they were given at the finish line, but all were wearing medals. By the time I got the gumption to ask if everyone got the same medal, I asked someone who didn't speak English.The second event we came across was the window display at Brooks Brothers. The store is doing a tribute to "Mad Men" because it provides many of the costumes for the Emmy-winning show. I love "Mad Men" and had forgotten to include some of the show's landmarks in our discovery of the city, so that is on the list for tomorrow.
After a considerable amount of walking, we were exhausted and had planned a brief outing for the evening. We walked to Sardi's for an amazing meal, and then, on the way back to the hotel, we decided to just pop into the Toys "R" Us store on Times Square. I do not know how much time we spent in there, but we came out much later. The store has a Ferris wheel inside the building and three floors of merchandise with truly stunning exhibits. I took pictures of the Lego cityscape, and we gawked for a while at the animatronic Jurassic Park exhibit. Finally, we went in search of souvenirs for my niece and nephew.
By the time we got back in, my intentions of doing some early blogging had become less of a priority. I quickly fell asleep, but I am filled with thoughts about the tension of wealth and poverty, and how labels of ethnicity can benefit or hurt a community. Rather than just giving us a feel good tour, our guides are raising questions and making us think, which is exactly what I wanted.
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