The Enchanting Eastside equaled WET!

When I checked the weather the night before class it stated rain throughout the day. I also checked our class’ website and we were informed to come prepared for the weather. I was a little bummed; I thought maybe class will be rescheduled even though I read before that class will continue rain, sun, or snow. Anyways, so off I went headed to the train station bound for Penn. As usual we met in the same spot and like last class we were joined by the freshmens. Instead of leaving at 11:05 we were running a bit late after Mike had to address both classes on the day’s schedule.

Our class today took us to the East side of the city. First stop the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, generally called the Met, is the largest, most comprehensive art, museum in the world. The building occupies 1.5 million square feet and its collections include more than two million objects. Whose range includes the whole world and the entire sweep of human civilization (BG, 326). When we got off at 86^th street and came up from the subway it was raining cats and dogs. We had to walk to 82^nd street to get to The Met. By the time we arrived, even though we had umbrellas we were all drenched from our knees down. Walking in from the pouring rain into the Met were the AC was kicking we all froze. We gathered and followed the professor to the museum’s modern art section. He told us about the art work and the artists. Some of the art pieces I did not understand and some of them were really cool. As we went from room to room we came across a certain artist. Pollock, he was an influential American painter. His art work was weird and looked like anyone could do it. I found out from the professor though that it’s hard to replicate because he had his class try it once. After here we strolled off on our own and tried to keep moving to stay warm in the freezing Met museum.

When we got back to our designated meeting time and place, plans had changed for the remaining of the day. Mike thought we would have breaks in the clouds and would be able to hike through Central Park and break for lunch. That obviously didn’t happen and the rains kept coming down with no signs of stopping. We headed out into the rain back to Grand Central terminal. Upon our arrival here we would break for lunch. Here we could have anything our taste buds desired. A few of us headed for pizza which was by the way very appetizing. We met back at our designated area in the main hall by the information desk. Grand Central Terminal stands proudly athwart Park Avenue at 42^nd street (BG, 228). Grand Central remains one of the world’s great railroad stations, and an enduring symbol of the city. The station covers three city blocks from 42^nd to 45^th streets between Vanderbilt and Madison avenues (BG, 229). We learned that Penn station once looked like Grand Central. They would have torn down Grand Central also but Jackie Kennedy saved it.

From here we headed towards the New York Public Library. This was supposed to be our last stop but due to the weather a few items got switched around. The building generally known simply as “the New York Public Library” stands on the west side of Fifth Ave between 40^th and 42^nd street. It is officially the Humanities and Social Sciences Library of the New York Public Library, one of it’s four major research facilities, world famous for its collections and much admired for the architecture of its building (1911; Carrere & Hastings) (BG, 207). The building sits on a wide terrace running the length of the Fifth Ave façade. The steps, which have long attracted tourists, pigeons, footsore shoppers, and office workers at lunch, are flanked by two famous marble lions by Edward C. Potter. Originally criticized as mealy-mouthed, complacent creatures, they seemed undeserving of the nicknames Mayor Fiorello La Guardia would later give them – Patience (south side) and Fortitude (north side) – virtues the mayor thought important for New Yorkers struggling economically during the Depression (BG, 208). We went up to the Main Reading Room of the library where we rested for a bit and sat quietly.

Last part of our tour took us through fabulous Fifth Ave, one of the most lavishing, luxurious shopping streets in the world. We paused for a bit at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. St. Patrick’s Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, a famous city landmark and a symbol of the success in New York. Designed by James Renwick, it draws on the decorated Gothic style of the 13^th century. It is the largest Catholic cathedral in the U.S. and the 11^th largest in the world (BG, 254). We then worked our way down pass the Fred F. French Building, one of the city’s first skyscrapers and then on to Tiffany & Co. Tiffany & CO. is one of the world’s renowned jewelers. It was founded by Charles L. Tiffany, father of Louis Comfort Tiffany, the famous designer of stained glass, jewelry, enamels, and interiors (BG, 272). We ended our dreary day at F.A.O Schwartz. Here we were brought back to our childhood with all the stuffed animals and candy. All of those toys were way over priced but then again it was located on Fifth Ave.

We headed back to the train station from here. We got back to Penn rather early and I was happy to know after being soaking wet all day and freezing I didn’t have to wait long for my train home. As I sat there on my way home and reflected back on my miserable day I started dozing off to sleep and was tired from our wet yet eventful day. What a day? Cold and Wet!