New York City- 8/17/11 -8/20/11

Day 1-Wednesday Day 2- Thursday Day 3 - Friday Day 4- Saturday

Day 1- Evening walk/Rockefeller center

By the time we are done with our dinner we were so full that we requested to have a walk so we can digest our food. Uncle Larry suggested for us to be dropped of mid town (we stay up town) so we can have a good hour of walk.

Huge Decorative gold art on top a the entrance on of the building we were walking by.

 

Horse-Drawn Carriages are a wonderful way to experience the city.

This reminds me of an Episode of Seinfeld where the horse kept passing gas..

Rockefeller center

Rockefeller Center  is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.  All buildings share a common design style, Art Deco, and are connected to each other via an underground concourse, the Catacombs. The complex is nevertheless well integrated in the city of New York, especially along Fifth AvenueIn 1959 and the early seventies, Rockefeller Center was extended with 5 additional buildings along sixth Avenue.

 

GE Building

The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center.  It was Known as the RCA Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC. At 850 feet  tall, the 70-story building is the 10th tallest building in New York City and the 33rd tallest in the United States. Its address is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which has led to its nickname "30 Rock". The latter is also the title of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, which follows the cast and crew of a fictional television show filmed inside the building. The television show uses the building for exterior shots while interior shots are filmed at Silvercup Studios in Queens.

 

Walking toward the famous Ice Rink.

 

 

18 foot high, 8 ton statue of Prometheus overlooks the sunken plaza of Rockefeller Center. 

According to Greek mythology, Prometheus was a Titan who defied the will of Zeus and brought fire to Earth, helping mortals while risking harsh retribution from the authorities. The mountain-like-pedestal at the base of the statue symbolizes the earth, while the circle containing the signs of the zodiac represents the heavens. 

The plaza has about 200 flagpoles with various.  During U.S. holidays, every flagpole carries the Flag of the United States.

 

Colorful flags flying...Very nice.


It is hard to image that this place is transformed into an Ice Rink in winter time.

In the summer it is converted into a Rink Bar with nightly drink specials, along with delicious bar bites and BBQ specials, make for a fun-filled night out.

 

 

Inside the GE lobby.

Stunning, large mural by the Spanish Catalan artist Josep Maria Sert, titled American Progress, depicting a vast allegorical scene of men constructing modern America. It contains the figures of Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it is wrapped around the west wall of the Grand Lobby at 30 Rock.

The lobby's original mural, designed and painted by Diego Rivera and depicting Lenin as a worker’s leader, was too controversial and replaced.

 

The mosaic mural in the loggia above the entrance at 1250 Avenue of the Americas was designed in 1932 by Barry Faulkner.

 It is 79 feet long and 14 feet high. Over 1 million pieces of mosaic and over 250 colors were set for the mural.

The mosaic is named: Intelligence awakening Mankind.

On the right: Physics, Biology and Sports fly towards the winged figure of Science in the middle. Ahead of Science flies Philosophy, Hygiene and Publicity. All fly towards the figures of a man and woman. Their messages are broadcast on radio waves

 

 

 'Thought' is the central figure. The other two figures are messengers. The male figure represents writing, and the female represents the spoken word. All the figures are bound together by a scarf. Red and gold radio waves surround them and disseminate their message.

The male and female characters, on fire and falling into it, represent Ignorance and Cruelty. The standing male and female figures represent mankind, blindfolded (only the female is) and protected from its enemies. They welcome Art, and Thought.

 

 

Atlas is a bronze statue in front of Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan, across Fifth Avenue from St. Patrick's Cathedral. The sculpture depicts the Ancient Greek Titan Atlas holding the heavens. It was created by sculptor Lee Lawrie and it was installed in 1937.

 

 

 

The Cathedral of St. Patrick (commonly called St. Patrick's Cathedral) is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States. Located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan, directly across the street from Rockefeller Center and specifically facing the Atlas statue.

 

 

Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city. Its interior was declared a city landmark in 1978.

 

People getting out after the end of a show.  Lots of Tuk Tuks waiting outside for a short stroll of the city.

 

Swarovski store

 

 

Another Trump property.

Louis Vuitton store front.

We walked for over an hour before heading home.  We definitely needed this walk in order to digest our steaks from Peter Luger. 

Next... Day 2 - Morimoto

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