Completed in 1909, and located on Madison Ave, NYC, the Metropolitan Life Tower was the tallest building in the world until 1913. Elements of a few of its intriguing designs were photographed by me a few years ago from nearby Madison Park. My son Steve and I, with several hundred people, were enjoying a wonderful concert there with singer/songwriter Lucy Kaplanski …until the in-ground watering sprinklers popped up and activated, in some cases under people’s blankets.
Thanks for viewing and comments are always welcome. M 🙂
At forty-two stories, 462′ (141 m,) the Smith Tower was the tallest building in Seattle for fifty-five years, 1914 to 1969. On a vacation some years ago, we enjoyed the history of that building and climbing to the observation level near the top.
Most of the country, and particularily cities like New York, continue in a state of shut-down due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Today, a most welcome and meaningful show of support was heralded simultaneously by the Navy’s Blue Angels, and Air Force’s Thunderbirds, seen below flying from just south of the George Washington Bridge, to The Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan. I joined about 30, mostly masked onlookers atop a basalt outcropping near Goffle Road, Hawthorn, NJ, to witness the event some 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) distant from Manhattan. Close-ups are seen through ground haze, and a 600mm lens.
Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome, and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂
Lucy Kaplansky, a Greenwich Village honed musician and singer-songwriter with pitch perfect vocals and acoustic guitar mastery, has impressed us during a number of local performances over the years. This past Saturday, as snow fell on the city and suburbs, my city savvy son and I made the trek, first by car in N.W. Bergen County, NJ, to the local train station. The end of the line is Hoboken, just steps away from the ferry terminal where we waited a few minutes for the frigid ride across the Hudson River to the “Battery” terminal (WTC area.) A cold half mile walk thru accumulating snow and partly along the water front, brought us to the pleasantly impressive “City Vineyard” restaurant on Pier 26.
Preceded by an excellent dinner, Lucy would perform flawlessly with her music and stories, right there on the Hudson River, and practically in the shadow of One World Trade Center.
This is how we got there…
The last image above is through the window next to our high top table while watching the show, – overlooking the summer deck and Jersey City beyond.
City Vineyard is marked near the upper right on the map above.
After the show, with my son leading the way, we would take a cab uptown to Penn Station, where the trains would bring us back under the river and eventually to the car (via Secaucus Jct.) and the final slippery road home.
Note that these are i-phone images.
Thanks for viewing and comments are always welcome. M 🙂
Family Vacation, 32 years ago. American Airlines 747 from NYC’s Kennedy Airport to LAX. After the image below, is the story of “Early A.M. in L.A. on 11/10/87”
Images: Above: Giant Swiss Army Knive at Museum of Contempoary Art, Downtown L.A. – and L.A. as seen from Griffith Observatory, 11/11/87 with City Hall to left – 5.6 miles (9 km) distant. Above, the iconic L.A. City Hall, known at the time as “The Dragnet Building.”
Twelve hours after landing, I would be exploring Los Angeles by foot before the morning’s rush hour, while the family slept off jet-lag in the Holiday Inn about a mile away. An awesome two hour adventure into an “architectually diverse” downtown, with parks and plazas, and… WHAT??? – a Giant Swiss Army Knife??? Yes indeed!
And, not far away, …Swinging Cars!hi
Years later, and of course living 3000 miles away, I wondered exactly where these two photos were taken. I searched maps, and photos where I could, without success – until now. Thanks to the remarkable 3D satellite image and orientation tools available on most any smart phone and/or computer, I “flew” between the buildings and first found the cars: W. Fourth street, and S. Grand Ave. See it below?
The Swiss Army knife was a lot harder. In fact, it’s not there anymore. BUT, by looking at the photo I took in 1987, and specifically for the glass pyramid in its background, I zoomed way in on the “Tom Tom” 3D map, and searched until noticing the glass pyramid structure. Below is from today’s mapping app, zoomed in showing that same glass pyramid. A “new” contempoary display is in the exact place where the knife was 32 years ago.
Above: The Plaza at The Museum of Contemporary Art, on S. Grand Street, L.A. (From Tom Tom Maps, Apple I-Pad)
Below, another photo of downtown Los Angeles on that beautiful morning.
Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome, and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂
Thanks for viewing and comments are always welcome. M 🙂
