Cinco de Mayo

Just another pretty tree in the park

Morning temperature: 50 degrees
Morning steps: 6386

Morning Walk #144

Washington Square Park: A Tribute to the victims of hate crimes

37 degrees & 53% humidity

A seafood restaurant called Flex Mussels

A few doors down is a restaurant featuring Boozy Brunch

A father and young daughter having a conversation that the father clearly does not understand but he repeats the sounds she is saying and she acknowledges that he has it right

A dogwalkers club meets in the park...the dogs obviously bored listening to the conversations

Steps: 7416

Morning Walk #138 - That's Cold!

because everywhere else unnecessary noise is welcomed!

28 degrees & 51% humidity

A bright, crisp cold day.

I froze my face again. It's not even winter yet! If I'm going to develop what feels like an ice cream headache...I should, at least, get the ice cream first!

The dogs were all bundled up in their sweaters and coats. Some even had several layers...but I worry about their feet on the cold sidewalks.

Parks employees also have their winter outfits on.

Steps: 6680


Morning Walk #135 - TGIF

The fountain isn't usually on in the morning but maybe they wanted to keep the pipes from freezing during the cold temperatures of the night.

41 degrees (feels like 35) and 63% humidity

A man in a gray suit. He had a knitted gray and white hat on against the cold but no coat.

Two women with a dog...discussing that many people start conversations based on the dog. One woman said she used to push a stroller with twins but she always gets more conversation with the dogs than the twin babies.

Lots of morning people happy to make it to Friday!

Steps: 8720

Morning Walk #125 - Frozen Face

Apparently "Rebirth is Possible" - the benches told me so.

41 degrees (feels like 38) and 64% humidity

I was dressed warmly but it doesn't take long to freeze the face

The sign in the park said "You are being photographed" - apparently for a project called "Love is Dead."

Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square Park - built in memory of Adoniram Judson said to be the first missionary sent from North America. He spent nearly 40 years in Burma from around 1817. He must have been some kind of a guy. There are at least 36 U.S. churches named after him as well as a university in Illinois, a town in Arkansas, several other buildings, several churches and buildings in Burma and a World War II ship.

A father and 2 children each on their own scooters zooming through the park

A dog in his little sweater with a jack-o-lantern knitted into it

Sparrows hopping around on the marble tables

A few red maple leaves on the asphalt

Steps: 8881

The Magic that is NYC

Sunday afternoon

Washington Square Park

The fountain

A grand piano

A concert

Morning Walk #118 - Sleeping in the Park

58 degrees and 80% humidity

A man in plaid pajamas walking his dog

The Church of the Ascension built 1840 - 41. It was the site of the wedding of President John Tyler to his second wife, Julia Gardiner in 1844. As you'll recall, Tyler was the first Vice-President to become President due to the death of the elected President. He was also the first President to marry while in office but not sure why they chose to marry in New York City. The courtship was a little odd. Julia, her sister, and her father joined Tyler on a Presidential excursion on the Princeton, a new steam frigate where a naval gun exploded - killing Julia's father. The President consoled the bereft daughter right into marriage. But, in spite of the 30 year difference in their ages, they were apparently happy till death did them part.

Three teen girls meet on a corner...2 dressed in skinny jeans and boots. The jean clad girls were checking out the Halloween patterned boxers "fashionably" peeking out of the waistband of the 3rd girl's sloppy gray sweatpants

Lots of big dogs walking the park this morning and lots of trash around

A man walks by with his daughter strapped to his chest so that she can see what he sees. Though non-verbal, she happily babbles all the way.

A young man squats against a tree to read his book in spite of many empty benches available to him

The Church of St. Joseph built in 1833. Although apparently the 6th Roman Catholic parish in New York City, a plaque proclaims the edifice to be the oldest in the city. An early pastor of the church was Father John McCloskey who became Bishop of New York, Archbishop and the first U.S. Cardinal (1875).

Film shoot: Moonquake

Steps: 6491

Morning Walk #112 - Washington Square Park

56 degrees and 61% humidity

Feeling very fall-ish (meaning great temperatures!)

Brownstones decorated for Halloween can look pretty creepy with faux spider webs and plastic tombstones, skulls and bones

A little bit of leaf color in Washington Square Park

Fur flying while a guy grooms a dog on a table in the park

Fewer people sitting in the park...due to cooler temperatures(?)

Businesses seem to be closing. Every block has a vacancy.

But construction keeps moving on

ConEd emergency workers in the West Village

Kids swarming the deli on their way to school

Steps: 6023

Morning Walk #102 - Washington Square Park

48 degrees and 73% humidity

A crisp morning

A man painting mysterious lines and numbers in fluorescent orange for an upcoming construction project

Bigelow Pharmacy celebrating 175 years

An older woman and younger man circling the park numerous times. I've seen her before with different young men. I now imagine that she's an NYU guidance counselor taking early morning appointments only if the students will walk with her.

The 1839 Georgian brownstone formerly occupied by John Phillips Sousa at 80 Washington Place (apparently now completely modern inside)

Coffee shops seemingly on every block and every one doing excellent business

Steps: 6397

Morning Walk #98 - Washington Square & Union Square

53 degrees, 63% humidity and sunny

Feels like Fall and I like it

People walking in trances

Two very young girls holding hands while following their elderly grandfather who was leaning heavily on his cane

Three employees waiting impatiently for security to let them into the New School

Jackson Diner: Indian Cuisine

A squinting woman walking into the sun...sunglasses perched on top of her head

Lots of women in scrubs

Dropping off compost and shopping at the GreenMarket

At a store selling clothes for young men:

"Please take your hats and glasses off and check your bags at the counter.

Please be advised that you are being recorded at the moment of your entry.

No pets or roller blades"

Steps: 9539

Morning Walk #92

Laura Lobdell's tiny jewelry store

69 degrees & 83% humidity. Foggy & gray.

A streetcleaner honks at pedestrians

A little girl chasing pigeons in the park

A man does a quick change on his little girl's stroller so she can face forward

Tourists taking photos of each other in the park

Leafblowers breaking the morning semi-silence

A friendly park worker greeting old friends and new

A mother and son jumping rope...apparently on their way to school

Today is primary day in NYC. On my way home the campaigners were out in force! Tomorrow some people are going to be able to sleep in...hopes dashed...for now.

Steps: 7675

Morning Walk #82 - Washingtom Square Park

73 degrees, 78% humidity & very gray

Early morning surveyors on the streets of the Village

Walking the 1860-ish movie set type residential streets again

Very dark over the park

A woman jumping rope

A 20-something man and a 50-something woman walking around and around the park and having intense discussions

An older Indian woman in her sari also walking around and around the park

I walk to and from instead of around and around

A gathering of people at the fountain by the Arch

Most are wearing white t-shirts that say NYU Class of 2017...the adventures they will have...

Feeling like the end of summer

The gray clouds drift away and tiny bits of blue sky peek through

Steps: 7547

Morning Walk #59 - West Village

Surprise!  It's 66 degrees, gray and 53% humidity!

Still 84 degrees in my apartment...

Lots of bikes parked outside the fitness center

The Second Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, 1805 - 1829, on West 11th Street.  I've seen the Third Cemetery but not this tiny triangular one.  Apparently it was bigger until some graves were moved uptown to make way for the continuance of 11th Street.

The fountain and sprinklers are running in Washington Square Park

A bust of Alexander Lyman Holley (1832 - 1882) says "In Honor of Alexander Lyman Holley Foremost Among Those Whose Genius and Energy Established in America and Improved Throughout the World The Manufacture of Bessemer Steel - This Memorial is Erected by Engineers of Two Hemispheres."

Two questions:  Why is this Brooklyn resident immortalized in this particular location in Washington Square Park?  And how many of the engineers of 2 hemispheres decided on and/or erected this monument?

It still amazes me that whole neighborhoods of the West Village could be used as sets of movies and television shows set in the 1830's to the 1880's just by removing the cars parked on the streets.

Speaking of television, I walked by a recent shoot for the show "Elementary"

Walked past 75 1/2 Bedford Street, said to be the smallest house in NYC at 9 feet 6 inches wide.  It was home to Edna St. Vincent Millay from 1923 - 1924 and later to Margaret Mead.

Who would have guessed that the Maine-born Millay would be named in part after St. Vincent's Hospital where her uncle's life was saved shortly before her birth.  Unfortunately St. Vincent's Hospital's life was recently extinguished and new construction marks the spot.

This is my 100th post...not so long in the blogworld...but still hard to believe I've kept at it this long.

Steps: 7825

Morning Walk #38 - West Village

75 degrees...same ol'....

It feels slightly cooler than my apartment

The quiet streets with 1800's brownstones look like movie sets

The Portsmouth built in 1888

Jefferson Market Library, a Victorian Gothic building constructed 1875 - 1877, was originally a courthouse.  Harry K. Thaw was tried here for the murder of Stanford White (a trial immortalized in E. L. Doctorow's "Ragtime".)  It became a women's court in the late 1920's.  Mae West was tried here on obscenity charges related to her Broadway show "Sex".

I was not heading for Washington Square park but those tangled streets got me again

Several people are sleeping on the lawn. They don't look like the homeless...maybe they escaped hot apartments though a rainstorm last night could not have left the ground dry

A park employee on a riding mower starts circling the lawn...no one moves at first though the noise is enough to wake the dead.  Eventually 2 people move a little east but that will only give them another half hour before the mower approaches

The scent of newly mown grass evokes childhood memories...till I realize my eyes and face are not appreciating the dust and grass bits rising in a light cloud

The Northern Dispensary (1831) sits vacant after years of treating patients including Edgar Allen Poe and Jenny Lind

The Stonewall Inn (originally built as stables in 1843 - 1846) was the site of the Stonewall Riots in 1969 which led to the gay liberation movement

Another stop at Abingdon Square Park which was well populated until everyone got up and left.  Was it me?

Do you remember when people walking down the sidewalks talking aloud to themselves were thought to be mentally ill?  Now it's just people talking on cellphones...which may be a different type of mental illness...

Steps: 7526

Morning Walk #36 - Washington Square Park

75 degrees, hazy & muggy

Construction workers lined up at the breakfast food truck

Last Monday everyone seemed perky and ready for the week - not so today - people are dragging and wilted

New summer hours posted at the custom furniture shop: 11am to 6pm (normally Noon to 7pm)

Fine men's clothing store with old event advertising in the windows. Too bad that interesting concert was in 2009

Missed the Sunday sermon at 1st Presbyterian, "There's Nothing Really"

Man with an egg sandwich in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other...switching hands to push a baby carriage

Then a man and stroller in classic male form...walking alongside the stroller pushing with one hand

Noticing that Washington Square Park is as much concrete as grass

Dogs controlling their owners

Several people performing entire workouts (and brutal ones at that) in the park

A pedestrian and cab driver exchanging menacing hand motions

A quick compost dump at the GreenMarket

Avoiding subway stops with lines of people exiting on their way to work

Steps: 7915

Morning Walk #29 - East Village

Keeping dry under the bench

68 degrees and a little sprinkly

People seemed to be prepared for cooler weather - more than necessary

Shriveled eggplants at the corner deli

The Expectations & Innovations Beauty Salon

When I saw the sign for Groom-O-Rama I had visions of tuxes and Groomzillas but it turned out to be a dog grooming business

As the rain starts falling more heavily, I find a dry bench under a tree in Washington Square Park but soon I am checking email under my umbrella on that bench

Another sign says Grosvenor Private Boarding Stable.  Although the stable was probably built during the Civil War it was a residence by the 1880's.  More recently it was home to Edward Albee and later Jerry Herman.

The Cooper Union built in 1859 offered free education until this year.  It hosted Abraham Lincoln in 1860 for his speech which ultimately landed him a nomination for the presidential race.

Gritty East Village neighborhoods with lots of old architecture apparently left alone rather than replaced with newer buildings

Sing Sing Karaoke is a good name but reminds me of the prison

The building with stone carved letters proclaiming Deutsch Amerikanische Schuetzen Gesellschaft (1889) was more interesting before I discovered that it means the German American Shooting Society

The notorious 10.5 acre Tompkins Square Park was new to me. A salt meadow in the early years it was eventually filled in and surrounded by an iron fence in 1835. Its first episode of violence occurred in 1857 when a protest of unemployed immigrants was broken up by police. The Draft Riots followed in 1863. The year 1874 marked the Tompkins Square Riots followed by the 1877 conflict when National Guardsmen broke up Communist speeches.  It remained a popular gathering place for labor groups. By the 1980's the park was occupied by the homeless and drug dealers.  Another riot broke out in 1988 when police moved in to clear the park of those living there. The homeless may have wished they had left then and missed the soup served in 1989 by The Butcher of Tompkins Square who made the soup from his victim's body.  But hey...the park is a real nice place now!

The park is on the edge of the Dry Dock neighborhood known for shipbuilding before the Civil War.

I make it all the way to the East River today

A building marked with the carved letters "Free Public Baths of the City of New York" leads to the discovery that in 1896 there was an average of one bathtub to 79 families on the lower East Side.  In 1905 the building opened with 94 rainbaths (showers) - 67 for men - and 7 bathtubs.  The baths closed in the late '50's and the building has been occupied by somewhat less interesting tenants since then.

My first glimpse of the famous Veniero Pasticceria (1894)

The return walk is spent mostly under my umbrella

Steps:  14,220

Morning Walk #22 - West Village & Washington Square Park

57 degrees, sunny & breezy

Either people didn't check the weather reports or they dressed for the afternoon temps

Women shivering in spaghetti strap dresses, tank tops and shorts

Reading names of businesses:  Mark Twain Garage Corp, Charlie Mom Chinese Cuisine, Think Pink Nails, Bombalulu's

The Go Burger food truck preparing for the day

The "Original" Joe the Plumber truck

Down to the narrow streets of Minetta Lane & MacDougal

Lucky 777 Chili, Saigon Shack, Creperie, Ninestreet Bubble Tea, Artichoke Pizza, Off the Wagon Bar & Grill, The Grisly Pear

Thunder Jackson's Urban Roadhouse, The Back Fence, The Red Lion, The Malt House, Wicked Willy's

Washington Square Park:  a colorful woman with purple hair, royal blue dress, and lime green purse

A saxophonist at the foot of the Garibaldi statue

A man wading in the fountain and filling a baggie with coins

Insomnia Cookies - "Warm cookies delivered late night"

School crossing guards wearing blue surgical masks at their posts near construction sites

Steps:  7740

Morning Walk #9 - West Village & Washington Square Park

Streetcleaner vehicles out in force

Seems like there is big construction every other block

Seems like there is a park every other block

Signs in parks: do not feed the pigeons, no skateboarding, no swimming in the fountains

A cop at an ATM

A man with a baby strapped to his chest, a dog leash in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other

A woman in a long flowered skirt with a very expanded purple suitcase

Another multi-tasking man, brown bag in hand, with a baby girl in a stroller and 2 dogs

Man riding lawnmower, no hands on the steering wheel...too busy texting

A green parks van emblazoned with "Mr. Playground"...is it wrong that my first thought was that sounds like a setup for child molestation?

A man walks out of his apartment building with a briefcase in one hand, a newspaper under one arm and a huge load of dry cleaning in the other arm.  Based on the checked sportcoat he was wearing I think he waited too long to get to the dry cleaners!

A man in a business suit and a woman in a hoodie kissing while her dog drops a load on the sidewalk

Steps: 7815