New York
Recent Articles
The Empire State Building Lobby
The Empire State Building’s architectural story begins at street level. Inside its Fifth Avenue entrance, polished marble, decorative metalwork, and strong geometric lines create a lobby designed to introduce visitors to one of New York’s most ambitious skyscrapers. Opened on May 1, 1931, the building reflected an era fascinated by height, speed, and technological progress. […]
Ellis Island
From the water, Ellis Island’s Main Immigration Building presents an imposing façade of red brick, pale stone, arched windows, and towers. Inside, the Registry Room preserves the setting where millions of newcomers waited to learn whether they could enter the United States. Ellis Island opened as a federal immigration station in 1892. After a fire […]
The New York Botanical Garden
We have visited the New York Botanical Garden many times over the years. Each visit offers something different, but we especially enjoy returning when the roses are in bloom in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. Walking among its flowering beds has become one of our favorite ways to experience this remarkable place. Founded in 1891, […]
The Woolworth Building
There is so much to see and do in New York City that sometimes the buildings themselves become the destination. One day Marty and I took a tour of the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway. I had seen its distinctive tower as part of the Manhattan skyline, but walking through its doors revealed a building […]
The Empire State Building
Some buildings become so familiar that we almost stop thinking about the remarkable stories behind them. The Empire State Building is one of those places. We have visited it many times over the years and have gone to the top more than once, but each time I stand at its base and look upward, its […]
Guggenheim Museum
There are museums we visit because of what is hanging on the walls, and then there are museums where the building itself is part of what we have come to experience. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City is certainly one of those places. What makes a visit to the Guggenheim so distinctive […]
Watkins Glen State Park
Although the gorge stretches less than two miles, Watkins Glen State Park contains one of the most extraordinary examples of nature’s ability to shape the landscape over immense periods of time. Established as New York’s first state park in 1906, Watkins Glen had already become a popular destination decades earlier. Visitors arrived by train, stagecoach, and […]
The Corning Museum of Glass
During our camping trip in upstate New York, we visited the Corning Museum of Glass, and once again found ourselves amazed by how one material can tell the story of human civilization. Founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works to celebrate the company’s centennial, the Corning Museum of Glass has grown into the world’s premier museum […]
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been part of many of our visits to New York City over the years. Sometimes we have gone for a particular exhibition we wanted to see, while other visits have simply been opportunities to wander through the galleries and see where they would take us. With a museum as […]
Mickey Mantle
One Father’s Day, I surprised Marty with a tour of the new Yankee Stadium. Having grown up in New York, he had spent many afternoons in the original Yankee Stadium cheering on his beloved Yankees. While he wasn’t convinced that touring the new stadium would be the same experience, he agreed to give it a […]
Henry Clay Frick House & Museum
A special place to visit in New York City is The Frick Collection. Like the Morgan Library, it reflects the vision of one of America’s great industrialists, Henry Clay Frick. Unlike many museums that were built to display art, this was Frick’s home. Completed in 1914, the mansion on Fifth Avenue was designed as both […]
The Morgan Library and Museum
One of our favorite places to visit in New York City is the Morgan Library & Museum. Originally built as the private library of financier J. Pierpont Morgan between 1902 and 1906, it reflects both his extraordinary wealth and his passion for collecting some of the world’s greatest books, manuscripts, artwork, and historical treasures. The […]
