Journal #3- Eastside, NY

It was very nice weather in the morning.  It was even better when we started our tour in the central park by the reservoir.  I love green parks.  The Central Park itself was peaceful and relaxing to beggin with.  When I saw the Reservoir in the Park, I really loved the beautiful skyline views across the water.  The Reservoir sits in the middle of Central Park, was once part of the Croton system, supplying drinking water to the city from 1862 to 1993 (BG 296).  As we continue walking, we went through a Conservatory Garden right in front of the El Museo building.  The six-acre garden was built as a Works Progress Administrtion project to provide employment during Depression (BG 297).  We went through the north part of the garden.  It's formal and French style.  The center is a fountain with bronze Three Maidens Dancing (BG 297). 

We visited the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Upper Eastside of Manhattan.  This world's remarkable Modernist building is Frank Lloyed Wright's only master piece in the city (BG 367).  It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and Contemporary art.  lso features special exhibitions throughout the year. From the street, the building looks like a white ribbon curled into a cylindrical stack. Its appearance is in sharp contrast to the more typically boxy Manhattan buildings that surround it.  Internally, the viewing gallery forms a gentle helical spiral from the main level up to the top of the building. The top of the building is a beautiful skylight.  Paintings are displayed along the walls of the spiral.  I don't understand most of the displayed artwork, but I was thrilled to see such a modern architecture in front of my eyes.  Guggenheim Museum is part of the Museum Mile on 5th Avenue between 82nd and 105th Street.  The other museums are the Museum of the City of New York, the Jewish Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and more.  The annual Museum Mile Festival traditionally takes place on the second Tuesday in June from 6-9 PM here.  It was established in 1979 to increase public awareness of its member institutions and promote public support of the arts in New York City (http://www.museummilefestival.org/).  It is the same day we visited the place.  Too bad we could not go back to join the festival.  We should have scheduled our class tour later today so we could havemade it. 

Compare to the Guggenheim, the Museum of the City of New York feels so much closer to me.  I can relate myself to the displayed pictures in the Museum.  It is located at the northern end of the Museum Mile, between 103rd and 104th Streets.  The museum's collections include paintings, drawings, furniture, and photographs featuring New York City and its residents.  The Stettheimer Dollhouse exhibition is most impressive part of the museum.  The tiny copies of the paintings and sculptures made by Stettheimer's artist friends for the dollhouse looked so close to reality except their miniature size.  It is really amazing art work.

Our day ended with walking through the Upper Eastside, touring the historial and modern buildings of NYC.  Too bad I fell behind the goup and did not get chance to go inside the deco Waldorf Astoria Hotel.