Day 112: Conservatory Garden

This is an example of how plans don’t always work out, but sometimes you find something just as good, or even better. 

I’m sure there’s an expression for that, but I can’t recall what it is right now. 

I set out this afternoon to pay a visit to El Museo del Barrio. Unfortunately, I forgot to check the hours. Turns out, the museum is closed on Tuesdays. I’ll go there soon. Stay tuned (I know, you’re all on the edges of your respective seats). 

Nearly across the street, however, at 5th Ave. and 105th Street, I spotted this:

This is the entrance to Conservatory Garden, a lovely, manicured formal garden toward the northeast end of Central Park. I grew up in New York, not far from Central Park, and I spent some time there, but in a somewhat limited area (largely The Great Lawn and the Reservoir). Add in the fact that I lived in other places for 14 years, and the fact that it’s a big ass park, and you can understand how I not only had never been to Conservatory Garden, I’d never heard of it. 

Happening upon the garden though was a lovely surprise. I love spring. Actual spring. Those few, fleeting weeks when the post-winter thaw is over and when we’re not oppressed by the heat of summer yet. There are flowers and things are green. I daresay, friends, I think we are finally in the springtime. 

 

 

Day 109: Springtime in the Park(s)

I had a plan. I was going to take the A train (h/t Duke Ellington) to Sugar Hill, an historic neighborhood in Harlem. And indeed, Mr. Ellington did reside there. The neighborhood took its name during the Harlem Renaissance, named for the “sweet life” experienced by prominent African Americans. And yes, the Sugar Hill Gang (shout out, prom song) is named for the neighborhood. 

Getting there: Kind of a pain (the Upper East Side has its drawbacks). I took the 6 to the E and then to the A, going down to go up, and finally arrived at West 145th Street. First thing I noticed is that Sugar Hill is a lot less bustling and overcrowded seeming than some other neighborhoods. I walked along a street called Convent Avenue, aptly named for the number of churches present. 

I was walking along, looking at the row houses, when I spotted the James Bailey (yes, as in Barnum & Bailey) House a block away on St. Nicholas Place. 

The Romanesque Revival style mansion is a New York City Landmark and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Apparently, there are also beautiful Tiffany stained glass windows, but I didn’t get to see any of those. 

In St. Nicholas Park, a pre-Easter celebration was taking place. An (incredibly creepy looking) Easter Bunny was present, as was a DJ. For the record, watching little kids who are wearing bunny ears and dancing to Gangnam Style (still love that video) is hilarious. Walking along back toward the train (or so was the plan), I spotted some Gothic looking architecture above me and went to explore. 

As it turns out, I was seeing the campus of the City College of New York, which is beautiful. Honestly, I had no idea. The CUNY college with which I’m most familiar is Hunter, and trust me, that’s nothing to look at. The Neo-Gothic buildings of City College were largely designed by George Browne Post, an architect of the Beaux-Arts tradition who also designed the New York Stock Exchange. To my amusement, he also designed a home in Newport, Rhode Island, called “Chateau-Nooga,” for the president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. 

After walking around the 35-acre campus, I planned to get the train at 125th, but I felt like walking a little more, so I figured I’d get on a 116th. Then, I happened upon Morningside Park. I took a class at nearby Columbia University when I was in high school, but I’d never actually seen the park, so… why not? 

It was such a gorgeous Spring day, perfect for walking outside. It seems (please, please, please) that the cold is finally gone. I just hope it stays pleasantly warm for a while before it becomes unbearably hot. The park was filled with all these lovely yellow and white daffodils. People who think New York is all just dirty and pushy and rude (which, yes, a lot of it is) need to see places like this. 

Morningside Park ends at 110th Street, and a few blocks east, I came upon Central Park West, and the northern section of Central Park. At that point in time, I’d figured out that I was just going to be walking the rest of the way home (ballpark somewhere between one and two miles). 

I might have mentioned at some point that I have an abominable sense of direction, so I had to be careful to make sure I was heading the right way, but thanks to the iPhone compass, I kept my bearings and found myself taking a detour through North Woods. Honestly, does this look like it’s in the middle of Manhattan?

My only regret is not having the right shoes. And not just because my feet were hurting me (these boots were not made for walking, at least not walking 100 blocks, give or take), but because I really would have liked to have been able to traverse the woods in a more agile fashion.

Past the North Lawn, where the crowds were out, playing baseball, playing soccer, reading, sunning, and eventually toward 5th Avenue, and then home. 

Remember how I started this post by saying I had a plan? I had. I was just going to spend an hour or so in Sugar Hill, see some pretty buildings, check out a new neighborhood. I think my day turned out a lot better than planned. 

 

 When I took on this project, one of my goals was to cultivate a greater sense of openness and adventure. This is sense I definitely feel when I’m away from home, but sometimes, I let myself explore and observe my own backyard. Today was one of those days.