Astoria

There is a lot of geography covered  in this post.  It can be covered by foot- but it is a lot of walking.  Numbers 1-3 are near the Steinway Street subway stop on the M and R trains.  It is also near the 36 Street subway station  on the N and W lines.  Numbers  4, 5 ,6 are right near the 30th Avenue station on the M and R line.  Numbers 7-10 are near the waterfront.  There is a ferry stop a 5 minute walk north of Socrates Park that returns to Manhattan.  The Q103 goes up Vernon Boulevard and stops at 21 Street and Queensbridge for the F train.   Any Queens resident will tell you that MTA service is variable and one should check that the line is actually running and the station is open before beginning the trip. (Or not - the stations are not that far from each other so if one is closed the next one is probably only a few blocks away).

1. Museum of the Moving Image  -http://www.movingimage.us/  Astoria was the original home of the film industry in the United States.  The Museum of the Moving Image located next to the Kaufman Astoria Studios has several floors of exhibits dedicated to many different facets of the Image Industry.  The Muppets exhibit is always a big attraction.  Many exhibits are hands on and popular with all ages.

2.Astoria Kaufman Studios. http://www.kaufmanastoria.com/   Originally this studio was home to Paramount Studios.  The Marx Brothers made films here.

3. Brookyn Grange-  https://www.brooklyngrangefarm.com/markets/This is an urban rooftop farm- with killer views of the skyline.  I think the only way you can really get to see it is to visit the Farmer’s Market on Saturday.  Otherwise check the website

4.Euromarket:   30-42 31 Street This old world grocery store is filled with goodies.

5.Taiwan Union Christian Church-This street  ( 31 Street  between 30 Drive and 30 Avenue)  is a good example of what happens to a street when zoning and neighborhood preservation is  something that happens elsewhere.  Mixed in the street are houses from the Old Astoria Village as well as new apartment buildings.  The Taiwan Union Christian Church is in a building originally built for the Dutch Reform Congregation at the time of the Civil War.

6.Athens Square Park-  https://www.athenssquarepark.org/

Astoria was once known for its large Greek community.  This neighborhood park with its statues of Greek philosophers  and mini amphitheater is a celebration of the communities heritage.  

7.Queens Library at Astoria 14-01 Astoria Boulevard .  This branch is one of the few remaining Carnegie Libraries in New York City.  This building built in 1904 was built with money from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, which gave grants to build libraries all over the country.

8.Welling Court Mural Project:  Scattered around a series of mostly auto repair shops is a street mural display to rival anything Brooklyn has to offer.  https://wellingcourtmuralproject.com/

9.Noguchi Museum:  http://www.noguchi.org/museum/historyThe museum was designed and  founded by the artist Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi was an American artist of Japanese descent.  He was famous for his sculptures and set designs in the  mid 20^th century

10. Socrates Sculpture Garden:  http://socratessculpturepark.org/A combination city park and outdoor sculpture garden with spectacular views of Roosevelt Island and Manhattan

         

Skyscrapers of 42 Street- A Janes Walk

The first weekend of May is often  the Jane's Walk weekend.  Volunteers all around the city lead walks  sharing their special area of knowledge.

On Friday, May 4, 2018 I overcame my lethargy and headed to the plaza in front of the United Nations where Eric Nash led a group down 42 Street.  

The story of how the United Nations came to be located at its present site is long and complicated but this was a tour about architecture of skyscrapers.  (all information presented in this entry is directly received from the tour leader- Eric Nash.  I did not verify any of it and any mistakes are more likely due to my bad hearing than inaccuracies of Mr. Nash)

Eric Nash explained that the the United Nations, was the first slab office building constructed in New York City.  Buildings are not supported by their walls, but by their internal structure.  The Secretariat, the building that houses the the offices of the UN is covered with green glass. This building, our leader said, ushered in the age of glass and steel buildings.

We climbed the stairway next to the Isaiah Wall and we were in the full blooming, Tudor City Park.  Tudor City is complex of eleven buildings built in the 1920s.   Grand Central Terminal was built in 1913 and brought the business of the city to midtown.  Somebody had to staff the many offices now located near  42 Street and we were told the small apartments in Tudor City were meant to house secretaries.  They are small apartments with even smaller kitchens.

A leaded window in the lobby of one of the Tudor City Buildings.

We continued westward.   Between Second and Third Avenue is the Daily News Building (It also says WPIX) Designed by Raymond Hood, the building was used for the Superman Movies and there is a giant globe floating in a pit in the marbled lined lobby..  Above the entrance to the main lobby is a frieze that captures New York in the 1930's. Carved into stone is a variety of New Yorkers dressed in the clothes of the era and prepared to perform the jobs of the trades of the era.  Behind them the skyscraper looms like a gothic cathedral with the sun shining behind it.

The next building could be called the Alcoa Building, or the Mobil Building, Located between Third Avenue and Lexington,  I found websites with both names.  It is covered in steel panels with patterns one website describes as "rusticated".  Once the facade might have been aluminum because that;s what Alcoa made.  Anyway it reminded me of the shoeboxes wrapped in tinfoil we stacked in the back of the classrooms in our model cities.

The Chanin Building was the next building. An example of the Art Deco style, the lobby of the building is filled with Art Deco details, dripping chandeliers, elaborated stylized metal mailboxes and geese that grace the doors of the elevators while their occupants ascend.  No photos inside the building, so you have to take my word for it or check it out yourself 

Across from the Chanin Building is the Chrysler Building.  It was the tallest building in the world for eleven months.  The outside of the building has all sorts of references to the automobile.  Look hard and you can see hubcaps and grills, fenders and radiator covers.  The gargoyles attached to the building are in the shape of hood ornaments.  Another member of the tour pointed out that the ceiling of the lobby was the world's largest oil painting.

And then the two hours for the scheduled tour was were up.  We had just reached Grand Central Terminal, but that is a story for a whole other day and nothing was mentioned about it.



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