Monday, August 31, 2009

Another ceiling image from the day the security guard followed me around. I like the way the windows in a building you can't see are reflected, albeit all wobbly, in the windows of the building you can.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Another part of the World Financial Center's ceiling, not in the Palm Court though. A security guard kept following me around while I was shooting this because I guess my trying to find positions to get the odd angles seemed suspicious to him. Or, perhaps he was just really bored.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

This is the ceiling of the atrium in the Palm Court, aka Winter Garden, of the World Financial Center. There are, of course, giant palm trees growing in here, various musical performances are held in it. It was crushed by the debris on 9/11, but thankfully, it was quickly repaired.

Friday, August 28, 2009

These are some of the buildings in Battery Park City with two of World Financial Center towers in the background. As we inch up on the next anniversary of 9/11, as much as I try to stay away from the topic since it still really upsets me, I have a funny feeling we're about to go there.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

More of the Battery Park brickwork walkway. This is where the plane that landed in the Hudson River last winter ended up tethered while they tried figure out how to hoist it on the salvage barge. Those waves mean it was windy, although this spot is usually pretty choppy. Nice there though, a tree filled park, lots of dramatic modern architecture.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Another objet d' waterfront, some lovely lamp posts along the Battery Park walkway. Really quite beautiful there. That white structure in the background is a docking site for water taxis and ferryboats, sort of like a bus station, not all of them are this elaborate, or even covered.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

High tide, most of the time there are old wooden posts poking up out of the water here, I might even have a picture or two of the same spot with them. This walkway curves out into the river just for the fun of it.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Not exactly pretty pictures, I'm not sure what these things are. Definitely supports but this is the only place I've ever seen them, and only when the water is at its lowest level. If you look closely at the top of the bottom image, you can see how they've built the pier above the old posts underneath it. Even the collapsed metal things are built around older wooden posts as well.


Sunday, August 23, 2009

I agree with Patricia's comment on yesterday's post, so tonight we'll go back to collapse and decay, just the way we like it. These are part of the same pier system in Friday's post, something big fell apart there.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

This is what most of the new replacement piers look like, they're built directly above the old decaying posts, somewhere I have a picture of that too. These are about 20 yards from the ones I posted yesterday, that section is the most run down. Maybe because the heliport is there and the gallery section of Chelsea comes to a screeching halt as well.

Friday, August 21, 2009

More posts, obviously these are old and the pier's collapsed. Russell brought up an interesting question about how these got put in to begin with. Kind of like, how in the heck do they build underwater tunnels without them flooding. I have always wondered about that one. But the reason they don't yank them out is ecological. There is so much oil and fuel from boats which have docked at these old piers, that pulling them out would stir all that stuff up and pollute the river worse than it is. So they just build over them. I'll show you new posts tomorrow.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

More posts for the post. I can't get enough of them. They almost seem to be alive, what with the creaky singing, and all the algae and other wild life, birds in particular, that exist on and among them. Tonight I saw ducks sitting on a group of these, made me realize I haven't seen geese lately. I hope it's because they've flown away instead of poison.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Back to the waterfront. And the Houston Street pier, my favorite, in all it decayed glory. Don't think they'll clean it up anytime soon since it's in use most of the time. These posts make the most intriguing noise as they rock with the waves. Almost whale-like, and far enough out in the river and away from the West Side Highway din to really be heard.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

So back to the Chelsea gallery district. I showed you this building a few months ago before they finished surfacing it. Very shiny, I must say, and I love the little construction workers on the roof. Gives you good idea about how big it is. Might be an interesting place to live, surely more private than all the windows next door. I'd be tempted to jump.

Monday, August 17, 2009

And to cap off your High Line tour, because I love these chimneys so much, one last look at the south side of Westbeth. The chimneys are actually part of another, much older, I believe, building. The shot of yesterday's chopped off bridge work was taken just below those trees.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

And this would be the hacked off bridge work on the southern end of what's left of the High Line at the Westbeth terminal. I suggest you click on it to get a better look at the details. It's just sawed off. With graffiti and weeds growing around the sheet metal they used to seal it up. It will be interesting to see if anything is done to this section of it, they're working on the Chelsea part of it now, if there's any funding.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Here we go, back to earth, at the 12th Street exit. Into the heart of the Meatpacking District. Plenty of places to spend money here, it's said to have the best steaks in town. I've heard that before. So, have I been watching too much Mad Men from Netflix, and I'm not sure I like the show, or does this guy in the suit look familiar from someplace else?

Friday, August 14, 2009

So go ahead, try to tell me that isn't a gorgeous building. And the one behind it with its patchwork windows is almost done. We can't leave the High Line without one last look at the Geary since this is the only place you can see it from this angle. We'll be back, perhaps for a nice dramatic sunset, but now it's time to get our feet back on the ground.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

I was actually thinking about skipping this image, I'm not crazy about the building or its cock-eyed angles, but this IS a tour of the High Line and it IS the big hotel landmarky terminus of the whole rigamarole, so it's in. It does give you an idea of the size of the thing. That big yellow building once had the bridge running through but it's now blocked off. Beyond that is the newer, darker, yellow building, and then Westbeth.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


Still up on the High Line, it's so much wider than it appears from the street. Cell phones, messenger bags, and baby carriages; accessories of the post-modern New Yorker. Probably the same in your city. They are mostly likely tourists anyway, except for the man in the red shirt, his outfit says Greenwich Village. His haircut indicates the West Side.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

And least we forget the High Line is a network of bridges, here's a shot of it crossing 10th Avenue a few times. Off in the distance is the Statue of Liberty. Can you see her torch sticking up in front of Staten Island?

Monday, August 10, 2009

Moving on. In case one forgets the High Line was once an overhead train track bridge, there are many pockets of evidence left behind to remind us. There are signs along the paths requesting we stay off the gravel since the landscapers are trying to encourage plants to grow there. And as pretty as it is now, in the fall it will be really gorgeous.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

I suffered from 9/11 PTS, and yesterday's accident has stirred it back up. So forgive me while I process.
These are not my pictures, obviously, I got them off the NY Times website, but the bottom shot is my route downtown seen from New Jersey. I've taken quite a few photos from the hot blue patch in the left side of the image. The tan building on the right is Westbeth, which was featured in my earliest High Line tour, and with be featured again in this one as soon as we resume. The splashing and smoke are self-explanatory.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

I hadn't planned to use this image taken on my High Line walk, but after today's terrible helicopter/plane accident, I wanted to post it since I believe this is the spot. The gallery is only two blocks from the river so when the fourth cop car screeched by our door, I went out to investigate. I could smell smoke but I didn't get very far, there were emergency vehicles coming from all directions, it wasn't safe to be on the street. So, nine dead, including a child. May they all rest in peace.

Friday, August 7, 2009

And just because some what can be seen on the High Line is not exactly beautiful, it is lovely in all the same. Look at those pink bricks, you know I love bricks, The High Line is a brick lover paradise. The weather was dismal the evening I took these, but look how amazing that flower is. I suppose they'd have been better photos with one of my usual dramatic sunsets, but I love these anyway.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Not all of what can be seen walking around on the High Line is beautiful, at one point of it you can look into the windows of tenement apartments. Close enough to see the magazines on the coffee table. A lot of money was spent on the High Line, but not enough to make the neighbors clean up. I love the mess in the top photo, it's so belligerent. Especially the old TV and the Statue of Liberty.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I'm back, what a relief, It's odd how important blogging has become for me. Anyway, here we are back on the High Line, with the lovely wildflower gardens and the sun starting to set on the buildings and rooftops to the east. I walked by it tonight and it was a mob scene.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Oops, tried to continue our High Line tour, but my phone and internet aren't working tonight. Luckily I live in Manhattan and there's an Apple Store opened until something ridiculous like midnight. So here I am reading my gmail and checking in with you. Hopefully this will be resolved tomorrow, I can't italicize this, much less play Spider Solitaire.

Monday, August 3, 2009

At 14th Street, the High Line passes through a building that is being massively renovated. For some reason, all the tarps are lavender and blue so it's a little like being inside a club or something. It even looks purple from the outside. It'll be interesting to see what this ends up like. I've noticed I've lost another follower, but I can't figure out who.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

One of the things that makes the High Line so appealing is how you get to see familiar sights from a new perspective.
And while the view is more or less the same as looking out a third story window, you're outside with a wide open sky surrounded by beautiful wild flower gardens. The top shot is a block above the 10th Avenue viewing center, the bottom one is a block north of that.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Not my favorite photos, not crazy for the people walking around in the shot, but believe me, this is empty compared to the first time I was up here. The glassed in viewing center over 10th Avenue in the bottom picture is usually packed, and one can see why it's exciting. Taken at the same place, the top image facing south and the bottom north, this is midway on the half-mile bridge.