New York - Day One

Saturday 29th March

Downtown 

This is kind of long-- I had a busy day :D So have some internal links! :) Also a reminder: if you click on the photos they will enlarge!

The Subway
Churches and City Hall
The 9/11 Memorial
Wall Street
NYPD Museum and the Museum of American Finance
Slavery and Underground Railroad Tour
Fraunces Tavern
Museum of the American Indian
Brooklyn by Night

The Subway

My 'home' station-- 18th St

Epic advertising.
(It's for Game of Thrones)

Inside a subway car. Large step down
from Copenhagen quality!

I caught the subway everywhere I went-- day, night, there is always people around! Once you get the hang of which way is 'uptown' and which way is 'downtown', it's really easy: plus my nearest station only had local trains not express so I didn't have to worry about accidentally ending up in Queens. The first train I was on had a group of busking a-capella singers come through, who were really good. Another one I got on had an empty carriage--which should have set off alarm bells, empty cars are usually empty for a reason. In this case, because of a guy standing in the middle and it smelling like piss. Which is always delightful.

City Hall and Churches

One of the oldest 'common' areas in New York

New York City Hall

St Paul's -- the oldest public building

I wandered past these buildings-- nothing on the age of Europe's, but nonetheless full of culture and awesome. St Paul's was originally built so people uptown could get to church on time-- it's literally only 10 minutes walk from Trinity but apparently people were too lazy, slash the conregation was rapidly expanding! St Paul's survived a fire or two, which is why it is an older building than Trinity.

Inside Trinity

Trinity Church, site of the oldest continuous congregation
It's burnt down a few times.

So American

The 9/11 Memorial

The memorial itself is walled off, and you need a visitor's pass to get in (free if you just rock up, $2 to reserve a time in advance), and then you pass around the outside and through security. Then you get here, to the open space.

Inside the memorial precinct

Freedom Tree

Inside the memorial precinct

You really can't help but feel something walking around here. A place that means so much to so many people, an air of loss and grief but also a fighting hope. This tree for example, is the only one there that survived. Firefighters found it and saved it until it could be replanted. It's a nice symbol of fighting through, life will win.

At the sites where the north and south tower bases were, there are two large memorial pools, with waterfalls on each side. Written around the edges are the names of the people who died. They are organised into groups based on who they were - which floor or department they worked for, which fire or police department they were from, which flight they were on. Families were placed together on request as well. On their birthday, the park trust places a rose on their name.

The memorial pools

Wall Street

Fun fact time! Who wants to guess why Wall Street is called Wall Street? Well! There used to be a wall there! Who'd have thought? Back when the town was called New Amsterdam, what is now Wall Street was the outer border of the city, and so there was a wall to separate the inside from the outside.

On the corner of Wall and Broadway...

On this spot, April 30 1789, George Washington took the Oath as the first President

New York Stock Exchange

Since it was Saturday and raining when I visited, it was pretty quiet. But I'd imagine during the working weekdays it is packed with people going about their business!

They don't film the Apprentice at this one.
There are like five Trump Towers
on Manhattan.

Just some of the huge skyscrapers.
They aren't imposing, actually rather comforting.

Don't think they do breakfast.

I ended up walking the length of Wall Street down to the East River (which isn't a river) to look over at Brooklyn.There were these funky tall ships docked there which was cool, and I saw some people filming a movie (didn't look too pro though). Also met a platoon of marines in ceremonial dress who had been doing an escort for a memorial. Also notice the lack of grass and the artificial tree in the dog park. This is why I was so surprised that Central Park was so huge and green and awesome.

Ships on the East River

A  New York dog run

I think this is the Brooklyn Bridge.
But it might be one of the other ones.

NYPD Museum and the Museum of American Finance

The NYPD museum is pretty small-- it is a temporary exhibit because the actual premises were damaged in the hurricane last year. But they still had some fun stuff!  

Like, isn't this epic?

The Pocket Revolver and its Use

A must have for the fashionable policewoman: a combination gun and make up bag.

I really only visited the Museum of Finance because it was raining pretty hard, but I'm glad I did, it was pretty fun-- in a nerdy money business student kind of way. It is set in an old bank I think so it has a gorgeous marble interior. They had wooden coins people made during the Depression for local use, and bank notes printed with HAWAII across them from WWII, so that if Japan successfully invaded the Treasury could disclaim them and make any Hawaii notes useless. They also had copies of bonds from heaps of companies, newspaper articles documenting various stock crashes, it was pretty fun! Took me a while to figure out who Alexander Hamilton was -- founding father and first Secretary of the Treasury -- who went to Jersey to duel Burr (since it was illegal in New York). Hamilton shot first, and missed (allegedly on purpose), then Burr mortally wounded Hamilton. Apparently, Burr went to breakfast after perfectly happy until someone was like "dude, you just killed Alexander Hamilton!!" Awkward.

The Burr-Hamilton duel

Good luck statue that used to stand in the Stock Exchange entrance

God Bless America

"Asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton reportedly said 'Because that's where the money is.'"
 Well,when you put it that way... 

Solid gold monopoly set!

You heard the lady!

Slavery and the Underground Railroad Tour 

^I know right? How could I not want to go on this tour? Firstly: the Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a rail road. It was a series of safe houses escaping slaves would stay at on their escape-- often heading to Canada. We wandered around more of down town, seeing things like where the original slave markets were, where the offices of the first abolitionists were-- unfortunately, in the interests of Progress, most of these sites don't exist any more which is a real shame. The well in the photo below used to be one of the main ones in the city-- and because enslaved persons (as my PC guide would refer to them) weren't allowed to gather in groups more than 3 unless on official masters' business, the wells became sites of meeting and later, conspiracy. We also went to the former African American burial site-- outside the wall, as they weren't allowed to be buried in the city. There is a museum there now, and a lovely memorial. It was a good tour, even if it was pouring the whole time. I learnt heaps about the history of the city!

Map of Olde New York 

Former city well

Memorial to those brought to the US as slaves

Fraunces Tavern

It's curious to have walked in to a place and be asked "are you looking for the bar?" and to reply "no, the Museum, actually". Well actually it's me. Not that strange! It's cool how this place is still a functioning tavern. Tavern is a good word. Anyway so it has been around since George Washington booked the place out for the farewell to his generals at the end of the independence war-- George was like "so great to have served with you, but I'm retiring to my country house, see y'all!" Then a few years later the generals were like "hey, George, we all like you and want you to be King of our new country!" And George was like "nahhh, I don't want to be King!" And then generals came back and were all "how about you be King, just for a few years, like four?" And George was like "yeah, I could do that" -- and the Presidency was born! [More or less. :D] Then after those four years they were like "hey, you're doing a good job, could you manage another four?" and George was like "oh, I suppose" but then four years after that he was like "nah, can't do this anymore, surely you can find someone else now, see y'all [again]!"  

So upstairs in the tavern they have lots of war memorabilia, things from the Civil War too which was pretty cool, and a whole room of flags and one of maps. And a lock of George's hair-- a little strange. Cool place, though. Mr Fraunces became George's first Chief Steward for a while too. 

Flags flags flags

A lock of George's hair? ... 

George's farewell dinner hall

The Museum of the American Indian

This was a pretty cool museum-- there is so much more to American Indian culture than headresses and smoke. And there are so many different geographical groups so different from each other it was fascinating to read about. My favourite were the dances and dancing costumes (but I forgot to take photos of the signs so I don't remember the name of the dance or the group the costumes below are from!). 

The museum is in the former customs house building (and shares with the bankruptcy court house) -- across the top there are figures representing the 14 great sea-faring nations. During WWI they decided they couldn't have any German insignia so anything recognisable was removed and they rechristened the statue 'Belgium'. (I don't know which one it was meant to be.)

Brookyln by Night

At night I went on a bus tour through Brooklyn, and listened to a tour guide talk about the buildings, city, New York culture and things. It was still raining, and we had an enclosed roof, which made it hard to see out but we still had a good time. 

So this is the Brooklyn Bridge by night. Sorry it's so blurry. It's hard at night when it's raining on a bus. :)

So that was Day One. Full of history and old culture and randoms and giant slices of pizza. Despite the rain I had a really good day and was super exhausted, but totally and completely worth it!

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