arcane new york

Thought I'd try something in 2014. I realized a city this old has so many odd secrets hidden in plain sight, I thought I would try and find out as many new things about the city that I can. No set number or goal for the year, just trying to learn as much as I can and look at the city in a new way. That, and I love my city, so why not.

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The Central Union Bus Terminal

The Hotel Carter is a bit of an oddity. Lately, it's more known for things that aren't all that positive. It's an old building, and has actually been voted the dirtiest hotel in America on Tripadvisor for four years in a row, from 2004-2008. Not exactly the kind of award you want to win.

When it was built in 1930, it was originally the Dixie Hotel and was that way until 1976. One of the interesting things about the Dixie is that it also had a bus terminal in its basement. It also opened in 1930. It was able to house ten buses at a time, and it was an interesting design. It looks like a spoke with buses parked perpendicular to the circle, and there was a 35 foot diameter turntable in the middle that would redirect buses to their parking spot. For a while it was the biggest bus terminal in New York City, and handled up to around 350 buses a day during peak seasons. Unfortunately, when the Port Authority Bus Terminal was opened half a block away in 1950, it started to take a lot of the passenger traffic and revenue away from the smaller bus terminals. Eventually, like most of the others, this bus terminal wasn't fiscally feasible to maintain and it closed its doors in 1957.

Today it serves as a parking lot in the basement of the Hotel Carter. The turntable is still visible, and you can see the odd design remnant here and there if you wander about. But what was once a big bus terminal is now a parking spot stuffed between a deli and a strip club.

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The Tree That Went from Rags to Riches

The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is definitely one of the more recognizable New York City Christmas traditions. This year it is an 85 foot Norway Spruce, and is adorned with a 550 pound Swarovski star on top and 45,000 LED lights strung onto about five miles of wire. It's officially been an annual tradition since 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened in 1933, but that wasn't the first tree.

The very first tree was actually stood up on Christmas Eve in 1931. As it was during the Great Depression, many of the city's citizens were out of work and didn't have much to celebrate. The construction workers who were working on Rockefeller Center were getting paychecks, something that was rare. To celebrate, the workers erected a 20 foot balsim fir in what would be Rockefeller Plaza, and decorated it with "strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, and even a few tin cans," according to writer Daniel Orkent. There was no tree the next year, but the tradition then continued in 1933, with its first ever official tree lighting ceremony. The tree has always stood as a reminder to be thankful for what you have, no matter how tough things get.

And with that, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

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The Tarred Spot Among the Stars

The ceiling at Grand Central Terminal is something that always catches the attention of visitors. Originally created in 1912 by the architects and the artist Charles Basing and his studio, it was mainly designed by the French Portrait artist Paul Helleu. The original was replaced in the 30's due to falling bits of plaster.

One of the traits about the painting is that the constellations are actually backwards. One theory is that the artist wanted to paint it from the outside in, taking the perspective of the gods that look down at us and how they would see it. Another simpler explanation is that the astronomer that Helleu consulted with, Harold Jacoby from Columbia University, just got the original sketch wrong.

Another thing to note is the northwest corner above Michael Jordan's Steakhouse. Over the decades, grime and dirt began to accumulate on the ceiling, and it was commonly believed to be soot from the diesel smoke. Eventually you couldn't really see the mural anymore, and it was completely black. There was a twelve year restoration project that was unveiled in 1998 to overhaul the terminal, and restoring the ceiling was a major part of that. There is a small tile in the corner at the end of the zodiac line, and it's black. During the restoration they chose to leave a single tile in its original state as a reminder of how things used to be. Analysis of it revealed that it wasn't black due to soot, but the residue was around 70% tar and nicotine from when people could smoke inside the terminal.

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The Hidden Sound Art in Times Square

This is one of those things that I have walked by countless times over the years. I've definitely noticed it before, but I never really gave it any thought before.

Hidden in the lights and noise of the Crossroads of the World is a piece of sound art. It's located under a metal grate in the pedestrian walkway between 45th and 46th streets, on the west side of Broadway. It's hard to describe exactly what the sound is, but the best I can describe it is the sound I would imagine a spaceship would make in a science fiction movie if replayed through a plastic tube.

In reality, it's an art piece by a man of the name of Max Neuhaus, who passed away in 2009. Originally a musician that ended as a percussionist, started to experiment with feedback and resonance in the 1960's. He took to heart that everything in our world could be music, and began to create sound installations across the world.

The installation here was created in 1977. Interestingly, it's not a recording. Instead, it's actually a form of amplification of the resonance of the subway ventilation shaft in which the art installation sits in front of, which is all under this grate, and that's what pedestrians hear when crossing over it. It was turned off in 1992, and reactivated again in 2002 and has been running since.

It was designed to be a bit of an art experiment to see how people would react with an unusual sound lost in the midst of Times Square. It's completely unmarked, and in an interview Newhaus expected, and wanted, half the people walking by to not take too much notice. I was definitely one of those people, and I would imagine a lot of people reading this are too.

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New York City's Smallest Piece of Private Land

New Yorkers historically have not been a shy group of people who will run from a fight. A pretty good example of that is from a man by the name of David Hess, and his fight for ownership of the smallest piece of private property in New York City.

When the first subway network was being introduced between 1904 and 1908, the IRT 7th Avenue Line (which has become today's 123 line) ran from Van Cortlandt Park (242nd St) down to 42nd St, Times Square. As expansion started to go south, the city decided to expand Seventh Avenue below Greenwich Street, and with it the IRT subway line. The city, under eminent domain, took over and demolished over 300 buildings in 1910, including the five story Voorhis Apartment Building owned by David Hess.

He had fought the government but in 1914 he had lost. The surveyors though had missed this small patch of land, and it still technically belonged to Hess. Thinking they had worn him down, they asked for Hess to give it to the city to convert into a sidewalk but he refused. On July 7th, 1922, Hess had this mosaic installed onto the remaining 500 square inches of property of his, which has never changed.

In 1938, he had sold it to Village Cigars, that was built on the property where Hess' old building stood, for $1,000. Both the cigar store and the triangle still stand today, which continues to be the smallest privately owned piece of property today.

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Where Broadway Goes to Eat

I think the last time I've eaten here must have been around six or seven years ago around when I first officially moved to the city. I ducked in today for a quick lunch and realized I never really paid attention to just how distinctly this place is decorated. The common belief is that this diner was built from the original ballroom from the Hotel Edison, built in 1931. From finding old historical photos though, the current Edison Ballroom seems to match them, not this. There was a large dining hall built into the ballroom, which is what this appears to have been built from. The interesting thing is you can still see all the original ornate decorations, molding, chandeliers (pictured here) sculptures, and even a couple murals on the wall. Everything seems to have been kept as is when Cafe Edison was built in 1980, and it's a really interesting juxtaposition of 30's design with an 80's diner.

Nicknamed "The Polish Tearoom" (likely due to the origins of the owners and parts of the menu), it's got a huge history with Broadway. It was featured in the play, "45 Seconds from Broadway," and is often frequented by actors, stage workers, playwrights, and all sorts of folks in the industry. Some say it's because of the low cost and quality of the food, the location, or just by way of its tenure. All I know is it serves the best matzo ball soup I've yet to eat.

Apparently it's also slated to close soon. After 34 years, the current owners of the hotel property have decided to end the lease and are planning on building an upscale restaurant. There is an active petition with almost 10,000 signatures and a rally as well, as lots of people decry the constant loss of local storied establishments. All I know is I need to go eat some more matzo ball soup and pastrami here while I still can.

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America's Best Loved Actresses

New York City has always been known for being one of the capitals of the world in theatre and arts, and there's many tributes to this scattered throughout the city, and one that is often missed is right in the middle of Times Square above an Express store. Israel Miller was a shoemaker who began making shoes for theatre professionals in 1895, and after actresses asked him to make shoes for personal use he opened an upscale store in 1895 at 1554 Broadway. As part of the renovation in the 1920's, they handed out ballots at the store asking, "Who are America's four best loved actresses?" The poll, held in 1927 ended with Ethel Barrymore as Ophelia, Marilyn Miller as Sunny, Mary Pickford as Little Lord Fauntleroy, and Rosa Ponselle as Leonora. The statues were created and they were unveiled in 1929. The I. Miller shoe store closed in the 1970's, although the name, slogan, and statues were kept. It eventually became a TGI Fridays and during that time it was neglected, covered in soot and damaged by signs that were installed. The TGI Fridays has moved down the street and in 2012 the building was cleaned, repaired, and the statues were restored as it transitioned into the Express store that's there today at the southeast corner of West 46th street and Seventh Avenue.

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The Owls that Light Up Macys

Hearld Square was a place that was drastically different than it is today. The northern part (Hearld Square is actually the northern half from 34th street to 35th street) is home today to a slew of shops and the fun time that is Macy's, but from 1895 to 1921 this was the headquarters of the New York Hearld newspaper. In Hearld Square today, there is the original clock that adorned the headquarter back in 1895 and still is functional today, although it doesn't ring every hour anymore since it would loudly chime in front of pedestrians. The statue in the middle is the Roman goddess Minerva who symbolizes wisdom, amusing because the Hearld was more New York Post than New York Times. The two blacksmiths below her are named Stuff and Guff. Up top are two owls that today still have eyes that randomly light up green. It's one of those things where once you notice it, you can't stop noticing it.

In 1940 this clock was re-situated to where it is today as part of the renovation project for the square after the demolition of the elevated train that ran along sixth avenue. The southern part of the area between 32nd and 33rd streets is actually Greely Square, named after Horace Greely who ran the New York Tribune, a rival of the Hearld.

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The Bar at Grand Central Terminal

The Campbell Apartment has a pretty interesting past. John W. Campbell was a successful businessman who essentially just wanted a really cool office, so he leased a space at Grand Central Terminal from the Vanderbilt Family, who built the train station. After Campbell passed away in 1957, it's been used by the station for a bunch of different purposes ranging from a signalman's office, to a police storage closet, to a jail. A company then got the rights to the space and renovated it back in 1999 to be used as a bar, and that is now the space that we see today, save for one renovation that happened in 2006 which replaced the carpet, walls, bar, and stools (which happened in less than 12 hours to avoid closing for even one night). There is a safe in the fireplace though and that is the actual steel safe that John Campbell used in his office.

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The Birthplace of the Oreo

Chelsea Market is an interesting building that has very different origins than it's current iteration. It originally served as a majorly factory for the National Biscuit Company, or Nabisco. When you walk through the market and really look at the building instead of the shops, at least for me, you notice a lot of cool things that we all just walk past. At the entryway on 9th Avenue there is a plaque from 1998 commemorating it's baking history. Immediately after there are display cases of old Nabisco products and machines. The fountain in the center of the market is actually made from old drill bits and pipes. This picture is right next to Ninth Street Espresso and is one of two original murals painted on the wall. There's a lot of these things preserved scattered around the building. What's cool about this building is that in 1912 Nabisco released the Oreo Biscuit which was designed and produced right in this very building. The segment of 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th streets is actually named "Oreo Way."

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Pearson Hardman

The Citigroup Center is one of the top ten tallest buildings in New York City at 59 stories. It's unique for it's pillar design at the base. What's somewhat scary to think about is the design apparently would have been safe with welded joints, but the construction was done with bolted joints when it was built in 1977. A conversation with an unknown architectural engineering student and the building's design engineer prompted a study on winds and they realized a 70 mile per hour wind would knock the building over, and if the winds hit at a certain angle it would multiply the force on the joints. During the nights of the next three months in 1978 they would work in the dark (to avoid people finding out, having a PR disaster, and to protect the structural engineer's reputation) and weld plates over the bolted joints. During the retrofitting a hurricane almost hit New York City, which would have knocked the building over. Nobody really knew about this until a New Yorker article about it published in 1995. Today it's safe, but people can still feel effects from strong winds. Elevators sometimes scrape the walls and sometimes door swing open from the building tilting over.

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Superman's Office

The Daily News Building is designated a national historic landmark by the US government, and serves as the headquarters for WPIX 11, a former subsidiary of Daily News TV. There are functioning meteorological devices behind the rotating 4,000 pound globe, which is actually hand painted. Some also recognize it as the backdrop of the Daily Globe. The Superman film with Christopher Reeve used this as the location for the Daily Globe headquarter's lobby.

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"Oh, do you feel the breeze from the subway? Isn't it delicious?" In the movie The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn Monroe filmed a scene in New York City wearing a white dress, and the subway train creates a breeze making her dress fly up. It's one of the most iconic images of the last century, and they filmed it on location in front of what was then the Trans Lux Theater. Since then all the old buildings have been torn down and now there is a big office building (on the left) in it's place. There's some debate on the actual location since with the new building the original grates have been torn out and redone, but from what I can tell my best guess is that scene was filmed right about where the white plant pots are. It's now in front of a French restaurant. Interestingly though, the famous picture was taken here, but when they did the filming in 1954 (at 1 AM in a failed attempt to avoid a crowd) there was a large crowd that created so much noise they had to recreate the street and film it again in a studio. Her then husband Joe DiMaggio was also there, and apparently was really upset about everyone looking at his wife in her underwear. The relationship was in trouble then and that was the last straw for him, they filed for divorce soon after.

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The Berlin Wall in New York City

There's a French artist who claims to be the first street artist to paint the Berlin Wall named Thierry Noir. Over the course of five years he and his friends have gone on to paint a continuous drawing on the wall spanning 2.5 miles, the longest of it's kind. After the fall, various pieces of the wall were auctioned off and the real estate company Tishman Spyer bought this piece, part of Noir's section, and now it lives outside one of their office buildings on 53rd street, just west of Madison Avenue.

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America's First Subway Stop

It's blurry as it's taken in a moving subway train in an abandoned subway station, but it was definitely really cool to see.

Before the MTA, there were the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (the roots can be traced back to the late 1800's). The IRT built a City Hall station to showcase the advent of underground rail. It closed in 1945 due to safety and low usage. It's still used as the turnaround point for the 6 train. It's not brightly lit, but if you take the downtown 6 train and continue to stay on the train after the Brooklyn Bridge stop, you can see a glimpse of the flagship station of the IRT Lexington Line. It's the first underground rail line in NYC which opened in 1904, and where the very first NYC subway train departed from. At the Brooklyn Bridge stop, be sure to stay on the right side of the train. It's not a modern turnaround where it goes in reverse, but it's a giant circle and returns on the uptown track while going in the same direction, so the old City Hall station is only on the right side.

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The Kissing Room

The Biltmore room was right under the Biltmore Hotel (it's now the Bank of America Building). Yes, the one in the Catcher in the Rye. In the 30's it's where the trains from the west coast used to arrive and was famous as a meeting spot for politicians, celebrities, and notably soldiers, and it's where it got it's nickname the "Kissing Room." Now it's just a couple kiosks but supposedly there are plans to renovate and restore it to it's glory days.

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The 20 Million Dollar Clock

The clock up top is actually incredibly valuable. The four faces are made of opal, and Sotheby's and Christie's have valued it at between $10 and $20 million dollars. The clock is set with the naval observatory so it's precise, unlike the departure boards. The trains all leave one minute after the times listed to give late people extra time.

Also there is a spiral staircase hidden within the information booth that leads to the booth in the lower level.