JOURNAL 1
Impressions of New York
After living in Brooklyn, I had moved to Long Island where I now live and attend Molloy College were i fortunate enough that they offer a core class called the gotham experience. This class is suppose to teach us about the culture, history, and arts that took place and are still taking place today in New York City. What comes to mind when I think of New York City is a city that never sleeps and is always on the go. Also, what comes to mind when I think of the city is how diverse it has become with different cultures, races, and ethnicity's that have made this city their new home. In addition, the city is a great place to go out in whether it be for dinner or just to go out and have drinks. It is also a great way to meet new people and make new friends when traveling to have a night out in the city. By taking the gotham experience at Molloy I hope to learn more about the city that I never knew before and see and visit new places that I have never heard of.
After living in Brooklyn, I had moved to Long Island where I now live and attend Molloy College were i fortunate enough that they offer a core class called the gotham experience. This class is suppose to teach us about the culture, history, and arts that took place and are still taking place today in New York City. What comes to mind when I think of New York City is a city that never sleeps and is always on the go. Also, what comes to mind when I think of the city is how diverse it has become with different cultures, races, and ethnicity's that have made this city their new home. In addition, the city is a great place to go out in whether it be for dinner or just to go out and have drinks. It is also a great way to meet new people and make new friends when traveling to have a night out in the city. By taking the gotham experience at Molloy I hope to learn more about the city that I never knew before and see and visit new places that I have never heard of.
Journal 1: Queens
Today was first day of class, I was excited and ready to go to see what our first day had in store for us. Unfortunately it started off not so good because of the rain. But as the day went on it cleared up and turned out to be a nice day to be in the city and learn about what Mike and Don had to offer us. We started our day in Penn Station were I learned that it was really called Pennsylvania Station and serves over 600,000 passenger every day (ENY, 29). It is also the biggest train station in the United States and currently serves as a hub for the Long Island Railroad and New Transit commuter lines and long distance Amtrack service (ENY, 29). Upon entering Penn Station you know your in the city because of the crowds of people, how everything and everyone is at a fast pace, and how you get hit with different smells whether it be from the food spots in Penn Station or simply from the sewers in New York City. After leaving Penn Station we headed out into the city were we made our first stop to see the Grand Central Terminal. When we arrived at Grand Central Terminal it made me realize how different it really was from Penn Station. When you arrive at Grand Central it gives a welcoming feeling unlike when arriving at Penn.it has a European tradition, with imposing architecture and a welcoming ambiance (ENY, 48). Next on our agenda we headed over to see the Chrysler Building. This building is considered by many to be the epitome of the art deco style, and is also one of the most elegant skyscrapers in the world (ENY, 51). Looking at the outside of the Chrysler Building I had learned that at the top they had built it to look like the front of a Chrysler car. After existing the lobby of the Chrysler building we returned to 42nd Street were we came into contact with the Daily News Building. This building had a very distinct architecture on the front of it which was very cool in the way their craved it out and is considered an evolution in the art deco style. When we entered the building to take a look inside I did not realize that they had a giant globe which is considered the largest indoor globe in the world (ENY, 52) and have a clock that tells the times of different states.
The General Electric Building which is located on 570 Lexington Avenue was the next building we were taken to to see how different and more modern it was then the rest. The crown of the building is glazed in tan brick, which is a flight of gothic fancy, and its diagonal limestone spires meant to represent radio waves (ENY, 520). The G.E. Building was very cool in the way they built the spires on top to look like radio waves and the hands holding the lighting bolts above the clock. From the G.E. Building we headed over to the Waldorf-Astoria were in 1931 this new hotel was opened at the height of the Great Depression, it was the largest and tallest in the world (ENY, 53). While at the Waldorf we were fortunate enough to use there bathrooms before going on our way because if it was any where else in New York City we would most like be asked to leave unless we bought something or the simple fact of finding a bathroom in the city. After using the bathroom and taking a rest before continuing on our way we stopped at the St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church and the Seagrams Building. When looking at the Seagrams Building you notice that it is different from the rest of the buildings in the city. Instead of building it in were to allow for sunlight to come through, they decided to just go straight up with it and be different from everyone else. The last two stops on our list for the day was Roosevelt Island and Long Island City. To get to Roosevelt Island we had to take the Tramway which I never knew existed until today. When we arrived at the island I had learned that the island had been used for housing a penitentiary, a lunatic asylum, small-pox hospital and various hospitals severing the poor of New York City (ENY, 55). It was also named Roosevelt Island in honor of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the time. Leaving Roosevelt Island we took the subway to our last destination which was Long Island City. Here we experienced what was left of the 5 points building and PS1 to take a look at modern art. Our day ended next to the Pepsi-Cola sign were we got to relax and talk about how exciting our first day of class was and what we had learned before returning home.
Today was first day of class, I was excited and ready to go to see what our first day had in store for us. Unfortunately it started off not so good because of the rain. But as the day went on it cleared up and turned out to be a nice day to be in the city and learn about what Mike and Don had to offer us. We started our day in Penn Station were I learned that it was really called Pennsylvania Station and serves over 600,000 passenger every day (ENY, 29). It is also the biggest train station in the United States and currently serves as a hub for the Long Island Railroad and New Transit commuter lines and long distance Amtrack service (ENY, 29). Upon entering Penn Station you know your in the city because of the crowds of people, how everything and everyone is at a fast pace, and how you get hit with different smells whether it be from the food spots in Penn Station or simply from the sewers in New York City. After leaving Penn Station we headed out into the city were we made our first stop to see the Grand Central Terminal. When we arrived at Grand Central Terminal it made me realize how different it really was from Penn Station. When you arrive at Grand Central it gives a welcoming feeling unlike when arriving at Penn.it has a European tradition, with imposing architecture and a welcoming ambiance (ENY, 48). Next on our agenda we headed over to see the Chrysler Building. This building is considered by many to be the epitome of the art deco style, and is also one of the most elegant skyscrapers in the world (ENY, 51). Looking at the outside of the Chrysler Building I had learned that at the top they had built it to look like the front of a Chrysler car. After existing the lobby of the Chrysler building we returned to 42nd Street were we came into contact with the Daily News Building. This building had a very distinct architecture on the front of it which was very cool in the way their craved it out and is considered an evolution in the art deco style. When we entered the building to take a look inside I did not realize that they had a giant globe which is considered the largest indoor globe in the world (ENY, 52) and have a clock that tells the times of different states.
The General Electric Building which is located on 570 Lexington Avenue was the next building we were taken to to see how different and more modern it was then the rest. The crown of the building is glazed in tan brick, which is a flight of gothic fancy, and its diagonal limestone spires meant to represent radio waves (ENY, 520). The G.E. Building was very cool in the way they built the spires on top to look like radio waves and the hands holding the lighting bolts above the clock. From the G.E. Building we headed over to the Waldorf-Astoria were in 1931 this new hotel was opened at the height of the Great Depression, it was the largest and tallest in the world (ENY, 53). While at the Waldorf we were fortunate enough to use there bathrooms before going on our way because if it was any where else in New York City we would most like be asked to leave unless we bought something or the simple fact of finding a bathroom in the city. After using the bathroom and taking a rest before continuing on our way we stopped at the St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church and the Seagrams Building. When looking at the Seagrams Building you notice that it is different from the rest of the buildings in the city. Instead of building it in were to allow for sunlight to come through, they decided to just go straight up with it and be different from everyone else. The last two stops on our list for the day was Roosevelt Island and Long Island City. To get to Roosevelt Island we had to take the Tramway which I never knew existed until today. When we arrived at the island I had learned that the island had been used for housing a penitentiary, a lunatic asylum, small-pox hospital and various hospitals severing the poor of New York City (ENY, 55). It was also named Roosevelt Island in honor of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the time. Leaving Roosevelt Island we took the subway to our last destination which was Long Island City. Here we experienced what was left of the 5 points building and PS1 to take a look at modern art. Our day ended next to the Pepsi-Cola sign were we got to relax and talk about how exciting our first day of class was and what we had learned before returning home.
Journal 2: Brooklyn
Fortunately for today the rain held off again and it turned out to be a beautiful day as we made our way to Coney Island. We took the F train from the subway all the way out to Coney Island. When we arrived I was excited to see how it looked because I had not been there in so long and I did not remember much of it. I was also curious to see how it looked and recovered after getting hit by Hurricane Sandy. I was not disappointed at all by what I saw. As soon as we walked out of the subway you could see the original Nathan's to your left, the famous Grimaldi's to your right and It's Sugar straight ahead of you. Upon arriving we were given an hour to do what ever we want, go on rides, play games or get something to eat. First we stopped at Nathan's to get a good old famous Nathan's hot-dogs with french fries and a drink. After we had finished eating we headed to the board walk to check out what it was about. I was in shock to see that after Sandy hat hit the boardwalk was up and going, the bars, restaurants, games and all the rides were in tack to go to. What i did not know about Coney Island was that it was an actual island that was separated by a creek, only to be filled in later on to turn Coney Island into the peninsula that it is today (ENY, 116). By the 1920s Coney Island became New York's most important summer amusement area, with thrilling rides and weird sideshows (ENY, 116).
After a fun morning in Coney Island we headed back to the Transit Museum on the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street. At the Transit Museum I learned about how the workers built the tunnels for the trains underground, the working conditions they had to work in, how much they were paid and how much everything cost back then for them like food, drinks, a haircut, etc. and how many different trains they had built throughout the years. My favorites train car was the Brooklyn Elevated Car in 1907 because I like the old style of the train car with the big windows to see out of. The transit museum opened in 1976 for New Yorker's bicentennial celebrations and proved to be an immediate success with New Yorker's (ENY, 125). The first part of the Transit Museum provides you with information about the design and building of the New York Subway System (ENY, 125). But the highlight of the museum is the collection of the antique subway cars that you can explore and see how they have evolved overtime (ENY, 125).
Next we headed over to the corner of Court Street and Joralemon Street were we came to see the Brooklyn Borough Hall. This building is one of the most oldest public buildings in Brooklyn, which was built from 1845-1848 (ENY, 125). Gamaliel King, a carpenter and grocer, was the man who built the Brooklyn Borough Hall. it served as the city hall of the independent city of Brooklyn until 1898, when Brooklyn Merged with New York (ENY, 125). This building is considered one of New York's finest Greek Revival structure and was built to celebrate the spirit of the Jeffersonian common man (ENY, 125).
At the corner of Montague and Clinton Streets is were the neo-gothic Church of St. Ann and the Hoy Trinity is built. It was built between 1844 and 1847 by paper manufacturer Edgar Bartow who's chose this location to build the church because at the time it was sparsely populated and sat on the hight ground in Brooklyn Heights (ENY, 126). Right across the street was the former Brooklyn Trust Company Building, which is now a branch of Chase Bank and is one of the most beautiful banks in the city (ENY, 126). Built between 1913 and 1916 by the architectural form of York and Sawyer in Italian Renaissance style and modeled after the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona (ENY, 126). Also the interior of the bank was modeled after the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, which is a vaulted ceiling, arched windows, and Roman-inspiried mosaic floors (ENY, 126). When we took a walk through the bank you got the sense of how well modeled it was to look like that from the italian Renaissance.
The Brooklyn Historical Society is houses one of the largest regional collection in the country and was in 1863 by Henry Pierrepont as the Long Island Historical Society, were this organization served as a museum, library, and educational center for the study of Brooklyn (ENY, 126). After seeing the Brooklyn Historical Society we walked east under the Brooklyn Bridge to the easternmost section of the park, which is located in DUMBO that stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (ENY, 127). This section under the BRooklyn BRidge is particularly attractive because from here you can se a fabulous view of both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges as well as a spectacular view of Manhattan from across the river. From DUMBO we ended our day by walking over the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn into Manhattan. This was a great way to end my day because even though i drive over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan almost everyday for work, I have never attempted or even thought of walking over it until todays class.
Fortunately for today the rain held off again and it turned out to be a beautiful day as we made our way to Coney Island. We took the F train from the subway all the way out to Coney Island. When we arrived I was excited to see how it looked because I had not been there in so long and I did not remember much of it. I was also curious to see how it looked and recovered after getting hit by Hurricane Sandy. I was not disappointed at all by what I saw. As soon as we walked out of the subway you could see the original Nathan's to your left, the famous Grimaldi's to your right and It's Sugar straight ahead of you. Upon arriving we were given an hour to do what ever we want, go on rides, play games or get something to eat. First we stopped at Nathan's to get a good old famous Nathan's hot-dogs with french fries and a drink. After we had finished eating we headed to the board walk to check out what it was about. I was in shock to see that after Sandy hat hit the boardwalk was up and going, the bars, restaurants, games and all the rides were in tack to go to. What i did not know about Coney Island was that it was an actual island that was separated by a creek, only to be filled in later on to turn Coney Island into the peninsula that it is today (ENY, 116). By the 1920s Coney Island became New York's most important summer amusement area, with thrilling rides and weird sideshows (ENY, 116).
After a fun morning in Coney Island we headed back to the Transit Museum on the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street. At the Transit Museum I learned about how the workers built the tunnels for the trains underground, the working conditions they had to work in, how much they were paid and how much everything cost back then for them like food, drinks, a haircut, etc. and how many different trains they had built throughout the years. My favorites train car was the Brooklyn Elevated Car in 1907 because I like the old style of the train car with the big windows to see out of. The transit museum opened in 1976 for New Yorker's bicentennial celebrations and proved to be an immediate success with New Yorker's (ENY, 125). The first part of the Transit Museum provides you with information about the design and building of the New York Subway System (ENY, 125). But the highlight of the museum is the collection of the antique subway cars that you can explore and see how they have evolved overtime (ENY, 125).
Next we headed over to the corner of Court Street and Joralemon Street were we came to see the Brooklyn Borough Hall. This building is one of the most oldest public buildings in Brooklyn, which was built from 1845-1848 (ENY, 125). Gamaliel King, a carpenter and grocer, was the man who built the Brooklyn Borough Hall. it served as the city hall of the independent city of Brooklyn until 1898, when Brooklyn Merged with New York (ENY, 125). This building is considered one of New York's finest Greek Revival structure and was built to celebrate the spirit of the Jeffersonian common man (ENY, 125).
At the corner of Montague and Clinton Streets is were the neo-gothic Church of St. Ann and the Hoy Trinity is built. It was built between 1844 and 1847 by paper manufacturer Edgar Bartow who's chose this location to build the church because at the time it was sparsely populated and sat on the hight ground in Brooklyn Heights (ENY, 126). Right across the street was the former Brooklyn Trust Company Building, which is now a branch of Chase Bank and is one of the most beautiful banks in the city (ENY, 126). Built between 1913 and 1916 by the architectural form of York and Sawyer in Italian Renaissance style and modeled after the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona (ENY, 126). Also the interior of the bank was modeled after the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, which is a vaulted ceiling, arched windows, and Roman-inspiried mosaic floors (ENY, 126). When we took a walk through the bank you got the sense of how well modeled it was to look like that from the italian Renaissance.
The Brooklyn Historical Society is houses one of the largest regional collection in the country and was in 1863 by Henry Pierrepont as the Long Island Historical Society, were this organization served as a museum, library, and educational center for the study of Brooklyn (ENY, 126). After seeing the Brooklyn Historical Society we walked east under the Brooklyn Bridge to the easternmost section of the park, which is located in DUMBO that stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (ENY, 127). This section under the BRooklyn BRidge is particularly attractive because from here you can se a fabulous view of both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges as well as a spectacular view of Manhattan from across the river. From DUMBO we ended our day by walking over the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn into Manhattan. This was a great way to end my day because even though i drive over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan almost everyday for work, I have never attempted or even thought of walking over it until todays class.
Journal 3: The Village
Today as we walked out of Penn Station we stopped to look at the United States Post Office were this building will eventually be the main hub for travelers to get to Penn Station, Amtrak, and the New Jersey Transit. Then the walk started towards Chelsea. This neighborhood gets its name from the former estate of the British army captain Thomas Clark, who purchased 94 acres of the land along the Hudson in 1750 and named it after his London neighborhood (ENY, 93). When Thomas Clark passed away the property eventually was passed to his grandson Clement Clark Moore who was a poet and would gain his fame as an author from the famous holiday favorite, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (ENY, 93). Later in the early 19th century he had developed his estate by dividing it up into lots along 9th Avenue and soon stylish town houses had sprung up in what was once countryside (ENY, 94). Also in 1847 they had laid down railroad tracks through Chelsea making its transformation into an industrialized area. This brought poor Irish immigrants into the area looking for for in the slaughterhouses, breweries, and factories that were being built along the water front (ENY, 94). Which in addition turned Chelsea into the working class area that would remain throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. But it unfortunately came to a drastic change in the 1990s when SoHo began to become so fashionable that the art galleries that were located their had to move because they could not afford the high rents they had to pay (ENY, 94). Still to this day Chelsea is an industrialized area and is going through a process called gentrification.
After learning little bit about Chelsea, we thought he best way to see it was from the High Line which is located at 30th Street and Tenth Avenue. This High Line is built on train tracks that rain through the heart of Chelsea in the mid 19th century to transport produce through the city. With the existence of the train lines in a crowded city, it lead to many fatalities that in fact 10th Avenue became known as Death Avenue (ENY, 94). So to fix this problem in the 1930s the New York Central Railroad had the line elevated 30 feet above the street level, to later fall out of use in the 1980s (ENY, 94). So when it was being threatened for demolition a non-profit community group was formed in 1999 to save the structure and transform it into an elevated park that still stand today. In this High Line they have built a man made landscape with all native flowers to New York, which also depended upon the season we were in to plant these types of flowers.
Chelsea is also known today for its numerous amount of art galleries in the area. There a hundreds of art galleries to choose from that we could of stopped in and checked out but we only stopped at a couple to check and get a sense of feeling about them. The first gallery we stopped at was Galerie Richard, which I thought the art work was pretty cool because they made it look like different textures from the earth and made it stand out to person. The next gallery that caught my eye was the Jonathan Levine Gallery because it had paintings of graffiti and from growing up in Brooklyn and seeing it everyday it was nice to see that graffiti art work was up in a gallery in Chelsea.
The West Village extends from the Hudson River to 6th Avenue and is technically part of larger Greenwich Village (ENY, 101). It is also home to a seizable gay and lesbian population, even during those periods in the city's history when homosexual behavior was generally frowned upon (ENY, 102). Here was also were the Gay Rights movement officially took place and began in the 1960s and since then the area around Christopher Street has traditionally been a center for social life for the New York gay population. After we had then stopped at the Jefferson Square Market Garden located on of West 10th and Greenwich Streets. Before they had built the beautiful garden that lies there today, it had been used as a food market in the 19th century and later built a detention center for women that was later torn down in 1974. For lunch we went to McDougal and Bleecker Street where we were given an hour to relax and grab something to eat. We had stopped at Thunder Jacksons to grab something to eat and had stopped at Insomnia Cookies to get some cookies for dessert after which were really good.
After lunch we went to 29 E. 4th Street to take a look at the Merchant's House Museum. This house represents a 19th century upscale lifestyle that definitely feels more Greenwich Village than the East Village (ENY, 109). The Merchant House is a wonderfully preserved Federal-style house, filled with period furnishings and decorations (ENY, 109). It was built by Joseph Brewster in 1832 and sold to Seabury Tredwell, wealthy merchant, in 1835 for $18,000 and Tredwell and his descendants occupied this house until 1933 (ENY, 110).
Washington Square Park was bout by the city in 1797to serve as a potter's field, which is a place of burial for unknown or indigent people (ENY, 107). Also on the 19th century the park was used for public executions for those convicted who where hung from the "Hangman's Elm" (ENY, 107). This tree is amazingly still alive and located at the northwest corner of Washington Square Park. The most dominant architectural feature of the park is the Washington Arch dedicated to George Washington's inauguration (ENY, 108). One side of the arch shows Washington as a general at war and the other side shows Washington at peace as president.
So from Washington Square Park we saw the old and new Cooper Union. You could tell the difference from the old and new one because the old Cooper Union had an old look to it and the way it was built like the Italian brownstone building and the new one was built to todays style by being pushed back and more modern. Even the glass windows which allows you to see from inside out the the community is changing through gentrification. To end a long day of walking and sight seeing we headed over to the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop for some good ice cream.
Today as we walked out of Penn Station we stopped to look at the United States Post Office were this building will eventually be the main hub for travelers to get to Penn Station, Amtrak, and the New Jersey Transit. Then the walk started towards Chelsea. This neighborhood gets its name from the former estate of the British army captain Thomas Clark, who purchased 94 acres of the land along the Hudson in 1750 and named it after his London neighborhood (ENY, 93). When Thomas Clark passed away the property eventually was passed to his grandson Clement Clark Moore who was a poet and would gain his fame as an author from the famous holiday favorite, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (ENY, 93). Later in the early 19th century he had developed his estate by dividing it up into lots along 9th Avenue and soon stylish town houses had sprung up in what was once countryside (ENY, 94). Also in 1847 they had laid down railroad tracks through Chelsea making its transformation into an industrialized area. This brought poor Irish immigrants into the area looking for for in the slaughterhouses, breweries, and factories that were being built along the water front (ENY, 94). Which in addition turned Chelsea into the working class area that would remain throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. But it unfortunately came to a drastic change in the 1990s when SoHo began to become so fashionable that the art galleries that were located their had to move because they could not afford the high rents they had to pay (ENY, 94). Still to this day Chelsea is an industrialized area and is going through a process called gentrification.
After learning little bit about Chelsea, we thought he best way to see it was from the High Line which is located at 30th Street and Tenth Avenue. This High Line is built on train tracks that rain through the heart of Chelsea in the mid 19th century to transport produce through the city. With the existence of the train lines in a crowded city, it lead to many fatalities that in fact 10th Avenue became known as Death Avenue (ENY, 94). So to fix this problem in the 1930s the New York Central Railroad had the line elevated 30 feet above the street level, to later fall out of use in the 1980s (ENY, 94). So when it was being threatened for demolition a non-profit community group was formed in 1999 to save the structure and transform it into an elevated park that still stand today. In this High Line they have built a man made landscape with all native flowers to New York, which also depended upon the season we were in to plant these types of flowers.
Chelsea is also known today for its numerous amount of art galleries in the area. There a hundreds of art galleries to choose from that we could of stopped in and checked out but we only stopped at a couple to check and get a sense of feeling about them. The first gallery we stopped at was Galerie Richard, which I thought the art work was pretty cool because they made it look like different textures from the earth and made it stand out to person. The next gallery that caught my eye was the Jonathan Levine Gallery because it had paintings of graffiti and from growing up in Brooklyn and seeing it everyday it was nice to see that graffiti art work was up in a gallery in Chelsea.
The West Village extends from the Hudson River to 6th Avenue and is technically part of larger Greenwich Village (ENY, 101). It is also home to a seizable gay and lesbian population, even during those periods in the city's history when homosexual behavior was generally frowned upon (ENY, 102). Here was also were the Gay Rights movement officially took place and began in the 1960s and since then the area around Christopher Street has traditionally been a center for social life for the New York gay population. After we had then stopped at the Jefferson Square Market Garden located on of West 10th and Greenwich Streets. Before they had built the beautiful garden that lies there today, it had been used as a food market in the 19th century and later built a detention center for women that was later torn down in 1974. For lunch we went to McDougal and Bleecker Street where we were given an hour to relax and grab something to eat. We had stopped at Thunder Jacksons to grab something to eat and had stopped at Insomnia Cookies to get some cookies for dessert after which were really good.
After lunch we went to 29 E. 4th Street to take a look at the Merchant's House Museum. This house represents a 19th century upscale lifestyle that definitely feels more Greenwich Village than the East Village (ENY, 109). The Merchant House is a wonderfully preserved Federal-style house, filled with period furnishings and decorations (ENY, 109). It was built by Joseph Brewster in 1832 and sold to Seabury Tredwell, wealthy merchant, in 1835 for $18,000 and Tredwell and his descendants occupied this house until 1933 (ENY, 110).
Washington Square Park was bout by the city in 1797to serve as a potter's field, which is a place of burial for unknown or indigent people (ENY, 107). Also on the 19th century the park was used for public executions for those convicted who where hung from the "Hangman's Elm" (ENY, 107). This tree is amazingly still alive and located at the northwest corner of Washington Square Park. The most dominant architectural feature of the park is the Washington Arch dedicated to George Washington's inauguration (ENY, 108). One side of the arch shows Washington as a general at war and the other side shows Washington at peace as president.
So from Washington Square Park we saw the old and new Cooper Union. You could tell the difference from the old and new one because the old Cooper Union had an old look to it and the way it was built like the Italian brownstone building and the new one was built to todays style by being pushed back and more modern. Even the glass windows which allows you to see from inside out the the community is changing through gentrification. To end a long day of walking and sight seeing we headed over to the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop for some good ice cream.