Weekend Explorations in the City

July 13, 2008

Yesterday I took the 2 train to the Upper West Side. It was a beautiful, hot, breezy day. Not too humid, for a change.

The express train dropped me off at W. 96th Street, where I was going to jump on the 1 train and ride up to 110th St. I was trying to save on footsteps because I knew I had a long walk planned for later in the day. But, unbeknownst to me, the 1 train was out of service at that stop.

So I walked to my first destination at 110th and Amsterdam, where I toured the massive Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Together with its outlying buildings, gardens, camp ground, and school, the cathedral encompasses an entire city block.

The massive church itself is 146 feet wide and the length of two football fields. The interior space is overwhelming. The first cornerstone was laid in 1892, but the church, now in its 200th year of construction, is still only two-thirds completed. Once completed, it supposedly will be the largest cathedral in the world.

They say that the world's largest cathedrals can take 500 years to complete - I guess St. John's is living proof.

Inside, it is more than just a church. Beyond the main pulpit is another series of smaller chapels, each designed in its own unique style, and a baptisry.

My favorite things about the church were outside the church. The huge Peace Fountain scultpure was surrounded by lots of smaller, hand-size nature sculptures created by children - dolphins, penguins, birds, and more - plus an intricate Noah's ark sculpture.

Back behind the church I came upon a beautiful Biblical Garden. In the center of the carefully designed, colorful landscape was a three-tiered fountain that was alive with small birds bathing and playing about in the water. It was so serene. This must be the most peaceful place in the city.

From there I walked over to the edge of Morningside Park, which has a panoramic easterly view of Harlem. The architecture of Morningside Heights really caught my eye. I passed by St. Luke's Hospital, Columbia Law School, and walked through Columbia University - a beautiful campus.

Near the library I sat down briefly on a bench to eat a raisin bran muffin and was quickly joined by three sparrows. I threw a few crumbs, and suddenly there were 10 more sparrows and a pigeon. Within moments the number of birds at my feet had doubled, then tripled.

After that I walked west, past more beautiful architecture, to Riverside Park. I thought, "This must be where the upper half lives."

I'd never been that far north in the park before. And I headed south. I trekked south along the Hudson from W. 116th St. all the way to W. 13th St. (yes that's over 100 blocks!).

I'd been on this route many times before, but never this much of it at one time. One thing I noticed (in the west 60's) was that Donald Trump has added yet another apartment building to Trump Place. Each time I walk by that area it seems Trump Place has grown.

In the west 50's (near where I used to live), I passed a huge Norwegian cruise ship docked. I think it is the largest ship I've ever seen that close up. Later, further south around 18th Street, I stopped momentarily to gawk at this funky contemporary all-glass building labeled "IAC" over near the Chelsea Piers that I'd never seen before. It's really something. Wouldn't that be a cool place to work?

From W. 13th I turned into the city and headed toward Greenwich Village. My feet were about to fall off by the time I got to Sheridan Square. Of course, the train schedules were still all messed up, meaning the 2/3 wasn't running to Brooklyn, so I took the 1 to South Ferry and walked over to Bowling Green where I took the 4 home.

After my shower, I left the house twice to run errands (to the pet store for 30 pounds of cat litter, then out to grab some dinner). By the end of the day I determined I'd walked over 130 blocks yesterday - at least 7.4 miles. When I fell into the bed last night, I thought I'd never get up again.

So today - (another beautiful day!) - I limited my walk to Prospect Park and back - about six miles. :) God I love New York! It's such a great walking city.