$20 worth of Modern Art Experience and other New York City, NY Things to Do Tips

MOMA - it's a zoo on a typical weekend, especially if there are a couple of good shows on. I came here in March 2006 specifically to see the Edvard Munch exhibit with my friends Riff and Velma, and also to appreciate the design and layout of the place after its recent big bucks renovation and expansion.

Chaos greets the visitor when you first enter the building, as the signage is poor and as swarms of visitors buzz around without any apparent pattern. Finally, you figure out that you have to stand in line to buy tickets, you have to stand in line to check you coat and bags, and you have to stand in line to go through security in order to enter the museum proper.

But it was worth it. The Munch Exhibit was excellent, there were many canvases and drawings that I had never seen before, and although I had seen many of the most famous works already back in Norway, it was a great opportunity to see them altogether in one place, in one systematic showing. Riff Velma and I also enjoyed another one of the temporary exhibits, one on contemporary Spanish architecture. We just had time to nip into the design galleries before closing time. I liked the open spaces and dramatic soaring atrium at the center of the museum, although it did give me a slight feeling of vertigo which perhaps you can see on my face.

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Phone: (212) 708-9400
Address: 11 West 53rd Street (Between 5th and 6th)
Website: http://www.moma.org/

One of the beautiful courtyards in the largest art museum of the Western Hemisphere

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Phone: 212-535-7710
Address: 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street
Directions: Take 4, 5, or 6 train to 86th Street and walk three blocks west to Fifth Avenue
Website: http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp

The Neue Gallerie is small but select - it has a strong core collection of Austrian art from the "fin de siecle" - Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele are well-represented with both paintings and drawings. There are also temporary and visiting exhibitions - I saw an interesting show about early 20th century German photography while I was here.

The Neue Gallerie is a relatively new addition to the NYC Museum Scene, and many people are still unaware of it. (The main contributor to the museum was the cosmetics millionaire Ron Lauder. Good to see Civic Spirit still working here!) I strongly recommend the Cafe Sabarsky inside as well.

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Address: 5th Avenue at 86th

This is one of the great free travel experiences in New York City. (Another one is the Staten Island Ferry.) You may not want to do it in both directions, but I strongly recommend going at least one-way. Just be sure to watch for bicyclists - do the right thing by staying out of their lane!

Let's hear it for the Roeblings, father and son, John and Washington, who in the early 1870s revolutionized bridge construction around the world with their design and execution of this amazing piece of engineering.

I'll write a bit more about the bridge on my Brooklyn page.

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Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge or 4,5,6 Brooklyn Bridge.

As of May 2005, it was still permitted to take photographs of the Brooklyn Bridge and from the Brooklyn Bridge! ;)

And it is really one of the best photo platforms in the city, IMHO.

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Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge or 4,5,6 Brooklyn Bridge.

The Staten Island Ferry, like the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, is one of New York's great _free_ attractions. Going out, you get a striking view of the Statue of Liberty. Coming back, standing at the rail and the ferry steams toward the towers of Lower Manhattan, you feel just like Barbra Steisand in "Funny Girl."

Unfortunately, my camera was having "issues" that day, and this is the only one of my Ferry pictures that turned out.

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Phone: 718-727-2508
Address: trains N, R, Q & W to Whitehall St.
Directions: Manhattan
Website: http://www.siferry.com

S J the D. That's what some trendy Episcopalians call their work-in-progress known as the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Construction started back in the 1890s, and if things work out, work might be completed in time for the turn of the next century. Yes, there's still a lot of work to be done here, and it didn't help matters when there was a devastating fire in the still uncompleted nave a few years back. When the Cathedral is finally completed, it will be one of the very largest churches in the world; already it is one of the most impressive, although it does seem awfully dark inside. I suppose you should withhold judgement on the architecture until the building is completed - even if that does mean that you probably won't be able in say anything about the building's design in your own lifetime!

Construction started in the 1890s in the Romanesque style, and continued in the early 20th century in the Gothic mode. Work was halted, however, in 1942, and didn't start back up until 1979. It is progressing again now, albeit slowly; when I visiting in March 2006, the entire nave east of the transept was blocked off entirely.

Visitng S J the D is like going back in time - way back to the Middle Ages. In some senses it's like visiting Chartres when its walls were still going up. However, this is a very ecumenical space - actually quite interdenominational, and over the course of the last 40 years, Saint John the Divine has been home to some innovative and diverse liturgies. I'd like to come back here sometime for a choral service - the acoustics are said to be literally divine!

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Address: Amsterdam Avenue at 112th

Somebody famous is busied here - but I'm not sure who!

This is the largest funeral monument in New York City, and actually is said to be one of the largest in the world. It was constructed in the late 19th century as a memorial to the man who is regarded as the most successful Union General in the US Civil War - which admittedly isn't saying much!

The United States Park Service maintains the site, and inside the tomb is are several displays concerning 19th century America. Oh - and Mrs Grant is also buried here.

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Address: Riverside Dr.
Directions: way uptown

Basking in the sun. . . Not everyone has a kind word about Central Park, but New Yorkers certainly do appreciate the swath of green in the midst of their concrete jungle.

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Website: http://www.centralpark.org/

Spring hath sprung!

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Website: http://www.centralpark.org/