Hello, everyone. I am posting to say that New York is a very fun city, and I hope you enjoyed learning about it as much as I did. Unfortunately, my New York series is over. I hope you get to visit this beautiful city sometime. I was able to see a lot more, so if you have any questions please comment. Below is a video with a famous song about New York by Frank Sinatra.

Rockefeller Center is a complex of commercial buildings in Midtown. It is home to Top of the Rock Observation Deck, Radio City Music Hall, and MoMA. But it’s main claim to fame is it’s Christmas tree during the holiday season. The tree is a tradition started in 1932. It has kept going since then, and Rockefeller Center is now the most visited site in the city during the holiday season. The tallest tree ever was 100 feet tall in 1999. The ice skating rink is a was a sunken plaza turned into an ice skating rink. The main building is the Comcast Building, or 30 Rock. It is the home of Top of the Rock Observation Deck, which is the Rockefeller Center observation deck. Top of the Rock is a 2-story observation deck with great views of the Empire State Building and Central Park. You can see all the way into The Bronx! Below are some pictures from Top of the Rock.↓

 

The subway is an easy way to get around NYC.  We either walked or took the subway everywhere.  The subway system opened October 1904.  There are 469 stations throughout the 5 boroughs and 1.7 billion people ride it each year!  60% of the subway system is underground.  We bought a Metro card to use and it is $2.40 per ride, which is the cost of a slice of pizza.  On many of the underground platforms, I saw street entertainers.  Some were singing, playing instruments, and dancing.  You need to be careful so trash doesn’t fall in the tracks, that can cause sparks.  I almost lost my hat when a train flew by!  The subway lines are labeled by color and letters.  The lines are Blue, Red, Orange, Brown, Green, Purple, and Yellow.  My favorite station was the new Fulton Center. Almost all of the lines stop at Fulton Center.  Below is a picture of the dome.

How many of you have been on a subway? Where?

 

 

The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883.  It connects Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan and is 1.134 miles.  It is a hybrid cable-stayed suspension bridge.  The bridge is an iconic site in New York and is listed as a National Historic Landmark.  There are six lanes for cars and a pedestrian walkway on the 2nd level.  I walked over the bridge to go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park soccer field.  It has great views of the Freedom Tower, Empire State Building, and the Manhattan Bridge.

What is your favorite characteristic of the Brooklyn Bridge?

The UN was founded on October 24, 1945 in New York City. The UN sits on 16 acres on the East River waterfront near midtown Manhattan.  The land for the UN was donated by John D. Rockfeller. Even though the building is in New York City, the land is international territory.   The UN is 70 years old.  The UN was created after WWII to have countries work together to avoid future world wars. There are 193 Member States of the UN.  The 5 permanent members of the Security Council are the United States, Russia, France, United Kingdom, and China.  There are a total of 15 members on the Security Council and the 10 other members are elected for two year terms.  The Security Council is responsible for International Peace & Security.  They determine when UN Peacekeeping operations are needed.

The General Assembly includes all 193 Member States.  The General Assembly is the policymaking group.

The Economic and Social Council has 54 Member States.  How many of you have played the “Freerice” trivia program?  It is a non-profit website that is owned by the UN.  Proceeds suppport the United Nations World Food Programme.  I asked our tour guide where the money from Freerice went.  She said that all of the money since 2010 has gone to Cambodia for school lunches for children and also money for poor women.  If you have a chance, please go to the site.  It is a fun way of learning and you’ll be helping the world.

On the tour I was able to see many gifts that countries have donated to the UN.  I also learned a lot about the Peacekeeping missions that are ongoing.   The UN has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 11 times.

What are some other functions you think the UN does?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UN!

 

Many iconic landmarks and other sites were lit up today in blue to honor the United Nations.  The UN has a great website and you can find interesting information.

http://www.un.org/en/index.html

We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art which is located in Central Park in the Upper East Side. It is huge, 2.2 million square feet!  I really enjoyed seeing all of the different types of art.  Some of my favorites were in the Modern and Contemporay wing such as Jackson Pollock, David Hockney, and Georgia O’Keeffe.  We went up to the rooftop cafe which overlooks Central Park and the buidings on the Upper West Side and also the Plaza Hotel.  For those that like the sculptures, the musuem has a large collection of Egyptian art.  If you like the Percy Jackson series, you’ll be able to see the sculptures that are in the books and movie.

We left The Met and walked across Central Park to the American Museum of Natural History.  It is the setting for the movie “Night at the Museum.”  I really liked everything in the museum!  There is so much to see.  The Willamette Meteorite, the largest meteorite in North America and sixth largest in the world, was brought to the museum in 1906 and is one of the most famous meteorites in the world.  The museum also has one of the largest dinosaur fossils in the world. If you are in New York, you should definitely plan to visit both museums.

Have you ever seen “Night at the Museum”?

 

 

We went to the Empire State Building, which is on 5th Avenue.  It is an Art Deco style buidling that opened on April 11, 1939.  It only took 410 days to complete. It is 102 stories high.  It was the tallest building in the world for nearly 40 years.  On a clear day you can see 80 miles.  We rode the elevator up to the 86th floor Observation Deck.   I thought it was really fun and had amazing views.  It was cool to see how big Central Park was from that height. We also had a great view of the Chrysler Building.  At night it looks so cool! There is a light show every night, the  lights come on at dusk and go off at 2:00am.  In 2012, a new lighting system was installed with LED fixtures.  So instead of only 9 colors, there are 16 million colors to choose from. My favorite color combination was orange & blue. I could see the Empire State Building from my room. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the lights turn off.

Have you ever been that high up in a building?

Behind the front lobby desk, is one of the most famous images in New York City.  It is a depiction of the Empire State Building with beams of light from the mast.  The Empire State Building was one of my favorite buildings.

The following video shows a light show for Halloween. You’ll also be able to spot the Chrysler Building, the bright lights of Times Square, The MetLife Building, Madison Square Garden, The Freedom Tower, and multiple bridges.

Times Square is located in Midtown Manhattan on Broadway between 42nd & 47th Streets.  It is the center of the Theater District.  It is one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions.  The Good Morning America studio is there, along with other major companies. On New Year’s Eve, the ball is dropped from Times Square.  Times Square is featured in many movies such as Spiderman, Ghostbusters, and Transformers.  It was so bright and noisy that even after we finished the show late at night, it still looked like it was daytime.

Times Square Links:

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessquare/?cam=tsrobo3

 

We saw the Lion King at the Minskoff Theater.  The Lion King opened on Broadway in November 1997.  It won Best Musical in 1998.  It is the 18th year of the Lion King and has been played in 21 countries.  Over 75 million people have seen it worldwide.  I loved the show.  My favorite characters were Mufasa, Simba, Nala, and Zazu.  My seat was on the aisle, near the stage. When the characters came down the aisle to the stage, they came right by me! The costumes were really cool. Some of the songs were “The Circle of Life” and “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”  by Elton John, “They Live in You” by Mark Mancina and Jay Rifkin, and “King of Pride Rock” by Hans Zimmer.

Have you seen “The Lion King”?

We took the ferry out from Battery Park.  We were on it for about 18 minutes. We had arrived! Here are some cool facts about her: She wears a size 879 shoe. She is 305 feet tall from the ground to the tip of the torch. 300 different types of hammers were used to create the her. She is thought to have been hit by around 600 bolts of lightning every year since she was built. Andy Warhol painted her as part of his Pop Art series in the 1960s. It is estimated to be worth in excess of $35m.

After touring Liberty Island, we headed over to the ferry dock for the next part of our visit-Ellis Island! Ellis Island was the No. 1 immigration station in the country from 1892 to 1954. It processed over 12 million immigrants! Ellis Island was originally 3.3 acres, but they expanded it to 27.5 acres. The landfill came from the NYC subway tunnels. In 1957, a fire destroyed the building. Plans were made for a new building that included a baggage room, a large dining hall and kitchen, dormitories with 600 beds, a hospital, and outdoor recreation areas, including a roof garden. The Great Hall was 189 feet long, 102 feet wide, and had a 60-foot vaulted ceiling. Arrivals were asked 29 questions, including: name, occupation, and how much money they had. 2% of immigrants were sent back from “The Island of Tears”. 1/3 of the immigrants who passed stayed in New York City. The rest scattered across the country. “The Island of Hope” processed 1,004,756 immigrants during it’s peak year in 1907. Some famous passengers include: Bob Hope, Bela Lugosi, Irving Berlin, and Cary Grant. It served as a detainment center and training facility during World War II. It’s been estimated that 40% of americans can trace their ancestry back through Ellis Island. Do you have any ancestors who came through Ellis Island?

We started our adventure at the Portland International Airport, otherwise known as PDX.  After a quick flight to Seattle, we boarded the flight to Newark. I got to sit in the cockpit for a little, and the pilots gave me a small collection of airplane cards.  I flew over Glacier National Park, Detroit, and Cleveland. At the airport, we looked for our bags but they weren’t there.  They hadn’t made the connection! So we had to buy new clothes for the following day.