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Thursday, April 3, 2014
New York’s Landmarks
Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty
By by Maja, Charlotte, Peter, Frederik S
In the 1600-century Ellis Island was
a three acres small land which was used to hang men convicted of piracy. It was not always named Ellis Island, at first it was called Kioshk or Gull Island by the Mohegan Indians. Then in the 1630’s a Dutch guy named Michael Paauw renamed it Oyster Island, and during the 1700’s it was known as Gibbet Island, for its gallows.
THE IMMIGRATION PROCESS.
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States over one hundred years ago in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution. The original name for the statue was “liberty enlightening the world”. The structure of the statue was made by the same architect as the Eiffel tower in Paris; Alexandre Eiffel. The making of the statue was a mutual effort between America and France. America was supposed to build the structure that would distribute the weight so that the statue wouldn’t collapse under its own weight. France was then supposed to deliver the assembling parts of the statue. The Statue was completed in France in July, 1884 and arrived in New York Harbor in June of 1885 on board the French frigate "Isere" which transported the Statue of Liberty from France to the United States.
The Empire State Building
By Emilie & Anne-Sofie
The Empire State Building opened on May 1 in 1931 as the tallest building in the world - standing at 1,250 feet tall. This building not only became an icon of New York City, it became a symbol of twentieth century man's attempts to achieve the impossible.
In 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world, the Americans wanted to build something even taller, and by the early twentieth a skyscraper race was on.
Before The Empire State Building in 1909 the Metropolitan Life Tower rose tried to compete followed by the Woolworth Building in 1913 and at last surpassed by the Bank of Manhattan Building in 1929.
It was the previously vice president of General Motors, who decided to join the skyscraper race and to build The Empire State Building. In 1929 Raskob and his partners bought a parcel of property at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue for their new skyscraper. Before The Empire State Building was built, there was sat a glanderous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on the property, but since the property was so extremely valuable and expensive, the owners of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel granted to sell the property to Raskob and his partners.
Facts about the Empire State Building.
Among some New Yorkers, the Empire State Building is also called the 8th wonder of the world.
On a clear day it’s possible for you to see up to 80 miles, which is almost 130 km.
102 floors - observation deck. One of the highest buildings in the world, and once it was the highest of them all.
Total height is about 1.500 feet, which is 442 meter, which is a quarter mile into the sky.
Total floor areal almost 3.000.000 square feet, which would cover about 21 city blocks.
The weight of Empire State Building is about 370.000 tons
There is 1860 steps to the top floor and 79 elevators, where it takes about 1 minute to get to the 80th floor.
The design of Empire State Building was based on the look of a pencil and it was built in the mid of the Great Depression.
About 3400 workers was employed each day and it took one year and 45 days to complete the work, with a total cost of almost 41 million dollars, which is about 7 billion dollars these days.
The top of the building has colors chosen to match holidays and events – green on sct. Patricks day and red on Valentines day f.x.
The Empire State Building has over 3.5 million visitors a year, which makes it to one of the most photographed buildings in the whole world.
The Empire State Building also features in many films, most notably the classic film 'King Kong' from 1933.
The Empire State Building was designed by William Frederick Lamb of the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon.
The Empire State Building is situated south of Midtown, away from the skyscraper clusters in midtown and in the financial district downtown, so this is one of the few places in Manhattan where you have an open 360 degree view.
The Freedom Tower & Ground Zero
By Drude, Nicoline, Sandie
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Ground Zero
Ground zero is the memorial for the two twin towers which fell during the 9/11 attack 2001. You normally use the phrase ground zero, when you describe the centre of an explosion, therefore the name fits perfectly. After 9/11 the whole area was ruined, and a thousands of people lost their lives. It wasn’t just the people in the accident who suffered, but also all those people who knew someone in the towers that lost someone that day and as a nation they suffered a great loss. This huge terrible tragedy deserved a beautiful memory.
The memorial sets the footprints where the twin towers once stood. Each one is about 4000 square meters in size. The foundations have been reconstructed into two giant reflecting pools, with waterfalls along the sites. Along the bronze panels edging the memorial pools there are inscribed names of every person who died during the attack. In the area around the memorial you can today find a beautiful park with more than 400 trees, which creates a peaceful atmosphere for the visitors. The best overview of the ground zero memorial is seen from the Empire State Building, because you get a perfect vision of the district from above.
Every year on the evening of September 11th, two giant light beams, light up the night sky above the ground zero. This "Tribute in Light," creates a visual image of where the twin towers once stood. Under certain conditions you are able to see the 88 searchlights for up to 25 miles away! On the evening of the ninth anniversary of 9/11, when the light beams lit up the memorial place, as usual, something mysterious and fantastic happened. All of the sudden while the beams were shining, viewers noticed thousands of small white objects sparkling in the night sky. When you looked at these objects, it was hard not to think of them as souls floating around in the sky, which created a beautiful and emotional atmosphere. Later on the unidentified white objects had been identified as birds, which normally are a symbol of peace.
The Freedom Tower
The Freedom Tower is originally called One World Trade Center (1 WTC). It is the most expensive skyscraper ever constructed in the United States. The beginning of the construction began in 2006 and is expected to be open for the public in the summer of 2014. When the building stands, it will be the tallest building in New York rising 1,776 feet in the air. The building is going to be the primary building of the new World Trade Center complex which features 5 other buildings.
The building contains 104 floors and 73 elevators. The building is designed to deter future terrorist attacks. This is a part of the reason it costs so much to create. The first 200 feet are reinforced concrete and steel. The original design of the tower has gone through several changes. One of the reasons is to prevent future terror attacks.
The construction is one part of an effort to memorialize and rebuild the original World Trade Center complex.
When you look at the freedom tower from above, the tower will appear to twist 45 degrees, but it doesn’t. The edges of the base are cut to create eight-even-sided triangles so the building can reflect light and create an optical illusion.
The old two towers, was not only buildings. They were proof of New York’s belief in it self.
Therefore it is important for New York, to construct something so magnificent, which can replace the Twin Towers great value, and make the new Yorkers believe again.
United Nations Headquarters
by Malthe, Christian P
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Hello everyone.
Today's stop is the United Nations Headquarters. The headquarters of the United Nations is located on the east side of Manhattan. It is an international zone belonging to all Member States. The headquarters contains four buildings: the General Assembly Building, the Conference Building, the 39-floor Building, and the Dag Hammarskjold Library. The UN Headquarters was designed by 11 architects from all around world and led by Wallace K. Harrison from the United States.
The United Nation is a world organization which was created after the Second World War, to prevent future conflicts . The purpose of the United Nation was to promote International co-operation. When it was created in 1945 there was 51 members, and there is now 193. The United Nations is one the leading organizations, which maintain international peace and the human rights.
Outside UN Headquarters building you can see the colourful display of all the member flags in the UN. It is placed in the alphabetical order. The first flag is Afghanistan while the last flag is Zimbabwe.
Outside the building there also is the “Japanese Peace Bell”. It was presented to the UN in June 1954 by Japan. It has become a tradition to ring the bell twice a year. On the first day of spring, and on the 21 september to celebrate the opening of the General Assembly. In 2002 the General Assembly set the 21 september, as the International Day of Peace.
The most important room in the UN headquarters is “The General Assembly Hall”, with a seating capacity for over 1,800 people. The General Assembly Hall is the central room of the headquarter. This is where all 193 Member States meets, and discuss the current problems in the world. Most of the problems involves many countries or continents, and therefore it require international cooperation. The General Assembly is not a world government because the resolutions they decide are not legally binding upon member states. However through its recommendations it can bring a world attention on important issues, generate international cooperation and in some cases its decisions can lead to binding treaties and conventions.
As an example, in 2003 when Colin Powell made his Iraq presentation where he accused Iraq for having weapons of mass destruction. Because of these accusations the US military entered Afghanistan to find and destroy these weapons. However, they didn’t find any and Colin Powell was accused to be a liar.
Another important room is “The Economic and Social Council”, which was a gift from Sweden. It was conceived by the Swedish architect Sven Markelius, who also was one of the architects in the international team, that designed UN headquarters. The Economic and Social Council have the task to work for economic and social progress and to promote universal respect for human rights. A special feature in the room is, that the ceiling in the room is unfinished. The unfinished ceiling is seen as a symbolic reminder because the economic and social work of the United Nations never finishes, since there will always be more to do, to improve the living conditions in the world.
In the UN headquarters there is a very famous library called “Dag Hammerskjöld Library”. It was dedicated on 16 November 1961 in honour of the Secretary- General Dag Hammerskjöld who died in a plane crash in 1961.
The library is primarily for the use of Secretariat staff, members of permanent missions and other official users.
Facts
Construction started 1948 → Completed 1952
Cost: $65.000.000
155 metres tall (509 ft)
There is 39 Floors
193 member states
International Style of architecture
The United Nations provides food to 90 million people in 75 countries.
The United Nations keeps the peace with 120,000 peacekeepers in 16 operations on 4 continents
The United Nations vaccinated 58 % of the worlds children, saving 2,5 million lives a year.
Brooklyn Bridge & Brooklyn
By Naomi, Liv, Freja
Listen to the podcast here.
Brooklyn
The population of Brooklyn is about 2.6 million people, which makes it the most populous of New York City’s five boroughs. Brooklyn is the second most densely populated county in the United States, right after New York county, Manhattan.
Brooklyn is a very popular borough and houses a lot of artists and writers, like Paul Auster, whom we have read stories by in class last year.
Here are a few fun facts about Brooklyn Natives by a Scottish-Canadian writer and actor, Gavin McInnes.
1. They Call Pasta Sauce “Gravy”
These are Italians who have been eating nothing but spaghetti their whole lives and they think tomato sauce is meat juice. When you ask them why, they usually say, “I don’t know why we call red sauce gravy but it’s always been like that.” What the hell is “red sauce”? They also call all forms of pasta “macaroni” even when they’re holding a box of clearly marked penne in their hand. Learning their language can take months, which most of their women find
“’i ste ri cal.”
2. They Iron Their Socks
This applies mostly to older Brooklynites, but they all wear a very affordable uniform and maintain it with military precision: white sneakers, white socks, knee-length hemmed jean shorts, tucked-in white T-shirt, and assorted gold jewelry. None of these things require an iron, but each one gets it—sometimes even the gold jewelry. They don’t understand why anyone would stray from this perfect ensemble, and when you show up wearing anything different they laugh and say, “Where you goin’?” This is an abbreviation of, “Where are you goin’ with that ridiculous outfit on?”
3. Everyone’s Been Shot At
No matter how sweet and innocent an old lady in Brooklyn is, she’s seen someone get their head blown off and the bullet went right by her head. When you ask her about it, she sounds like she’s talking about someone getting their hair done.
4. Being Their Friend Is Like Joining The Mob
Everyone in Brooklyn “has a guy” and can get you anything from a three-person stroller to an abortion. It’s handy getting whatever you want whenever you want, but that means you had better be available when it’s your turn. When making a new Brooklyn friend, he’ll usually ask you to do some random favor, and half the time it’s something he doesn’t even need. During Hurricane Sandy this tight-knit behavior was particularly evident. The locals banded together and selflessly ripped out drywall and hauled garbage for days. Not only didn’t they ask outsiders for help, they didn’t even want it. Brooklyn isn’t a huge borough. It’s a tiny town.
The Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge looms majestically over New York City’s East River, linking the two boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was built in 1883 but the bridge’s construction took 14 years, involved 600 workers and cost more than $320 million dollars. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension Bridges in the US and is today one of New York’s most famous edifices.
Many of us might know the bridge from movies like “Sex and the City - the movie”, where Steve and Miranda are reunited between their two apartments, but the history of The Brooklyn Bridge contains a much darker side, than the movies reveal. While the bridge was build, the workers worked under extremely difficult conditions. Underwater, the workers in the caisson were uncomfortable, while the hot, dense air gave them blinding headaches, itchy skin, bloody noses and slowed heartbeats, it was still relatively safe. The journey to and from the depths of the East River, could be deathly. Down in the caissons the only air to breath was compressed air. This air made it possible to breathe in the caisson and kept the water from seeping in, but it also dissolved a dangerous amount of gas into the workers’ bloodstreams. When the workers resurfaced, the dissolved gases in their blood were quickly released.This often caused a constellation of painful symptoms known as “caisson disease”. About 27 men died during the construction of the bridge, but the actual number is still unknown.
Harlem Renaissance & All that Jazz
By Sebastian, Jeppe, Dino, Christian H
Listen to the podcast here.
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the first decade of the 1900’s in which the African American culture flourished. The search for a better life brought approximately 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. This relocation is also known as ‘’The Great Immigration’’.
Many of the slaves who migrated discovered that they shared common experiences in their past. And on top of that, the white supremacists, who were protected judicially, were getting more violent and were growing bigger than ever. Even though all of the things that could have stunned them, as seen before, it became a time of celebration; the awaited abolition of slavery and the end of the African American people’s bondage had finally arrived. But despite their success in acquiring freedom, the African American community still had to face severe opposition from parts of the white America. Hate crimes, general prejudices, etc. was all a reality in the life of an Afro American. But for the first time, the Afro American community chose not to dwell in the past and live in self-pity because of their circumstances, instead they used these common experiences from the past to create an explosion of cultural celebration, -pride, and a more positive being.
The culture was blooming; one artist after another published work that would increase the proud feeling the Afro American community now could - and were allowed to - feel in the white man’s world. One of the ways they persevered through the hard times was through music - Jazz music to be more specific.
Jazz music became the most important aspect in form of shaping their culture. Not only did it shape the culture in Harlem, but it also affected and help shape the rest of the world. The jazz-genre, itself, was revolutionary with its improvised instrumental solos and its rhythms that stressed the weak beat instead of the strong, as it was usually played in music before jazz. Artists such as Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday drew huge audiences; white Americans as well as African Americans. Everyone caught the jazz fever. Musicians was not the only ones, who expressed they African American pride through their work; writers and actors also played a crucial parts in putting the new Harlem culture on the map. The Harlem Renaissance gave the world a bunch of extraordinary work, that would otherwise have gone lost in the racial oppression.
When was it?
The Great Immigration served as a prelude to the Harlem Renaissance, but it’s arguable to say that the movement started before the century-change. Experts have estimated the beginning to be around 1917. The more well-known timeline spans from 1920 to 1930. The timing of this revolution was perfect. Between the 1. world war (1918) and the Great Depression (1929) the american economy was booming. Jobs were plentiful and especially in the north. And as mentioned before, the African Americans moved from the south to the north, especially to the area located on upper Manhattan also known as Harlem.
Several artists influenced the uprising of the movement.
An afro-american man named Langston Hughes made a new pact in Harlem that started a new musical era, where the cultures of the African Americans were blooming. Langston Hughes was famous for his jazz-poems. He was born the 1. February 1902 in the city Joplin of Missouri and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. After a lot of travelling around the world Langston Hughes settled down in Harlem New York. Hughes had many different titles. Social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist but best known as a respected and great poet. His poetry and fiction portrayed the lives of the working-class blacks in America, lives he portrayed as full of struggle, joy, laughter, and music. Hughes made the white poets rhymes into jazz songs, which he performed in front of big crowds. Many people was very inspired by Langston Hughes and began to study the creative subjects, such as art, music and acting.
The Harlem Renaissance had spread throughout New York and many African Americans started to get a name that people on the street would recognize. The African American used the music to express their feelings. A famous musician named Claude Mckay used the music to inspire the black people to fight for their rights. Jean Toomer wrote plays that would capture the spirits of those who had lost their hope for freedom. A lot of Afro Americans became famous and used their music and acting as a weapon.
The music had an incredible effect on people in New York. African Americans loved the music genre jazz and many people admired their talent for composing music. The jazz clubs of Harlem were full of people, and especially the club named Cotton Club had a lot of success. The two female singers Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday became world famous at the Cotton Club. Even the world’s biggest jazz musician Louis Armstrong played at the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club was the club that later would be known as the club where legends was born.
The African American culture was born. This culture became so great that not even the white people could ignore the huge success of the black musicians and actors.
I, Too by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong,
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.
Langston Hughes wrote this poem to demonstrate the bravery and will, which he thought every African American possesed. The poem is written from a African American servant’s point of view. Basically what he is saying is: you (the white America) can overtake my body, but you cannot conquer my mind. In other words; no matter what happens, the spirit of the African American people cannot be killed - they will persevere.
The Abyssinian Church
By Frederik B, Emil
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The church was founded in 1808 by a group of Ethiopians and African-Americans (11 women and 5 men) who wouldn't accept the modern segregated-seating. The segregated seating is basically like the men- and women toilets: you can’t mix in with each other. This was a racial separation of the seats in the church. The group refused to sit separated in the first baptist church that was located on Goldstreet, Lower Manhattan.
The founders of the Abyssinian Church wouldn’t accept this separation in a house of God. They walked out the church, and as soon as all the other black people saw that, they walked out with them. That was the start of the establishing of the Abyssinian Church. This is why this church is one of the oldest African-American baptist churches in the world.
This was almost 60 years BEFORE the ending of slavery in the USA, which makes this interesting. Somebody say that it was a big point in the revolution of ending the slavery in America. Mission: “Win more souls for Christ through evangelism, pastoral care, Christian education, social service delivery, and community development.”.
Cultural impact:
During the Harlem Renaissance which was a big cultural movement in the 1920's in Harlem, the church was an important impact. Because of the - at that time - modern Gospel music. The church has still ill has the same gospel music from Harlem as it did during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance will be discussed in another podcast. The church today With the leadership of Calvin O. Butts, The Abyssinian Baptist Church is today one of the most influential churches in America, with a bright future. The church has continued to be a vital political, social, and religious institution in New York. In 1989, the church created its own found called "Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC)", which is a non-profit arm that is founding money through the church to create better community development and social services. Today the found has gathered more than $600 millions. An then a little about the Architecture The Abyssinian Baptist Church is built in 1922-23, it’s a typical gothic style of building and is constructed by a material called limestone. The typical gothic architecture is castles and churches. The gothic type of buildings isn’t very common in the United States of America, but is more common in Europe. The architect behind the Abyssinian Baptist Church is called Charles Webber Bolton. Charles Webber Bolton was an american architect who built many different churches around America in the early 19th century. That was all, thank you for listening to this podcast about the Abyssinian Baptist Church
Paul Auster: New York Trilogy
By Mille, Sarah, Thea
Listen to the podcast here.
Paul Auster
Paul Auster is an American author.. He was born in Newark – New Jersey at February 3 1947. He is one of the most famous and best selling authors in the US. He lives in Brooklyn with his second wife, writer Siri Hustvedt. He had his breakthrough with three novels collected in the book New York Trilogy. The New York Trilogy consists of three exciting detective stories: City of Glass, Ghosts, and The Locked Room. Each is a thriller that is brilliantly written and sure to hold the reader's interest.
The main character in the first novel City of Class is Daniel Quinn. Quinn is a writer, who writes mystery novels. He writes one book a year, it takes him about six months, and then he spends the rest of the year going for long walks. He likes to go for a walk to get lost in the big city, but also get lost in himself. His wife and son died away from him, so he’s all alone the most of the time. The friends he used to have, drifted away.
This Novel is based on existentialism in which the central proposition is that existence precedes essence. Daniel Quinn may used to live a normal life with his wife and son, they may have done as their neighbor and didn’t stand out much. When his wife and son passed away, his life may have changed. His thought about the meaning of life may have changed into what he would put to it, which is atheism because, as far as we know, his life isn’t controlled by religion, and he believes to do whatever he want. An example of this is in the text where a girl calls and ask if he’s Paul Austin, he answers that he’s not, but the third time she calls, he decides to say yes because he thinks it’s an exciting adventure.
This is an extract from the first chapter in the first novel in the trilogy
New York was an inexhaustible space, a labyrinth of endless steps, and no matter how far he walked, no matter how well he came to know its neighborhoods and streets, it always left him with the feeling of being lost. Lost, not only in the city, but within himself as well. Each time he took a walk, he felt as though he were leaving himself behind, and by giving himself up to the movement of the streets, by reducing himself to a seeing eye, he was able to escape the obligation to think, and this, more than anything else, brought him a measure of peace, a salutary emptiness within. The world was outside of him, around him, before him, and the speed with which it kept changing made it impossible for him to dwell on any one thing for very long.
Motion was of the essence, the act of putting one foot in front of the other and allowing himself to follow the drift of his own body. By wandering aimlessly, all places became equal, and it no longer mattered where he was. On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to be nowhere. New York was the nowhere he had built around himself, and he realized that he had no intention of ever leaving it again.
In the past, Quinn had been more ambitious. As a young man he had published several books of poetry, had written plays, critical essays, and had worked on a number of long translations. But quite abruptly, he had given up all that. A part of him had died, he told his friends, and he did not want it coming back to haunt him. It was then that he had taken on the name of William Wilson. Quinn was no longer that part of him that could write books, and although in many ways Quinn continued to exist, he no longer existed for anyone but himself.
He had continued to write because it was the only thing he felt he could do. Mystery novels seemed a reasonable solution. He had little trouble inventing the intricate stories they required, and he wrote well, often in spite of himself, as if without having to make an effort. Because he did not consider himself to be the author of what he wrote, he did not feel responsible for it and therefore was not compelled to defend it in his heart. William Wilson, after all, was an invention, and even though he had been born within Quinn himself, he now led an independent life. Quinn treated him with deference, at times even admiration, but he never went so far as to believe that he and William Wilson were the same man. It was for this reason that he did not emerge from behind the mask of his pseudonym. He had an agent, but they had never met. Their contacts were confined to the mail, for which purpose Quinn had rented a numbered box at the post office. The same was true of the publisher, who paid all fees, monies, and royalties to Quinn through the agent. No book by William Wilson ever included an author's photograph or biographical note. William Wilson was not listed in any writers' directory, he did not give interviews, and all the letters he received were answered by his agent's secretary. As far as Quinn could tell, no one knew his secret. In the beginning, when his friends learned that he had given up writing, they would ask him how he was planning to live. He told them all the same thing: that he had inherited a trust fund from his wife. But the fact was that his wife had never had any money. And the fact was that he no longer had any friends.
Grand Central Terminal
By Frederik L, Nikolaj, Marius
Listen to the podcast here
Grand Central Terminal (GCT), earlier called Grand Central Depot, is a commuter railroad terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The station opened in 1871 originally built by Cornelius Vanderbilt who was an American shipowner, businessman and philanthropist, one of the richest americans in history. It was rebuilt in 1903 due to commuter traffic’s increased demand for a new terminal. After 10 years of construction, the terminal reopened in 1913. In 1998 a 12-year restoration of the building began to remove decades of tar and nicotine stains from cigarette smoke (A single dark patch still remains though). More than 3 million cubic yards of rock and earth had to be removed to make space for the current building, including demolishing 200 buildings. Nearly 30.000 tons of steel were used in the construction (3 times more than the Eiffel Tower).
It is the biggest railway station in the world, with 44 platforms and 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100.
The terminal covers an area of 48 acres (which is 194.249 square meters). The total cost of constructing the building was 80 million dollars which is around 2 billion American dollars today. Grand Central Station is the world’s sixth most visited tourist attraction with over 21.600.000 visits annually. It’s not only the largest station in the world, it’s also the busiest. The station deals with 750.000 people every single day (That’s more than the population of San Francisco.) 10.000 of those people comes only for eating lunch. The information booth which is situated at the center of the concourse deals with over 1.000 questions an hour. The station has one of the largest Lost and Founds departments in the country with an average of 2.000 items lost each month. Most common item: cellphones.
A fun fact:
The terminal, was built with lots and lots of granite, that contains uranium and potassium – which are radioactive substances. Due to this fact, Grand Central Terminal technically becomes a producer of radiation. The amount of radiation is trivial, but Grand Central Terminal’s radiation is actually more than is legally allowable for a nuclear power plant. The statues of Hercules, Minerva and Mercury around the clock on the facade of the building were designed in France and sculpted in Long Island City. They weigh 1,5 tons and are 66 feet long. Below the railway tracks you’ll find levels with all kinds of shopping possibilities. Clothing stores, souvenir stores and a broad range of restaurants. Today, there are 68 shops and 35 dining options in the terminal. Quote from Maira Kalman’s children’s book Next Stop Grand Central: “In Grand Central you cannot shilly shally or dilly dally. Everyone rushes and dashes and zips and zaps and whizzes like crazy, and oh what a dizzy and delightful place.”
We’ll end with 10 fun facts:
1. 93% of GCT commuters are college graduates.
2. The GCT basement is so deep that it can contain a 10 storeyed building and it would still not reach ground surface.
3. The great clock in the main hall are valued 15-20 million dollars.
4. One for the girls. The clock on the facade outside the building is the largest Tiffany clock in the world.
5. A little known area in GCT houses a tennis court which is actually open to the public
6. A room called M42 is responsible for providing all of the electricity, but it doesn’t appear on any maps or blueprints of the terminal.
7. The zodiacs from October to March are depicted in the ceiling, containing 2,500 stars.
8. The GCT’s most innovative feature are the ramps. They allow passengers to go from train to street without climbing a single stair.
9. On the 100th anniversary the stores in the terminal priced their good as if it were 1913.
10. The terminal is starring in a lot of movies, fx. Marvel’s “The Avengers” and Warner bros. “I Am Legend”
Central Park
By Marie, Ida and Katrine
Listen to the podcast here.
To introduce you, we’ll start with some main informations..
Central Park is an urban park in Manhattan in New York City. The park is about 4 km long and 800 m wide. The total area of Central Park is 3,4 square km’s. Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States, with approximately 25 million visitors per year from around the world
Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States..
In the early 1850's, the park project spanned more than a decade and cost the city ten million dollars. The purpose of the creation was to refute the European view that Americans lacked a sense of civic duty and appreciation for cultural refinement.
The creation of Central Park started with a long debate..
In 1857 the construction of the park finally begun, based on the winner of a park design contest, the "Greensward Plan," of Frederick Law Olmsted, the park superintendent, and Calvert Vaux, an architect. In the process, a population of about 1,600 people who had been living in the rocky, swampy terrain were evicted. Chosen by the city and the park planners, because it's terrain was unsuitable for commercial building, they for example transferred rocky views and swamps into lakes. These varied elements would be refined, enhanced, reduced and eradicated to create a park in the style of European public grounds, with an, on the surface, countryside appearance.
In Central Park among other things you’ll find the Strawberry Fields..
The Strawberry Fields is the memorial for the singer and songwriter John Lennon. It is designated as a quiet zone in Central Park. Strawberry Fields is fashioned similarly to the original flowing design of the park. It Is lined with tall elm trees, shrubs, flowers and rocks. Strawberry Fields officially reopened on October 9 1985, the 45th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth. Annually, on this date, as well as on the anniversary of john Lennon’s death, visitors and fans from all over the globe flock to Strawberry Fields to pry homage to this Beatles’ legacy.
John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono lived in the Dakota Apartments where, walking into his home on December 8 1980, John Lennon was murdered and shot dead. To commemorate his life, talents and memory, Henry J. Stern designated this area. It is named after the title and the Beatle song “Strawberry Fields Forever” The teardrop shaped region was re-landscaped by Central Park Conservancy with help of landscape architect Bruce Kelley and a generous $1 million donation from John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono.
The iconic black and white Imaging mosaic is designed by a team of artists from the Italian city of Nepal’s, lies in the centre of Strawberry Fields. It is named after another famous song by John Lennon, “Imagine”, which evokes a vision and hope for a better world, without war and conflict.
Besides..
Central Park is filled with many different activities that will keep any visitor content. No matter what your interests are or when you are visiting, there is always something for everyone. You have the option to take a guided tour of the park in a Horse-Drawn Carriage, a pedicab tour or on a bicycle tour.
During the warmer months there are concerts presented by a wide variety of genres for all music-lovers. Seasonal plays and events are also abundant. ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ and ‘The Central Park Film Festival’ is some of the most anticipated annual activities.
Central Park have a lot of beautiful Cherry Blossom trees that bloom throughout Central Park and other beautiful flowers and plants that flourish within the Conservatory Garden - Therefore a picnic at summertime is a very popular activity in Central Park.
During the colder months many people like to go ice-skating at Wollman or Lasker Rink. Holiday Sights walking tour is a great way to see a bit of Central Park, but also the surrounding areas of NYC that are all lit up with decorations and festivities during the holiday season.
The High Line
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Download the Tour Guide Brochure.
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Other useful links
Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty
By by Maja, Charlotte, Peter, Frederik S
In the 1600-century Ellis Island was a three acres small land which was used to hang men convicted of piracy. It was not always named Ellis Island, at first it was called Kioshk or Gull Island by the Mohegan Indians. Then in the 1630’s a Dutch guy named Michael Paauw renamed it Oyster Island, and during the 1700’s it was known as Gibbet Island, for its gallows.
The island got its present name from the merchant Samuel Ellis who purchased the island and built a tavern there, and in 1808 the New York state bought the island from Ellis’ family.
From 1865 to 1892 the island size was doubled to over 6 acres, with landfill created from incoming ships’ ballast and later on it grew to more than 27 acres.
Ellis Island was vacant until the government decided to construct the first federal immigration station on Ellis Island. The first person admitted to the new immigration station on Ellis Island was Annie Moore from Ireland. She arrived in 1892 with her two younger brothers. They were to be reunited with their parents who were already living in New York.
Later on Ellis Island became the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the nation’s busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892-1954 where all 33 structures on Ellis Island were officially closed.
In 1976 Ellis Island opens to the public, as a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. There are hour-long guided tours of the Main Arrivals Building. The island is receiving a great number of visitors. Many visitors come to trace the steps of their ancestors, and in 2001 the center allows visitors to search through millions of immigrant arrival records for information on individual people who passed through Ellis Island on their way into the United States.
It has been estimated that close to 40 percent of all current U.S. citizens can trace at least one of their ancestors to Ellis Island.
THE IMMIGRATION PROCESS.
Those who immigrated to the United States were mainly from eastern and southern Europe. In many cases, the immigrants came to escape the poverty and religious intolerance that existed in countries such as Italy, Russia and Poland. On their way to the United States they travelled by a steamship which was divided in classes. First and second class passengers stayed in cabins and the third class stayed in the steerage.
When they arrived to Ellis Island, the immigrants had to get a medical inspection, and if someone was considered a risk to the public health, they were kept for further examination or they were sent back home.
After the medical inspection there was a legal inspection, which is an inspection where a man asks the immigrant twenty-nine questions such as “Where were you born?” or “Are you married?” The people who asked the immigrants the questions, had a manifest with correct answers. If the immigrants answers differed from those on the manifest, could they be detained for further inquiry.
After the inspection they came to a staircase called “The Stairs of Separation”. It got the name because it was divided into three aisles that led the immigrants to three different destinations. Immigrants who were being detained, walked by the center aisle. Those who were travelling west or south had to go down the right side of the stairs, and if the immigrants wanted to go to New York City or to the north, they walked down the left aisle.
Finally they would come to an area where they could exchange their money to American dollars, buy tickets to their destinations and meet up with their loved ones. The area where the immigrants were reunited with their loved ones was called the “Kissing post”.
Ellis Island was for many people the “isle of hope” but, unfortunately it was more the “isle of tears” because of the large number of those who were sent back home.
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States over one hundred years ago in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution. The original name for the statue was “liberty enlightening the world”. The structure of the statue was made by the same architect as the Eiffel tower in Paris; Alexandre Eiffel. The making of the statue was a mutual effort between America and France. America was supposed to build the structure that would distribute the weight so that the statue wouldn’t collapse under its own weight. France was then supposed to deliver the assembling parts of the statue. The Statue was completed in France in July, 1884 and arrived in New York Harbor in June of 1885 on board the French frigate "Isere" which transported the Statue of Liberty from France to the United States.
On May 11, 1965, Ellis Island became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
Because it was put on the Ellis island where immigrants from all over the world were coming through, the Statue became a representation of the value and greatness of the U.S. The structure itself was revolutionary, because at the time a statue of that size had never been created before. But more so, because of its phenomenal size, it would be the first thing that immigrants would see, since most would come in by sea. For all these millions of people coming to the US, the Statue became a symbol of hope. It became the recognition of the land of possibilities for those who desired a new beginning for themselves. Over the years, the Statue of Liberty's symbolism has grown to include freedom and friendship as well as independence. For this reason Lady Liberty is holding the tablet of knowledge, inscribed with the date July 4, 1776 in her left hand while in her right hand she is holding the beacon of freedom.
By Emilie & Anne-Sofie
In 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world, the Americans wanted to build something even taller, and by the early twentieth a skyscraper race was on.
Before The Empire State Building in 1909 the Metropolitan Life Tower rose tried to compete followed by the Woolworth Building in 1913 and at last surpassed by the Bank of Manhattan Building in 1929.
It was the previously vice president of General Motors, who decided to join the skyscraper race and to build The Empire State Building. In 1929 Raskob and his partners bought a parcel of property at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue for their new skyscraper. Before The Empire State Building was built, there was sat a glanderous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on the property, but since the property was so extremely valuable and expensive, the owners of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel granted to sell the property to Raskob and his partners.
Facts about the Empire State Building.
Among some New Yorkers, the Empire State Building is also called the 8th wonder of the world.
On a clear day it’s possible for you to see up to 80 miles, which is almost 130 km.
102 floors - observation deck. One of the highest buildings in the world, and once it was the highest of them all.
Total height is about 1.500 feet, which is 442 meter, which is a quarter mile into the sky.
Total floor areal almost 3.000.000 square feet, which would cover about 21 city blocks.
The weight of Empire State Building is about 370.000 tons
There is 1860 steps to the top floor and 79 elevators, where it takes about 1 minute to get to the 80th floor.
The design of Empire State Building was based on the look of a pencil and it was built in the mid of the Great Depression.
About 3400 workers was employed each day and it took one year and 45 days to complete the work, with a total cost of almost 41 million dollars, which is about 7 billion dollars these days.
The top of the building has colors chosen to match holidays and events – green on sct. Patricks day and red on Valentines day f.x.
The Empire State Building has over 3.5 million visitors a year, which makes it to one of the most photographed buildings in the whole world.
The Empire State Building also features in many films, most notably the classic film 'King Kong' from 1933.
The Empire State Building was designed by William Frederick Lamb of the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon.
The Empire State Building is situated south of Midtown, away from the skyscraper clusters in midtown and in the financial district downtown, so this is one of the few places in Manhattan where you have an open 360 degree view.
The Freedom Tower & Ground Zero
By Drude, Nicoline, Sandie
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Ground ZeroGround zero is the memorial for the two twin towers which fell during the 9/11 attack 2001. You normally use the phrase ground zero, when you describe the centre of an explosion, therefore the name fits perfectly. After 9/11 the whole area was ruined, and a thousands of people lost their lives. It wasn’t just the people in the accident who suffered, but also all those people who knew someone in the towers that lost someone that day and as a nation they suffered a great loss. This huge terrible tragedy deserved a beautiful memory.
The memorial sets the footprints where the twin towers once stood. Each one is about 4000 square meters in size. The foundations have been reconstructed into two giant reflecting pools, with waterfalls along the sites. Along the bronze panels edging the memorial pools there are inscribed names of every person who died during the attack. In the area around the memorial you can today find a beautiful park with more than 400 trees, which creates a peaceful atmosphere for the visitors. The best overview of the ground zero memorial is seen from the Empire State Building, because you get a perfect vision of the district from above.
Every year on the evening of September 11th, two giant light beams, light up the night sky above the ground zero. This "Tribute in Light," creates a visual image of where the twin towers once stood. Under certain conditions you are able to see the 88 searchlights for up to 25 miles away! On the evening of the ninth anniversary of 9/11, when the light beams lit up the memorial place, as usual, something mysterious and fantastic happened. All of the sudden while the beams were shining, viewers noticed thousands of small white objects sparkling in the night sky. When you looked at these objects, it was hard not to think of them as souls floating around in the sky, which created a beautiful and emotional atmosphere. Later on the unidentified white objects had been identified as birds, which normally are a symbol of peace.
The Freedom Tower
The Freedom Tower is originally called One World Trade Center (1 WTC). It is the most expensive skyscraper ever constructed in the United States. The beginning of the construction began in 2006 and is expected to be open for the public in the summer of 2014. When the building stands, it will be the tallest building in New York rising 1,776 feet in the air. The building is going to be the primary building of the new World Trade Center complex which features 5 other buildings. The building contains 104 floors and 73 elevators. The building is designed to deter future terrorist attacks. This is a part of the reason it costs so much to create. The first 200 feet are reinforced concrete and steel. The original design of the tower has gone through several changes. One of the reasons is to prevent future terror attacks.
The construction is one part of an effort to memorialize and rebuild the original World Trade Center complex.
When you look at the freedom tower from above, the tower will appear to twist 45 degrees, but it doesn’t. The edges of the base are cut to create eight-even-sided triangles so the building can reflect light and create an optical illusion.
The old two towers, was not only buildings. They were proof of New York’s belief in it self.
Therefore it is important for New York, to construct something so magnificent, which can replace the Twin Towers great value, and make the new Yorkers believe again.
by Malthe, Christian P
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Today's stop is the United Nations Headquarters. The headquarters of the United Nations is located on the east side of Manhattan. It is an international zone belonging to all Member States. The headquarters contains four buildings: the General Assembly Building, the Conference Building, the 39-floor Building, and the Dag Hammarskjold Library. The UN Headquarters was designed by 11 architects from all around world and led by Wallace K. Harrison from the United States.
The United Nation is a world organization which was created after the Second World War, to prevent future conflicts . The purpose of the United Nation was to promote International co-operation. When it was created in 1945 there was 51 members, and there is now 193. The United Nations is one the leading organizations, which maintain international peace and the human rights.
Outside UN Headquarters building you can see the colourful display of all the member flags in the UN. It is placed in the alphabetical order. The first flag is Afghanistan while the last flag is Zimbabwe.
Outside the building there also is the “Japanese Peace Bell”. It was presented to the UN in June 1954 by Japan. It has become a tradition to ring the bell twice a year. On the first day of spring, and on the 21 september to celebrate the opening of the General Assembly. In 2002 the General Assembly set the 21 september, as the International Day of Peace.
As an example, in 2003 when Colin Powell made his Iraq presentation where he accused Iraq for having weapons of mass destruction. Because of these accusations the US military entered Afghanistan to find and destroy these weapons. However, they didn’t find any and Colin Powell was accused to be a liar.
Another important room is “The Economic and Social Council”, which was a gift from Sweden. It was conceived by the Swedish architect Sven Markelius, who also was one of the architects in the international team, that designed UN headquarters. The Economic and Social Council have the task to work for economic and social progress and to promote universal respect for human rights. A special feature in the room is, that the ceiling in the room is unfinished. The unfinished ceiling is seen as a symbolic reminder because the economic and social work of the United Nations never finishes, since there will always be more to do, to improve the living conditions in the world.
In the UN headquarters there is a very famous library called “Dag Hammerskjöld Library”. It was dedicated on 16 November 1961 in honour of the Secretary- General Dag Hammerskjöld who died in a plane crash in 1961.
The library is primarily for the use of Secretariat staff, members of permanent missions and other official users.
Facts
Construction started 1948 → Completed 1952
Cost: $65.000.000
155 metres tall (509 ft)
There is 39 Floors
193 member states
International Style of architecture
The United Nations provides food to 90 million people in 75 countries.
The United Nations keeps the peace with 120,000 peacekeepers in 16 operations on 4 continents
The United Nations vaccinated 58 % of the worlds children, saving 2,5 million lives a year.
Brooklyn Bridge & Brooklyn
By Naomi, Liv, Freja
The population of Brooklyn is about 2.6 million people, which makes it the most populous of New York City’s five boroughs. Brooklyn is the second most densely populated county in the United States, right after New York county, Manhattan.
Brooklyn is a very popular borough and houses a lot of artists and writers, like Paul Auster, whom we have read stories by in class last year.
Here are a few fun facts about Brooklyn Natives by a Scottish-Canadian writer and actor, Gavin McInnes.
1. They Call Pasta Sauce “Gravy”
These are Italians who have been eating nothing but spaghetti their whole lives and they think tomato sauce is meat juice. When you ask them why, they usually say, “I don’t know why we call red sauce gravy but it’s always been like that.” What the hell is “red sauce”? They also call all forms of pasta “macaroni” even when they’re holding a box of clearly marked penne in their hand. Learning their language can take months, which most of their women find
“’i ste ri cal.”
2. They Iron Their Socks
This applies mostly to older Brooklynites, but they all wear a very affordable uniform and maintain it with military precision: white sneakers, white socks, knee-length hemmed jean shorts, tucked-in white T-shirt, and assorted gold jewelry. None of these things require an iron, but each one gets it—sometimes even the gold jewelry. They don’t understand why anyone would stray from this perfect ensemble, and when you show up wearing anything different they laugh and say, “Where you goin’?” This is an abbreviation of, “Where are you goin’ with that ridiculous outfit on?”
3. Everyone’s Been Shot At
No matter how sweet and innocent an old lady in Brooklyn is, she’s seen someone get their head blown off and the bullet went right by her head. When you ask her about it, she sounds like she’s talking about someone getting their hair done.
4. Being Their Friend Is Like Joining The Mob
Everyone in Brooklyn “has a guy” and can get you anything from a three-person stroller to an abortion. It’s handy getting whatever you want whenever you want, but that means you had better be available when it’s your turn. When making a new Brooklyn friend, he’ll usually ask you to do some random favor, and half the time it’s something he doesn’t even need. During Hurricane Sandy this tight-knit behavior was particularly evident. The locals banded together and selflessly ripped out drywall and hauled garbage for days. Not only didn’t they ask outsiders for help, they didn’t even want it. Brooklyn isn’t a huge borough. It’s a tiny town.
The Brooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge looms majestically over New York City’s East River, linking the two boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was built in 1883 but the bridge’s construction took 14 years, involved 600 workers and cost more than $320 million dollars. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension Bridges in the US and is today one of New York’s most famous edifices.
Many of us might know the bridge from movies like “Sex and the City - the movie”, where Steve and Miranda are reunited between their two apartments, but the history of The Brooklyn Bridge contains a much darker side, than the movies reveal. While the bridge was build, the workers worked under extremely difficult conditions. Underwater, the workers in the caisson were uncomfortable, while the hot, dense air gave them blinding headaches, itchy skin, bloody noses and slowed heartbeats, it was still relatively safe. The journey to and from the depths of the East River, could be deathly. Down in the caissons the only air to breath was compressed air. This air made it possible to breathe in the caisson and kept the water from seeping in, but it also dissolved a dangerous amount of gas into the workers’ bloodstreams. When the workers resurfaced, the dissolved gases in their blood were quickly released.This often caused a constellation of painful symptoms known as “caisson disease”. About 27 men died during the construction of the bridge, but the actual number is still unknown.
Harlem Renaissance & All that Jazz
By Sebastian, Jeppe, Dino, Christian H
Listen to the podcast here.
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the first decade of the 1900’s in which the African American culture flourished. The search for a better life brought approximately 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. This relocation is also known as ‘’The Great Immigration’’.
Many of the slaves who migrated discovered that they shared common experiences in their past. And on top of that, the white supremacists, who were protected judicially, were getting more violent and were growing bigger than ever. Even though all of the things that could have stunned them, as seen before, it became a time of celebration; the awaited abolition of slavery and the end of the African American people’s bondage had finally arrived. But despite their success in acquiring freedom, the African American community still had to face severe opposition from parts of the white America. Hate crimes, general prejudices, etc. was all a reality in the life of an Afro American. But for the first time, the Afro American community chose not to dwell in the past and live in self-pity because of their circumstances, instead they used these common experiences from the past to create an explosion of cultural celebration, -pride, and a more positive being.
The culture was blooming; one artist after another published work that would increase the proud feeling the Afro American community now could - and were allowed to - feel in the white man’s world. One of the ways they persevered through the hard times was through music - Jazz music to be more specific.
When was it?
The Great Immigration served as a prelude to the Harlem Renaissance, but it’s arguable to say that the movement started before the century-change. Experts have estimated the beginning to be around 1917. The more well-known timeline spans from 1920 to 1930. The timing of this revolution was perfect. Between the 1. world war (1918) and the Great Depression (1929) the american economy was booming. Jobs were plentiful and especially in the north. And as mentioned before, the African Americans moved from the south to the north, especially to the area located on upper Manhattan also known as Harlem.
Several artists influenced the uprising of the movement.
An afro-american man named Langston Hughes made a new pact in Harlem that started a new musical era, where the cultures of the African Americans were blooming. Langston Hughes was famous for his jazz-poems. He was born the 1. February 1902 in the city Joplin of Missouri and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. After a lot of travelling around the world Langston Hughes settled down in Harlem New York. Hughes had many different titles. Social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist but best known as a respected and great poet. His poetry and fiction portrayed the lives of the working-class blacks in America, lives he portrayed as full of struggle, joy, laughter, and music. Hughes made the white poets rhymes into jazz songs, which he performed in front of big crowds. Many people was very inspired by Langston Hughes and began to study the creative subjects, such as art, music and acting.
The Harlem Renaissance had spread throughout New York and many African Americans started to get a name that people on the street would recognize. The African American used the music to express their feelings. A famous musician named Claude Mckay used the music to inspire the black people to fight for their rights. Jean Toomer wrote plays that would capture the spirits of those who had lost their hope for freedom. A lot of Afro Americans became famous and used their music and acting as a weapon.
The African American culture was born. This culture became so great that not even the white people could ignore the huge success of the black musicians and actors.
I, Too by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong,
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.
Langston Hughes wrote this poem to demonstrate the bravery and will, which he thought every African American possesed. The poem is written from a African American servant’s point of view. Basically what he is saying is: you (the white America) can overtake my body, but you cannot conquer my mind. In other words; no matter what happens, the spirit of the African American people cannot be killed - they will persevere.
The Abyssinian Church
By Frederik B, Emil
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The church was founded in 1808 by a group of Ethiopians and African-Americans (11 women and 5 men) who wouldn't accept the modern segregated-seating. The segregated seating is basically like the men- and women toilets: you can’t mix in with each other. This was a racial separation of the seats in the church. The group refused to sit separated in the first baptist church that was located on Goldstreet, Lower Manhattan. The founders of the Abyssinian Church wouldn’t accept this separation in a house of God. They walked out the church, and as soon as all the other black people saw that, they walked out with them. That was the start of the establishing of the Abyssinian Church. This is why this church is one of the oldest African-American baptist churches in the world.
This was almost 60 years BEFORE the ending of slavery in the USA, which makes this interesting. Somebody say that it was a big point in the revolution of ending the slavery in America. Mission: “Win more souls for Christ through evangelism, pastoral care, Christian education, social service delivery, and community development.”.
Cultural impact:
During the Harlem Renaissance which was a big cultural movement in the 1920's in Harlem, the church was an important impact. Because of the - at that time - modern Gospel music. The church has still ill has the same gospel music from Harlem as it did during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance will be discussed in another podcast. The church today With the leadership of Calvin O. Butts, The Abyssinian Baptist Church is today one of the most influential churches in America, with a bright future. The church has continued to be a vital political, social, and religious institution in New York. In 1989, the church created its own found called "Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC)", which is a non-profit arm that is founding money through the church to create better community development and social services. Today the found has gathered more than $600 millions. An then a little about the Architecture The Abyssinian Baptist Church is built in 1922-23, it’s a typical gothic style of building and is constructed by a material called limestone. The typical gothic architecture is castles and churches. The gothic type of buildings isn’t very common in the United States of America, but is more common in Europe. The architect behind the Abyssinian Baptist Church is called Charles Webber Bolton. Charles Webber Bolton was an american architect who built many different churches around America in the early 19th century. That was all, thank you for listening to this podcast about the Abyssinian Baptist Church
Paul Auster: New York Trilogy
By Mille, Sarah, Thea
Listen to the podcast here.
Paul Auster
Paul Auster is an American author.. He was born in Newark – New Jersey at February 3 1947. He is one of the most famous and best selling authors in the US. He lives in Brooklyn with his second wife, writer Siri Hustvedt. He had his breakthrough with three novels collected in the book New York Trilogy. The New York Trilogy consists of three exciting detective stories: City of Glass, Ghosts, and The Locked Room. Each is a thriller that is brilliantly written and sure to hold the reader's interest.
The main character in the first novel City of Class is Daniel Quinn. Quinn is a writer, who writes mystery novels. He writes one book a year, it takes him about six months, and then he spends the rest of the year going for long walks. He likes to go for a walk to get lost in the big city, but also get lost in himself. His wife and son died away from him, so he’s all alone the most of the time. The friends he used to have, drifted away.
This is an extract from the first chapter in the first novel in the trilogy
New York was an inexhaustible space, a labyrinth of endless steps, and no matter how far he walked, no matter how well he came to know its neighborhoods and streets, it always left him with the feeling of being lost. Lost, not only in the city, but within himself as well. Each time he took a walk, he felt as though he were leaving himself behind, and by giving himself up to the movement of the streets, by reducing himself to a seeing eye, he was able to escape the obligation to think, and this, more than anything else, brought him a measure of peace, a salutary emptiness within. The world was outside of him, around him, before him, and the speed with which it kept changing made it impossible for him to dwell on any one thing for very long.
Motion was of the essence, the act of putting one foot in front of the other and allowing himself to follow the drift of his own body. By wandering aimlessly, all places became equal, and it no longer mattered where he was. On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to be nowhere. New York was the nowhere he had built around himself, and he realized that he had no intention of ever leaving it again.
In the past, Quinn had been more ambitious. As a young man he had published several books of poetry, had written plays, critical essays, and had worked on a number of long translations. But quite abruptly, he had given up all that. A part of him had died, he told his friends, and he did not want it coming back to haunt him. It was then that he had taken on the name of William Wilson. Quinn was no longer that part of him that could write books, and although in many ways Quinn continued to exist, he no longer existed for anyone but himself.
He had continued to write because it was the only thing he felt he could do. Mystery novels seemed a reasonable solution. He had little trouble inventing the intricate stories they required, and he wrote well, often in spite of himself, as if without having to make an effort. Because he did not consider himself to be the author of what he wrote, he did not feel responsible for it and therefore was not compelled to defend it in his heart. William Wilson, after all, was an invention, and even though he had been born within Quinn himself, he now led an independent life. Quinn treated him with deference, at times even admiration, but he never went so far as to believe that he and William Wilson were the same man. It was for this reason that he did not emerge from behind the mask of his pseudonym. He had an agent, but they had never met. Their contacts were confined to the mail, for which purpose Quinn had rented a numbered box at the post office. The same was true of the publisher, who paid all fees, monies, and royalties to Quinn through the agent. No book by William Wilson ever included an author's photograph or biographical note. William Wilson was not listed in any writers' directory, he did not give interviews, and all the letters he received were answered by his agent's secretary. As far as Quinn could tell, no one knew his secret. In the beginning, when his friends learned that he had given up writing, they would ask him how he was planning to live. He told them all the same thing: that he had inherited a trust fund from his wife. But the fact was that his wife had never had any money. And the fact was that he no longer had any friends.
Grand Central Terminal
By Frederik L, Nikolaj, Marius
The terminal covers an area of 48 acres (which is 194.249 square meters). The total cost of constructing the building was 80 million dollars which is around 2 billion American dollars today. Grand Central Station is the world’s sixth most visited tourist attraction with over 21.600.000 visits annually. It’s not only the largest station in the world, it’s also the busiest. The station deals with 750.000 people every single day (That’s more than the population of San Francisco.) 10.000 of those people comes only for eating lunch. The information booth which is situated at the center of the concourse deals with over 1.000 questions an hour. The station has one of the largest Lost and Founds departments in the country with an average of 2.000 items lost each month. Most common item: cellphones.
A fun fact:
The terminal, was built with lots and lots of granite, that contains uranium and potassium – which are radioactive substances. Due to this fact, Grand Central Terminal technically becomes a producer of radiation. The amount of radiation is trivial, but Grand Central Terminal’s radiation is actually more than is legally allowable for a nuclear power plant. The statues of Hercules, Minerva and Mercury around the clock on the facade of the building were designed in France and sculpted in Long Island City. They weigh 1,5 tons and are 66 feet long. Below the railway tracks you’ll find levels with all kinds of shopping possibilities. Clothing stores, souvenir stores and a broad range of restaurants. Today, there are 68 shops and 35 dining options in the terminal. Quote from Maira Kalman’s children’s book Next Stop Grand Central: “In Grand Central you cannot shilly shally or dilly dally. Everyone rushes and dashes and zips and zaps and whizzes like crazy, and oh what a dizzy and delightful place.”
We’ll end with 10 fun facts:
1. 93% of GCT commuters are college graduates.
2. The GCT basement is so deep that it can contain a 10 storeyed building and it would still not reach ground surface.
3. The great clock in the main hall are valued 15-20 million dollars.
4. One for the girls. The clock on the facade outside the building is the largest Tiffany clock in the world.
5. A little known area in GCT houses a tennis court which is actually open to the public
6. A room called M42 is responsible for providing all of the electricity, but it doesn’t appear on any maps or blueprints of the terminal.
7. The zodiacs from October to March are depicted in the ceiling, containing 2,500 stars.
8. The GCT’s most innovative feature are the ramps. They allow passengers to go from train to street without climbing a single stair.
9. On the 100th anniversary the stores in the terminal priced their good as if it were 1913.
10. The terminal is starring in a lot of movies, fx. Marvel’s “The Avengers” and Warner bros. “I Am Legend”
Central Park
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To introduce you, we’ll start with some main informations..
Central Park is an urban park in Manhattan in New York City. The park is about 4 km long and 800 m wide. The total area of Central Park is 3,4 square km’s. Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States, with approximately 25 million visitors per year from around the world
Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States..
In the early 1850's, the park project spanned more than a decade and cost the city ten million dollars. The purpose of the creation was to refute the European view that Americans lacked a sense of civic duty and appreciation for cultural refinement.
The creation of Central Park started with a long debate..
In 1857 the construction of the park finally begun, based on the winner of a park design contest, the "Greensward Plan," of Frederick Law Olmsted, the park superintendent, and Calvert Vaux, an architect. In the process, a population of about 1,600 people who had been living in the rocky, swampy terrain were evicted. Chosen by the city and the park planners, because it's terrain was unsuitable for commercial building, they for example transferred rocky views and swamps into lakes. These varied elements would be refined, enhanced, reduced and eradicated to create a park in the style of European public grounds, with an, on the surface, countryside appearance.
In Central Park among other things you’ll find the Strawberry Fields..
The Strawberry Fields is the memorial for the singer and songwriter John Lennon. It is designated as a quiet zone in Central Park. Strawberry Fields is fashioned similarly to the original flowing design of the park. It Is lined with tall elm trees, shrubs, flowers and rocks. Strawberry Fields officially reopened on October 9 1985, the 45th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth. Annually, on this date, as well as on the anniversary of john Lennon’s death, visitors and fans from all over the globe flock to Strawberry Fields to pry homage to this Beatles’ legacy.
John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono lived in the Dakota Apartments where, walking into his home on December 8 1980, John Lennon was murdered and shot dead. To commemorate his life, talents and memory, Henry J. Stern designated this area. It is named after the title and the Beatle song “Strawberry Fields Forever” The teardrop shaped region was re-landscaped by Central Park Conservancy with help of landscape architect Bruce Kelley and a generous $1 million donation from John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono.
The iconic black and white Imaging mosaic is designed by a team of artists from the Italian city of Nepal’s, lies in the centre of Strawberry Fields. It is named after another famous song by John Lennon, “Imagine”, which evokes a vision and hope for a better world, without war and conflict.
Besides..
Central Park is filled with many different activities that will keep any visitor content. No matter what your interests are or when you are visiting, there is always something for everyone. You have the option to take a guided tour of the park in a Horse-Drawn Carriage, a pedicab tour or on a bicycle tour.
During the warmer months there are concerts presented by a wide variety of genres for all music-lovers. Seasonal plays and events are also abundant. ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ and ‘The Central Park Film Festival’ is some of the most anticipated annual activities.
Central Park have a lot of beautiful Cherry Blossom trees that bloom throughout Central Park and other beautiful flowers and plants that flourish within the Conservatory Garden - Therefore a picnic at summertime is a very popular activity in Central Park.
During the colder months many people like to go ice-skating at Wollman or Lasker Rink. Holiday Sights walking tour is a great way to see a bit of Central Park, but also the surrounding areas of NYC that are all lit up with decorations and festivities during the holiday season.
The High Line
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Other useful links
1. Ellis Island / The Statue of Liberty
2. The Freedom Tower / Ground Zero
3. The Abyssinian Church / Harlem
4. Grand Central Station
5. The Empire State Building
6. Paul Auster: New York Trilogy
7. Brooklyn / Brooklyn Bridge
8. United Nations
9. Harlem Renaissance / Jazz Era
10 Central Park
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