The Rockettes

Radio City Music Hall, midtown, Manhattan.
Related post is found here.

St Raphael's Roman Catholic Church

Built in 1900-1902

Photographed in 2012

The Church of Saints Cyril & Methodius and St. Raphael. is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 502 West 41st Street in Hell's Kitchen / Clinton, Manhattan, New York City, near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. It was established in 1974 from the parish merger of St. Raphael's Roman Catholic Church and SS. Cyril & Methodius and is staffed by the Franciscan Friars. The church is located in the former St. Raphael's Church. It is the city's Croatian American parish.

The church building and "dwelling house" (used as a rectory) was built between 1900 and 1902 ("in marble" according to some) as the Parish Church of St. Raphael to the designs by the New York architect George H. Streeton for $90,000 (for the church) and $25,000 (for the dwelling house). The twin-towered design and front facade is composed of Manhattan schist trimmed with limestone; the rest of the church is brick trimmed with stone.
(Source: Wikipedia)

111 Fifth Avenue

Built in 1895

Photographed in 2010

The Constable Building at 109-111 Fifth Avenue at the corner of East 18th Street in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1894-95 and was designed by William Schickel in the Neo-Renaissance style. It was originally planned to be a manufacturing an workshop building, but the use was changed to an office building before construction began. The site, which was purchased in 1893, was originally the Belmost Mansion, an the new builing was erected by the estate of Henrietta Constable, daughter of Aaron Arnold an the wife of James M. Constable. Arnold and Constable were partners in the Arnold Constable & Company Dry Goods Emporium on East 19th Street between Fifth and Broadway, to which this building was connected internally. The Constable Builing is located within the Ladies' Mile Historic District. (Source: "NYCLPC Ladies' Mile Historic District Designation Report, volume 1") 

Riverside Church Entrance Detail

Built in: 1926-30
Architect: Allen, Pelton and Collons
Photographed in 2011

The Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational (American Baptist and United Church of Christ) church in New York City, famous for its elaborate Neo-Gothic architecture—which includes the world's largest tuned carillon bell. It is located in Morningside Heights between Riverside Drive and Claremont Avenue and between 120th Street and 122nd Street.

The tallest church in the United States and the 24th tallest in the world, was designed by Allen, Pelton and Collens. Henry C. Pelton and Charles Collens were commissioned by Rockefeller to travel across Spain and France to find inspiration for their project. They took for their model of the nave the 13th Century Gothic Cathedral of Chartres, France, and for the massive single bell tower that dwarfs the rest of the church, one of the towers at Laon, but here with a base 100 feet square, and built on a steel frame the equivalent of a 22-story building (392 feet). Inlaid on the floor is a labyrinth similar to those at Chartres and elsewhere. The construction was begun in 1926 and, with delays caused by a spectacular fire in the wooden scaffolding, finished — with its first service at the main altar — October 5, 1930.

The church received New York City Landmark status in 2000.

Central Saving Bank - Upper West Side

The Central Savings Bank, also known as the Apple Savings Bank for Savings, at 2100-2108 Broadway was designed by Edward York and Philip Sawyer in 1928. The tall, large banking floor still serves Apple Savings Bank, but the old-fashioned second through fifth floors, which used to provide one of the most impressive office spaces in the city, have been converted to apartments. Samuel Yellin is responsible for the design of the grilles, gates, lanterns, brackets, doors, windows, bank screens, mail box, signs and a revision to the lock for the safe deposit grille.

The Towers - Jackson Heights

The Towers 34 Avenue, 33-15 to 33-51 80th Street, Jackson Heights, NY
Andrew J. Thomas / 1923-25 / Neo-Romanesque

Jackson Heights is a unique neighborhood in the history and development
of New York City. Some of the city's first co-ops and large private gardens
were introduced by the Queensboro Corporation in the 1920s. It was an era
of architectural experiment and a bold attempt to create a model "garden city."

The Towers is a landmark co-op building in Jackson Heights Queens.
One of the most prestigious addresses in Jackson Heights, it was once
home to Edward A. MacDougall, Jackson Height's original planner and
the President of the Queensboro Corporation. THe towers represents the
zenith of full-block architectural imagery in Jackson Heights.
There are 8 buildings, guarded by griffins and connected by lush gardens
surging around them, enclosing a private park.

Reference:
Tour of Jackson Heights Co-ops and Historic Architecture

3849 Hamilton st, Philadelphia, PA

This charming building stands on the side of a curb stretch of road, near the intersection of Hamilton street
and Lancaster avenue in West Philadelphia.

Shinjuku Skyscraper District at Night 新宿高層ビル群

Click to view the rest of photos on my flickr.

Shinjuku, for hundreds of years, has been an important district, strategically located 
on the main walking road to Osaka, Koshukaido（甲州街道）, as well as more recently, 
as a main station of the famous Yamanote train（山手線）loop which envelops Tokyo. 


The train station of Shinjuku has been described as the busiest train station in the world, 
with some millions of commuters passing through its turnstiles every day.
The Shinjuku Skyscraper District was Tokyo's first major skyscraper development area,
starting in the 1970s with Keio Plaza Inter-Continental Tokyo 's Keio Plaza North Building 
and culminating with Kenzo Tange's Tokyo City Hall, Tower I , the tallest building 
in Japan at the time.


Progress continues. Nishishinjuku (West Shinjuku) heading away from the city center 
is the site of the coming Nishi Shinjuku 3-Chome Redevelopment with 
plans for what will be 3 of the 4 tallest buildings in Japan.


I had a chance to stroll this area around midnight, possibly on the weekend.
This was the very first time I was in the state of zen by walking around Shinjuku.
During the day, this area is nothing but the chaos with the noise and over population.
This is one of the things that I love, witnessing the opposite side of  the city.
I sure will go back again, real soon.


深夜近くに、西新宿の高層ビル街をお散歩しました。
新宿の街を歩いていてこんなに静かな気分になったのは、これが初めてでした。
私は都会のこんな側面に癒されます。
ここにはまた戻ってこなければ！

Church Street Post Office, NYC

90 Church St, New York, NY 10007
Architecture by Cross & Cross; Pennington, Lewis & Mills
Built in 1935, Photographed in 2010

From the outside, the Church Street Post Office appears stout and modest at the corner of Church and Vesey Streets.
But details like the giant, squared-and-stylized eagles perched seven floors up on its Indiana-limestone
façade signal what's inside: a haven of art deco-era designs that have earned it a spot on the National
Historic Landmark register.

To view more photos, please visit my flicker slideshow, or thumbnails.

Church Street Post Office, Interior, NYC

The Church Street Post Office opened in 1937. Its solid craftsmanship has transcended decades of wear
and tear, as well as the impacts of both the 1993 and 2001 attacks on its neighbor the World Trade
Center (WTC). On September 11, 2001, the building withstood the collapse of the twin towers and 7
WTC. In fact, it suffered surprisingly limited damage other than blown-out windows and a foot-thick
coating of dust and debris, even despite scattered fires and the activation of emergency sprinklers inside.

"There was little damage to the actual structure," says Robert Selsam, spokesperson for the building's
management company, Boston Properties. "It's a very sturdy building."

Selsam was in charge of the building's decade-long renovation through most of the 1990s. Calling it a
"complete modernization," his team updated the electrical, plumbing, elevator, and central air
conditioning and heating systems and was launching the final phase of work on the building's main post
office floor in September 2001.

Since then, his company's mission shifted from renovation to restoration, involving the replacement of
more than 800 windows, along with walls and flooring that harbored contaminants such as mold,
asbestos, and lead dust. Three years and several million dollars later, the Church Street Post Office
reopened on August 2, 2004.

Black marble columns topped by silver stars adorn the lobby. The fine work of the building's original
designer, Lewis A. Simon, is present in virtually every corner of the main floor. Simon was the
supervising architect of the Treasury Department in the 1930s, when the New Deal was on the table and
designs were simple and classic, especially for federal buildings like post offices.

Stars are among the main recurring details adorning the building. They protrude like silver badges of
national pride from the original steel entryways on the post office's north and south ends and the ceiling
and black-and-green marble columns inside. The entrances' ceilings follow suit. Their translucent panels
are decorated with an art deco version of the "Great Seal" of the United States -- the eagle image seen on
the back of a dollar bill.

Beneath the grand ceiling and columns are solid marble walls and an almost pristine marble-and-granite
terrazzo floor. "If you look at that interior floor you'd swear it was brand new," Selsam says. "It looks
like it was set and polished yesterday, but that terrazzo is over 70 years old."

The building's metalwork is the backbone of its design. Similar to the chrome-and-steel style of the
Chrysler Building, the main floor's chandeliers, sconce lights, service windows, doors, and vent covers
all feature the pale, somewhat dulled silver metal crafted for architectural continuity throughout.

Colorful, polished terrazzo floors make for grand entrances As for the work that takes place within the
building, the U.S. Postal Service is back in full swing -- with 325 employees on four floors -- after
temporarily shifting operations to Farley Post Office on 8th Avenue and 33rd Street following September
11. In addition to processing mail for the seven downtown zip codes, including two for the WTC that are
still technically active, the building houses a postal store, manned shipping windows, and new, 24-hour
self-service shipping stations complete with scales and postage-label printers.

On the building's other 10 floors, Boston Properties continues to build out space for new tenants, which
now include the New York City Housing Authority and, eventually, the state Department of Health and
the Public Service Commission.

The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text Source:
- Church St. P.O. Bundles Mail with Art Deco Designs

Union League of Philadelphia

140 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Architecture by John Fraser
Built in 1864, Photographed in 2009

A Union League is one of a number of organizations established in 1863 and 1864 during the American
Civil War to promote loyalty to the Union side and the policies of Abraham Lincoln. They were also
known as Loyal Leagues. They comprised upper middle class men who supported the United States
Sanitary Commission, which helped treat wounded soldiers after battle. The Clubs supported the
Republican Party, with funding, organizational support, and political activism.

Today, the most prominent of the remaining union leagues is the oldest and first: The Union League of
Philadelphia. Founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President
Abraham Lincoln, it laid the philosophical foundation of other Union Leagues across a nation torn by
Civil War. The Union League has hosted U.S. presidents, heads of state, industrialists, entertainers and
visiting dignitaries from around the globe. It has also given loyal support to the American military in each
conflict since the Civil War, and continues to be driven by its founding motto, "Love of Country Leads."
Although no longer exclusively Republican or male in membership, the Union League has maintained its
identity as distinctly traditional and politically conservative.

The classic French Renaissance-styled League building, with its brick and brownstone façade and
dramatic twin circular staircases leading to the main entrance on Broad Street, was designed by John
Fraser and completed in 1865. Additions to the building in the Beaux Arts style, by Philadelphia
architect Horace Trumbauer and his chief designer Julian Abele and completed in 1910 and 1911,
expanded the building to occupy an entire city block. The building was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1979. Adorning the walls and hallways is the League’s distinguished collection of art
and artifacts. The collection is a rich, historical chronicle of Philadelphia’s unique imprint upon the
American landscape from the 19th century to today and is recognized by historians and art experts as
valuable components of our shared American history.

Resource: Wikipedia

"30 Rock", the Rockefeller Center, NYC

30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Built in 1933, Photographed in 2010

Popularly known as “30 Rock”,  the GE Building is a slim gothic skyscraper and the centerpiece of the
Rockefeller Center complex. At 850ft (259m) with 70 floors, it is the tallest, grandest and most dazzling
of the Rockefeller Center buildings. The landmark emanates a futuristic, larger-than-life grace, despite its
bulky limestone base, which garnered another nickname: “The Slab.” The 70-story Art Deco building
was originally constructed for the Radio Corporation of America in 1933 (formally known as RCA
building), and was exceptionally modern for its time, with a contemporary open lobby and even
escalators connecting the ground floor to lower level shops.

The top floor of the building is an event room and restaurant named the Rainbow Room, above that is
the Top of the Rock observation deck. The building is the setting for the famous "Lunchtime atop a
Skyscraper" photograph, taken by Charles C. Ebbets in 1932 of workers having lunch, sitting on a steel
beam, without safety harnesses. The 840-foot (260 m) drop lies below.

One of the little known but fascinating parts of Rockefeller Center is the underground concourse, known
as a 'city in the city'. It is an exceptional example of civic planning. All buildings share a common design
style, Art Deco, and are connected to each other via an underground concourse, the Catacombs. This
interconnected series of pedestrian passages stretches from 47th Street to 51st Street, and from 5th
Avenue to 7th Avenue. The concourse, New York's largest underground city, contains retail shops, fast
food, fine dining, post office, and subway entrances.

One of the first escalators provided access to this concourse from the lobby. The open lobby was the first of its time and rich materials, reduced black and beige ornamental scheme is enhanced by dramatic
lighting. Granite covers the building base to a height of 4ft (1.2m), and the shaft has a refined facade of
Indiana limestone with aluminum spandrel panels.

In 1985 the GE Building was given official landmark status.

To view more photographs, visit my flickr slideshow, or thumbnails.

New York Public Library

Fifth Avenue, bet. 40th and 42nd Street, NY, NY
Architecture by Carrere & Hastings
Established in 1895, Opened in 1911, Photographed in 2010

This historical piece of architecture, the library, together with McKim, Mead & White's demolished
Pennsylvania Station and Warren & Wetmore's and Reed & Stem's Grand Central Terminal, is
one of the top examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in United States.

The construction began in 1902, and it consumed enormous budget of 9 million dollars, as the project
would grow over time. The whole things took 9 years to build. It took a half of time to build the outside
of the building , and it took the equal amount of time, almost 4 and a half years to build the inside.
Partially because they designed not only the walls or ceilings, but also they designed the chairs, tables
and shelves. As you see in some of their main rooms, such as the rose reading room (the picture on top),
everything has a certain level of synchronicity. This gorgeously decorated rose reading room is nearly
300ft long, with 52-foot high ceilings.

The exterior white marble came from Vermont and two-thirds of it was rejected as not high enough
quality. The marble walls are one foot thick and the basement of the structure has additional brick walls
four feet thick.

The first book that was ever checked out at the NY public library, by the way, was "Ethical Ideas of Our
Time" a study of Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy. The slip was introduced at 9:08 am, and he got
his book 6 minutes later.

The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Due to the current 2009 economic crisis, NYPL is facing a $23.2 million funding cut when the new
fiscal year begins July 1. This will result in the expected elimination of 465 jobs, and in sharply scaled
back branch operating hours. To make an action, please visit the following link:
Don't close the book

Reference:
-Bowery Boys Podcast, episode #17
-NYC-Architecture
-Wikipedia

To view the rest of interior photographs, visit my flickr slideshow, or thumbnails.

Museum Of Modern Art, NYC

11 West 53rd Street (Between 5th and 6th Ave), NY, NY
Architecture by Yoshio Taniguchi
Renovated in 2004, Photographed in 2010

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has been singularly important in developing and collecting
modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world.

The idea for The Museum of Modern Art was originated by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr.). In 1925, she started collecting Modern and European Art to decorate her own homes. Later, she turned a part of her apartment into a gallery. It was called the Topside Gallery. It was on the 7th floor of her home on 44th street. The room itself, the gallery was intimate, sort of like a nicer version of parent's living room. There, she was able to express her personality through those arts. Her taste went into folk art, modern art, she had a particular fondness for Henri Matisse. According to her biography, she loved experimentation, was open to new ideas. She wished to branch this out a little further, and provide a way to support artists and present these arts to the public.

However her husband was not supportive to any of those. In fact, he opposed it. He thought it was too
extravagant. Accoring to her biography, in 1933, her husband hired a couple of doctors to say she was
having a nervous breakdown that she needed to be in a bed for months. Two of her sons confirmed that
was made up. However that didn't stop Abby from working on a museum. There were moments that she popped out the bed, get as much done as possible, and jump back into the bed, and do the sick routine. Apparently she worked around it. She eventually came across two of the lady friends, who worked on the foundation of the museum with, Lillie P. Bliss and Mary Quinn Sullivan.
They became known variously as "the Ladies", "the daring ladies" and "the adamantine ladies". They
rented modest quarters for the new museum and it opened to the public on November 7, 1929, nine days after the Wall Street Crash.

The first director, Alfred H. Barr Jr., was a 27 years-old promising young protege. From that position, he was one of the most influential forces in the development of popular attitudes toward modern art; He
expanded the meaning of the word "modern art". To him it included film, design, architecture, and
photography. He actively and purposely used that definition when he did the exhibits, and shocked a lot
of people. Today, MOMA reflects what he was doing back then. His achievements accumulated
quickly; the Museum held its first loan exhibition in November, on the Post-Impressionists Van Gogh,
Cézanne, Gauguin, and Seurat. Perhaps Barr's most memorable and enduring accomplishment in his
directorial capacity was the Picasso retrospective of 1939-1940, which caused a reinterpretation of the
artist's work and established the model for all future retrospectives at the Museum.

MoMA's midtown location underwent extensive renovations in the early 2000s, closing on May 21,
2002. From June 29, 2002 until September 27, 2004, a portion of its collection was on display in what
was dubbed MoMA QNS, a former Swingline staple factory in the Long Island City section of Queens.
Museum re-opened on Nov 20th, 2004, MoMA's reopening brought controversy as its admission cost
increased from US$12 to US$20, making it one of the most expensive museums in the city; however it
has free entry on Fridays after 4pm, thanks to sponsorship from Target Stores.

To view more photographs, visit my flickr slideshow, or thumbnails.

The Christ Memorial Church, Philadelphia

4233 Chestnut St. (43rd and Chestnut Sts), Spruce Hill, West Philadelphia
Build in 1887, Photographed in 2009
Designer: Isaac Purcell (1853-1910)

This is an impressive church with wonderful gothic architecture. It was considered as one of the best
features of the West Philly skyline about a century back. The church (and neighborhood around it) have
seen better days. Now the church is under a threat of eventual demolition, due to many decades of neglect.
The property, in fact, is on market for sale for $96,000 (May, 2010).

Further reading:
Church needs millions to fix collapsed tower

New York State Pavilion at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NYC

Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY
Built in 1964, Photographed in 2010

The New York State Pavilion was constructed for the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
Designed by architect Philip Johnson, the “Tent of Tomorrow” measures 350 feet by 250 feet, with
sixteen 100-foot columns suspending a 50,000 square-foot roof of multi-colored panels. The popular
exhibit for the state of New York also held three towers, measuring 60 feet, 150 feet, and 226 feet. The
two shorter towers held cafeterias for the fair, and the tallest tower, as the highest point of the fair, held
an observation deck. Fair visitors ascended the towers in the “Sky Streak” capsule elevators.

The New York State Pavilion also included the adjacent “Theaterama,” which exhibited pop art works
by Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) among others. The “Theaterama” also
screened a 360-degree film about the wonders of New York State, from Jones Beach to Niagara Falls.
The space was converted to the Queens Playhouse in 1972 with its first production, George Bernard
Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” opening in October of the same year. The theater continued to operate until 1985
and was renovated and reopened in 1994.

Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, often referred to as Flushing Meadow Park, is the second-largest
public park in the City of New York (after Pelham Bay Park in The Bronx., It was created as the site of
the 1939/1940 New York World's Fair and also hosted the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. It is
maintained and operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

To view more photographs of the park, visit my flickr slideshow, or thumbnails.

Further reading about the New York State Pavillion:
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/nypavilion/index.htm

Radio City Music Hall, NYC

1260 Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas), NY, NY
Built in 1932, Photographed in 2010

Radio City Music hall is the corner stone of the Rockefeller Center office complex buildings on 50th
street and 6th avenue. This really is the showcased jewels of the center, and the classic example of Art
deco style. It is the largest theatre in town. The interior was declared a city landmark in 1978.

Radio City Music Hall, Interior, NYC

1260 Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas), NY, NY
Built in 1932, Photographed in 2010

Radio City Music hall is the corner stone of the Rockefeller Center office complex buildings on 50th
street and 6th avenue. This really is the showcased jewels of the center, and the classic example of Art
deco style. It is the largest theatre in town.

The interior was declared a city landmark in 1978. It was was designed by Donald Deskey, who won
the competition. He designed over 30 spaces inside the theatre including 8 lounges, smoking rooms, and
etc. Each room has its own theme, and he worked with all manners of different artists. A lot of them, by
the way, were recommended by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s wife, Abby, who just had opened the
Museum of Modern Art. Some of the artists designed some of the pieces that ended up in the Radio City.
One of them, who didn't, but who had signed a contract, was Georgia O'Kieff. She was all ready to go,
and was going to design a mural in a lady's room. However, at that time, she was becoming a very well
known artist, and her husband, who was a little bit of controller, thought she wasn't getting enough
money, and demanded 3 times as much money. Eventually by the time they had it all sorted out, because
she really wanted to do it, she had no time to finish it. She went in, started it, and left with having a
nervous breakdown and quit.

Donald Deskey, in his later career, took a chance and started a graphic design firm and designed some of
the most recognizable icons of the American domestic products, such as the Crest toothpaste, the Tide
bullseye, Jif peanut butter, and Pampers disposable diapers.

Reference
-The Bowery Boys: New York City History

To view more photos of the interior of the building, visit my flickr slideshow, or thumbnails.

Divine Lorraine Hotel, Philadelphia, PA

699 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Built in 1892, Photographed in 2009

The Divine Lorraine Hotel, also known as the Lorraine Apartments, stands at the corner of Broad and
Fairmount Streets in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by architect Willis G. Hale and built
between 1892 and 1894, the building originally functioned as apartments, housing some of
Philadelphia's wealthy residents. Lorraine Apartments is one of the most luxurious and best preserved
late 19th century apartment houses in Philadelphia. In 1900 the building became the Lorraine Hotel
when the Metropolitan Hotel Company purchased the apartments. Later it would become the first hotel
in Philadelphia to be racially integrated under Father Divine.

Divine's followers ran the hotel after his death until its sale in 2000. The Universal Peace Mission
Movement still exists in the form of a network of independent churches, businesses, and religious orders.
Its followers also run another hotel, the Divine Tracy in West Philadelphia. The Divine Lorraine
received a historical marker from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1994 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as a site significant in terms of both
architectural and civil rights history. After its most recent purchase in 2006, future plans for the hotel
included converting it into condominiums.

Further readings:
-The Philly History Blog
-Philly Provenance

The Bowery Savings Bank, Subway Entrance, NYC

110-120 East 42nd Street, NYC
Built in 1923, Photographed in 2004

It’s difficult to grasp how many different kinds of stone and marble and other fine materials those who
planned and built the Bowery Savings Bank brought together. Both the exterior and the interior of the
bank building, at 110-120 East 42nd Street in Manhattan, are designated as New York City landmarks.

The building doesn’t call as much attention to itself as other beautiful, eye-catching landmarks in the city.
Still, it looks like a piece of an Old Europe city tucked across from Grand Central Station, with its grand
rounded arches, detailed stone carving, and a rock-solidness that feels centuries old though it was
constructed in the early 20th century.

Further reading:
-Bowery Savings: The World in a Building