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The Harlem Tavern has put up a snazzy new sign at their soon-to-be-opened space. I snuck a photo through the fence this past weekend. Harlem Bespoke reports that the tavern's opening date is just a couple of weeks away.
Fun: First ever triple back-flip on a BMX.
The General Grant National Memorial, aka Grant's Tomb, was decked out in Memorial Day finery this weekend.
The Overlook Pavillion, across Riverside Drive from the memorial, was re-opened just a couple of weeks ago. It was opened as a comfort station for visitors a century ago but had long been in a decrepit state. Long ago I took a peek inside the door marked as the men's room. Judging from the smell, even though the building was closed it was still being used as a men's bathroom. The first floor now houses a modest visitor's center and gift shop.
Sorry for the angle on that second photo; that was the only way I could fit most of it in.
Inside the memorial Ulysses and Julia were in their usual spot.
In case you were wonder if wet paint was really wet.
It has been more than three years since I mentioned Alexander Hamilton's house, Hamilton Grange. Back then it was sitting in the middle of Convent Ave., waiting to be moved to its new, and presumably final, home in St. Nicholas Park.
I'm pleased to report that the house is looking really good. It is certainly much less cramped than at its old location. Side porches have returned for the first time in more than a century!
The Park Service's latest update, from March, anticipates a summer opening.
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One day late last fall, December 5th to be exact, I was descending the 116th St. stairs in Morningside Park when I noticed a big ugly box attached to a lamp post. When I stopped to take a closer look the box spoke to me. It told me I was an unauthorized visitor. Seriously! In a park. In the middle of the day. I stood there staring at the camera (I did not make any obscene gestures) for a couple of minutes, hoping it would speak to me again. It didn't. As you can see there is no identification on the camera. Was it owned by the Parks Department? NYPD? Columbia? Friends of Morningside Park? I meant to ask and/or complain at the time but got busy and forgot about it.
Yesterday I noticed the camera was gone. I could have been gone for a while as I don't take these stairs nearly as often as I once did. One reason why is coming up in a future post, but if you are familiar with the 116th St. stairs you might know why.
There were lots of great old neon signs in Yakima. That's one advantage of having 300 days of sunshine a year and almost no snow.
The Lariat's sign was so good I had to stop for dinner. The cheeseburger didn't live up to expectations based on the sign but when they say "Yakima's Original Big Ones" they mean it! I think it contained at least a half-pound of beef. The cost couldn't be beat. Per ounce the cheeseburger was less than half the price of a Shackburger.
The curvy road between Ellensburg and Yakima looked so much more interesting on the map than the interstate. It was! State Route 821 follows the Yakima River through a canyon for much of that distance.
The otherworldly landscape is the result of a gigantic lava flow some 6-17 million years ago. Lava flooded tens of thousands of square miles in what is now Washington, Oregon and Idaho. As the basaltic lava flowed out of the Earth's crust the crust below collapsed, forming the hilly Columbia Plateau. The area east of the Cascades is pretty much a desert -Yakima only gets eight inches of rain a year- so there's not enough water to support trees except along the river.
It wasn't the most enjoyable morning for the bus to be fifteen minutes late.
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