what about the plastic animals?

Not Even The Hydrant Remains

The city recently made over 870,000 photos available from the Municipal Archives.  Jen Carlson at Gothamist has been digging through that pile of wonder and has been placing thematic collections online a few times a week.  Friday's gallery of urban bicyclists caught my attention because the top photo here was taken at 119th and Manhattan Ave, which I often walk past on my daily commute.

Almost nothing on this block in the 1931 photo is there today.  The building in the background at left (in front of the elevated tracks) is the only building that remains on the block.  The Ninth Avenue El ceased operation in 1940.  Even the fire hydrant has been replaced (albeit in the same spot)!

The emptiness of this part of Harlem stands out when you look at the aerial photo from 1996.  Sometimes I curse myself for not having the foresight to photograph all the vacant lots when I moved into the neighborhood.

At The North Portico

Somebody wrote their congressman and got us a tour of the White House.  While security is pretty tight, it is not as annoying as going through an airport.  You can't bring a bag, or electronics, or a camera, and your cell phone has to be turned off.  Thus no photos of the inside.

The tour is self-guided but somewhat limited in that you see the first floor of the East Wing and Residence.  Friendly Secret Service agents are in each room to answer any questions.  We got to see the Green Room, the Red Room, the East Room, where the President typically holds press conferences (it was much smaller than I expected) and where musical performances are held, and the State Dining Room (which was also much smaller, and a bit dowdier, than I expected).  The best part of the tour is in the Family Dining Room where you get a special White House pin if you beat the president in two out of three arm wrestling matches.

George Washington Is Still Sleeping Here

]George and Martha are eternally resting in a very modest tomb at Mt. Vernon.

Other final presidential locations that have appeared here:

Abraham Lincoln

Ulysses S. Grant

Warren G. Harding

George Washington Slept Here

Last month I had the pleasure of visiting Washington DC with some Bay Staters. One afternoon was spent at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. We got a tour through the house (no photos allowed) and wandered around the grounds where we saw the lower garden, the wharf on the Potomac, a horse barn, a slave cabin and Washington's tomb.  We also toured the museum where George's dentures are displayed (no photos allowed).

Yes, that is a cherry tree in the middle photo.  The garden had a variety of fruit trees shaped to grow low to the ground. The giant tulip poplar was planted by Washington himself in 1785.

Did you know that after the revolution George operated one of the largest distilleries in the new country?

Shorakkopoch Rock

According to legend it was on this date in 1626 that Peter Minuit bought Manhattan Island from the Lenape people who inhabited the island.  The sale took place under a tulip tree in what is now Inwood Hill Park.  The tulip tree fell in 1938. In its place is this glacial erratic and plaque.

Items Seen While Walking Down the Stairs This Afternoon

Any guesses as to what that thing is in the top photo?  What kind of berry is that?  What's that on the rock?  Look closer. If you lost your pet bird on or before Wednesday please call that number.  No prank calls, please.

Not Batman

Perhaps a few too many beers were consumed at Harlem Tavern for me to put up an involved post.  In other bird news the goose couple at work were showing off their goslings this morning.  All eight or nine of them.  There were too many of the downy little critters moving around on the lawn to get an accurate count.

Quotable Cheese

I was walking by the Westside Market in Chelsea the other day when I remembered that I needed my fix of lyrics quoting cheese.