New York City Day 2 Part 1

Today we took a short walk to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station near Liberty Harbor and rode the Light Rail to Hoboken.

Doug ponders what he will see when he reaches the city.

From Hoboken we boarded the PATH train, which is a subway connecting New Jersey with Manhattan.

Our first stop of the day was at The Empire State Building where we stood in this long line.
After standing in the long line we had to decide if we wanted to go to the indoor observation area on the 102nd floor or the outdoor observation area on the 86th floor. We opted for the 86th floor for the outdoor view.

Once we purchased our ticket, we began our climb to the 86th floor.
Actually, you take an elevator up about 80 floors and then you can either wait for another elevator or climb the last several flights manually.

Once you reach the top you find that the long line you waited in downstairs is now upstairs on the observation deck. You wonder just how much weight this deck will hold.

From the top of The Empire State Building you can see this view...

walk a little one way and you can see this view...

stop for minute and ask someone to take a photo...you don't have to worry about them stealing your camera!

walk a little more around the deck and you see this view.

Next we began using our 3-day double decker bus pass and passed through the Garment District where we saw this big needle and button.

New York's Times Square is NOT where I expected to see a billboard advertising Colonial Williamsburg.

The Flatiron Building is known for its strangely-shaped offices at the corners due to the building's unique design.

It's very quiet here on the traffic-congested streets of Manhattan as honking carries a fine of $350.

This is the entrance to a subway station. We never actually took the New York Subway within New York City itself, having only utilized the PATH between New Jersey and Manhattan. Maybe next time...

We took some time to view this September 11 timeline.

Then we headed over to visit some of our money on Wall Street.

Marlon was not allowed to visit his stocks at the New York Stock Exchange.

Security is pretty high on Wall Street these days.

This side of the NYSE building takes on a different look during Christmas. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NYSEWallStreet.jpg to see.

Narrow streets and skyscrapers are the norm in Manhattan.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/new-york-city-day-2/ pictures 1-122.

See Part 2 of this blog entry for a video.

To be continued...

New York City Tour Part 3

The final stop of our day brought us back near Liberty Harbor.

It was time to visit Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.

We hopped on the short cruise to our destinations.

Along the way, we got another great view of the city's skyline.

Our first stop was Ellis Island, which served as the main entry facility for United States immigrants from 1892 to 1954.

More than 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island during this period, including over 1 million in its peak year 1907.

About 10% of those arriving at Ellis Island were held for a legal hearing. If it was thought someone may become a public burden, was a contract laborer or worse, they would be brought to this hearing room.

Ultimately, only 2% of those trying to enter the United States were returned to their home countries. Reasons included criminal history, medical conditions and insanity.

Temporarily detained immigrants were housed in one of two dormitory rooms.

Back on the boat, visitors approaching The Statue get views of it from several different perspectives.

The Statue of Liberty was presented as a gift to the United States from the people of France in 1886.

Did you know the seven spikes on The Statue's crown are believed to represent both the seven seas and the seven continents?

As promised, here's the video of our full-day guided tour of New York City.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/new-york-city-tour/ pictures 171-246.

To be continued...

New York City Tour Part 2

Next the bus headed through the well-known theater and shopping district of Times Square.

We thought we might see the Naked Cowboy of Times Square but instead saw the Naked Cowgirl...or did we? Take a look at this article www.oanmedia.com/2008/06/naked_cowgirl_granny_in_times.php . What a coincidence we took this picture...too bad we didn't get a better one.

The electronic billboards of Times Square are a familiar sight to anyone who has watched the ball drop on New Year's Eve.

Our bus finally stopped at the corner of East 42nd Street and Park Ave. where we found...

a view of The Empire State Building...and we entered...

Grand Central Terminal. With 44, Grand Central Terminal has more platforms than any other train station in the world.

Although it is often called "Grand Central Station", that name actually refers to the nearby post office and a previous rail station on the site.

The station originally opened in 1871 and was then entirely torn down in phases between 1903 and 1913 and replaced with the current Grand Central Terminal.

The main branch of the New York Public Library is very near Grand Central. You may recognize it as a major location from the 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow.

A shortage of parking in Manhattan increases the need for these stacked parking structures...expect no quick getaways here.

Our next stop of the day was at the sobering construction site formerly occupied by the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

Constructed from 1966-1973, the Twin Towers stood 110 feet high and were the world's tallest buildings for one year after construction, when the Sears Tower surpassed them.

The occupants of the Twin Towers accounted for approximately 3,000 of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

This cross, known as the World Trade Center cross or the Ground Zero cross, was found in the debris of the buildings and stands as a memorial to the victims. It is temporarily located at nearby St. Peter's Church.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/new-york-city-tour/ pictures 93-170.

Look for the video of our New York City tour in the next entry!

To be continued...