Today was Brad’s first day out with me on one of my walking excursions. We had an ambitious plan. Start at Union Station and walk Broadway to 44th street ( Times Square) then head over to Park Ave for 10 more blocks then back over to Broadway and up to take a photo class at the West Side Apple Store at 67th and then a genius appointment to get my touchpad working. Well, we got halfway through. Not bad. And it was lovely, too hot, but really some fun things to see.
We slogged through it together and I think it was one of those days where the memories will be more fun than the experiene.
That said. We made it without incident to Union square. We were turned around and forgot we were there to see the Chihuli sculpture so out came the plan, we saw the sculpture. I think of Dale Chihuly as a con man. He doesn’t really create his own work, I never saw it as pretty or interesting, and frankly, I’m not sure what makes him such a commercial success. These rocks were ‘nicer’ than most of his work I have seen, but still.. a dime a dozen on Chihuly.
Basically unimpressed we walked the park. So very, very much to do and see. People, fountains, sculptures, playground and Abe Lincoln.
You wouldn’t believe it if I told you that I got a phone call from Abe while there, but I did. I pointed at a QR code, after downloading a QR reader and he called.
Its part of a program called Talking Statues and they appear to be all over the city (and all over the world). We embarked on a bit of a debate about whether it sounded like Lincoln, silly , I know, but we did it anyway.
On one side of the park was a farmers market, on another was a setup where you could drop your composting materials and pick up compost.
As we left we came across these wonderful brass plaques inlaid in the sidewalk. Once home i did a bit of research and found this… “Twenty two bronze squares arch out around the south side of Union Square, each commemorating traces of the square’s history from the 1600’s to 1882, when the city’s first Labor Day parade was held on the site. The bronzes may look like they are steeped in history, but they aren’t old at all. They are by artist Gregg LeFevre, referred to as sequence art they commemorate the changes and progression of the park. a school teacher and artist whose bronzes can be found all over the city, and were installed not long ago in 2002.”
I tried to take pictures of the ‘dated maps’ but they were awful, i searched the web and couldn’t find any, so these will give you an idea of what I saw… They display the parks layout, others mark events that took place in and around the park.
My shots…
and what I found around the web..
This only tells me that I really need to go back to the apple store for the outdoor photography class and go back and photograph and post about these plaques.
As I read on the web about these plaques I found that I have been looking at part of this series all over the city. Look down while you walk, and you might see them too. The ones I can recall are the library walk and 101 Park.
We left the park and headed to MoMath, a museum designed around math. We stepped in, discovered they didn’t honor my museum pass and decided it was not worth the $18 admission for essentially two adults to walk through a loud , kid focused, math playground. But i would definitely take some little kids. It looked amazing.
From there on down Broadway as our plan dictated, towards Madison Square Park to see both an art installation and another piano, but on the way… FISHS EDDY
I never saw it before , never heard of it, but Fishs Eddy was a wonderful place to stop. So many interesting things if you like housewares and new possibilities for decorating a dining table or everyday china. Then off to Madison Park after a quick bathroom break at Equinox. (The best member ship I ever had… clean bathrooms all over the city just waiting to be used as needed.) Directly across the street was Beecher’s Handmade Cheese..
We passed the Flatiron Building which always seems to have some art display in its tip.
I am always looking up and around as I walk, its why I enjoy the city so… I never know what I will see, here are more of these wonderful street closures where the city has made little sitting areas.
and here is another shop I want to drop into and a wonderful building with an enormous clock .
And does that kid , playing in one of these street closures have a balloon?
And Is there a balloon flying next to this building?
and when I got to Madison park is there another balloon?
And Another 
And more
Whats with all these balloons???? I’m figuring now that I see they are tagged that its probably some science experiment…
But in the end, its a marketing gimmick for a new online kids clothing company. Still clever, but no science experiment!
Doesn’t matter, they are all over, tied to strollers, held by toddlers and just let loose. They add to our fun of Madison Square Park where we saw this wonderful sculpture series by Diana Al-Hadid
and A Piano!!!
and a bride with her wedding party.
why don’t we say we saw a groom?
On we trudge, Brad spotted two interesting things that I had noticed. First, a huge obelisk under which a guy named Worth is buried, and the fact that hallway through Madison Park Broadway makes a jog, heading off in a slightly new direction.
We still had a few blocks of tracking in the heat until we got close to the display of six sculptures by artist Taiwanese artist Kang Muxiang that were placed along Broadway from 36th to 39th Streets.
I hadn’t read much about him when we headed out but after seeing his work I needed to know what this guy is thinking. I couldn’t find out much about his process for crating these mammoth wire mounds, but I did rad about his dedication to the environment and his desire that one day all trash will be turned into art. Where we will put it all is another question, still, the idea is compelling as NY works towards its zero waste goal by 2030 .
We arrived in the theatre district around 4 pm.
On our way we had seen an unexpected thing or two.
A street mural on the road… by Patricia Cazorla & Nancy Saleme
Exhausted and overwhelmed we hopped the N train home, but not before seeing Times Square
With its beds for resting
It’s Piano
and its people.
If you are interested this was the plan we worked from.