Wednesday, August 27, 2008

City Guide Part 7


The tour leaders at Madison Square Garden took
us first to the WaMu Theater which is under the larger stadium. It was
very quiet in this lower room. We were told that even with a
basketball game going on above, no sound is able to enter the
theater below. Next, we visited The Garden Club. The Garden Club is
an exclusive area reserved only for sky box ticket holders. We then
went way up to the sky boxes. We were able to see all the amenities in
the box including a fully stocked refrigerator. The price to lease a
sky box is not publicized, but the tour guide guessed that a one year
lease might be as much as 1.1 million dollars. Next, we walked through
the general seating area and into the locker room for the Rangers
Hockey Team. The tour ended at the end of a hallway lined with photos
of sporting highlights which took place at the Garden since It's
completion in 1968.

After exiting the Garden, we walked directly under the building, and
entered Pennsylvania Station. We took the train to lower Manhattan.
When we got off, we walked to the New York Stock Exchange building.

From New York City




The security was
heavy. Masked, bullet proof vest wearing, automatic assault rifle
toting commandos were guarding the street corners. I wondered how they
stayed cool while wearing all black. We ducked into Federal Hall, just
a few feet from the large flag displayed on the front of the NYSE.
This is the site of the first United States Capitol building. Inside,
a stone slab is displayed from the first Federal Hall building. George
Washington
stood on the slab when he took his first oath of office on April
30th, 1789. The basement of the building, although smaller and less
ornate, looks exactly like the basement of the current Capitol
Building in Washington, D.C. We left the Federal Hall Building and
walked down Wall Street all the way to its end at Trinity Church on
Broadway. This stretch of Broadway is known as the "Canyon of Heroes."
This is where the fabled "Ticker Tape Parades" take place. On the
sidewalk, etched in Bronze every 10 paces or so is an entry of each of
the parades, in chronological order. Each entry gives a date, and the
reason for the parade.
While we walked along, we talked about what we wanted to do next. We
decided to take the train back to the Upper East side and visit the
Whitney Museum of Art. On the way to the station, we walked through
City Hall Park. Mom and Dad decided to rest on a park bench for a
while. While they were resting, Scott and I walked to the base of the
Brooklyn Bridge. This part of the bridge is known as the Brooklyn
Banks. On our way back through the banks, I noticed from a distance,
someone taking a break from a television shoot. When I got closer, I
realized the man holding the microphone was Chad Muska.

From New York City




I introduced
myself, and Scott. He seemed genuinely pleased to meet us. He told us
that he moved to the City to help promote his shoe company. We kept
the meeting short. I didn't want to interrupt his video shoot for too
long. As we walked back to meet Mom and Dad, we stumbled upon another
more elaborate television set. This set had film cameras, lights,
grips and important looking people sitting on director chairs. I asked
one of the onlookers what was going on. She said that filming was
taking place for a television program called "Ugly Betty".

Scott and I met back up with Mom and Dad at City Hall Park and we
entered the train station at City Hall.
Inside the station, I found a copy of The New York Times.


From New York City



We got out
and walked a few blocks to Madison Avenue and entered the Whitney
Museum of Art. Inside, a strange futuristic car made over a half
century ago was on prominent display. The two headline displays were
of Paul McCarthy "http://www.whitney.org/www/exhibition/mccarthy.jsp"
and Buckminster Fuller
"http://www.whitney.org/www/buckminster_fuller/about.jsp". I wasn't
very impressed with Paul McCarthy's display. However, Buckminster
Fuller's display was interesting. His use of interlocking geodesic

shapes to create large structures was unique.
After about an hour at the Whitney, we took the train back to Queens.
Mom and Dad took it easy for the rest of the evening. Scott and I went
back to the Brooklyn Banks. One of my bearings broke right after we
got out of the station at the Brooklyn Bridge. Consequently, my wheel
kept falling off. Scott was amazing all the locals at the banks and we
got a few great video shots.
When it got dark, Scott and I took the train back under the river and
to the hotel.



Continued in Part 8

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