Being a native New Yorker the roar and rush that is the normal pace of the city ran in me from sunrise to sunset. I took for granted how the city never sleeps, even if I rarely took advantage of the attractions that draw most tourists there like the Chrysler Building and Radio City Music Hall.
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| New York at Night |
Yet amid the famous and infamous pace attributed to NYC, the city gave me a soul-satisfying quiet that kept me anchored in what was important to me. I think that’s why my favorite song from the musical Hamilton is Quiet Uptown. The song is a reminder that New York has places of quiet that soothe and calm.
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| Four Freedoms Park |
This is a view of the UN from Four Freedoms Park. Located on the south end of Roosevelt Island, the park is a tribute to FDR’s famous four freedoms speech. I’d go there and just sit and let the quiet calm of the East River wash over me.
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| Promenade and Ferry |
Another of my quiet places was the Brooklyn Promenade. You’d think a walkway built over a highway would be noisy, but sitting on one of the benches with Brooklyn Heights behind and the lower Manhattan skyline before always filled me with peace. I got the same sense of stillness riding the best free water ride available: the Staten Island Ferry. Just looking at this photo I can smell the ocean and the feel of the breeze on my face as I gazed at Lady Liberty.
The grandeur of the 42nd street branch of the New York Public Library worked its magic on me too. I’d go to the main reading room, fondly remembering thumbing through the old card catalogues then requesting a book and sitting on the bench until my number appeared until I could pick it up just like in the scene in Breakfast At Tiffany’s.
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| New York Public Library Reading Room |
Now it’s a research library now but the majesty of the murals
painted in tribute to the written word instills a sumptuous stillness of their
own.
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| New York Public Library Murals |
It’s no coincidence that my contemporary stories are located in the quiet places I’ve claimed in Harlem, too. St. Nicholas Park. City College. Strivers Row.
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| Harlem - St. Nicholas Park, City College, Strivers Row |
Haunted Harlem
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10 comments:
Anna, I've never really been to NYC. I did step off the train onto the platform at Grand Central Station on my way from Boston to D.C. but I'm sure to a true New Yorker, that doesn't count. I attended a conference in Jersey City, NJ and could see the NYC skyline and Lady Liberty. Due to health issues I didn't go far from the hotel. Thank you for introducing me to your quiet city.
Anna, love this post. I used to travel to NYC on the train from D.C. several times a year. Even though I'm a born and raised city girl, NYC always overwhelmed me - even though I always had fun and had some incredible meals. But to see the quiet part of the city through your eyes was so beautiful. Thanks!
Hi Judith,
Stepping into any part of Grand Central definitely counts. : D
You're quite welcome, Deb. Glad to be off service.
I went to the RWA conference in NYC a year or two after 9/11.
Two of my friends and I spent 10 days. We each made a list of 10 things we wanted to do or see. We managed a couple from each list. No one told us how long the blocks were and when we wanted to go to Central Park the door man said it is only 5 blocks that way! Whew, an hour later we were at the park! we took a ride around the park in a buggy.
We were able to see the "Lion King" on Broadway, ride in yellow taxis, take a ferry ride, tour the UN and the then under construction memorial to 9/11, and ride the subway to Greenich Village to visit a friend of my friend, and the bus system up to the Monks castle? NY museum of art, and the library And so much, much more!
The only scary thing was Grand Central Station as there were armed military inside and out, again because of 9/11.
I loved it and would love to go back one day.
Thanks for the pictures and the reminders of that beautiful city!
Hi Diana,
Yes 9/11 was a wild time. Seeing military people in places like Grand Central and Penn Station was unnerving.
That door man should have told you how long blocks are in Manhattan. How cool you got to ride through the park in a buggy.
The Cloisters is another quiet oasis I've enjoyed as well. Glad the pictures brought back fond memories.
Hi Anna,
NYC is on my bucket list, and I'll definitely look for the quiet places you mention.
Hi Lynn,
Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
I loved what I saw of NYC on my two trips there in 2002 and 2003. I was on the RWA board and we went in November of 2002 for a meeting and to stay at the hotel (The Hilton) where we would be staying for the conference. I loved walking in Central Park and walking down 5th Avenue and looking in all the windows. The cathedral is majestic. We also saw a Broadway play while there. When we went back in July, 2003, for the conference, we were there for nine days. I was able to get down to Soho, Greenwich Village, and ground zero. Ground zero was still a construction site surrounded by chain linked fences. I'd love to go back to see the memorial now. On that trip we saw an off-Broadway play and a musical on Broadway. A friend and I took a carriage ride in Central Park. NYC is a magical place.
Hi Barbara Rae, NYC truly is a magical place. I appreciate that more so now that I no longer live there.
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