Author Archives: Elvira

About Elvira

Student in Art History and Philosophy.

Cooper and 40 Bond

The visit started with one my favorite pieces of architecture: the brand new Cooper Union building. It is one of the most fascinating buildings in New York City. The first apparent reason is that there are so many details to look at. From the … Continue reading

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The sky is the limit

A visit to the Skyscraper Museum – China prophecy: Shanghai Skyscrapers are the modern building for many reason. They are safe because of the steel structure. Further, they are very productive, for a small passel of land, many units of space can be … Continue reading

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Robert Moses, the corrupted czar or the father of modern NY?

The great problem posed by Robert Moses is whether this city can build what’s needed while adhering to democratic principles. – Robert A. Caro Robert Moses incontestably changed the urban scheme of New York City. He changed the way we move … Continue reading

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3 men, 1 city

There are periods in the history of a city when things changes so fast that after only 2 decades the place is unrecognizable. The early 19th. century was this kind of period for New York City. In 20 years, the population … Continue reading

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Wall Street Then and Now

The street known today as Wall Street, was once called Het Cingle. At that time, Manhattan was a Dutch settlement and there was an actual wall along the street. actually the wall was a fortification intended to protect the settlement from natives … Continue reading

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Lower Manhattan Tour

It amaze me to think that walking in Battery Park centuries ago, one would walk on water. Land was moved from one part of the island to create another, it seems the island is a big piece of plasticine. Furthermore, there actually … Continue reading

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The High Line

From wild and abandoned…   to controlled and populated… …with a wild touch. For now, the High Line is a bit overrated. There is not much to see and the experience of the neighborhoods surrounding it is limited. However, what is … Continue reading

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Modernity. Say what?

“Everything is absurd, but nothing is shocking, because everyone is accustomed to everything” – Rousseau about the modern city, 1761. Architecture has an ambivalent power. We think of architecture as a mean to build buildings that succeed in their design to provide what the building is intended … Continue reading

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Museum with a view

Impressions on the Panorama of New York @ Queens Museum of Art Arriving at the Queens Museum of Art (for the first time) I’ve realized how different it looks from museums in Manhattan. There was no coat check. Instead there … Continue reading

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Early politics in New Amsterdam

Russell Shorto Island at the Center of the World In early 17th century, Manhattan was not a village anymore. fourty five thousands people lived on the island. In the beginning the cohabitation between natives and settlers went well. Certainly because they depended on the natives’ knowledge of … Continue reading

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