Architecture and the City

Museum of the City of New York

Oh, it was my time here. I had always been meaning to go as I had oftentimes passed by on the bus when heading down. I was very upset I missed the New York-Paris exhibit this past summer. So I went in and it was all very nice.

Mannahatta/Manhattan: A Natural History of New York

“THE ISLAND OF MANY HILLS”

Funny as there are none anymore. Hills replaced by buildings. It would have been interesting to have buildings on top of hills. So green Manhattan was before, all those rivers, wetlands, forests, wildlife and streams. So pretty, natural and pristine. Well, at least there are some nice townhouses scattered around that are lovely.

From the exhibition text:

The exhibition will challenge visitors to view the city of today as a place where the relationship between nature and people is at its most important and to understand that the principles of diversity, interdependence, and interrelativity operate in a modern mega-city much as they do in nature.  In doing so, the exhibition will contribute something new to the history of New York—a view of its ecological origin—and in that contribution, shape the future as well.

Yes, yes it did.

This was a nice exhibit and so was the Hudson exhibit. Henry Hudson was a fascinating man, and all of those Dutch and English sailors seemed like a good bunch, all good lads.

Timescapes: A Multimedia Portrait of New York

Oh, and the Timescapes video was so nice as well. Stanley Tucci is such an awesome man and so having him narrate it was a nice touch. All those animated maps and archival photographs, prints, and paintings from the Museum’s collections were incorporated nicely. And yes, New York is the greatest city on earth. I have my reservations now and then, and fill the continual propensity to want to betray this notion, but fine, Timescapes has convinced me otherwise. I am locked down for now.