More New York City neighborhoods

Don in Washington Square

    Friday, June 24 was one of the hottest days that we have had. We got a late start and decided to explore around Washington Square. I am always amazed at all the green areas in NYC. There are so many squares and parks and always lots of people enjoying them. Washington Square is no different. I’m sure you have seen the arch in movies. It really defines the park as does the huge fountain and pool in the center of the area. 

    The buildings of New York University surround the park. We went into one of them to visit the Grey Art Gallery. We saw a very interesting exhibit about the Associated American Artists. This was a commercial enterprise started in 1934 to bring “original” American art into every home. They promoted artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, Grant Wood, and David Hockney and sold lithographs, etchings, paintings, and even household goods created by them. The art work shown in the exhibit was so beautiful and interesting to look at; we spent a couple of hours there.

The Puck Building

     We also looked at several other historic buildings – the Merchant House Museum, the Puck Building, and ended up shopping at Macys on Herald Square.

Don & Suzanne in Brooklyn Botanic Garden

     On Saturday, we spent the day in Brooklyn. We are just across the East River from that borough, so it was an easy subway ride. We went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (free from 10 to 12 on Saturdays) and spent a couple hours walking around looking at all the beautiful green lawns (I guess water is not too much of a problem here); the myriad flowers including a rose garden and lily ponds; three small conservatories with desert, tropical, and semi-tropical buildings; and rows of cherry trees, crab apple trees, and oak trees. 

     Then we went to BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) to see one of the films which was part of their two week Cinefest. We ended up in Greenpoint on Nassau Street. Greenpoint is a Polish neighborhood. We found ourselves in the midst of Polish speakers and most of the business names were in Polish. There are lots of delis with good sausages and other Polish goodies. We bought some sausages and found a little neighborhood restaurant where we had dinner.