Empire State shines for Halloween, Marathon weekend
The Empire State Building will change its colors in observance of this weekend’s two big events: Halloween on Saturday and the ING Marathon on Sunday.
The top three tiers of the city’s tallest building will stay orange, black and white all night for Halloween. (Normally the lights turn off at 2 a.m.)
On Sunday night, they’ll switch to orange, blue and white to celebrate the New York Road Runners and the 2009 ING New York City Marathon. The five-borough race begins Sunday morning in Staten Island.
Picture source: File image from Edelman Public Relations.
The N-YHS will not roll out the exhibit until March, but this week will hold a benefit cocktail party with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir to support the show.
The tie-dye color scheme:
North Side:
purple/orange/yellow from bottom to top
West Side:
green/purple/red from bottom to top
South Side:
yellow/red/blue from bottom to top
East Side:
orange/blue/green from bottom to top
“The Grateful Dead: Now Playing at the New-York Historical Society,” feturing materials from the Grateful Dead Archive at UC Santa Cruz, will be on display from March 5 through July 4.
The Empire State Building has split the colors several times in the past, including for the 2008 Olympics, for elections and Christmas/Chanukah.
Image source: Grateful Dead at 710 Ashbury St., San Francisco, 1966 Photograph by Herb Greene. Provided to NewYorkology by the New-York Historical Society.
Path clearing for High Line park extension to 30th St.
Supporters of the much-praised High Line park got a major delivery of good news today as the Department of City Planning announced the city will “initiate the process to acquire the High Line above 30th Street” — the only portion of the old elevated railway that is not yet guaranteed it will be preserved for parkspace.
“The City’s decision to acquire the High Line is a major step towards achieving our ultimate goals: full preservation of the historic structure north of 30th Street, including the 10th Avenue Spur, and completion of the High Line project all the way to 34th Street,” according to an e-mail from the Friends of the High Line.
The first phase of the High Line park — from the Meat Packing District up to Chelsea — opened in June.
Picture credit: The High Line’s northern section as seen in 2007 during Open HouseNY. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
El Museo to reopen with more space, free Saturdays
After a $28 million renovation, El Museo del Barrio will reopen Saturday with a free open house to debut its 10,000 square feet of new space filled with Latino art with a very strong connection to the New York City experience.
“It’s a long tme coming, but we finally look like a museum,” Tony Bechara, the chairman of the board of trustees of El Museo, said Wednesday during a media preview.
The museum, now 40 years old, started in a classroom, migrated to a storefront and in 1977 moved into its current multi-use Fifth Avenue building, which was originally an orphanage. Twelve years ago it drew fewer than 20,000 visitors anually; before it closed for renovations last year, more than 125,000 people came through the museum’s doors, El Museo director Julian Zugazagoitia said.
The renovation not only provides extra gallery space, but has opened up the Central Park side of the building with more glass and a redesigned courtyard with an entrance to El Cafe, (which has a Pan-Latino menu culled from 17 cultures.) The goal is for the courtyard to serve as a gathering spot for East Harlem and the Upper East Side at the top of the Museum Mile, said architect Jordan Gruzen. (Although Zugazagoitia noted they’ll cede the “top” title to the Museum for African Art when it opens at 110th Street.)
The art itself is as much about New York City as it is Puerto Rico, Latin American or the Caribbean. The inaugural exhibition, “Nexus: New York: Latin/American Artists in the Modern Metropolis,” focuses on the avant-garde art produced from 1900 to 1942 in NYC as well as Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Peru and elsewhere.
Displayed in airy galleries featuring bold colors and text in Spanish and English, the walls are filled with works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and the caricatures of Miguel Covarrubias, (who Al Hirschfeld credited as an influence.)
Now in its fifth year, Open House New York this weekend will open hundreds of sites for free tours, allowing the public to wander through cheese caves, a subway power station, the abandoned hospital buildings of Ellis Island, and into well-appointed private apartments, hotels and offices.
And while all the events are free, not all the sites are accesed with equal ease.
While there is a free printed OHNY guide (also available online in PDF) there have been many changes since its publication, including cancelations, new sites, and altered hours. Official updates can be found on the OHNYwebsite and its blog. (Yes, you need to go to three different locations to get a full list of changes.)
Manhattan Bridge centennial party not over just yet
NewYorkology contributor Sam Meyer commits journalism by night, edits Cocktailians and explores NYC by day. He’s especially interested in the infrastructure, transit, architectural wonders, drinking establishments, and hidden corners of the greatest city in the world.
A lucky group of New Yorkers this past weekend recreated the commemorative parade across the regular roadway lanes of the Manhattan Bridge to celebrate its centennial.
The parade — which featured the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Marching Band, the NY Chinese School Marching Band and vintage cars — was one of many events the NYC Bridge Centennial Commission set to commemorate the anniversary. Lectures, bike and walking tours, a viewing of Bill Brand’s art installation “Masstransiscope”, and even a free screening of “Ghostbusters” are scheduled through this weekend.
NewYorkology was on hand for the parade, as were Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, “Gridlock Sam” Schwartz and NYC Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
The bright morning added to the festive atmosphere as we marched to the span’s midpoint, where the dignitaries lauded the bridge. Markowitz pointed out that the bridge is the “number one bridge” in terms of total number of people who use its traffic lanes, railroad tracks and pedestrian/bicycle paths, surpassing even the George Washington Bridge.
Manhattan Borough Historian Michael Miscione also noted that the bridge was far ahead of its time by mixing railroad and automotive uses, making it efficient and environment-friendly.
Open House NY reservations-required free tour list
Open House New York will open hundreds of sites for free tours during the weekend of October 10 and 11. Several locations will require reservations. Here’s the list of some of the most interesting OHNY tours that promise to fill up fast.
(Editor’s note: The final update to this list was Thursday night.)
Lefferts Historic House - cellar-to-attic tours from noon on Saturday and Sunday. (718) 789-2822 ×10. Update: Only two spots remain noon on Sunday, all others full.
Betances Community Center - Saturday tours with the architects in the Bronx. info@syarch.com. (All tours still have openings as of Thursday at noon.)
Trinity Church Cemetery & Mausoleum tours of Manhattan’s only active cemetery with historian Eric K. Washington. (212) 939-0994. All four tours — Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. — still have a few spots open (as of Thursday at noon) with the Sunday at 1:30 p.m. most likley to fill soonest.
Wild Project - weekend tours with Alive Structures landscape architects. (Spots still open on Sunday at 10 a.m.,noon and 4 p.m.) marni@alivestructures.com
W hotels - tours of the Times Square, Union Square and Lexington Ave properties. rebecca.snyder@bbg-bbgm.com for Lex; nychappeningsrsvp@whotels.com, for others, specify which hotel. (As of noon Thursday, there are confirmed openings for W on Lex.)
The New School: Orozco Room - Saturday at 11 a.m. tour with Silvia Rocciolo, cocurator of the New School Art Collection, and James Wechsler, an independent scholar. Updated RSVP info.
Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church - Saturday and Sunday tours of the Romanesque Revival Church with Tiffany stained-glass windows. lrogers@lapcbrooklyn.org. Update: Reservations not required. “Just simply arrive during the allocated time (Sat. 12-1 pm, Sun. 1-5pm).”
Louis Armstrong House Museum - weekend tours still available (as of Thursday afternoon.) info@louisarmstronghouse.org
Brooklyn Museum - Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. tours of the Sackler Wing with Polshek architect. A few spaces are still available both days (as of Thursday afternoon.) grouptours@brooklynmuseum.org
Woodlawn Cemetery - weekend tours of private mausoleums by designers McKim, Mead & White, Carrere & Hastings, John Russell Poper, Tiffany, and Hunt & Hunt. Update: Reservations are preferred; spots available on the Saturday at 10 a.m. tour and Sunday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. tours. (718) 920-1470
Locations that may still have spots open: (NewYorkology has reached out to each of these groups to confirm availibility.)
Days after the Empire State Building abruptly changed its scheduled lighting color to red from green, avoiding appearances it was making an anti-Iran political statement, the skyscraper is in hot water over its red and yellow color scheme to honor the 60th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.
A handful of pro-Tibet protesters Wednesday denounced the move as support for the Communist takeover 60 years ago, according to the New York Times.
The skyscraper’s top three tiers last night were lit red/yellow/red and are scheduled to do the same tonight.
Last Thursday, the top had long been scheduled to go all green for the “The Wizard of Oz” 70th Anniversary Emerald Gala Celebration. Coincidentally, it overlapped with the United Nations General Assembly meeting, which was attended by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Wall Street Journal, NPR and many other news outlets reported how happy protesters were over the fact the tower would be green — the symbolic color of Iran’s anti-Ahmadinejad movement — while he was in New York.
But as the sun set Thursday, the tower instead went all red. The building’s official lighting schedule noted the night’s colors as all red, but still stated it was for “The Wizard of Oz” 70th Anniversary Emerald Gala Celebration. Only later was it changed to The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary and the Ruby Slipper Collection.
In response to a request from NewYorkology, the official public relations firm for the Empire State Building that night issued a statement about the color change that said, in part: “The Empire State Building does not use its iconic tower lights to make political statements or support protests of any kind.”
Here’s the list of other upcoming lighting changes currently scheduled for October:
Oct 2, 3, 4 - blue/blue/white for American Academy of Dramatic Arts’ 125th Anniversary
Empire State lit red for Wizard of Oz Emerald Gala
The Empire State Building is lit red tonight, which will shock the anti-Iran protesters who were previously delighted by the unintended political coincidence that it had been scheduled to go all green for “The Wizard of Oz” 70th Anniversary Emerald Gala Celebration.
Green has been the color adopted to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has been in New York City this week for the meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
But the official lighting schedule for the Empire State Building now states the colors are all red for — “The Wizard of Oz” 70th Anniversary Emerald Gala Celebration. For weeks previously, the website stated it would be all green for the Emerald Gala.
Update at 9:30 p.m.: In response to an inquiry from NewYorkology, the public relations firm for the Empire State Building, MATTER, Edelman Sports & Entertainment Marketing, e-mailed the following comment:
“Statement From the Empire State Building:
The Empire State Building does not use its iconic tower lights to make political statements or support protests of any kind.
Tonight’s ESB lighting of all red is in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz and The Ruby Slipper Collection to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Earlier this week, the Empire State Building lit green for Eid al Fitr, the celebration of Ramadan.”
Picture source: File image from Edelman Public Relations.
Empire State's new '20s-era murals, wind anemometer
The Empire State Building’s lobby this week debuted a set of new ceiling murals, a major step forward in the building’s $550 million restoration that seeks to return much of the skyscraper’s original art deco grandeur.
The murals, made entirely of gold- and aluminum-leaf — as well as a 100 gallons of glazes — are entirely new, but modeled on what remained of the original murals conceived in the 1920s, architects said during Wednesday morning’s preview for the media.
The original murals went up in 1931, but a mere 32 years later were painted over and punctured with holes for rods to anchor a new drop-ceiling. This new muraled ceiling covers the original, punctured ones, but leaves them otherwise untouched. “It’s still there for future generations to study, or if new technology becomes available,” said Jeff Greene of EverGreene Architectural Arts. Inc.
The intent of the current renovation is to re-create the vision of the original architects —Shreve, Lamb and Harmon — but with modern enhancements. “What would they do today if they had the opportunity to redesign” said Frank Prial of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners.
The lobby’s renovation also brought in new marble as well as a pair of chandeliers that were called for in the buildings original plans but never installed. The new chandeliers were made by Rambusch Studios, the same firm that created the original ceiling mural.
The renovation also brings a special addition above the information desk. A new anemometer offers real-time wind readings as measured from the northwest corner of the 87th floor.
The building’s original anemometer was later replaced by a clock. Plans call for the readings from the new gadget — which was only turned on this Wednesday — to also display on the official website for the Empire State Building.
See the anemometer in action as it resets with the wind direction:
The entire renovation project is about half-way finished, with the lobby marking the first major completed task, said project manager Ray Quartararo of Jones Lang LaSalle.
