around town – Page 26 – Walk with Me, Too

Contrasting

The old townhouse looks like the new skyrise is spouting from its roof. Its stone-fronted neighbor stoically looks on.

There’s no way of telling what The Wren looked like prior to its conversion into a dwelling of distinction. I want to guess it had been a garage.

Every block is a study in contrasts. Old and new, transformed and reformed.

Those exciting little details

A triptych of the ridiculously tall structure planned for 79-80 block thru on 1st.

Highlights from 84th between 2nd and 1st include a little well-articulated door to a small house; dormers under a high rise; a row of old brownstones, neatly maintained, and each different; the Zion Lutheran Church stands by a balconied apartment building; a nicely renovated The Wren is just 7 or 8 floors high. There’s a “vintage shop”1 with vintage tees on its rack. A kiosk on the sidewalk in front of an Italian restaurant. The windows of Not A Speakeasy are an attraction I can’t pass without snapping.

The Starr Pavilion extends from its entrance on E 70th in both directions to 525 E 68th Street and over 70th. Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian cover a lot of the ground here on the UES.

Lastly, this purple sky hangs over Roosevelt Island.

Homebody

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

My vow to live and die in New York City might be a tad provincial. I have often posited that we New Yorkers are small-town potaters.

Still, here I am. And here I’ll stay.

Fantasy island

In a Halloween post, I referred to this as a haunted house. It just has that quality.

I tend to romanticize the sky, and this one has billowing clouds that overflow with stories.

A sky this blue looks like it was painted.

Observed on this day

It’s a lobby that has the look and feel of a doll-house.

A building sits catty-corner from Starbucks in the sunshine.

Potted plants and flowers give home a feeling of joy.

My “water tower” collection

Some people like myself are partial to the water tower. It tops buildings of a certain size and build.

I have referenced them before:

https://sidewalksuperblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/12/whats-that-up-in-the-sky/

http://mycity.design.blog/2022/07/30/briefly/

http://mycity.design.blog/2023/04/20/2423/

https://sidewalksuperblog.wordpress.com/2020/01/30/wanderlust/

Google this

What are your favorite websites?

You guessed it. I love Google. I use Google to check out friends and acquaintances. Oh, that sounds creepy.

I also use it for directions for routes and information about things I have seen on my walks.

Whew. Now that sounds more normal.

Bridge the gap

Once upon a time, we called it the 59th Street or the Queensboro Bridge. It’s now the Ed Koch Bridge

Art in NYC

Trailing

Sitting in the little streetery that’s taken away someone’s parking spot.

My coffee snobbery is sadly evidently throughout my long quest. Yet, I think I have also demonstrated some flexibility.

Sampling coffee all across my neighborhood has taught me valuable lessons. Taste is always a subjective thing. My taste in coffee requires it be robust. I am partial to foamy coffee concoctions of the old school.

Plain old coffee with milk. Well, not so plain. It’s Kimbo from Napoli.

Over the course of my struggles to try all the best, I have realized that sometimes there’s a specialty that is better in one shop. Ordering a flat white at 🌟 Starbucks is a wiser choice than getting a so-so latte.

Thus, I have come to enjoy the one I’m near when I am not near the one I love.