Hop on the green line - I took the 5 train. Go until you have to get off. I mean Bowling Green. I had only been down here once or twice - I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge once, in the dark - but I really had no idea what this part of town felt like. This area, with its monument-filled water, park (Battery), churches (tolling bells included), and remaining bits of cobbled streets, felt OLD. About as European as I've felt in this city, though I honestly think the fog and lack of sunshine today added to the effect. Even before we hit the amazing stationer (see recent posts), I was skipping along with glee down here. Granted, we were also surrounded by tourists (look at me being so helpful to one! heh...) and a lot of what we saw was not pretty, but I liked it anyway.
I was particularly impressed with
Trinity Church. It was founded in 1697, making it the oldest Anglican church in Manhattan - though the present Gothic-revival building dates to 1846. It's on the corner of Broadway and Wall Street. It has an amazing churchyard, with 18th-century winged death's head stones and classical-revival 19th-century examples. I felt a little guilty tromping over sacred ground like it was my playground, but not enough to stop. Aside from my interest in dark and dusty things, I think I connect with grave markers because I associate them with the beginning of my foray into material culture. The first time I even heard the term was in an American history class, my senior year of college, via Jim Deetz. I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with good ol'
In Small Things Forgotten: The Archaeology of Early American Life. Deetz was pretty cutting edge in 1977. Here I go getting all nostalgic again. *Sigh*
Hop on the green line - I took the 5 train. Go until you have to get off. I mean Bowling Green. I had only been down here once or twice - I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge once, in the dark - but I really had no idea what this part of town felt like. This area, with its monument-filled water, park (Battery), churches (tolling bells included), and remaining bits of cobbled streets, felt OLD. About as European as I've felt in this city, though I honestly think the fog and lack of sunshine today added to the effect. Even before we hit the amazing stationer (see recent posts), I was skipping along with glee down here. Granted, we were also surrounded by tourists (look at me being so helpful to one! heh...) and a lot of what we saw was not pretty, but I liked it anyway.
I was particularly impressed with Trinity Church. It was founded in 1697, making it the oldest Anglican church in Manhattan - though the present Gothic-revival building dates to 1846. It's on the corner of Broadway and Wall Street. It has an amazing churchyard, with 18th-century winged death's head stones and classical-revival 19th-century examples. I felt a little guilty tromping over sacred ground like it was my playground, but not enough to stop. Aside from my interest in dark and dusty things, I think I connect with grave markers because I associate them with the beginning of my foray into material culture. The first time I even heard the term was in an American history class, my senior year of college, via Jim Deetz. I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with good ol' In Small Things Forgotten: The Archaeology of Early American Life. Deetz was pretty cutting edge in 1977. Here I go getting all nostalgic again. *Sigh* 
3 comments:
Nice photos. I <3 Lower Manhattan too!
There are many little-visited corners of new york, including statues of medical luminaries:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E3D81131F93BA15753C1A9659C8B63&fta=y&pagewanted=all
love, dad
I see Bowling Green and automatically think Ohio.
Woo! Midwest! Hell-yeah!!
(this intelligent comment brought to you my-thesis-is-due-next-week.)
-s.s.
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