October 24, 2006

• it seems that i may be the only person in  New York City to look up when i walk.  i have always had a passion for the buildings here, although i am more used to looking around in midtown (weird this > i now am describing the island of manhattan in terms that were once obscure to me, and not thinking anything of it until i write it down).  there are more commercial buildings in mid-town, and some of them are intricately carved.  i used to walk down 5th avenue while my friends window-shopped at tiffany's or macy's with my head tipped back, looking at ornamentation more than twenty feet above my head.  i wondered why someone would place the ornate work up so high?  wouldn't it seem more logical to place it down closer to eye level?  but i liked the feeling that it was a sort of private world, a link between myself and the architect, that not everyone was privy to. 

  here in chelsea the buildings are more residential, and the feeling is very much that of neighborhood.  even still, the buildings are unique, not the same as the residences of brooklyn, those characteristic brownstones.  i still look up when i walk, even on the Close, and see what delights are to be seen.  for example, one of the newly refurbished dorms (scheduled to open in Aug 2006, but really opening in Feb 2007) has windows that are pointed arches, similar to a cathedral style window. 

  off the Close, walking looking up is a little more problematic since some of the locals are not too careful about curbing their dogs... you don't want to step in a present ... ewwwww!!!!  but this morning i walked down to the indoor market and bought a loaf of italian rustica bread and some fresh butter.  that in itself was awesome.  and tres yummy.  but on the way, i noticed a building that was way cool.  first, you notice it because it is white in a city of grays and browns.  second, you notice that it is square, like all the surrounding buildings, but offset sort of perpendicularly to the street.  the name of the building is the maritime building, so you look up at it, and that's when you notice that all the windows are round portholes.... 

  i have gone walking with andy, who indulges my passion and indeed shares it since he does architectural consulting and construction work.  he is always pointing out interesting things, and so i will have to share this building with him when i next see him...

  closer to the ground, they have been reseeding the lawns here on the Close, and many birds have come to this impromptu feast.  for the first time i got to see a wren up close - she was so small and so delicate, plump with a bright yellow hat and a stubby tail... i also got to see/hear a mocking bird > this made me so happy and homesick i thought my heart would burst, since every place i have ever lived, sooner or later, a mocking bird has shown up.

  perhaps i am supposed to be here after all...

  • 1:19 pm
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