Day Three in NYC - 9/23

This morning we got up early as we had booked early morning reservations on the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (we wanted to beat the masses). The ferry ride to Lady Liberty was only about 10 minutes but the views were incredible. To see the Statue up close was absolutely amazing and very moving. They do have the crown open to visitors but the tickets to get into the crown sold out months in advance so our tickets only allowed us to the top of the pedestal, which was fine because the elevator was broke so we had to climb stairs all the way there. Inside the pedestal was a museum depicting the history of the statue and information on how it has been restored. The original torch is inside the museum and you can easily see the little door that opens up where visitors used to be able to go up there as well.

Pictures from the ferry:




Pictures from the monument:




Next we headed onto Ellis Island. The number of buildings on the island was amazing. I had no idea that they had hospitals there as well as dormitories. We didn't stay long as we were ready to head back to the mainland.



We docked at Battery Park downtown and decided to go visit the World Trade Center Site as we had not had time to do so yesterday. The entire site is fenced off as new buildings are being built along with a memorial. There is a "preview" site across the street that we visited which shows models and diagrams of what the new buildings will look like. Directly across the street from the World Trade Center site is St. Paul's Episcopal Chapel, which is associated with Trinity Church. It served as a refuge for the 9/11 relief workers and is one of the oldest chapels in the US. I did a lot of reading about it before our trip so really wanted to see it. Most of the pews were badly damaged after 9/11 due to all of the relief workers that slept in the chapel, so most of the pews have been removed and the chapel now has the pulpit in the center with chairs circling it.

Ground zero from the chapel yard:




Bell presented to the chapel by England one year after 9/11. Made by the same company that made the Liberty Bell:






Inside the chapel. I cannot begin to describe how emotionally moving it was to walk through here.
Relief workers from all over the US left their badges behind at the chapel.




After that it was onto Angelica's in the East Village (gotta love the subway as it will zip you across town in no time!). Angelica's is probably one of the most well known vegan restaurants in the US, so of course I had to go there. I had a sandwhich with grilled tofu and pesto along with a squash and corn soup. Ben had a huge chuck of fresh cornbread. I could not resist the chocolate mousse hazelnut torte for dessert.





After our long lunch we headed down to the Lower East Side to visit the Tenement Museum

I first learned about the Tenament Museum about a year ago and it really was the spark that lit the flame that fueled my desire to come to NYC. Here is a little history of the museum:
"A historian and social activist, Ruth Abram wanted to build a museum that honored America’s immigrants.

New York’s tenements were the perfect place for her museum: these humble, multiple family buildings were the first American homes for thousands of immigrants.

But the search for a tenement proved frustrating. By 1988, Abram and co-founder Anita Jacobson were nearly ready to give up.

Then they stumbled upon the tenement at 97 Orchard Street.
97 Orchard’s initial appeal was an available storefront: Jacobsen and Abram considered renting the space to run tours of the Lower East Side. While inspecting the storefront, Jacobsen went to the hallway to look for a bathroom.

She saw sheet-metal ceilings, turn-of-the-century toilets and an aging wood banister.

"It was as though people had just picked up and left", Jacobson recalled. “It was a little time capsule...I called Ruth and said 'We have got to have this building.' It was perfect."

The search was over.
Shuttered for over 50 years, 97 Orchard's apartments were in ruin. It would take time to transform the tenement into a museum.

Undaunted, researchers scavenged through 97 Orchard and combed through archives, compiling evidence about tenants and tenement life.

After several years of research, the Museum began the difficult task of restoring apartments that had been left vacant for so long. In 1992, the Museum opened its first restored apartment, the 1878 home of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family."

Ben and I took the tour of the apartment of an Irish family, the Moores. Absolutely fascinating. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the tenament, but this is outside the little museum across the street.



After our tour we headed back to Greenwich Village, just south of our apartment. I took a class at Yamuna studio while Ben happily munched away at a local pizza joint. The weather was warm and muggy today, but thankfully no rain. We're hoping for cooler weather later this week.