The BFG?

More sculpture:  This is Tom Friedman's 
30-foot-tall stainless-steel work, 
"Looking Up."  It's been here on the Park Avenue 
median since January, but is scheduled
to come down this month.

[Linking back to Our World Tuesday.]

church doors

Peering through the doors of St. Bart's church
to Park Avenue beyond.  From peaceful
and quiet inside to bustling and noisy out there,
the difference is like night and day.

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme. 
Also linking back to inSPIREd Sunday.]

(Red, White, and) Blue Monday

A very Happy 4th of July (and 240th birthday)
to all my fellow Americans from the 
heart of Manhattan—let the fireworks begin!

[Linking back to Blue Monday at
Backyard Neighbor.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is St. Bart's Episcopal Church, at Park Ave.
and 50th Street. It's just about 100 years old,
and more ornate on the outside than it is on the inside.
They have a wonderful children's choir,
and their pipe organ is the largest in New York
(and one of the 10 largest in the world).

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

Weekend Reflections

Park Avenue reflected in the façade of the
Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where the
president stays when he's in town—also
a fun place to cut through when
it's very cold or rainy (or if you're looking 
for a high-class public loo).

[To see more Weekend Reflections, 
visit James's meme.]

Blue Monday

Built right over Park Ave. at 45th/46th Streets,
 this started out in 1929 as the New York
Central Building. It was purchased 
in 1998 for $253 million (part of the deal
being that the name—The Helmsley Building
at that time—would not be changed).
And it hasn't been, even though it was sold again
in 2006 for $705 million, in 2007 for
a tad over $1 billion, and most recently this past 
May for $1.2 billion.  And so it goes . . .

[To see more Blue Monday posts, 
visit Smiling Sally's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

  The Mutual of America building, on 
Park Avenue, was built around
1960, but reclad in 1995 to make this
postmodern version of an Art Deco skyscraper.
I like what they did with the place.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"beautiful"

Hard to choose a photo for this one, because
with so much blooming right now the 
whole city looks beautiful—including the traffic 
median that runs down the middle of Park Avenue.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is St. Bartholomew's Episcopal church
(commonly just called St. Bart's) on Park Avenue
between 50th and 51st.  It was built in 1903
and has the largest pipe organ in New York (and
one of the ten largest in the world).  I heard
it when my daughter Kate got to sing here once
years ago—St. Bart's (famous) children's choir was
traveling one Sunday and the young choristers
of St. Luke's (in the West Village) were asked to step in.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Looking down Park Avenue
on a gray, foggy day . . .

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

New York at Night 21

Seems as though the entire city is trimmed in
lights at this time of year. Lots of visitors enjoying
them—as I walked this block, I heard French,
German, Italian, and Japanese (but no English).

Happy Holidays . . .

. . . to all of you, wherever you are,
from me here in New York City.
(Hope you enjoy this colorful view
looking south down Park Avenue.)

[Today is also Ruby Tuesday.  To see more
posts with a lot—or just a bit—of red, go here.]

signs of the times?

Not that this affects me in the slightest

(and I rarely find myself here on Park

Avenue, where the Ferrari and Mercedes

dealerships are), but I might have to

return to see if they actually did "re-open soon." 

 So, what kind of car do you drive?