Photo of the day: REASSURING THE SHORE – I am taking my German tourist guests on my 5 hour long tour of Brooklyn today, via Harlem Spirituals Tours. From the Fulton Ferry landing at the Brooklyn Bridge allllllll the way to Coney Island for a Nathan’s hot dog lunch – wunderbar! Our last and final stop will be the 5 Pointz Graffiti museum as a surprise ending 🙂
At Coney Island for the past few weeks we have been met by this long pipe snaking along the beach. Early in September the $7.2 million Army Corps of Engineer’s project to pump 600,000 cubic yards of sand along Coney Island’s shore began. Although the beach closed for the summer after Labor Day and red flags indicated no lifeguards were on duty, there were a few sunbathers and swimmers adjacent to the area where the work is getting underway.
While restoration work is going on, there were rolling closures of roughly 1,000 foot wide sections of the beach where construction work is active, according to the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). The beach nourishment project extends from West 37th Street to Brighton Beach, and is expected to be completed in the fall.
Coney Island was hit hard by Super-storm Sandy and soon, its beaches will be well on their way to being protected against future flooding. There’s a ship out on the horizon pumping the sand from the ocean’s floor (and surprising a few startled crabs I bet) and pumping it methodically onto the beach where it is sifted and raked. You can hear the rumbling of the stones and shells as they go whizzing by inside the large rusty pipes lining the beach. Soon we will be enjoying pristine sand to stick our toes into! Join us?!
October 26, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: $7.2 million project to pump 600, 000 cubic yards of sand, Army Corps of Engineers, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn tours, Coney boardwalk, Coney Island, Fulton Ferry Landing, Hans tours, Hans Von Rittern, Harlem Spirituals, Hurricane Sandy, Nathan's original hot dog restaurant, New York, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, pumping sand, Queens, replenishing beach sand | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: LET’S GET TO THE (5)POINTZ ! – Need something to do on a weekend that is totally different and cool? Take the 5Pointz Graffiti Museum tour with Meres One. This is a must-see tour!
Meres One, curator and guide
Meres One is New York and the curator of the living endangered treasure. His passion, quirkyness, straight forward manner, humor and insight to the art is priceless. I am a long time NYC tour guide and I know a good tour when I take one – this is it! Do you know which is the oldest piece? The order to the art? Who came from what country? The messages and inside stories to the murals? Did u know one of Meres’ murals is 3-dimensional? Can you see all the different styles? Have you ever been inside? Aren’t you dying to go on the roof? To top it off, Meres shows off his skill by transforming a canvas into a piece of art in a master class with him at the end of the tour. How can you pass that up?! God forbid 5Pointz gets torn down – you will regret forever that you passed up this opportunity – GO – book a tour now and join the world wide guests enjoying this tour! Come early/stay late, photograph all the art, buy some souvenirs like the painted light bulbs by Meres and other art available by other artists. Get to the Pointz, 5 Pointz!
The coolest part of the 5 Pointz tour!
Book a tour through SideTour.com. Tours are currently sold out till November 5, this is a rare opportunity, put yourself on the mailing list and grab this chance before it is too late!
Doorway to cool!
A masterclass with Meres One
MERES ONE LIGHT BULB SOUVENIR
October 25, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 3 dimensional graffiti murals, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 5 Pointz souvenir, 5 Pointz tour, art, geisha girl, graffiti master class, graffiti styles, Hans Von Rittern, history of 5 Pointz, inside 5 Pointz, international graffiti, Manhattan, Meres, Meres light bulb, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, rooftop tour, Side Tours, SideTour.com | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: THE BLOOM IS OFF THE ROSE, FAMED ROSELAND TO CLOSE – Another knife in the heart of New York’s theater district is the recently announced April 2014 closing of the iconic once dance hall, now concert and party venue Roseland. It is with head spinning disbelief that yet another historic piece of New York will be replaced with a tall mirror glass building according to insiders who currently work at Roseland and are being handed their pink slips. 2013 saw more (almost daily) closings and tear downs of long time establishments than in recent memory – all part of the mayor Bloomberg’s greedy search and destroy tactic of anything that is (not so) old, is just out of the reaches of being declared a landmark and therefore won’t face the trials of court injunctions against it’s demolition. Zoning law variances have become the norm and for a price history, building restrictions and the heart of the city mean absolutely nothing. The average price of buying a New York City council member (like mine, Jimmy Van Brammer) is $10,200 – buy a few council members and you can build what you wish, they will magically ‘vote’ your way.
Roseland started on 51st Street as a 1919 dance hall for ‘refined dancing’, slowly that evolved to ‘dance hostesses’ who offered dances for 11¢ a dance (think “Sweet Charity”). From white ‘refined’ music it evolved into a swinging big band and jazz club featuring the likes of Louis Armstrong, Count Basie with his “Roseland Suffle”, Chick Webb and Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra to Madonna, Beonce and Donna Summer and all the other major music acts of our time. The original club closed and reopened in 1956 one block over on 52nd Street in a former ice rink. Slow dancing turned into disco nights and rock concerts. Infamous underground parties, fan shows, conventions, new and old music groups appeared here or made their reappearance here, for example disco diva Grace Jones in 1978 broke through a brick wall on her motorcycle and then did her act surrounded by tigers. She made her grande reappearance in 2012 and hadn’t changed a bit (see my old post).
And now along with the Lenox Lounge in Harlem, Colony Records in Times Square, South Street Seaport’s Pier 17, and endless other victims of this genocide of history – you can add The Roseland Ballroom. Is this what it is like to grow old? You loose everything around you? Or is it the voracious greed of our destructive mayor, who in his twelve years of being mayor has gone from being the 18th richest man in America worth $18 billion, to becoming the 10th richest man in America now worth $31 billion . . . coincidence, it think not.
The Roseland Ballroom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseland_Ballroom
Roseland the 1977 film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseland_(film)
October 22, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 10 cents a dance, Bloomberg corrupt, buying a council member, Chick Webb and Ella Fitzgerald, Colony Records, corrupt city politics, CORRUPT POLITICIANS, Councilman Jimmy Van Brammer, Count Basie with his "Roseland Suffle", dance hall, dance hall hostesses, disco dance nights at Roseland, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Grace Jones, greedy politicians, Hans Von Rittern, Jimmy Van Brammer, Lenox Lounge Harlem, Louis Armstrong, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, politicians can be bought, Queens, rezonning laws in New York, rock concerts Roseland, Roseland 1977 film, Roseland Ballroom, Roseland Ballroom closing, Roseland torn down, South Street Seaport, Times Square, zoning variances in New York | Leave a comment
Mondays on Memory Lane: STOUFFERS ‘TOP OF THE SIX’S’ RESTAURANT – As a child, “Top of The Six’s” meant a special occasion. You had done well in school or it was prom night or you were in love and wanted to impress with the sweeping view of the Empire State Building. The rooftop restaurant was located at the epicenter of the posh section of Fifth Avenue, between 52nd/53rd Streets, with a lobby fountain wall designed by Isamu Noguchi and easy subway access downstairs. Today it is but a postcard memory.
Lobby fountain wall designed by Isamu Noguchi
It all started in 1922 the Stouffer family opened a lunch counter on East Ninth St. in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. They sold sandwiches, dairy products and Lena Stouffer’s soon-to-be-famous deep-dish Dutch apple pie. By 1935 they expanded to six restaurants in the Cleveland area and in 1937 they opened the first Stouffer restaurant in New York City.
In 1946 Stouffer’s opened on Shaker Square and at the Westgate shopping center in the Cleveland suburbs. It was at the Shaker Square location that patrons began requesting takeout orders of items on the menu and the Stouffer foray in to frozen food began by 1954. By this time Stouffer’s had restaurants in Florida, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit.
1958 – Opens restaurants at the stainless steel deco-like #666 Tishman Building (built 1957) located at 666 5th Avenue in New York City one on the 1st & below-street levels, the other on the 39th floor, at the time the highest public restaurant in N.Y. They went there, by the millions. In July 1973, about 15 years after it opened, the restaurant announced that it was about to serve its 10 millionth meal. Ominously, a review that month found the cuisine anything but haute.
They continued to expand, building a frozen food processing plant in Solon, Ohio in 1968 and they ventured into specialty casual dining eateries with names like Rusty Scupper, Cheese Cellar and the Grog Shop. In 1969 NASA chose Stouffer’s products for Apollo 11, 12 and 14 for astronauts to dine on.
But it was the Stouffer’s “Top of the…” restaurants that became the special occasion places to go. “Top of The Hub” in Boston, “Top of the Rock” in downtown Chicago, “Top of the Sixes” in New York City, “Top of the Flame” in Detroit and “Top of the Town” in Cleveland.
The view was terrific from 40 stories up, especially in those days long before the World Trade Center, when a restaurant on top of a skyscraper was a novelty. Prices were reasonable. Children liked the view, and so did young couples on dates. Men proposed to their wives there,” it was a time when going to ”the city” meant journeying from Queens to Manhattan. You didn’t necessarily go there for the food, it was that wonderful atmosphere.
Tishman Building #666 Fifth Avenue
On September 18, 1996, The New York Times announced the closing of this beloved rooftop gem. The new tenant would be the Grand Havana Room, a cigar temple that will bear as much resemblance to a smoke-filled parlor as, say, the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel. Right now I’d give anything for a mid-west cooked Stouffer’s meal atop of the Six’s. The best I can do, is to go to my rooftop, spread a tablecloth and open my microwaved Stouffers dinner – it’s just not the same.
What are your memories of “Top of the Six’s”?
October 21, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 666 Fifth Avenue, architecture, “Top of the Flame” in Detroit, “Top of The Hub” in Boston, “Top of the Rock” in downtown Chicago, “Top of the Sixes” in New York City, “Top of the Town” in Cleveland, Empire State Building, Hans Von Rittern, Isamu Noguchi, Lobby fountain wall designed by Isamu Noguchi, Manhattan, Mondays on Mmemory Lane, NASA space program food, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, rooftop dining, Stouffer's frozen foods, Stouffer's Restaurants, subway, The Tishman Building, Tishman Building, vintage New York nightlife, vintage New York postcard, vintage NYC postcard, World Trade Center | 11 Comments
Photo of the day: NO, BANKSY WUZ NOT HERE – But you are, thank you! Today at the iconic 5 Pointz Graffiti Art Museum, they decided to make a statement about the current Banksy craze – so, Meres, curator of the museum made his statement and created this graffitied artful canvas.
‘Banksy’ is a highly secretive British graffiti artist who is currently making headlines in New York City. For the month of October, every night Banksy paints one of his stencil art pieces in a location somewhere in one of the 5 boroughs. The thing is, creative as Banksy may be, it still is art that is not asked for by the buildings he paints them on. That is where 5 Pointz is different. It is a factory building spanning an entire city block in Long Island City, Queens. 200,000 square feet of spectacular art that has been requested an approved. Considered to be the premier graffiti art museum in the world, now in danger of being torn down (see my previous October 3rd post) thanks to the unending greed of the Bloomberg era. While enjoying a big spike in visitors since the potentially horrible news has broken, 5 Pointz’s curators were though, getting a little tired of being asked, “has Banksy been here yet?!” Well – there is your answer “No. . Banksy wuz not here, but you are, thank you!” They and Meres welcome you to take their tour via SideTour.com, I highly recommend it!
5 POINTZ: 45-46 Davis Street, corner of Jackson Avenue, under the 7 train line, Court Street stop. Long Island City, NY
http://5ptz.com/about/
October 20, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, 7 train Court Street Station, Banksy, Banksy craze, graffiti art, graffiti artist, Hans Von Rittern, Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, Side Tour, SideTour.com, street graffiti | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: GIVE ME THE LIBERTY TO TOUR ! – French muralist Veronique Barrilot painted this great mural as a (hopefully not) final statement at the 5 Pointz Graffiti & Mural Museum on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, which is in danger of being torn down in favor of twin glass high rise towers. (See my earlier post). Her bold Liberty statue proclaims in French “Give Me The Liberty to Paint!”.
For the past week I have been faced with the frustration of leading my European tourists who have come so far to see (shall we say) their Eiffel Tower, our Statue of Liberty – only to find signs posted that the despicable government has shut the symbol of freedom down and their tickets have been canceled. There we are left standing in Battery Park which is still mostly destroyed from hurricane Sandy. No park. No island. No Liberty.
I too join my friend Veronique in proclaiming “Give Me The Freedom – to Tour!”
October 8, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, Battery Park, government shut down, graffiti art, Hans Von Rittern, Hurricane Sandy, Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, national park shut downs, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, shutdown hurting New York tourism, Statue of Liberty, Statue of Liberty closed to tourists, Statue of Liberty mural, street art, tour guides hurt by shutdown, tourism, VERONIQUE BARRILLOT, Veronique Barrilot | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: MY SPEECH TO SAVE 5 POINTZ DIRECTED AT COUNCILMEMBER JIMMY VAN BRAMMER AND DEVELOPERS – On Wednesday October 2, 2013 both sides in favor and against tearing down Graffiti & Mural museum 5 Pointz, gathered inside City Hall for a hearing by the NYCHA – The New York City Housing Authority. It’s basically a side show/dog and pony show with the real estate developers always claiming tearing something down is “for the good of the community.” The owner, Jerry Wolcoff wants to build twin mirror glass apartment towers for which he will receive $7 million. Now you know me – I do not go quietly! Here is my passionate speech directed in part at my Queens councilmember, who is Christine Quinn’s lap dog and Mayor Bloomberg’s pet – Jimmy Van Brammer – who has stated he does not believe the magnificent powerful graffiti and mural works at 5 Pointz is “art” – and therefore in favor of tearing the building down. (When embarrassingly trapped by the truth of his statement at the hearing he said: “Well….I said I don’t quite understand it.” After also admitting he has rarely ever visited the site in his district.
rendering-5 POINTZ WOLCOFF TOWERS
SPEECH:
My name is Hans Von Rittern, born raised in Queens, licensed tour guide of 8 years. I have been hired by Harlem Spirituals Tour company to take European tourists on a 5 hour tour of Brooklyn. They marvel at the view from Fulton Ferry and thank me, they love Park Slope bagels and Coney island puts a smile on their faces. The endpoint of the tour is supposed to be hipster Williamsburg. I chose not to do that and end my tour at 5 Pointz as a surprise. When I get back onto the bus, each and EVERY single time they burst out into spontaneous cheers and applause saying “THIS is highlight of the New York tour”! “THIS is New York!”
I take tourists on “art tours” of galleries and or museums. When they reach MOMA’s PS1 they are bored and unmoved by the art. I say “come with me” and lead them to 5 Pointz and I always have trouble getting them back into our vehicle. This is an untapped rich resource that needs imagination of design and investment, NOT a quick buck, another mirror glass box and then get the hell out of there as fast a possible.
There are 2 ways to make money: The quick bang fix and run – or, the wise investment – for perpetual monetary return on your investment of restoring the building and let the artists go hog wild on the interior. Hipsters will kill for a graffiti-ed loft, stores would love the unmatched ambience and above all, CHARGE FOR THE ADMISSION INTO THE BUILDING AS A FULLY FLEDGED MUSEUM.
Muralist VERONIQUE BARRILOT makes her (final?) statement
‘Not a museum because it’s not “art”’, as some politicians like my councilmember Jimmy Van Brammer will say?
May I remind you:
Toulouse L’autrec – was considered street art and torn off the walls, today his street posters are considered the finest examples of classic art.
Matisse – was dismissed as “scribble,”
Picasso – was considered a crackpot for putting a woman’s nose where her ear ought to be
Warhol– not taken seriously at all, soup cans as art?! Own one today and it’s worth millions.
Keith Haring – used to graffiti at my subway station, I watched him get arrested. Today he hangs in MOMA and the cathedral of St. John The Divine.
Basquiat – was looked down upon as wanna be street artist. His work is now in the major museums around the world.
Yes, I fully realize this is not what the building was intended to become, but it has, it has become bigger than what you realize.
So who are YOU – to say this is not “art” and therefore not worth saving and investing in?
I should think greed alone would take over and try to save it.
Don’t have your names forever associated with the destruction of this building so all of you can make a “fast buck” rather than a wise “invested buck.”
Look back, which one of you doesn’t wish they owned a Warhol soup can now?
Well – you have dozens of them, right here in front of you.
Just because it is relatively new art does not make it less relevant art.
Remember all the fools that said the same of Lautrec, Warhol, Haring and Basquiat.
Will you be the same short sighted fools?
Fellow tour guide Andy Sydor testifying in favor of 5 Pointz
Reporter Greg Mocker of WPIX11 Covered the hearing, I can be seen testifying saying : “Yes, I fully realize this is not what the building was intended to become, but it has, it has become bigger than what you realize.” Here is the video link http://pix11.com/2013/10/02/nyc-council-hears-plans-for-iconic-queens-grafitti-building/#axzz2gfgASpxA
5 POINTZ WEB SITE: http://5ptz.com/
October 3, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 7 train, architecture, arts, Basquiat, Brooklyn tour, City Hall 10-2-13 hearing, CLUE-LESS POLITICIANS, Coney Island, CORRUPT POLITICIANS, Councilman Jimmy Van Brammer, Councilwoman Christine Quinn, European tourists explore Brooklyn, fighting city hall, freedom to paint, Fulton Ferry Landing, German tourists explore New York, graffiti, Great artisits once dismissed as garbage, greed vs. art, Greg Mocker, Hans Von Rittern, Hans' Brooklyn tour, Harlem Spirituals Tours Brooklyn Tour, Jackson Avenue, Jerry Wolcoff, Jimmy Van Brammer, Keith Haring, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Matisse, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, mural art, New York City, New York City Housing Authority, New York photo, NYCHA, Photo of the day, photography, Picasso, Queens, Sterling City Tours, street art, Sunnyside, The New York City Housing Authority, Toulouse L’autrec, VERONIQUE BARRILLOT, Warhol, WHAT IS ART?, WPIX11 news | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: DESPITE THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN, THE FIGHT FOR LIBERTY CONTINUES BY MURALIST VERONIQUE BARRILLOT – Today the despicable Republicans have shut down the government. Tourists here in New York that have traveled half way around the world to go to Liberty Island are literally left out in the cold. The most upset are those who have crown visit tickets, those tickets have been ordered two to three months in advance and you arrive in New York = closed.
One of the places you can see Miss Liberty still fighting for her freedom is at the Graffiti Museum 5 Pointz on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, right next to the 7 train Court Street Station. World famous 5 Pointz, as so many other treasures in New York, thanks to the greedy cancer that is the Bloomberg administration, is in great danger of being torn down in favor of twin mirror glass apartments.
5 Pointz, Jackson Avenue at Crane Street and Davis Street, the whole block, Long Island City, NY 11101, #7 train Court Street stop.
To make her (perhaps final) statement, French muralist Veronique Barrillot has been given permission to paint a giant mural directly on the Jackson Avenue side for all to see. It is the Statue of Liberty, grimacing as she holds a paint pallet and paint brushes. Veronique is finishing the mural today, so I will not reveal the full image of it yet. Veronique states: “The homage I would like to pay to 5 Pointz is that of our common heritage and of our faith in the future and in liberty.” As of this moment’s government shut down, that immediate ‘future’ looks grim. The longest government shut down was also the most recent, from Dec. 16, 1995, through Jan. 5, 1996. That’s 21 days. No Grand Canyon, no Yellowstone, no national zoos, no landmarks like the Lincoln Memorial or the Washington Monument – no Statue of Liberty.
Paint on Veronique, paint on ! Vive l’art!
October 1, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 7 train, 7 train Court Street Station, artist fights to save building, arts, Court Street Queens subway station, Court Street Station, Crane and Davis streets, Government shutdown, graffiti, grafitti art, Hans Von Rittern, Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, mural art, New York, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, political art, Queens, Statue of Liberty, Statue of Liberty arm, Statue of Liberty head, Statue of Liberty mural, street art, street artist, subway, VERONIQUE BARRILLOT | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: OOM PAH PAH, GERMANS ARE WUNDERBAR! – At the turn of the last century one third of the population of New York spoke German, today hardly anyone does anymore and the all German neighborhoods I grew up with are gone. East 86th Street in Manhattan and Ridgewood Queens were my “nachtbarschaften” with all German shops and restaurants. As of the 2000 census 255,536 New Yorkers reported German ancestry but not necessarily German speaking. In the middle of the 19th century,
Little Germany, situated in what is now termed Alphabet City, was the first non-English-speaking urban enclave in the United States.
Nonetheless, the 56th German-American Steuben Parade is ready to march up Fifth Avenue this Saturday, September 21st, at 12 Noon, under what will likely be a clear blue sky and the New York City sun! At last count, parade organizers expect approximately 5,000 marchers to go up Fifth Avenue, most of them in marching bands, dance groups, Trachten, in Karneval costumes or uniform. “Putting the parade line-up together this year was a tremendous joy,” says Steuben Parade General Chairman Lars Halter. “We have 20 groups from Germany in the parade, plus one group each from Switzerland and Canada.” These groups range from the Polizeimusikkorps Basel to members and staff of a kitchen museum near Hannover, who present traditional cooking outfits. Groups include three well-known Karveval dance troups: Blau-Weiss Sarnia from Ontario/Canada, “De Hoppemötzjer” from Cologne and the “Wild Dancers” from the town of Nonnweiler. There will be several Schützenclubs in their traditional uniforms.
The 2013 Steuben Parade marches up Fifth Avenue from 68th to 86th Street, leading into New York City´s largest Oktoberfest, which has been sold out for weeks. Tickets to the Grand Stand can still be bought in our online store, and there are many blocks on Fifth Avenue to enjoy the parade for free.
Also, the Steuben Parade will once again be broadcast live, for the third time in a row. The program can be seen on WNET (Channel 13) on Saturday from 12-2 PM. There will be a repeat of the parade on Sunday at 9 am on WLIW (Channel 21). The parade broadcast will be hosted by legendary supermodel and former Steuben Parade Grand Marshal Carol Alt and renowned newsman and multiple Emmy winner Larry Mendte.
September 21, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "De Hoppemötzjer" from Cologne, 56th German-American Steuben Parade, Alphabet city, Blau-Weiss Sarnia from Ontario/Canada, Carol Alt, dance troups, Deutsche parade, Deutsche pracht, East 86th Street Yorkville, German ancestry, German heritage, German neighborhoods, German-American Steuben Parade, Hans Von Rittern, Little Germany, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Nonnweiler, Photo of the day, Queens, Ridgewoood Queens, Schützenclubs, steuben parade, Steuben Parade General Chairman Lars Halter, trachten karneval costumes, WLIW (Channel 21), WNET (Channel 13) | Leave a comment
87 year old Ursula Von Rittern, defiant voter!
Photo of the day: 87 YEAR OLD MOM DARES TO STRIP AND VOTE IN HER BRA! – Today in election district 29, Sunnyside, Queens my mother walked into the voting station Queen of Angels Center and was stopped at the door for wearing an “ANYBODY BUT QUINN” T-shirt. We were met by a barrage of volunteers and police who said there is to be no “electioneering” inside the voting area. Mom argued she wasn’t saying anything, or handing out any literature, simply expressing her freedom of speech in the shirt she chose to wear.
The angry old white woman who seemed to be the woman in charge said “You’ll have to take it off or leave.” “I thought this was a free country?!” mom angrily argued. “I came here from Nazi Germany where I could not say or do as I pleased, nor vote. Now YOU are going to tell me what to do?! Well, I am not walking all that way home again, then I’ll take it off!” (I had a t-shirt under mine, mom didn’t. The photo here is not from today.) Mom asked me to hold her cane and then to hold her steady. Her hat came off first, then her shoulder bag. She fumbled to look for a place to place her hat and bag.
Uncomfortable curious stares went around the room. Was this woman about to flash the room?! It looked like she would as she asked me to help her lift her shirt over head. As the first signs of an 87 year old woman’s midriff made an appearance, one of the other volunteers ran over and yelled, “Ok, ok, don’t take off your shirt, just lift the bottom part so you can’t see the name Quinn.” (As IF that would sway anyone’s vote at that moment!) So . . . in a very ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ fashion, mom flashed her midsection as she walked slowly across the floor to her voting station to the high five signs from the black volunteers in the rooms, some giving her a hug before she entered the booth. Mom pulled the levers, DeBlassio all the way, turned, pulled the t-shirt down to reveal the name Quinn, exited the booth and defiantly said, “what are you going to do, throw me out?!” and slowly with her cane walked across the room to the cheers and applause of the people inside! (Unfortunately the police made sure I took no pictures.) That’s MY mom! GO MOM !
September 10, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 2013 mayoral election, 87 year old topless voter, ANYBODY BUT QUINN ABQ, Bill DeBlasio, Councilwoman Christine Quinn, defiant senior citizen voter, District 30, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, senior stripper voter, Sunnyside | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: IT’S MY BLOG’S 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
I hope all of you have and are enjoying sharing my New York with me through my camera’s lens and my memories! 356 posts! Thank you all! If you like this blog please share it with your friends.
My book (3 of them!) is still in the works ! !
(Like’s are a wonderful feeling
)
August 20, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 1 year blog's anniversary, Hans Von Rittern, I love New York, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, New York themed birthday cake, Photo of the day, Queens, Sunnyside | 4 Comments
Vintage Photo of the day: WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT? – Today is the 10 year anniversary of the 2003 massive, long lasting blackout.
The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and the Canadian province of Ontario on Thursday, August 14, 2003, just before 4:10 p.m. EDT. While some power was restored by 11 p.m., many did not get power back until two days later.At the time, it was the second most widespread blackout in history, after the 1999 southern Brazil blackout. The blackout affected an estimated 10 million people in Ontario and 45 million people in eight U.S. states.
But, in 2006 Queens was hit by the worst blackout in NYC history, it lasted five days during a scorching heat wave. Sunnyside, Queens where I live, was effected the longest out of any neighborhood in the city and our power remained out for an entire week. Two dogs died on my block from heat exhaustion. My mother slept sitting upright by the window. No food was to be bought or had. Water was being handed out by the red cross. Mayor Bloomberg deemed to go to Queens not until the 5th day.
Where were ~you~ when the lights went out?
The film:
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? is a 1968 comedy film with
Doris Day, directed by
Hy Averback. It is set in New York City during the infamous
Northeast Blackout of 1965, in which 25 million people scattered throughout seven states lost electricity for several hours
August 14, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Where Were You When The Lights Went Out?" 1968 moive, Backout of 2003, blackout of 1965, blackout of 2003, blackout of 2006, comedy film, Doris Day, Hans Von Rittern, Hy Averback, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City, New York photo, Northeast blackout 2003, Ontario Canada, Photo of the day, Queens, Robert Morse, second worst blackout ever, southern brazil, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, Terry Thomas | 1 Comment
MTA yards, on the waterfront, Long Island City, Queens
Photo of the day: GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION – Sometimes when you are seeking an answer to “what to do” with that question that has been weighing heavily on your mind, sometimes the answer is right in front of you – don’t waiver, forge straight forward!
August 8, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: arrow shaped building, electrical wires, exploring LIC, going in the right direction, Hans Von Rittern, helping with a decision, L.I.C., LIC, Manhattan, Mass Transit Authority, MTA, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, Queens waterfront, telephone poles, transportation | 1 Comment
Photo of the day: SUNNYSIDE AUGUST SUNSET – photographed on my way home approx. 7:45pm. Empire State Building on the horizon.
August 7, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 7 train, Empire State Building, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, queens blvd, Sunnyside Gardens, sunset | Leave a comment
Mondays on Memory Lane: MARILYN DEAD (murdered) August 5, 1962 – The glaring headline sent shock waves around the world, that the world’s most beloved blonde sex symbol had “committed suicide.” I can still remember that Friday summer’s morning in August, as a six year old boy was visiting his local grocery store with his grandmother, when suddenly a woman rushed into the store waving a newspaper over her head yelling something. The next thing I remember is the grocery store becoming absolutely silent. I didn’t understand at all what was going on, I had never witnessed anything like this. I remember I tugged on “Oma’s” skirt and asked her what had happened, I clearly recall her saying to me in a hushed tone “a beautiful woman has died.” We left in silence, the people around us were transfixed on the newspaper, many crying.
Today Marilyn would have been 87 years old, the same age as my mother. I wonder, what would she have been like? A woman’s libber? A dramatic actress? A recluse? We will never know. I choose to think she would be happy, having found love again with Joe DiMaggio (they were seeing each other again, seen walking hand in hand on the beach), outspoken, not face lifted and a beautiful graceful wise old woman. I wish that for her.
“How sad that the universal symbol of love and sex appeal died so alone.” No, she didn’t die alone – she was murdered, there were many people there that night. There is all the proof in the world that has conveniently been suppressed to keep the Kennedy’s reputation clean and clear. How intense that America’s ‘Camelot’ first family would be tied to the murder of the most famous woman of all time.
New York Daily News, August 5, 1962
Marilyn knew too much. She was seeing John F. Kennedy who had to end the affair for obvious reasons and passed her on to Bobby Kennedy. When Bobby wouldn’t return her calls anymore she made a pest of herself at the White House and the Kennedy household. How is it, that during the night she died, all of her phone records magically disappeared? No one has the power to do that – except the White House. Weeks before her murder, her house was broken into. What was stolen? Jewels? Furs? Her bra? Memorabilia? No – the infamous diary that she foolishly kept. Not wanting to be considered the dumb blonde, after her visits with the Kennedy’s and political figures, she would jot down notes of what she had overheard. She would study those notes so as to sound ‘intelligent’ at the next gathering. This was at the volatile time of the Cuban missile crisis which undoubtedly MM overheard details of. She simply was “a piece of meat” (Marilyn’s own words) who knew too much.
It is said she was depressed for being fired from her unfinished film “Something’s Got To Give” – not true, Dean Martin refused to continue filming unless MM was rehired, and she was. It is said she was loveless, as I said, she was seeing DiMaggio again. She was also living for the future, she had made plans to go furniture shopping in Mexico for her Spanish style home – a depressed person does not plan to buy furniture. She was known to be and said to be by her maid, Eunice Murray, a slob and would sleep rebelliously in dirty sheets for weeks and that the bed had not been made. Magically that night, new sheets appeared.
Anyone who knew her or had even seen her, saw and knew she couldn’t take pills without lots of water – there was no glass found in her room. How did she take all those pills?? The medication she is supposed to have overdosed with, leaves you dying cramped up, her body was found smooth. If she did take all the pills – where were they? The autopsy to this day shows only tea and toast in her stomach, that which her neighbor saw her eat. Her autopsy also, originally hundreds of pages long, mysteriously disappeared and was replaced with the greatly abbreviated version that exists today. The detective on the scene said he had never seen such a fishy fake set up as her bedroom death scene, but he never confessed this until shortly before he died.
So how did she die? Poisonous injection and suppository. MM wanted to get attention, having been rejected by both Kennedy’s. So, she had planned a press conference for that following Monday August 8th and was going to innocently leak some of the political scoop she had overheard, so as to get the brother’s attention. (Some old newspaper records still exist of the press conference she was to have had.) Oddly she was gone Friday night. Peter Lawford was sent with MM’s psychiatrist Ralph Greenson to quiet her up. The doctor knew exactly what drugs she had been prescribed and knew exactly what drugs would lethally interact with them. That drug was injected into her arm pits – one needle mark in each armpit is indicated in the autopsy report, her colon was discolored from the poison inserted into her.
Time has very conveniently been the best cover up of the most sensational murder of all time. People fearful of reprisal kept quiet, or confessed when it was too late. The afterlife must be one helluva an interesting place when all those guilty souls have to meet. Hundreds of books have been written about her, more so than any other woman in history. I own about 300 of those books and have read about half of them. It fascinates me endlessly! As a college student, I had to write a term paper on ‘a controversial subject’ – I chose her murder, which, at the time, was still very, very hush-hush and just rumored about. In 1969, there was only one book that existed about the subject, Fred Lawrence Guiles’s ”Norma Jean: The Life of Marilyn Monroe,” which was translated into 14 languages. It was followed by Bob Slatzer’s 1974 book “The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe”, I devoured them both and determinedly wrote my term paper for which I begrudgingly got an “A”.
Macy’s American Icon banner, summer 2013
To this day she remains the eternal blonde. The eternal symbol of American sex appeal. The eternal love goddess. The epitome of ‘blonde’. The eternal American success story, from orphanage to the goddess of Hollywood. What person today doesn’t recognize that luminous face? She will radiate eternally. RIP.
Hauntingly beautiful, Norma Jeane Baker windswept
August 5, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Something's Got To Give", August 5 1962, Bob Slatzer's 1974 book "The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe", Bobby Kennedy, Cuban missile crisis, Eunice Murray, Fred Lawrence Guiles's ''Norma Jean: The Life of Marilyn Monroe'', Hans Von Rittern, Joe DiMaggio, Macy's 2013 summer promotion, Manhattan, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe 87 years old 2013, Marilyn Monroe artwork, Marilyn Monroe autopsy, Marilyn Monroe murdered, Marilyn Monroe poisoned, Marilyn Monroe's death, Marilyn Monroe's death 1962, Marilyn suicide, Marilyn's diary, MM, mysterious death, New York City, New York photo, Peter Lawford, Photo of the day, Poisonous injection and suppository, Queens, Ralph Greenson, Robert Kennedy | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE – Enjoy the Bette Midler lyrics ~
“Twisted”
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head.
The way he described it he said,
“You’d be better off dead than alive.”
I didn’t listen to his jive.
I knew all along he was all wrong,
and I knew that he thought I was crazy,
but you know I’m not. Oh, no.
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head.
He said I need treatment.
But I’m not that easily led.
He said I was the type that was most inclined
when out of his sight to be out of my mind.
And he thought I was nuts. No more if’s or and’s or but’s. Oh, no.
They say as a child I appeared a little bit wild with all my crazy ideas.
But I knew what was happenin’, I knew I was a genius.
What’s so strange when you know that you’re a wizard at three?
I said, “Baby, this is meant for me, me, me, me.”
I heard little children were supposed to sleep tight.
That’s why I drank a fifth of vodka one night.
My parent’s got frantic, didn’t know what to do.
But I had saw some crazy things before I came to.
Now, do you think I was crazy? I may have been only three but I was swingin’.
They all laughed at A. Graham Bell, they all laughed at Edison, and also at Einstein.
So why should I feel sorry if they just didn’t understand the reasoning and the logic that went on in my head.
I had a brain, it was insane. So I just let them laugh at me when I refused to ride on all those double-decker buses all because there was no driver on the top. Aaaaaaah.
“Did you ever hear a story like that in your life? Honey, that chick is bananas. Do you hear?
Bananas. Oh, waiter, bring me another banana dacquari, would ya?” Ba, ba, ba, ba! “Oh, here she comes again.” Badada, badada, badada. Wo!
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head.
But I said, “Doctor, I think that it’s you instead.
‘Cause I got a thing that’s so unique and new,
it proves that I got the last laugh on you. ‘Cause instead of one head, ooh, I got two.
And you know two heads are better than one.”
August 3, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 'two heads are better than one.', bald head, Bette Middle 'Twisted Lyrics', Bette Midler, coincidence, coincidental setting, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City Queens, man in door, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, porthole, Queens, street art | Leave a comment
1961, my 6th Birthday party
Mondays on Memory Lane: THE STORY OF THE MIRACULOUS TRAVELING CHAIRS
How we found our missing chairs after 20 years!
New Years Eve 1992 with grandmother aka “Oma”
In the summer of 1960 my family, consisting of my mother Ursula, her mother Amalie and me, had moved across the street from a furnished walk up apartment to a brand new sprawling modern apartment building on Woodhaven Blvd named The Imperial. The lobby of the building looked like George Jetson’s living room, furnished in very high 1960’s modern style, it was wonderful, but there was more furniture in the lobby than there was in our apartment! Having come from a furnished apartment, we didn’t have much to move in with. Mom was a single parent secretary with impeccable skills who supported her family all by herself. Coming from a proper German family she had been taught you only buy what you can afford. Now that mom had arrived in America, her co-workers convinced Ursula that buying things “on time” was the all American way!
Bloomingdales 1959 American Design Foundation furniture ad
With that in mind, since we needed a dining room set first, mom would look in the stores after work. Ursula’s finer taste led her to Bloomingdale’s, which in those days had an elaborate furniture department. There on the upper floor were the latest of modern designs, and this being 1960, the style was of course Danish Modern. Mom tells me it was “love at first sight” when she was instantly drawn to a display island in the middle of the floor, roped off by velvet ropes, showing a complete dining set designed in 1959 by Kipp Stewart and Stewart MacDougal for the American Design Foundation for the Winchendon Furniture Company.
Six chairs, dinning table with extender leaves, end table and china cabinet. Solid cherry wood with black leather upholstery. “It was exactly my taste!” mom tells me. Although she does not recall the price, she does recall it was “terribly expensive” but fate had intervened – it was on sale! Even with this good fortune, it was still out of her budget range. “Why not buy it on time?” familiarly chimed the sales clerk. Sold! It was delivered soon afterwards.
For 53 years our family history has revolved around that set. It has been photographed for every special occasion, every birthday, every holiday, it has truly been the center of our lives. But, lives change. Situations change. So, in 1993 we left New York for Tucson, Arizona believing in the theory that ’the grass is always greener on the other side.’ We hired Mayflower movers who specializes in cross-country moves. We were one of about four families on board the huge, huge truck having their things moved out west. Ursula supervised the movers with an eagle eye, especially her beloved dining room chairs. Since the chairs are so light, it was decided they would be placed at the very, very top of our piled section so as not to dent or crush them. Once we got to Arizona we stayed in a furnished motel first, till we could find the house of our dreams. When the Mayflower movers finally arrived a week after our arrival, our furniture was placed in storage. We first settled on a rental house with option to buy (which we didn’t) and had our furniture packed up again and delivered to our new ‘temporary’ home. As the truck arrived, we watched as the doors opened. There perched at the top were their treasured chairs. One, two, three, four came off the truck. “Where are the other two?” mom asked with great concern. “Don’t worry lady, they’re there,” the movers assured her. They were not.
Tucson Thanksgiving 1994
We filed claims with Mayflower movers, they gave us the run around with excuses as to where they could be. The stop before us in the mid west, the stop after us in California, somewhere. Surely we thought, surely someone would be decent enough to say, ‘hey, we have two chairs that don’t belong to us.’ No one ever did. We believe that since the partition dividing each families furniture was not completely from floor to ceiling on the truck, the chairs must have toppled over into another families things and were never reported, too much of an inconvenience to some one else.
In time, Ursula finally found the house of her dreams on East Hawk Place at the foot of Mount Lemon. Once again the movers were called. By the year 1999 I realized I was the quintessential New Yorker, miserable in Tucson, and in January 2000 moved back to NYC. One year later my mother to move ‘closer’ to me decided to move to Ft. Meyers Beach, Florida. So the movers (not Mayflower!) were called yet again. Mom’s first house kept getting flooded by the hurricanes so she moved yet again to one final house in Ft. Meyers Beach, until three hurricanes descended onto the Florida Gulf within three months. The one thing mom was determined to save each time was her beloved dining room set and she perched it up onto other furniture, thereby saving it from all the floods. Three hurricanes being too much, mom finally moved back to NYC! For each and every one of the seven moves Ursula’s beloved dining room set has survived – except for the two chairs. Now in 2013 she is firmly ensconced around the corner from me in Sunnyside, Queens. But in all the years since 1993, whenever we have a special occasion at the dinner table, it is only a matter of time till mom will say, “you know, we had six of these chairs!”
On July 18 this year, in the midst of New York’s scorching 100F degree heat wave, I volunteered to go to mom’s holistic pet shop, located on 9th Street in the east village section of Manhattan. Now fate begins to intervene. I have gone to this shop many times before. The subway stop is 8th Street. Oddly enough, I automatically got off at 14th Street. So by foot I headed south. Instead of turning onto East 9th Street, for some unknown reason I turned onto East 12th Street. As I headed down the street, I was drawn into the wonderful The Cure Thrift Shop where proceeds go to the diabetes foundation. The lure of cool air and wonderful things pulled me in. I kept walking as if pulled to the back of the store. Then, when just about 6 feet from the back, my eyes saw – our dining room chairs, exactly two of them! ! It was an absolute surreal moment. Was I seeing right? This couldn’t be. In my days, I have been to every last thrift shop, antique store, garage sale, estate sale, street fair and flea market in New York, upstate, New England, Arizona and Florida – I have never ever seen any part of our dining room set – and here they were…the two of them, as if hey were waiting for me. I was almost afraid to touch them to only then discover the mirage wasn’t real – they were real, priced at $500 for the pair. “Do you know anything about these chairs” I carefully asked?
Stewart-MacDougal Chair in CURE Thrift Shop
CURE Thrift Shop 111 East 12th Street
Chair in the #4 subway
Hans’ private seating
I was told by a very delightful girl named Ali that they were donated by a woman who had had them for “many years.” My hand started going for my cell phone as I tried to walk calmly out of the store. I rushed across the street and speed dialed mom, “You’re not going to believe this, but I found your chairs!” Mom insisted I was clouded with romantic notions and that it just could not be. Maybe the back is different, different legs, different wood or seat, it just couldn’t be, not after 20 years! “No mom…it’s them!“ We agreed that fate had intervened and that despite the fact this was certainly not planned for in our budget, if these were truly, truly the chairs, I had to buy them! I recognized the nicks and dents we had accidentally put in them over the years – these were undeniably OUR chairs! Unbelievable! I offered Ali $400 which she warmly accepted. I told Ali the entire story as we both got the Twilight Zone chills and teared up and hugged. I rushed home to show mom the photos I had taken of ‘her’ chairs. “It’s them” she exclaimed, as she just kept staring at the photo in the camera.
The very next day I planned to take the chairs to mom’s apartment, one by one on the subway. Liz the manager greeted me only to reveal that she herself had been the past owner of the infamous chairs for just a few years, before that they had been found in a second hand furniture store. Liz herself reupholstered the seats in white vinyl and insisted the original seats are still underneath, which they are. I thanked her profusely and gingerly carried the first chair to go home to mom.
Ursula and her chairs – 20 years later!
Now in New York City, you see all characters carry all sorts of odd things on the subway. The subway doors opened, I placed my chair in the corner and sat down. I got all the required bemused looks. “You Won’t believe the story behind this chair!” I exclaimed, I just couldn’t hold my excitement back as I told a young surprised design student the story. My stop arrived, I rushed to her apartment building and got into the elevator as quickly as possible. Ursula was waiting at the door, “Oh my god, it really IS the chair”, mom just looked at me and then the chair and then me, then the chair…We went into the living room and I placed the first of the missing two chairs, next to it’s mates. After twenty long years they were together again! But wait – I had to go back to the city and do the whole trip over again with chair number two! I headed out the door, heady with excitement and rushed to get missing chair #2. After several hours on July 19, twenty years later, I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but our historic beloved chairs were together again, the dining room set was just as it was on that day in Bloomingdales when that sales person said to Ursula: “Why don’t you just buy them on time?” !
AMERICAN FURNITURE FOUNDATION MEDALLION
AMERICAN DESIGN FOUNDATION 1959 STEWART-MacDOUGAL DINING SET TODAY
WINCHENDON FURNITURE COMPANY CHINA CABINET
STEWART-MacDOUGAL WINCHENDON DINING CHAIRS
THE CURE THRIFT SHOP benefiting The Diabetes Foundation
111 East 12th Street, open daily 11:00 – 8:00
212-505-SHOP
PS: Bizarrely enough, a few days later, TCM (Ted Turner Movie) channel showed the 1970 Mel Brooks comedy film “The Twelve Chairs” for the very first time on their channel.
Sunday July 28th, I actually found the original Bloomingdale’s ad for the chairs on the internet. Life is surreal.
July 29, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 111East 12th Street, 1960, 1960's, 1993, 61-61 Woodhaven Blvd., 7 train, Ali and Liz, American Design Foundation, Bloomingdales, Bloomingdales 1959 furniture ad, Christmas, Danish Modern Furniture, East Village, family celebrations and holidays, family events, fate, finding lost furniture, Ft. Meyers beach Florida, Hans Von Rittern, heat wave, hurricanes, interior decorating, interior design, Kipp Stewart, Kipp Stewart and Stewart MacDougal, lost furniture, Manhattan, Mayflower Movers, New York City, New York photo, Paul McCobb, Photo of the day, Queens, Stewart MacDougal, subway, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, The CURE Thrift Shop, The Imperial, thrift shop find, Tucson Arizona, Ursula Von Rittern, vintage furniture, Winchendon American Design Fondation medallion, winchendon furniture, Winchendon Furniture Comapny, Woodhaven Blvd. | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: POPE HAS YARD SALE – If men of clergy – popes, pastors, priests are called ‘men of the cloth’ . . . then this should be one helluva sale! My question is, what will they be wearing next season?!
June 25, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 'men of the cloth', church, clergy, funny sign, grammar, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, mis-spelled words, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, pope's garments, priest's garments for sale, Queens, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, Thrift shop window, yard sale | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: I GOT TIME ON MY HANDS – Time seemed to stand still in the year 1962 during my private tour of the TWA Flight Center in New York’s JFK airport. The flowing timeless architecture by Finland’s architect Eero Saarinen makes you feel as if you are floating through the space, which was his idea. He said he wanted no focal point at all, just sweeping vistas. Therefore, the clock was an added idea on the part of TWA (Trans World Airlines) insisting a clock be placed somewhere within the terminal. Here it is above the floating central bridge/walkway. Sadly time did not wait for Eero Saarinen, he died shortly before his building was completed. But time actually has stood still here today, since the building has been officially landmarked and is slowly being renovated for Jet Blue airlines.
June 23, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 1962, aviation, Eero Saarinen, Hans Von Rittern, Jet Blue airlines, JFK airport, Mad Men era architecture, Manhattan, New York airport, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, TWA Airlines, TWA Flight Center, vintage airline terminal | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: “TWA FLIGHT CENTER, A BYGONE ERA OF THE ELEGANCE OF FLIGHT”
“TWA flight 221 now boarding for Bermuda at gate two.”
One of the epitomes of high style 1960’s architectural design is Eero Saarinen‘s 1962 TWA Flight Center shaped like a flying bird. Mr. Saarinen was born in Finland and his architectural firm was based in Detroit. One of the greatest gifts he ever gave to New York City’s Kennedy Airport is this ‘Mad Men’ era TWA Flight Center building.
You can just see women with pill box hats, gloves with matching shoes, elegant suits and hat boxes arriving for their journey abroad. The open design is one of fluidity, your eyes are made to sweep across this magnificent airy space.
The terminal ceased operations in 2001 but has thankfully been declared a historic landmark. I was privileged enough be given a rare private tour to experience the genius and beauty that is Saarinen.
(Many more photos to follow.)
June 22, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 1960's architectural design, 1962, aviation, bird-like building, Eero Saarinen, fluid design, Hans Von Rittern, historic landmark, Kennedy Airport, Mad Men era, Manhattan, New York City, open airy design, Photo of the day, Queens, red white design, retro airlines terminal, Trans World Airlines, TWA Airlines, TWA Flight Center | 2 Comments
Photo of the day: WEDNESDAY ADDAMS LIVES! – Do ~not~ cross her for she is ruler of her garden! Don’t let her lace dress fool you, or the innocent face – she wields her mighty sharp sword and is deadly serious. Keep out unless asked! Photos by permission only, her’s is the only permission that rules . . . and she means it.
“Wednesday” is really seven year old Brady Allen Egan. Brady Allen born on Labor Day 2005 is an older earnest spirit inside a young girl’s body. Last year she asked everybody to bring kids shoes for her birthday party instead of presents and she donated them to President Clinton’s Rotararian project. For this years 8th birthday, Brady will ask for donations to be made to President Clinton’s AIDS foundation. She also donated her hair about amonth ago and that’s why she has such a chic short bob. Brady loves, loves animals, she has a cat and a dog, both rescues, and Brady is always outside playing with them to make them happy. She walks to school every day, her parents do not have a car and in her home of Pleasantville, Long Island they don’t have school busses. So, every morning with a determined gate, she heads off to become the future ruler of the world. What does this selfless ballet and soccer player want to be when she finally reaches 21 – a veterinarian. Until then, careful if you see her – she means business!
June 18, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 7 year old girl, Brady Allen, Brady Allen Egan, Chappaqua Long Island, Charles Addams, Chas Addams, creepy girl, determined young girl, donated hair, Hans Von Rittern, lace dress and sword, New York City, New York photo, older earnest spirit inside a young girl's body, Photo of the day, Pleasantville Long Island, President Clinton's AIDS foundation, President Clinton's Rotararian shoe project, Queens, ruler of her garden, selfless girl, spunky girl, The Addams Family, they're creepy and they're kooky, veterinarian, walks to school, Wednesday Addams | Leave a comment
Flag at Willets Point, Queens
“…Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, In full glory reflected now shines in the stream: ‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave…”
Photo of the day: FLAG DAY – Today the flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with 6 white. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies, the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor, White symbolizes Purity and Innocence and Blue represents Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.
In 1916, president Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an act of congress.
COME CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF MY ONE MAN SHOW TONIGHT AT ‘THE BROGUE’ ! 7:30 – 10:00pm, Located at 4910 SKILLMAN AVENUE, SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS.
The scenic way to come Friday is by “7” train. At the time you will be traveling there are local and express “7” trains. Express have red circle lights and locals have green light circles. You want the green. When the train exits the tunnel into Queens, stay… on the left side of the car for a fantastic phenomenal view of the Manhattan skyline, the 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum and the Queensboro Bridge! Get off at 46th street. Cross Queens Blvd. to the “T Mobile side” and walk down 46th street, my home block, 2 avenues to Skillman Avenue. (When you are on the block btwn 43rd Ave/Skillman, the first apt. building on the left with the white Roman columns, 41-30 46th Street = is my home!) On Skillman Avenue turn right and walk uphill to 49th Street, The Brogue is located between 49/50th Streets, #4910 Skillman Avenue – see you all there !
The non scenic way is to take N or Q train to Queensboro Plaza, stay towards back for the view from the platform of NYC, switch to 7 GREEN LOCAL to 52nd street, walk north to Skillman, turn left 2 block to 50th street.
June 14, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 1916, 1949, Hans Von Rittern, meaning of stars and stripes, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, President Woodrow Wilson, Queens, Star Spangled Banner, stars and stripes, Tattered flag, the original 13 colonies, United States flag, what stars and stripes symbolize, Willets Point Queens | Leave a comment
Model Shaniqua Myoshi Smith
Photo of the day: TAXI, TAXI – The monsoon rain has finally stopped in New York! It is impossible to find a cab in NYC when it rains, but now that it’ sunny ~ do you know how to hail a cab in NYC? No, you just don’t whistle and wave – you have to know the light system on top of the cab.
– When the letter and number combo is lit (6X47B) that means he is free (no passengers).
– When the letter and number combo is NOT lit (6X47B) that means he is occupied (has passengers).
– If the words are lit on either side of the letter/number combo, it reads “OFF DUTY” that means he is going home. He may stop for you if where you’d like to go is on his way home, but he’ll quote you a flat predetermined price. (The meter is turned off…I’d wait for a working metered cab.)
– You are allowed to tell him to turn off his personal loud radio.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have just graduated Taxi Cab 101 !
REMINDER: SUNDAY JUNE 9 is the
“Invincible Summer Art Fair”!
1-5PM
Featuring Hans Von Rittern’s work
at Queen of Angels Parish Hall, 44-04 Skillman Ave, corner 44th Street, 2 blocks from subway
N/Q/R train to Quensboro Place, 7 train to 36th Street, walk 4 blocks
I’LL SEE YOU THERE !
June 8, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 7 train, Art Fair - Queen of Angels Parish, black girl body painted, Hans Von Rittern, Local art fair and sale, Manhattan, Meet and greet Hans Von Rittern, New York City, New York photo, nude painted woman, nude woman in traffic, Photo display and sale, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, subway, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, taxi cab | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: I’VE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE QUEENS “INVINCIBLE SUMMER” ART FAIR ! – This photo called “Winter’s Sun” of a polar bear bather taking a dip in the winter’s ocean on Coney Island got me accepted into the art show and fair. The fair is a juried exhibition for which hundreds entered and 50 were selected one of them is ME. The exhibition grants me the right then to also be in the art fair, which is an art sale to be held at Queen of Angels parish hall on June 9th from 1pm to 5pm. A formal invitation will be announced here! Please come and “meet and greet (and catch up with) the artist!’ 
The on-going exhibit will be held right down the street from me in my hood at the Claret Wine Bar, June 11 – July 9.
Sunday, June 9, 1-5pm: Art Fair – Queen of Angels Parish, 44-04 Skillman Ave, Sunnyside, NY 11104, Phone: (718) 392-0011
Tuesday, June 11, time tba: Exhibit opening night party.
Claret Wine Bar, 4602 Skillman Avenue/corner 46th Street, Sunnyside . Queens . 718-937-7411
http://www.claretwinebar.com/
I truly hope you will join me there! STAY TUNED ! ! !
May 31, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 1-5pm, art fair, Art Fair - Queen of Angels Parish, Claret Wine Bar, Coney Island, formal invitation, Hans Von Rittern, HansVonRittern.com, Invincible Summer, June 9, juried exhibition, local art fair, Manhattan, meet the artist, New York City, New York photo, Photo exhibit, polar bear bather, queen of angels, Queens, Skillman Avenue, Sunday, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, Sunnysideartists.org, The Brogue Bar and Restaurant | 2 Comments
NEW YORK CITY - IN THE WIT OF AN EYE 