New York: around the city, October 2009

In case you didn’t know, New York is a spectacular city. The variety and diversity, the hustle and bustle, and the sheer breadth and height of the place all mean that with a camera in your hand you’re unlikely to be bored for long. Coming separately are some of my many photos from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cloisters.

A plucky urban squirrel tries to climb my leg in Madison Square Park.
Autumn City geotagged northamericatravel Squirrel Street
The ‘Isaiah Wall’ in the Ralph Bunche Park opposite the United Nations Headquarters in East Manhattan. (Isaiah 2: 4)
Autumn City geotagged Lettering northamericatravel Street
The United Nations Headquarters on 1st Avenue.
Autumn Building City geotagged northamericatravel Street United Nations Headquarters New York
Sculpture in the visitors’ plaza outside the UN Headquarters.
Autumn City geotagged Monument northamericatravel Sculpture Street
School buses parked along 45th Street in Manhattan.
Autumn Bus City geotagged northamericatravel School Street
At first I thought that this sign was a jest perpetrated by the driver of this particular bus, but then I saw that the same sign was stuck to the back window of each of the many buses in the row.
Autumn Bus City geotagged northamericatravel School Sign Street
The Chrysler building reflected in the Hyatt hotel adjacent.
Autumn Building Chrysler Building New York City geotagged northamericatravel Reflection Street
The Chrysler building.
Autumn Building Chrysler Building New York City geotagged northamericatravel Street
A cobbled street in the meatpacking district in Lower Manhattan.
Autumn Building City geotagged northamericatravel Street
Looking down W. 14th Street from the The High Line, a recent renovation of a disused private railway at high level as a park for walking.
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Traffic travelling along 10th Avenue in Lower Manhattan.
Autumn Building City geotagged northamericatravel Street Tiltshift effect artificial Traffic
The Empire State Building rises above the brick buildings of Lower Manhattan.
Autumn Building City Empire State Building geotagged northamericatravel Street
I was unsure quite why someone would choose to paint the words ‘Better History’ on his garage door in Lower Manhattan, but I was amused to see that two people have separately modified the sentiment.
Autumn City geotagged Lettering northamericatravel Street
A brick block in Lower Manhattan.
Autumn Building City geotagged northamericatravel Street
Crossing 34th Street, near Penn. Station.
Autumn Building City geotagged northamericatravel Street
A mosaic direction-sign in 34th Street/Penn. Station subway station. Many signs of this kind have been preserved all over the New York City Subway system; there is a fascinating article on the AIGA site called ‘The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway’
Lettering Sign Subway
Another mosaic subway station sign.
Lettering Sign Subway RHJF 5D 20091019 0628
The Empire State Building at sunset, as seen from the top of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in 2001, it is once again the tallest building in the entire state of New York.

It was originally intended that the Empire State Building should act as a landing station for zeppelins/blimps, but that was never realized. Television and radio transmitters which had been on the ESB were moved to the World Trade Center when that was completed; the collapse of the twin towers on 11th September 2001 meant that nine New York TV stations were suddenly blacked-out, until they had transmitters re-installed at the ESB.
Autumn City City Views Empire State Building geotagged HDR multipleexposure northamericatravel Sunset
View over Central Park from the GE Building at Rockefeller Center, looking due north (really north-east, due to the orientation of Manhattan Island). To the west (left) is the Hudson River, beyond which is New Jersey.
Autumn Central Park New York City City Views geotagged northamericatravel Panorama Park Photostitch Panorama Sunset
Tourists gathered to take photos on the lower observation deck of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center.
Autumn City City Views Empire State Building geotagged northamericatravel People Sunset Tourist
Midtown Manhattan at sunset, as seen from the GE Building at Rockefeller Center.
Autumn City City Views Empire State Building geotagged northamericatravel Sunset
Panoramic photo of Midtown and Lower Manhattan at dusk as seen from the top of the GE Building (30 Rockefeller Plaza), looking due south. To the east (left) is the East River, on the other side of which are the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens; to the west (right) is the Hudson River, beyond which is the city of Hoboken in New Jersey. If you know where to look, and are prepared to squint slightly, you can see the Statue of Liberty.

Four frames stitched together. This is one of my absolute favourite photos of the trip, in spite of its various defects.
Autumn City City Views Dusk Empire State Building geotagged northamericatravel Panorama Photostitch Panorama
Tourists inside the viewing level of the GE Building looking over the Empire State Building.
Autumn City City Views Dusk Empire State Building geotagged northamericatravel Tourist Window
Ice-skating at Rockefeller Center.
Autumn City geotagged Ice Night northamericatravel People Skating
Ice-skating at Rockefeller Center.
Autumn City geotagged Ice Night northamericatravel People Skating
This sculpture of Atlas with the globe on his shoulders is prominent on 5th Avenue outside the Rockefeller Center, directly opposite St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Autumn Building Cathedral Church City geotagged northamericatravel St Patricks Cathedral New York Statue Street
Midtown Manhattan from across the Hudson River at Weehawken, New Jersey.
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Midtown Manhattan from across the Hudson River at Weehawken, New Jersey.
Autumn Chrysler Building New York City City Views geotagged Hudson River Lights Night northamericatravel Reflection River
‘New York: a hard-working city.’
Building work City People Reading Street Working
Central Park.
Central Park New York City Grass Park People Trees
Pedestrians in 5th Avenue. The Empire State Building is in the distance.
City Street
Waiting for the subway train at Times Square station.
People Subway Subway Platform Waiting
A rather good cellist at Times Square subway station.
Busking Music People Subway Subway Platform
Looking past the Brooklyn Bridge to Downtown Manhattan.
Bridge Brooklyn Bridge City City Views East River New York HDR HDR multipleexposure Lights Night Reflection northamericatravel Autumn
On-board the subway.
Cello People Subway Subway Train
On-board the subway.
People Subway Subway Train
The Chrysler Building and the UN Headquarters as seen from across the East River at Long Island City, in the borough of Queens.
Autumn Chrysler Building New York City City Views East River New York Empire State Building geotagged Night northamericatravel Reflection River United Nations Headquarters New York
Panoramic view of Lower and Midtown Manhattan from across the East River in Long Island City. (Nine photos stitched together.)
City City Views East River New York Night Panorama Photostitch Panorama Reflection River
I have recently noticed more and more usage of this ‘retro’ Pepsi logotype, which was one of the earliest logos used for the drink, and is surely reminiscent of the hardy Coca-Cola logo. Not that the Coca-Cola logo is necessarily as hardy as some people claim, but nevertheless it is Pepsi which has been through far more diverse iterations as compared to its older competitor. In the background of this photo taken in Long Island City is the Queensboro Bridge.
Advertising Autumn Bridge City City Views East River New York geotagged Neon Sign Night northamericatravel Queensboro Bridge New York Reflection River
Gantry Plaza Park, Long Island City, Queens, New York, New York.
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Other photographers at Gantry Plaza Park in Long Island City.
Autumn City City Views East River New York geotagged Night northamericatravel People Photographing Reflection River
This sign is attached to the World Trade Center cross near the site of the former WTC. The cross was found in the rubble following the terrorist attacks, and is in fact the junction of two prefabricated beams used in the construction of one or other of the twin towers.
Sign
People photograph the World Trade Center cross.
Cross People Photographing Tourist
At the entrance to the construction site for the new 1 World Trade Center, which is being built on the site formerly occupied by the twin towers.
Building Building work Flag Working
The large-scale construction of the new 1 World Trade Center in Downtown Manhattan.
Building Building work Traffic