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Grand Central Terminal is not just a tourist attraction - it's one of the world's busiest train stations. Over 150,000 commuters use it every day! The interior of Grand Central is also an amazing sight and will transport you to another time. The Main Concourse is an immense space 120 feet wide, 375 feet long and 125 feet high. It was recently restored but two tiles were left dirty and they are almost a brownish-black color that is noticeable if you look closely in the top corner. The ceiling is painted like an evening sky with gilded stars and constellations |
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Grand Central Station 87 E. 42nd Street |
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Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 5th Avenue |
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street is the largest art museum in the United States. It has more than 2 million works of art. These works represent nearly every culture of the last 5,000 years. The museum occupies four city blocks, yet it has space to display only part of its huge collection at one time. Four full city blocks where all manner of amazing halls and rooms, display everything from suits of armor to the complete Temple of Dendur, which was moved piece by piece from Egypt to save it from the rising Nile during the construction of the Aswan Dam. and the massive painting WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE. It’s was mind-blowing to see all different works of art from many different time periods. As a college student who loved art history classes, this was a fun treat for me to spend as much time as I could here. I learned that I really do enjoy Modern art for the most part. Opens at 9:30am, galleries cleared at 8:45pm. $15 is the recommended donation for admission. It’s a-maze-ing!!!! (No flash allowed with cameras) |
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Manhattan Temple |
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Times Square where we got 50% off Broadway tickets at the TKTS stand (at Duffy Square and South Street Seaport; good only for same-day shows)
We saw Beauty and the Beast at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
(It was a little windy so I always had to have my hair tied back.) |
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The temple is located directly across from Lincoln Center. 125 Columbus Ave. Cross streets are Broadway and Columbus. Temple Recommends are required and reservations are also recommended to attend the Manhattan Temple. You can find out more about what takes place in “Mormon temples” around the world by visiting the official church website at lds.org. |
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Manhattan Temple |
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Overall, we had a fabulous time visiting Manhattan and would love to go back someday if the opportunity presents itself again. I’ve love to see Central Park in the warmer months. Here are a few more things that we wanted to do but weren’t able to fit in: Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust “Unwavering Spirit: Hope & Healing At Ground Zero Exhibit at St. Paul’s Chapel. Completed in 1766, St Paul's is now the oldest public building still standing in Manhattan. Admission is free. The chapel accepts donations from members of the public. The Skyscraper Museum at 39 Battery Place. Admission is only $5 American Museum of Natural History 79th street and Central Park West Admission is $13 In their Hall of Gems exhibit they have a sapphire called the Star of India which is something like 593 carats. I can’t even imagine how big that must be. Go to the Met again so I can soak it all up some more. I never made it to the Guggenheim either. Frank Lloyd Wright’s design of the building would be wonderful to see. And of course, I’d love to see another Broadway show or two, or three... I’ve heard the Off-Broadway shows STOMP and BLUE MAN GROUP are fantastic as well. I’d like to eat at the Union Square Café, Serendipity 3, H&H Bagels, and Nathan’s hot dog stand. Lombardi’s for Pizza at 32 Spring Street supposedly has the best NY pizza. Eileen’s just a few blocks away has the best NY cheesecake... I’ve heard. *sigh* |
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Contact Information: Email: karenmareeyoung@msn.com |
Young Family Fun Pages |
Our first trip to NYC, NY. (Manhattan)February 2005 (scroll down for pictures) |
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We had a great view of the Chrysler Building as we walked out every day from our hotel at 51st and Lexington. After its completion in 1929, William van Alen’s 77-story Chrysler Building was the world’s tallest building at 925 feet for just a brief period. A proposed redesign of the Bank of Manhattan tower threatened the Chrysler Building by a mere two feet, so Walter P. Chrysler hastily called for a massive spire to be erected. His building quickly became 1046 feet tall. A few months later, however, construction of the Empire State Building was completed, relegating the glorious Chrysler to second place. Unlike its nearby cousin, the Empire State Building, which glows at night when bathed in a variety of colored lights, the Chrysler Building seems most radiant during the day hours. In the bright sunlight, the upper floors gleam, reflect, and even seem to pulsate light, directing the eye upwards towards the spire. Its gorgeous Art Deco lobby, with murals celebrating transportation themes, is definitely one of New York’s finest. A significant restoration was completed in 1999. |
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The legendary building soaring more than 100 stories over Manhattan's skyline made famous by the movie King Kong, the Empire State Building was for 40 years the world's tallest building. Its gorgeous Art Deco details and beautiful marble lobby make it the perfect stop for visitors, for the building captures the very essence of New York: huge, full of people, and breathtaking. Ride up the elevator to the 86th floor observatory then go outside for incredible panoramic views of the New York area. Marvel at the glittering roof of the nearby Chrysler Building or the neat, rectangular shape of Central Park. Stare out at the famous bridges that span the East River. The last elevator runs at 11:15 pm. $13 for adult tickets Troy said he was impressed but all the lines made it a hassle and he’s glad we saw it so now we don’t have to see it again. :) |
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We flew in on a Thursday night and barely survived the taxi ride into Manhattan (it reminded me of Space Mountain at Disneyland ). With 5 minutes to check in we met the NY group at Lucy’s restaurant for Latin American food that was divine. I recommend the Ecuadorian shrimp and the triple chocolate mousse dessert. Afterwards they broke us in by taking us to the underground subway that again compared to Disneyland. We rode to Grand Central Station where we awed over the ceiling. We walked home to our hotel and looked back and saw the Chrysler Building all aglow. The next morning while Troy worked, I took the subway and walked a bit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Yes, “The Met”) and tried to fit in a 3-day museum experience into 5 hours. Exhausted mentally from all I had seen and exhausted physically from walking around so much, I went back to the hotel to rest my feet for an hour then went to the American Folk Art Museum which was just ok. Right next door though the Modern Museum of Art was having a Free night so of course I went and raced thru with the hour I had left before meeting Troy at Times Square to get discount tickets to a Broadway show. All we could get was Beauty and the Beast. I was surprisingly impressed though and would recommend the show to anyone. It was spectacular! We called the kids and said hi to them as they looked online at the Earth’s webcam and saw us at Times Square. We were starving by then and went to Planet Hollywood for dinner where they had a better costume collection than the Met did. That was a great night! The next morning we got a late start and found that a lot of restaurants and subways are closed on the weekend. We took Circle Line’s cruise to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. That was Troy’s favorite part of the trip. We walked to WTC site and then walked to a café by the fire station across from the site. I can’t even remember the name of it because I was so tired. Afterwards, Troy was lost and walked us around in circles (OK, rectangles) so I hailed a taxi and we got home safe to rest our feet for an hour before taking a taxi to the Manhattan Temple. Very small, but very beautiful, peaceful, relaxing, and surprisingly quiet. Then we went to the Empire State Building where we got an eagle’s eye view of the Big Apple and almost got our hair blown off. Then back to the hotel to change and find dinner. We tried to go to Serendipity 3 (yes, the one in the movie Serendipity with Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack) but they had a 2 hour wait. We bought some Frozzen hot chocolate packets for souvenirs to try later and walked a bit more till I got tired and went back to the hotel to get some help. We walked down 51st to Sushi You to have what Troy said was fantastic sushi. (I had the teriyaki chicken. I’ve had sushi before and twice was enough for my lifetime.) We walked home full and tired and slept like babies. Sunday was Zachary’s birthday but we couldn’t call him since we were 2 hours ahead of them. With all our luggage we took the taxi through Central Park to the church (same building as the temple) and attended the 9:30-12:30am ward and I saw one of my old high school friends and so we chatted a bit. We had to pay $50 to taxi from there to JFK airport. Taxis are expensive there and they expect you to tip. Flying out was fabulous. We cruised right over downtown Manhattan and got the best view! Even better was coming home and celebrating my son’s birthday and finding the kids safe and happy. Thanks again Mom & Dad, and “Cousin Marla” for watching the kids for us! I NY! |
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Buy Circle Line tickets at Castle Clinton for $10 Ferry service leaves Battery Park every 20 minutes from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. every day. Note that the round trip ferry ticket includes visits to both Liberty and Ellis islands Statue of Liberty Current Park Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm. The park is open daily except Dec. 25th. Visitors experience a special insider's view of the engineering marvel that is the Statue of Liberty. A limited number of daily time passes to tour the monument are available from the ferry ticket offices in New York for walk-ins or reserved in advance by calling: 1-866-782-8834 The Statue of Liberty Museum: The excellent Statue of Liberty Museum still encases the original torch, a wonder of glass and steel. The core of the museum, the Statue of Liberty exhibit, is located on the second floor in the pedestal of the Statue and was offers historical context, photos, prints, videos, and oral histories of the people who came to these shores. Ellis Island The well-maintained grounds, coupled with three floors of exhibits showcasing the immigration station where more than 12 million people passed through, is worth the visit. Plus, admission is included in the $10 ferry ticket, which makes it a steal when coupled with the Statue tour.
You can take the Staten Island Ferry for Free from Whitehall Street and it cruised by the Statue. There’s apparently not much to do on Staten Island though and seeing the Statue and Ellis Island exhibits was so impressive and Troy’s favorite part of the trip that I strongly recommend paying the Circle Line fare and seeing it up close for yourself! |
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Chrysler Building 405 Lexington Avenue |
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Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island |
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Empire State Building |
