2017
Open House New York Weekend
Trying to get a feeling from the city, but I've been unfaithful, I've been abroad
Another year. Another October. Another Open House New York Weekend.
This year we’re starting in Lower Manhattan at the Municipal Building, where after a security check, you can see the Borough President’s Office, and who wouldn’t want to do that.
Sure the Borough President’s Office was nice and all but the real attraction there were visits up to the cupola. I couldn’t get cupola reservations (damn you, suddenly popular and overloaded Open House New York reservation system), but luckily that didn’t matter since they let me (and other people who were there early to tour the borough president offices on the 19th floor) up to the very top, just about as high as anyone who is not a statue can go. Once there you found yourself faced with downright amazing views as you hovered over some of the very best parts of Lower Manhattan.
Since we’re downtown anyway, let’s make a quick stop at another nearby Open House New York site. This is inside the US Custom House on Bowling Green, designed by Cass Gilbert. It is home to a branch of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian and you can pretty much go inside whenever you want to, but I find myself really only going there on occasions like this- in fact I think the last time I was here was for another Open House New York weekend.
I bought a pass this year which affords me a button that allows me to cut lines wherever I see them. I’ve done this before and often it is of little or no help, most of the sites I select usually are kind of unpopular (I’ve been to a lot of the now popular sites in previous Open House New York events) or are popular but have a high visitor capacity. For once, my button came in handy as when I arrived at the Cultural Center for the French Embassy, the long line stretched down East 78th Street and I walked right in. Once inside, there were lots of people (not pictured below) looking at finely decorated rooms (pictured below), everything you hope to see in a building you never heard of before.
Talking about buildings I never heard of before, this Bohemian Hall, a cultural center for all things Czech. Visits included guided tours and there was a lot to like, although the thing that warranted the most pictures was easily this very interesting spiral staircase, one so interesting that it warrants three pictures here.
One of the things I most love about Open House New York Weekend is the treasure map aspect to it. By that, I mean that the Open House New York site list always includes places you never heard of, or ever realized existed, and you find yourself bouncing all around the city just to find them. This is one such site, Liggett Hall Gym atop Liggett Arch in Governors Island, a surprisingly interesting hidden space that really should be repurposed into something like an event venue or gallery- it’s right above the arch at connecting to the terrific new park on the island.
Another classic Open House New York that’s worth a return visit is another Cass Gilbert building, and one that could not be more different than the US Custom House. This is the Brooklyn Army Terminal, where the interior has a rough, modern feel that feels way ahead of its time. The site was also packed, but so large that you could easily lose the crowd if you really wanted to.
Not all that far away from the Brooklyn Army Terminal (but still a weekend slow subway ride away) is the last site of this slideshow and the last site I visited, Brooklyn Glass. This had been on my shortlist for years now, and finally made the big leagues due to the fact that I was already going to be in that part of Brooklyn. Inside there were live demonstrations at the hot shop and lots of great glass (and neon) objects on display. I’m glad I (finally) went, it would have been worth a visit even if I wasn’t in Brooklyn already.
Keep going back in time. Open House New York 2016 is next.
