2018
Open House New York Weekend
I wanted to stay true to the cause, but look what we're living in
As an American who grew up in America and attended American History classes in American schools, I feel that my education was certainly lacking in a lot of areas, including the American War for Independence, often mistakenly referred to as a revolution (which it really wasn’t). One of the things that no one bothered to teach me about was the New York Prison Ships, where the British Army imprisoned British citizens (or Americans, depending on your point of view) during the war in awful conditions and just let a lot of them die. This monument, designed by Stanford White in the middle of Fort Greene Park, honors them with a great big hollowed out column. There used to be stairs in the center allowing you to climb up, but now, much like the British in America, they’re long gone.
We’re still in Brooklyn and enjoying the terrific interior of the Dime Savings Bank, right on (or in some cases near) Fulton and Flatbush. It’s a historic interior that is no longer a working bank but one day will at least be in use again as part of a lobby for annoying rich people who live in the yet unbuilt SHoP designed residential skyscraper being built next door.
Still inside Dime Savings Bank, a terrific space with wonderful details that I’m sure all of those future tenants will appreciate (not sure the sarcasm is coming through on that last part but trust me, it is most definitely there).
I normally plan these weekends better (or maybe this is just out of chronological order, either way I’m not telling), but we’re bouncing back into Midtown to peek into the Louise Nevelson chapel that’s crouched underneath the hulking (and one time structurally deficient) Citicorp Tower on Lexington Avenue.
Now we’re back in Brooklyn but way, way out in Greenpoint, a long enough walk from the nearest subway that it made me regret not thinking about just paying for an Uber. This is the Kingsland Wildflower Rooftop Garden, a literal oasis within sight of the landmark Newton Creek Wastewater Facility across the river in Queens.
We’re still in Greenpoint but a lot closer to civilization. This is A/D/O, a design incubator designed by nArchitects, seemingly a great place to hang out as well as probably a great place to incubate, if you’re a designer that is.
We’re still in Brooklyn at the City Relinquiry in Williamsburg, normally a paid attraction but free for Open House New York. Inside it’s a collection of, well, crap, but I mean crap in the most positive light possible.
The last site for this year was the Museum at Eldridge Street, a gorgeous historic synagogue somewhere on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I started on a guided tour but then snuck away to try and get some pictures without the rest of the tour group in them. Another fun Open House New York Weekend is over and I’m already looking forward to next year.
Keep going back in time. Open House New York 2017 is next.
