Main Page > 1999 NYC: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour >
Going to bed at 5:00AM does not make getting up either a fun or easy chore. The Boys slept fitfully until 11:00 AM, when they realized the morning was waning, so groggily the Boys grabbed a cup of Joe and headed down to the Worlds Tallest Buildings the twin towers of the World Trade Center !!
Twin Towers for Twin Headaches
The
Mid-Town from 110 stories up!
Buying tickets for the Viewing Deck Mike and Bone went up the 110 floors to an enclosed glass center where you had an amazing panorama. You could see the Amusement Parks of Coney Island on the Atlantic Ocean on one side, as see the hills of Upstate New York on the other, With much to do the Boys didn't linger since they had an appointment with Lady Liberty !
Assault on Battery Park !
Tickets for the Iaccoca'ed-Statue of Liberty were purchased at a 1812 US Fort Castle Clinton (no relationship to the boob in the White House !) As Mike and Bone waited the Hour and a Half in line waiting for the boat, they were amused by the numerous street performers.
Castle Clinton has a rich New York History, along with more than a dozen other forts was built in anticipation of the War of 1812 to defend New York Harbor. The Southwest Battery was constructed on the rocks off the tip of Manhattan Island between 1808 and 1811. Although fully armed, the fort never had occasion to fire upon an enemy. In 1817, the fort was renamed Castle Clinton in honor of DeWitt Clinton, Mayor and later Governor of New York.
The army vacated the fort in 1821 and the structure was deeded to New York City. In the summer of 1824, a new restaurant and entertainment center opened at the site, then called Castle Garden. A roof was added in the 1840s and Castle Garden served as an opera house and theater until 1854. Many new inventions were demonstrated there to amazed audiences including the telegraph, Colts revolving rifles, steam powdered fire engines and underwater electronic explosives. The "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind made her American debut here in 1850, brought to America by no other then P.T. Barnum.
By 1855, successive landfills had enlarged the Park to encompass Castle Garden and on August 3 the structure became America's first immigrant receiving center, welcoming 8.5 million people before it was closed in 1890 and succeeded by Ellis Island.
The building was altered once again and reopened as the New York City Aquarium on December 10, 1896. It was one of the city's most popular attractions, and one of America's first public aquariums until it closed in 1941. Following its near-total demolition in 1941 and a major preservation battle, the original fort walls were declared a National Monument by an Act of Congress in 1946. Restored to its fortification appearance by the National Park Service in 1975, the Castle currently houses a small interpretive display and the ticket office for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry. Castle Clinton was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965.
The Lady of the Harbor !
Lady Liberty was a gift from the French in 1876 for the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. the Statue served for years as the first sight of millions of immigrants coming over from War Torn Europe. The poem "The New Colossus,” by the nineteenth-century American poet Emma Lazarus, describes the Statue of Liberty, and appears on a plaque at the base of the statue. It ends with the statue herself speaking:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
It now has a addendum:
"But I never asked for nor can tolerate Mike and Bone !”
Wandering Liberty Island
Checking out Lady Liberty was cooler than expected. Not only because of its grandeur, but the fact that the 40 mile and hours winds driving off of the Atlantic into New York Harbor made it down right chilly ! After proper Mike and Bone inspections were observed, the Boys decided to check out where Bone's Italian family members passed through on their way to Michigan, Ellis Island !
Mike and Bone, Ellis Island Vagrants looking for Immigrants !!
While on Ellis Island Mike and Bone walked through the Museum noticing the pictures of all the Italian immigrants, noting the high number of future pizza makers like themselves!
"We love coming to America !!!" Mike and Bone
Wandering to Midtown!
When the Ellis Island Ferry returned the Boys to shore they decided to tour Manhattan the only way a New Yorker, sees the City, by walking up to Mid-Town and Empire State Building on 42nd Street from Battery Park !!!
Viewing their empire from the Empire State Building
No Tour of the Big Apple is complete without checking out the City from the Observation Deck on the Empire State Building, I mean if it is good enough for King Kong, these two gorillas simply needed to hang out as well !!
100 Floors High, with no Booze !
King Kong, now Mike and Bone ?!!!?
As the Boys exited to the viewing deck an amazing panorama was before them ....
The Iconic Views of the City from the Observation Deck
The view is simply awesome from the Viewing Deck. the views of Downtown, the surreal Art Deco Chrome of the Chrysler Building, the Monolithic look of the UN Building, all at a scale not seen elsewhere in the US.
Sure other cities have skyscrapers, but New York defines the term,,, Skyline !
"What do think this is Grand Central Station?!"
"Well Yeah !"
After getting high, Mike and Bone checked out the next icon to check out was Vanderbilt's Grand Central Station!
What is so Grand about this Station? Grand Central Station (which is actually named Grand Central Terminal - is technically the name of the subway station beneath the terminal) is one of New York City's most famous landmarks is really the second such terminal in the same spot The first Grand Central Terminal was built in 1871 by shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. However, the original Grand Central soon became obsolete when steam locomotives were banned after a catastrophic train collision in 1902 that killed 17 and injured 38. Within months, plans were underway to demolish the existing station and build a new terminal for electric trains. The new Grand Central Terminal officially opened on February 2, 1913. More than 150,000 people turned out to celebrate opening day. The beautiful Beaux Arts building with its massive marble staircase, 75-foot windows and star-studded ceiling was an immediate hit. Hotels, office buildings, and skyscrapers soon sprang up around the new terminal, including the iconic 77-story Chrysler Building. The neighborhood prospered as Grand Central Terminal became the busiest train station in the country. By 1947, more than 65 million people -- the equivalent of 40% of the U.S. population -- traveled through Grand Central Terminal. However by the 1950's, the glory days of long-distance rail travel were over. In post-war America, many travelers preferred to drive or fly to their destinations. With the value of prime Manhattan real estate rising and railroad profits falling, the railroad began to talk about demolishing Grand Central Terminal and replacing it with an office building. New York City's new Landmarks Preservation Commission stepped in 1967 to designate Grand Central Terminal as a landmark protected by law, temporarily squashing the development plans. Penn Central, the railroad conglomerate that owned Grand Central Terminal did not want to take no for an answer. They proposed building a 55-story tower above Grand Central, which would have meant demolishing parts of the Terminal. The Landmarks Preservation Commission blocked the project, leading Penn Central to file an $8 million lawsuit against the City of New York. The court battle lasted for almost ten years. Thanks to concerned citizens and city leaders, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the development plans were thwarted (after the lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court). In 1994, Metro-North took over operation of Grand Central Terminal and began extensive renovations. Now restored to its 1913 splendor, Grand Central Terminal now houses five restaurants and cocktail lounges, a Dining Concourse, and 50 shops. The historic train station is also the site of art and cultural exhibits and other events throughout the year.
After 45 minutes of horsing around on the tracks and the grand staircase the Boys headed out for further touring and Lunch !
Cruisin' the Chrysler Building
With two of the Mid-Town icons toured and destroyed, it was time to head back downtown and checkout the Lower East Side and grab a bite.
Lowerin' into the Lower East Side !
The Lower East Side was for many Italian and Jewish immigrants settled at the end of the 1800;s and the early 1900's, Remnants of both communities can be found in neighborhoods such as Little Italy. The neighborhoods are famous for the small, cramped apartments stacked upon one another with iron railing stair cases adorning the walls. Of course The Lower East Side is also famous for its world renown Jewish Deli's, none more famous than .....
Gettin' a Salami for the Mike and Bone Army !
When in the Lower East side you gotta go where Sally got her's at Katz's Deli'. The Deli known as the place that gave Sally a screaming, well, you know ! In the iconic movie When Harry met Sally is simply one of the best deli's not only in New York, but the country. During World Word II Katz's use to ship deli to the troops overseas and advertise that fact with its now famous moniker "Senda Salami to your Boys in the Army !" Which is probably one of reasons we one that War !.Mike got a hot Pastrami with mustard on Rye, and Bone got a Corned Beef, both awesome sandwiches. Stuffed, the boys waddled out needing walk off that lunch !
The New York Public Library
From Katz Deli at Houston and Orchid the Boys traced down to Broadway and then all the way back up to 52 Street in the now darkening sky of early evening stopping and enjoying a Guinness or two at the many Pubs and Taverns along the way.
Now what is the difference between a Pub and Tavern you ask? Nada ! It just sounds better than Mike and Bone could avoid going into every Bar they came across, which was really the case !
Bloody Hooligans !
By 8:00 PM the Boys were near their Hotel, when they decided to get a great steak and Guinness at one of Bone's favorite Mid-Town Restaurants Rosie O'Grady's Saloon! Deciding to eat at the Bar, the Boys noticed that all the other patrons were talking with a heavy, drunken, British accent. When the boys asked the nearest patron what was going on, they shared that a contingent of Londoners came across the Pond to root for Brit-based 4(Jamaican-born) Lennox Lewis in a Box Match against American-born Evander Holyfield that was going to be held this evening just down the Street at Madison Square Gardens. This stirred up the Boy's Blue, White, and Red-blood to the point that as soon as they were down eating, they were gonna find a local Bar and root for Evander !!!
U.S. vs. Britain: Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox (Lummox) Lewis !!
USA !!! USA !!! !!! USA !!! !!! !!!
The Boys went down to a favorite Times Square haunt, Playwrights Tavern, which was overcrowded with the British hooligans that were trying to control the Bar with their slack-jawed shouts of Angle-Land !! Angle-Land !!! Angle-Land !!!! only to the annoyance of Mike and Bone, whom responded an gained the upper hand, by single-handedly out-shouting the Brits with "USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!! USA!!!! " The third Anglo-US War was averted at the last minute with free rounds from the Brit's and the start of fight, which suspiciously ended in a draw and nobody happy. By the time the Bout ended it was 1:30 AM and Boys were again in bad shape with 10 hours of non-stop Guinness. However the NY supply of the Stout had been considerably dented by the Boys for the day.
The damage required a stop at Ray's Famous for a slice of heaven, or really pepperoni pizza, which capped an awesome day of adventure.