Shufuso is a traditional 17th century Japanese house and garden. This villa was featured at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York City in 1956. 2 years later it was reconstructed in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. It was built in 1953 as a gift from Japan to America, a post war friendship between the two countries. It uses traditional Japanese materials and techniques. Continue reading
In the 1830s it was very noisy in the bustling city of Philadelphia. Camac Street is a landmark of a time when Philly was testing out new pavement. The clop-clop-clopping of horse hooves on cobble stone was the largest source of noise pollution. Local businessmen and the city government came together with the idea to use wooden blocks to absorb the sound. Continue reading
This is the reason why we joined the Transit Museum – to go on a tour of the Old City Hall train station. It’s a beauty to the eyes, too bad they don’t design things like this anymore. We had to hop on the 6 train at the last stop, the train stops on the turnaround and let’s you off at the old unused platform and they let us off. The first thing you want to do is stop and look up but you have to get off as quickly as possible to let the our tour members off. Being there felt like we had the keys to the city. It was amazing and totally worth our membership fee. Continue reading
We still didn’t quite understand what a substation was after the tour but it was still cool. After some googling, we have our answer: “It coverts High Voltage AC current into the DC current used by the New York City subways.” Quoted from untappedcities.com. Continue reading
The Rockefeller family contributed a lot to US history. When you hear their name you think of Rockefeller Center but from museum wings, historic mansions, state parks, public policy, etc – they are there.
Along one of our favorite walking paths, the Old Croton Aqueduct trail, lies Rockefeller State Park Preserve. Continue reading
We first learned about The Old Croton Aqueduct Historic State Park on the MTA’s one day getaways section. It’s no longer listed on their website. It spans from Croton Dam in Westchester County and use to go all the way down to the NY Public Library on 42nd Street. Continue reading
This is one of the easiest trails we can get to by public transport (Metro North). The old Croton Aqueduct Trail runs from Croton Dam to Yonkers. It goes through backyards, parking lots, and in some areas it’s just you, the trees and the occasional walker, jogger, biker. It’s a nice change of pace from the hustle of the city. Continue reading
On April 24, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson turned the lights on in the Woolworth building with the push of a button while he was in Washington DC. They thought electricity was a fad so the building is wired for electric and gas power. Continue reading
Congregation Mickve Israel is home to the 3rd oldest Jewish congregation in the USA. It’s a Gothic style synagogue and has a churchy kind of feel. Savannah was originally created as a buffer between the Spanish south and English north, meaning it was mainly created for defense. Olgethorpe, the founder didn’t plan on taking in more colonists but they needed a doctor. On July 11 1733, the William and Sarah ship carrying 40 or so Jewish passengers and Dr. Samuel Nunez landed. They were allowed to stay against the wishes of the London Trustees. Continue reading
Untermyer Gardens is an obscure gem. I learned about them when I started looking into walking trails accessible by public transportion. Untermyer lies along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. It was mentioned on the map so we decided to check it out and we were very pleased. Continue reading
Jebus Mews & Andrea 