It’s been a really long time since I wrote about some of my living in New York City experiences.
In between watching the Olympics and tending to my garden I experienced a perfect summer Sunday in New York last week.
It started at Columbus Circle which is located on West 59th Street ( aka Central Park South) where Central Park West and Broadway converge. As the slide show below shows, this is the location of the Time Warner Center (the buildings that you see as two towers with a central, lower part). Amongst the shops in the Center is the Whole Foods Market, several world class restaurants, the Mandarin Hotel and the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center (including my favorite Dizzie’s Club).
When I was growing up in New York, the only time we ever went to Columbus Circle was when the annual auto show came to the Coliseum which was demolished in 2000. There was also a museum in the circle, the Huntington Hartford , which was a structure with a notable white marble facade. The Huntington Hartford did not thrive and became a cultural center owned by the City. This also failed and despite the efforts of conservationists, the building at 2 Columbus Circle was demolished.
Along with the construction of the Time Warner Center there was the pristine refurbishing of the Circle’s statues, fountains, landscaping and upgrading the statues at the Central Park entrance. A new building at 2 Columbus Circle was built to house the Museum of Arts and Design.
I had never visited the museum and to my delight a friend invited me to a Jazz Brunch at the restaurant , Robert, www.Robertnyc.com, on the ninth floor . The music director of The Jazz Standard ( another Jazz favorite haunt) , Rob Dugay, performed with his trio there. In my pictures you can see Rob on the bass.
As you can see from the sheer number of photos I took at the restaurant (including my Lobster Benedict served on white Wedgwood plates) I really loved everything about my experience there. There were flaky mini croissants, terrific coffee and overall yummy food. I found the location and views of Central Park West, Columbus Circle and Broadway to be really gorgeous. The decor was exciting and beautiful to my eye. The jazz was exactly what I’d love to hear with brunch. The unified vision of the decor, compelled me to capture the menu cover, the receptionists corner and even the beaded steel window curtain, floor and flowers in the rest room.
After brunch I visited the museum. Included in the slide show are the works of two artists included in the show “Swept Away”. There are Jim Dingilian’s smoke etched pictures inside bottles and and Phoebe Cumming’s “The Delusion of Grandeur” construction.
On another floor I found Frank Shebageget’s diaphanous construction made from nylon and aluminum called “Cells” and Jason Quigno’s “Pillar of Tranquility”.
Completing my day was perfect weather for walking home through Central Park.
What a great day!
I hope that you enjoy the slideshow which starts with Columbus Circle, views of the Time Warner Center , the statues at the entrance to Cenral Park and the outside of The Museum of Art and Design.
Next are the photos from the restaurant Robert and the ones taken in the museum.
I hope that you enjoy the show!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Meryl Chodosh-Weiss 