All of Us!

All of Us!
Finally! All together with enough time to spare (??) to capture a picture of all six of us in the same spot, same time. Now this is a precious photo! I tried to get one last year for our Christmas card and didn't succeed. So when I had the chance I threw out the lasso and rounded everyone up (at my niece's graduation party) to grab a couple snapshots. My oldest son, Casey, and his girlfriend Nika are on the left; and my youngest son, Brady, and his girlfriend Jenne on the right; that leaves Bob and I in the center. (Bob is the one who doesn't look very happy about having his picture taken!!)

Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Big Apple: Day Deux, Part 2 (The Dakota to Peace Fountain)

Whew, so we made it through the first part of the second day's tour.  Are you rested up and ready to set sail again? Now, without further delay, let's jump right back on the Gray Line bus and continue on where we left off from Day 2, Part 1.  Here it is: Day 2, Part 2, starts now ---

The Dakota
The Dakota/ Strawberry Fields: The Dakota building [at left] was the home of former Beatle John Lennon from 1973 on, and was the location of Lennon's murder by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980. As of 2010, Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, still has several apartments in the building. 

In the film Rosemary's Baby, The Dakota is used for exterior shots of the apartment building where the couple lives, in the film their home was known as the "Bramford."



Close-up to the entrance to The Dakota
Other notable residents of The Dakota include or have included: Judy Garland, Roberta Flack, Rosemary Clooney, Connie Chung/Maury Povich, John Madden, Joe Namath, Jack Palance, and Gilda Radner.

Residency Rejections: Although historically home to many creative or artistic people, the building and its co-op board of directors were criticized in 2005 by former resident Albert Maysles. He attempted to sell his ownership to famed actors Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, but they were rejected. Maysles expressed his disappointment with the way the building seemed to be changing by telling The New York Times: "What's so shocking is that the building is losing its touch with interesting people. More and more, they're moving away from creative people and going toward people who just have the money." Even prior to this, Gene Simmons, Billy Joel, and Carly Simon were denied residency by the board. In 2002 The Dakota rejected
Dennis Mehiel (well known as a corrugated-cardboard magnate and Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York.  [Wikipedia, The Dakota, 2012.]

Inside The Dakota Apartments: The Dakota is square and built around a central courtyard. The arched main entrance is large enough for the horse-drawn carriages that once entered and allowed passengers to unload and yet stay sheltered from the weather. Many of these carriages were housed in a multi-story stable building built in two sections from1891–1894, at the southwest corner of 77th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, where elevators lifted them to the upper floors. The "Dakota Stables" building was in operation as a garage until February 2007, when it was slated to be transformed into a condominium residence. Since then, the large condominium building "The Harrison" occupies its spot. As of 2011, there is nothing visible to show that the stable building ever existed.

The general layout of the apartments is in the French style of the period, with all major rooms not only connected to each other in the traditional way, but also accessible from a corridor that allows a natural migration for guests from one room to another, especially on festive occasions, yet gives the service staff discreet separate circulation that offer service access to the main rooms. The principal rooms, such as parlors or the master bedroom, face the street, while the dining room, kitchen, and other auxiliary rooms' views are toward the courtyard. Apartments are aired from two sides. Some of the drawing rooms are 49 feet long, and many of the ceilings are 14 feet high; the floors are inlaid with mahogany, oak, and cherry.  But interesting to note is that the apartment of Clark, the building's founder, some floors were inlaid with sterling silver.

Originally, the Dakota had sixty-five apartments with four to twenty rooms, no two being alike. These apartments are accessed by staircases and elevators placed in the four corners of the courtyard. Separate service stairs and elevators serving the kitchens are located in mid-block. Built to cater for the well-to-do, The Dakota featured many amenities and a modern infrastructure that was exceptional for the time. The building has a large dining hall; meals also could be sent up to the apartments by dumbwaiters. Electricity was generated by an in-house power plant and the building has central heating. Beside servant quarters, there was a playroom and a gymnasium under the roof. In later years for economic reasons, these spaces on the tenth floor were converted into apartments. The Dakota property also contained a garden, private croquet lawns, and a tennis court behind the building.

The Dakota was a huge social success from the very start (all apartments were let before the building opened), but it was a long-term drain on the fortune of Clark (who died before it was completed) and his heirs. For the high society of Manhattan, it became fashionable to live in the building, or at least to rent an apartment there as a secondary city residence, and The Dakota's success prompted the construction of many other luxury apartment buildings in Manhattan.

Strawberry Fields: Strawberry Fields is a 2.5-acre (10,000 m2) landscaped section in Central Park that is dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. It is named after The Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever." It was dedicated on what would have been Lennon's 45th birthday, October 9, 1985, by his widow Yoko Ono and New York Mayor Ed Koch. Yoko had underwritten the project.

Molding Strawberry Fields: The entrance to the memorial is located on Central Park West at West 72nd Street, directly across from The Dakota Apartments, where Lennon had lived and was murdered. The memorial is a triangular piece of land falling away on the two sides of the park, and its focal point is a circular pathway mosaic of inlaid stones, with a single word, the title of Lennon's beautifully famous song: "Imagine." This was a gift from the city of Naples.  Obviously, this became an international effort as countries from all around the world also contributed trees and that is memoralized by a plaque located on a low outcropping of schist, along a path toward the southeast, listing the nations which contributed to building the memorial. Yoko Ono contributed over a million dollars for the landscaping and for the upkeep endowment.  Every year Ono marks the anniversary of John's death with a public pilgrimage to the memorial, and also by placing a single lit candle in the window of one of her apartments.
Central Park West street sign
Central Park West:  Central Park West (sometimes referred to simply as CPW) is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States.

As its name indicates, CPW forms the western edge of Central Park. It also forms the eastern boundary of the Upper West Side. It runs 51 blocks from Columbus Circle (at 59th Street, or Central Park South) to Frederick Douglass Circle (at 110th Street, or Cathedral Parkway). The gates into Central Park along its western edge are: Merchants Gate at 59th Street (see Day 2, Part 1 post), Women's Gate at 72nd, Naturalists Gate at 77th, Hunters Gate at 81st, Mariners Gate at 85th, Gate of all Saints at 96th, Boys Gate at 100th, and Strangers Gate at 106th. Central Park West's expensive housing is a contender to that of Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side.

South of Columbus Circle, in Midtown, CPW becomes Eighth Avenue. North of Frederick Douglass Circle, in Harlem, it is alternately known as Eighth Avenue or Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Unlike many Manhattan avenues, CPW has traffic running in two directions.

Notable Residents of CPW: Central Park West is the address of several famous residences, including The Dakota (where John Lennon lived with Yoko Ono, who still resides there, and outside of which he was murdered in 1980), The San Remo (home to U2's Bono, Demi Moore, Diane Keaton, and Steve Martin), The El Dorado, The Beresford (home to Diana Ross and Jerry Seinfeld), The Langham, The Century, 15 Central Park West (home to Sting), 41 Central Park West (home to Madonna), 455 Central Park West, The St. Urban, and The Majestic (which was home to some of the former heads of the Genovese crime family, including Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano and Frank Costello. In 1957, Vincent "The Chin" Gigante shot Frank Costello in the lobby of The Majestic in a failed assassination attempt).

Built around 1930, most of these housing cooperatives replaced late 19th century hotels with the same names. Some, including The Century, The San Remo, and The Majestic, are twin towers. Other landmarks and institutions along its length include the New York Historical Society and the American Museum of Natural History.

The building located at 55 Central Park West is the infamous "Spook Central" from the movie Ghostbusters and who can forget seeing this building in that movie.  The famed restaurant Tavern on the Green is located off of Central Park West, at 66th Street, within the grounds of Central Park.



American Museum of Natural History
Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt


American Museum of Natural History: [I will talk more about this museum later when Nika and I tour the inside in the coming days but this will give you a little insight into what we passed by]. The American Museum of Natural History (at right), located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world. Located in park-like grounds across the street from Central Park, the Museum is comprised of 25 interconnected buildings that house 46 permanent exhibition halls, research laboratories, and its renowned library.  Its collections contain over 32 million specimens, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time. The Museum has a scientific staff of more than 200, and sponsors over 100 special field expeditions each year. It is one of the stops on the Gray Line tour but we did not get off here at this point as we had planned a special trip there later in the week. 


Theodore Roosevelt statue: The statue of Theodore Roosevelt, standing on the John Russell Pope Central Park West Staircase leading up to the American Museum of Natural History was dedicated in 1940. The 10-foot tall bronze statue sits atop an over 8-foot high granite base. The work, which was acquired by the City of New York through a provision of the New York state legislature, depicts Teddy Roosevelt on horseback as both a hunter and explorer. He is flanked by the figures of two guides, one Native American and one African, meant to symoblize the continents of America and Africa. The Native American figure is marching forward wearing a feather headdress, moccasins and a long sarong around his waist. The African figure (which is hidden in this photo) is striding forward with a cloth draped over his proper right shoulder and a gun in his proper right hand.  Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. (the father of Theodore Roosevelt), was one of the founders of this museum in 1869.

For you movie buffs, notable about this museum is that the 2005 fantasy adventure-comedy movie "The Night at the Museum" is based on the American Museum of Natural History, external shots of which were used in the movie.  If you recall, Theodore Roosevelt was played by Robin Williams.
Central Park: Central Park is a public park at the center of Manhattan, and was initially opened in 1857, on 843 acres of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the "Greensward Plan."  Construction began that year, continued during the American Civil War, and was completed in 1873.  Before the construction of the park could start, the area had to be cleared of its inhabitants, most of whom were quite poor and either free African Americans or residents of English or Irish origin. Most of them lived in small villages, such as Seneca Village, Harsenville, or the Piggery District; or else in the school and convent at Mount St. Vincent's Academy. Around 1,600 residents occupying the area at the time, were evicted under the rule of eminent domain during 1857.  Seneca Village and parts of the other communities were razed to make room for the park.  (If you are not familiar with the term "eminent domain" it is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property with an expected monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent. The property is taken either for government use or by third parties who will devote it to public or civic use or, in some cases, economic development. The most common uses of property taken by eminent domain are for public utilities such as putting in highline wires, highways, and railroads.  Most common in our area on larger eminent domain acquisitions are expansion of highways but mostly recently installing underground oil pipelines running the span of a whole state.  Some authorities require that the government body offer to purchase the property before resorting to the use of eminent domain.)

While plantings and the land in much of the park appear natural, it is in fact almost entirely landscaped. The park contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds that have been created artificially, extensive walking tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks (one of which is a swimming pool in July and August), the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large area of natural woods, a 106-acre billion-gallon reservoir with an encircling running track, and an outdoor amphitheater, and the Delacorte Theater (host of the "Shakespeare in the Park" summer festivals). Indoor attractions include Belvedere Castle (which has a nature center), the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, and the historic Carousel. In addition there are seven major lawns, the "meadows", and many minor grassy areas; some of them are used for informal or team sports and some set aside as quiet areas.  Central Park also has a number of enclosed playgrounds for children.  The six miles of drives within the park are used by joggers, bicyclists, skateboarders, and inline skaters, especially when automobile traffic is prohibited (on weekends and in the evenings after 7:00 p.m.). A complete tour of Central Park was one of my planned sights during our time in New York City, hoping to catch a horse-and-carriage ride on Friday night.  But as it turned out, the weather was nasty and time got away from us.  I will tuck this one back in my pocket for another time. 

How Much Is It Worth? In December 2005, the real estate value of Central Park was estimated to be $528,783,552,000 (that is, 528 billion dollars, people! Amazing!!!).  Central Park is the most filmed location in the world with over 305 films having been shot within the park. Memorable films include Hannah and Her Sisters, When Harry Met Sally, Remember Me, Home Alone 2, Kramer vs. Kramer, Enchanted, Mr. Deeds, and Serendipity.
 

But, More Importantly, What Does It Cost to Maintain? Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963, the park is currently managed by the Central Park Conservancy under contract with the city government. The Conservancy, a nonprofit organization, contributes 85% of Central Park's $37.4 million dollar annual budget, and employs 80% of the park's maintenance staff.  The park, which receives approximately thirty-five million visitors annually, is the most visited urban park in the United States.
The boulders that couldn't be blasted away when the park was being made.
 
Central Park's glaciated rock outcroppings [see picture at right] attract many climbers, especially boulderers; Manhattan's bedrock, a glaciated schist, (
which are a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks that are notable for their layered minerals), protrudes from the ground frequently and considerably in some parts of Central Park. The two most renowned spots for boulderers are Rat Rock and Cat Rock but others include Dog Rock, Duck Rock, Rock N' Roll Rock, and Beaver Rock. To give you a quick example of one of the boulders, Rat Rock, is roughly circular, about 55 feet wide and 15 feet tall with east, west and north faces that each present different climbing problems.  As many as fifty a day boulderers congregate there. Bouldering, by the way, is the sport of climbing such large rocks.

There are four different types of bedrock in Manhattan, two are exposed in various outcroppings in Central Park, Manhattan schist and Hartland schist (both are metamorphosed sedimentary rock); Fordham gneiss, an older deeper layer which does not surface in the park and Inwood marble (metamorphosed limestone) which overlays the gneiss are the others.  I give you the names of these so you will understand more clearly when I talk next about their ancient history. 

A Wee Bit of History on These Amazing Boulders: All of this may seem a bit uninteresting but you should read on as you will be amazed about the age of these rocks. Fordham gneiss, which consists of metamorphosed (changed-in form) igneous rocks, formed a billion years ago during what is known as the Grenville orogeny that occurred during the creation of an ancient super-continent. It is the oldest rock in the Canadian Shield, the most ancient part of the North American tectonic plate.  Igneious rock is
formed through the cooling and solidification of lava.  The Grenville orogeny is a prominent orogenic (mountain-building) belt which spans a significant portion of North American from Labrador, Canada to Mexico, as well as to Scotland. 

Manhattan schist and Hartland schist were formed in the Iapetus Ocean during the Taconic orogeny in the Paleozoic era, about 450 million years ago. During this period the tectonic plates began to move toward each other, which resulted in the creation of the supercontinent, Pangaea.  It is believed that Cameron's Line, a fault zone that impedes Central Park on an east-west axis, developed during the Taconic orogeny, which
was a mountain building period that ended 450 million years ago and affected most of the region we know today as New England.

Various glaciers have covered the area of Central Park in the past, with the most recent being the Wisconsin glacier which receded about 12,000 years ago. Evidence of past glaciers are visible throughout the park in the form of glacial erratics (large boulders dropped by the receding glacier) and north-south glacial striations visible on stone outcroppings. 


Ice Skating in the Park - A Novel Idea: Constructed rapidly, by December 19, 1858, the man-made Lake in the Park was the first landscape feature to open for public ice skating. The ice skating mania in New York City had officially begun. In fact, for the first decade of the Park's existence, more people visited in the winter for the novelty of ice skating than in the warmer months. Notable is that on Christmas Day in 1859, Central Park reported over 50,000 visitors, most of them skaters.

Initially, there were very few places to purchase reasonably priced skates, but by 1866 they had become an inexpensive buy in all the city's stores. However, times as they were and with modesty playing a big role, not all skaters were comfortable practicing the new sport. The western portion of the Lake was reserved exclusively for females and, aptly, became known as Ladies Pond. It was hoped that women and girls who felt either too shy or too proper to skate in mixed company could practice there without the stares of males.  Ice skating thus became quite popular for couples as it was one of the only permissible ways for men and women to hold hands in public.

To alert New Yorkers that the Park's ice was frozen, a ball was boosted to the top of a pole near the bell tower (now known as Belvedere Castle) and the downtown trolleys all hailed red flags as a signal that the ice in Central Park was ready for skaters. 



Little Tidbits About Central Park: Did you know that . . . Central Park closes at 1 a.m. and opens at 6 a.m., 365 days a year; over 38 million people visit it each year; the speed limit through Central Park is 25 mph; it has approximately 24,000 trees; it contains over 9,000 benches, which if placed end-to-end, would stretch for 7 miles; the property also consists of 36 bridges and arches; there are more than 275 species of migratory birds which have been sighted in the Park (which is a major stopping point on the Atlantic flyway); there are 21 playgrounds scattered throughout the entire park; and it also has a total of 52 fountains, monuments, and sculptures.  Of Central Park's 843 total acres, which is approximately 6% of Manhattan's total acreage, its makeup also includes: 150 acres in 7 water bodies, 250 acres of lawns, and 136 acres of woodlands.  Wow! A lot of facts to absorb about this park, but it enables you to try to grasp the enormousness of its being and what it encompasses within it.  And so, now you know! The next time you (and/or I) go to New York and you visit Central Park, you can appreciate all that you will see inside its confines, because it is more than just a park, it is a transformation from people's homes to a majestic wonderland of many, many things to see. 


Churches On the Tour:  The amazing part of the Gray Line Tour(s) was seeing the beautiful, beautiful architecture of the older buildings along the routes, especially the churches.  Some of the churches I was able to remember their names, but others I was not and on some a little research helped me find out who they were. I fell so in love with these sights that I snapped a few pictures to share. Many I tried to get as up close a shot as possible to show some more of the details. (For a small sample, see pictures to the right and below left/right).  
West-Park Presbyterian Church at 165 West 86th Street at Amsterdam Avenue. (See picture below, right.) The West-Park Presbyterian Church, on the northeast corner of 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, was designed in 1890 . Built of reddish-brown sandstone, the Romanesque Revival building is noted for its tall tower on the corner that rises above the bell-shaped roof of the church. Adjoining the church is a chapel on West 86th Street designed by in 1884.


West Park Presbyterian Church
By the end of the 20th century, the once-thriving congregation had dwindled to about 100 members, and the old buildings were in need of extensive repairs, an expense that the church could not afford. Then in March 2007, it was announced that the air rights over the church were sold to a developer who would raze only the 1884 chapel and build in its space a 21-story tower containing 27 condominium apartments, 50 rent-subsidized studio apartments for the elderly poor, and space for church offices and community space. In return, the developer would renovate the church, pay for most of the tower's construction, and also set up an endowment for the church. Over the last few years, selling air space has become an enormous commodity to preserve the surrounding views from various buildings and landmarks.

Cathedral of St. John the Divine
 Cathedral Parkway:  Another bit of information about where we are at right now is that 110th Street, a street in Manhattan, is commonly known as the boundary between Harlem and Central Park, along which it is known as Central Park North and also as Cathedral Parkway.  As you can see by where we are heading to next, it is rightly nicknamed.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and is located (located between West 110th Street – "Cathedral Parkway" – and 113th Street) in Manhattan's Morningside Heights, the cathedral quibbles with Liverpool Anglican Cathedral the title of the largest cathedral and Anglican church and fourth largest Christian church in the world. [See pictures above at left, and the three pictures next below.] The inside covers 121,000 sq. ft., spanning a length of 601 feet and height 232 feet.  The inside height of the nave is 124 feet; at 230 feet, it is the longest Gothic nave in the United States,   In comparison, most of our homes’ ceilings reach heights of 8-12 feet.  When you compare this, the inside of this church is at most almost 20 times the height of an average home room and the nave is ten times the height.  Changing the light bulbs and dusting the light fixtures must be an incredible feat!  Something I am glad I don’t have to do.   
Cathedral of St. John the Divine

St. John the Unfinished:  The cathedral, designed in 1888 and work begun in 1892, has undergone radical stylistic changes and the interruption of the two World Wars. Originally designed as Byzantine-Romanesque, the plan was changed after 1909 to a Gothic design. In December 2001, after a large fire, it was closed for repairs and reopened again seven years later in November 2008.  It still remains unfinished, with construction and restoration a continuing process.  Hence, it has been nicknamed St. John the Unfinished.
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Construction HistoryIn 1887 Bishop Henry Codman Potter of the Episcopal Diocese of New York called for a cathedral to rival St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. An 11.5-acre property, on which an orphan asylum had stood, was purchased for the cathedral in 1891. Construction on the cathedral was begun with the laying of the cornerstone on December 27, 1892, (known as St. John's Day -- see the connection!). The foundations were completed at enormous expense, largely because bedrock was not struck until the excavation had reached 72 feet. The walls were built around eight massive 130-ton, 50-foot granite columns, which came from Maine and were said to be the largest in the world. Transported to New York on a specially constructed barge towed by a large steam tug, the columns took more than a year to install.
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
  
In 1899, the first services were held in the crypt. After the large central dome was completed in 1909, the original Byzantine-Romanesque design was changed to a Gothic design.  In 1911, the choir and the crossing were opened, and the foundation for Cram's nave began to be excavated in 1916.  The first stone of the nave was laid and the west front was undertaken in 1925.  A week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Cathedral was opened end-to-end for the first time on November 30, 1941.  Because of America’s subsequent involvement in World War II, which also limited available manpower, further construction on the cathedral was halted, also partially because the then-bishop felt that the church's funds would better be spent on works of charity.  Because of the different parties brought in during the on and off construction of the Cathedral, it reflects a hodgepodge of architectural styles, with a Gothic nave; a Romanesque crossing under the dome; chapels in French, English and Spanish Gothic styles, as well as Norman and Byzantine; Gothic choir stalls; and Roman arches and columns separating the high altar and ambulatory.  Still unfinished, in 1979, the bishop at the time decided that construction should be continued, in part to preserve the crafts of stone masonry by training neighborhood youths, thus providing them with a valuable skill.  


In the 1980's, construction on the south tower resumed for some years in which another 50 feet of height was added, this time in limestone rather than the granite of the original construction.  Work on the statuary of the central portal of the Cathedral's western facade was completed in 1997.  No further construction has been done since that time. 

In the end seven chapels project from the ambulatory behind the choir, each in an individual nationalistic style.  The designs of the chapels are meant to represent each of the seven most prominent ethnic groups to first immigrate to New York City upon the opening of Ellis Island in 1892, the same year the Cathedral was begun. 

The Great Organ:  On December 18, 2001, a fire destroyed the unfinished north transept, destroying the gift shop and covered the “great” pipe organ, with soot. Temporarily silenced, and although not damaged, all its pipes and other component parts had to be removed and arduously cleaned and restored to prevent damage from the fire's amassed soot. Valuable tapestries and other items in the cathedral were damaged by the smoke. In January 2005, the cathedral began a major restoration, which was completed and the cathedral rededicated on a November Sunday in 2008. A state-of-the-art chemical-based cleaning system was used, not only to remove smoke damage from the 2001 fire but also the dark patina of 80 years of smoggy city air.  Originally built in 1911, enlarged in 1952, and speaking on fifty inches of wind pressure, it is among the most powerful organ stops in the world.  Now, hold onto your pants – the Great Organ is currently valued at over eight million dollars!  


The Peace Fountain
The Peace Fountain (Pictured at left.) The Peace Fountain is a 1985 sculpture and fountain located next to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine created by a sculptor-in-residence at the Cathedral. The sculpture depicts the struggle of good and evil, as well as a battle between the Archangel Michael and Satan. It also contains the Sun, the Moon, and several animals. Although it is called a fountain, there is currently no water on the site. A plaque at the base contains the following inscription: "Peace Fountain celebrates the triumph of Good over Evil, and sets before us the world's opposing forces—violence and harmony, light and darkness, life and death—which God reconciles in his peace."

When the fountain operates, four courses of water cascade down the freedom pedestal into a maelstrom (which is a very large and powerful whirlpool with a considerable downdraft) evoking the early chaos of Earth. Foursquare around the base, flames of freedom rise in witness to the future. Ascending from the pool, the freedom pedestal is shaped like the double helix of DNA, the key molecule of life. Atop the pedestal a giant crab reminds us of life's origins in sea and struggle. Facing West, a drowsy Moon reflects tranquility from a joyous Sun smiling to the East.




Mid-section of the Peace Fountain
Nine giraffes, which are considered among the most peaceable of animals, nestle and prance around the center. One rests its head on the bosom of the winged Archangel Michael, described in the bible as the leader of the heavenly host against the forces of Evil. St. Michael's sword is defeating his chief opponent, Satan, whose decapitated body plunges into the depths, his head dangling beneath the crab's claw. Tucked away next to the Sun, a lion and lamb relax together in the peace of God's kingdom. 
Upper Portion of the Peace Fountain
 
Surrounding the perimeter of the sunken plaza in which the fountain sits are plaques depicting various philosophers, thinkers and artists, most accompanied by a quote by that individual depicted. Despite the Fountain's association with St. John the Divine (a Christian cathedral) many of the luminaries depicted are non-Christian icons, such as Gandhi, Socrates, Einstein and John Lennon.  Lennon's image is accompanied by some of his lyrics of from his song "Imagine."

Wow, it doesn't seem like we got very far in this post, but believe me we did.  We covered quite a bit of ground, and, okay, I know that you are probably getting tired from reading and your brain is on overload if you have tried to absorb all this information.  For me, it is just another glimpse down my big adventure's paths.  I hope you are enjoying this trip as much as I am and learning some very cool and interesting things in the process.  I am going to stop here for Day 2, Part 2, and will begin to fill in the bits and pieces that will comprise Day 2, Part 3.  Hopefully, I can fit all the rest of the afternoon's sights into the next part, because after that we are heading to "Wicked" -- oh yah!!!! 

Au revoir, for now!  (That is French for "goodbye, take care").


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