Old Habits

Harlem, New York

So I have, and you will hear me say this a lot, but today I checked out a place I have been wanting to see for a while. I drove by it on the bus tour the first time I was in New York back in February 2007 (seems like forever ago) but had yet to make it back for a visit. That place is the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

So I hopped on the #1 train and headed to Harlem. Yes, once again I left the friendly confines of Manhattan and headed north. You really notice the different feel out there the second you get off the train. No sidewalks crammed with tourists, no streets crammed with cars. No horns honking. Things....well things just seem to move a little bit slower out there.

Anyway, back to the cathedral. Like many Christian churches it has a triple-door entrance which is a symbol of the Holy Trinity and a practice that has been carried over from such great European cathedrals such as Notre Dame. It is considered a Gothic revival with beautiful french Gothic doorways.

I could stare at these doorways for hours. The closer you get and the more you look, the more detail you can see. Probably one of New York's finest pieces of architecture.

A much as I love the outside of this place I really did feel that I needed to see the inside as well. And let's face it, it's me and it is time I visited a cathedral here in The City. Don't worry, I still remain a strong agnostic but there is something peaceful about visiting a Church.

Some of that detail up close. I can't lie.....I actually find this disturbing. Not completely sure why....I just do.

The cathedral itself is so much larger than I anticipated. From the street,while it does look tall, it still looks quite modest in size (by cathedral standards) but when you walk in those doors you see the true grandness of the place.

The first sight you see when you walk into the cathedral. You can probably just make out the series of columns that are illuminated by purple lighting. Seriously the only lighting in the main part of the cathedral.

Like many of the cathedrals I visited in Europe there is no warm welcoming feeling when you enter the door. It is cold and dark and pretty empty. Nothing but stone. By comparison there are others that you walk into that are bright and full of chairs and pews and people and art and all that kind of thing. It is a good thing it is the architecture I look for and not a warm fuzzy feeling. It was totally worth the train ride.

These columns were all lit up and looked quite nice compared to all the darkness in the rest of the cathedral. Of course its true beauty did not transfer over to the photo that well, but trust me it was very beautiful.

The backside of the cathedral. Nothing like having to look at your cathedral through barbed wire.

Across the street from the cathedral I found St. Luke's Hospital. This is part of the original hospital. I love old school hospitals. I am sure it is haunted like most old hospitals. They have to be with the things we use to do to patients.

While I was in Harlem I figured I also had to make a stop at the famous Apollo Theatre, which I had also driven past back in 2007. With the recent death of Michael Jackson I figured there would be a lot of activity going on. I was right.

In Memory of Michael Jackson. A True Apollo Legend.

The streets were full of people and they were selling Michael t-shirts and Michael hats and Michael posters and Michael CDs and well Michael everything.

The memorial wall.

There is also a wall outside the theatre that you can write on, leaving your Michael Jackson memories and trust me people have been writing on it. There was music playing, people were dancing, people were crying, people were telling their Michael stories. It didn't take long to see the affect that Michael had on a lot of people.

The Memorial on the doors of the Apollo.

A little glimpse of the street party in front of the Apollo. Yeah the police did work very hard to move the crowd along but the one guy they had standing there did not have a lot of effect on all the Michael fans having a good time.

From there I made my way to Marcus Garvey Park. It amazes me how many parks you can find in this city. They really are everywhere. Of course this park is in tribute to Marcus Garvey who was a publisher, a journalist, and entrepreneur and probably most famously a Black Nationalist.

Love the random green space. No people in this picture but plus me there were a lot of people all over the place. Some were playing chess, some were playing basketball, and some were just taking a nap. Too many were calling me sweetheart so I didn't actually stay that long.

I found this along the way. There were a few of these decorating store fronts. I just liked this one. It's fun.

How random is this? Seriously...how random?

So I have been told that this one visit to Harlem is simply not enough and there is much more for me to see. I guess I will have to plan another trip in the very near future.

Julie