Statue of Liberty Wander

Of course I went on a Statue of Liberty Wander. I was here for about 7 months before I went, and on the particularly gorgeous Sunday, with my wife out of town and nobody around to tease me, I ventured off to be a serious tourist.

Click here for the wander map.

I got off the 4 train at Bowling Green and headed through Battery Park to Castle Clinton to get my ticket. Castle Clinton was originally built to defend the city from the ever-feared Canadians during the war of 1812. It was later converted to an immigration center and even used to house the New York Aquarium. When the aquarium was moved to Coney Island it was restored as a historic monument/tourist attraction/ticket booth. There's really not a lot to see in there, but you have to go in to get your ticket to Liberty Island and there a couple of old chunks of brick (road/wall - I'm not sure) from the old dutch days. The parks folks working there are actually quite helpful and informed, and they were quite eager to talk to someone about something other then when the last boat heads to the statue.

It's only $12 to go to both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, ferries & admissions -- pretty cheap for a major New York attraction. Of course its more if you want to visit the crown or pedestal it's a bit more -- more on that below -- and on this day the crown was closed; apparently it can get quite warm inside a giant copper box after you've climbed 154 steps and the parks department is concerned about my health. I think access to the crown had just reopened for the first time since 9-11.
The line for tickets was quick, but the line to get on the boat is crazy. It was hot sunny summer New York day. You get in a line out on the boardwalk with no shade in sight. I waited about 30 min just to get into the security check tent, which is more thorough than any airport I've ever been in (and with the lack of English for just about everybody in the line, and the firm belief of all security personnel in the US that if they just talk slower and louder anybody will be able to understand what they're saying, -- it's beyond me why they don't just hire more people who can speak more than just English -- it was also one of the slowest)

Finally I was through and onto the boat probably 50 min total wait. The cool harbour air was quite welcome.

Its a great 15min-ish boat ride to Liberty Island. I love boat rides -- even more than trains. The view of lower Manhattan is stunning.

Passing Ellis Island:

I don't think I need to say much about the statue. France and the US got friendly fighting the British during the American Revolution, and as a symbol of friendship, France gave the statue to the US. It was made in France and shipped to the us in 350 pieces. It took 4 months to put it together and was dedicated on October 28, 1886. Wikipedia tells me that it was actually a functioning lighthouse until 1902.

I made a couple loops of the statue. It is one of those cliched tourist attractions that I always find worth it to see just once. I actually came here once in 1995. At that time there was a huge line up that stretched from the statue back to almost where you got off the boat. This was the line to go up the statue. The posted wait was estimated at 3 hours. The family decided to pass and settle for a walk around the statue. As I mentioned earlier, the crown was closed so I hadn't even bothered to find out about the pass, and I didn't think going on the pedestal would be any more exciting than walking around it so I didn't bother to inquire about the pass. On this day, to my surprise there was no line for the pedestal.  I got curious so I asked some parks employees about it. Apparently you now have to make a reservation to go on the pedestal; you can't just wander over and expect to wait in a line to go up. During the summer they told me that you need to make that reservation 2 or 3 weeks in advance to be sure to get a ticket! And if the crown is actually open you have to make a reservation for that too --- 1 or 2 MONTHS in advance!!! Now I generally love to pay a bit of money to wander up tall things for nice views and to witness man's complete conquest of nature, but that's just crazy. I can barely plan a week in advance.

 

Unfortunately I didn't make it back to the dock quick enough to get the last boat to Ellis Island (3:30 I think it was -- but better ask and not take my memory for it), so I hung out on the island till around 4:30 and then made a little wander through the financial district. Last boat leaves at 5.
The Staten Island ferry as we approach Battery Park:

Battery Park:

Church of Our Lady of Our Rosary:

I love how it just sits there among the towering skyscrapers - the great contrasts of New York.
The Staten Island ferry Terminal:

If you're looking for a cheap harbour cruse, this is it -- Free!! It goes right past the Statue of Liberty on the way to Staten Island. I went just after arriving to the city, and I had no idea what there is to see there, so I had a quick wander along the waterfront to the baseball stadium - Richmond County Bank Ballpark (that's probably the worst stadium name I've ever heard; I can almost forgive Montreal after saying that one), home of the Staten Island Yankees and turned around and returned to Manhattan. I'm still not quite sure what there is to see there, but I've been planning a couple summer wanders back over there so it won't look like I'm discriminating against the forgotten boro.
Stone Street - I stumbled upon this little cobblestone walkway lined with restaurants and pubs. Every restaurant has put picnic tables out on the street and it is a great place to rest for a cold beer. The street is lined with old fashioned, but newly restored 4 story brown stone style buildings nestled amongst the huge FiDi skyscrapers, like a little part of New Amsterdam that they forgot to bulldoze and glass over:

Walking between the AIG and Deutsche Bank buildings:

Chase Bank building:

40 Wall Street/Trump Building:

Looking down Maiden Lane past the Federal Reserve Bank of New York:

Looking up Broadway at the US Treasury Building:

St Paul's, the oldest public building in continuous use in NYC:

Fulton Street:

Nassau and Ann. I love the style of the white building (Beaux Arts??) on the right; not sure what it is:

Woolworth Building behind a vacant lot:

Looking back down Nassau St:

Since I was hitting some hard core tourist traps, I decided to grab the 4 train uptown and make a quick Midtown stop by 59th and 5th Ave.
The Plaza Hotel:

The Solow Building. I love this one, it's a lot like the Grace Building on 42nd St by Bryant Park with its graceful upward curve:

The Apple Cube in front of the great toy store FAO Schwartz:

Pulitzer Fountain across the street from the Plaza:

William Tecumseh Sherman Statue in Grand Army Plaza at the corner of 59th and 5th (the southeast corner of Central Park)-- until I went looking for the name of this statue while I was writing this Wander post, I had no idea that there was a Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan. Brooklyn's is better. Sherman was a general for the Union Army during the American Civil War - good name.

Looking down 59th Street at the Time Warner Towers:

Bloomberg Tower:

and then back home.