My next stop was the New York Transit Museum, situated underground in the former Court Street subway station. $7 is the price of admission, which takes you into a multi-leveled and multi-faceted look at the history of transit throughout Greater New York, from the horse and buggy days through today’s Subway, Buses, and the Long island RailRoad. The first level provides exhibits of the role of MTA employees in keeping the massive system running, especially through historic events such as Hurricane Sandy and 9/11. Artifacts from those crises, such as automated switches, telephones, and circuit boards, served as evidence of the challenges those men and women faced as they worked to keep the trains and buses running.
Downstairs, at train level, rests a huge collection of antique subway and other rail cars that date back to the early 1900s. One can walk onto the cars and take a seat, just like the customers who used those cars on a daily basis in those days. Above the seats are vintage advertisements from those time periods, such as those for cigarettes, war bonds, courtesy reminders, and for Miss Subway.
Two generations of bus were also represented, which were favorites of the kids as they get to climb into the seats and drive. In addition, there are exhibits for how the tokens and money were gathered and counted, as well as a section devoted to vintage turnstiles.
In all, this attraction is highly recommended. It’s cheap - $7 - and very family-friendly. There is a lot one can get their hands on (crucial for kids, especially). In addition, I found the use of an existing, closed subway station to be a stroke of genius. They're using existing infrastructure (thus reducing the expense required to build and/or maintain an above-ground structure), and the proper atmosphere of the subway is built-in - it takes minimal effort to recreate it.
My next adventure was to traverse the entirety of the Brooklyn Bridge on foot. After quite a bit of walking around and a few detours, I found the entrance to the main walkway, and began my journey. The wood-planked walkway was elevated above car-level, and was already bustling with tourists and locals as I began my journey across this span of the East River. As one would expect, the views on either side were spectacular, especially given the near-perfect weather and the sight of the Skyline in front of me at all times.
Every so often on the bridge, beverage vendors were found with their coolers - I didn’t partake, thinking that I’m part of a “captive clientele” and they will likely charge beaucoup shekels for their product. After arriving on the other side (about one mile or so), I stopped at the park next to the entrance, rested a bit over a bottle of water, then after a bit of smartphone-based research, found one of the entrances to the famed High Line, on the lower west-side of the island and traverses the Chelsea and Meatpacking districts. (I’ll have a lot more to say about the High Line in my next post). I got to the entrance, walked the equivalent of ten blocks, then bounded down the steps to street-level, where I found Underline Coffee. After a bit of caffeinated refreshment there (and recommended), I headed back to the hotel for some rest before my trip to Madison Square Garden.
I actually walked into the Garden the previous day, when I took the tour. The Garden, post-renovations, is now claimed to be the most advanced entertainment and sports arena in the world. (I know of a couple of places, however, that could give MSG a run for its money in these departments.) The tour, lasting about 75 minutes in total, takes you to the luxury suites (including inside one of the owner’s suites), to four different site lines within the arena, including the “bridge”, in which the attendee looks almost directly down at the action. You also get to look in the home team’s locker rooms (though you don’t enter them.)
Stories of events that happened at the Garden through it’s history and incarnations (there were four different buildings that took the name Madison Square Garden, dating back to the late 1800’s). The tour guide was very knowledgeable and personable, with a ribald sense of humor. The admission was part of the purchase of the New York Pass (without the pass, adult admission is $26.95).
One of the benefits of having taken the tour, is that you get a discount on events at the Garden. I chose to use mine on the WNBA game, between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. Only lower-bowl seats were sold for these games, and it did not sell out. Still, many of the same features and flash-dash found at NBA games are found here, as well: the mascot (Maddie), the fire coming out of the torch when the Liberty players took the court, the dry-ice cannons shooting t-shirts into the crowd, etc. On the court, the Liberty boasted Tina Charles, who seemed to have the best shooting hand and ball control on the team in this contest. As for the results of the game: the Lynx were 5-0 coming into the game, and they showed why this evening, resulting in a 10-point defeat for the home team. Still, fun was had by those who didn’t take the game too seriously and were there purely for the fun of it (like myself).
After the game, I headed across the street, back to the Hotel. One more day of adventures before heading back to the reality of the workaday world.
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