There is no such thing as silence here. Everything jumps out at once, like the feathers on a peacock, immediately catching your attention. There are uncountable masses of colorful blobs moving, but within that great glob, there are many people, each person moving with the powerful confidence of a lion. The buildings all loom over the people, a grand oak tree above thousands of ants, tying together this concrete landscape. There is a tangible atmosphere of wonder, and you are left in awe of such an astonishing place. This magnificent place is none other than Times Square in New York City.
It takes a while to process everything that is going on, but once you see the whole picture, the smaller details come out and are noticeable, even within the visually assaulting Square. The tall buildings are the first things you recognize; just the sheer size of them makes you feel like a tiny, unremarkable speck of dust. Each has its own character and was created with a unique design. A uniting factor of the buildings is the windows. The glass surface reflects the afternoon sun’s light, making a giant mirror from the buildings’ sides. The mirrors create an enormous hall of other building’s distorted reflections. Hanging from the buildings are advertisements for everything under the sun. Many billboards are for the different musicals that are going to be shown at Broadway soon; the classics, like West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, Annie, and Wicked, are always there. Others are announcing the release of a new HP laptop, or Samsung HDTV. Some unveil a high fashion store’s new fall line of sweaters and jeans. Of course, there is the obligatory Coke commercial, telling you to enjoy a refreshing bottle of ice cold Coke.
The cars are aligned ...
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...res and spend hundreds – and for some, even thousands – of dollars, yet this man does not have the money for a decent meal. His face is mostly covered by a filthy toboggan, but the few visible spots are wrinkled, either from age, or from the stress of wondering how you will survive the week.
Without a doubt, Times Square in New York City is a unique experience, but the image created by TV and movies does not show the gloominess that accompanies the euphoria of being in the Big Apple. The atmosphere is so exhilarating and exciting, you don’t even know what to do for a few minutes, but it is tinged with the bitter reality that sadness and melancholy also trail closely behind the positive. With most, if not all, of your senses being stimulated – sometimes all at once – Times Square creates a memory that will surely be cherished, and haunt you for the rest of your life.
The buildings appear to be glued together, mostly small houses and apartment blocks that look nervous. There is murky snow spread out like a carpet. There is concrete, empty hat stand trees, and grey hair.” (pg. 27)
Whenever we are reminded of NYC, we think of Times Square or The Status of Liberty. However, we always forget what is right under our noses; the NYC subway system. I like to think of the subway system as a labyrinth because of it’s intricate network of passages that guides us to all over NYC. Just by looking at a map of the subway system overwhelms me because it is so hard to imagine how much work was put into making this beautiful yet complex structure. An average New Yorker may ignore the daily lives in the subway system but if you look closely you can see multiplicity of events taking place.
As I climbed the stairs, leading to the market, I noticed weird facades and odd-shaped stairwells leading to and from the corners. Set atop hills, the city of Seattle and the market area in particular, have no flat surfaces. Not only did it feel as if I was climbing a hill on top of a hill, but it also felt as though I was riding up and down
New York City is frequently presented in various mediums. Graphic novels, comics, and movies have portrayed the city in many ways. There is “gritty” New York, “whimsical,” “realistic,” and dozens of other portrayals. New York is the birthplace of American comic books and both DC and Marvel, the two largest comic book publishers, are based in New York. In fact, the city is present in 13,249 different comic books or graphic novels. So why is NYC a perfect setting for comics? It is because of the iconic locations within NYC, its cultural influence in America, and the city’s diversity, which allow for numerous interpretations that can connect to readers. Graphic novels and comics can present stories in a unique way that words alone cannot accomplish. The images themselves tell just as much of a story and can hold many context clues about events, encouraging readers to closely examine them.
Times Square finds itself in a city whose complexity in culture and spontaneity in character, often leaving its visitors as mere spectators, contrasts sharply with the perspective of an organized tourist industry. However, the creation of some destinations from scratch, completely repurposed districts, and the organization of the chaotic life in New York into something safe and consumable have no doubt made Times Square a place to visit as well as ridding it of many neg...
No place in New York City quite captures the essence of the upside/downside process of the construction/destruction of environmentally important institutions as well as Manhattan Square, a seventeen-acre parkland bounded by Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, and by West 77th street and West 81st street. Known since 1958 as Roosevelt Park, Manhattan Square has become home to American Museum of Natural History since the land was ceded to that fledging institution by the Commissioner of Central Park in 1872. The museum’s first building opened to the public in December 1877. Manhattan Square was a result of an 1877 law mandating the laying out most of the island in streets and avenues – the familiar rectangular grid of roads north of Canal
... buildings”, in their many kinds of program which according to them are to attract the crowds, and finally a series of mundane and worldly practices that they do is to alienate the presence of the Lord of their meeting places.
essence of New York and all its nuances in the form of terse observations. Whether
From the quaint café on the corner of First and Main that booms on Sunday mornings, to the community park and pond where families feed the ducks and children play in the midday sun, reminders of an urban area’s identity are scattered within its limits. This identity is composed of a certain level of community shared by the inhabitants of urban areas, and this sense of community develops over generations as people become personally intertwined with other people and structures contained within the fabric of their environment. This sense of community is the heartbeat of thriving urban centers and is what encourages people to take pride in their city — to take pride in their home. It is therefore alarming when one rounds the corner of Main to discover their favorite café has closed up shop, or the duck pond is gated because of contaminated water, or the historical home is deserted and falling apart. As building blocks of community like the café, pond, or the home are eliminated, the identity of urban environments is lost. Cities’ sense of being erodes and the vitality and joy of the area and its inhabitants decays.
New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to define New York and its inhabitants in simple terms.
It was nice Tuesday morning. Everybody were rushing to their jobs in the most beautiful and remarkable city of the world. Planes in the sky were usual routine of this city at this time. Manhattan was ready to welcome millions of its residents and tourist.
As I traverse the overgrown meadow, the impressible soil sticks to my worn shoes. It is dark, chalky, and alluvial. From it, life has flourished, unhindered by barriers of concrete and asphalt. The grass is coarse, and high reaching; the spruce trees tower solemnly. They are sentinels, guarding the ravine from the commotion of the city. They offer protection from any unwelcome reminders of the pandemonium and instability that await me upon my return to civilization. Beyond the ravine is an endless mixture of harsh, discordant noise. There is a steady sprawl of vehicles, construction sites, and sirens. Cement and rebar dominate the landscape. Everywhere, people hurry frantically, impatiently, overwhelmingly – all in an attempt to fulfill their
When you associate anything with New York City it is usually the extraordinary buildings that pierce the sky or the congested sidewalks with people desperate to shop in the famous stores in which celebrities dwell. Even with my short visit there I found myself lost within the Big Apple. The voices of the never-ending attractions call out and envelop you in their awe. The streets are filled with an atmosphere that is like a young child on a shopping spree in a candy store. Although your feet swelter from the continuous walking, you find yourself pressing on with the yearning to discover the 'New York Experience'.
Whoosh! That is the precise sound I heard as the crazed flock of travelers headed for the train terminal. My best friend, Stacy, and I were left disoriented and understandably confused once the crowd thinned. We were at Madison Square Garden at the train terminal awaiting our train back to the hotel; it was our first trip to New York City. As one may imagine, it was a fascinating and surreal voyage into extreme urban life. It was so enthralling and exciting that afterward I felt compelled to make a permanent trek to a large city. Due to my experiences in cities like Atlanta and New York, I have an increasing desire to live in a large city because of the various forms of entertainment, myriad of transportation, and the never-ending excitement typical of such a fast-paced lifestyle.
The view my window offers may not appear intensively interesting at first, as, for the most part, it consists of wayfarers’ legs moving in opposite directions. However, after several hours of observation, it is possible to notice that the pace of people is at variance not only according to hour of the day, but also shifts throughout the week and year. And the pattern in the manner of how the passer-by’s gait changes embodies the city life’s rhythm.