Pier 62 Carousel and Gardens

Last 4th of July I visited two carousels, one in Central Park and the other in Bryant Park.  I know there are more carousels in the city than those two so I looked it up and found out about the Pier 62 carousel.

The Pier 62 carousel is just a couple of years old.  Installed in April 2010, it has twelve sections, eleven with three rows each section for a total of 33 figures and one section is a seat that is ADA/wheelchair accessible.

Since the carousel spins along the Hudson River, majority of the figures therein represent creatures indigenous to the Hudson River area.

The inspiration for the carousel frame design is reminiscent of a ships spars and timbers to honor the history of the harbor. Without the inclusion of a typical carousel façade, this carousel highlights the industrial components of the carousel frame and mechanism.

The figures feature animals indigenous to the Hudson River Valley, including several new figures that were created especially for this carousel – Crawfish, Horseshoe Crab & Eel, Cormorant, Blue Bird, Beaver, Atlantic Sturgeon, Coyote and even a Mallard Duck. To also incorporate a carousel’s traditional sense of whimsy there are also two fanciful Unicorn figures adorned with butterflies. An Oyster Chariot ornamented with a pearl is also found on this distinctive carousel.

Here are some of the figures ..

A deer and next to it,  a crab and eel.

A wild turkey and a cormorant, there's also a Canadian goose at the back.

 

A seal, a rabbit and a blue bird

Fish, crawfish and skunk

 A beaver and a fox

 Mallard and sea turtle

Atlantic sturgeon, raccoon and another fish

Wolf, sea horses and a black bear

What's nice about the carousel is that the names of the animals are written near the top part, like the peregrine falcon and the coyote on this pic.  Too bad we can't see the toad.

Then there are the fanciful creatures like the unicorn.

  
And the one feature that occupies its entire section, the oyster chariot, which is also wheelchair accessible.

To get to Pier 62, these are the directions from their website.

 

By Subway C or E train to 23rd Street/8th Avenue
1 to 23rd Street/7th Avenue

Walk west to the Hudson River, there is a crosswalk at 22nd & 23rd Street and the West Side Highway. Once in the park, walk in the direction of the river, pass the skate park and look for the carousel on the pier.

On my way to the carousel, I passed by the skate park and gardens with some flowers. It was my first time to see these flowers and I don't know their names.  I later learned that the top-left one is a dinner-plate hibiscus. Prior to this the only hibiscus I've seen were average in size but the ones on Pier 62 were huge, the size of a child's face.

After the skate park and the carousel is an open area,  a promenade with benches and views of the Hudson River and New Jersey.

I sat on one of the benches to rest and this was my view. You could see that small bump on the left that is Lady Liberty.

There are also a lot of boats docked at the pier.

Walking back to the carousel, i saw this sign. I'm glad I passed the height limit. :)

Leaving the carousel area, this was my view looking east to the city.

North of Pier 62 is a huge lawn with lots of boulders, a nice place to sunbathe and watch the kayakers on the river.

From this point, I could look back to where the carousel is and I noticed it has a sort of garden on the roof.

The grass look withered, probably from the heat and the elements.  This link gives you a better pic of the roof garden.

The gardens around the area are full of blooming flowers, with lots of tables and chairs for people to sit and relax.

Here's another collage of the flowers I saw blooming around the Chelsea Cove gardens.

On my way out of Pier 62, I passed more flowers that I haven't seen before.  I later learned that the one on the bottom left is called blanket flower.

The above flowers were on another garden with lots of stones.  According to the Hudson River Park site, this area is called Stonefield ..

Large stones were chosen from quarries in New York State and the northeast corner of Pennsylvania. They were selected for their special shapes and unusual sculptural qualities.  Some are very colorful, some are concave, some craggy, one is very tall, another shaped somewhat like a boat.

Each is special. They are arranged to show their unique characteristics and individual ‘being-ness’.

I know I'll be back!

For the rest of my Pier 62 pics, here's the album on Flickr. - Pier 62 Carousel and Gardens

A Walk in Fort Tryon Park

Fort Tryon Park in upper Manhattan was John D. Rockefeller's gift to the city of New York.  Situated on 67 acres, it has great views of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, and the New Jersey Palisades.  The park was built by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of the architect of Central Park.

Coming up from the 190th Street subway stop, this sign at the entrance to the park greets you.

The entrance leads right to the Heather Garden of the park. The gardens are indeed a beauty.  Lots of flowering plants abound. I don't know some of the names of the flowers but they all look pretty. At the time of my visit, there were a lot of irises, peonies and foxgloves in bloom. Here are some of the flower pics I took.

The garden also has a great view of the George Washington Bridge.

There are benches at the edge of the garden. You can see a gentleman strumming a guitar seated on one of the benches in this pic, and alliums at the foreground. First time I've seen white ones as the usual alliums I see are purple in color.

Some of the benches have plaques, too. Here's one ..

And you can see Peter Bulow's Passing Glances ceramic art at the ends of the benches.  This one is called Winter.

At the end of the Heather Garden is the Linden Terrace where linden trees form a natural canopy.  The area also has great views of the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades. It is also a favorite area for weddings held at the park. 

At the entrance to the terrace are two plaques about Fort Tryon. One is a plaque dedicating the Linden Terrace as the David Rockefeller Linden Terrace.  This is the other plaque.

At the east side of the Terrace is an open area where the park flagpole stands. I like the base of the flagpole.

The area also offers you a great view of upper Manhattan. The hustle and bustle of the city looks so far away.

Coming down from the Linden Terrace, I walked by Abby's Lawn and went down another level.  There is a turn at the end of the path, opening to an area at street level for vehicles to pass through. The higher level, from where I was walking has great views of the other side of the park, as well as the Hudson River and New Jersey.

The path across leads you to The Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that houses the museum's medieval art collection. Here's the museum taken from the park grounds.

Looking at the park map, I followed the path that loops around The Cloisters and came back near the garden area.  The park has several levels and I went down another level from the garden. That path led me to the arches of the park.

The Fort Tryon arches were originally a galleried entranceway for the driveway to the Billings mansion, Tryon Hall.  It is made of Maine granite and the arches were the main support of the road up the hill.  Total cost of this driveway back in 1907 was $250,000.00. Here's a picture of how it looked like before.

Photo credit: Office for Metropolitan History

According to the 1910 Census, C. K Billings listed himself, his wife, 2 children and 23 servants as part of the household and staff. Seven years later, he sold Tryon Hall and its surrounding land to John D. Rockefeller and transferred residence to Fifth Avenue. Unfortunately, Tryon Hall was destroyed by a fire in 1925. Only the arches and the stone gates survived. More than a century later, these arches still stand strong and beautiful.

  

There are openings on the side of the arches facing the Henry Hudson Parkway.

The front part of the arches ..

and the stone gates ..

From there are more steps to climb so you could get back to the gardens.

My view of the arches from the top of the steps ..

This is the terrace supported by the arches.

Then it's back to the gardens and the beauty of the nature.

As you can see from the park map I walked only the west side of the Park.  The east side I think are mostly trees and pathways, and an Alpine Garden near the Broadway entrance.  I hope to visit again, maybe by autumn, and walk that part of the park.

At the entrance/exit of the park is this sign.

All is good, the park looks as beautiful as ever.

For the rest of my Fort Tryon pics, here's the album on flickr - Fort Tryon