Alexander Guerrero's ePortfolio

In today’s busy world finding the most quickest route is crucial and familiarizing ourselves with is important if we want to save time, but by doing this we’re essentially missing out on our beautiful surroundings. Getting lost is by far the only way to get to know what is around us but as we all know that consumes far too much time, but what about getting “lost” in an area that passes through your commute? We shall be exploring such route and without further ado, lets begin!

Our rout shall run from Jay Street Metrotech station in where the A,C, F and R trains run to the Dekalb station on Flatbush in which the B,D,N,Q and R trains run. Upon exiting the Jay Street station make a left and walk straight until you see Myrtle Avenue on the other side of the street and head over on to the Metrotech center. From there walk straight on Myrtle as you walk there will be art exhibitions that were donated to Polytech NYU, food franchises such as Five Guys and at this point in time the Metrotech center is beautifully decorated with many Christmas themed decorations to celebrate the holidays. As you progress to end of the street you will see a curved road from there make a left and walk straight,  from here being “lost” is quite rewarding. The sight you will most definitely see is a couple of houses and a church that are awfully out of place, but have quite a lot of history behind them first let’s begin with the church. The church you will see here is named The Oratory Church of Saint Boniface was originally built during the 1870’s by German immigrants eventually became ran down but was restored by priests and brothers of the Order of Saint Phillip Neri who too were looking for a home and thus the Oratory Church of Saint Boniface was born. This Neo gothic church has received lots of attention for the sheer amount of people who have attended on Palm Sunday and the distances they travel just to get there. Now on to the other three houses that are located right next to the Oratory Church of Saint Boniface, these four buildings( They’re commonly referred to as the 180-184 Duffield houses) which are remnants of a neighborhood that no longer exist were originally located on the corner of Johnson Street between Bridge and Lawrence street, which has now become Tech Place. The first three buildings(180-183) were build by Rev. Samuel Roosevelt Johnson in 1838 and1839, lastly the fourth building was built by a merchant, Francis Chichester. As the Metrotech place was being built in the early 1980’s these pieces of history were in danger of being erased from history, however in 1990 they were moved to their present location and as of 2001 they have been landmark as a group. For those wondering if these buildings are currently being occupied, they have been occupied in the past and still are only now are occupied by non-profits, agencies, and business offices. Continue walking straight and make a left upon Willoughby street and continue for a bit, another stop we shall make is at the Chase building which is only a minute or two away, (A word of warning, if you have experienced anything similar to an epileptic seizure I strongly recommend that you skip this stop) inside there is a bunch of monitors that display various images that look as if they belong in some kind of music video. Upon exiting continue walking the same path while walking you’ll come across the Institute of Design and Construction, upon coming to the end of the street look to your left and you can see a building with a pretty cool design, and in the middle of the road there is wire frame cubes. Continue on to the car wash that is offering $5 dollar discounts if you decide to print out your won coupon. Make a right on to the Flatbush exit or on the car wash, from there continue straight to eventually find the Dekalb train station, however this is not the station we shall be stopping at. Continue forward until you find the next train station, as you walk you’ll see Long Island University which surprisingly is not located in Long Island, as you walk you will eventually approach the station that marks the end of your journey, not only have you explored a familiar area you have also found a different way in and learned a little about the neighborhood.

Getting lost is one of the very few ways out there to truly explore our surroundings but often getting lost takes up too much time.  Being lost can help a person discover the beauty of their surroundings, simply being lost in a familiar area can bring about discovery and help an individual learn about something new

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/nyregion/oratory-church-of-st-boniface-draws-congregants-from-outside-the-parish.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.oratory-church.org/aboutus_history.asp

http://www.oratory-church.org/aboutus_history_brooklyn.asphttp//

www.brownstoner.com/blog/2011/11/building-of-the-day-182-188-duffield-street/

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/20/nyregion/fyi-437735.html

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In today’s busy world finding the efficient way around the city is greatly desired, but by choosing this efficient path we miss out on a great amount of sights that the city offers. Getting lost in the city is the only way to discover such sights, but how about getting lost in a area that passes along your commute with deviating too much from your original route? As an example the route that we will get “Lost” in, this route will be from the Jay Street Metro tech train station over to the Dekalb train station.

To begin this trip we will first start from the Jay Street station where the A,C and R trains stop at, from there make a left and head straight until you see Myrtle Avenue head over there and you’ll see a park, this will be our first stop. While heading inside the park area there will be many christmas decorations which while a little early are still rather nice to see, there is also donated art from Poly tech on display to see and if you’re hungry there is many food related franchise to choose from. During warmer temperatures there is lots of life in this area and even in the cold weather you’ll find people just being people. As we proceed straight we will come across a curved road at the end of Myrtle Avenue and from there make a right on Duffield Street to eventually come across something amazing. One of our stops is a landmark or rather landmarks that are most often referred to as the 182-188 Duffield Houses these historical landmarks are remnants of a neighborhood that was eventually replaced by what is now “Tech place” while it does feel out of place that is what gives it it’s mysterious beauty and what can be described as a step back in time, there is also a church with its own set of history as well. As you head to the end of the street make a left on Willoughby Street and continue down this path for a bit. Eventually you will come across the Chase Building and inside it holds a bunch of monitors with a many flashing images (If you have a history of Epileptic seizures or anything similar avoid this stop) that loos as if they belong in a music video. At the end of Willoughby street make a left at the Flatbush exit and head straight from there to eventually come across the Dekalb train station and if you continue to go forward you will eventually hit the Fulton Mall. See? Getting lost isn’t all that bad, was it now?

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My route leads from the Jay Street Metrotech station all the way over to the Dekalb train station. Yesterday I had made this walk during the rain with another classmate but I forgot my camera and the experiences will somewhat differ this walk.

Our trip starts off from the Jay Street Metrotech station near college, the one which has the A,C,F and R train lines. Exit from there, make a left ,walk a little in that direction and walk on to Myrtle Avenue, from there walk straight on to the park area. While walking there will be many people walking in and out from restaurants, cafe’s, fast food joints, and another thing you might be able to see is workers setting up the christmas adornments for the holidays. While walking you will definitely be able to encounter some works of art that were donated by people and a statue of a realistic dog that may just fool you from afar. After walking for a bit you will see a street with a unique kind of road that is circular unlike most straight roads, from there make a left on on Myrtle and continue walking straight. As you walk you will be behind the entrance of a tunnel, continue walking and you will find a set of building that are rather out place, a catholic church and what appears to be two residential areas. During heavy rain like yesterday these three building look even more special with the catholic church having an appearance similar to that of wet gouache paint. After walking you will make a left on Dufflefield street.
WARNING: If you have suffered from anything similar to an epileptic Seizure or even anything triggered by quickly flashing bright lights. DO NOT LOOK AT THE TELEVISION SCREENS, I REPEAT DO NOT LOOK AT THE TELEVISION SCREENS.

Go straight for a bit until you spot the chase building don’t worry you can go in, if you suffer from anything triggered by quickly flashing light do not go into the building and walk past it. If you do go inside you’ll be greeted by many old television screens with many images that look like they belong in a music video or some kind of subliminal message in some kind of conspiracy movie, also you will most likely hear buzzing coming from the silent televisions. Now simply continue walking straight until you come across a car wash offering 5$ print out discounts, you can also see some pretty neat cubes as you walk. Now make a right at the car wash and walk straight to eventually encounter LIU college which isn’t in Long Island. As you walk straight you’ll eventually come across the Dekalb train station, if you decide to walk some more you’ll come across more stores and eventually another train station with the 2,3,4 and 5 train lines.

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