I didn’t really enjoy this video compared to the other videos that we watched in this class, I enjoyed the beginning because we got to see our first tour guide Dan, but I didn’t enjoy the second part, because as I said, it felt like I was watching ESPN. I enjoy visually seeing the Terminal and not the discussion, I felt it was more opinion based which is fine. 

     I learned that the secret room was the deepest basement in I believe Manhattan, so I regret saying that I wanted to go there. I do not want to go there anymore, because I do not like being so underground because you can get trapped. I enjoyed seeing the “secret control room” because we got to see it already so it wasn’t a secret for us who went to the first tour with Dan. 

    Mostly everything the gentlemen stated was reiterated. I was bored. 

Transit museum reflection 

       I have not received the picture that I requested in order to obtain a citation so I will just describe the picture that I saw at the archive. It was a picture of the main concourse and it was jam packed everywhere. I thought it was crowded now but seeing the picture I can’t imagine being in a place where it is that crowded. I enjoyed seeing the brochure for Grand Central Terminal as well, it was interesting to read. 

        The highlight of that day for me was definitely the Transit museum. I really, really enjoyed the trains. I began to design in my head what the next trains should look like, my favorite train was the one that they had running in 1927. I  liked it because it had more two seaters. I think that they should remove some poles because when you have a child in a stroller it is hard to maneuver on the trains with all the poles. 

    I tried to read every advertisement, most were very comical, and would not be allowed on the trains in 2016. Also although the costs of MTA keeps rising I understand it is for a reason because when the MTA almost went bankrupt because the car fare was 5 cents but it cost 10 cents for each rider. The one thing that I really disliked was the maps. I was getting a little annoyed because I am I’m so used to the color of the lines of the train. Over all the transit museum was a great experience and I would definitely go back. 

LearningPlacesSiteReport2NYPL

I really appreciated the archive visit. Understanding the way the photos were taken and focus of the photos that were taken were appealing. It was amazing experience looking through primary sourcesof grand central. Especially primary sources that map out the design of the building and photos of how they were going to plan where they wanted the building to be. What had my best interest were thw written notes the workers noted everytime something needed to fix after grand central were build. It was pages of everything that need to be adjusted after grand central open; including the amount of money that were spent to do the repairs and the materials they needed were just as expensive. I now understand why archives are so important because we can always go back to the primary sources and learn about how and why certain ideas are brought up to be created or build. It was amazing visit and i wish i had more time to look through the archives of many other things. You learn alot through these archives!

After the Transit Archive  visit, I feel like I have a better grasp distinguishing between a primary and secondary sources. I was very impressed by the amount of  security and protection the archivist handled their collection and the knowledge the accompanies this job. It is not just simply placing old things in a basement and locking them away, but there is a science that must be well understood.  For example, its important to understand  that temperature and light( incandescent,natural,fluorescent..)  can emphatically damage an item from oxidation or even reactivity of volatile chemicals. Even the enzymes naturally secreted by our sweat glands and sebaceous glands can taint the quality of the item.

I was upset that we spent very little time browsing over the content, but one thing I found truly unique were the advertising images that once stood over  GC and around time square. To me they seem more of an art rather than some cheesy ad like we now see today. I guess you weren’t allowed to place any “junk” around especially if it is going to be display over GC. Viewing old images of time square you can see how the structure and the space was destined for that area to be of high significance later in time and i wish my parents or grandparents would have been savvy enough to purchase space/real estate there!

Some of the content were difficult to cite as they were lacking information:

The Gateway to a Continent. (1940). New York,  New York City Architects. NY Transit Archive. 130 Livingston Street Brooklyn, NY 11202. 17 June 2016.

This was a book that contained advertising  images  of fancy hotels that were distributed downtown and around  Grand Central around the 1940s.

Image of a resource (I have not obtained it yet)

On June 17th, we visited NY Transit Archival which is located on Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Passing through the security gates, we found ourselves in the basement of the building walking towards the archival.

We saw many of amazing photographs of Grand Central Terminal, New York Public Library and the neighborhood which were taken in early 20th centuries. What held my excitement was drawings such as elevation and Plans of Grand Central Terminal as well as the surroundings on the site. The transition of the neighborhood, neat lines, details of the beautiful ornaments, everything on the drawings were helpful for my deep research of Grand Central Terminal, but also it made me feel the history and these people who worked on the drawings.

Another source that I liked very much was a book with a green hard cover with a image of a statue. “The Gateway to a Continent”

It was published in 1940, and it has 40 pages. This book is not only the Terminal, but also the neighborhood and other famous and important buildings affected to architectural history in Midtown of Manhattan, such as Helmsley Building. In many pages, there were beautiful and cheerful sketches of buildings, neighborhood and people, and those were the things that made me feel I would like to have this book by myself.

As questions for further research, I would say “How the Park Avenue was changed and how people reacted to the construction of Grand Central Terminal.”

Running Head: William J. Wilgus papers

William J. Wilgus papers

The New York Public Library, Archives & Manuscripts

Manuscripts and Archives Division Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

This assignment is to understand how to use APA citation and to know how much finding aid is useful for researchers.

We look into William J. Wilgus papers on The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts for our research of Grand Central Terminal. This is a really great guide that help us to find information that we are looking for. It is originated simply, but very strong and important facts that researchers would like to know about William J. Wilgus. For instance, with less than a page, it explains very well as overview about his biography with some key terms, people, and years that also help us to understand and think about the history around that era. Then there are lists of series what we can find in the papers with brief descriptions. Also there are some other tabs other than the overview on the top of the website, and there you can find more details related to the series.

William J. Wilgus was the civil engineer very well know as the chief engineer of Grand Central Terminal construction. With his intelligence and talent, William worked for the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, but also after he opened his own consulting practice, he advised many railroad companies and helped the city and the states for their developments.

Citation :

William J. Wilgus papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library

http://archives.nypl.org/mss/3325#overview