Dear Professor Phillip and classmates,
The following link is of our powerpoint pictures of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade tour:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1g5mQyK0Y5-VgHvRwpEA7-_w9esPnPnOKsXKkwHjM9cA/edit?usp=sharing
Group Members: Donna Chow, Johanna Ortiz-Bustos, (Mei)Kounthida Phansourivong, Katherine Batallas, and Alex Bilodid.
Hope you all enjoy.
Thank you.
Taken from The Brooklyn Botanic Garden. the Cherry Esplanade. Parks and gardens are another attractions that many tourists travel around to. In this garden featured different types of plants all over the world.
This photo was taken in Chinatown between Canal Street and Baxter Street. An information booth. Information booths are very important for tourists. it is very convenient for tourists if they get lost and need a guide.
Photo taken in front of the Museum of Chinese in America on 215th Centre Street. Photo taken in front of the Museum of Chinese in America on 215th Centre Street. Museums are one of the many attractions that tourists come around the world to visit. MOCA is a museum that features mostly about Chinese history.
During my HMGT4988 ParksRec class, I was lucky enough to witness the beautiful Queens Waterfront and the one of the old landmarks “PepsiCola.” Queens Waterfront is one of the recreational spaces, it features a restaurant called Cofeed and open green-space (park).
Here is one of the limited food choices in Long Island City Landing called “Cofeed.” They sell different hamburgers and drinks. The boardwalk view is gorgeous.
As a New Yorker, I thought transportation is a very important aspect in our lives and having the opportunities to go from places whether if it is a ferry, or a bus, or an airway tram is a blessing. I was lucky to travel using the Queens Waterfront Ferry to Roosevelt Island.
Staten Island Ferry, Battery Park sign, and the shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton .
On our Urban Tourism class tour to Downtown, Lower Manhattan on Tuesday June 26, 2018, allowed me to rethink of the positive side of things in New York City, about how the city has evolved from ever since I was born. Being informed from Professor Phillip helped me to reflect more about our history, reminding me that we should all value what we have today. Learning about the background of how downtown Manhattan, especially the Battery Park area and the Staten Island Ferry area has transformed from a landfill, help me acknowledge about how New York City have improved economically, visually, and technologically. In addition, learning about the different historical structures, buildings, and monuments such as, the Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the Frances Tavern, the U.S. Custom House, and the Federal Hall National Memorial, provided me more understanding of why people travel and the importance of history.
Fraunces Tavern
During the beginning of the trip, Professor Phillip told us that lower Manhattan, New York City used to be New Amsterdam. She also told us the Battery Park and the Staten Island Ferry used to be a landfill. This lower part of Manhattan is where the city started, where immigrants entered because of Ellis Island. Where the banks begun, commerce trade happened, and where the mayor and the president conducted their businesses. Next stop, the “shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton who was the first American born saint,” a chapel was built as a home for Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and her daughter Rebecca. On our walk to another historic site, I saw a mix of modern and older architecture buildings (amazed). If a tourist was interested in food and history, why not stop at the Fraunces Tavern? It is a museum and restaurant (The Dingle Whiskey Bar). According to a plaque on the side of the building it states that this Tavern is where George Washington had his farewell speech after the American Revolutionary War. They also had meetings in this tavern. The building was purchased as a memorial to Fredericks Taumadge. Next stop, our class walked on Stone Street (which had cobblestones from the Dutch) to the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, which is now the National Museum of the American Indian. This building structure had many different statues or monuments in front of it. This building was listed as the “National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.”
The U.S. House Custom, Bowling Green park sign, and Charging Bull.
The Federal Hall National Memorial.
Standing right in front of this building is the Bowling Green park. In the park there is a fountain, which once was a statue of George Washington. The fence around the park was very important, there were once crowns part of the fence but were removed. North of the park stood the Charging Bull which is a significant symbol of Wall Street. Next to the Charging Bull is a building called Cunard Line building, where the building had many different uses in the past (a ticketing hall). Now, it is currently open for banquet events, there is also a restaurant and bar service inside. Later, we walked more north to the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Hall National Memorial. Our class got to enter in the memorial and I thought the interior was gorgeous. This monument was where George Washington was inaugurated and where the first Bill of Rights was adopted. Another site we walked to is the Trinity Church, where there were many gravestones and monuments. I learned that it was the tallest buildings before Brooklyn Bridge towers were built. It is one of the oldest buildings and it was built in 1846. People of importance such as Alexander Hamilton and his wife were buried here. In my culture it is unlucky to tour graveyards, therefore it was a little awkward walking in there.
The Oculus, 9/11 Memorial, Bowling Green Buildings, Trinity Church.
Last but not least, we got to travel to the 9/11 Memorial and the Oculus. Our class discussed that there is some controversial of having a shopping mall next to where New York City had this tragic attack and is it right for them to make it into a tourist attraction (touristic mall). I mean this place is supposed to be a place of grieve and memorial for the tragic event, but then there is now a touristic attraction to go shopping? This mall is also targeting people of wealth and possibly tourists. The last stop would have been Brookfield place, but me and a few classmates had to leave for another class tour in Long Island City.
I would like to sum it up that this trip will help remind me of the importance of different historical buildings and remind me to be more curious about different things.
      On June 19th, 2018 our Urban Tourism class visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had a wonderful experience, as we were lucky to have two of the MET’s employees gave us a guide: Robert from Citytech and Susan Jordan. Firstly, with Robert informing and guiding us through his job experience as a manager of the MET food and beverage department, gave me a lot of insight of how overwhelming his job might seem. However, he mentions that time management is something that will help him through his job and being quick with decisions was a plus. It was very interesting and eye opening after he informed us about his career experiences and how he attained his position in the MET. Susan Jordan our tour guide, was very informative and professional in explaining about different piece of art, such as: history, artists story, and what is was for. I feel like it was better to have a guide to give us information rather than looking it and interpreting about art ourselves because we may not be an expert in this field. And I noticed that Susan took a route that was following the map, the red line giving us the best way to walk through the museum.
Since the MET is a very huge tourist attract, as we all know, I learned about this museum by word of mouth. Word of mouth as such from our industry and from my sibling. I have been to this museum about four times, the last time I went was for a class where I had to pick an art piece from the Asian Art section to write a paper about. While we were in the museum, I saw many different groups of visitors, such as: group of families, school groups, kids, a wide diversity of people (I think most were tourists). I felt very welcomed as we were in a group setting and the two employees were very engaging and informing us and asking us questions. The annual visitors for the MET in 2017 was seven million people, according to https://www.metmuseum.org. As for the admission, it was free because the Professor paid for our trip? There is a suggested fee is up to you, if you are a student in New York City, Connecticut, and New Jersey. However, the general admission is $12 if the visitor is from outside of New York.
As for the travel to the MET, it was not too bad I took the 4 or 5 train route to 86th Street and walked 3-4 blocks toward Central Park. The museum was not hard to fine, due to its visibility from two blocks away and from the change in atmosphere. In the front of the stairs there are a bunch of steps, but for visitors with disabilities there are wheel chair accessibility in the entrances on 81st Street and 80th Street where the parking garage is. Within the museums there are also elevators, a lot of walking though (they might need a guide). The MET’s museums is user friendly and mobile friendly because it is easy to use. There is a lot of information on the art piece, if you would like to do an art paper. The website offers visitors many different types of activities happening in the museum and even future events. I think it would have been nice if we could change it to different languages, it will be easier for tourists outside of United States of America.
      I learned many new insights while I was in the MET. I learned that there were more than one food and beverage options in the MET, especially the Dining Room overlooking the Central Park(on the fourth floor). The members of the museum get to eat next to the windows. There are actually seven food and beverage options within the museum. Another thing I learned is that I never knew there was more that three floors because I haven’t had time to explore the whole MET museum. I never acknowledged about the rooftop outdoor scenery either (the Roof Garden Bar on the fifth floor). Third thing I learned is that the MET has a booklet of the upcoming events through certain seasons. This summer 2018, they featured The Roof Garden Commission: Huma Bhabha, We Come in Peace, which our class were able to witness. This sculpture is scheduled to be there from April 17- October 28, 2018. The art up there rotates throughout seasons and events. Lastly, I learned that the MET held show casings, as we were able to witness the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Domino Park Field Trip Reflection
Donna Chow
HMGT 4987-HD91/ Urban Tourism
Professor Susan Phillip
6/14/2018
Photos taken in Domino Park, Williamsburg
One June 12th, 2017, our Urban Tourism class had the pleasure to take a tour around Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. While we were walking there, as mentioned in class we saw the change in the waterfronts, of how old buildings are now residential buildings or offices. The idea of adaptive reuse, where older structures or spaces are recreated into something with a purpose, such as the waterfronts Dumbo and Domino Park. Professor Phillip mentioned while we were walking to Dumbo about the projects that are still around and how buildings with a clock provided people with the time (a service) as there were no watches back then, and the area was full of factories where people worked. While we walked to Fulton street there we noticed that it was a landmark area with all the brownstones, and old warehouses. Professor Philip pointed out the Eagle warehouse, which is now a residential building. There was also a block of old buildings, some in construction, some had restaurants on the first floor. I started seeing the waterfront when we walked even further down to Fulton Street. There were many people on trips, there were tourists and students taking class trip, like us. Then, we finally reached Dumbo where we went to buy our tickets ($2.75 for one-way trip) to take the NYC Ferry to Domino Park.
Our class entered the ferry around 12:30pm. I felt very excited because I love cruises. This
Photos taken in Domino Park, Williamsburg.
ferry looked fairly new and clean. The lower deck had many rows of chairs and there was also a mini-food bar. Then, the class walked up to the top deck where we could enjoy the view of the city a lot more clearly. The views off the ferry was phenomenal because then I could see the mixture of older and modern architecture. The mix of older warehouses and factories and newer residential buildings There’s a difference between then and now, the idea that the city is still progressing, and evolving is amazing. I could recognize that areas that had docks, used to be and industrial factory’s docks makes it so unimaginable and makes me want to see what this area looks like in the past. New York City was one of the most industrialized cities, where there were coffee bean factories, the sugar refinery factory, cardboard, and etc.
It is incredible how much Williamsburg and different parts of the city has changed from being something that was undesirable into something that will soon revitalize its popularity. Just the right example is this Domino Park, which used to be part of the Domino Sugar Refinery. Now it has been transformed into a park, a recreational space. As the ferry docked , first thing all of us probably noticed are the three gigantic luxurious rental apartment buildings, but Professor Phillips points out a good question… “Who is going to live in these?” Therefore, I was thinking, it must be expensive to live here, but I thought it was good to look at. I guess this was a good example of gentrification because later as we walked towards the park I started to notice the difference of how modern buildings change to older looking buildings. And I saw the problem as “who is going to benefit in this neighborhood?” (what type of social class). I started to reference back to the different documentaries our class watched, and I get a better understanding of how much the city has changed from being a poorer neighborhood, to now a neighborhood, which is unaffordable for the middle or lower classes.
My thoughts on Domino Parks itself. I thought the park was pretty friendly to anyone. The food options were limited, and hopefully they will recognize it sooner (they have just opened up on June 10). I thought it was uneasy for cars to get around because there is still construction going on. It is better to navigate by bike or foot. Professor Phillip mentions that there was a lack of signages as of pointing what was what in the park. For example, the four long tubes in the park or those two blue cranes. Also, there were portable bathrooms, but they were all not in service at the time. Other than that, I thought it was an eye-opening experience.
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