Stumbling Upon Dinosaurs

Yep, just stumbled upon a display of these thousands-year-old fossils of ancient monsters while walking around Midtown Manhattan today--just a typical day in New York City. 

They were a display of the famous Bonham's Auction House, and they were actually for sale by a farmer in Montana who owned the land where they were discovered. However fascinating, they didn't sell for the reserve of $7-$9 million, so I guess they'll go back to Montana. Read more here: Fossils of Dueling Dinosaurs Fail to Sell at Auction.

Walking Tour: The Seagram Building

Located at 52nd and Park is the Seagram Building built in 1958. The Frommer's guide book I was using describes it as a building that "straddled the line between the too-American Frank L. Wright and the too-European Le Corbusier." 

It continues, "This building is such a success because of its meticulous attention to detail: dark bronze window mullions; a lobby that seamlessly blends interior space with the adjoining plaza; and a sheer facade of amber glass made possible by hiding all the building's 'guts' away from the street." 

The open plaza was controversial at first because of the possible loss of tax revenue, but it became so popular that new zoning regulations encouraged similar designs. This one was designed to discourage people sitting, whereas future plazas would welcome people with areas to rest.

New York Windows: Henri Bendel

The caricatures of famous illustrator Al Hirschfeld are made three dimensional in Henri Bendel's holiday windows.

Famous New York Structures: 570 Lexington Avenue

I decided to take a self-guided walking tour of Midtown's skyscrapers. Here is the G. E. Building, also known as 570 Lexington Avenue. The current G. E. Building is at Rockefeller Center, but this was the  original location of G. E. It's now occupied by multiple commercial offices and owned by Columbia University.

It is famous for its many Art Deco emblems -- at entrances, over windows, at its crown and in the lobby. It was commissioned by RCA, and the tilted zig-zag lightening bolts represented radio waves. But before the building was complete, RCA had chosen another site, and they sold it to G. E. The radio wave emblems easily translated to electrical emblems, so that worked out!

The architects were challenged to compliment but contrast its neighbor, St. Bartholomew's Cathedral. Thus the two structures share the same salmon-colored brick. It has 42 stories above ground, 11 elevators and was constructed in 1931.

This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. Its reference number is 03001515.

This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. Its reference number is 03001515.

Progress on the Building Outside My Window

I have become used to see construction workers climb ladders on open balconies 20 stories from the ground, but I wonder if the workers ever get used to it.

New York Christmas Windows--Ellie Tahari

Apparently Ellie Tahari thinks tying shoes to our heads with a big black ribbon complete with a large chin-strap bow would be festive this year.

Two Things I Learned Today

My husband and I like to spend time at Celcius, a temporary winter restaurant at Bryant Park and watch the ice skaters from our table on the second level. This weekend, my husband ordered a lovely drink that made me catch the server and switch out my wine. This drink, I learned contains maple-flavored bourbon. Ever heard of that? I hadn't either, it's brand new.

I was pretty excited about having found a new spirit to serve during the holidays that would appeal to my girlfriends. So, I looked online to learn that I had been manipulated very nicely.

A November 1st Bloomberg News article in the business section entitled, "In the Bourbon Business, Maple is the New Brown" states:

The sweetened varieties are truly succeeding at luring women, according to Beam Chief Executive Matthew Shattock. “We think females are now participating in flavored bourbon at twice the rate they are in the unflavored bourbon,” he said in a conference call today. (“Participating,” we assume, means “drinking.”)

So, two things: If it's new, you will run across it in New York, and second, to get women to buy it, sugar will have been added.

Bloomberg News Business Article.