Tag Archives: manhattan

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

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The St. Patrick’s Cathedral is located on Fifth Avenue right across from the Rockefeller Center area. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. The church building was built in 1858-1878. Today it received around five million visitors every year, some come to participate in the masses held at the church, and many come to visit to admire the building’s exterior and interior. Its location that is close to the Rockefeller Center makes it convenient for visitors to combine visits to both sites in one trip.

I’ve visited the St. Patrick’s Cathedral a couple of times, all as visitors to check out the interior of the cathedral while there was no mass going on. It’s definitely a beautiful building to worship in. On September 16, 2001, the Sunday after the 9/11 terrorist attack, there was a service held at this church in remembrance of the fallen victims. I can only imagine what it’s like to be part of that — some people already knew they had lost their love ones, some others were still looking for the missing ones and holding out hope, and others were scared of what might happen in the near future, all turning to their faith for strength, comfort and peace.

The photo below was taken from across the street outside the church. It’s an interesting contrast to see the church with its spires and the tall modern building right behind it.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Chinatown

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The Chinatown in New York City is located north of the Financial District area of Lower Manhattan. It is one of the largest Chinatowns in the United States, and one of the oldest ethnic Chinese enclaves in the western hemisphere. Today in New York City area there are also the Flushing Chinatown and Brooklyn Chinatown where large concentration of Chinese can be found, but the Manhattan Chinatown remains to be a popular destination for tourists given its easy to reach location in Manhattan.

My first visit to Chinatown was during my first trip to New York City almost twenty years ago. We went there for dinner as a tour group for dinner, and we had the option of looking for Chinese food in Chinatown or Italian food in nearby Little Italy. Having spent my first few months in the United States as an exchange student in a small town in Michigan where there were not many Asians around, it was quite a shock to the senses to see so many Chinese around, walking on crowded sidewalk of Canal Street with street vendors selling souvenirs, luxury goods knockoffs, snacks, etc. and seeing stores and restaurants with Chinese signs.

Many years later, after spending years living in bigger cities where you can find more ethnic diversity, it’s no longer a novelty to visit Chinatown. But I still go there when visiting New York; you can still find good Chinese food there.

The photo below was taken during one of those meals at Chinatown. This one was at Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant, which is known for its Shanghai-style soup dumplings (xiao long bao). The little steamed dumpling actually has soup inside, so you have to eat it very carefully; put the dumpling on a spoon, bite the skin a little bit so you can drink in the soup, then you finish with the rest of the dumpling.

Xiao long bao (soup dumpling) at Joe's Shanghai

South Street Seaport

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The South Street Seaport is a historical area within walking distance from New York City’s Financial District. What used to be a harbor / pier is now turned into a modern shopping mall while preserving the Pier 17 building architecture, and a Maritime Museum with several historical ships was set outside the building. From the Pier 17 building, you can also see a nice view of the Brooklyn Bridge that connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

I’ve visited the South Street Seaport area several times while doing walking tour in the Lower Manhattan area. The nice view of the Brooklyn Bridge from there and the interesting contrast of having the historic ships with modern office buildings in the background make this place a good photo destination while in New York City. The Pier 17 shopping mall is also a nice place to stop and rest before continuing a walking tour.

The photo below was taken in an afternoon when I visited the Seaport. You can see the historic ships and Pier 17 in the photo.

Pier 17

Trinity Church

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Only one block away from the NYSE Building on Wall Street, there is another historical building that seems to be out of place with the tall buildings around. The Trinity Church, located at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, was founded in 1697. The current building is the third building built on the same place in 1846. The architect of the building was Richard Upjohn, who was one of the co-founders of the American Institute of Architects.

The Trinity Church is one of the Episcopal churches in New York City. The church also has a chapel few blocks away from the main church building called the St. Paul’s Chapel. Opened in 1766, the St. Paul’s Chapel is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan. George Washington worshipped at this chapel after his inauguration as the first President of the United States. In 2001, it became known as ‘The Little Chapel That Stood’ as it remained standing after the nearby World Trade Center twin towers collapsed during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

I’ve passed both the Trinity Church and the St. Paul’s Chapel when I did a walking tour around the Financial District. On one visit to the Trinity Church, I ended up not going in to see the church interior because there was a service going on. I did visit the churchyard next to the church. It was a nice oasis in the middle of the Financial District to retreat for a moment from the hustle and bustle of the city. One of the people buried there was Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of Treasury (his portrait appears on the US $10 bill).

The photo below was taken during my visit to the Trinity Churchyard. I noticed this cool reflection of the churchyard on the church’s door glass pane — an interesting perspective to see churchyard with the big office building next to it.

Trinity Church