Designed by Brooklyn artist Anthony Goicolea, the memorial honors the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida and all victims of hate, intolerance, and violence. The Pulse nightclub shooting remains the deadliest single act of violence perpetrated against the LGBT community in U.S. history. In the wake of the tragic event, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order establishing the LGBT Memorial Commission, which was charged with overseeing the construction of a memorial to honor the victims of the Orlando shooting and all victims of hate, intolerance, and violence. Unveiled in 2018 and nestled in the Greenwich Village section of Hudson River Park between West Twelfth and Bethune Streets, the memorial consists of nine modified boulders arranged in a rough circular pattern. Most of them are bisected by a section of laminated glass containing refractory components, which, when hit by direct sunlight, scatter rainbows on the surrounding lawn, brick-paved walkway, and flora. One boulder is split in half with a quote etched on the face of the cut. It reads: “Difference is that raw and powerful connection from which our personal power is forged…Without community there is no liberation…But community must not mean a shedding of our differences.” In attendance at the dedication ceremony, in addition to the artist and members of the LGBT Memorial Commission, were Governor Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, State Senator Brad Hoylman, and New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
Born and raised in Harlem, writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin lived for several years on Horatio Street in Greenwich Village. It was one of several addresses in the Village that Baldwin would call home over the years, in addition to the Upper West Side, Los Angeles, Istanbul, and France. But in his apartment on Horatio Street, where he lived from 1958 to 1961, Baldwin completed his third novel, Another Country, which was published in 1962. Baldwin's close friend, Sam Floyd, also lived in the building, and the two hosted numerous guests from the city's art and literature communities.
The Whitney Museum of American Art was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who was known as the leading advocate of American Art from 1907 to 1942. During this time, artists with innovative ideas were not given opportunities to exhibit and market their work. Therefore, Whitney purchased their work and showcased it for them. By doing so, she acquired more than five hundred pieces of art made by American artists. When Whitney offered to donate her collection to museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, no museum was willing to accept it. This lead Whitney to open her own museum celebrating American artists and their art.
After the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on April 14th 1912, the Cunard ship Carpathia brought the 675 survivors to New York. They arrived at Pier 54 of the Chelsea Piers on April 20th, where they were greeted by a crowd of more than thirty thousand people. The Chelsea Piers was New York’s primary terminal for passenger ships, as well as a point of departure for the nation’s soldiers leaving for Europe during the First and Second World Wars. During the 1950s and 1960s it was used as a cargo terminal, though its services diminished during the mid- to late-60s. Despite being protected by the Hudson River Park Trust, Pier 54 was recently dismantled to be replaced with a large floating recreational island.
Located on the West side of Manhattan in New York City, Chelsea Pier was once used as a passenger ship terminal. In 1910, the pier was opened for ships to dock. Ships including the Lusitania and Mauretania. Alongside, the Titanic was scheduled to arrive at the pier but two days prior had sunk. Now Chelsea Pier is a sports and entertainment complex for the public.
The High Line is an elevated park that connects two recently-gentrified areas of New York, The Meatpacking District, and Hudson Yards. The High Line was once seen as an eyesore but has been transformed into a walkway that is now home to over 500 species of plants. The area was almost lost in 1999, when then-mayor Rudy Giuliani signed a demolition order. However, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, two friends, founded the non-profit “Friends of The High Line." They claimed, underneath the metal surface, The High Line was beaming with life. In 2003 they held a competition, with over 700 submissions by 36 different countries, with the task of reimagining the track. In 2006, the team of winners began to transform The High Line, taking $152 million to construct the new space.
The Avenues New York School is a 10-story concrete building, located at 259-273 Tenth Avenue, between 25th and 26th Streets on the West Side of Manhattan. It was built as the R.C. Williams Warehouse between 1927 and 1928 and designed by nationally prominent architect Cass Gilbert. (R.C. Williams was an international wholesale grocery business, founded originally in 1809.) As stated in the registration form of its application for National Register of Historic Places status, it is “significant under Criterion C for its architectural and engineering design as an example of an intact reinforced-concrete warehouse." It was deliberately constructed next to what is now known as the High Line, and on Aug. 1, 1933, the very first carload of freight to use that line was delivered to the building. Ownership of the building passed to the H. Wolff Book Manufacturing Company, which then leased it to Capital Cities/ABC. In the Fall of 2012, a private educational institution, Avenues New York School, opened its doors to students. In 2005, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Dedicated in 2019, "Brick House" is a 16-foot tall bronze cast of a West African woman with long, dangling cornrowed hair and a rotund skirt that resembles a building's atrium. Sculptor Simone Leigh designed the massive public art installation which was dedicated along New York City's High Line, an elevated park built on a former New York Central Railroad. A second cast of "Brick House" has been installed at the main entrance of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. The artist, Simone Leigh, intended for the sculpture to represent and celebrate Black womanhood and places women in a prominent place in the urban landscape of one of the largest cities in the United States.
The Vessel is a great representation of The Hudson Yards as a whole, as it connects the surrounding buildings to outdoor space. The construction of the entire area is limited due to its historical past. The designers intended to create a ‘high-capacity’ area to attract tourists, which was successful in the past couple of years. The Vessel itself became the ‘selfie’ staple of New York for all tourists alike. However, with COVID, has the area lost its purpose without its tourists? Maybe not. Maybe the design of Hudson Yards is built for New Yorkers with some of the better social distancing measures already designed in place.
The Javits center is one of the most prestigious convention centers in the United States. This unique building was named after the prominent New Yorker, Senator Jacob K. Javits. This prominent New York icon became a wildlife sanctuary, a community partner and a federal nexus with up-to-date ideas in business and pop culture connected under one green roof.
Affirmation Arts, a nonprofit organization for art outreach and support in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in New York City, offers exhibitions and events for visual and performing arts, The organization primarily focuses on the role of art and artists in contemporary culture. The venue, designed by architect Peter Matthews, opened in 2008, and features galleries, event and performance spaces, and studio spaces.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This short walk or drive begins at New York's Hudson Yards and discusses the city's change over time, including recent history and gentrification as well as landmarks and homes of cultural icons who lived in this part of New York.
