From the Archives: Street Eats & City Crowds -- 100 Years & Counting

In this post, BPC's archivist Anne Kumer shares some history. It also appears on NYC Circa, a history blog about New York City and its public spaces.

This photo was posted on Shorpy's, a historic and vintage photo blog. It shows one of our sister parks, Herald Square, managed by the 34th Street Partnership, and the surrounding area, in 1908. That's the 6th Avenue elevated train on the right, and in front of the Herald building, the William Earl Dodge monument, now in Bryant Park.


Image from Shorpy's

























Although a relatively common view -- I'm pretty sure the photo was taken from the elevated subway station at 33rd Street, in Greeley Square -- what is special about this particular one, is the insane amount of detail and information it conveys. If you click here to see the high resolution photo, you will see much, much more.

This lunch wagon, spotted by a Shorpy's commenter, and re-blogged by Midtown Lunch, was parked on Sixth Avenue, east of the elevated train tracks, or, to their left in the above photo. The commenter, Copyboy, included an exerpt from a letter sent to the New York Times complaining that the cart's placement on Sixth Avenue obstructed pedestrian and vehicular traffic from 34th Street, all the way to 42nd Street, on the northwest corner of Bryant park, where it was often seen.

Displayed on top of the facade of the Herald Building, shown in a close-up below, is the James Gordon Bennett Memorial, removed from the building in 1921, and later reinstalled on a Milford pink granite pedestal in the park in 1940. The owls are another story.

And there's this:

Not nearly as many people in the street then, as now, but it looks so much more chaotic. I can identify at least six different types of transportation in use: automobiles, trolley cars, horse-drawn carriages, walking, the elevated train (not in this close-up, but in the main shot), and that strange thing in the pink box that looks like a motorized pedi-cab with the driver in the back, and passengers up front. I guess bicycles were still too new to be considered a viable form of transporation, rather than a leisure activity. Also, without traffic lanes, and  organized direction, the street looks more like a free-for-all than it likely was. They're probably all heading for the lunch wagons.

Last Weekend to Skate & Dine Rinkside at Bryant Park

It's the very last weekend to skate in the park, so get your glide on before the season comes to a close!

Citi Pond is open for free admission skating until 10pm on Sunday, February 27, and you have until midnight on Saturday, February 26 to enjoy one last chicken pot pie at rinkside restaurant, Celsius.

Visit www.citipondatbryantpark.com for more information about skating and rinkside dining in Bryant Park. Thank you for a wonderful winter season!

Read Across America at the NYPL

If the iconic New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue doesn't inspire you to read, maybe a 26 foot tall sculpture made from books will...it's hard to miss the message!

As part of Target and the National Education Association's Read Across America campaign that aims to get kids excited about reading, Target unveiled the installation this morning, along with a day of activities at the library.

Created from 25,000 classic Dr. Seuss books, the sculpture will be on view in front of the library on Fifth Avenue between 42nd and 40th Streets through Friday, February 25. The books will be donated to NYC public schools following the event.

To add some spice to the program, actors Mark Ruffalo and Uma Thurman showed their support at the morning's festivities, and Target's beloved mascot, Bullseye the bull terrier, roamed the crowd and posed for photos with fans.

Who reads? Mark Ruffalo reads!

Bullseye the bull terrier pictured on her non-Target side

Interested in holding an event on the NYPL Terrace? Read through our Event Planning Guide and submit your proposal to the BPC Events Department.

Take A Spin During School Break

Need some new ideas to keep the kids busy during the mid-winter break from school? Bundle up and visit Le Carrousel at Bryant Park, open from 11am to 8pm every day this week. Single rides are $2 or pick up a discount card and enjoy 10 rides for $15.

And for a sweet treat after your spin, 'wichcraft's new Hot Chocolate Kiosk is just steps away from the carousel!

Video from YouTube user Michael Benefiel. Watch more videos of the park on our official YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/BryantParkNYC. 

Delicious Deal On Dinner & Skating to End The Season!

Citi Pond at Bryant Park closes for the season on February 27. If you've been meaning to skate but let the winter slip by, here's a little motivation to get you to the park:

Gilt City New York is offering 50% off a dinner and skating package for two at Celsius and the Pond. For $93, half the actual value of $186, you'll get :

VIP skating for two 

Skate rentals

Lockers

Fast-pass to the front of the line

and 

Dinner for two at Celsius 

(check out the menus)

2 appetizers of your choice

2 entrees of your choice

2 desserts of your choice

4 cocktails of your choice

The deal is only available until 10am tomorrow, February 23, so click here to get yours now! Don't forget, since the Pond is in its last week, the offer must be redeemed by February 27, 2011 February 26, 2011.

Update: Celsius will close for the season on February 26 at midnight, so redeem before then!

Ice Theatre of New York at the Pond

Remember this video?

It's reached over a million hits on YouTube, and tomorrow you can watch a full version of the video's highlighted performance piece, In A Nutshell, at Citi Pond^SM.

The talented skaters from Ice Theatre of New York will perform a series of pieces from their ice dance repertory, free and open to the public, including an encore performance of In A Nutshell, La Revolte Des Enfants, and audience favorite, Hot Chocolate.

City Skate Concert presented by Ice Theatre of New York
Friday, February 18 at 1pm
Citi Pond at Bryant Park

Learn more about Ice Theatre of New York at www.icetheatre.org

From the Archives: Bryant Park's Choice Seating

In this post, BPC's archivist, Anne Kumer, shares some history. This post also appears on NYC Circa, a history blog about New York City and its public spaces.

Bryant Park is known for many things, including an abundance of its iconic green chairs. Before the park had movable chairs, seating was much more limited. With only benches and a few picnic tables, people were often crowded together on the library steps, and perched on the balustrade (which is bad for the masonry).
 

Northwest section of Bryant Park, 1983

Afternoon lunchers clustered around one of the NYPL flagpoles, 1991

During the restoration of Bryant Park, in the late 1980s, Park management heeded the advice of Urbanist William H. Whyte, and decided to introduce movable chairs into the park in time for its planned re-opening in 1992.

As Whyte aptly wrote in his book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces: "Chairs enlarge choice: to move into the sun, out of it, to make room for groups, move away from them. The possibility of choice is as important as the exercise of it. If you know you can move if you want to, you feel more comfortable staying put."

During the summer of 1991, most of the park was not quite yet ready for the public. However, Park management, the NYC Parks Department, and Community Board 5, agreed to a partial opening of the Fountain Terrace on July 1, 1991. To prepare, BPC (then called, Bryant Park Restoration Project) purchased 400 sturdy, white stackable chairs.

Park users enjoying the new seating on the Fountain Terrace, 1991



This trial run of movable furniture received ample positive feedback from the press, and more importantly, park users. By the time the entire park was re-opened to the public, on April 22, 1992, BPC replaced the white chairs with the now iconic, green Fermob chairs, now available for purchase in the Bryant Park Shop.  

Reminders of Warmer Seasons

Warm(er) winter days like this remind us of fall and spring, which are the best seasons for birding in Bryant Park. While only our resident house sparrows and pesky pigeons stick around for the coldest months of the year, you can still see evidence of some migratory species that call the park home during sunnier seasons.

The tree in the photo above, and others like it on the front terrace of the New York Public Library, has been permanently marked by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, a small, popular species of woodpecker.

Taken at the end of October 2010, the photo below shows two of the birds in action, tap-tap-tapping their way into the bark of the trees. As the name suggests, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers drill shallow holes with their beaks to literally suck sap out of trees. They get a two-for-one deal using this technique, as they can also eat insects that are drawn to the sap.

We should see more of the Sapsuckers when the birds begin to migrate north in April or May.

Celebrate Valentine's Day at Citi Pond's Winter Film Fest

The king of the rink and America's ice queen just became a team...

Monday marks two special occasions: Valentine's Day and the final event in Citi Pond^SM at Bryant Park's first Winter Film Festival.

So lace up your skates or snuggle up in the park with your sweetheart and watch The Cutting Edge outdoors on the big screen. The film begins at 6:30pm.

Click here and here for more information about the Citi Pond Winter Film Festival.

Spinning Through the Seasons

Le Carrousel at Bryant Park detail by Flickr user ulfhednarr

2010 was a record setting year for Le Carrousel at Bryant Park. From our counts, ridership in 2010 totaled 91,400 people...a 21% rise over the previous record of 75,727 riders in 2008!

We credit this to an increase in fun children's activities offered around the carousel (like the popular Le Carrousel Magique weekend events and last year's Halloween party hosted by Flaubert Frog), and to the fact that Le Carrousel is open all year round.

During the month of February, the carousel is open daily from 11am to 8pm. The hours vary through the seasons, but you can always find them listed on our website.

Faces of Design 2011

The year began on a high note for Bryant Park Corporation's Director of Design, Ignacio Ciocchini, who was recently distinguished with a 2011 Faces of Design Award!

Based in Berlin, the Faces of Design Awards program has been helping connect designers with industry powerhouses since 2009. Rather than awarding a specific project or design, the program considers a designer's comprehensive body of work.

Ignacio's portfolio, which includes Bryant Park's litter receptacles and Holiday Shops kiosks, made it through two rounds of judging alongside hundreds of other entries before being honored as one of 25 award winners. Of the 25, he and only one other designer are based in the US.

Since Ignacio has won at least one award for his designs every year since 2000 (and a handful more before that), I asked him about the most exciting aspect of this particular win. In his words: "For designers based in the US, it is not easy to gain visibility in the European and global markets. This awards program accomplishes that and much more."

And it's true. The Faces of Design competition culminates in the publication of a beautifully designed book (would you expect anything less?), that showcases the 25 awardees and their work. Then, the book is distributed to a network of over 1,200 leaders at companies and firms like vitra, Ikea, the Richemont Group (including prestigious brands such as Montblanc, Cartier and Chloé), prestigious designers’ studios, and the design press.

It's fun to imagine the day when we'll be able to point at something in Ikea and say "I saw it at Bryant Park first!"

You can learn more about the Faces of Design Academy and view the full winner's list here.

Guest Posting Downtown

We're guest posting about Bryant Park tees over at Fashion Herald (the official retail blog of the 34th Street Partnership) today.

Check it out at www.fashionherald.org and catch up on your 34th Street sales and shopping news while you're there!

Dancers Among Us

Would you believe that these two aren't professional ice skaters? 

In actuality, the pair are professional dancers (Ellenore Scott and Michael McBride) posing for photographer Jordan Matter's ongoing series, Dancers Among Us, that features "professional dancers in everyday situations around the city". The photo, staged at Citi Pond^SM earlier this season, is one of over 100 captivating images in the Dancers Among Us gallery.

On his blog, the photographer reveals some behind the scenes images from his shoot at the Pond (and many other locations around the city), the indiscretion that got him in trouble with a skate guard (oops), and the fact that not only are his subjects not professional skaters, but neither of them can skate very well at all (they sure know how to fake it for the camera)!

While browsing Jordan's gallery I came across an equally impressive photo, featuring dancer Minsung Kim in Bryant Park's 42nd Street Allee.

The man makes eating chips upside-down look easy.

It's Sad, But True

The Southwest Porch is closed for the rest of the winter season. While the Porch's rustic fire pit and outdoor heaters will be missed during these cold weather months, we're choosing to look on the bright side. A closed Porch means we can all look forward to a reopening party in the Spring!

In the meantime, you can still get your 'wichcraft fix from the kiosks located at the 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue corner of the park (don't forget the daily happy hour deal on coffee and tea), or warm up with three flavors of hot chocolate at the newest 'wichcraft kiosk on the south side of the park.

On the Street in Bryant Park

Fans of iconic New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham's weekly On the Street slideshows may have noticed a familiar Bryant Park winter attraction in last weekend's photo line-up.

It's not uncommon to see Mr. Cunningham roaming the park with his camera during the warm weather months, seeking out New York City's fashion trendsetters amongst our busy lunch crowds. But last week it was our frosty fountain that caught his eye.

Screen shot from On the Street

Watch the slideshow here and keep your eyes peeled for multiple shots of a snow-covered Bryant Park (the fountain's cameo begins at the 1:30 mark).

Make sure your computer's sound is on, because you don't want to miss the humorous commentary that Bill records to complement his excellent photographs.

Improv Everywhere, At It Again

You may recall a strange character strutting through the park and on to our lawn in May 2010*, or perhaps you witnessed a mass of headphone-wearing people converging on the park in October.**

Both occurrences were the work of Improv Everywhere, a self-described "long form improvisation troupe which executes pre-planned "missions" that usually involve socially awkward or unusual situations". Now, the group has made its mark on Citi Pond^SM at Bryant Park.

Confused? Check out Improv Everywhere's post revealing the behind-the-scenes story of the 'Worst Ice Skater Ever' mission and how they pulled it off (we helped!). Here's a spoiler: the video's star, Kenny Moir, is actually Executive Director of Figure Skating at the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, a performer with Ice Theatre of New York, and has over 50 years of experience as a figure skater. 

* Watch our wacky 2010 lawn opening video
** See how the 2010 Mp3 Experiment ended in an epic toilet paper party in Bryant Park

Two Days Left for Battle of the Brush

There are only two days left to view Battle of the Brush, the first outdoor painting exhibition to take place in Bryant Park.

Visitors have been drawn to the bright exhibition kiosks on the park's Fountain Terrace, and so has the press. Carol Vogel, noted art critic for the New York Times, highlighted the exhibition in her Inside Art column last week, which included the above photo by Times photographer Michael Nagle.

Read Carol's piece here, then head to the park and add a dose of culture to your dreary winter day. The exhibition is on view until 3:30pm on Wednesday, February 2 and includes paintings by artists Alison Blickle, Tom Sanford, Nicola Verlato, Eric White, Justin Adian, Anoka Faruqee, Patricia Treib, and Roger White.