Urban Adventures: Kips Bay

Hey there everyone!

I hope you are all having a fantastic week. The knowledge that Thanksgiving is just around the corner is really the only thing keeping me going through these next few weeks. Thanksgiving has always surpassed Christmas as my favorite holiday because I get to spend it with my enormous, loud, crazy, and flamboyant, Cuban-Venezuelan-Dutch family. As the family has grown, it is not uncommon for over 30 of us to all stay in a 3-bedroom house (hard to imagine, I know...). Unfortunately, I won't get to fly home to them this year, but I'm still looking forward to seeing the Macy's parade and making dinner with some of my school friends.

Tonight I was a bit restless... I had finished all the homework I could (i.e. all the homework I felt like doing) and there is only so much Netflix I can stomach in one semester, so I put on my walking boots, called up a friend, and headed to Midtown. A close inspection of both our wallets narrowed down our options considerably, so we decided to pick a direction, and just start walking.

I am always pleased when I am proved wrong about a neighborhood. I had heard from several people that the Murray Hill/Kips Bay area was a major bar-crawl scene and to avoid it after 11pm. What I found instead, was an refined and fascinating neighborhood complete with mysterious edifices and breathtaking views of Brooklyn. This was the general course of our walk:

There are dozens of gorgeous brownstones in the area... I dream of moving into one after I graduate. The streets are quiet just like the Financial District and are lined with oaks. It's as if someone cut and pasted a little bit of Brooklyn Heights in Manhattan. 

Then we came upon what looked like an enormous, abandoned manor (#1 on the map). The building takes up almost the entire block and is covered with ivy. Graffiti scars the entrance and the courtyard is completely overgrown. The iron gates at the front were chained closed, so we didn't try to go in (and I've watched a bit too much American Horror Story to make that kind of a rookie mistake...). I still have no idea what this is, but we got scared when we heard voices coming from inside... I seriously feel bad for whoever could be living in that place because it is clearly not fit to be lived in.

Walking down 29th street, we stumbled upon an urban farm complete with patches of grass (because we New Yorkers forget what it feels like from time to time) and a magnificent view of Brooklyn from across the East River. (#2) It was a breezy night, and I could smell the ocean from the garden balcony, which always brings life to my soul. This would be a perfect place to come study, have a picnic, or otherwise while away your time with a book. It's nicer than the high line, and infinitely less crowded. Plus, Chelsea is practically the new midtown these days...

Our meandering then lead us to the U.N., which wasn't immediately identifiable because they had taken all the flags down... I had a picture somewhere but the U.N. is not nearly as impressive a building without its flags. I recommend going to see it on any other day though! (#3). Here we crossed the street into Tudor City. Does anyone know why it is called Tudor City (besides the obvious appearance of the buildings, I mean...)? Fun fact: did you know that it is considered the first neighborhood of residential skyscrapers in the world? You learn something new every day...

I think I'm going to end up living in Tudor City (#4), and I'll be a rich old hag that walks her chihuahua every day in her fine furs (that's not true... I'll end up blowing my life savings on a plane ticket to somewhere random and never coming back. ;) )  Anyway, where was I? Oh yes... While it may be the most inconvenient place to live as far as commuting by subway, the architectural craftsmanship of these buildings (inside and out) almost make up for it.

So thus ended our walk... I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I did taking them (risked my life on the last one... facing away from the traffic while in the middle of the road is not a mistake I'll be making again). All in all, I really loved the neighborhood, but I am still curious as to what that one building is... when I find out, I'll let you all know!

Goodnight!

-H

P.S. There's a poll on the left column of my blog. Go ahead and vote on which neighborhood you would like for me to visit next!