One Traveler's Opinion: New York at Christmas
Dec 13th, 2001, 04:49 AM
#1
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One Traveler's Opinion: New York at Christmas
There is no place like New York to get into the Christmas spirit, because there is no other city in the U.S. that takes Christmas more seriously than does New York (London outdoes Christmas by a fair margin, but then, they invented Christmas as we know it). This past weekend, my wife and I spent the weekend in the Big Apple, soaking up the Christmas spirit. Here’s what we saw, in no particular order:
1. The Christmas tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Talk about decorating with antiques: each Christmas season for over 35 years, the Met has erected a 20-foot blue spruce in a quiet space filled with medieval religious pieces. For decorations, the tree is adorned with 18th Century Neapolitan angels; the base of the tree forms an enormous crèche scene using several hundred figurines from the same era. The choir music in the background is soft and understated. The tree is lit in dazzling fashion with tiny spots illuminating each angel’s face. There is no other tree like this anywhere.
2. The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. The red, white and blue lights this year are a matter of personal taste, but there’s no mistaking that this is “America’s Christmas Tree.” The crowd at the tree’s base, coupled with the illuminated angels in the concourse leading from Fifth Avenue down to the tree, makes this a tree you have to see.
3. The ground floor of Macy’s and Lord & Taylor. They don’t decorate stores like this anywhere else (all right, I’ll make a modest concession to Marshall Field’s flagship store in Chicago). Lord & Taylor is a miracle of white and silver, Macy’s is a city block of green swags with fruits and nuts. Once upon a time, many stores decorated this way; today, it’s a precious few.
(continued in part 2)
1. The Christmas tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Talk about decorating with antiques: each Christmas season for over 35 years, the Met has erected a 20-foot blue spruce in a quiet space filled with medieval religious pieces. For decorations, the tree is adorned with 18th Century Neapolitan angels; the base of the tree forms an enormous crèche scene using several hundred figurines from the same era. The choir music in the background is soft and understated. The tree is lit in dazzling fashion with tiny spots illuminating each angel’s face. There is no other tree like this anywhere.
2. The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. The red, white and blue lights this year are a matter of personal taste, but there’s no mistaking that this is “America’s Christmas Tree.” The crowd at the tree’s base, coupled with the illuminated angels in the concourse leading from Fifth Avenue down to the tree, makes this a tree you have to see.
3. The ground floor of Macy’s and Lord & Taylor. They don’t decorate stores like this anywhere else (all right, I’ll make a modest concession to Marshall Field’s flagship store in Chicago). Lord & Taylor is a miracle of white and silver, Macy’s is a city block of green swags with fruits and nuts. Once upon a time, many stores decorated this way; today, it’s a precious few.
(continued in part 2)
Dec 13th, 2001, 04:50 AM
#2
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(continued from part 1)
4. The windows at Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, and Saks. The stories are invariably dopey, but you go to watch the children’s reaction to the animated figures. Macy’s does a little navel-gazing by illustrating the history of its parade; Lord & Taylor shows American Christmases through the years. Saks told a Christmas story, though in neon colors. Once upon a time, there was a store called B. Altman’s, and it outdid everyone in the window department. But Altman’s is no more, and once a year, I get sad when I walk by their former flagship store. It is the only retailer whose passing I regret.
5. The street decorations along Park Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas. The median strip of Park Avenue has two Christmas trees at every intersection north from 44th Street, and enough lights that the payment of the electric bill quite possibly requires a special referendum. It’s a wonderful sight. The office buildings along the Avenue of the Americas (a.k.a. Sixth Avenue) have some wonderful and whimsical decorations, such as enormous Christmas tree ornaments.
6. Grand Central Station. Talk about shoppers rushing home with their presents. Just station yourself on one of the stairwells and enjoy the spectacle. There’s also a laser-generated sprig of mistletoe that wanders across the ceiling, and couples actually find their way under it to kiss.
7. Greenwich Village. Go at night after the department stores have closed, and enjoy the little shops that carry all of the things you can’t find anywhere else. How about a Betty Boop tree ornament? It’s one of the handful of places in America where you can find stores open at 10 p.m.
While in New York, we also loaded up on holiday goodies at Zabars, went across the street to H&H bagels for a week’s supply of the best bagels in New York, and had lunch in Chinatown. After lunch on Saturday, we walked down to Wall Street to see a glimpse of Ground Zero. The best viewing site is on Broadway at Trinity Church. Three months after the fact, it is still a moving sight, perhaps more so in the chill of a damp December afternoon.
(continued in part 3)
4. The windows at Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, and Saks. The stories are invariably dopey, but you go to watch the children’s reaction to the animated figures. Macy’s does a little navel-gazing by illustrating the history of its parade; Lord & Taylor shows American Christmases through the years. Saks told a Christmas story, though in neon colors. Once upon a time, there was a store called B. Altman’s, and it outdid everyone in the window department. But Altman’s is no more, and once a year, I get sad when I walk by their former flagship store. It is the only retailer whose passing I regret.
5. The street decorations along Park Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas. The median strip of Park Avenue has two Christmas trees at every intersection north from 44th Street, and enough lights that the payment of the electric bill quite possibly requires a special referendum. It’s a wonderful sight. The office buildings along the Avenue of the Americas (a.k.a. Sixth Avenue) have some wonderful and whimsical decorations, such as enormous Christmas tree ornaments.
6. Grand Central Station. Talk about shoppers rushing home with their presents. Just station yourself on one of the stairwells and enjoy the spectacle. There’s also a laser-generated sprig of mistletoe that wanders across the ceiling, and couples actually find their way under it to kiss.
7. Greenwich Village. Go at night after the department stores have closed, and enjoy the little shops that carry all of the things you can’t find anywhere else. How about a Betty Boop tree ornament? It’s one of the handful of places in America where you can find stores open at 10 p.m.
While in New York, we also loaded up on holiday goodies at Zabars, went across the street to H&H bagels for a week’s supply of the best bagels in New York, and had lunch in Chinatown. After lunch on Saturday, we walked down to Wall Street to see a glimpse of Ground Zero. The best viewing site is on Broadway at Trinity Church. Three months after the fact, it is still a moving sight, perhaps more so in the chill of a damp December afternoon.
(continued in part 3)
Dec 13th, 2001, 04:51 AM
#3
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(continued from part 2)
Hotel: We booked one hotel at an outrageous price, then waited to see what Expedia and Quikbook offered at the last minute. Sure enough, Expedia had a last-minute special at the Grand Hyatt for $169 (the same hotel had been quoted a few days earlier at $329). The Grand Hyatt is very convenient for sightseeing, but the management is scrimping everywhere they can. Imagine a hotel with a check-in time of 3:00 p.m. telling you that you can’t have a room until 5:00 p.m. because there are no clean rooms available?
Restaurants: I can’t say enough wonderful things about Pesce e Pasta on Bleecker Street in the Village. Convivial dining companions, wonderful food, terrific service, extremely fair prices. You want to pack the place up and take it home.
Museum: We also went to Brooklyn to see the “Eternal Egypt” exhibit at the Brooklyn Art Museum (it’s drawn from the British Museum, which is renovating its Egypt Wing). Wow.
(end of note)
Hotel: We booked one hotel at an outrageous price, then waited to see what Expedia and Quikbook offered at the last minute. Sure enough, Expedia had a last-minute special at the Grand Hyatt for $169 (the same hotel had been quoted a few days earlier at $329). The Grand Hyatt is very convenient for sightseeing, but the management is scrimping everywhere they can. Imagine a hotel with a check-in time of 3:00 p.m. telling you that you can’t have a room until 5:00 p.m. because there are no clean rooms available?
Restaurants: I can’t say enough wonderful things about Pesce e Pasta on Bleecker Street in the Village. Convivial dining companions, wonderful food, terrific service, extremely fair prices. You want to pack the place up and take it home.
Museum: We also went to Brooklyn to see the “Eternal Egypt” exhibit at the Brooklyn Art Museum (it’s drawn from the British Museum, which is renovating its Egypt Wing). Wow.
(end of note)
Dec 13th, 2001, 08:35 AM
#10
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What a great report. I love living in this city, just because of everything that Neal has said.
To those of you who are on the way, when you are walking up 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) in the '50s make sure that you stop off at the offices of Deutsche Bank on West 52nd Street (just off 6th Avenue behind the black CBS building.) They have enormous decorations hanging from the ceiling, which give you the feeling that you are standing under the Christmas tree.
To those of you who are on the way, when you are walking up 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) in the '50s make sure that you stop off at the offices of Deutsche Bank on West 52nd Street (just off 6th Avenue behind the black CBS building.) They have enormous decorations hanging from the ceiling, which give you the feeling that you are standing under the Christmas tree.
Dec 13th, 2001, 09:14 AM
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Philip, I missed the display at Deutche Bank. That sounds like a great display.
Rudolph, the time when decorations come down varies by site. I know the Met takes down their tree about January 7th or 8th; the window displays are usually in place until the middle of January but disappear quickly thereafter.
There is also a store un Madison Avenue in the 70s that does four or five windows with a theme, but I didn't get there this year. I draw a blank on the name.
Rudolph, the time when decorations come down varies by site. I know the Met takes down their tree about January 7th or 8th; the window displays are usually in place until the middle of January but disappear quickly thereafter.
There is also a store un Madison Avenue in the 70s that does four or five windows with a theme, but I didn't get there this year. I draw a blank on the name.
Dec 13th, 2001, 02:39 PM
#13
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When I first came to NY to live, I wandered around a lot! spent many a day getting lost, having come from California, where I was used to driving everywhere,walking all over the city was so great! I still remember how many people gave me directions,talked to me about where I was from and generally made me feel good about being in NY.So, now, many years later, to read a visitors view of NYC, I remember my own enjoyment of one of this planets really great cities~Thank you Neal~Mia
Dec 13th, 2001, 05:03 PM
#14
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The Madison avenue store Neal is thinking of is probably Barneys at Madison and 61st. They usually do a very hip and irreverent set of windows, but this year they've gone for the gentler, but still amusing Rudy (Giuiliani) the reindeer. Worth a stop (and very close to FAO Schwarz, for those who are interested, which has a Barbie Nutcracker theme in the windows)
Dec 14th, 2001, 04:15 AM
#20
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Janie, maybe is it Barney's, though I remember the store as being farther up Madison in the 70s and on the west side of the street.
For anyone else who is taking notes, another "Christmas in New York" experience is window shopping Madison Avenue from 57th Street up into the 80s. Many of the stores, and especially the small ones, do marvelous window displays meant both to delight the passerby and entice them into the store.
For anyone else who is taking notes, another "Christmas in New York" experience is window shopping Madison Avenue from 57th Street up into the 80s. Many of the stores, and especially the small ones, do marvelous window displays meant both to delight the passerby and entice them into the store.
