BGuthrie Photos: NY -- NYC -- Bryant Park

NY -- NYC -- Bryant Park:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. BRYANT_180815_001.JPG: The Restoration of Bryant Park (1980-1992)
2. BRYANT_180815_007.JPG: The Crystal Palace "... beautiful beyond description" – Mark Twain By the early 1850s New York had grown to sufficient size and prominence that the city decided to host a major exhibition similar to London's Great Exhibition of 1851. The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations – a world's fair precursor – opened July 14, 1853 in a still sparsely developed part of the city. Fortieth and Forty-second Streets bounded the four-acre site immediately west of the Croton Distributing Reservoir, today's Bryant Park. To house the exhibition, Georg Carstensen, and Charles Gildemeister designed a remarkable iron-and-glass structure, much like an enormous greenhouse. The building was inspired by the one built in London for its exhibition two years earlier, also called the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace was one of the largest and most sophisticated designs that had ever been built in America. Octagonal in plan, it was surmounted by a soaring 123-foot-high dome, and inspired American architects and builders with the possibilities of iron construction. The exhibition hall comprised fifteen thousand panels of glass. Four thousand exhibitors filled the hall with the industrial wares, consumer goods, and art works of the nation. Elisha Graves Otis, a young inventor and entrepreneur, staged one of the most dramatic of the exhibits. Otis had been promoting his steam-powered elevators, but what, people wondered, would happen should the cable break? To allay such fears, he invented the automatic safety brake – but he had to demonstrate the invention. Otis erected a high platform connected to one of his elevators. He himself got in the cab, and cut the cable. As the cab fell, his new spring-leaf safety brake was successfully activated. A prominent New York merchant of china and glassware, who may have witnessed Otis's demonstration at the fair, ordered and installed the invention in his new store at Broadway and Broome Street. The safety elevator in the Haughwout Building, completed in 1857 (and still standing), was the first in the world to be installed in a commercial building. The exhibition set off one of the first major tourism booms in New York, and many hotels were built. One visitor was seventeen-year-old Samuel Langhorne Clemens of Hannibal, Missouri. Later, as Mark Twain, he wrote that the Crystal Place was "beautiful beyond description," and marveled that the six thousand daily visitors to the exhibition were double the population of his hometown. Over one million people visited the Crystal Palace Exhibition before it closed on November 1, 1854. Despite its popularity, exhibition sponsors lost $300,000. After the fair, the structure, believed to be fireproof, was leased for a variety of purposes. On October 5, 1858, in a spectacular blaze it burned to the ground. Remarkably, no lives were lost.
3. BRYANT_180815_012.JPG: The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations opened in 1853
4. BRYANT_180815_015.JPG: The teenager who grew up to be Mark Twain
5. BRYANT_180815_019.JPG: No lives were lost when the Crystal Palace blazed in 1858
6. BRYANT_180815_044.JPG: William Earle Dodge William E. Dodge From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Earl Dodge Sr. (September 4, 1805 – February 9, 1883) was a New York businessman, referred to as one of the "Merchant Princes" of Wall Street in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Dodge saw slavery as an evil to be peaceably removed, but not to be interfered with where it existed. He was a Native American rights activist and served as the president of the National Temperance Society from 1865 to 1883. Dodge represented New York's 8th congressional district in the United States Congress for a portion of the 39th United States Congress in 1866-1867 and was a founding member of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).
7. BRYANT_180815_050.JPG: Bryant Park Bathroom Manhattan, New York The fanciest public restroom in New York City boasts fresh flowers, art, and a classical music soundtrack. Think of public bathrooms, and the mind conjures images of grimy walls, wet floors, and stinky, dirty toilets. But you won’t find any of those features in this Beaux-Arts building, which hides a rare restroom oasis. The building is home to what may be the most luxurious public bathroom in all of New York City. Funded by private donors, these tiny toilets (with only two stalls for men and three for women) offer those with full bladders an unusually pleasant public bathroom experience. Guests are greeted by fresh flowers, paintings of the park made by artists-in-residence, and even bathroom attendants, all set to a background of curated classical music. Large frosted glass windows let light gently spill into the space. The toilets, sinks, and other fixtures are the same luxury brand used at the MoMA. The building, which is a historic landmark, underwent a roughly $300,000 renovation in 2017. It’s clear the donors weren’t flushing funds down the toilet, as pedestrians seem to appreciate the upscale commode. It’s been said that park employees are regularly sent to scout out bathrooms in the Waldorf Astoria, the Plaza, the St. Regis, and other luxury locations to scope out the competition. Anyone with a taste for luxury is free to make use of the toilets, though be forewarned, lines to get in can be pretty long. Know Before You Go Bathroom attendants don't accept tips. The bathroom is wheelchair accessible. The above was from https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bryant-park-bathroom
8. BRYANT_180815_053.JPG: Love our restroom? VOTE! This bathroom is a finalist for the national Cintas America's Best Restroom contest. Visit bryantpark.org/restroom and vote for Bryant Park!
9. BRYANT_180815_083.JPG: William Cullen Bryant 1794-1878 Yet let no empty gust Of passion find an utterance in they lay, A blast that whirls the dust Along the howling street and dies away; But feelings of calm power and mighty sweep, Like currents journeying through the windless deep.
10. BRYANT_180815_101.JPG: Gertrude Stein 1874-1946 by Jo Davidson, 1923 Bronze cast 1991
11. BRYANT_180815_109.JPG: Wendell L. Willkie 1892-1944 "I believe in America because in it we are free -- free to choose our government to speak our minds to observe our different religions." Erected by Freedom House February 18, 1957
12. BRYANT_180815_113.JPG: Paul Fuelde, Sc.
13. BRYANT_180815_125.JPG: Nicola Tesla Corner
Wikipedia Description: Bryant Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bryant Park is a 9.603-acre (38,860 m2) privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Although technically the Main Branch of the New York Public Library is located within the park, effectively it forms the park's functional eastern boundary, making Sixth Avenue the park's primary entrance. Bryant Park is located entirely over an underground structure that houses the library's stacks, which were built in the 1980s when the park was closed to the public and excavated; the new library facilities were built below ground level while the park was restored above it.

Even though it is part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Bryant Park is managed by the private not-for-profit corporation Bryant Park Corporation. The park is cited as a model for the success of public-private partnerships.

History

Early history

In 1686, when the area was still a wilderness, New York's colonial governor, Thomas Dongan, designated the area now known as Bryant Park as a public space. George Washington's troops crossed the area while retreating from the Battle of Long Island in 1776. Beginning in 1823, Bryant Park was designated a potter's field (a graveyard for the poor) and remained so until 1840, when thousands of bodies were moved to Wards Island.

The first park at this site opened in 1847 as Reservoir Square. It was named after its neighbor, the Croton Distributing Reservoir. In 1853, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations with the New York Crystal Palace, featuring thousands of exhibitors, took place in the park. The square was used for military drills during the American Civil War, and was the site of some of the New York City draft riots of July 1863, when the Colored Orphan Asylum at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street was burned down.

In 1884, Reservoir Square was renamed Bryant Park, to honor the New York Evening Post editor and abolitionist William Cullen Bryant. In 1899, the Reservoir structure was removed and construction of the New York Public Library building began. Terrace gardens, public facilities, and kiosks were added to the park.

Deterioration

The construction of the Sixth Avenue Elevated railway in 1878 cast both literal and metaphorical shadows over the park, and by the 1930s, the park was suffering from neglect and was considered disreputable. The park was redesigned in 1933–4 as a Great Depression public works project under the leadership of Robert Moses. The new park featured a great lawn, and added hedges and later an iron fence to separate the park from the surrounding city streets. The park was temporarily degraded in the late 1930s by the tearing down of the El and the construction of the New York City Subway's underground Sixth Avenue line.

On October 15, 1969, a rally attended by 40,000 people was held in Bryant Park as part of the nationwide Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam. Speakers at that event were John Lindsay, Eugene McCarthy, William Sloane Coffin, Woody Allen, Dick Cavett, Ben Gazzara, Helen Hayes, Rod McKuen, Shirley MacLaine, Tony Randall, Eli Wallach; among the musical performers were Judy Collins, Peter, Paul and Mary and the Broadway cast of the musical Hair. Tony Conrad captured the event live from the window of his 42nd Street apartment and published the recording on the album Bryant Park Moratorium Rally.

By the 1970s, Bryant Park had been taken over by drug dealers, prostitutes and the homeless and was considered a no-go area by ordinary citizens and visitors. From 1979 to 1983, a coordinated program of amenities, including book and flower markets, cafes, landscape improvements, and entertainment activities, was initiated by a parks advocacy group called the Parks Council and immediately brought new life to the park—an effort continued over the succeeding years by The Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, which had been founded in 1980 by a group of prominent New Yorkers, including members of the Rockefeller family, to improve conditions in the park. In 1988, a privately funded re-design and restoration was begun by the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation under the leadership of Dan Biederman, with the goal of opening up the park to the streets and encouraging activity within it. The re-design was drafted by Hanna/Olin Ltd. and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates.

Bryant Park Restoration Corporation and renovation

The Bryant Park Restoration Corporation was founded in 1980 by Dan Biederman and Andrew Heiskell, chairman of Time Inc. and the New York Public Library. The BPRC immediately brought significant changes that made the park once again a place that people wanted to visit. Biederman, a proponent of the "Broken Windows Theory" expounded by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in a seminal 1982 article in Atlantic Monthly, instituted a rigorous program to clean the park, remove graffiti and repair the broken physical plant. BPRC also created a private security staff to confront unlawful behavior immediately.

After initial successes, BPRC closed the park in 1988 to undertake a four-year project to build new park entrances with increased visibility from the street, to enhance the formal French garden design – with a lush redesign by Lynden Miller – and to improve and repair paths and lighting. BPRC’s plan also included restoring of the park’s monuments, and renovating its long-closed restrooms, and building two restaurant pavilions and four concession kiosks. In the effort, Biederman worked with William H. Whyte, an American sociologist and a distinguished observer of public space. Whyte’s influence led them to implement two decisions essential to making the park the successful public space that it is. First, they insisted on placing movable chairs in the park, as per Whyte's long-standing belief that movable chairs give people a sense of empowerment, allowing them to sit wherever and in whatever orientation they desire. The second decision was to lower the park itself, because Bryant Park had been elevated from the street and isolated by tall hedges prior to the 1988 redesign, a design conducive to illegal activity. The 1988 renovation lowered the park to nearly street level and tore out the hedges. The park's restrooms, which had been closed for 35 years, were renovated as well.

After a four-year effort, the park reopened in 1992 to widespread acclaim. Deemed "a triumph for many" by The New York Times architectural critic Paul Goldberger, the renovation was lauded not only for its architectural excellence, but also for adhering to Whyte's vision. According to Goldberger, Biederman "understood that the problem of Bryant Park was its perception as an enclosure cut off from the city; he knew that, paradoxically, people feel safer when not cut off from the city, and that they feel safer in the kind of public space they think they have some control over." The renovation was lauded as "The Best Example of Urban Renewal" by the magazine New York, and was described by Time as a "small miracle". Many awards followed, including a Design Merit Award from Landscape Architecture Magazine, which noted that the park was "colorful and comfortable....and safe". In 1996, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) honored BPC with an Award for Excellence. ULI remarked that the renovation "turned a disaster into an asset, dramatically improved the neighborhood, and pushed up office rents and occupancy rates."

Revival and current status

Bryant Park is one of the signature examples of New York City's revival in the 1990s. With a low crime rate, the park is filled with office workers on sunny weekdays, city visitors on the weekends, and revelers during the holidays. Daily attendance counts often exceed 800 people per acre, making it the most densely occupied urban park in the world. A New York Times article in 1995 referred to the park as the "Town Square of Midtown" and an "office oasis" frequented by midtown office workers. The park has been extolled for its relative calmness and cleanness.

With security largely in the hands of the BPRC, corporate control of the park has meant that amenities catering to white-collar professionals have been encouraged, while those that might cater to a broader urban public have been notably absent. In the early 2000s, the BPRC added a custom-built carousel and revived the tradition of an open-air library, The Reading Room, which also hosts literary events. The Bryant Park Grill and Bryant Park Cafe have become popular after-work spots, and 'wichcraft, the sandwich chain owned by Tom Colicchio, operates four kiosks on the park's west end. In the 40th Street plaza of the park, there is a station called Bryant Park Games where visitors can play an array of games, including Chinese chess and quoits. In the summer of 2002, the park launched the free Bryant Park Wireless Network, making the park the first in New York City to offer free Wi-Fi access to visitors; improvements in 2008 significantly increased the number of users who could log on at a given time. The Pond, a free-admission ice skating rink, opened in the park in 2005. The park's widely praised public restrooms provide New Yorkers with luxurious public facilities open to everyone, a rare commodity in the city; a subsequent renovation solidified their status as, in the words of then-New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, "the gold standard for park comfort stations."

The dramatic rise in real estate values in the area around the Bryant Park, as well as new construction in adjacent areas, is a consequence of the park's improvements. Increasingly, buildings and businesses in the park's vicinity are also referring to the park in their names. These trends, first noted in 2003, is shown by the new Bank of America Tower skyscraper, which is also called "One Bryant Park", at the northwest corner of the park. It is also shown by the decision of the National Public Radio, located just south of the park, to name a talk show the "Bryant Park Project" upon the show's 2007 launch. Such enthusiasm to appropriate the Bryant Park name would have been nonexistent in the 1980s, when the area was described as "the Wild West".

In 2013, two statues by architect Antonio Saracino were commissioned as the public art project The Guardians: Hero and Superhero, depicting civic heroes. The 13-foot-high statues – one marble and the other stainless steel – are at the north and south entrance of the public plaza at Bryant Park. "The Guardians: Superhero" was commissioned by Three Bryant Park, while "The Guardians: Hero," widely inspired by Michelangelo’s "David", was a gift from the Italian government and Eni to New York to "celebrate friendship with the United States."
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