Category Archives: Landmarks & History

14th St: The Theater of the Everyday (1st to 3rd Aves)

This gallery contains 11 photos.

The boundary between Alphabet City and the rest of Manhattan is strikingly obvious. Suddenly the streets and sidewalks become thronged with cars, cyclists and people – commuters rallying to start a new work day. Between 1st and 3rd Avenues, there … Continue reading

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14th St: Border Politics (Avenue C to 1st)

This gallery contains 7 photos.

North of 14th Street sits one of the most iconic and architecturally imposing private housing projects in New York City – Stuyvesant Town. Named after Peter Stuyvesant, the last Director-General of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, the complex opened … Continue reading

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Manhattan in 12 Streets: 14th St – State of the Union, or Swinging Both Ways

This gallery contains 3 photos.

14th Street is an intriguingly in-between kind of street in New York.  For starters, 14th Street plays host to the L train – one of the few subway lines that cuts across Manhattan rather than along, and which shuttles New … Continue reading

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Divine Light – San Agustin Church, Manila

This gallery contains 10 photos.

The Church of San Agustin (St Augustine), located within Intramuros, is the oldest standing church in the Philippines. Erected in 1607, it managed to survive eight major earthquakes in Manila over the course of three centuries, and was the only … Continue reading

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The Manila Hotel, Manila

This gallery contains 12 photos.

A Grand American Hotel Manila features on my Grand Tour because of the Manila Hotel, which, in its heyday in the early 19th century, was considered one of the three best hotels in the East, together with the Raffles in … Continue reading

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The Grand Tour II – Fabled Opulence… Manila, the Philippines

This gallery contains 8 photos.

“It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.” Jose Rizal, Noli Me Tangere Of Martyrdom and Making-Do It was … Continue reading

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30th St – Bellevue, 2231 A.D. (2nd Ave to FDR Drive)

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Crossing the street at 2nd Avenue from the verdant oasis of Rose Hill into the stark modernism of Kips Bay is rather daunting. This vast area on the eastern waterfront of Manhattan is the culmination and highlight of the 30th … Continue reading

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30th St – Boston, 1775 A.D. (Madison to 2nd Ave)

This gallery contains 13 photos.

Between Madison and 2nd Avenue sits a slice of colonial Boston, like you’ve never seen before, cobbled together with a diversity of architectural styles from the old world: English, Dutch, Italianate, French.  Here are some of the most beautiful and … Continue reading

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30th St – Babel, 600 B.C. (7th to Madison Aves)

This gallery contains 13 photos.

In the Book of Genesis, Babel plays host to the infamous tower that was built by the city’s inhabitants to challenge the might of Jehovah.  For their presumption, the deity confounded the language of all peoples on earth. Here in … Continue reading

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30th St – Alexandria, 482 A.D. (8th to 6th Aves)

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Between 8th and 6th Avenues, one steps into a landscape straight out of mediaeval Alexandria, a wealthy and powerful Greco-Byzantine city on the Mediterranean. Here on these two blocks is concentrated some of the most exquisite art deco buildings on … Continue reading

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