As we know, there are many different types of holiday. Ski, scuba, spa, beach, cruise… whatever floats your boat. For a city break, few destinations can compete with New York. The gateway to the New World, its very skyline is a modern day icon, a real 21st century brand.
The beauty of Brand New York, though, is that unlike other brands that sell you a lifestyle, this one is a lifestyle. You don’t buy it, you live it. A New York holiday is one of the most visually stimulating and culturally enlightening experiences a city can offer. To say this town is picturesque is an understatement. The unique quality of light and colour in the air, even on cloudy days, is amazing.
We are as accustomed to images of New York – it’s buildings, bridges and monuments – as we are its stories, immortalised in the myriad pop songs and movies that celebrate ‘the city that never sleeps’. That said I couldn’t resist sharing a few of my own images with you. Check out this New York photo-essay from my recent trip.
Click to enlarge photos
Three hallmarks of the New York experience on show here: fire escapes, redbrick tenements and a crisp, blue sky. Around the city these wrought iron staircases are omnipresent and, while obviously intended to be practical rather than decorative, give New York its unmistakable – and beautiful – silhouette.
Manhattan’s skyscrapers are concentrated in two areas: Midtown (as seen here), and Downtown. This is because the bedrock is closer to the surface in these areas and can therefore accommodate foundations strong enough to support such tall structures.
Despite being an ultra modern urban metropolis, New York has nearly 600,000 trees lining its streets. Also notice the European-style design in the ornate gables of these apartment buildings.
Battery Park on the Hudson River waterfront affords stunning harbour views. Looking due southwest you’ll see the Statue of Liberty (centre left) and, on clear evenings, spectacular sunsets.
Liberty Island and sailboat. A right-of-passage for New York visitors is a trip on the Staten Island ferry. Amazingly, it’s free. Equally amazing are the views you will be witness to as you cross Upper Bay.
A city of striking contrasts. The juxtaposition of new and old architecture in New York points toward a city in perpetual flux, growing and evolving all the time. See here the Chrysler Building’s famous art-deco design between the towering glass monoliths that came to reflect the ambition and power of the American Dream, while the Victorian structures are comparatively modest but no less easy on the eye. Hard to imagine these photos were taken on the same day.
Midnight river reflections.
Times Square by night. It’s like Piccadilly Circus to the power of ten. Colour, energy and excitement delivered larger than life in that true American style.
Skaters take a break on the Lower East Side. Counter-cultures have over the years found the streets of New York to be a fertile breeding ground. Skateboarding, graffiti, fashion design and music sub-genres flourish here, following their Harlem jazz and Greenwich Village Beat-movement forebears.
The Empire State Building here pokes above Brooklyn warehouses where locals have devised a novel method of discarding their old shoes.
Brooklyn Bridge and Downtown as seen from the Williamsburg Bridge at sunset. New York’s network of bridges and tunnels totals over 2,000. Brooklyn Bridge is regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful and its elegant form has inspired a host of poets, musicians and filmmakers since its construction in 1883. Less romantic perhaps, but not without its own charms, the Williamsburg Bridge supports two rail lines, eight traffic lanes, cycle lanes and walkways and makes a superb vantage point for city and river views.
Deserted Brooklyn backstreets as a storm looms.
Photos courtesy of the author © Kenwood Travel
Scanning expertise courtesy of Ashita