Madison Square Park

This week I decided to take advantage of Saturday's perfect weather and dedicate all the posts to a few choice Manhattan parks. Enjoy!

While stunning in its own right, it seems that Madison Square Park isn't so much defined by what's in it than by what's around it. Though certainly not as densely-packed with skyscrapers as the financial district or midtown, the number of iconic buildings which surround this humble 7-acre patch of grass is rather startling.

While the Flatiron building on the southwest corner may the best most famous amongst visitors, many locals more closely associate the park with the Met Life Tower & its massive (26.5 ft. in diameter) clock faces.  After being renovated in 1964, much of the original ornate renaissance-inspired detailing was removed or covered up by a new limestone facade. If you look at old photos of the tower you can see there seems to be a bit more going on than what we see today. In recent years it's been particularly well-known for being illuminated at night in a manner similar to the Empire State Building.

Also visible from the park are the New York Life Building – something that's hard to miss thanks to its gilded top – as well as the brand new One Madison Park, a sleek and slender condo development which rivals the Met Life Tower in height, but not elegance. Regardless what one may think of the new building, it undoubtedly continues the trend of bringing unique architecture to Madison Square.

The Park itself is usually rather serene with the exception of Shake Shack, which would have a line running down 23rd Street at 4 in the morning on a Tuesday in December if only it were open that late...or in the winter for that matter. However, the day I picked to visit also happened to be the Sikh Cultural Street Festival - so the park was overflowing with energy and colorful garments. Unfortunately for the hundreds (or thousands) who had gathered, the park had yet to open its large center lawn which forced everyone to the crowded pathways.

The park is well-known for hosting different art projects each year wich range from simple and sculptural to more conceptual; such as this year's Event Horizon installation. Event Horizon consists of 31 life-sized figures designed by Antony Gormley which sit around the neighborhood and on top of many buildings near the park. If you look closely you can see the figures staring down at you from above. It's like a big neighborhood-wide easter egg hunt.

While beautifully landscaped (originally by William Grant and Ignatz Pilat- who has ties to Olmstead who was responsible for Central Park), the park still feels rather bland in comparison to other green space around the city. Overall it simply feels flat and predictable. Whereas other parks – such as Carl Schurz Park, which I talked about yesterday – lend themselves to a sense of discovery and unrestrained nature, Madison Square Park feels like an afterthought with a few pathways brought in for good measure.

25th St Between 8th Ave and 9th Ave

Cutting through the heart of the Penn South Cooperative housing project, this part of 25th Street feels utterly removed from the city. With long walkways leading to the various, towering buildings, the views here seem almost alien. Further down the block, The McCarton School returns some of the New York Character, but only briefly.

The avenues that flank this street are rather different from each other. While 8th Avenue has a few quainter buildings which almost makes it feel like the West Village, 9th Avenue is home to more old tenements – which at least feel at-home in the neighborhood. Meanwhile the terrifying London Terrace Gardens sit looming in the distance, as if staking ownership on the entire neighborhood.

31st St Between 9th Ave and 8th Ave

This is a street of extremes. On one side you have a handful of utterly unremarkable structures, while on the other you have the imposing, history, and record-breaking James Farley Post Office building. Taking up two entire blocks, the city's largest post office claims to have one of the longest rows of Corinthian colonnade in the world – though I've found some sources that claim otherwise. Either way, it's an impressive building. Built by the same architects who designed the original Penn Station, which sat across 8th Avenue, it was intended to be as imposing and beautiful as the original train station. Now days, it isn't even a contest as it faces the utterly pathetic Madison Square Garden. 

While the 8th Avenue facade is the most visible and impressive front of the landmark, the longer sides which sit between this street and 33rd are something to behold. While the western side of the building is lined with loading docks, as you move eastward, it's taken over by an impressively strange dry moat, which acts as a barrier between the sidewalk and the building. I wasn't able to get a good shot of it, but Wikipedia has a nice view from 33rd St. 

The southern half of the block wouldn't even pass as impressive on a block without an 8-acre masterpiece facing it. So you'll pardon me if I didn't pay it much bother as I walked around here.

23rd St Between 7th Ave and 6th Ave

Situated in the heart of Chelsea, this stretch of 23rd Street has a rich combination of different storefronts, apartments, restaurants and bars. Though not as nice as some of the surrounding streets, if only because of the crowds and traffic, there's still a rather relaxing air here.

The 7th Avenue site starts off with a handful of eateries including Chelsea Papaya and the (seemingly new, and brilliantly-named) Wrapido. A Dominos pizza and a Garden of Eden gourmet grocery sit at-odds with each other on the southern half of the street, while Monster Sushi sits one door away. Further down the street, technology-oriented shops take hold with Tekserve and BestBuy both sitting near 6th Avenue. 

8th Ave Between 28th St and 26th St

It may have been the weather, or the time of day, but an overwhelming wave of depression and apathy overcame me as I walked down this block – and I'm not necessarily inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. With towering public housing to the west and short tenement apartments to the east, you're able to experience low-income housing spanning five decades. 

Just block from Madison Square Garden, I can't imagine the proximity is a good selling point for many rental agents in the area. I can say that I like the curvy detour that 28th Street takes as it meanders its way through the megablock. The bubbled dome of the Midtown Tennis Club sits atop a Gristedes, a building which also holds the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. In addition to the large FIT building, which also takes over a street, there's a handful of other shops that line the block.

16th St Between 8th Ave and 7th Ave

Surrounded by new and old buildings, this block still has a lot of the energy found on 14th Street two blocks to the south. Though not as crowded, the combination of apartments and restaurants lends a nice variety to what would normally be a very sleepy street.

While some of the architecture is a bit bland and predictable, there are a few standout examples which, depending on the side of the street you're standing on, could be a bit obscured by inconvenient perspective. Both 8th and 7th Avenues are a bit strange. While both are crowded and full of back-to-back retail, they have rather different personalities, and are especially different from 5th Avenue just a few steps away.