East Coast Whirlwind, Pt. 2: Inside the Walker

My room at the Walker Hotel was perfection. The styling was right up my alley, clean, and well appointed.



The desk had the usual assortment of pay-per-snacks:



However, I lovely little bottle of wine and a bag of cookies (along with bottles of plain and sparkling water) were thrown in for good measure. The bag of cookies is missing from the photo; they were devoured before I got the camera out. And they were GOOOOOOOOOOOD…



The view from the room had the Empire State Building in the foreground.



With a 600mm lens, the view becomes more impressive:



The faux rotary dial phone would have gone home with me if I still had a landline.



The lobby had beautiful floral displays, appropriately themed to the fall season:





A new (to me) discovery this trip was the nearby Union Square:



The park area included monuments to George Washington:



Abraham Lincoln:



The Marquis de Lafayette:



…and a drinking fountain, known as The James Fountain, after philanthropist Daniel Willis James and Theodore Roosevelt Sr. who donated this piece sculpted by Karl Adolph Donndorf and designed by J. Leonard Corning. The fountain is now a decorative planter, surrounded by potheads. Don’t get too close if you don’t want to get high.



Live music abounded:







This gigantic art installation represents a metronome, which was a standard part of my childhood piano lessons. Created by Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel in 1999, apparently it periodically releases a plume of steam. In case you miss that, you could always view the exhalings of the Union Square inhabitants. The large rock-like formation at lower left is a bronze hand cast from the George Washington monument in the square.



Stay tuned for part 3!

See more Walker Hotel photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley's Fridge

Refrigerators did not become a common household appliance until the 1928 introduction of freon, which helped prices drop to a more affordable level. In the 1934 photo above, Shirley practices a step with choreographer Jack Donohue in her Fox Bungalow for the publicity cameras. In the background at left, you can see a refrigerator. The below image gives a better view of the appliance, but unfortunately not a great view of its contents.



Although I can’t vouch for the brand of fridge in Shirley’s bungalow, for the movie “Bright Eyes,” General Electric promoted the kitchen set which used their appliances, including the fridge, range, and dishwasher.



Here’s an alternate shot of the GE endorsement series that Shirley posed for:



Lois Wilson and Shirley in a scene from “Bright Eyes,” where the GE appliances were featured:



Apparently little Shirley and her family were not necessarily brand loyal. Below is a publicity photo of Shirley hawking Norge appliances, which also included washing machines and stoves.



Shirley Temple in her portable 20th Century-Fox trailer between takes of “Little Miss Broadway” (1938), enjoying a sandwich and a cold glass of milk from her little icebox:



In the Temple home, located in the wealthy Brentwood neighborhood, the kitchen had a Norge fridge! This previously posted 1940s image of Shirley has her releasing a sunshine cake from its pan:



Yup, it’s Norge!



This online image from March 1944 gives a glimpse of the contents of the Temple fridge. Spiral ham, olives, and only God knows what else.



In 1965, Shirley and her family lived in Atherton. Below, she proudly poses with her son, Charlie.



Let’s take a look at what’s in Shirley’s kitchen!



On the countertop we see Bisquick. I won’t show this photo to my Mom; Bisquick was akin to a curse word, as she made everything from scratch. I mean EVERY THING! Pancakes, biscuits, waffles…no mixes allowed!



Somebody in Shirley’s home had a thirst for beer. The king-size Budweiser near her left hand is getting nice and frosty for…? On the door are what appear to be a few cans of Libby’s tomato juice. Her right hand seems to be pulling out a box with…? Shirley did have a taste for decadent chocolate cake; perhaps that’s what was inside.



Rounding out today’s post is a beautiful color image, also taken during the same time period at Shirley’s Atherton home. Her hairdo is an aerosol delight!



See more Shirley Temple at home photos at my main website.

East Coast Whirlwind, Pt. 1: The Walker Hotel

Ever since the pandemic, my flying days pretty much grounded to a halt. It’s generally been a pain in the arse, more expensive, and quite frankly at this stage in my life I am happiest being at home. However…it was time to visit Mom again. Southwest Airlines pulled through this time and rated a glowing report card. Despite connecting flights coming and going (which can often lead to disaster), I am happy to say that they were on time for each one. AND baggage claim was quick and easy, too.  Ignore the American Airlines building at LaGuardia; I was on a Southwest flight!



Once off the plane, I was greeted by the “I Love NY” logo at LaGuardia.



The colored panels with quotes from and about NYC’s 100th mayor, Fiorella LaGuardia, were beautiful to see as I briskly walked to the transportation pickup area. They aren’t actually stained glass, but rather 3M scotch all clear vinyl window graphics installed by Color-X and designed by Sabine Horning.



Traffic was a bit dicey as you would expect on a weekday around lunchtime in NYC, but I finally made it to my destination, The Walker Hotel in Greenwich Village.



It was just the right kind of refurbed historic boutique hotel that I dig.



I was hoping to run into Karen Walker when I checked in, but no such luck.



Stepping down the stairs, the lobby area did not disappoint. Plenty of couches and nooks and crannies for relaxing.



Since my room wasn’t ready yet (I had taken the red eye and arrived early), I had a delish lunch at the hotel restaurant.



Once done, I took my camera and ventured out in the hood, despite the mix of cloudy skies, sprinkles, and short downpours of rain. The Jefferson Market Library stood out like something out of a gothic novel.





Edited from the New York Public Library website:

Originally a courthouse, the Jefferson Market Library has served the Greenwich Village community for over thirty years. The building, a New York City landmark, was designed by architects Frederick Clark Withers and Calvert Vaux (who also assisted in the design of Central Park) in a Victorian Gothic style. It was erected (along with an adjacent prison and market) during the years 1875-1877 and cost the city almost $360,000. What the city got for its money, in addition to an architectural gem (it was voted one of the ten most beautiful buildings in America by a poll of architects in the 1880s) was a civil court (on the second floor, where the Adult Reading Room is now) and a police court (now the first-floor Children's Room). The beautiful brick-arched basement (now the Reference Room) was used as a holding area for prisoners on their way to jail or trial. By 1945, through redistricting, court was no longer held at Jefferson Market, and the building was taken over by various agencies.



By 1959, the building had become home only to pigeons and rats and was considered such an architectural eyesore the city planned to knock it down and erect an apartment building. But Village community members, led by Margot Gayle and Philip Wittenberg, and including Lewis Mumford, E.E. Cummings (who lived across the street in Patchin Place) and actor Maurice Evans, rallied to save the building from the wrecking ball. In 1961, Mayor Robert F. Wagner announced that it would be preserved and converted into a public library. Construction began in 1965 and the library opened for business in 1967. Among the first of its visitors was the poet Marianne Moore, who had at one time worked for the Hudson Park Branch Library. She found the renovation very pleasing indeed.

Next time I visit, I need to venture inside. Instead, I wandered through the adjacent Jefferson Market Garden.





The plants looked beautiful and the rain that cascaded down made everything look extra green and lush.







This fella had obviously been there for quite some time.



I saw Empire Cake along the way and my sweet tooth was activated.



The inside was bright and welcoming.



So were some of the interesting cakes and other goodies.



There were so many choices, but I finally settled on a Red Velvet Snack Cake. It was a VERY good choice. From the description: Red velvet cake filled with cream cheese frosting and dipped in Belgian white chocolate. OMG it was so good.



I might have also gotten a carrot cake cupcake and I might have also thoroughly enjoyed that, too. Not long after devouring my treats, I got notification that my room was ready, and that’s where I will leave this installment of my East Coast trip.



See more New York City Walker Hotel photos at my main website.