East Coast Whirlwind, Pt. 3

Part three begins at a little neighborhood Italian restaurant I found down the street from the Walker Hotel, Da Andrea Ristorante.



Just the kind of local “joint” that is the best part of travel for me - stumbling onto a cool place that is not part of a predictable national chain.



The beet salad:



I stayed with my usual and got the bolognese:



Dessert was a Tortino di Cioccolato (chocolate cake, salted caramel ice cream). In any language, it was yum.



Before hitting the pillow, I took a nighttime shot of the Empire State Building from my window:



The next morning was all sunshine; literally! I ventured out into the Village again, and reshot a few photos of the Jefferson Market Library without any interference from the gray clouds and rain. Much better!



Another great find was this Seinfeld-esque diner, The Waverly Restaurant.





Inside was festively decorated for the season:



The waffles and bacon were diner perfection.



The one disappointment was that I didn't get to see (and photograph) this sign at night. Always something for the “to do list.”



Downing Street Playground was a beautiful little space with plenty of shade trees:



An Armillary Sundial was at the center of the playground:



Gemini was looking good.



If I ever decide to move to New York, I would be sure to contact the Wizard of Moving.



ClairVoyant was closed; guess she didn’t know I was coming. Some psychic.



Nearby is the apartment made famous by Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in “Sex and the City”:



It still looked good, but the owners have definitely made it less accessible to fans since I first saw it in 2005:



The address is 66 Perry Street; is the 1866 plaque on the right to fool gawking fans? It didn’t seem to do any good while I was there, as a crowd was gathered at the foot of the steps.



Magnolia Bakery, also made famous by SATC.



The cupcakes were ok, but I never thought they were worth the hype. The candy corn cake in the window looked fun, though!



At the nearby Bleecker Playground I saw The Family Monument, a bronze sculpture by Chaim Gross.



This wall decor looked like it had come straight out of the French Quarter:



The Halloween tableaus were impressive:



Last one for my journey around the Village is of Squad Company 18, built in 1892.



Still plenty more to come! See more New York City photos at my main website.

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.