Page 133 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New York City

CHELSEA AND THE GARMENT DISTRIC T  131

has a single spire. Knicks (basketball), Liberty
Although the brown- (women’s basketball), and New
stone facade on York Rangers (hockey) teams.
30th Street is dark It offers a packed calendar of
with city soot, many other events: rock concerts,
treasures lie within championship tennis and
this dull exterior. The boxing, outrageously staged
entrance is through wrestling, the Westminster
the modern Friary Kennel Club Dog Show, and
on 31st Street. more. There is also a 5,600-seat
The sanctuary by theater. Tours are available daily.
Napoleon Le Brun Despite extensive renovations,
is a marvel of Gothic Madison Square Garden lacks
arches in glowing the panache of its earlier
white marble sur- location, which combined
mounted by gilded a stunning Stanford White
capitals. Painted reliefs building with extravagant
of religious scenes line entertainment (see p122).
The nave of St. John the Baptist Church the walls; sunlight
streams through the
The eastern facade has a modern stained-glass windows. Also off
entrance but still bears the bay the Friary is the Prayer Garden,
windows and Corinthian pillars a small, green, and peaceful
of the 1902 design. The 34th oasis with religious statuary, a
Street facade even has its fountain, and stone benches.
original caryatids guarding the
entrance, along with the clock, 6 Madison Square
canopy, and lettering. Inside,
many of the early wooden Garden
escalators are still in good 4 Pennsylvania Plaza. Map 8 D2.
working order. Unsurprisingly, Tel (212) 465-6741. q 34th St-Penn
Macy’s is a designated National Station. Open Mon–Sun, times
Historic Landmark. vary according to shows. & See The massive interior of Madison
Macy’s sponsors New York’s Entertainment p346. 8 daily except Square Garden
renowned Thanksgiving Day during shows. ∑ thegarden.com
parade (see p54) and the Fourth 7 James A. Farley
of July fireworks (see p53). The There’s only one good thing
store’s popular Spring Flower to be said for the razing of the Post Office Building
Show draws thousands of visitors. extraordinarily lovely McKim, 421 8th Ave. Map 8 D2. Tel (800) ASK-
Mead & White Pennsylvania USPS. q 34th St-Penn Station.
5 St. John the Station building in favor of this Open 7am–10pm Mon–Fri, 9am–9pm
Baptist Church undistinguished 1968 complex: Sat, 11am–7pm Sun. See Practical
Information p371.
it so enraged city preserva-
210 W 31st St. Map 8 E3. Tel (212) tionists that they formed an
564-9070. q 34th St-Penn Station. alliance to ensure that such a Designed by McKim, Mead &
Open 6:15am–6pm daily. 5 8:45am, thing would never be allowed White in 1913, in a style to com-
10:30am & 5:15pm daily. 7 = to happen again. plement their 1910 Pennsylvania
Madison Square Garden itself, Station across the street, the
Founded in 1840 to serve a which sits atop under ground James A. Farley Post Office
congregation of newly arrived Pennsylvania Station, is a Building is a perfect example of
immigrants, today this small cylinder of precast concrete, a public building of the Beaux
Roman Catholic church is functional enough as a 20,000- Arts period. The imposing, two-
almost lost in the heart of seat, centrally located home for block-long structure has a broad
the Fur District. The exterior the NBA’s famous New York staircase leading to a facade
with 20 Corinthian columns
and a pavilion at each end. The
280-ft (85-m) inscription across
it is based on a description of
the Persian Empire’s postal
service, from around 520 BC:
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat
nor gloom of night stays these
couriers from the swift completion
The Corinthian colonnade of the James A. Farley Post Office Building of their appointed rounds.”

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