Page 96 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New York City

94  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

r East Houston t Basilica of
Street St. Patrick’s
East Houston St. Map 4 F3, 5A3. Old Cathedral
q Second Ave. 263 Mulberry St. Map 4 F3.
Tel (212) 226-8075. q Prince St.
The dividing line between Open 8am–12:30pm & 3:30–6pm
the Lower East Side and the Thu–Tue. 5 8am & 12:10pm Mon–Fri;
East Village, East Houston 5:30pm Sat; 9:15am, 12:45pm & 7pm
between Forsyth and Ludlow Sun; Spanish: 11:30am Sun.
streets clearly demonstrates the ∑ oldcathedral.org
changing mix of old and new
in the area. Between Forsyth The first St. Patrick’s was con-
and Eldridge streets is the secrated in 1815, making this
Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery, one of the oldest churches in
a fixture since 1890, still with the city. When fire destroyed
its original showcases. Further the original in the 1860s, it was Stunning architecture of the New Museum
down the block is the Sunshine rebuilt much as it is today. When of Contemporary Art
Theater, constructed as a the archdiocese trans ferred the
Dutch Church in the 1840s see to the new St. Patrick’s includes an innovative Media
and later used as a boxing Cathedral uptown (see pp174–5), Lounge for digital art, video
arena and a Yiddish vaudeville Old St. Patrick’s became the installations, and sound works.
theater. Today it shows art films. local parish church, and it has The rotating collection at the
While much of the Jewish flourished despite a constantly New Museum, as it is more
flavor of the Lower East Side changing ethnic congregation. commonly known, features a
has disappeared, there are Below the church are vaults wide range of art, from large-
two survivors farther along containing the remains of, scale photographs of 1960s
East Houston. Russ and among others, one of New America to geometric abstracts.
Daughters is a culinary York’s most famous families of The museum show cases both
landmark, a third-generation restaurateurs, the Delmonicos. emerging and established
family business that began on Pierre Toussaint was also buried artists, including Mark Rothko
a pushcart, around 1907. At this here, but in 1990 his remains and Roy Lichtenstein.
location since 1920, the store were moved from the graveyard The striking seven-story
has seen its fortunes change beside the church to a more building, designed by Tokyo-
with the neighborhood. It is prestigious burial place in a based architects Sejima &
famed for traditional smoked crypt in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Nishizawa, is a notable addi tion
fish and herring, and has an Born a slave in Haiti in 1766, to this part of Manhattan. It rises
impressive stock of caviar. Toussaint was brought to New like a sculptural stack of glowing
At the corner of Ludlow York, where he lived as a free cubes and is the first art
Street is perhaps the best- man and became a prosperous museum to be built in down-
known and much-loved wig-maker. He was later devoted town Manhattan in over a century.
survivor, the bustling Katz’s to caring for the poor, tended It has 60,000 sq ft (5,574 sq m) of
Delicatessen (see p294), cholera victims, and used his exhibition space, a theater, store,
established in 1888 and still money to build an orphanage. café, and a rooftop terrace offer-
packing people in for pastrami ing stunning views of the city.
and corned beef sandwiches.
y New Museum of
Contemporary Art u 247365 Gallery
235 Bowery St. Map 4 E3. Tel (212) 57 Stanton St. Map 5 A3. Tel (212)
219-1222. q Spring St, Bowery. 995-5290. q Second Ave-Houston St.
Open 11am–6pm Wed–Sun (to 9pm Open noon–6pm Tue–Fri. 7 =
Thu). & free 7–9pm Thu. ^ 7 8 ∑ twentyfourseventhreesixtyfive.
Lectures, readings, music. = biz
∑ newmuseum.org
With psychedelic metal sculptures
Marcia Tucker left her post as the that give a foretaste of the pieces
Whitney Museum’s Curator of displayed inside, the entrance
Painting and Sculpture in 1977 to this gallery is hard to miss. It
to found this museum. Her aim is dedicated to showing emerging
was to exhibit the kind of work contemporary art in various
she felt was missing from more artistic disciplines, such as painting,
traditional museums. She created sculpture, photography, and video,
Beautiful interiors of the Basilica of one of New York’s most cutting- and works of artists such as Nick
St. Patrick's Old Cathedral edge exhibition spaces, which Payne, Bunny Rogers, and Jessie

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