New York, New York

"Start spreading the news

I am leaving today

I want to be a part of it

New York, New York!"

                                                         ~ lyrics sung by Frank Sinatra

This song floated through my mind as my family packed up and left before dawn this morning for New York City.  Tim has a four-day business trip to the Big Apple so the kids and I are joining him.  We plan to squeeze into his hotel room and spend the next four days and three nights becoming acquainted with the largest city in the United States, home to more than 8 million people.  

Union Station in Washington, D.C.

We began our trip at Washington, D.C.'s Union Station where we caught the Northeast Regional Amtrak train to New York.  

Jillian and Richard enjoying their first Amtrak trip.

We rolled over to Baltimore, up through the Chesapeake watershed to Wilmington, Delaware, into Philadelphia, past Trenton and Newark in New Jersey before arriving in NYC's Penn Station which, we discovered, lies underneath Madison Square Garden.  

Penn Station in New York City

Once considered one of the jewels of the city, the original Penn Station, built in Beaux Arts style, was demolished in 1964 to be replaced by the sports coliseum.  Our son Richard was thrilled to climb up from the station to see Madison Square Garden looming above, but I had to agree with Yale architectural historian, Vincent Scully, who once lamented, "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat."  

New York Subway Station at 50th Street

Dropping our bags into the keeping of the bellhop at our hotel, we hustled into the labyrinth that is the New York subway system.  Our destination was Battery Park in Lower Manhattan where we planned to catch the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  Luckily for us, we had a sunny, albeit brisk day, to spend on the harbor!  

Lower Manhattan as seen from the rooftop of the ferry.

The ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty afforded us a grand view of Lower Manhattan's skyline.  Notice the new Freedom Tower, the second building on the left in the photo above. This skyscraper is rising on the site of the former World Trade Center.  Plans call for it to become America's tallest building, rising to a projected and symbolic height of 1,776 feet when it is completed next year.

Cindy, Richard and Jillian

Arriving at Liberty Island, we paid our respects to the Lady, a gift of friendship from France to commemorate our country's 100th birthday and dedicated in 1886. The statue was closed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks for security reasons, but its pedestal reopened in 2004 while the public could once again re-enter the statue in 2009.  However, we found the statue closed since October 29, 2011 for this year will see the installation of a new secondary stairway and other safety features. 

Jillian, Tim and Richard

We learned the symbolism behind Lady Liberty's crown; the seven rays suggest the seven continents and the seven seas.  Even more importantly, her torch and flame symbolize truth and justice enlightening the world.  Goosebumps erupted when we read Emma Lazarus' poem, "The New Colossus:"

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles.  From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips.  "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Freedom Tower already looks higher than its neighbors in this view of Lower Manhattan.

Catching the ferry once again, we set our course for Ellis Island where we planned to search for our immigrant forefathers. 

Ellis Island

From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through the portal of Ellis Island.  Prior to 1890, individual states regulated immigration into the country.  

Registry Room in the Main Building on Ellis Island

During the flood of immigration that occurred at the turn of the 20th century, Ellis Island was filled beyond its capacity. 

Ellis Island's Main Building had waiting rooms that converted to dormitories at night.

Two long, narrow waiting rooms flanked the Main Building's second floor balcony.  Triple-tiered bunk beds were suspended by chains to accommodate 300 adults.  In the morning, the bunk beds were raised, converting the dormitories back into waiting rooms.

We wanted to find out whether members of our families had ever walked its halls before us so we photographed possible family members on the Wall of Honor outside the Main Building.  Tim believes that the Jacobson family emigrated to the U.S. from Denmark, changing the -sen ending of the family name to -son.  My maiden name was McClure; my family has a tradition of naming their sons John or Jon.

After its closing in 1954, Ellis Island was abandoned and fell into disrepair.  President Lyndon B. Johnson declared it part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965.  The island was open on a limited basis to visitors from 1976 to 1984.  However, it wasn't until 1984 that a major $160 million rejuvenation of Ellis Island was undertaken.  Today we found it to be a shining jewel of the National Park system.  

However, this wasn't the only shining jewel we found today. 

Returning to Manhattan hungry, we stopped for dinner at Virgil's BBQ.

There, the plates are piled high with chunks of succulent pork, swimming in spicy sauce.  After dinner, finding that we needed to walk off our overindulgence and wanting to immerse ourselves in the city that never sleeps, we followed the lyrics of Frank Sinatra's song.

"These vagabond shoes

They are longing to stray

Right through the very heart of it

New York, New York!"

We strolled up 5th Avenue to the Rockefeller Center, stopping to gasp in awe at the holiday windows in the department stores along the way.

Saks 5th Avenue

Saks 5th Avenue had a light show projected against its facade.

Rockefeller Center

In Rockefeller Center, we found this year's Norway spruce, 74-feet high and loaded with lights, to be the perfect photo op. 

We stopped for a time to watch the skaters on the ice rink below.

...and passed Radio City Music Hall along our way. 

We felt we had entered into a part of the shining holiday season of New York City.   We headed back to our hotel, singing...

"I want to wake up in that city

That doesn't sleep

And find I'm king of the hill

Top of the heap!

My little town blues

They are melting away

I'm gonna make a brand new start of it

In old New York.

If I can make it there

I'll make it anywhere

It's up to you

New York, New York!"