May 29, 2026
Bob had planned a weekend birding trip to southern Arizona, and it dawned on me that I could ALSO plan a trip by myself. Where did I want to go? No problem there! New York City to visit our youngest son!
With not a lot of advance planning, I could not find a reasonable non-stop flight, so I caught a red-eye flight that went through Seattle and landed me in NYC around 6:00 AM. I had boxed up and checked a family heirloom for our son, a carved wooden silverware box, that I had to check, and luckily for me, I have two free checked bags with Delta, so that made taking this along FAR preferable to shipping it some other way.
Also luckily for me, I got upgraded on both flights to Comfort Plus, which made the flights almost pleasant. I got a kick out of this life-sized stuffy that the man across the aisle from me was taking home. The flight attendant did make him put it in the overhead compartment. 😊
I arrived at the JFK airport, retrieved suitcase and my well-packed heirloom box (whew, it made it), which I attached it to the small wheeled cart I brought with me, and called an Uber. It cost me around $100 to get dropped off at my hotel, but the ease and convenience was worth it this time. I had a great view of Midtown Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge.
I stayed at the Hotel Mimosa, a small boutique hotel in Chinatown a few blocks from my son's apartment.
The room was tiny with just a few feet around the bed (It would have been hard to find a place for a second suitcase), but it was immaculately clean and the bed was very comfortable. The staff was great and I felt very safe there.
The view out my 3rd story window was of the Manhattan Bridge and beyond, something I was a little worried about, but the room was so well insulated that I could not hear any traffic noise. By the way, the building with the big rod on top on the right is One World Trade Center. The neighborhood below the bridge looks pretty sketchy, but I never felt unsafe.
Here is a view looking towards the Arc de Triomphe-style exit from/entrance to the bridge (far right):
I love this red-brick building just down the street from my hotel that is designed to fit in a tight triangular intersection. It mimics the sstyle of the Flatiron Building on Fifth Avenue but with a rounded prow and prominent black iron fire escapes. It was built as a tenement (more on tenements later) around the turn of the 20th century.
The first order of business after I checked in was breakfast. The woman at the front desk gave me a very helpful list of restaurants in the area, which included a bakery called Elbow Bread that was just a three-minute walk away. It was there that I discovered the food of the gods: a strawberry lemon sheep's cheese Danish. I introduced these to my son the next day, and I know he's been back for one of these beauties more than once since I left. I myself had one for breakfast three times while I was there.
1. My first stop was the Eldridge Street Synagogue, aka Museum at Eldridge Street, one of the first synagogues built in the United States by Eastern European Jews. The synagogue was built in less than a year and dedicated in 1887. It served a congregation of about 800 members at the turn of the century.
The building facade is an interesting blend of Jewish, Catholic (rose window), and Moorish/Muslim (arched windows and doors) architecture. It was designed by Roman Catholic architects who specialized in tenement design. This was their first house of worship of any kind.
I had never heard of this place and only found it when I was looking at a Google Map for my hotel. It is just one block from my hotel! It is worth visiting--full of fascinating material about Jewish migration to New York City specifically and to the U.S. in general.
It is full of interesting artifacts from the early days of the synagogue.
Even from the inside, these windows look pretty Christian, although if you look carefully, you'll see the Jewish Star of David inscribed inside the center circle of the window on the left and inside each of the rosettes around the perimeter on the window on the right.
Again, more Jewish stars are placed in the circles at the top of the window (left). I loved this mosaic floor (right), a very recent addition, that reinterprets the signs of the zodiac according to Jewish tradition, with each being paired with a Hebrew letter.
From the balcony, we had an excellent view of the sanctuary with its dazzling stained-glass rose window
The exquisite dome from which the massive chandelier is hung:
By the way, waiting to join a guided tour is value added. The tour guide I had was really fantastic. He was knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about his subject.
It is hard to imagine that by the mid-20th century, this synagogue had been pretty much abandoned. The Jewish population had migrated to other parts of the city and the country, and no one was left to care for the space. Water damage and an infestation of birds and bugs took it almost to the point of collapse, but in the 1980s, a preservationist saw the building's potential and spearheaded a fundraising project. I think the results are pretty spectaular.
In a couple of places on the balcony, the preservationists purposefully left patches of deteriorated wall to remind visitors of the building's history.
The dominant feature and crown jewel of the synagogue is its ocean blue rose window located above the ark. The original window was destroyed by a hurricane in 1944 and replaced with cheap glass blocks. The new design, installed in 2010, features six swirling arms with spaces filled with hand-painted stars that match constellation patterns on the sanctuary walls.
Later in the day I saw this street sign and noticed that the sanctuary of the Eldridge Street Museum was the image chosen to represent the Lower East Side. It is definitely a place worth visiting.
It was time for lunch and I was ready for the second thing on my list, Russ & Daughters, one of my favorite delis in New York City. It is just a short walk from the synagogue along a tree-lined path, and I got to say hi to Martin along the way.
The deli had a line and a 40-minute wait, but there was one empty seat at the bar, so that's where I sat. I had the "Pastrami Russ," which is pastrami-cured salmon, muenster cheese, pickles sauerkraut, and mustard on a pretzel bagel. Divine.
The third place on my list was the Tenement Museum, also nearby.
When I saw Frida in the gift shop, I figured it was going to be a good museum. 😉
The word "tenement" originally described what today we would call an apartment building--a large, shared residential building divided into many apartments. However, today word connotes a crowded, run-down apartment building in a low-income area of town.
New York's Lower East Side Tenement Museum contains recreated apartments in the styles of the many different immigrant groups who inhabited them between 1863, the year the building opened, and 1935, the year the building was boarded up with the exception of the stoop-level and basement storefronts. The building became a museum in 1988 and has undergone multiple preservation projects and expansions since then, including the acquisition of a second building that highlights tenement living between the 1950s and 1980s.
I wish I had known how the tours work before I visited this museum. Rather than getting to walk through a large portion of the building, I had to buy a ticket that focused on a single family and their apartment. I don't know if I would have chosen differently, but it would have been nice to scout out some of the options. As it was, I selected tour 3A, the Schneiders, a German family who moved into the building in 1864.
The Schneiders owned a saloon that was part of their apartment. It was actually a family-friendly place that served full meals, provided a place for socializing, and hosted meetings of local clubs and organizations.
The family quarters were at the back of the apartment and were quite small. There was no indoor plumbing until later, and then there was only cold running water and two toilets per floor--servicing perhaps four apartments.
Well, time to meet up with my son and his girlfriend, who I will refer to as A and M. They live in Chinatown, so again, just a short walk from all of this sightseeing. On the way, I walked by this interesting mural depicting an animal that is half owl / half tiger.
Awww, happy Mom and son reunion!
A and M had a wonderful evening planned that started in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood with a screening at the Anthology Film Archives of the documentary Einstein at the Beach - The Changing Image of Opera.
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| Photo of film archive/theater from Wikipedia |
According to the program notes, "This film follows the 1984 landmark production of "Einstein on the Beach" staged at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It was the first time since 1976 that is creators, composer Philip Glass and designer/director Robert Wilson, had collaborated on the re-staging of this untraditional opera. The work is examined through the insights of Glass and Wilson and incoporates rehearsal footage with scenes of the actual performance."
This film is likely something I would never have watched on my own, but watching it with two avant garde film buffs was a blast! They gave me context details that helped me understand the documentary better. The screening was followed by a Q&A with the producer, an archivist, and a few other people who had a role in the film's production. It was something that would never happen in the towns where I grew up or currently live, and I loved having what felt like a Real New York Experience.
A & M had a few places in mind for dinner, but they all had long waits. NYC on a Friday night is HOPPIN'. We ended up at their first choice, a Palestinian restaurant called Ayat, and just waited it out.
It was definitely worth the wait. From L to R: Mezze Filistini (mixed platter of hummus, baba ghanoush, muhammarah, tabbouleh, salata tahina, and labneh); grilled halloumi and watermelon salad; and whole branzino (a type of fish):
(Bob) Looks like a winner visit and a hotel that may be good to use again.
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