Gray Day in NYC: Part 1

Flatiron Building

Saturday dawned overcast but we headed out for a day in Lower Manhattan. We departed the subway at Union Square station for the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace but it wasn’t open until 9am so we checked out the Union Square farmers market and Flatiron building in the meantime.

Union Square Park

We were on the Roosevelt’s doorstep as they opened. “Teedy” (as he was called as a child) was born there on October 27, 1858, and lived in the house with his family until 1872 when the neighborhood began to become more commercial, and the family moved uptown.  The original building was demolished in 1916 but the lot was purchased and the house rebuilt into what it is today. 

Roosevelt Birthplace

We watched a short film that chronicled how a skinny, asthmatic kid from NYC went on to become a “Bull Moose” who is most remembered for his conservation efforts. We then took the guided tour of the house. What’s nice about the house is that it was refurbished with many furnishings from the original house by the his widow and two sisters so its quite authentic.

Roosevelt Interior

Our next stop was another National Park Site, the African Burial Ground National Monument. There is a small visitor center and an outdoor site that preserves a site containing the remains of more than 400 Africans buried during the late 17th and 18th centuries.

Since we were in the area we decided to walk through Chinatown and then head out onto the Brooklyn Bridge. It was so windy on the bridge so we didn’t spend very much time out there. 

Brooklyn Bridge

We did get a nice view of the new Freedom Tower. I have been to NYC twice since September 11^th and its nice to see the rebuilding process. 

 

St. Pauls Church has also been renovated to be a memorial to the recovery workers and tells their story which is quite haunting.

After grabbing lunch at the Potbelly Deli to warm up we headed back out to see the Charging Bull. This was the busiest place we were at all day and I had to line myself up to jump in at the right time to get a quick picture. Charge!

Taking the bull by the horns