Uptown, Downtown, All Around the Town

Another beautiful day at Columbia University.

Today we went to the church made famous in the movie NATIONAL TREASURE!

Alexander Hamilton (who attended Columbia University) is buried in the courtyard of this church. The anniversary of his death is tomorrow and the grave had quite a few flowers around it.

The Trinity Church.

The statue of George Washington is at the Federal Building near Wall Street. It was the first capital and where he was sworn in as the first president of the US.

When we studied the RED SCARE of the 1920s, I showed the classes a picture of Wall Street mayhem. A car bomb blew up and these marks are still in the wall outside the stock exchange. Dr. Jackson said 30 people died and it was the worst act of terrorism in the nation at that time.

This is the New York Stock Exchange. Imagine what it looked like around here on the day that the stock market crashed in 1929. BTW, Dr. Jackson said that the stockbrokers don't go out for lunch much. They have runners go get their lunch so they can be near the exchange. Things happen fast around here.

The "Bull" Market...

I took this photo from the ferry that was taking us to Ellis Island. The ferry stopped at the Statue of Liberty first.

Ellis Island, as you know, was where thousands and thousands of immigrants entered the United States. If they were riding in first class, the immigration service came to them. If not, they would disembark at Ellis Island for inspection.

The island has one large main building and two other buildings that are still being renovated. Building 3...the one closest to the Statue of Liberty was the hospital building. If you watch GODFATHER II, you will see a scene where the you boy is sitting in his hospital room looking out the window at the statue. So close....yet, so far. As long as he is sick or contagious, he won't be allowed into the US. Only about 1% of immigrants were actually sent back to their home country due to health issues.

This first thing as immigrant would do is leave his/her luggage at the entrance.

They were tagged so it would be easier to identify them on the ship's manifest. Their number was given to them while they were on the ship and matches their number in the ship's log.

Before they entered this Great Hall, they climbed several steps. This was part of the six second inspection. A doctor or inspector could see right away who had trouble walking, breathing, etc. They would be marked with a piece of chalk and separated from the group right away. Imagine this hall with thousands of nervous people in it.

They waited on these benches for what could be hours.

After they were called to the inspector and given a medical exam, they had one of three routes. Detainment, freedom to go to the mainland, or to the hospital area.

Trachoma was a contagious eye disease. If a person had it, they would be sent back to their home country. This hook was used to look at the immigrant's eyes during the physical.

If the person was detained for awhile, they would need a place to sleep. These racks were used.

Ellis Island is still being renovated. It fell into a sad state in the 1950s. Building one is open to tourists through the National Park Service. It is a great museum.

This is in Battery Park just outside the ferry landing in NYC. This woman was feeding a squirrel and it was in her lap and on her arm...ew!

Here are some children playing in the fountains at the park.

It is called "The Sphere" and for 30 years or so, it was outside the World Trade Center. It survived 9/11, but not in a pretty way. This is a reminder of that day and a tribute to Americans.

"Ground Zero" is under construction...and this is all you can see today.My last stop on today's walking tour was the FRICK MANSION on 5th Avenue. Central Park is right across the street. Mr. Frick worked with Andrew Carnegie and had this immense mansion filled with a massive art collection. We toured the mansion and looked at the paintings. The extensive collection is worth a fortune and the house isn't too shabby either.

This is my friend, Linda. She is from Arizona. She and I went down to Times Square last night and ate at the Dallas BBQ. On the way there, the subway doors closed on her arm. She has a big, bad FREE souvenir bruise.