I took a trip last week to New York City. I flew out on Sunday and came back last Friday in the afternoon. I really had a good time and saw lots of friends. I decided not to worry about documenting every stinking moment of the trip and just enjoy meeting up with friends in bars and restaurants.
Instead I just took some random street photos while walking around New York City. The City has really changed a lot since I moved there in July of 1993, but it’s still a really fun city to walk around and watch people, buildings, signs and the constant revolving pace of New York City.
Here’s some photos from my trip!
I stayed at the Stanford Hotel on 32nd near Broadway. It was a really nice hotel and pretty affordable for New York. There wasn’t a bar in the hotel, which always helps to keep the rate down. I could care less if there’s a bar, there’s a bar on every block in New York City, that’s one of the reasons I lived there for 19 years!
The room was a nice size, it was a decent bathroom and a nice desk to set up a computer area. There was a giant TV I never turned on because I hate television!
Here’s the first place I moved into on July 7th, 1993, the Beacon Hotel at 75th and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was a budget hotel back then and they also had a few “residential rooms” which were basically tiny rooms, with a tiny kitchen and a tiny bathroom. I lived there from July of 1993 to the fall of 1997.
It was a good transitional place to move to from Peoria. I didn’t know New York that well when I moved there and the people that worked at the front desk were really nice and always helped me out with any questions about cheap places to get furniture and other stuff. But after four years of living in a tiny room, I was ready to get out and move along!
There’s my favorite hot dog stand in New York City, Gray’s Papaya on the corner of 72nd and Broadway. Fabulous hot dogs and a great spot for people watching on the Upper West Side of Manhattan!
In the fall of 1997 I moved downtown to 16th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Here’s a couple shots of me walking to my second and final apartment in New York City. I’m walking down Broadway and there’s one of my favorite New York City buildings, the Flatiron Building. This was originally called the Fuller Building and it was built in 1902 and you can read more about it here.
The third photo is the front stoop and door to the building I lived in from 1997 to 2012 on 16th Street. It was a small studio, but I always felt grateful to have gotten it because this is a great part of town to live in. I loved living here!
The last photo is the Hollywood Diner, a diner on the corner of 6th and 16th that’s open 24 hours, seven days a week. It’s a great diner and I don’t know how many nights I’d be up late and wander in here for a couple beers and a grilled cheese and hang out with the waitresses and waiters and goof around with them!
Here’s the obligatory Times Square photo, I just walked through it and didn’t stop anywhere because Times Square is a tourist trap. I feel lucky I lived here when it was still seedy and dangerous!
That strawberry shortcake sign cracked me up, who are the ad wizards who thought it was a good idea to photograph the cake on a tennis racket? And adding the word, “cake” after “strawberry shortcake” is beyond redundant! Sheesh!
Suddenly…Citi Bikes!
Here’s what used to be my favorite restaurant in New York. The place was called Spain and I loved it! It was on 13th Street down in a basement and it was a real hidden gem. Most people didn’t know about it, even native New Yorkers! It was a Spanish restaurant with old school Spanish waiters, it had a bar and a couple of real cool dining rooms with a throwback Spanish atmosphere. Before you even ordered they would bring you oysters, sausages, shrimp and a salad! The paella was unbelievable!
It closed a couple of years ago and the bottom photo is what it looks like today. Ugh, glad I have memories of this place at least. Adiós, España.
The Stoned Crow was one of my favorite bars and it too closed way back in 2011, right as I was finishing up the 365 bar crawl. It’s now a place called Pubkey.
For some reason I had a bad feeling about it, so I just walked away and I’m glad I did. It’s now a bitcoin bar. I just threw up in my mouth…a lot!
Ah, here’s the one place that never lets me down, The Waverly Diner on 6th Avenue near Bleecker Street. This is one of my favorite places in New York City! I don’t know how many lunches, dinners and beers I’ve had in this place. I’m so happy it hasn’t shut down like so many other of my favorite places!
Here’s two night time shots of The Waverly Diner that I took from their website.
I saw this flyer on the wall as I was leaving The Waverly after lunch and couldn’t believe it! He’s been leaving “Dan Smith Will Teach You Guitar” flyers all over the city since the late ’90’s! It was cool to see he’s still doing it and check out this NY Times article I found on him from three years ago!
There’s the downtown Papaya Dog and right down the street they were playing the Swamp Dogg movie, “Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted.”
I love Swamp Dogg and this was a marvelous coincidence on this wonderful afternoon in downtown New York City!
There’s Joe’s Pizza, one of the more famous pizza shops in New York City. Dave Portnoy gave this place a high score and rightfully so!
Glengarry Glen Ross is one of my favorite movies and when I heard they were going to bring the play back to Broadway with Bob Odenkirk, Bill Burr, Michael McKean and Kieran Culkin I knew I’d have to come here and see it. Now I’m here, see how this works!
This is the Palace Theatre, it has been in operation since 1913. It’s quite a magical place and my photos don’t do this historical theatre justice, but hey, at least I tried!
Everyone in it was beyond amazing, but Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr definitely were the kings of this production. But there was not one sour note to be had and it was a flawless production. I feel lucky I got to see this, it’ll be tucked away in the memory banks for a frequent visit when I need to have a nice playback.
You couldn’t take pictures during the play, but check out this video of the cast.
Here’s the place that used to house the lonely all-night deli with the angriest little Asian guy in the world!
It’s now kind of a high end deli. I went in and got a black and white cookie because you have to get at least one of these when you visit New York City, it ’s the rules. Just ask Jerry Seinfeld!
And before I knew it I was sitting at a bar in LaGuardia Airport at 7:15 in the morning having a few drinks before catching my 9:15am flight back to Peoria.
The good thing about hitting a bar in the morning at the airport is that the party isn’t over. It’s just beginning and that’s the way it should be!
And the band played on.
Now, back to daily blogging! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
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