Historic Upper West Side (Day after Thanksgiving) Walk (Nov. 25)
Details
PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW CAREFULLY, ESPECIALLY THE BOLD TYPE.
If you are registered for this walk and can't attend, please change your RSVP online from "YES" to "NO". (PLEASE READ THE "ABOUT US SECTION" FOR THE GUIDELINES REGARDING THE NO SHOW POLICY.)
THERE IS NO NEED TO POST WHY YOU CAN'T MAKE THE EVENT. THANK YOU.
I SCHEDULED THIS SAME WALK ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH.
BRING COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES AND AN EXTRA LAYERS OF CLOTHING (WE WILL BE OUTSIDE IN THE COOL/COLD WEATHER FOR MORE THAN 2 1/2 HOURS, SO PLEASE BRING EXTRA LAYERS OF CLOTHING.)
This is a sociable walk along a very scenic route filled with interesting places. I will comment on some things (the architecture and social history of some of the magnificent buildings) along the way, but you will have plenty of time to socialize with others. WE WILL STOP AT A NUMBER OF POINTS OF INTEREST. (THIS IS SIMILAR TO A GUIDED WALKING TOUR.)
IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO STOP AT A NUMBER OF POINTS OF INTEREST (THIS IS SIMILAR TO A GUIDED WALKING TOUR), THEN THIS WALK IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU. THIS WALK IS ABOUT 2 1/2 MILES AND MODERATE PACED.
No young children or pets allowed on this walk without the prior approval of the organizer. Thank you for your cooperation.
If you have any questions for me, please contact me through my private Meetup inbox. The organizer for this Meetup event is John (the Event Host) who is listed on the top of the "going list" with a photo.
DESCRIPTION: The Upper West Side has many architecturally distinctive and magnificent apartment buildings. We’ll go by some of these Upper West Side apartment buildings, built from about 1880 to 1932. We’ll see apartment buildings that have had a scandalous past; others that have had a spiritual beginning. We’ll look at apartment houses built for the wealthy; tenements built for the poor; studio buildings built for artists; and buildings that were not originally built as apartment houses.
COST: The cost of this event is $2 per person, which is paid at the start of the walk. This is for the organizer’s Meetup preparation costs and fees. (Please read the "About Us Section" for more information regarding the $2 per person fee for each event.)
MEETING TIME/PLACE: The meeting time is (after lunch) at 1:45 PM. The meeting place is outside the entrance to Barnes & Noble at 2289 Broadway, near 82nd St. Before the walk, restrooms are available on the second floor of Barnes & Noble. There will be limited places to stop for a restroom during the walk.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Take the No. 1 subway train to 79th Street/Broadway.
FINISHING TIME/PLACE: The walk finishes between 4:45 PM and 5:00 PM at West 78th Street and Columbus Avenue.
Rainy/snowy weather or cold/windy conditions will cancel this walk. Therefore, if it is rainy/snowy weather or cold/windy conditions or the forecast is for rainy/snowy weather or cold/windy conditions, I will post a cancellation notice on Friday morning. If I don't post a cancellation notice, I plan to be at the meeting place. If I do cancel the walk, I will also post a cancellation notice on the Discussion Board.
Over the years, the Ansonia Hotel below has had a rather scandalous and off-beat reputation and arguably the best social history of any building in Manhattan.
Although the Ansonia Hotel on the Upper West Side is still decorated with impressively beautiful ornamentation, it originally had even more ornamentation. Below was the Ansonia Hotel in about 1904. (Source Detroit Publishing Company)
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However, during 1942, the Ansonia Hotel’s copper cornices were removed and melted down for the war effort. Below were workmen removing a cartouche from the roof of the Ansonia Hotel. (Source Lorraine B. Diehl, 1942)
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The Ansonia Hotel was once popular among athletes. On September, 21, 1919 a group of Chicago White Sox baseball players agreed in the room of first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil to lose the upcoming baseball World Series for $10,000 a player. For all their plotting, the players didn’t lose convincingly enough and after their 5-3 loss, they came under suspicion. Below was the 1919 World Series. (Source untappedcities.com)
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Many New York Yankees baseball players (they were not involved with the 1919 baseball scandal) also made the Ansonia Hotel their home, and Babe Ruth moved in after the Boston Red Sox sold his contract to the New York Yankees. Ruth’s apartment became a clubhouse for card games and parties. He also was inspired to take up the saxophone while living there, and he squeakily played the saxophone, which was heard up and down the hallway on his floor. Below was heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey and baseball player Bath Ruth having breakfast at the Ansonia. (Source untappedcities.com)
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In 1968, the Continental Baths opened in the basement of the Ansonia Hotel. Bette Midler is known for starting her career at the Continental Baths singing to an audience clad only in towels. Barry Manilow was often accompanying her, clad only in a towel as well. (Source Advocate.com)
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In 1977, The Continental Baths closed. Another tenant named Plato's Retreat, which was a straight sex club, then moved into the basement of the Ansonia Hotel. The photo below was on September 16, 1979. (Plato's Retreat relocated to 509 West 34th Street in 1980.)
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Below is the dizzying staircase in the Ansonia Hotel today.
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