March 2004 & July 2006 New York City Photos

Here are a few photos from my March 2004 and July 2007 trips to NYC. I've finally managed to get them all up on my flickr page as well. Nothing too earth shattering, but there are a few pretty good shots in these sets. Again, all photos were taken with Kodak disposable cameras.

(Photos by: NYCDreamin Archives) I stayed at the Hotel Martinique at 49 West 32nd Street in March 2004. This shot is looking east with the Empire State Building in the background. At the time of my visit in 2004, I had no idea about the Martiniques' storied past as a "welfare hotel".

March 2004: The Flat Iron Building at 175 - 5th Avenue, intersection of 5th Avenue, Broadway and 23rd street. This is one of my favorite buildings in the city.

March 2004: A display case of rare (and mostly overpriced) Kiss merchandise and collectibles for sale at Colony Records, who's slogan is "60 years serving Broadway, New York, and the world!"

July 2006: Here is the beautiful Youth Hostel International, located at 891 Amsterdam Avenue at 103rd Street. A bit of history on the building from the New York Sun:

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The building on Amsterdam Avenue was first established by the Association for the Relief of Respectable Aged Indigent Females. The society, one of New York's first charities, commissioned the building to house widows of the Civil War and the War of 1812. Any woman older than 60 was able to take residence there for $150 and the forfeiting of all personal property.

In the 1970s, the building was abandoned by the charity, which couldn't pay for its upkeep, and used by squatters and drug addicts. It was literally burned out, set afire during the blackout in 1977. The city took over the building in 1978, and it was slated for demolition.

When Hostelling International, one of the biggest hostel networks with nearly 80 hostels across the country, took over the building in 1984, it was burned out, vacant, and in danger of being torn down by the city.

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In 1984, Hostelling International, then known as American Youth Hostels, entered the picture, viewing the building as an opportunity to establish a Manhattan residence. In conjunction with a West Side community organization, the Valley Restoration Local Development Corporation, the hostel group acquired the building for $687,500, with the nearly $15 million renovation cost financed through investors and grants.

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The hostel is the only surviving building in New York designed by Richard Morris Hunt, who is known for the Breakers in Newport, R.I., and the Biltmore in Asheville, N.C. The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's façade on Fifth Avenue are the only other designs by Hunt left in New York.

July 4th, 2006: Late in the afternoon, 4 NYPD choppers fly formation in a security sweep above the East River, where just a few hours later, the world's most amazing July 4th fireworks display would be set off. See some footage from the July 4th 2006 fireworks show HERE.

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