Open House New York (10/14–15/17)

The Agenda

10/14/17 – Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof; NY Sun Works' Greenhouse Project at PS84; The City Reliquary Museum*; Church of the Annunciation; Five Boroughs Brewing Co.; Brooklyn Army Terminal**; Stonewall National Monument

10/15/17 – Mmuseumm 1 and Mmuseumm 2; Espasso Gallery (cancelled by OHNY on 10/14/17); Skyscraper Museum; AT&T Building; Leslie-Lohman Museum; The Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation; Center for Architecture

*I'd been there before but needed to kill time before the Church of the Annunciation
** Recommended by a guy I met at Five Boroughs, while sipping beer

Overall, a great weekend. The Wildflowers Green Roof was really impressive, and the onsite representative was very knowledgeable. A huge plus was the OHNY volunteer (and there are hundreds, and thank you!) who was at the bus stop that others and I were getting off at. She cheerfully directed us along the way to the venue. Wonderful views and layouts. At the next stop, the Greenhouse was nice, but finding out how to get into the building was a torture. There was absolutely no OHNY signage, and of the eight to ten doors at PS84, only one was usable—and it was not marked. Eventually (because several of us complained), a hand-written sign was added to the one functional door. As footnoted (*) above, the Reliquary Museum was a repeat but they do have rotating exhibits, and the one I saw was interesting, including found items from an NYC school cloakroom. Some fun stuff there. Plus, I got a chance to see their garden area—small but pleasant.

The Church of the Annunciation was nice. The proffered tours were nonexistent. There's a difference between "ask questions if you want to know more" and an organized tour, explaining various points of interest about the space. Five Boroughs Brewing Co. was a real treat. The tour itself was handled by one of the co-owners; he did a great job of basic explanation and fielding questions from the floor. Interesting takeaways, for me, is that they source their hops from the Pacific Northwest and their grain from Germany—with the exception of a local co-branded beer using all New York state ingredients. And the (purchased) beer was great.

Per footnote (**) above, the Brooklyn Army Terminal tour was phenomenal. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable, he knew how to work his audience, and he was just plain great. The fact that this was not part of my original plan made it even better. For those in the know, I can be incredibly structured (okay, anal) and for me to go outside of the structure (and like it a lot) is a biggie.

Unfortunately, the Stonewall National Monument was a bit of a letdown. I've been to the park before and, yes, there were Rangers there, but short of a pamphlet or two, there was no 'there' there. Since I was in da 'hood, I dropped in to the Stonewall bar but didn't even feel compelled to have a drink. Not a 'fail' but not a 'must see/do' either.

Sunday started with Mmuseumm 1 and 2 which were really rather lame. Tiny, and I only spent max. fifteen minutes there. That, coupled with the fact that my second stop was cancelled, I had to improvise and decided to visit the New York Marble Cemetery (which sounds more interesting than it really is) and the Museum at Eldridge Street. The cemetery is an open plot of land with tablets in a brick wall signifying where the sunken, hidden, marble mausoleums are of the folks who are entombed below the sod. Interesting concept; not a lot to see/experience, in an OHNY way. I've been to the Eldridge Street Museum before (essentially a synagogue-cum-museum) but there's a lot of history there, and the tours/
explanations are well worth a visit. It's absolutely gorgeous inside and out. Go, if you get the chance.

The Skyscraper Museum is a bit of an odd duck (and I should know!). It's loosely based on a late 1990s Heritage Trail (if I'm remembering correctly) somewhat along the lines of Boston's Freedom Trail, but chronicling NYC skyscrapers. Unfortunately, 2001 brought that crashing down—literally. The museum itself, though, is a nice grouping of information and history about the skyscraper in general, and the working/reworking of steel that makes skyscrapers even feasible. Of interest, but just (unless you're really keen on structure/architecture).

My next stop, the ATT&T Long Distance Building Lobby, was a real treat. From the brochure: "Hildreth Meière was commissioned to design a ceiling mural depicting the 'Continents Linked by the Telephone and Wireless' in her Art Deco style." As intriguing as that sounds, it was amplified immensely by the artist's granddaughter explaining how different aspects of the lobby came to be, including what had to be excluded. The mosaics are wonderful, even though they include 'silhouette mosaics', portions of the overall design that are only outlined because even ATT&T didn't have the funds for full mosaics during the Depression. So much to learn at OHNY! The internet is not whirling around in the air/ether. Its cables are under the oceans, just as telephone cables are under the oceans—who knew? Well, I do, now. And so do you. The Leslie-Lohman Museum was next on my list. I'd never been to this quintessential gay (LGBT? LGBTQ?) art space. I'm glad that I have, now.

Two different LaGuardia Place spaces rounded out my day. The Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation building is a tribute to both as artists. The studio space and third-floor living space are chock-a-block with sculptures and paintings, as are the stairwells in between. The Center for Architecture had a display about scaffolding as art/architecture. It was interesting if a bit esoteric. Still, I'm glad I went.

In fact, I'm very glad I explored as much of OHNY as I did. I've been a volunteer once in the past. Maybe it's time to pay it forward again to them next year.

OHNYMeister