Here’s my official list: Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (11:00am tour); Lotus Garden (1pm); St. Michael’s Church (1pm–4:30pm); 1014 Fifth Ave. (4pm tour.)
The 11am tour was not a tour (and I was not the only one who
asked about it). It was a very interesting 17-minute video about the history of
the building in Central Park and the history of marionette performances in NYC
from the ’40s and ’50s through to today. After the video, I asked about the
scenery on display for a later performance in the afternoon. It was for (if I’m
remembering correctly) “Waking Daisy”, an updated version of “Sleeping Beauty”.
And, apparently, there is still a puppet-mobile that wends its way through the five
boroughs offering free marionette performances.
Lotus Garden is a community garden atop a parking garage at
Broadway and 97th Street. Even though OHNY was scheduled for 1pm, I managed to
sneak into an early walk-through-talk-through before the rain sprinkles started
to interfere. The OHNY gardener who was a part of this particular community
garden was incredibly knowledgeable and gave us insights on the garden and her
garden associates, even if she disagreed with their particular choices. It was
great to hear perspectives about a joint venture.
My next stop (after a break for a beer at Dive Bar, since I
was ahead of schedule and it was drizzling) was St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
at 255 W. 99th Street. I know this venue very well, since I’ve heard multiple
concerts there in the past. The self-guided tour was great, featuring a lot of
history about the stained-glass windows. Many were Tiffany (and this was the
third building on this particular site of land). One was of St. Faith, the
second stained-glass window of St. Faith I saw in two days. They were very
different. Even though today was a gray, drizzly day, I have seen most of these
stained-glass windows in their full, sunny glory.
My final 2022 OHNY visit was 1014 Fifth Avenue. It has a
history dating back to 1906; a six-story townhouse (one of twins, alas, one was demolished) that is
squeezed in, mid-block (83rd/84th?), amid the newer co-ops that replaced many
of the mansions on upper Fifth Avenue. After years as a private townhouse, for
years it was the Goethe-Institut. It no longer is, but the building is still
owned by the German government. And even though it’s going through a
third/fourth renovation, it will still be a link between Germany and NY/USA, as it
will host exhibits/lectures/performances when the renovation is completed.
ConcertMeister
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