MetaFilter posts tagged with manhattan

eavesdropping on jazz giants

madamjujujive — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:31:05 -0800

The Jazz Loft Project - From 1957 to 1965, celebrated photojournalist W. Eugene Smith made 4,000 hours of surreptitious recordings and took 40,000 photographs in a loft in Manhattan's wholesale flower district where Roland Kirk, Thelonius Monk, Hall Overton, Charles Mingus and other jazz greats jammed until dawn. Archived in the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, the project is now accessible via a book, a traveling exhibit, a 10-part Jazz Loft series on WNYC, NPR's Jazz Loft Project Sights & Sounds, and an interview with JLP author Sam Stephenson, which includes some images from the book. Via a Grain Edit post, which also has some great images. More about the passionate W. Eugene Smith, who abandoned his successful career at Life magazine and his family to devote himself to obsessively documenting the jazz loft. Non-jazz photography: Various images, including Tomoko Uemura in her bath, Minamata, Japan Life series The Country Doctor Life series Spanish Village Life series Man of Mercy, and essay on Albert Schweitzer The Pittsburgh Project An excellent documentary on 1950 photos from Wales: The Lost Pictures of Eugene Smith Part 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4

Why is life worth living?

vronsky — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:27:34 -0800

"Well, all right, why is life worth living? That's a very good question. Well, there are certain things I guess that make it worthwhile. Uh, like what? Okay. Um, for me... oh, I would say... what, Groucho Marx, to name one thing... and Willie Mays, and... the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony, and... Louie Armstrong's recording of Potatohead Blues... Swedish Movies, naturally... Sentimental Education by Flaubert... Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra... those incredible apples and pears by Cezanne... the crabs at Sam Wo's... Tracy's face..."

Manhattan Bridge Timelapse

carter — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:07:39 -0800

Timelapse of the Manhattan Bridge shows the bridge flexing up and down as trains pass over it (SLYT). via

"A mental and visual release for New Yorkers, who may find it exhausting to live in the most identifiable city in the world."

ocherdraco — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:49:06 -0800

The Last Parcels of Nowhere Remaining in Manhattan. Photographs.

For the scope of the project, "nowhere" is defined as a place that has been neglected, and from this neglect has achieved the status of an organic non-place; a perfect combination of the built and natural. From these places, one cannot say, "I am in a park" or "I am in the city" because neither appears to be true.

No more ditching in the Hudson is a plus.

allkindsoftime — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:33:00 -0800

The Manhattan Airport Foundation. From the About Us: It doesn’t take long to realize Central Park squanders 843 acres of the most valuable real estate in the world. From the FAQ: To date, nearly 100 investors have signed on to provide approximately $130M in equity with another $80M from the bond market making Manhattan Airport the most ambitious privately-funded airport development project in US history. Apparently this is for reals.

400 Years Ago

netbros — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:35:41 -0800

Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? Find out at The Mannahatta Project, by navigating through the map to discover Manhattan Island and its native wildlife in 1609. “The goal of the Mannahatta Project has never been to return Manhattan to its primeval state. The goal of the project is to discover something new about a place we all know so well, whether we live in New York or see it on television, and, through that discovery, to alter our way of life. New York does not lack for dystopian visions of the future…. But what is the vision of the future that works? Might it lie in Mannahatta, the green heart of New York, and with a new start to history, a few hours before Hudson arrived that sunny afternoon four hundred years ago?”

Has There Ever Been a Good Air Force One Photo Op?

stagewhisper — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:09:05 -0800

A Presidential Boeing 747 along with two fighter planes continuously circled jarringly close to the tops of buildings in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City this morning. From the ground it looked as though a plane had been hijacked again, and the Air Force was attempting to force it down. Panic ensued. Another terrorist attack? No, just a top secret photo op. The White House apologizes .

I walk the same streets. Why don't I notice these things?

grumblebee — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:30:46 -0800

I work as a film location scout in New York City. My day is basically spent combing the streets for interesting and unique locations for feature films. In my travels, I often stumble across some pretty incredible sights, most of which are ignored every day by thousands of New Yorkers in too much of a rush to pay attention. As it happens, it's my job to pay attention, and I've started this blog to keep a record of what I see.

New York on Tap Bar Map

shivohum — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:39:09 -0800

Want to find a bar in New York near you? Try New York on Tap's Google mashup map. Most entries have pithy homegrown reviews attached, and all entries have links to reviews from other websites.

Manhattanhenge

445supermag — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:24:42 -0800

Manhattan henge

Apocalyptic Manhattan

Armitage Shanks — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:39:31 -0800

Apocalyptic Manhattan (in An Apartment). More pictures when you scroll down.

The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis

smably — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 21:43:05 -0800

The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis. In 1978, renowned structural engineer William LeMessurier discovered a mistake in his design for the Citicorp (now Citigroup) Center. With hurricane season approaching, the skyscraper was in imminent danger of collapse. His handling of the situation has been praised as a "stunning example of good ethics in action" – but some disagree.

The Fireladders of Soho

Armitage Shanks — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:21:58 -0800

The Fireladders of Soho. (New York, that is.) [via]

Get Rich or Try Lying.

chunking express — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:17:19 -0800

"What kind of schmuck would pay $500 to meet a bunch of gold diggers?" Radar covers/mocks a speed dating event in Manhattan.

Art Bum Extraordinaire

dame — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:21:17 -0800

Downtown Lives On Are the New Yorkers who lament the passing of cool, outre downtown (victim of high rents and a safer city) just not looking hard enough? Or are Ryan McGinley, Dan Colen, and Dash Snow just punks making bad art? Threat or menace?

visualizing NYC's changes and layers

nickyskye — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 04:05:38 -0800

Manhattan Timeformations. Mapping Manhattan's skyscraper districts through time. [more]

Fantastical Cartography

Tlogmer — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:21:06 -0800

Manhattan Goes Travelling

Gotham Equinox

silusGROK — Fri, 28 May 2004 07:24:14 -0800

A little something from the gee-whiz department for all our friends in Manhattan... did you know that today is a Gotham Equinox? All I can say is enjoy it while you can.

wakka wakka wakka

archimago — Mon, 03 May 2004 12:42:01 -0800

Pac-Manhattan is a large-scale urban game that utilizes the New York City grid to recreate the 1980's video game sensation Pac-Man. Oh yes folks, and it's a NYU grad school project.

minutiae from an at-home dad in manhattan

zsazsa — Wed, 21 Apr 2004 11:16:29 -0800

Citypop's a stay-at-home dad in New York City. While his medical resident wife grinds out 80 hour weeks, he narrates the hurdles (botched circumcision, apartment fire, roach invasions) of raising a boy in the strange universe of Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The blonde in the bleachers

Carlos Quevedo — Thu, 20 Mar 2003 03:35:36 -0800

White supremacists reach out to other assholes: Simon Doonan, in this week's New York Observer, reports on the soft underside of Manhattan.

slugs invade new york

dhartung — Tue, 10 Dec 2002 22:44:08 -0800

Prepare for the worst ... says Mayor Mike, as NYC faces down a crippling transit strike. For starters, cars carrying fewer than four people could not enter or leave Manhattan over any bridge or through any tunnel on weekdays, 24 hours a day. Commuters wishing to get into the city by car would need to pick up strangers -- and the city will facilitate this with staging areas. Unflappable New Yorkers are at least a little flapped. But the practice of strangers hitching rides with lone drivers isn't new to NoVa: There, they are called slugs and body snatchers. [more inside]

The Michael The — Thu, 26 Sep 2002 06:23:47 -0800

NYC Subways and then some. This has been one of my favorite sites for a long time. It's amazingly comprehensive, and not just being content with New York, it covers nearly every other subway in the world as well. If you're not into the technical details, just enjoy the thousands of pretty pictures.

sierray — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 09:46:02 -0800

The High Line is a strip of elevated railroad on Manhattan's West Side, it runs from 34th Street and 12th Avenue to Gansevoort Street in the meatpacking district. It is a treasure now mostly because it's the structure that time forgot. Who'd thought? Discover what could become NYC's highest park.

Blake — Thu, 25 Apr 2002 09:12:54 -0800

Explosion Rocks Manhattan Building NEW YORK -- More than 100 firefighters were called to the scene of a possible collapse Thursday at a building housing a technical school in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Fire officials said it appeared some type of explosion collapsed some floors of the building. They said 21 people were being treated at the scene for injuries. West 19th Street is closed between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.
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