Category: Small Museums and Galleries in NYC

Fort Tryon Park Riverside Drive to Broadway New York, NY 10040

Fort Tyron Park

Riverside Drive to Broadway

New York, NY 10040

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park/history

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-1:00am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d2305249-Reviews-Fort_Tryon_Park-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Front of Fort Tyron Park

The entrance of the park

I love Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan. It is one of the most beautiful parks in New York City. It is a park of rolling hills, stone paths that hug the hills, interesting garden that are ablaze when in season, shady tree sitting areas and is home to many playgrounds and the Cloisters Museum which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has so much to offer a visitor coming into Manhattan from exploring the woods that line the path to looking at interesting art at the museum. This 67 acre park is one of the interesting and complex in New York City.

A city view of the beauty of the park by the Hudson River

The view from The Cloisters by the Hudson River

When you enter the park from Inwood by Broadway, you enter through Ann Loftus Park which is named after a local community leader and is one of the popular parks with kids and families in the area. In the summer months, the fountains and water fixtures are going strong and the kids run around them while the parents lie under shade trees talking to one another.

Ann Loftus Playground

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park/highlights/11234

When taking the path from Ann Loftus Park and winding up the hills of woods and rock formations is the Hudson River looming in the distance with spectacular views of the Palisades and the large cliffs of Fort Lee, NJ on the other side.

The bathrooms in Ann Loftus Playground

The history of the park

Anne Susan Cahill Loftus biography:

At the top of hill like a crown jewel is the Medieval Galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters Museum. Filled with all the Met’s collections of Religious and Medieval art set into themes of old churches, stained glass windows, flowered courtyards and vistas of the river, it is the perfect place to wonder around.

The Met-Cloisters Museum

Don’t miss the “Hunt of the Unicorn” tapestries.

The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestry

The Cloisters:

https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/met-cloisters

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d106609-Reviews-The_Met_Cloisters-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

As you pass the Cloisters and walk further in to the park, there is still so much more to see and do. The Linden Terrace overlooks the Hudson River with its large shade trees over head and its stone benches to sit and just look in the distance or read a book. This was the site of the original Fort Tryon and is the highest location in the park.

Linden Terrace is a nice place to relax and read a book

The flowers by the Linden Terrace

Further down in the other entrance of the park is Heather Garden, a large path of flowers , bushes and trees with benches lining it. The garden was the Olmstead Brothers when the park was taking shape and is a beautiful place to walk in the Spring and Summer months when the park is in full bloom.

The stairs leading to the Linden Terrace

The plaque for Fort Tryon

The anniversary plaque

The Stan Michels Promenade

The Heather Garden in the front

The Heather Garden was recently remodeled to follow the original design by the Olmstead Brothers.

The Heather Gardens

The Heather Gardens in full bloom

The Gardens facing the George Washington Bridge

The Gardens in full view

There is even a terrace restaurant in the middle of the park, the New Leaf Cafe (See review on TripAdvisor-Closed in 2018) which sits off to the side of the Corbin Circle on the other side of the park. The food is over-rated and very expensive. The last time I ate there the menu was pretty standard. It is a great to take out of towners who want a view of something. It is not worth the trip. The views are nice and in the summer months it is pretty but the food and service are standard.

The New Leaf Cafe in Fort Tyron Park (Closed in 2018)

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d478282-Reviews-New_Leaf_Restaurant_Bar-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The park has so much to offer in all months of the year especially in the Spring and Summer.

The entrance to Fort Tryon Park

Cabrini Woods Nature Sanctuary in the front of the park

The Cabrini Sanctuary in the Spring 2024

History of Fort Tryon Park:

The area was known by the local Lenape Indians as Chquaesgeck and by the Dutch settlers as Lange Bergh (Long Hill). During the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Fort Washington was fought on this site. The park is built on a high formation of Manhattan schist with igneous intrusions and glacial striations from the last Ice Age (Wiki).

The gardens in the Fort Tryon Park

John D. Rockefeller Jr. bought up most the land in 1917, which by that point had been old estates, to create Fort Tryon Park. He hired the Olmstead Brothers firm, under the direction of Fredrick Law Olmstead Jr., the son of the designer of Central Park, to design the park and James W. Dawson to create a planting plan. Mr. Rockefeller also bought the collection of Medieval art from sculptor George Gray Barnard and it was the cornerstone of The Cloisters Museum which was built in 1939 (Wiki).

The Fort Tryon gardens in full bloom

The stairs in the park

Through the years the park has seen its ups and downs especially in the 1970’s and 80’s with the decline of finances in New York City. There were extensive renovations when finances got better in the late 90’s and parts of the park were fully renovated. The Fort Tyron Park Trust, a non-profit organization was founded in 1998 to help maintain the park (Wiki).

The Scandinavian Orchestra played in June 2024

Video on the show:

IMG_5869 Download

Today it is just an amazing park!

The Jacob Javits Playground is really popular

The Javits Playground was very popular

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park/highlights/8724

On the recent Great Saunter walk in 2025:

When I walked through the park on the recent Great Saunter walk in 2025, they rerouted us through the park when the Riverwalk was closed for renovation. The park was in full bloom and it was the most spectacular day for a visit.

The entrance of the park on that sunny afternoon

The beautiful colorful tulips at the entrance of the park

The colorful gardens were in full bloom

Everyone was routed through the park on the way to Inwood Park for our rest stop. What I found strange was that the park was so beautiful in full bloom and people were not stopping to relax and just enjoy the views. The gardens were amazing and so colorful.

I stopped to look at the beautiful rock garden

I thought this was so clever. One of the volunteers made this sign up which was so funny!

We walked through the park on our way through the park on the way to Inwood Park.

The Met Breuer (Currently Closed-The Frick Collection 945 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10021

The Met Breuer-Metropolitan Museum of Art (Currently closed-The Frick Collection)

945 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10021

(212) 535-7710

https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/met-breuer

https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/audio-guide/the-met-breuer

https://www.florabarnyc.com/

Open: Sunday 10:00am-5:30pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Thursday 10:00am-5:30pm/Friday & Saturday 10:00am-9:00pm

Fee: Adults $25.00/Seniors $17.00/Students $12.00/Members and Patrons Free/Children under 12 Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d10062261-Reviews-The_Met_Breuer-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Met Breuer is an interesting museum. When it was opened, the museum wanted to have more of focus in recent contemporary artists. The Metropolitan Museum of Art had been known for emphasis in the classical and ancient arts and its collections of art that covered the centuries. Even though it has a very impressive Contemporary Art Collection in the main building at 1000 Fifth Avenue, it was not one of their stronger collections. The Museum of Modern Art had been known more for that. The opening of the Met Breuer was going to change that by showing more of the permanent collection and traveling shows with cutting edge artists of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century.

I have been to the museum several time for private Member’s Nights and most recently in March 2020 for the Gerhard Richter exhibition “Gerhard Richter: Painting After All” (the exhibition just opened as the New York City closed down for the viral outbreak).

Artist Gerhard Richter

https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/

https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/art

The artist who was born in Germany and raised during the outbreak of World War II began his career as an artist in the 1960’s. He was accepted into the Academy of Arts in the 1950’s and his career has spanned many different mediums and concepts of art as shown in the exhibition.

The abstract works of artist Gerhard Richter

Artist Gerhard Richter in his studio

The Membership was able to walk four of the floors of the artists work and join in discussions with the curators and docents on duty. Each floor that evening was dedicated to a different concept of the artist’s work.

The exhibition has only opened to the membership before the museum shut down due to the virus outbreak.

On the bottom floor basement area of the museum is the restaurant, Florence, named after Florence Whitney, a patron of the museum after which was named after her family. The restaurant which has a very contemporary and expensive menu was packed that night. The restaurant offers nice views of neighborhood street level and has a very nice bar.

Florence Restaurant & Bar

https://www.florabarnyc.com/

On the main floor of the museum is a small gift shop.

The lobby of the Met Breuer

The History of The Met Breuer:

The Met Breuer was the brainchild of philanthropist Leonard Lauder in 2008 when it was announced that the Whitney Museum was moving to a new building downtown. The agreement was signed between the Met and the Whitney for the new museum in 2011.

Gerhard Richter’s work on the third floor of the museum

The Met Breuer opened in March of 2016 in the building that was formerly occupied by the Whitney Museum of American Art. The building was designed by architect Marcel Breuer and completed in 1966. The building was updated by architects Beyer, Blinder Belle in 2014 for the Met.The works of the Met Breuer come from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection and are both monographic and thematic exhibitions.

In 2018, the Met announced that it would be leaving the building in 2020 and that the Frick Collection would be moving in on a temporary basis for the renovation of their building starting in 2020.

(This information was provided by both the Met Breuer History and Wiki)

The Met Breuer on March 2020

Day One Hundred and Thirty One: Meeting Staten Island Chuck at the Staten Island Zoo on Groundhog’s Day February 2nd, 2019 (Revisited February 2nd, 2020 and February 2nd, 2025)

Happy Groundhog’s Day from the Staten Island Zoo!

Staten Island Zoo Groundhog’s Day celebration 2025

The Groundhog’s Day sign at the Staten Island Zoo in 2025

I went to see Staten Island Chuck predict an early Spring. Check out my blog on the Staten Island Zoo on VisitingaMuseum.com.

Staten Island Chuck makes his prediction every February 2nd.

Staten Island Chuck stuffed toy is the best thing to buy in the gift shop

The politicians and Zoo Management on stage in 2025

Spring was coming early 2025

Was it Winter or Spring at the Staten Island Zoo in 2025

The costumed Chuck during the ceremony

mywalkinmanhattan

I had planned to go out to Punxsutawney, PA again for Groundhog’s Day but the weather really turned this year. There was an Arctic Vortex (or whatever they are calling it this week) and the weather plunged in Pennsylvania. It was going to be 20 degrees on Groundhog’s Day (that meant 0 degrees that night) and raining when I would drive home on Sunday and I thought that would be over doing it for me.

I later saw that it did go up to 38 degrees that day in Punxsutawney, higher than expected but the overnight Friday night into Saturday was 4 degrees and sorry but the thought of standing in Gobbler’s Knob for five and a half hours in that weather was too much. I did that in 2016 in 30 degrees and that was bad enough. I will wait until next year.

I then remembered that we have…

View original post 1,764 more words

Bronx Museum of the Arts 1040 Grand Concourse The Bronx, NY 10456

The Bronx Museum of the Arts

1040 Grand Concourse

The Bronx, NY 10456

(718) 681-600

http://www.bronxmuseum.org/

Open: Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm/Monday & Tuesday Closed/Wednesday-Saturday 11:00am-6:00pm

Fee: Free

My review on Tripadvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g47369-d312012-Reviews-Bronx_Museum_of_the_Arts-Bronx_New_York.html?m=19905

I recently had some time to visit the Bronx Museum of the Arts when I was visiting Yankee Stadium recently for a football game. The museum is right down the road on the Grand Concourse. It is an impressive little museum.

I had wanted to see the exhibit “Art Versus Transit: 1977-1987” by artist Henry Chalfant who had recorded the graffiti art on the subway cars during the late 70’s into the early 1980’s. This is before the subway investing in the new subway cars that could be cleaned by hosing them off.

“Art versus Transit: 1977-1987”

The art was interesting as it was an expression of the times just when Hip-Hop was becoming popular and the City was going through the financial crisis. The artist did a good job capturing the times. Not only do we see the art but the music and dance as well of the time.

Subway Art

The other exhibition that I saw was “The Life and Times of Alvin Baltrop” which displayed the artist’s interpreted that Gay Community and the beginnings of the AIDS crisis. It was an another interesting perspective of the times of New York City.

Mission and Background:

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a contemporary art museum that connects diverse audience to the urban experience through its permanent collection, special exhibitions and education programs. Reflecting the borough’s dynamic communities. The Museum is the crossroad where artists, local residents, national and international visitors meet.

Today an internationally recognized cultural destination. The Bronx Museum of the Arts is committed to presenting new ideas and voices in a global context and making contemporary art a vital, relevant experience. For the past four decades, the Bronx Museum has presented hundreds of changing exhibitions featuring works by culturally diverse and under-represented artists from a spectrum of levels. Exhibition have investigated themes of special interest to the Bronx community while exploring the interplay between contemporary art and popular culture.

A permanent collection of over 2000 artworks in all visual media preserves and documents artists who are not typically represented within traditional museum collections by showcasing work by artists of African, Asian and Latin American ancestry, as well as artists for who the Bronx has been critical to their development. The Museum provides direct support to artists through Artist in the Marketplace, which nurtures the work of 35 emerging artists each year and providers professional development seminars culminating in a multi-site biennial exhibition and catalog.

The Museum’s education department empowers students from grades K-12 by offering a variety of programs that inspire academic proficiency visual literacy and critical thinking. Through the Group Visits Program, students are exposed to the Museum’s works during single-session tours lead by teaching artists. Through In-School Partnerships. Museum educators work with school teachers to encourage scholastic excellence through the application of arts education techniques in addition, the Museum’s Teen Council Program helps Bronx high-school students build applied arts and media skills as they create a variety of visual and text-based materials.

(Bronx Museum of the Arts Mission-Website)

History:

The Museum opened on May 11, 1971, in a partnership between the Bronx Council on the Arts, which was founded in 1961 and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The opening coincided with a borough-wide “Bronx Day” event. The first exhibit consisted of 28 paintings from the Met’s collection. The Museum was first housed in the first floor rotunda of the Bronx County Courthouse. Additional galleries were located in the Bronx’s Co-op City, Bedford Park and Allerton neighborhoods. In its first 12 years of operation, the museum held over 350 exhibitions.

In 1982, the city purchased a vacant synagogue at 165th Street and the Grand Concourse as a new location for the museum. The new location opened to the public in May 1983 in conjunction with “Bronx Week”, which succeeded “Bronx Day”. The new space was inaugurated with an exhibition of twentieth artwork. It consisted of paintings, photographs and prints borrowed from the Met.

In February 2004, construction began on a $19 million expansion project that doubled the museum’s size 33.000 square feet. The expansion opened in October 2006. In 2008, a arts center was added to accommodate educational programs for local schoolchildren and their families. The Museum no longer charges fees since 2012.

The Bronx Museum of Art and its additions

The original design was by Simon B. Zelnick in 1961 and the extensions were designed by Castro-Blanco, Piscioneri & Feder in 1988 and a second addition in 2006 by Arquitectonica.

(The Bronx Museum WIKI)

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: