Photographs and thoughts on photography and camera collecting
As I started my journey up the walkway along the East River I turned around and looked south along the river. This is the view I encountered: pretty spectacular. I guess the East River is more impressive that I thought it was. And if you look at a map, you’ll find that the East River is much narrower than the Hudson River, which passes along the other side of Manhattan Island.
Taken with a Sony RX10 IV
I was now feeling a little hungry. I noticed that I was passing Parnell’s Pub on the corner of 53rd Street and First Avenue. I’d been there before, but not in a very long time. So, I decided to stop and have some lunch. I resisted the temptation to have something heavy because I would still be walking for a while. I also decide to pass on the beer (gasp!) for the same reason.
I ended up having an omelette, a small salad and some coleslaw. It really hit the spot.
Taken with a Sony RX10 IV
Not much of a photograph. A very ordinary picture of a not particularly picturesque building. But it has a particular significance for me.
I first came to New York in 1974 and started to work for the United Nations, specifically the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). At that time Unicef was in this building at 866 UN Plaza. As I recall the building was called the Alcoa Building in those days.
Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.
My grandson, Alexander is currently living in New York City, and I recently went into the city to have dinner with him. He wasn’t available until after 5:00pm so I decided to go in early, walk around and take some pictures. My original plan was to have a walk around Central Park, but I changed my mind and instead decided to walk over to First Avenue, then up to about 54th Street where I would head towards the East River and then head north along the walkway by the river.
Once upon a time I used to spend a lot of time in this area, but I hadn’t been there for many years. After walking for a while I realized that some of the most significant events in my life happened along here. But that’s a story for another day – maybe?
Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.
Isaac Newton Spiegelberg was born in 1859. His family were wholesale clothing merchants who had done well during the Civil War. Although born in the USA he was educated in Germany. Trained as an engineer, he worked for a while on Switzerland’s St. Gotthard Railway. He eventually returned to the US, where he worked on the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, mostly in Oklahoma. In 1884 he moved away from engineering and took up brokerage with the firm of J & W Seligman. .
In 1909, he built a large (forty-nine room) mansion in the then popular Tudor Revival style on around twenty acres off Sleepy Hollow Road in Briarcliff Manor. He named it “Miramont Court” (Spiegel-mirror, Berg-Mountain). A later owner renamed it “Brandywine”
For the full story see a piece I just prepared for the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society: Miramont Court/Brandywine, the Estate of Isaac Newton Spiegelberg. Notebook 2025-3
I live about three miles from Miramont Court/Brandywine. On occasion I’ve walked there. It takes about an hour.
Taken with a Sony RX100 VII.