New York: A cut above the rest

We have been very lucky to share the wonderful work of PaperBoyo’s time in New York City. With the TCS New York City Marathon fast approaching, we thought it might be a nice idea to share these fun and unique travel spots captured by PaperBoyo! If you are not too sure of PaperBoyo and his work, you can check out his Instagram account by clicking on the link below.

If you have any recommendations for New York City travel & you would like to share them, be sure to pop them in the comment section below.

Big thank you to @PaperBoyo for letting us share his incredible photographs!

 

 

King Kong!

Starting the New York series with an obvious one. Shot this from the top of @230fifthrooftop Thanks to those of you that recommended I go up here, great shout!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parachute Jump

Beside the Coney Island boardwalk is this structure, the Parachute Jump. When it opened in 1940, it was designed to simulate the experience of falling to earth in a parachute but it struggled to make money. So the operators came up with an idea; they offered free rides to young women who looked like “screamers”.

They’d then purposefully strand the ladies in mid-air during the descent so they, as expected, would scream in terror. Totally cruel, but for a while it did help to attract the crowds. However even these marketing tactics weren’t enough and combined with the fact that the ride often had to shut due to wind, it closed forever in 1964.

Since then the tower has survived abandonment, planned demolitions, fires & Hurricane Sandy. Even Trump’s Dad tried to pull this thing down but it’s still here- a series of feats worth blowing it’s own trumpet about I reckon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United Nations

Imagine this. You’re representing a country that is seeking a permanent place on the security council at the United Nations. You’ve flown half way around the world to make your very first speech here. It’s a big deal.

You want to ensure your address to international delegates is as memorable as possible right? Well, a man named SM Krishna managed that…by reading the wrong speech. Somehow the Indian minister read the Portuguese foreign minister’s speech & didn’t realise they weren’t his own words until three minutes in.

By that point he’d already given a warm welcome to Portuguese speaking members & discussed the role of the EU. When he finally realised his mistake he calmly put down the piece of paper, picked up the correct speech and started again #UnitedNations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy a drink & the view

I love the rooftops in this city, especially the ones with a cocktail bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guggenheim Museum

When Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned by Solomon Guggenheim to design a museum for his art collection, he went a bit over the top with some of his ideas.

His original concepts included a super fast glass-tube elevator that would whisk visitors up to the top of the building in moments & an automatic vacuum system in the lobby to constantly clean the dirt brought in by visitors.

According to Wright’s widow, he had become increasingly frustrated by the compromises he had been forced to make and although he passed away before the New York Guggenheim opened, she suspected he wouldn’t have attended the opening anyway.

However, if you ever visit the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (designed by Frank Gehry & opened in 1997) you’ll notice that there is a very modern looking glass-tube elevator in there. I like to think this was Gehry’s way of making at least one of Wright’s crazy ideas come to life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The local hero

We think this one practically speaks for it’s self…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manhattanhenge

There’s a phenomena called Manhattanhenge in NYC which happens a couple of days in the year when the setting sun aligns perfectly down the east and west grid system in Manhattan.

I didn’t quite get the photo I wanted because it was cloudy, but still had a great time gathering with the other photographers whilst we admired the view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wonder Wheel

When Denos Vourderis proposed to his girlfriend in front of the Wonder Wheel, he promised her that if she said yes; he would buy her the Wheel. She said yes (why wouldn’t she? He was basically offering her the world’s largest wedding ring)! That was in 1948 and over the decades Vourderis worked on keeping that promise. He ran bars, hot dog stands and children’s rides, working tirelessly to save enough cash.

Then one day in 1983, the Wheel’s owner decided to retire and offered the wheel to Vourderis. He immediately bought it. But the ride didn’t come with any sort of instruction manual- all that was passed on was a piece of paper, torn from a cigarette packet, with a few scribbled notes including the words “good luck”.

Having spent years in awe of the wheel and its mechanics, Denos quickly sussed out how to operate it and looked after the Wheel right up until he passed in 1994. The moral of the story is don’t be crazy and offer your girlfriend a great big wheel- you’ll spend your life regretting making such a ridiculous promise. Nah, I’m joking; this may be one of my favourite stories I’ve come across in NYC and what’s even sweeter is that Vourderis’ two sons have continued to look after this landmark since their father’s death

 

 

 

 

Romance is in the air..

The most romantic spot in the city? (For other great spots in NYC, check out @lonelyplanet ‘s app.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The watchman

Let me take you back to a December night in 1989. It’s late, Wall Street is empty except for a lonely night watchman. He is about to complete his rounds outside the Stock Exchange.

In eight minutes he’ll be back. A man named Arturo Di Modica knows this because he’s been casing the area every night for the last week. When the watchman is out of sight, Di Modica steers a truck down the street and pulls up in front of the large Christmas tree on Wall Street.

He and a group of friends jump out. In under five minutes they manage to lower a 3,200 kg bronze sculpture from the back of the truck to under the tree. When it’s done, the men take off in the truck but Di Modica stays behind. He wants to see the watchman’s reaction.

In fact, until noon the next day he stays hidden around a corner watching New Yorkers fall in love with his Christmas gift to the city. The Charging Bull has now moved here to Bowling Green, but if you ever visit the statue you’ll see the same thing Di Modica saw that morning- people falling in love with this fierce, bold, beautiful sculpture #ChargingBull

 

 

 

 

 

Times Square

Heading back to my hotel through Times Square and the reflections on passing cabs caught my eye. Kinda trippy #TimesSquare

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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