Hil, I lived in NYC in the sixties, the era of John Lindsey. The stated goal was to be "the most forward-looking city on EARTH!" There were citywide essays sponsored about it; I remember being shown designs that would "help us beat out all the other cities in the world!" and shuddering. The designs eventually became (I do not love irony, and never less than on this subject) the WTC. It wasn't my perception: it was hard politics. The motto was a sort of cutthroat competitive "first into the future!" thing. Looking for bits of the past was not encouraged. Neither the competitive thing nor the "let's look forward only!" attitude of the city's administration appealed to me in the least. I'm a history tutor.
There always seemed, back then, to be a sense that the city had completely reinvented itself to be the ultimate 20th century town. It was literally as if there was a 100-year gap in New York's personal diary: the entire 19th century was sort of shaken off in the schools, the papers, and it all became about whoosh, starting again at the year 1901, a kind of fin de siecle rebirth. Local history talked about Peter Stuyvesant and Lafayette, went up to the end of the 18th century, and then nothing, until the 20th. It was really weird, and very schizophrenic. I mean, WTF? NY has this incredibly rich 19th century. Where'd it go?
The older parts of the city, the pre 1900 landmarks, were trotted out for the tourists. As a historian, I couldn't understand why anyone wanted to bury so much richness under the need to be new; I still don't get it, and not just about New York in the sixties. London, another large city I can't make myself spend too much time in anymore, has 1700 years on New York, and it nearly did the same thing: the London skyline is dotted with the need to be moderne, a proliferation of completely inappropriate skyscrapers. It looks much worse in London, I think, just because there's so much more antiquity.
But hell, I'm always going to prefer the smaller, the more eclectic, the less aggressive and competitive, when it comes to cities. Florence over Rome, Barcelona over Madrid, Geneva over Zurich. Just, in terms of antiquity, I think Boston (and Philadelphia, as well) wears it better than most, in terms of east coast cities. An argument could probably be made for sections of the south, as well, but I can't claim having spent any major time there. I can speak to NY, though. Seven years, from a month before JFK was assassinated until 1970.
Oh, and I'm with Heather. The Big Easy has got it going on for its own history.
We wuz robbed.
Ah, the tag line for the Boston fans. Whiners.
Whiners.
Heh. I still want to know what happens if the Cubs play the Sox in the series. Does the sun implode, or something?
Me too, but I'm not sure I want the World Series of the Apocalypse in the run-up to Nov. 2.
Heh. I still want to know what happens if the Cubs play the Sox in the series. Does the sun implode, or something?
Especially this year, because of Nomar.
Ah, the tag line for the Boston fans. Whiners.
Oh YEAH? Well...I'll show you a.....tag line......YEAH.
I don't know, but put your head between your legs, and get ready to kiss your arse goodbye, just in case, deb.
Narrator, there was a really funny two part piece on the Red Sox, Yankees, and well...Lego-vision. Part 1, Part 2.
Oooh! Lilty, part two is up! See up there.
I was just thinking about how amazing it was that Nilly was able to make it to so many places in one trip. The fact that she made it to DC for, what? 36 hours? Just makes me so damn happy. Total gift.
My pictures will be ready Sunday. Also makes me happy.
I have peanut butter cup ice cream. Yup. Happy.
ETA: I have no position on baseball teams.
I was just thinking about how amazing it was that Nilly was able to make it to so many places in one trip.
Jen, isn't it amazing? I still think NoiseDesign is a champion for making the 400 mile drive in each direction 24 hours apart, to show her the centre of California. And I was extremely privileged to be able to host her, and have so many people together under my roof. Many thanks to all concerned, but most of all to Nilly herself, for providing the impetus for me to stuff the stupid disease into a closet for a week and show off the way I used to. I'd not willingly have missed a minute of it.
This is a ridiculously huge country. There's a lot she could see on future visits: New England when the sap's running and the leaves are really turning, a ride around Minneapolis (I can hear her now, her reaction to being driven around the Lake of the Isles and seeing the entire amusement park, with rides, inside the Mall of America, just brings her right back), finding someone from Metairie to make her purely kosher pralines, riding around on the El in Chicago, the ancient stones at Alamogordo, the Grand Canyon....
I have no position on baseball teams, either, but I'm in favor of peanut butter cup ice cream.
And I'm with Deb on smaller and more eclectic cities. I'll share a secret. I've had a bit of a phobia about cities since a sudden and completely unexpected attack of something similar to claustrophobia in Philly.
But I loved San Francisco. I couldn't get enough of the architecture, the juxtaposition of styles. Make of that what you will.
