IWalked Audio Tours

IWalked New York City’s International Telephone and Telegraph Building

scott — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:05:05 +0000

Located at 67 Broad Street is a building that is known as the International Telephone Building. It was originally built in 1928 by the same man largely responsible for building up much of the Garment District, Abraham Lefcourt. The structure was purchased in 1930 by the International Telephone and Telegraph Company and has held its name ever since.

This 35-story, 433-foot structure captured our interest for one significant feature located near the building’s southwestern entrance. Here there is a mosaic dome of angel (whom appears to be quite proficient with the Abs of Steel program) uniting the western and eastern hemispheres (shown as two globes) via the power of electricity (demonstrated via a bolt of lightning hovering over the two globes).

Website: http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/

Address: 67 Broad Street, New York City, NY

Cost: Free.

IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: New York City’s Lower Manhattan. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all NYC tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE NYC Lite application, which includes a free 1.5 hour tour of a portion of the Upper West Side.)

IWalked Boston’s Beacon Hill – Street History / Tales

scott — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:59:58 +0000

Ever find yourself walking a neighborhood, perhaps for the first time or perhaps for the hundredth time, and wondering, “How did this street get its name?” or “”What is this street most noted for?” IWalked Audio Tours has done our homework for you to provide a history of some of the most popular streets in Boston’s Beacon Hill:

1. Pinckney Street – This street was named in honor of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney whom was the U.S. Minister to France while serving under President John Adams. Pinckney actually ran for Presidency himself versus Thomas Jefferson in 1804 as part of the Federalist Party. He was, however, handily defeated due to Jefferson’s high popularity after having recently negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.

2. Chestnut Street – Obviously named for the lush landscaping around it. Chestnut is best known and adored for its gas street lamps, window boxes and wrought-iron balconies. Food connoisseurs may catch a glimpse of Chef Todd English who owns a 3-story 3-bedroom carriage house in the area.

3. Bowdoin Street – Named for the second governor of Massachusetts, James Bowdoin, in 1805. Previously the street was known as Middlecott Street. The street which now Bowdoin’s name was also the locale of his former 18^th century home (at the intersection with Beacon Street).

4. Joy Street – Dr. John Joy was a former prestigious landowner within the area. His property was said to cover an area approximately bordered by Joy, Walnut and Mount Vernon Streets. Upon the land was an elegant home developed by Charles Bulfinch in 1791. Dr. Joy was a member of the Mount Vernon Proprietors which initially helped develop real estate within Beacon Hill.

5. Beacon Street – Likely named for the warning beacon which formerly resided atop a series of three hills known as the Trimount. These hills formerly existed at the site of the current Massachusetts State House. The history of this beacon may be read here.

6. Acorn Street – Claims to be the “Most Photographed Street in the United States.” See our full article on it here.

7. Louisburg Square - Built in 1835 and named for the 1745 Battle of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. It is the last private square in all of Boston. For more details on it, you may read here.

8. Charles Street – This is the only commercial street within Beacon Hill and is mostly known for its abundance of antique stores. Scenes from the 2006 Martin Scorsese film, The Departed, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Jack Nicholson were filmed here.

Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_Hill,_Boston

Address: Various Streets (See above), Boston, MA

Cost: Free.

IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: Boston’s Beacon Hill. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all Boston tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE Boston Lite application, which includes a free 1 hour tour of a portion of Downtown.)

IWalked Boston’s Common – Lafayette Monument

scott — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:24:19 +0000

Artist John Paramino has four works located within the Boston Common. These include the Declaration of Independence plaque, the Founders Memorial, the Commodore John Barry Monument and this monument dedicated to Marquis de Lafayette. This monument was unveiled in 1924 on the centennial of Lafayette’s visit to Boston and to celebrate the renaming of the former Tremont Mall (the path parallel to Tremont Street) in his honor.

Lafayette is best known for leading his troops to victory at the Siege of Yorktown at which the infamous British General Charles Cornwallis finally surrendered in 1781, thereby virtually ending the Revolutionary War. In 1825 Lafayette laid the cornerstone for the Bunker Hill Monument and upon his death in Paris in 1834 was buried under a handful of the soil from the hill.

Website: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM7B26_Marquis_de_Lafayette_Memorial__Boston_MA

Address: Boston Common, Boston, MA. Near the intersection of Tremont Street and Temple Place.

Cost: Free.

IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: Boston’s Common and Public Gardens. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all Boston tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE Boston Lite application, which includes a free 1 hour tour of a portion of Downtown.)

IWalked New York City’s Battery Park – Netherlands Monument

scott — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:28:21 +0000

Located just across the street from the National Museum of the American Indian, and situated within Battery Park, is a monument to the founding of New York City by the Dutch. This work of art is known as The Netherlands Monument or the Netherlands Memorial Flagpole. Perhaps the best introduction or overview of this monument is to cite the plaque(s) on the base of this flagpole. There is both a Dutch and English version of this translation on two different sides of the base. The English inscription reads as follows:

On the 22^nd of April 1625 the Amsterdam Chamber of the West India Company decreed the establishment of Fort Amsterdam and the creation of ten adjoining farms. The purchase of the island of Manhattan was accomplished in 1626, thus was laid the foundation of the city of New York.

Now in regards to the Netherlands Monument itself, it appears as a large flagpole with a sculpted pedestal. We’ve already described two of the sides with the Dutch and English transcriptions; however, if you glance at the north side you may see a picture of Peter Minuit and an Indian in headdress exchanging payment for the eventual sale of Manhattan. This sculpture was dedicated in 1926 to mark the 300^th anniversary of the settlement of the Dutch in America. To read more about the purchase of Manhattan you may read here.

Website: http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/batterypark/highlights/8094

Address: Battery Park, New York City, NY

Cost: Free.

IWalked New York City’s Liz Lemon Apartment

scott — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:04:42 +0000

Only in the Upper West Side can one be neighbors to both Will and Grace and Liz Lemon of 30 Rock. Tina Fey’s character from the hit television series reportedly lived at this sixteen-story co-op for seasons one through four before moving onto nearby 168 Riverside Drive. The ironic part of all of this? The show still uses this beige-brick building at 160 Riverside Drive to represent her home.

160 Riverside Drive is a real-life cooperative and has been since its construction in 1929. The sixteen story-story building currently houses approximately seventy apartment units.

Website: http://blog.padmapper.com/2010/08/12/5-new-york-city-apartments-we-all-know-and-love/

Address: 160 Riverside Drive, New York City

Cost: Free.

IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: New York City’s Upper West Side (Free Bonus Edition). (Download the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all NYC tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE NYC Lite application, which includes a free 1.5 hour tour of a portion of the Upper West Side.)

IWalked New York City’s Federal Reserve Bank of New York

scott — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:46:36 +0000

This imposing fortress-like stone structure was constructed in 1924 and upon its completion served as a working model which many future banks would be built. Some feel it has an Italian Renaissance place feel to it with its alternating pattern of limestone and sandstone along its exterior. The building stands fourteen feet tall but it is the five stories underground that are of interest here.

Located fifty feet below sea level and eighty feet below street level is a vault said to hold twenty-five percent of the world’s existing gold. The reserve is reportedly the largest in the world, although the Swiss banks do not official report the size of their reserves. It is reported that 7,000 tons of gold bullion are maintained here. The owners of this gold belong to thirty-six different countries for which no storage fee is charged. Countries are charged a fee, however, when gold is transferred between two parties for when this occurs it is a manual process. The gold is literally loaded onto a cart by an employee of the Reserve and physically transferred to the recipient’s storage space.

You can tour the Reserve for free however, advance reservations are required. To schedule a tour you must do so online approximately 3-4 weeks in advance of your preferred date/time. The tours are offered rather frequently Mon-Fri 9:30am-3:30pm. And the best part of the tours is that you actually get to visit the vault where you can admire the stacks of gold piled inside.

Now one last bit about the Federal Reserve. It is the site where U.S. currency is issued. If you’re interested in identifying if any of your dollar bills have originated from this branch look at the letter within the Federal seal just to the left of a $1 bill. If this letter is “B” then you know its source be the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Website: http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/visiting.html

Address: 33 Liberty Street, New York City, NY

Cost: Free.

IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: New York City’s Lower Manhattan. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. (Please note, all NYC tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE NYC Lite application, which includes a free 1.5 hour tour of a portion of the Upper West Side.)

IWalked Boston’s Edwin Booth Residence

scott — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:22:36 +0000

We could find many reasons for our visit to 29A Chestnut Street in Boston’s Beacon Hill. For starters, this building (as confirmed by the plaque outside) was one of the first buildings developed in the area by the Mount Vernon Proprietors. We could also spend time admiring and describing another brilliant example of architecture from 1800 that is attributed to famed architect Charles Bulfinch. Or, there is the fact that 29A Chestnut is one of the few remaining examples of the famed “purple panes” of Beacon Hill left to explore.

Our interest, however, lies in the tale of one of its former residences–Edwin Booth and his somewhat ironic relationship with one former U.S. President. Edwin was the brother of John Wilkes Booth whom assassinated Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. Edwin, a talented actor who was considered by many as one of the best Hamlet’s of his time, was actually participating in a play in a Boston Theater at the time of the assassination. When word of mouth of the incident arrived to Edwin, he immediately left Boston and went into isolation for months before appearing in front of a crowd again. Embarrassed by actions of his family it is said he was so scarred by the incident was he that he forbid mention of his brother’s name in his presence.

In a twist of irony however, if we roll back the clock a few months from this fateful evening, it was Edwin who saved the life of another member of the Lincoln family. The story goes that Lincoln’s son Robert was on a crowded train platform awaiting to board his train, when the force of the crowd nearly pushed him to the rails beneath the train. A strong hand grabbed him and, perhaps, saved his life. That hand belonged to Edwin Booth.

While history will never forgive one Booth brother for his atrocious act, it should be noted that another family member at least saved one Lincoln from also meeting an untimely demise.

Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Booth

Address: 29A Chestnut Street, Boston, MA

Cost: Free.

IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: Boston’s Beacon Hill. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all Boston tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE Boston Lite application, which includes a free 1 hour tour of a portion of Downtown.)

IWalked New York City’s American Museum of Natural History

scott — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:56:54 +0000

The American Museum of Natural History is situated within an eighteen-acre park known as Theodore Roosevelt Park. Inside the park are numerous gardens and benches. The museum itself is quite expansive in that it covers four city blocks. Outside the front entrance is a large memorial to Theodore Roosevelt that was sculpted by John Russell Pope in 1936. Pope is most noted for his architectural designs of the National Archives and Records Administration Building constructed in 1936 and the Jefferson Memorial constructed in 1943, both of both reside in Washington D.C.

The American Museum of Natural History was founded on April 6, 1869 when a man by the name of Albert Smith Bickmore obtained permission to build the museum. His audience consisted of the likes of J. Pierpont Morgan and Theodore Roosevelt himself. The initial museum opened in April 1871 at the site of the Central Park Arsenal. Just three years later, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant laid the cornerstone for the museum’s new home located along Central Park West. The original Victorian-style structure, which was completed in 1877, was designed by Central Park architects Calvin Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould. Through the course of numerous additions, that original building is now virtually obscured from site or recognition.

The current rusticated brownstone and granite structure consists of twenty-five interconnected buildings and contains forty-six permanent exhibition halls. The building also houses a significant research facility and library. Due the museum’s collection of 32 million plus specimens, they constantly strive to rotate out new pieces.

Now, if you wish to visit the American Museum of Natural History it is typically open all year round from 10am-5:45 pm, less Christmas and Thanksgiving. Admission prices may vary but currently go for $16 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and $9 for children aged 2-12.

Your three must see spaces within the museum include Milstein Hall of Ocean Life (conveniently located on the 1^st floor), the fossil hall (on the 4^th floor) and the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites (also on the 1^st floor). So briefly, beginning with the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, here you will find a 94-foot-long blue whale suspended from the ceiling. An amazing site to take in. The fossil hall is of course most noted for its two dinosaur halls. One thing that supposedly makes the American History Museum unique is that almost all of its fossils are real. In fact up to 85% of the fossils you see are real as opposed to being cast (something which I naively never considered when viewing). And lastly, within the Hall of Meteorites is just a small section of the 200-ton Cape York meteorite found n Greenland. A small section, mind you, weighing in at some thirty-one tons.

Now if you’re looking for some help in guiding your way through, the Museum has actually developed a fantastic iPhone application called “Explorer: The American Museum of Natural History.” It is available on iTunes and provides facts on many of the exhibits and also includes GPS capability to help you navigate through the museum. And the best part? It’s free.

Of course there are probably many of you who know the museum through its starring role in the 2006 film, Night at the Museum. In actuality, only the exterior shots of the film were real and the remainder of the film was actuality shot on a sound stage in Vancouver, British Columbia. Museum officials, however, reported that due to the film’s release that attendance rose almost 20% during the period the film was out.

Lastly, for those of you who may be in the area say around Thanksgiving, it is right in this area that they actually inflate all of the giant hot air balloons that you see floating around during the annual Macy’s day parade. So if you are able to take advantage of that, it’s a great time for the kids.

Website: http://www.amnh.org/

Address: Intersection of Central Park West / East 79th Street, New York City, NY

Hours: 10am-5:45 pm, less Christmas and Thanksgiving

Cost: $16 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and $9 for children aged 2-12

IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: New York City’s Upper West Side. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all NYC tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE NYC Lite application, which includes a free 1.5 hour tour of a portion of the Upper West Side.)

IWalked New York City’s Battery Park – The Diving Eagle

scott — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:33:11 +0000

Situated in the middle of eight granite slabs (known as the East Coast Memorial) is a large bronze eagle sculpture atop a black granite pedestal. The eagle stands atop the pedestal facing New York Harbor with a laurel wreath in its clutches as a further memorial tribute to the soldiers commemorated here. This sculpture was actually dedicated four years after the East Coast Memorial in 1963. Attending the ceremony and performing the dedication was President John F. Kennedy.

The eagle sculpture was created by an Italian-born sculptor named Albino Manca who won an open competition for the commission. Manca was born in Italy in 1898, but moved to New York when he was forty-one years old and lived in artist district of Greenwich Village. Other notable works which Mr. Manca created in his lifetime include the Gate of Life in the Queens Children’s Zoo and a collection of medals for the Vatican in Rome.

Inscribed upon the statue is the following:

1941 *** 1945

Erected by the United States of America

In Proud and Grateful Remembrance

Of her Sons

Who Gave Their Lives in Her Service

And Who Sleep in the American Coastal

Website: http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/batterypark/highlights/11995

Address: Battery Park, New York City, NY

Cost: Free.

IWalked New York City’s Battery Park – East Coast Memorial

scott — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:30:54 +0000

The East Coast Memorial is a series of eight large gray granite slabs located with the 25-acre Battery Park (typically just referred to as “The Battery” by locals). It was commissioned by a relatively unknown agency in the federal government known as the American Battle Monument Commission, or ABMC.

The nineteen-foot tall slabs are situated in two rows of four and contain the names, ranks and states of 4,601 U.S. servicemen who lost their lives in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. These memorials were dedicated in 1959 and designed by the architectural firm of Gehron & Seltzer.

Situated within the center of The East Coast Memorial is a strikingly impressive statue known as The Diving Eagle. You may read more about this sculpture here.

Website: http://www.abmc.gov/memorials/memorials/ec.php

Address: Battery Park, New York City, NY

Cost: Free.