Blog
Architecture
05/14/13 12:00pm

Diderot’s 1765 Plans for the Louvre

by
Grand Gallery of the Louvre by Thomas Allom c. 1844

Grand Gallery of the Louvre by Thomas Allom c. 1844

Did you know that the encyclopedists wanted to open up the gardens and galleries of the Louvre Palace to the public long before it was slated to become a museum? The Palais du Louvre was constructed in 1190 by Philippe Auguste as a fortress to protect against Norman invasions. It was home to François Ier during the Renaissance. Henri IV built the Grand Gallery connecting the royal apartments in the Louvre to the Tuileries palace.  The Louvre as it appears today was completed under Louis XIV, with additions by Louis XV. But it was only after the French Revolution that the Louvre was finally converted from a royal residence to the museum we know and love today. But over a decade before the Revolution, when Diderot and D’Alembert were compiling the Encyclopedia, their entry for the Louvre not only tells the palace’s history but makes some suggestions for its use that were rather advanced at the time: (more…)

,
Architecture
05/14/13 11:00am

The Brooklyn Navy Yard & Commandant’s House

by

As part of a Municipal Art Society Jane’s Walk with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, we had a chance to check out the Navy Yard Hospital and the surrounding area. Our tour was led by Milton Puryear, lead planner and co-founder of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and Michael Porto, an engineer and board member. This site, visible from the BQE, is one of the largest currently vacant parcels we have been to in Brooklyn. This section of the Navy Yard has been abandoned for decades and not used as a hospital since 1948, when the Navy Hospital was moved to a larger facility in St. Albans, Queens. The main building is made of pristine Tuckahoe Marble, while next door is the Surgeon’s house. Both gorgeous buildings, even in decay.

BK_Greenway12

BK_Greenway9 (more…)

, , ,
Transit
05/14/13 10:00am

Daily What?!: The Vintage Car along the LIRR (WB2AHK@AOL.COM)

by

WB2AHK@AOL.COM_Jamaica_Queens_NYC_Vintage Car

Commuters on the Long Island Railroad are familiar with this sight near Jamaica Station: a vintage car atop a shipping container with the sign WB2AHK@AOL.COM in front of it. Turns out the WB2AHK refers to an amateur radio station which plays a role in assisting during emergencies. The operator of the station, Chester Brown, owns a car shop and set up a Ham radio station there.

(more…)

, ,
Arts & Culture
05/14/13 9:30am

Bluth’s Banana Stand from Arrested Development in NYC until Thursday

by

arrested development banana stand 1

Fans of the television show Arrested Development are intimately familiar with the Bluth family’s original frozen banana stand. For those New Yorkers who have (*gasp*) never seen an episode of Arrested Development, just know, the money is in the banana stand. The traveling banana stand, which turned up at Radio City yesterday, was sponsored by Netflix to promote the upcoming season of Arrested Development, which will be exclusively on Netflix starting May 26th.

(more…)

Architecture
05/14/13 9:00am

Featured Foursquare List of Abandoned Hospitals, Graveyards, Bridges in NYC

by
Batceiling

Gowanus Batcave Ceiling

Each week, we’ll feature one of our popular lists on Foursquare (or exciting additions to them). Check out our Foursquare page and follow us for tips on the go and download the app.

Our most popular list on Foursquare is our Abandoned NYC list. These are Untapped Cities’ favorite abandoned spots in NYC. Some are break-in-able, some open to the public, some only for the intrepid. Currently with 28 locations (we add to it regularly), it features some great summer escapes like Fort Totten, Dead Horse Bay and Bannerman’s Island. Some places are harder to access, like Glenwood Power Plant and the Gowanus Batcave (both of which have recently been closed off for gutting/renovation, North Brother Island, and some of the abandoned theaters.

(more…)

, , ,
Arts & Culture
05/13/13 5:32pm

[Photos] Obama Arriving on Air Force One to JFK Airport

by

Barack Obama_Air Force One_JFK Airport_NYC-10

We had the honor to greet President Barack Obama as he arrived by Air Force One to JFK Airport, before he hopped onto helicopters for events in Manhattan.  After a security and check-in, we were escorted to a waiting area set up next to the tarmac. With a small group, even Secret Service joked at us (see photos below). The plane landed, Obama emerged, came down the staircase, and went directly to the audience spending time to say hello and shake hands with everyone.

According to an Untapped reader who wrote in, “the helicopters become ‘Marine One’ the moment POTUS steps aboard. and ‘Air Force One’ becomes SAM 28000. There are an identical pair of them, one acts as a decoy.”

 

,
Arts & Culture
05/13/13 5:00pm

Giant Rubber Ducky in Hong Kong Harbor

by

Duck_Hong Kong_Harbor

A lot has already been written about the six-story giant rubber duck that Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman is bringing around the world, most recently to Hong Kong harbor, but we wanted to share this reader-submitted photo by Aby Sam Varghese in Hong Kong, a less-common nighttime photo.  Artist Hofman says the duck is for all, “We’re one family and all the waters in the world is our global bathtub.”

Submit photos to our photo pool by hashtagging #untappedcities in your Instagram or Twitter photos.

Transit
05/13/13 4:00pm

Vintage Train Ride on the S Line for Grand Central Parade of Trains

by
Vintage subway trains on the S line this weekend

Vintage subway trains on the S line this weekend

So much was happening around the Grand Central Parade of Trains yesterday. Families reveled in “Kid Junction” at Vanderbilt Hall, historic railcars were on display on the tracks in Grand Central, 1950s and 60s vintage trains were running along the S train, and Untapped Cities had  its “Secrets of Grand Central” tour which concluded with cocktails at The Campbell Apartment.

(more…)

,
Food & Drink
05/13/13 3:00pm

Nocturnal Halal Mania: The Halal Guys’ Reign of Lamb and Chicken

by

Exterior_The Halal Guys_Midtown New York_Untapped Cites_Matthew Dorian Corbin

The Halal Guys, alternately known as 53rd and 6th Halal Cart has had a lot of buzz about the sheer amount of food you get for your money, balanced by its quality. It’s located in a part of midtown associated with children screaming outside of Carnagie Hall and sickly horses carrying people who learned intimacy from movies starring Matt LeBlanc.

Halal is the word in Arabic for that which is permissible in Islam to consume. (more…)

, ,
Arts & Culture
05/13/13 2:35pm

Red, Yellow and Blue at Madison Square Park

by

madison square park Red, Yellow and Blue 2

From May 2, through September 8, Orly Genger‘s monumental Red, Yellow and Blue, will be exhibited in Madison Square Park. Intricately hand-knotted nautical ropes covered in paint brighten the landscape of the park. Genger created an interactive work that appears to rise out of the ground and then flow seamlessly back into it. The work consists of 1.4 million feet of rope—the total length equating to nearly 20 times the length of Manhattan—covered in over 3,000 gallons of paint, and weighing over an astounding 100,000 pounds. (more…)

, ,
« Previous Page Next Page »