New York State - Arrival, restaurants, shows, museums, architecture & more - March 2026

As we approached Manhattan our ears got ready for honking & sirens.

JFK en route to Manhattan along the Van Wyck Expressway, Queens, NY.

JFK en route to Manhattan. Queens, NY.

My 1st pediatric dental office was on Queens Blvd. On our arrival in NY, it was surprisingly warm so I could have the taxi’s window down a lot.

Taken from the taxi JFK en route to Manhattan.

Naomi spotted this bus.

And then the train showed up.

En route to Manhattan.

Manhattan from a taxi.

"Discover Zadig & Voltaire's collections of luxury ready-to-wear, leather goods and accessories."

Cafe Luxembourg, 200 W. 70th St., NY, NY.

Many times we go here the first night we arrive in Manhattan. It always is a beautiful back & forth 1.5 mile walk to our hotel on 54th & 6th. Last time we were here, Valentine’s Day 2025, Nathan Lane was at the adjacent table.

We did have one celebrity sighting this visit. Nomi spotted Stanley Tucci down near Lincoln Center.

New Yorkers going to work. 6th Ave. @ W. 54th St. from our 6th floor c. 1926 Warwick Hotel window.

The Beatles held a press conference upon their arrival at the Warwick Hotel, August 13, 1965. Bob Dylan visited them here. “James Dean, Jane Rus sell, Elizabeth Taylor, Meyer Lansky , and Elvis Presley were frequent guests, and Cary Grant lived there for 12 years.”

Breakfast with a bialy.

ASTRO Restaurant, 6th Avenue (of the Americas) & 55th St., NY,NY., diagonally across the street from the Warwick.

We had five breakfasts here. After one server told the chef she’d kill him if the potatoes were not crispy they were finally great.

c. 1974 Solow building overlooking 57th & 58th Streets, NY, NY. The block west of the building has been demolished. For some reason, one building still stands.

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Value.

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We couldn’t find a bus stop for the M1, 2,4 or 4 buses to take us uptown. We took a taxi to "Robert Rauschenberg's New York: Pictures from the Real World."

Museum of the City of New York 5th Ave. between 103 & 104 Streets.

"American Flag, Enough is Enough." 1980.

“…cut off but readable is the Vietnam-era slogan, used since for many humanitarian causes: ‘Bring them home.’ Rauschenberg was non-partisan, but he famously summarized his views: ‘It is impossible to have progress without conscience'.’"

"Robert Rauschenberg's New York: Pictures from the Real World." Museum of the City of New York.

"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" Paul Simon, 1972. I was unaware that a video was made of this song.

“Playful, kinetic, and full of surprises, Songs of New York is an immersive interactive experience that introduces visitors to a full range of music from and about New York City, from the 1920s to the 2020s, showcasing everything from be-bop to K-pop, across genres, boroughs, and musical movements. Songs of New York reflects on topics like the subway, apartments, nightlife, and neighborhoods, toggling through acts as diverse as Susanne Vega, Tito Puente, Merle Haggard, LCD Sound system, Yoko Ono, Lil’ Kim, and many, many others.”

The best interactive exhibit we’ve ever experienced in a museum.

JOE MACKEN'S MODEL. Museum of the City of New York. HE BUILT THIS CITY:

“Created entirely by hand from everyday materials including balsa wood, cardboard, and glue, Joe Macken's monumental model of New York City is the product of 21 years of passion and perseverance…Macken began this project in 2004 with no prior artistic training or building experience. The project began as an attempt to carve a single structure, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, but slowly expanded outward one building at a time into a complete and detailed replica of the city Macken loves... the first time the model has been exhibited in New York City—the very subject of the work.”

Back entrance to HE BUILT THIS CITY: JOE MACKEN'S MODEL. Museum of the City of New York.

Walking down to the Jewish Museum on 92nd & Fifth.

The Jewish Museum. 5th Avenue & 92nd Street.

“Other Possible Worlds centers on Paul Klee's work from the 1930s.…these paintings and drawings reflect a sociopolitical viewpoint not often associated with the artist…this exhibition reveals the way Klee's lifelong radical individuality and imagination persisted as a form of resistance-both subtle and overt-to Nazi ideology and persecution.”

“…National Socialists deemed Klee's art subversive and degenerate and dismissed him from his post at the Düsseldorf Academy. Though Klee was not Jewish, they identified him as a ‘Galician Jew.’”

Paul Klee, Late Evening Looking Out At the Woods (spät Abends aus dem Wald geblickt), 1937.

Oil on paper with brown sizing.

Chef David Teyf’s Lox at the Jewish Museum 5th Ave. @ 92nd Street.

SCHMALTZ HERRING (SILODKA) FROM THE BARREL SERVED WITH A COMPLIMENTARY ICED VODKA SHOT

Pickled onions with dill, fresh cucumbers, boiled potatoes. Served with healthy borodinsky black bread.

Walking to dinner at the Seahorse.

Telephone receivers to use with a mobile phone at MoMA's museum store.

Seahorse, “a modern seafood restaurant and raw bar driven by global influences” on Union Sq. NY, NY.

Warwick Hotel with the arrow pointing to our rooms.

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Breakfast savories.

Paragon Sporting Goods Co, where I was told to go to buy my 1st bicycle jerseys, in 1974. Greenwich Village.

Jim Lennarty "Listen" 2017 was installed in 2019 on 6th (Ave. of the Americas) & 54th St. https://californer.com/dca/jim-rennerts-monumental-sculpture-listen-installation-in-midtown-manhattan-californer-10046284

We hadn’t encountered this mosaic before. TIme’s Sq. or 42nd St.??

We were on our way to the Transit Museum in Grand Central Station.

Kenneth Cole

“MTA seam up boot”. “ …have a side pocket that's the perfect size to stow a MetroCard.”

Nina Boesch Katz's 2025

"...using the MetroCard's limited color palette..."

Grand Central Station waiting to take the Metro North to the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx.

Through the dirty windows of the Metro North.

The New York Botanical Garden - The Orchid Show.

The New York Botanical Garden - The Orchid Show. Moth orchid.

The New York Botanical Garden - The Orchid Show.

Nerve plant, Fittonia albivenis,

ACANTHACEAE

Venezuela to Brazil & Peru.

The New York Botanical Garden -

The Orchid Show.

Mr. Flower Fantastic's CAR WASH.

Meanwhile, now in Brooklyn, the view from apt. 602 in Prospect Hts. The Manhattan skyline is now obliterated by buildings. The Atlantic Avenue corridor has been rezoned to encourage development.

Walking to OTWAY for dinner.

I’m sure this building will soon be demolished.

Walking along Fulton Street to OTWAY in Clinton HIll Brooklyn for dinner.

BELASCO THEATRE as we awaited the start of the Municipal Art Society (MAS) Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

We soon learned that the windows above the entrance indicated that this was an “impresario threatre.” The impresario had his office & living quarters above the theatre.

Awaiting the start of the MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour with Anthony Robins.

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

That’s steam on the upper left.

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

“Honoring the history of the building, built by Stanford White in 1905, we seek to re-imagine the hospitable purpose of the original Lambs Club—a private members club for Broadway/Film actors and actresses known as ‘The Lambs’—this time as a public restaurant, bar and event space. The purpose, however, still remains as true as ever; to create an oasis from the bustling life of New York City and offer a space to eat, drink, relax and be taken care of.”

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

The ca. 1903 Hudson Theatre, an impresario theatre. MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

TImes Sq. "Dubbed The Constellation Ball, the iconic sphere holds 5,280 Waterford crystals and is the ‘largest’ yet, according to ball-drop organizer One Times Square. ...it will be the ninth to drop from the historic One Times Square building since the annual tradition began in 1907."

I didn't know what this was. The decor & employees in white caps caught my attention. "Welcome to I'm donut ?, where tradition meets innovation under the guidance of our founder, Chef Ryouta Hirako. Poised to captivate the heart of New York City with our first U.S. location in Times Square, I'm donut ? redefines the very essence of what a donut can be. We offer sweet and savory donuts, equally delicious at breakfast, lunch, dinner or late night." "Chef Ryouta Hirako is the visionary founder of the I'm donut ? concept, which originates in Japan." "Poised to captivate the heart of New York City with our first U.S. location in Times Square…”

Ca. 1903 LYCEUM THEATRE detail.

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

Paramount Bldg. Completed in 1927, it was the tallest building in Times Square.

The four faced clock “…the hours denoted by five-pointed stars (forming a circle of stars as used in the Paramount Pictures logo)…”

“The Paramount Building is offering partial and full floor, pre-built and white-boxed spaces perfect for any tenant looking to move to the heart of New York City.”

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

"Perched atop the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, The View Restaurant, Bar & Lounge is NYC’s only revolving rooftop dining experience." We would he headed there for dinner later.

MAS’ Tony Robins related that five theaters (two of them active) were demolished to make way for this Marriott. It caused an uproar & eventually the landmarking of most of the remaining theaters. But as Tony said, when you are inside this Marriott, it’s theater.

Tony led us into a sporting goods store. It had been a theatre whose interior was landmarked so it was kept intact.

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

The James Earl Jones theater. Landmarking required that the name CORT THEATRE ca. 1912, be kept.

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

The ca. 1931 Brill Bldg. “… housed music industry offices and studios where some of the most popular American songs were written.” Think Carole King…

Colony Records was once down below. “We have every genre of music that you could think of. Our motto is, ‘I found it at the colony.’ ”

MAS Times Sq./B'dway Theater District Walking Tour.

We had to leave the MAS Tour early to get to…

…

…a show…

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… at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Playwrights Horizons.

The stage for “No Singing In The Navy.”

Very clever staging & lighting.

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From the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Playwrights Horizons. A view of ultimate urban living.

The ca. 1903-1920 LYRIC THEATRE was totally redone in 1998.

Ca. 1900 NEW VICTORY THEATER. “

On December 11, 1995, the refurbished theater reopened as the New Victory Theater, becoming the city's first off-Broadway theater for kids and families.”

We once took Eloïse & Luca to a puppet show here.

That’s a lot of subway lines…

…coming into Times Sq.

Times Sq.

While walking to the 42nd Street Library we noticed this sculpture.

“The Guardians: Hero, 2013 ANTONIO PIO SARACINO. On the occasion of 2013 - Year of Italian Culture in the U.S. Donated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Italy, Washington DC, the Consulate General of Italy, New York.”

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The New York Public Library.

“Often referred to as the ‘main branch,' the Beaux-Arts landmark building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street…”

Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures. We’ve seen many great exhibits here. Elliot suggested we stop by on our way to dinner on Times Sq.

Zoom in on the lower right to read about the "Berliner Gram-O-Phone."

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Likely soon to be a huge building here. According to Tony Robins NYC has made it attractive for developers to build around Times Sq.

It’s nice to admire the old stuff remaining.

Since 1965, Little Italy Pizza has been at this, their only location, on West 45th Street.

“Michail's Barber Shop stands as a testament to traditional barbering in a modern urban landscape…”

I couldn’t resist this billboard but didn’t take a photo of the few folks in line to enter. RISENY - "Experience New York like you've never seen before! RiseNY is a 3-part immersive experience in Times Square including a film, museum & soaring 4D ride over NYC."