New Jersey – RDZ Photography

Virtual Travel – New Jersey

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Welcome to New Jersey – my usual first views of the state are landing at Newark airport, for better or worse.

At the other end you can take a ferry from Delaware.

Overview

1955 2000 2002/2003/2004

The New Jersey State Capitol is in Trenton. (Photo from Flickr)

The unusual state symbols of the day include:

State Colors – Jersey Blue and Buff. This dates from the Revolutionary War when Washington assigned the colors to the regiments of the New Jersey Continental Line. It is thought he chose these because New Jersey (as well as New York) were settled by the Dutch, and those colors are the Netherlands colors.

State Tall Ship – A.J. Meerwald. This ship, built in 1928, is featured on maps below. It is a Oyster Schooner.

Officially known as the New Jersey State House, the building was completed in the 1790s, behind the capitols in Maryland and Virginia.

Let’s visit some other cities in the state starting with Atlantic City. It’s main business since being started in the 1850s has been tourism. It was marketed to the crowded city folks in New York and Philadelphia as a healthy resort on the ocean.

By the 1870s more than 500,000 people a day made their way to Atlantic City. By the early 1900s it had large hotels lining the coast, along those streets whose names have been made famous by the board game Monopoly, as well as the notoriety from the Miss America Pagent.

The mayor of the time quoted during Prohibition ‘we have whiskey, wine, women, song and slot machines. I won’t deny it and I won’t apologize for it.’

By the 1970s it had fallen on hard times, so they introduced legalized gambling. These photos show the rebirth in the 1980s, but the convention hall still being the showpiece.

Today it is similar, only with so many cities introducing gambling, the city has one again fallen on hard times. (photo from NJ public radio)

Much of the Jersey Shore (not beach or coast) has some cool/kitschy features, but the best is easily Lucy the Elephant in Margate. This 140 year old elephant still brings in the tourists.

Jersey City – The second largest city in New Jersey has the good fortune of being located just across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan. While the city has had it’s ups and downs, peaking out at 316,000 people in 1930, it dropped down to a low of 223,000 by 1980. This reflected the exodus of people from New York City as well, as everyone was headed to the suburbs.

Since then though, with significant renewal of the waterfront area the population has gone back up to 265,000, and continues to grow.

Just upriver Hoboken is experiencing a similar rebirth, but retains the fabulous Hoboken Terminal for New Jersey Transit Trains, and ferries to Manhattan.

Statue of Liberty

1983 1986

It is interesting that New Jersey has featured the Statue of Liberty on the cover of some of the maps, as technically it is in New York. The island that the statue sits on is in New Jersey water, but is a federally owned island that belongs to Manhattan.

This is a result of a dispute dating (amazingly) from 1664, that stated the New Jersey borders did not extend to the middle of the river, or bay. In 1834 the US Congress did set the boundary in the middle of the waterways, however specifically exempted Liberty Island, stating it would remain in New York. This was held up in 1908 by the Supreme Court, and again in 1987 when New Jersey sued to take control of the island. Clearly these maps from 1983 and 1984 were when Jersey was confident the island would once again be theirs.

Ellis Island however is much simpler, it is in New Jersey. So all those ancestors of ours who were so proud to step of the boat onto New York, really set foot in New Jersey.

Interestingly it is connected to New Jersey by a bridge that is not open to the public, just park service personnel.

Those immigrants – unless you were headed to New England, you were herded onto barges and sent to the train stations in Jersey City and Hoboken, having never set foot in New York.

2018 05 29 190 Jersey City NJ Liberty State Pkark

Liberty State Park in Jersey City is along the mainland near both islands. The park is on an area that was once large rail yards, with the centerpiece being the Jersey City Terminal of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. This building dates from 1889, and is currently undergoing renovations (for years).

Outdoors in New Jersey

1988 1990 1992 2007 Holgate 2009 2012/2014/2015 AJ Meerwald

Sandy Hook is a spit at the far northern end of the Jersey Shore, sticking out into New York Harbor. It is home to a vacant military facility, but is now a vast park, including large areas of natural settings with views across the harbor to Brooklyn and Manhattan.

New Jersey Palisades. This geological feature along the Hudson River just north of New York City has been protected since 1900, as the industry of the times were blasting it away for crushed stone. (all photos in this section fromonlyinyourstate.com)

Flemington, NJ – June 2018 – Northlandz Model Railroad Display

Architecture, Nature, Transportation

As you drive along US Route 202 near Flemington in western New Jersey you will come upon a building alongside the road that at first glance appears to possibly be vacant. Set behind a small parking lot, and on this summer day somewhat overgrown by weeds is a 50,000 square foot gray building.

When you stop and walk inside you see a small snack bar and gift shop, and the appearances of something past it’s prime. However as you pay your entry fee and head in you are in for an amazing experience.

For it is here in Flemington, New Jersey that you find what is one of the world’s largest model train display.

What started as a hobby in the basement of Bruce Zaccagnino in the early 1970s eventually developed into something much larger.

Bruce was a musician and computer game designer but whose passion was model railroading.

The display has over 400 bridges …

Eight miles of track ….

They also have some static displays including this train wreck – note the passangers hanging onto the side of the car.

Some of the displays appear to be 15′ high.

The rail yard.

Another of the 400 bridges across a deep ravine.

The detail is great – this is a tower in the amusement park.

Another massive bridge with a monastery on top of the mountain.

More ravines and bridges.

There were a few trains running but with the size it became a game to listen for the trains to come across the features.

A model of the famed Firth of Forth bridge in Scotland.

Another view of the same bridge from below.

Putt putt course from hell.

The Golden Spike location in Utah.

The control room. Northlandz is an amazing place to see – don’t let the slightly worn look of the outside and lobby deter you – it is well worth the visit.

Jersey City, NJ – May 2018 – Liberty State Park

Architecture, History, Nature, Transportation

Our day ended in Jersey City with a stop at Liberty State Park. As we entered we paid our respects at the 9-11 Memorial. With the late afternoon sun and lack of crowds it was a moving moment to see the names of those who lost their lives that day.

Nearby is the iconic view of lower Manhattan.

The former Jersey City rail station continue to be refurbished.

There were numerous sailboats out in the harbor.

Including a large sailboat for tourists.

The last of the day’s Statue of Liberty cruises was returning.

Later we were treated to a great full moon over Manhattan.

New York City – Late Summer 2016 Road Trip – Day 3 – More Manhattan Museums

Architecture, Art

Monday was museum day in the city, taking the 7:30 AM PATH train with a few commuters on their way to work. The train into New York City was not crowded at this time of day so we were able to find seats as we rode the train.

Just up from Penn Station is the Tick Tock Restaurant, my favorite Manhattan breakfast diner, where we had a lobster omelet and a sausage omelet, as good as ever with the quintessential New York atmosphere. From there the C and the 4 subways took us up to East 72nd Street, speinding some time walking through Central Park before it was time for the Guggenheim to open.

Fifty people waited in line with us for the museum doors to open. Upon entering the museum, I was able to receive our tickets from the membership desk and so we bypassed the fifty people standing in line before us. It felt like cheating, skipping passed all those people in line, and getting in for free as well.

The Guggenheim designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is a cylindrical building that is wider at the top than the bottom. Its unique ramp gallery extends up from the ground level in a long, continuous spiral along the outer edges of the building to end just under the ceiling skylight.

The ceiling skylight opens to the main lobby while all levels of continuous spaces flow freely from one level into another. The concrete spiral building is designed for viewing from the top down and my impression of the Guggenheim is that the building is more impressive than the art inside. The art at the Guggenheim had an early modern flair by artists such as Picasso, and Chagall of many geometric brightly-colored paintings and mobiles but the theme seemed repetitive to me as we wound our way down the ramp. The Guggenheim also houses works of impressionism, expressionism, and surrealism.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is not a far walk from the Guggenheim and is a museum that we had always wanted to see. The Met is the largest museum in the United States with more than two million art items.

One of the current exhibits on display this day was a fashion display called Manus and Machina –The Fashion of Technology. The main attraction, a hand-stitched haute couture wedding dress by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel had a 20-foot train that projected the detail in its embroidery onto the ceiling. The pattern on the train was hand-painted with gold metallic pigment, machine-printed with rhinestones, and hand-embroidered with pearls and gemstones. The gist of the ensemble is to force a change in image of hand-sewn (manus – haute couture) versus machine (machina – ready-made) fashion combining these techniques. Ensembles of ordinary materials such as embroidery, feathers, artificial flowers, lace, and leather were transformed into extraordinary gowns and dresses. Exhibits tucked into alcoves showed dresses made of plastic drink straws and some of only fur.

The Met offered a chance for us to see Greek and Roman art, jewelry, and sculpture. A young woman visiting the Greek/Roman wing seemed especially in awe of a man’s ass on a Roman statue. The African and Pacific Island wing featured exquisite ceremonial carvings of stone and wood, masks, bowls, and spears. The Asian and Middle Eastern area exhibited helmets, sarcophaguses, ancient pottery, and jewelry. There was also an American wing that displayed American furniture and paintings.

The great hall of the museum led us to the medieval section for an impressive display of life-sized armored soldiers mounted on armored horses. The European wing had sculptures of all sizes, some very large and dating back to the fifteenth century. We ate lunch at the Met’s cafe and realized we would not be able to see everything in one day so we saw as much as possible before leaving to meet my co-workers for dinner.

Dinner was at Bertucci’s Pizza back in Jersey City, where we enjoyed the company of my work group. Finally to end the evening we walked around the Newport neighborhood with my New York City expert who is also interested in photography, who provided us interesting history of the redevelopment of Jersey City as well as the growth of lower Manhattan, directly across the river.

New York City – Late Summer 2016 Road Trip – Day 2

Architecture, Art

An early Sunday morning start allowed our 5 hour drive from Greensburg to Jersey City to be completed shortly after noon. After dropping the car off with the Courtyard Hotel valet, and the bags in the room we caught the Path train for Manhattan, specifically the new World Trade Center.

As we came up the escalator we entered the Oculus, the transportation and retail center designed by a Spanish architect Santiano Calatrava. Designed to resemble a bird being released from a child’s hand, the roof was originally designed to mechanically open to increase light and ventilation to the enclosed space. Due to budget restraints, a 355 foot operable skylight was built with 224 pieces of glass in 40 panels that can be cantilevered from the surrounding steel skeleton. When the skylight is opened, its panels retract into pockets in the roof.

Each September 11th, the skylight will be opened to the elements for 102 minutes. That is how long the 2001 terrorist attack lasted, from the time the first jetliner hit the trade center at 8:46 a.m. until the collapse of the second tower at 10:28 a.m. “In all weather conditions, the public will experience a subtle sense of man’s vulnerability, while maintaining a link to a higher order,” as said by Santiago.

The project was grossly over budgeted and critics complain of the narrow halls to handle the mass of commuters. Some describe the “Oculus” as a stegosaurus or white elephant monstrosity rather than a bird. I thought the building was very modern in appearance with the spiny ribbed ceiling and white interior and it suited New York to match the chic style of the city providing a real statement in architecture.

We went out into the streets and found the Fulton Street Cafe for something to eat, followed by a walk uptown to the J. P. Morgan Library. The company I work for supports the arts in New York, and as a result, we have access to most of the New York museums without charge, a great perk. The Morgan Library is a personal collection of books and items of Mr. John Pierpont Morgan. The collection was so dear to him that he had a building added on to his home to store his books and historical documents, drawings and prints. The library was built in the Italian-Renaissance-style with three magnificent rooms.

After Pierpont’s death, his son J.P. Morgan, Jr. fulfilled his father’s wishes by transforming the library and its treasures as a public institution. Late in the 1920’s the Library and Museum expanded replacing the Morgan home. Although a staircase which led from the Morgan home to the library remains hidden behind two bookshelves, the staircase can still be seen if looking through the screen and behind the books on the shelf. In 1988, the Library and Museum annexed the brownstone home of J.P. Morgan, Jr. so that a garden courtyard now connects all the various buildings of the campus.

Our tour of the Morgan Library began at the entrance into the rotunda. The rotunda had a vaulted ceiling and the room was made of marble surfaces, mosaic panels, and columns of lapis lazuli. We toured the original reading room that also served as Morgan’s office with the fresco painting on the ceiling and antique artifacts and items on display. Morgan’s office also served as an important point in history where the most influential bankers met to design a plan to pull the United States out of debt and save the economy. Art and books filled the room. In fact, books scaled the height of the walls so that a ladder was installed to reach the upper shelves. We saw the first ever electric light which hung from the ceiling and Rembrandt’s first masterpiece painting in the same room.

The Library also has a rare collection of illustrated manuscripts decorated with silver or gold. The Crusader Bible, also called the Morgan Bible, is probably the most famous manuscript in the world because this picture book, which was likely made in Paris about 1250, has long been associated with the court of Louis IX. The book originally had no text, but along the way, inscriptions indicative of changing owners were added in Latin, Persian, and Judeo-Persian. The illuminations represent one of the greatest visualizations of Old Testament events ever made. Other items included great works of artists—Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rubens, Gainsborough, and Picasso; early printed Bibles, among them three Gutenberg Bibles. There were also Bob Dylan’s scraps of paper where he jotted down his song “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

We walked from the Morgan Library and picked up the High Line, once a railroad track, but now an elevated walking trail lined with shrubs and natural flora. The old tracks were hidden along side the paved path where we walked until we reached the Chelsea District for a beer. A great walkway, it has been discovered by tourists (like us) as a result it is very busy.

Eventually we dropped off, had a beer, and continued south on the streets past the meat packing district, Greenwich Village, and SoHo until we reached the World Trade Center about dusk, which was great timing for photographing the Oculus exterior.

The PATH train took us to Hoboken, New Jersey for us to have dinner at Del Frescoes, where we had sole with crab and filet mignon. The food was not as tasty as expected but the views from the restaurant were spectacular. The restaurant was located on the bank of the river with the best view of New York City. The entire New York City skyline was lit and shimmered onto the river as we walked the short trip back to our hotel in the Newport area.

Pittsburgh to Boston – May 2011 – A Train Trip

Architecture, Nature, Transportation

Having yet another trip planned to Boston I decided to do something different, take Amtrak. Yes I knew it would be slow (it was) but it was something different than driving or flying.

My train left Pittsburgh early one morning.

We rolled through the shabby little station in Latrobe without stopping.

As we neared Altoona we went around the famous Horseshoe Curve.

We had an extended stop in Harrisburg where they changed the engine from Diesel to Electric. With the extra time I could wander around the station a bit.