Columbus Day: Spotlight on Italy

Giovanni da Verrazano

Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

As he marches up Fifth Avenue at the head of the Columbus Day Parade on Monday, this years Grand Marshall retired Admiral Edmund P. Giabastiani Jr. as an Italian American who has made a significant contribution and sacrifice to our county reminds us to pause a moment and remember unique and spirited Italians from the past who took to the seas and played an important roll in the history of our city and country.

I thought it might be a good time to answer a persistent question that creeps up everytime I drive beneath its towering spires, or turn to glance at its graceful sweeping lines from a car window on the BQE Expressway or an outside deck of the Staten Island Ferry. Who is the man the Verrazano-Narrows bridge is named for?

Giovanni da Verrazano like Amerigo Vespucci (whose name was given to the lands Cristoforo Columbo first made known to Europeans) came from the beautiful city on another great river, the Arno...Florence. He is the first European to set eyes on what would become the Hudson River and give names to Block Island and Narragansett Bay. Though Giovanni first sailed into the Upper Harbor in 1524, it was almost a century later in 1609 before the Hudson was fully explored as far north as Albany by Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch.

Next time you are downtown in Battery Park look for the monument to Giovanni near the launching site where the boats leave for the Statue of Liberty.

After the Parade stop over to Grand Central Station, take a look at the special Columbus Day Exhibit (October 7-17) in Vanderbilt Hall "The Great White Fleet - 100th Anniversary of the US Naval Rescue of the Southern Italian Earthquake."

Then for a close-up look at vehicles designed more for flying than driving see the 2009 Maserati's on display in the Main Lobby.

Happy Columbus Day!

Jacqueline Cable

For Postcards from New York

Address to Remember: The Parade starts at 44th St. and Fifth Avenue and goes up to 79th St. Get there early (before it begins at 12 PM) and do not forget to bring flags.

Directions: From Times Square MTA 7 or S to Grand Central Station, short walk west to Fifth Avenue.

©Copyright 2007-8 The Cable Group

Last Chance to see Turner at the Met

Norham Castle, Sunrise 1845

Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

In the mood for a visual treat? Spend a couple of hours with the dazzling oils on canvas of the Andy Warhol of his day, J.M.W. Turner at the Metropolitan Museum now through September 21.

Credited as an inspirational force behind French Impressionism, Turner's unconventional landscapes, turbulent seascapes and panoramic classical subjects, many submerged in blazing floods of sunlight, will engage your eye and imagination in a way matched by few artists.

Sunlight reflected on water first fascinated Turner as a boy growing up near the Thames River; That fascination would last all his life and is the connecting thread between the 140 watercolors, gouches, engravings and large scale oils on display. Don't miss this rare opportunity to experience upclose an artist whose most compelling works rarely leave their home in London's Tate Gallery.

Successful from his teen years, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) purchased many of his finest works back from patrons and collectors during his lifetime. At his death he left more than 300 oils, over 30,000 watercolors and all of his sketchbooks to the British people...provided they build him a museum. More than a hundred years later, his dictate was realized with The Clore Museum, a wing of the Tate Gallery, Millbank.

You think, what hubris? Go see why his paintings and works on paper deserve a home of their own.

Jacqueline Cable

For Postcards from New York

Address to Remember: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10028, 212-535-7710, http://www.metmuseum.org/

Directions: From Times Square MTA S or 7 to Grand Central Station, 4, 5, or 6 to 86th Street, walk west toward Central Park to Fifth Avenue, short walk to 82nd Street.

Photo courtesy Tate Gallery


©Copyright 2007-8 The Cable Group

The Shaw Project

The ever engaging G.B.S

Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

The problem with New York is how impossible it is to stay on top of the many special events that take place everyday of the year. Despite endless lists of events posted in New York magazines and weekly newspapers, one invariably will miss out on something rare and unique like The Shaw Project.

Fortunately, a Postcards reader brought it to my attention, so I immediately checked the web to learn more about this once a month event that takes place in an elegant 19th century mansion the former home of Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth overlooking beautiful Gramercy Park.

Fritz Weaver, Marian Seldes, Charlotte Rae, David Cote, Brian Murray and Marc Kudisch are only a few of the well-known Broadway personalities, actors and performers who bring a whole new meaning to "reading a play" at the very private Player's Club, where tickets are hard to come by if you don't call the 1st day of the month to reserve a spot.

Project Shaw's creator David Staller,(taking a page from Joseph Papp's goal to present every one of Shakespeare's plays outdoors some years ago) set an ambitious goal to present all of George Bernard Shaw's more than 50 plays to provide a venue for many works that have never been performed on the New York stage.

Don't make my mistake. I missed a September 22nd reading of "Caesar and Cleopatra" because I waited until the week before to order a ticket.

Tickets are available the 1st day of the month at 212-352-3101 for $20! They sell out quickly within a day or two, so mark your calendar now for upcoming readings. October 20, "The Shewing Up of Blanco Posnet," November 17, "Jitta's Atonement," and December 22, "St. Joan."

Jacqueline Cable
For Postcards from New York

Address to Remember: The Player's Club, 16 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY, 10003, 212-475-6116, http://www.theplayersnyc.org/.

Directions: From Times Square MTA N, R, or W to 23rd St, walk south to 19th St. then east to Gramercy Park.

Photo courtesy of Gingold Theatrical Group


©Copyright 2007-8 The Cable Group