Battery Park and the lower Manhattan

Every time I have been to New York my visits are generally more ‘planned’ then they are ‘spontaneous’ because I have always travelled with a guide. One of the consequences of this is that my family always sees me as one of those tourist globe trotters that stand out like a sore thumb travelling around with a big tourist guide and 20 kg backpack (usually I only walk around with only 8 kg)!

This time, as it is the third time I have been to New York, I decided be a little bit more spontaneous and chose to do something really ‘new’ – visit the Statue of Liberty (because of course that would never be something that a tourist guide would suggest).

However when I saw the price of the boat ride to get to Lady Liberty the sticker shock convinced me otherwise. So instead of risking my life taking a boat to see a statue made of bronze I decided to stay in the lovely park where I was, in order to discover something actually new and not so ‘touristy’.

The park was named “Battery Park” and it is here that I discovered, completely by chance, a work of art that I had read a lot about, but had never expected to see with my own eyes – “The Sphere”. (you could almost think that it is a piece of junk)

This monument was designed by an Austrian sculptor named Fritz Koenig. It had originally been made for the Austin J. Tobin plaza, which was located between the former two towers of the world trade center.

 

After the attacks it was one of the few remaining artworks that survived without much damage (except for some dents and bruises).
At first glance the sculpture may seem not interesting at all, especially if you don’t have a sense of where it has been and what it has gone through.
It was one of the last pieces of art to be recovered from ground zero and was then placed at Battery Park, unchanged, as it was found at ground zero, as a memorial for the victims of 9/11.

I think it is one of those artworks that once you know its story your impression and experience of it changes how you see this monument.

Not so far away from Battery Park is the National Museum of the American Indian, which is a lesser known museum despite its size and the quality of the exhibitions inside. Even more surprising, this museum is one of the few museums in the city where the entrance is completely free.

Besides the great quality of its collections one of the wonderful things in this museum is its rotunda and the frescos on its ceilings:

Which is, I must say, rather impressive.

Finally, not far away from the museum, there is a sculpture made by Arturo DiModica called the “Charging Bull” that you can easily find by following all the groups of tourists converging to it.
This work of art notoriously was never commissioned by the city, nor did the artist have any permission to place it there, but he did anyway. From time to time the city authorities try to remove it, but people have grown to like it so it has stayed where it is.

And of course don’t forget that sometimes the best photos are the ones that show unusual angles.

 

Battery Park
Stations du métro: Bowling green (lignes 4/5)
South Ferry (lignes 1/R)

Musée National de l’Indien Américain (National museum of the American Indian)
ouvert de 10:00 à 17:00 de Vendredi à Mercredi
ouvert de 10:00 à 20:00 Jeudi
Entrée gratuite tous les jours.
Station du métro: Bowling green (lignes 4/5)

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