Grade V Midtown Trip
A wide-eyed pedestrian on 42nd Street was overheard saying, “It’s like they’re from Hogwarts!” She was referring to the well-dressed and (mostly) well-behaved fifth graders on their annual trip to Midtown on May 11.
The group made two quick stops before arriving at the subway station on 96th Street: the overlook above the train tracks on 97th Street and Park Avenue (the boys were thrilled when a passing locomotive tooted its horn to acknowledge them) and the public library on 96th Street (had anyone ever noticed the sculpture of the owl on the ledge of the upper floor and what was its purpose? To deter pigeons, of course, Mr. Demeny informed everyone).
First stop—The Great Hall at Grand Central Station. The boys craned their necks to look at the beautiful ceiling and learned about the history of the over 100 year-old building. The four train tracks they just gazed at on 97th Street? They led in and out of the building in which they were standing. After a quick visit to the famous Whispering Arch, the boys were on the move. They left the station, learned about the buildings in the area, and were off to the main branch of the New York Public Library.
The docent-led tours of the beautiful Beaux-Arts landmark building were extensive, but the highlight may have been the Children’s Center on the ground floor. The room housed a permanent Winnie-the-Pooh exhibit, complete with the original stuffed Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, and Tigger, which were the inspiration for the books. In addition, the boys were able to get a close-up look at five-foot long replicas of the iconic marble lions in front of the library…made of LEGOs! Artist Nathan Sawaya was commissioned to recreate Patience and Fortitude in 2011 and his creations use 60,000 LEGO blocks.
The docent-led tours of the beautiful Beaux-Arts landmark building were extensive, but the highlight may have been the Children’s Center on the ground floor. The room housed a permanent Winnie-the-Pooh exhibit, complete with the original stuffed Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, and Tigger, which were the inspiration for the books. In addition, the boys were able to get a close-up look at five-foot long replicas of the iconic marble lions in front of the library…made of LEGOs! Artist Nathan Sawaya was commissioned to recreate Patience and Fortitude in 2011 and his creations use 60,000 LEGO blocks.
Before heading back to 98th Street, the boys visited the original location of St. Bernard’s School in 1904 on Fifth Avenue between 46th and 47th streets (the building is currently surrounded by scaffolding). They also learned about the concept of cantilevering demonstrated adeptly by Mr. Demeny standing on a wooden plank over the fountain outside of the Seagram building anchored by Mr. Brady standing on the other end. Understanding this concept was helpful when seeing the last building on the tour—the 59-story Citibank building on 54th Street and Lexington Avenue. The tower was designed with four columns positioned at the center of each side, rather than at the corners.
In the boys-will-be-boys category, it was a challenge trying to keep the boys in close proximity to each other from location to location and (surprisingly only) one boy found his tour sticker stuck in his hair. It was an enjoyable and informative trip. Professor Dumbledore would have been proud.
Many thanks to Mr. Demeny, Mr. Brady, Mr. Clavel, and the army of parent chaperones. We all learned quite a bit more about our great city.
