Manhattanhenge — sometimes referred to as the Manhattan Solstice — is an event during which the setting sun is aligned with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan in New York City. This occurs twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice. The first Manhattanhenge occurs around May 28, while the second occurs around July 12. The dates on which sunrise aligns with the streets on the Manhattan grid are evenly spaced around the winter solstice, and correspond approximately to December 5 and January 8. read more…
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH), located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, is one of the largest museums in the world. Located in park-like grounds across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 27 interconnected buildings housing 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library. The museum collections contain over 32 million specimens of plants, humans, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time, and occupies 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m2). The museum averages about five million visits annually. read more…
Norwegian Gem is a Jewel class cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line. Norwegian Gem is the fourth of Norwegian’s Jewel-class. She was preceded by Norwegian Jewel in 2005, and both Norwegian Jade (originally Pride of Hawaii) and Norwegian Pearl in 2006. Each ship has unique amenities, but has a similar exterior and interior design. Norwegian Gem has a similar exterior appearance to Norwegian’s Dawn-class ships; Norwegian Star, which entered service in 2001, and Norwegian Dawn, which entered service in 2002. The interior design and amenities, however, are significantly different and merit Norwegian Gem a Jewel-class designation. read more…
Museum Mile is the name for a section of Fifth Avenue running from 82nd to 105th streets on the Upper East Side, in an area sometimes called Upper Carnegie Hill. The Mile, which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world, is actually three blocks longer than one mile (1.6 km). Nine museums occupy the length of this section of Fifth Avenue. A tenth museum, the Museum for African Art (today The Africa Center), joined the ensemble in 2009; its Museum at 110th Street, the first new museum constructed on the Mile since the Guggenheim in 1959, opened in late 2012. read more…
432 Park Avenue is a supertall residential project with 104 condominium apartments developed by CIM Group in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Originally proposed to be 1,300 feet (396 m) in 2011, construction began in 2012 and is scheduled to be completed in 2015. The building required the demolition of the 495-room Drake Hotel, which had been built in 1926. In 2006, the hotel was sold for $440 million to developer Harry Macklowe, and the hotel was demolished the year afterward. The site became one of New York’s most valuable development sites due to its location, between East 56th and 57th Streets on the west side of Park Avenue. read more…
The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m), and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 feet (443 m) high. Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world’s tallest building for nearly 40 years, from its completion in early 1931 until the topping out of the original World Trade Center‘s North Tower in late 1970. On the open space on the 86th floor and on the 102nd floor there are publicly accessible viewing platforms, which are among the most visited sights in the city. The two platforms are visited by 10,000 visitors every day. As a result, the proceeds from ticket sales exceed the income from letting the office spaces in the building. read more…
