TUESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER: MUSEUM of AMERICAN FINANCE, THE HIGH LINE and THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY.

The Museum of American Finance

This museum is housed in the former Bank of New York, in the opulent former banking hall.

It's a great place to go to gain an understanding of stocks, bonds and futures trading, as well as a stack of rare artefacts such as a stretch of ticker tape from the Great Crash of 1929 ....

.......and a bank note dating from the 1923 German hyperinflation.

The High Line
Up to the end of the 1980s this area, not least the Meatpacking District with its abandoned slaughter-houses, was dreary and neglected. In particular, the disused railway built between 1929 and 1934 that once moved goods and produce around lower Manhattan was rusted, overgrown and threatened with demolition.
In 1999 two locals formed the Friends of the High Line which campaigned for an elevated promenade-cum-public urban park some 30 feet in the air. Construction began in 2006 and was completed in 2011.

As you walk along, the views shift from the old factories and warehouses .....

........to the Hudson river ......

 .....to daring new residences.

But the High Line is primarily an urban park:

As well as being an urban park it's also an outdoor art gallery:

Gilbert and George, of all people!

Near the terminus is the 'cutout' which lets you see the inner workings of the old line below before winding up face to face with the rail yards - a part of the city few previously wanted to venture into.

Chelsea
West of Broadway between 14th and 30th streets, for years Chelsea was a rough-and-tumble no-go area with its slaughterhouses, elevated railway and working-class poor.The arrival of a large gay community in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the decamping of the art scene from Soho to Chelsea, and the transformation of the High Line have brought about a total transformation. Now there's no shortage of affluent townhouses, condo conversions, cutting-edge galleries and retail superstores.

You wouldn't have found this here 40 years ago!

We walked past London Terrace, '...one of New York's premier residences for those who believe in understated opulence' (Rough Guide). The first management, wanting to evoke thoughts of Britain, made the doormen wear London-style police uniforms (!) thereby giving the building its name. Past and present residents include Debbie Harry and Annie Leibovitz.

Chris spotted this interesting sign attached to one building, a remnant of the Cold War.

We wandered through Chelsea Market, a high-class food temple housed in the old National Biscuit Company (aka 'Nabisco') factory, where legend has it the Oreo cookie was developed.
The hand-picked retailers inside sell fresh fruit, fish, bread, wine brownies and flowers. The fish on display for sale, in particular, was amazing!
The building also serves as home to the TV Food Network.

Many of the factory's features still remain, including pieces of rail track used to transport provisions.

Staten Island Ferry.
We had to see the New York skyline at night, so what better way to do it than to use New York's best bargain: the 25 minute free ferry ride. Ride one way, get off and catch the next ferry back.
No pictures because the flash didn't do credit to the scenery, but Steve took loads of camcorder footage.

Stone Street
It had been a pretty full-on day, so where to eat?? We didn't want to go too far from the hotel so decided to try Stone Street as recommended in the 'Rough Guide'. It's a narrow cobble-stoned block of 19th century rowhouses built in the wake of the Great Fire of 1835 which destroyed much of the area. By the end of the week we'd tried 2 eateries here, both very good: Adrienne's Pizzabar and Smorgas Chef.