Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
New York Public Library
Carrère and Hastings won a
competition for the design of
this great Beaux Arts building.
Their genius reached its height
in the Main Reading Room, a
paneled space as majestic as a
cathedral, extending almost two
city blocks, with enormous arched
windows, 18 grand chandeliers,
and an elaborately decorated,
vaulted ceiling
(see p47)
.
d
5th
Avenue at 42nd St
•
Map K3
•
Open
10am-6pm Thu-Sat, 11am-7:30pm Tue &
Wed, 1-6pm Sun
•
Free
•
www.nypl.org
Time for Tea
Taking tea is an increasingly
popular custom in New York.
Among the top places are the
elegant Palm Court at the Plaza
Hotel, 59th and 5th, the Tea
Box Café at Takashimaya
(see
p126)
, the tea room at the
St. Regis Hotel
(see p172)
, and
the
salon de thé
at Fauchon,
442 Park Avenue at 56th.
United Nations
Headquarters
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. donated
$8.5 million to purchase the
18-acre East River site, and
American Wallace Harrison
worked with international
consultants to create this
striking headquarters.
The United Nations was
formed in 1945, to work
for peace and economic
and social well-
being around the
globe. Currently,
189 members
meet in the General
Assembly, the
closest thing to a
world parliament. Guided tours
allow visitors to see the various
council chambers, the General
St. Patrick's Cathedral
America's largest Catholic
cathedral is a place more
than 5,000 people worship
every Sunday. When
Archbishop John Hughes
decided to build a cathedral
here in 1850, many
criticized the choice of a
site so far from the
city's center at
the time. Today
his foresight has
given the church one
of the best locations
in Manhattan
(see
p46)
.
d
5th Avenue, between 50th &
51 sts
•
Map J3
•
Open 7:30am-8:30pm
daily
•
Free
William O. Partridge's Pieta, St.
Patrick's Cathedral
Left
New York Public Library
Right
St. Patrick's Cathedral
124
