The island of Manhattan has hundreds-of-thousands of buildings, but few are preserved from history. Today, we found a quaint section of them! They are in the neighborhood of Chelsea. Walking westward on 20th Street might conjure your imagination to think you're traipsing through a quaint English village. Incidentally, the neighborhood of Chelsea was named for the Chelsea district of London. The pictures above and below show English rose gardens, stone buildings, Old-World windowsills & chimneys, and Victorian bell towers--on a NYC city street!
The townhouses that line the street are well-kept, with pretty front gardens and wrought-iron fences/banisters.
In fact, the brick row-house at 337 West 20th Street is the "Muffin House", the historic bakery of Samuel Bath Thomas--who brought Thomas English Muffins to America in 1874!
What a lovely serene spot this is!
It's drastically different from the onslaught of gray commercialism, just a few blocks away
Who has preserved this slice of Old-World wonder?
Only one organization successfully "stands its ground" (and protects it's turf) from over-development: the Church.
All across Manhattan, church properties manage to keep out the ever-hungry developers--who otherwise engulf historic neighborhoods. An "island oasis" in the "urban jungle".
The Episcopal Church of America founded this city-block campus in 1817. Before the American Revolution ended in 1783, they were part of the Anglican Church of England. They used it as a Seminary training school for new staff. Most of its grandeur came in 1878 from Eugene Augustus Hoffman, supposedly the richest clergyman--due to his family's vast real estate holdings. Appointed dean, Hoffman upgraded the campus to resemble Oxford University in England in neo-Gothic style.
The Church preserved its architecture and inner beauty, as seen below within the Chapel of the Good Shepard (who's 15 bells are the oldest extant in America)...
...and within the Hoffman Refectory (which is now a performance and event space).
Who'd imagine such a "Harry Potter"-like space is hanging just above the city streets, near 10th Avenue? Who is maintaining this structure now? The answer is outside.
Exiting from the refectory (from the Latin word refrectorium, meaning a dining hall--also known as a fratery house [fraternity house/fraternize]), you pass through a courtyard enclave, and see a gothic doorway.
An unobtrusive sign says "High Line Hotel". Hotelier, Ian Schrager, turned the largest buildings into a hotel and coffee shop.
I suppose it's better that the public can savor this space, rather than it get torn down for a nondescript high-rise.
At dusk, the campus still stands in stately style,
like Bruce Wane manor (from Gotham's Batman).
It's ironic that real estate was the founding source of the seminary, and now it's the method of salvation... as parcels of land are sold for development.
Certainly, locals will attest that the Episcopal Church has done great contributions in the neighborhood. Chelsea is a "gayborhood", and that religion was the first to openly welcome homosexuals. (Below, notice the Pride flag hung outside a nearby Episcopal church, further down the street).
Anyway, having our fill of "Merry ol' England" scenery, we progressed from the High Line Hotel to the actual High Line Park.
We found one of many nooks to pause and relax.
Below, we admired how the city intertwines: the park built atop an elevated train line; a bridge (seen below) connecting two buildings over the street; the subways layered beneath the sidewalks. So much history.
We descended from the park, sauntered along a historic cobblestone street...
... and enjoyed the sites of historic buildings--some reclaimed by man and others reclaimed by Nature.
It was a harmonious afternoon, appreciating it all.
To see when Lewis and I explored real neighborhoods of England, please click this link:
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