Chaos & Classicism

A tale of two castaways surviving on a frozen island in the aftermath of a storm of prodigious proportions.

Our visit to Manhattan during the Blizzard of December, 2010:



Chaos & Classicism is the title of the current exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum, but the phrase also describes our past few days' adventure in Manhattan.

Our trip started out well with the expectation of having Sunday at the American Museum of Natural History followed by an evening at Lincoln Center. We had previously purchased tickets for an evening performance at Lincoln Center and it is our practice to piggy-back a Manhattan show with a visit to a museum or two. We did not expect to piggy-back two additional days.

We knew that a large snowfall was expected, but the prediction was for the greater part of the snow to fall after dark and into morning. Since the blizzard only ten months earlier saw no disruptions of service, we expected the same level of competence this time, as well. We did not foresee the near total collapse of regional transportation. Oh, well.


That does not mean that we were unprepared, just surprised. Sarah (Have toothbrush, will travel) and I had some extra necessities with us and as is often told at this time of year, "The shepherds washed their socks at night." And so did we (and a few other things.)



Most of our time at the American Museum of Natural History was spent at Kwanzaa 2010 which was lively music, dance and song.

The play at Lincoln Center, a comedy entitled A Free Man of Color, was enjoyable and long, so we got our money's worth of entertainment. If you click here, you can view a video clip. It's not going to be around much longer, so get tickets if you can.

When we got to Penn Station after the play, we discovered that all trains had been canceled, no one knew anything and the large number of people milling about were suddenly magnified as Madison Square Garden disgorged a huge number of wrestling fans wanting to go home.

Penn Station Schedule Board (right) had the times up, but nothing was moving.
[Photo taken after the fact.]

It took only a few minutes for us to realize that the situation was not going to resolve itself anytime soon: Time for Plan B. As spending the night at Penn station is not our idea of a good time and spending overnight in Manhattan is something which we've done before and enjoyed, we wanted to get a good place before everyone else figured out what was happening. Or rather, what was NOT happening.

Rescue arrived via cell phone as our children Beryl, Jennifer and Mark sprang into action & assisted us through the evening and into the following days with news updates, etc. To solve the immediate problem, arrangements were made via computer for lodging at a nearby classic hotel so that while hundreds slept at the train terminal, Sarah and I were warmly ensconced in the Hotel Chelsea. Over the next two days, they made theatre reservations, checked museum schedules, arranged for our sidewalk to be shoveled and made helpful suggestions.


Arriving at the Chelsea around midnight, we promptly got into bed. With all of the news reports of bedbug infestations in NYC, I had some trouble falling asleep with the itchy creepy feeling of my skin. Once I got used to the idea that the crawly feeling I had was in my mind and not creeping all over my body, my sleep was peaceful.


Dylan Thomas, Arthur Miller and Thomas Wolfe ('Look Homeward Angel' & 'Only the Dead Know Brooklyn') lived and wrote at the Hotel Chelsea, although only one of them lived much afterward. I suspect that we'll do better, but I'm not going to marry a movie star, but then again, she also died young. In any case, it's too late for me to die young. To find out what other notables, including Bob Dylan, lived at the Chelsea, click here.

The view of 23rd Street from our room at the Chelsea. Needless to say, we did not go out on the balcony to watch the people digging out their cars or maneuvering around drifts. We didn't throw any snowballs at people, either.

The Chelsea is an historic old hotel which has the original iron-work railings and other features which make it a destination for tourists with interest in architecture and literary history. That's probably why they give tours. And at $40/3 hours, to make money.

After a leisurely breakfast at a nearby diner Monday morning and confirming museum openings & hours with our staff (Jennifer, Beryl & Mark), we took a stroll up 7th Avenue to Penn Station just to see if people really were there through the night (they were) and to see Macy's seasonal windows. (Left)

The MTA provided the stranded commuters with more comfortable 'lodging' by opening platformed trains so that people could sit on the padded seats rather than on the station floor. At least it was warm and had bathroom access.







Walking was not too bad, but the intersections were treacherous as no one seems responsible for clearing them and at times the wind was intense. A few times I ducked into an alcove and put on my ski mask, but didn't keep it on for long, and certainly didn't wear it into any banks.

The only slip and fall was entering the lobby of the Chelsea the first night, but the only thing that was hurt was Sarah's pride.





Since the subway was running throughout Manhattan, we had no trouble getting around. Our first stop was the Guggenheim for the exhibit 'Chaos and Classicism' which presented art from France, Germany and Italy from the years 1918 to 1936 in which artists, recoiling from the horrors of the World War, eschewed the newer styles and returned to Classicism. Paintings by Picasso, for example, looked like real people and nothing like what you would expect a Picasso to be.


The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
designed by Frank Lloyd Wright,
is itself a work of art.







From the Guggenheim to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a short walk down Museum Mile. For some reason, blizzard-force winds which were in our faces as we walked north to the Guggenheim were now in our faces as we walked south to the Met. Time for my ski mask, again.

We had been at the Met two weeks earlier and had wanted to see the 'Extravagant Display: Chinese Art in the 18th and 19th Centuries' which was scheduled to open that day. Opening time kept being pushed back and we had to leave before the exhibit opened, if it even did that day. This time, the gallery was closed due to short staffing. The storm that kept us, and so many others, in Manhattan, kept many people from getting to work, such as museum guards.

The Temple of Dendur

A new installation of a recently discovered Roman mosaic floor from Lod, Israel was on display for the first time and is only in NYC for a short while before permanently returning to Israel where a special museum is planned as more artifacts are currently being unearthed at the site.






While we were at the Met, Jennifer called us about a theatre opportunity. Although theatres are generally dark on Mondays, Jennifer secured us top-notch seats at the revival of Oscar Wilde's final play, The Importance of Being Earnest, a comedy about switched identities and Victorian social mores. The theatre, on 42nd Street, was open that night because of the holiday week. It was a thoroughly enjoyable presentation, and long, too; so we got our money's worth here, as well. Some plays seem long because they are uninteresting; this was NOT one of them. Limited run, see it soon.






We returned to the Chelsea, again followed the practices of the shepherds, and rested well for another day of museum hopping.


Just two blocks north of the Guggenheim, the Cooper-Hewitt had been closed on Monday, but it was one of my must-see stops as the Triennial exhibit was closing in less than two weeks and I didn't want to miss it; it's not as if they have a Triennial every year.

The Cooper Hewitt, a division of the Smithsonian, is the National Museum of Design. Its Triennial features the latest product designs, many involved with the environment and improvement of conditions in the Third World. There is a lot of creativity around, much of it useful.




Two blocks north of the Cooper-Hewitt is the Jewish Museum. The Hanukkah exhibit is probably closing soon and Houdini is in the middle of its five month run.

We took the tour and took a tip from Houdini and escaped from Manhattan. The LIRR was not following any schedule, but it got us home without too much delay, if you don't count the previous two days.

But it was time well spent. We'd do it again, even if we don't have to.