Three years: Best of 2014

Three years ago on April 6,  2013 I started  my blog Big Apple Secrets. Every week during last three  years I had been publishing  at least two  posts a week. Last month about 1500 visitors  from New York and London, Paris and Madrid read my blog- thank you,  my dear readers!

Here in this post I put the pictures  and links to 12 posts that I published in 2014.  Read them if you missed them when these post were published.   If interested, tell me what you would like to read next  - New York have so many secrets!
  If you like to look at  2013 post per month  list   click here!
  If you like to look at  2015 post per month  list   click here!



2014


http://www.bigapplesecrets.com/2014/01/citigroup-center-part-1-theater-beneath.html
Citigroup Center
Citigroup Center is the 4th tallest in the city and 3rd tallest in Midtown. The building has a unique slopped roof and is one of the most recognizable skyscrapers on the New York City skyline. In June 1977 the problem in the construction was found and the secret job had been started to fix the problem. The crisis was kept hidden from the public for almost 20 years. It was publicized in a lengthy article in "The New Yorker" in 1995.
Part 1  Part 2


 Russians on Park Avenue: Vyshinskiy and Khruschev.
The famous state prosecutor of Joseph Stalin's Moscow trials Vyshinskiy,died in this building. He was poisoned ( probably...). Fidel Castro met with Mr. Khrushchev ( Soviet Union) at this building in September 1960.The granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller save the building from demolation


'Club 21':Richard Nixon, Elizabeth Taylor and Ernest Hemingway dined there
  '21' is one of America’s most famous speakeasies from the Prohibition Era. Every President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt except for George W. Bush has dined at 21. JFK dined at '21' on the eve of his inauguration. The most famous feature of 21 is the line of 33 painted cast iron lawn jockey statues which adorns the balcony above the entrance


San Remo - one of the most exclusive coops in Manhattan
It is the first twin-towered building to rise in New York. Past and present residents of the building include Steven Spielberg, Donna Karan, Demi Moore, Dustin Hoffman, Bruce Willis.
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http://www.bigapplesecrets.com/2014/03/american-venus-first-naked-lady-in.html

American Venus - the first naked lady in Hollywood and a fountain near the Central park entrance
Joseph Pulitzer, journalist and newspaper publisher left $50,000 for the fountain. Sculptor chose Audrey Munson for the model of Ponoma. Munson was the most famouse model in New York in the beginning of the 20th century. There are two sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art for which Audrey Munson posed. She died when she was 104 almost forgotten.


Manhattan Municipal Building
Manhattan Municipal Building, east of City Hall Park and just north of the Manhattan entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, is among the largest government office buildings in the world. Manhattan Municipal Building The central triumphal arch was inspired by the Arch of Constantine in Rome, Italy. The building served as the one of the prototypes for seven Stalin-era skyscrapers(visotki) , known as Seven Sisters.

The Statue of Liberty and its replicas
 The Statue of Liberty, symbol of American freedom, is among the most recognized images worldwide. The statue was made by the French sculptor Bartholdi, in collaboration with Gustave Eiffel, who constructed Eiffel tower. The statue has been destroyed in more than 30 movies! The best way to see Liberty for free is by Staten Island Ferry. There are replicas of the statue in Germany, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom ,Argentina ,Brazil, China, Israel, Japan. And Brooklyn has our own statue of Liberty!
Post 1   Post 2


Bryant Park
Every year, over 6 million people use the park, making it the most heavily used public area per acre in the world. The first park at this site opened in 1847 as Reservoir Square because of a man-made four acre lake “Croton Distributing Reservoir” .There is an open-air free reading room and a game room has with 40 tabletop games available daily for free. The park has a chess concession at the west end that offers chess boards and lessons. There is also a court for practitioners of Pétanque, the French game of boules.
Post 1 Post 2  Post 3


Zabar's
If you are the fan of a smoked salmon- it's you place! Zabar's is of one of the most exotic gourmet food stores in New York. Its founder from Ukraine and his fife started Zabar's in 1934. Over 40,000 customers walk through Zabar’s doors every week, spending about $50 million a year on 800 varieties of cheeses, 400,000 pounds of coffee, nearly 300 different prepared foods made by a kitchen. Zabar's is rated NN 10 of 559 in shopping in New York city by Tripadvisor

http://www.bigapplesecrets.com/2014/08/ohenry-and-hgwells-wrote-about.html

O.Henry and H.G.Wells wrote about it: Flatiron
 Upon completion , it was one of the tallest buildings in the city. The New York Tribune called the new building "A stingy piece of pie ... the greatest inanimate troublemaker in New York", The New York Times called it a "monstrosity". Now it is an icon of New York City, the Flatiron Building is a popular spot for tourist photographs, making it "possibly one of the most photographed buildings in the world".

The house that Tweed built: A symbol of municipal corruption
The Courthouse was built between 1861 and 1881 and is the costliest public building that had yet been built in the United States. Its construction cost nearly twice as much as the purchase of Alaska in 1867. Tweed Courthouse is known as the greatest single thievery project of 'Boss Twed'.Today the building serves as the headquarters of the Department of Education. Tours of Tweed Courthouse are offered by reservation on select Fridays at 12:00 PM.

Chelsea Market - a place not only for a foodie
Chelsea Market, indoor market in a rustic building in Chelsea Manhattan, is ranked N6 of 584 shopping places in New York by Trip Advisor. It attracts over 6 million national and international visitors annually. Throughout the market, there are a lot of decidedly vintage looking fixtures, like the switch compressor, a strange looking light, a stone bench with a stone pillow or fountain constructed out of discarded drill bits and an exposed pipe. There is an eclectic mix of cuisines and foods in addition to some vintage/boutique shops there.




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