#HolidaysonFifth: 

Lighted Street Replicas Shed Joy

           and Hope During  Troubled Times

Sealed with a Wish

“What is one thing you think could bring all people hope and cheer this year? Write down your wish….

let the elves and Santa, too, work to make your wish come true…. Be kind and listen to your heart.” 

(NW corner of East 51 Street near St. Patrick’s Cathedral) 

                                                

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…”

Charles Dickens and his words from A Tale of Two Cities describes how I feel this season holiday.   

 

During the holidays New York City is a magical place. It is a city of lights and sparkle. Thousands of people flock here from all over the world mesmerized by the beautifully decorated shop windows especially those of Saks, Bergdorf’s, Macy’s and Bloomingdales. They are awe-struck by the magnificence of the Rockefeller Center tree, Sak’s Fifth Avenue outdoor Light Show and Windows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOcZYsSwiLQ ,

Radio City Musical Hall’s Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes and the thrill of shopping, dining or ice skating at the Holiday Village in Bryant Park. 

This year Radio City is closed. Broadway, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall are shuttered as are many hotels, small and large.

 

Restaurants and bars are also empty. Those who have struggled are opened for outdoor dining, deliveries and pickups. Scores of stores, not just mom-and-pop shops, but big-name retailers have locked their doors for good. Usually Fifth Avenue is packed with people. Not this year! I am sad. I miss the excitement of busy sidewalks and bustling stores filled with tourists from all over the world.

I realize this season is the “worst of times” and the most difficult holiday season of many lifetimes. Surging COVID infections and deaths, soaring unemployment, hunger, homelessness, social injustices and political divisiveness, thanks to a contemptible White House leadership, soar to new levels. 

 

When I walk the city dark clouds hover over me even on nights when the skies are crystal clear. Two weeks ago, as I entered Fifth Avenue a slight glimmer of joy cracked through the darkness, thanks to eleven brilliantly lit festive replicas courtesy of #HolidaysonFifth. 

 

Nine of the ten pieces have plaques with words of cheer. 

These words lifted me to a different time when all was merry and fun.  These lighted replicas cracked the darkness just enough to make me smile and feel hopeful for 2021. Here is a sample of what I saw.

Fantasies Afloat

“Near SW corner of W55 Street far above Fifth Avenue, 

Floats someone with a gift for you. They wave down from a big balloon, lit by the glow of a full moon.” (Near SW corner of W55 Street)

                                                         

  Christmas Cab

“What festive fun we’re sure to have while in our cab on Fifth Avenue shop windows sparkle in the night below as show of dancing light…” (SE corner Fifth and 58 Street. Plaza Hotel and the Grand Army Plaza Menorah in background)

 

                                              

    

 Trove of Treasure

 “The Toy Box is a wondrous way to get to places far away

Enchanted forests, carpet flightsdeep sea journeys, shining knights….”(SE corner of Fifth and 59 Street)

                                                        

                            

                                                          

    Magic Landing

 “The Toy Box is a wondrous way to get to places far away with enchanted forests, carpet flights, deep sea journeys, shining knights….”(SE corner of Fifth and 59 Street)

                                                   

Photo credit: Rudi Papiri

The End

Walking NYC...

A StrayCat Finds Holiday Magic on City Streets

Lord&Taylor Fifth Avenue

I chuckled as I passed Bergdorf Goodman’s at 58^th and Fifth Avenue the day after Christmas 2015.

I did more than just chuckled. I stopped, stared and shook my head amazed when I spotted two very attractive, very fashionably dressed middle-aged women exiting the store. They moved effortlessly arm-in-arm, step-for-step, an impossible feat on an avenue bustling shoulder-to-shoulder with people gaping at the store’s spectacular holiday windows.

Two women, from Milan, I learned later, visiting the city for Christmas, and dressed stylishly blended perfectly with the glamour of Fifth Avenue’s (or Cortina d’Ampezzo, St. Mortiz, or Aspen’s) haute couture boutiques. One woman wore a white Moncler coat, her suntanned face tucked inside its fur-lined hood. Her friend had on a black Bogner Ski Jacket with fur-lined collar and cuffs. A slouchy dark knit slouchy hat with a fur pom covered her head. Large silver framed Gucci sunglasses masked her eyes. Both wore gloves, mid-calf length shearling boots with rolled over shearling tops and large scarves loosely draped around their neck. Yes! They looked stunning as if they just left a photo shoot of Town and Country or Quest, magazines for the affluent.

You may wonder why I smirked and raised my brows when I saw these two women? For one the three twenty-something dudes walking in front of them offered a contrast of styles. One had a hoodie and short pants, another had on only a tee shirt, shorts and Santa hat, and the third guy wore a long sleeve NY Ranger shirt and torn jeans.

Second, the temperature hit 66 degrees, a city record for the date. On Christmas the temperatures soared to 72 degrees, also a new record, with a low a 63, numbers more in tune to a Los Angeles Christmas than a New York City one.

Shirtless volleyball players competed in Central Park, surfers tackled better than average waves at Rockaway Beach, and runners in tank tops and shorts worked up a sweat jogging in Hudson River Park. In several neighboring suburban beach towns the temperature went as high as 76, several degrees warmer than July 4 of this year.

Okay maybe this year pushcart vendors sold fewer roasted nuts and pretzels, and Starbucks may have had disappointing sales hawking their gingerbread lattes or eggnog frappuccinos but the spirit of the season glowed as strong as ever.

Rain, sleet, snow, frigid weather, or unseasonally high temperatures can  never have a negative impact on the city’s long-standing reputation as one of the world’s great stages for celebrating Christmas and the New Year.

What the Straycat saw as he darted from 60th Street to Herald Square.

Bloomingdale's 

Interactive Photo Displays. Straycat Image in Top Shot

Barneys New York

"Chilling' Out Arctic Chase" 

Bergdorf Goodman

Welcoming in 2016 at the Costume Ball

Harry Winston

"Talk to me, Harry Winston" Marilyn Monroe sang in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree  

The 83rd Annual Rock Center Tree: 78' Feet Tall Norway Spruce from Upstate NY with 45,000 LED Lights, 9-foot Swarovski star w/25,000 crystals

Saks Fifth Avenue Light Show

The Largest Display of Festive Holiday Windows; plus a Light/Music Show Every Ten Minutes

Saks Fifth Avenue Window

From Rome to Fifth Avenue "The Ice Cold Coliseum" 

Lord & Taylor

Seeing the Wonders of the Holidays on the Face of a Child

Macy's

 Miracle of 34th Street Began Here in 1947 Starring Natalie Wood, Maureen O'Hara
and Edmund Gwen

Photo Credits: Rudi Papiri

The Fifth Avenue Easter Parade: 

A Link to Old New York

“In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,

you’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade!

On the Avenue, Fifth Avenue the photographers will snap us

and you’ll find that you’re in the rotogravure.”

New York City’s Easter Parade, immortalized in song by Irving Berlin in the 1948 movie, both with the same title, starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, dates back to late 1800’s.

There are no marching bands at this parade. Thousands of people do not stand behind barricades lining Fifth Avenue to cheer as the procession of schools, dignitaries, uniformed members of the police and fire departments march by. There are no floats towering above the street or celebrities in vintage cars waving to the crowds. It is older than the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving parades, two of the city’s largest events. Still it is not a parade.

It is a holiday tradition dating back to the late 1800’s

when the city’s blue bloods, members of powerful banking, shipping and industrial families who built the city and lived in mansions on or near Fifth Avenue, now one of the world’s premiere retail destinations. They worshipped at one of the four architecturally rich and important churches along this part of Fifth Avenue all completed within an eighteen year time frame of each other; St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 53^rd in 1870; Fifth Avenue Presbyterian at 55^th in 1875; the landmarked church of Teddy Roosevelt’s youth, St. Nicholas Collegiate Church at 48^th in 1872, and demolished in 1949; and St. Patrick's Cathedral, the upstart church built in 1888 by Irish immigrants at 50^th.

It began as an informal procession with the city’s aristocracy, heading to and from the church, showcasing their prestige and the fashionable and opulent styles of the day. As the event grew the churches decorated the fronts of their buildings with large floral displays. The poor and working classes came to admire the latest fashions and to watch the hoity-toity as they walked the avenue or rode in horse drawn carriages. Eventually retailers and large department stores realized the importance of the holiday and began promoting their merchandise around the event.

Irving Berlin created the melody for his song Easter Parade in 1917 and titled it “Smile and Show Your Dimple.” But it never caught on. He filed it until 1933 when it surfaced on Broadway in the musical revue As Thousands Cheer with Marilyn Miller and Clifton Webb.  In 1942 Bing Crosby sang Easter Parade in the movie Holiday Inn, and featured again in The First Easter Rabbit in 1976 on television. There is also a George M. Cohan song The Easter Parade.

At the height of its popularity almost a million people showed up. Crowds have tailed off significantly and for the past few decades the parades is less reverent and more zany and colorful.  There is  less focus on the latest fashion trends and it is geared more towards the exotic, creative, although good style abounds.

Easter Parades are popular in many other cities too. Atlantic City lays claim to the first parade in 1876. Almost 500,000 spectators filled the boardwalk in the late1930’s. A far smaller event today, it is held at the boardwalk’s famed Steele Pier. San Francisco’s 21-year-old event, along its upscale Union Street, features rides, games, roller-balding cows, mini floats, and vintage cars. There is also an Easter Bonnet contest with prizes awarded for the "Best Couple, Pet, Family and Largest Hat."

New Orleans loves Easter and parades so much it has four including a gay event and two in the French Quarter; a wild one on Bourbon Street and a traditional parade by the St. Louis Cathedral.

New York’s Parade is held on Easter Sunday, on Fifth Avenue from 50^th to 57^th Street from about 11 a.m. to 3pm.

Photos: Color Easter Parade photo by Rudi Papiri 2009