It’s good to call a place home after quite a few months on the road. I’m very happy we ended up in Harlem to do that. The neighbourhood is oozing history at every street corner. It’s also not as “gentrified” as other areas in New York, but fast becoming so thanks to people like me. Let me elaborate.
Riverside Drive / 145th Street
Alexander Hamilton is one of the most famous Americans ever to have lived in Harlem. His biography is inextricably linked with the early history of the USA, he was one of the chief architects of the young state’s institutions. I took a look at his former residence one rainy afternoon a couple of days ago.
The proximity to Columbia University and my flexibility as a freelancer allow for plenty of visits to public lectures. So today I went to this mini-conference on state intervention and private enterprise in the US, Japan and China. What promised to be an intriguing event left a lot to be desired. The following lines are some casual and possibly incongruous observations.
For the lack of a better photo: Chandler and Northwest Corner Building at Columbia University
I spent two days in Boston last weekend, visiting a friend. Partly thanks to its universities, Boston has plenty of modern architecture. I found this great brochure (Boston Modern: The Spirit of Reinvention) only after walking around town but plan to return to the city with it in my bag. One of these modern gems I managed to find on my own is Peabody Terrace in Cambridge, next to the Charles River.
