True, yeah, the Panorama of the City of New York is at the Queens Museum of Art. I've never been but I had heard of it, and seen it covered on the local news before.

http://www.queensmuseum.org/panorama/about.htm

1.

EnySpree detailed a lot of what you see here, and in other pics, but this is a specifically a shot facing East (and slightly North) from the bottom (South end) of Manhattan Island, often called Lower Manhattan. We see at the very bottom the WTC/Battery Park City, South Street Seaport (some of the docks on the bottom East side of Manhattan) Battery Park (the park at the very tip of Lower Manhattan, where the Dutch fort/battery was, and is still there), and Wall Street (the tall buildings farther East of the former WTC), & City Hall/Federal, City & State Gov. offices. The island at the far right side of the pic is Governor's Island (which is where the Coast Guard used to be, but is now being turned into development...I believe).

The first bridge from the bottom is the Brooklyn Bridge (connects near City Hall/Courthouses you see on 'Law & Order' in Man. to various sections of Downtown Brooklyn including Borough Hall which is their own court region), the second is the Manhattan Bridge (which connects Canal St. in Manhattan and Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn), and the third is the Williamsburg Bridge (connecting Delancy St. to Williamsburg), all of which go to Brooklyn, obviously. The bridge at the top left is the Queensboro/59th St. Bridge, which crosses Roosevelt Island (where they actually shot the Hollywood version of 'Dark Water'), and heads into Queens. All of the bridges mentioned cross the East River.

The more open area of water below Manhattan is called the New York Harbor, and the river on the West side (by the WTC) is the Hudson River (Dividing New York & New Jersey). You'll notice that the buildings North of the bottom of Manhattan get shorter, and this makes up many of the original residential communities of Manhattan. Part of the reason there are no tall buildings is because several areas have zoning limits on the height structures can be. If you go to Wall St, you'll see why. The buildings there are all tall and jammed next to one another that getting direct sunlight or even being able to see the sky is to be lucky. The areas above are Chinatown, Tribeca, Little Italy, The Lower East Side, Soho, Greenwich Village/West Village, East Village, & Stuyvesanttown. The buildings get taller after 14th St., which we can kind of see as we go far left in the photo.


2.

This is a shot going even more East. The same 3 bridges (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg) are here and we're looking at, mostly, Brooklyn, but also part of Queens, because both border each other. In fact, they are the only boroughs of New York City where land touches each other. All the way at the top you can see Jamaica Bay, and Rockaway Beach which are near JFK airport (in Queens), and more to the right is Coney Island in Brooklyn. If we went any farther East after those places we'd end up in the Atlantic Ocean. Also, technically, Queens and Brooklyn are part of Long Island, geographically, although Queens is the only one that touches Nassau County, although no one that I have ever met that only lives in Queens or Brooklyn would ever say they are from Long Island because that would mean you are not a resident of the 5 boroughs.

3.

Here we can see from the bottom of the pic, in Manhattan, Midtown, Central Park, The Upper East Side, East Harlem/El Bario and part of Washington Heights, but this shot is also facing North East towards Queens, parts of The Bronx (East and South) and some of Long Island, I think.

Queens and The Bronx have A LOT of neighborhoods, and I can't even name them all. Queens is also the only borough that does not use its borough name for their address. So instead of writing on a letter, Queens, NY, you put Sunnyside, NY or Hollis, NY. Not sure if you knew that, but I thought it would be cool to mention anyway. The two most well known that border the East River are Long Island City, Astoria. Of course, Queens is also THE MOST diverse county in the United States, in terms of ethnicity/race, and is a major center for new immigrants.

Near the top of the pic, the small green island with the swirvy road is Randall's Island, where big outdoor concerts are often held and track & field events, and the road is part of the Triboro Bridge which connects Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens. You can also see City Island in The Bronx, which is a popular place to go for Bronx residents to get seafood and relax. Actually, if you have seen 'Bronx Tale' with Robert DeNiro its where he drives his bus to. The body of water up there pretty much makes up the beginnings of the Long Island Sound.

4.

Basically, Queens.

5.

Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, Governor's Island

6.

Very South tip of Lower Manhattan

7.

Roosevelt Island, and actually you can clearly make out the United Nations, which is just to the left on the Manhattan side of the East River. It's the most far East building that is narrow and rectangular, with the narrow end facing Uptown and Downtown (North & South) just below the bottom tip of Roosevelt Island. I think I can make out the Met Life building (former Pan Am) and Grand Central Station in the middle, and there should be the Chrysler Building (my favorite skyscraper in the city) somewhere on there. I also can make out Citicorps Building, which is just South of the 59th St. Bridge, inland on Manhattan. Of course, you can also see the Empire State Building, pretty clearly near the bottom, towards the left, Bryant Park, the little green space a bit North, and the Old New York Public Library next to it (made famous in 'Ghostbusters').

8.

Ta da! Midtown. You can clearly see the U.N. building now, at the top. Bryant Park at the far left, which hits 42nd St. and the South end of Central Park (59th St./Central Park South). Now I can also make out the Chrystler Building, which is also on 42nd St., not too far if you start downwards on the pic from the U.N. The Citicorps building stands out here too.
9.

Here's the Empire State Building, obviously, but on the top right the red buildings are Sty-Town/Peter Cooper Village (on the East River), the green towards the bottom right is Madison Square Park (not near MSG) which is next to the Flatiron building, arguably the world's first skyscraper and at one time the world's tallest building. However, at the VERY bottom of the pic seems to be 1 Penn Plaza, which is basically where MSG is located. Far left is Bryant Park again, which is where they hold Fashion Week (which happens twice) events, show free movies in the summer, etc..

10.

We can see more of the West Side of Manhattan, including the Upper West Side, Central Park West & Chelsea. We're facing more South East here. Actually, at the VERY top right is the Verrazano Narrows Bridge which not only connects Brooklyn and Staten Island, but is the MOST expensive toll in the area. It's currently $9, but it's going up to $10 by the end of this week, actually. More reason Staten Island residents are prone to not feeling part of the city, and why they tried to succeed maybe a decade ago (?).

11.

Central Park. We can also see more of The Bronx, The Upper West Side and Harlem now, which officially starts at 110 St., the street that borders the top of Central Park.

12.

Lower Manhattan

13.

East Midtown

14.

I think this is Staten Island.

[Edited by - PresIke on 03-12-2008 11:19 AM]

Posted by EnySpree:

I just wanna say that NYC aint what it used to be. There was a time where you couldn't just take the train, get off, skip and frolic like pansies wherever you wanted. NYC had prominant neighborhoods in manhatten. Crime and culture. It was better that way. To me there was more order. Now its just turning into a whore house of trend and commercial caca.

Word. I second this, seriously. Especially as someone who grew up in Manhattan. It's funny, even people from other boroughs stereotype residents (read: white residents) here as all rich and whatnot, which is not necessarily entirely unfair, because we have always had our good share, but it didn't apply to everyone, even outside of the neighborhoods people think of as poorer, like Harlem. I grew up in the Far West Village and it wasn't any picnic when I was a kid. By the Hudson River there was A LOT of crime. My mom was mugged right in front of my face when she had a cane because of a broken foot, I experienced attempted robberies on me more than a few times, and there was even driveby shootings.

During the 1970's, 80's and early 90's the city was not the way it was now. Sure, crime is down in a lot of places, but my problem is that why does it have to be when crime drops the poorer and lower income folks don't really reap the benefits while others do? Either they get harassed by the police (especially if not white), harassed by landlords, or forced to either leave or pay MUCH higher prices for everything else, making it very hard to function, especially for folks with families.

We really haven't come up with a good way of dealing with this, because I can say first hand that when my neighborhood was "fixed up" the poorer artists, etc. got bounced out except for those with MAJOR rent protections, but even they struggle because the other costs are so high, and wages for people not in lucrative jobs has remained stagnant compared to inflation (this has been happening since the 1970's especially for men).

[Edited by - PresIke on 03-12-2008 11:29 AM]

[Edited by - PresIke on 03-12-2008 11:30 AM]

I grew up in the bronx. city Island was the place to be. I used to kill that seafood and chill with the honeys...ah.. those were the days..

Posted by K22:

Posted by tkf:

I grew up in the bronx. city Island was the place to be. I used to kill that seafood and chill with the honeys...ah.. those were the days..

Seconded, thirded and fourthed.

Where in the BX were you, TKF? I grew up in Wakefield and live in Eastchester now.

I grew up in the south bronx, not far from Bruckner Blvd. My uncle lives on commonwealth avenue in the bronx. has been there for 30 years.. I think that is it commonwealth.. LOL..

I used to hang out near trinity avenue, play ball in forest homes. MY niece lives in parkchester.. I used to get around in the bronx man... LOL.. I played balled all over the city....

where in eastchester are you now?

Posted by EnySpree:

Eastchester? That 5 train shuttle is annoying right?

LOL.. I think that used to be considered a two fare zone back in the day. because you would have to take a train and then the bus, because there was no train line running out there.. am I correct?

Thanks for the breakdown Pres it was pretty good and the same to the others. Where are the major places of entertainment located such as Yankee, Mets, and Giants/Jets stadium? Where's Trump Plaza and the Apollo?

Posted by TrueBlue:

Thanks for the breakdown Pres it was pretty good and the same to the others. Where are the major places of entertainment located such as Yankee, Mets, and Giants/Jets stadium? Where's Trump Plaza and the Apollo?

Are you asking where they are located in the pictures? Or are you asking where they are located generally?

The Yanks are in the BX, the METS are in Flushing Queens, Giants stadium is in East Rutherford, NJ, the Apollo is in Harlem and Trump has mad buildings -- I'm not sure which one the plaza is and where it's at... But just wait for Pres, he'll have the supreme details for you.

Posted by TrueBlue:

Thanks for the breakdown Pres it was pretty good and the same to the others. Where are the major places of entertainment located such as Yankee, Mets, and Giants/Jets stadium? Where's Trump Plaza and the Apollo?

Yankee Stadium and the soon NEW Yankee Stadium are in the Southwest Bronx at 161st Street and River Avenue. Two trains will take you directly there: 4 and D.

Shea Stadium and the future CitiField are in Flushing Meadows, Queens - which is a bit a ways away. About 35 minutes (IIRC) on the 7 from Times Square.

Giants/Jets Stadium are in the Meadowlands in New Jersey (where the Nets currently are right now) - it's right across the Hudson River from Manhattan but VERY painful to commute (which is one of the reasons why the Nets are about to leave).

Trump Plaza, I believe, is on 5th Avenue at 57th Street - close to the Queens/Midtown Bridge and a few blocks north of the NBA Store.

The Apollo is on 125th Street in Harlem at I think St. Nicholas or 8th Avenues.