Grants tomb, Teddy, Roosevelt, and Chester A Arthur

 

Sunday, September 22, 2024.

Took the subway to Columbia University and was going to get on a bus, but I decided I would come down to the park and just walk to Grant’s Tomb.   It’s a beautiful day.

Spent time on the train and the Airtrans (Newark Airport people mover) with Kevin from Nova Scotia who is a retired government spin doctor (his term).   We had a nice conversation.   

  I guess I missed the worship service this morning, as my friend Sandra texted me “the peace of Christ.“     

Grants Tomb.   A very dignified and large monument to the general who helped to win the Civil War The park ranger explained the world-famous question of who is buried in grants tomb by explaining that this was a question from Groucho Marx and "You Bet Your Life" in the 50s.    Actually, no one is buried in grants tomb , Ulysses and his wife are entombed in the tomb!   I was directed across the street and slightly down the hill to the National Park Service visitor center, which is in a building that for over 100 years was a public bathroom!  It still has the sign that says “women” over the door to the visitor center! Apparently the grant family did not want the monument to become a museum, so all the artifacts will be found in the visitor center. Riverside Park runs north south along the banks of the Hudson river and included a sign at one point saying the vegetation is being controlled by goats.

The visitor center was nice, a very quick tour, the gift shop took up almost as much room as the exhibit, but I had a good conversation with the park Ranger.     

Walked back to the number one subway,  changed trains and rode down close to Teddy Roosevelt’s birthplace     The park ranger started with the disclaimer that this is not the original house - the family sold the house after Teddy grew up. The house was later torn down, and after Teddy passed away his family bought the property and the house next door  and rebuilt it as faithful as possible, to be a shrine and museum to Theodore Roosevelt.    There were two kids who thought the chamber pot was a funniest thing they had ever seen in their life.!   Teddy’s family got rich from making exquisite glass.    

Then I went back up a number of blocks to a spot listed as a former Home of Chester A Arthur      There is not even a plaque! It’s now an Asian food store.

    Another couple of blocks over was Madison Square Park where there is a statue, almost overgrown, to the Twenty-first president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur.

    I decided to stay out of the subway and enjoy the beautiful weather and actually see some of Manhattan      Walked up the narrow part of Broadway, not the theaters, and all the restaurants and cafés had their tables set up in the street. I wandered into one place and had a delicious rice bowl with chicken and a very good avocado and several other exotic fruits, and spent five dollars for an iced tea! I was ready to spend five dollars for another glass, but they threw that in.     

So tonight, I’m trying to pack everything back in my three bags and be ready to go catch Amtrak to Boston tomorrow morning.