I heart TriBeCa

The neighborhood name 'TriBeCa' comes from the shortening 100+ years ago of the description, "TRIangle BElow CAnal Street". Since Manhattan slopes into a triangle-y bottom being bordered by the Hudson and East Rivers on each side, the streets down that far follow those angles as well. They stop being grid-like down here. It's the oldest settled part of Manhattan, with a crazy tumultous, hot history (think 'Gangs of New York'). So, Tribeca borders Canal Street to the North, Broadway/City Hall to the East, and then turns into the Financial District at Murray Street which cuts across the whole southern tip of Manhattan. 2 1/2 blocks into the Financial District from TriBeCa was where the World Trade Center stood. Still a big hole. Construction is everywhere. Positively everywhere. Poor McAllister asked, "When are they going to be done?" Alas, NYC is always under construction, there is always a scaffold to walk under or a sidewalk diverted. Especially around our 'hood as the neighborhood continues to recover from 9/11, and gets gentrified while old warehouses get turned into Loft condos like ours was. Our building was built in 1860 and was originally a saloon! As I look at the brick in our Living Room I wonder what those stones have seen. Maybe I shouldn't think about it. :)
Yesterday was a fantastic Block Party celebrating the 20-year Anniversary of the kids' school, P.S.234. This is a shot inside the school yard. It is an amazing building with great parents and lots of involvement. Its reputation is the reason we moved here. Here's London in her new school T-shirt with Jason.
And here also is Jason and Daisy on his skateboard, a picture I took while we were walking slowly back this beautiful Sunday evening from parking our car at the garage. It's about 6 blocks away from our apartment and we just get the kids' scooters out and dilly-dallied around the streets, window-shopping and people watching. In the background is the Woolworth Building, the prettiest, laciest building in Manhattan. It is 1 1/2 blocks from our home, and the stone work is so intricate and ornate, in places no one will ever really see. It's amazing the integrity with which the building was built! We love the crazy mix of everything, and the history all around is humbling. These buildings have seen so much, all we are is a momentary blip on their radar.