Little Women

"You don't need scores of suitors.  You need only one...if he's the right one." (Little Women)

http://sineman.tv/movies-actor/margaret-o-brien-25704-ru

As the Civil War rages on to the South, the four March sisters face Christmas in New England without their father who is off on the battlefield.  Jo, played by Katharine Hepburn, is a tomboy who aspires to be an author.  She writes plays for her three sisters to perform for local children.  She also caters to the whims of her wealthy Aunt March.  Amy (Joan Bennett) is the pretty, but selfish sister; Meg (Frances Dee) works as a seamstress; and Beth (Jean Parker) is the sensitive, musical sister.

A young man named Laurie (Douglass Montgomery) moves in next door and takes an interest in Jo.  His tutor, John, courts Meg.  Beth takes the opportunity to practice on Laurie's piano while he lives there.  Their mother learns that their father has been injured and is recuperating in a Washington DC hospital.  She travels there to stay with him.

 

Jo & Laurie duel in Little Women courtesy https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzdeS-pBWR2MFrmxkeLwUxFa4EXAFnN-gsfSfds8ppuSP7KRSn2E2xJGUeHTr0c4WVKTIyn-OLm-t2lpfV3rO8ATzqFEmrtmnaKxQkwx_8AJemDHKuoRELaxPMTiecCULBWeTos7l8j8/s400/littlewomen2.png.

In the meantime, Beth contracts Scarlet Fever from a neighbour's baby and becomes very ill.  The March parents return home and Meg marries John.  Laurie declares his love for Jo, but she rejects him.  Hurt, Laurie in turn rejects Jo and she moves to New York City to pursue her writing career. There, she meets a German linguist named Professor Bhaer (Paul Lukas) who coaches her in her writing.

With Beth debilitated and lying at death's door, Jo returns home.  Beth passes away.  Laurie declares his love for Amy, a girl who accompanied Aunt March to Europe.  Professor Bhaer follows Jo to Concord and proposes.

Note:  Little Women is based on the 1868 book by Louisa May Alcott.  Upon its 1933 premiere at Radio City Music Hall, it earned more than $100,000 during its first week.  Budgeted at $1 million, the film's production included 4,000 employees and 3,000 separate items (costumes, furnishings, household items) that had to be authenticated.

Jo marries Professor Bhaer courtesy http://reviewingeverymovieiown.blogspot.ca/2014_02_01_archive.html. 

Holiday Inn

Jim:  "Lila's back in New York.  I got a letter from her yesterday."

Ted:  "What happened to her millionaire?"

Jim:  "Slight mistake there.  He didn't own millions, he owed them."

Ted:  "Poor girl.  Always straying to greener pastures and finding spinach."

Bing Crosby sings "White Christmas" courtesy http://basementrejects.com/review/holiday-inn-1942/

Holiday Inn is actually the prequel to the movie White Christmas.  The film stars Bing Crosby as Jim Hardy and Fred Astaire as his partner Ted Hanover and Virginia Dale as Lila.  The trio runs a musical act in New York City.  On Christmas Eve, Jim plans to retire from the act and move to a Connecticut farm with his fiancee, Lila.  However, at the last minute Lila says she has fallen in loved with Ted.  Jim pursues his plan despite Lila's bombshell.

https://reneelouise21.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/

After a year, Jim returns to New York City saying that he has struggled to make ends meet as a farmer and wants to turn his barn into a "holiday inn".  He is searching for talent to fill his inn.  On Christmas Day singer Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds) shows up at the inn.  Smitten by her, Jim plays his new tune "White Christmas".  In the meantime, Ted is crushed when Lila announces she is leaving him for a Texas millionaire.  He meets Linda and discovers that he too is falling in love with the singer.  The ensuing year unrolls at the inn with shows staged at the following holidays:

• Lincoln's Birthday (Ted is searching for Linda, but Jim disguises her in his act)
• Valentine's Day (Jim serenades Linda with "Be Careful It's My Heart")
• Washington's Birthday (Ted asks Linda to be his new dance partner)
• Easter (Irving Berlin's Easter Parade is performed)
• Independence Day (Ted & Linda are offered a deal in Hollywood)
• Thanksgiving (irritated that Jim has tried to interfere with her Hollywood offer, she takes the job despite his wishes;  Jim, depressed, can't touch his Thanksgiving dinner; Jim's maid implores him to travel to California to win Linda back)
• Christmas Eve (Jim revives his rendition of White Christmas, accompanied by Linda; they live happily ever after at Holiday Inn)

http://www.cornel1801.com/videosong/Holiday-Inn-Happy-Holiday/moviesong.html

Penguins of Madagascar Christmas Special

http://www.listal.com/viewimage/6478511

The Penguins of Madagascar Christmas Special, which takes place in the Big Apple, brings back sweet memories for me.  It was the inspiration for me to start saving Airmiles to send my brother and his wife to New York City for their wedding anniversary.  I called it "Operation Anniversary".  They loved the trip so much that my husband and I went for our anniversary a few years later.

The Penguins of Madagascar are on a mission:  one of their kind has disappeared in New York City and the remaining three must find him.  They venture out into the streets of the Big Apple where they come upon a crotchety old lady who is looking for a stuffie for her dog, Mr. Chew.  She purchases the lost penguin, squeezes him to see if he makes a squeak.  The Penguins follow the old lady home to her apartment building where they gain entrance by posing as a snowman.  They follow the lady to her apartment, which is beautifully decorated for Christmas.  It is there that the lost penguin is being held hostage by Mr. Chew.  One of the penguins says:  "Commence Operation Stocking Stuffer" and the trio proceeds to outsmart the vicious dog, who ends up stuffed in the stocking.  The four penguins escape through the door after planting a bomb.  The old lady declares:  "This is all your fault, Mr. Chew!  You are on a big time out!"

http://www.fansshare.com/gallery/photos/17267674/the-penguins-of-madagascar-cartoon-wallpaper-the-madagascar-penguins-in-christmas-caper/?displaying

The Most Famous Christmas Movie

Last night, we watched the 1947 classic, "Miracle on 34th Street", the most famous New York City Christmas movie.  In the summer of 2012, when Rob and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary, we visited New York City.  I'll never forget our walk to the Empire State Building.  We spotted Macy's and realized we were on 34th Street -- it was a surreal moment for us -- all the memories of the movie came flooding back.  Here are fifteen facts you may not know about the movie.

1.  "Dear Santa" letters were up by 25% in 1947 after movie-goers saw the 21 sacs of mail sent to Santa in the 1946 movie.

2.  Edmund Gwenn, who played Kris Kringle in the movie, also played Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of 1946.

3.  Edmund Gwenn's character replaced the drunk Santa in the parade.  In 1948, the New York Times magazine reported a "Santa who grabbed a trim young mother, set her on his knee and suggested they both go out and have a drink".

4.  In the opening scene of "Miracle on 34th Street", Edmund Gwenn's character walks down a New York City street and notices Santa's reindeer in a store window.  Rudolph, however, is missing. While Rudolph had already been invented in 1939 in the Gene Autry song, he did not become popular until the 1964 TV special "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".

5.  Edmund Gwenn's character was given a psychological test in which he had to answer a series of questions including "Who was the Vice President of the United States under John Quincy Adams?"  He answered it incorrectly by saying "Daniel D. Tompkins."  The correct response should have been John C. Calhoun.

6.  The headline "'Kris Kringle Krazy!  Kourt Kase Koming Kalamity!' Kry Kiddes" was probably inspired by the absurd headlines run by the Daily Variety in the 1940's and 1950's including "Sticks Nix Hick Pix".

7.  The Santa suit that Edmund Gwenn wore was auctioned for $22,500 in 2011.

8.  A little Dutch girl meets Santa at Macy's and sings the traditional Dutch song "Sinterklaas Kapoentje".  Edmund Gwenn's character, who happens to speak Dutch, sings along with her.

9.  A real life rivalry did exist between the two departments stores, Macy's and Gimbel's, from 1910 until 1987, when the latter when out of the business.

10.  Every year at Christmas time, U.S. courts re-enact the trial of Kris Kringle for children.

11.  Screen writer Valentine Davies was inspired to write "Miracle on 34th Street" after Christmas shopping in 1944.

12.  Edmund Gwenn grew a white beard and gained 30 pounds for the role of Kris Kringle.  He won an Oscar for his performance.

13.  Three hundred thousand children each year sit on Santa Claus's knee at Macy's.

14.  "Miracle on 34th Street" could have been called "It's Only Human", Mr. Kringle of 'The Big Heart;".

15.  Seven-year-old Actress Natalie Wood, who played the little girl who didn't believe in Santa Claus, actually thought Edmund Gwenn was the real McCoy.

Note:  For more information on the movie, read my post "Rickety Wooden Escalators & Cracked Marble Floors" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/08/august-11.html.

Source:  theboweryboys.blogspot.ca/2014/12/the-real-miracle-on-34th-street-21.html AND
blogs.amctv.com.

Edmund Gwenn in "Miracle on 34th Street" courtesy theboweryboys.blogspot.ca.

Lift Up Thine Eyes

It's 1957 in New York City.  On the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, passersby walk along the sidewalk, eyes downcast.  It's just another mundane Manhattan day.  But if just one of the New Yorkers took the time to raise his head, he would see a man posting a sign LIFT UP THINE EYES.  He would see a beautiful edifice -- Gothic portals, tympanum arches and magnificent statues -- worthy of a European cathedral.  He would see a flock of doves flying free above the sidewalk.  But Rockwell's subjects bypass the magnificence of St. Thomas Church, choosing instead to focus on the greyness of the sidewalk.  "I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed," explained Rockwell, an America that was slowly losing its Christian faith in the mid-1950's.

http://liftupthineeyes.blogspot.ca/2015/02/norman-rockwells-gay-sailors.html

Master Storyteller Norman Rockwell

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Norman_Rockwell_1.jpg

Norman Rockwell was born in New York City on February 3, 1894. His grandfather was a starving artist who immigrated from England.  His father, who also liked to draw, used to read to the family at the dinner table.  With his sketchbook and pencil in hand, Norman would sketch the characters that his father described in Charles Dickens' works.

As an adult, Norman dreamed of painting covers for the Saturday Evening Post, a magazine he would later call "the greatest show window in America".  He submitted "Boy with Baby Carriage" in 1916 to the magazine, starting a relationship that would last 47 years and include 300-plus covers.

A look at a Norman Rockwell gallery is a look at the 20th Century history of America.  It starts with "Excuse My Dust", the painter's portrayal of an early automobile in 1920.  He painted "Wonders of Radio" in 1922 to highlight Marconi's invention.  "Charles Lindbergh's Flight" shows the aviator's first trans-Atlantic flight in the 1930's.  Next came "Rosie the Riveter", focussing on women wartime factory workers in 1943.  "War Bond" helped sell war bonds to America in 1944.  Another invention was illustrated in 1949 with "New TV Set".  As Rockwell explained:  "Without thinking about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed." (http://www.nrm.org/about/about-2/about-norman-rockwell/) "

The American themes continued in the 1950's.  Rockwell's religious upbringing influenced his painting "Saying Grace" from 1951.  "Choir Boy" from 1954 uses beautiful colours.  With another child as his subject, he painted "Before the Shot", a little boy getting a needle in the doctor's office, in 1958.  "The Problem We All Live With", about the integration of a young black girl into an all white school accompanied by the National Guard, focusses on Civil Rights.  The following year Rockwell painted "Southern Justice:  Murder in Mississippi" which I suspect is about the slaying of the three Civil Rights activists.  Lastly, Rockwell's Christian faith was evident again in his piece "Uneasy Christmas in the Birthplace of Christ (Christmas Eve in Bethlehem)" from 1970.

In his long lifetime, Rockwell painted 4000 paintings.  He painted every day except Christmas, when he only worked half a day.  "Every painting is a new adventure," he explained, suggesting that perhaps that is why he lived such a long life.  "[Artists] are always looking ahead to something new and exciting.  The secret is to not look back."  (http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/american-art-biographies/norman-rockwell).

Norman Rockwell in his studio with the recently painted Saying Grace courtesy
http://www.go-star.com/antiquing/famous0613.htm.

Syrian Immigrant James Habjian

"I saw men lined up against the wall and shot point blank." (James Habjian) 

Armenian civilians escorted by Ottoman soldiers to prison circa April 1915 courtesy http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Armenian_Genocide.

James Habjian was born in New York City.  At the age of 3, his parents decided to move to Bulgaria where his dad would make Oriental rugs.  His grandparents, on the other hand, chose to remain in the United States.  After three years of rug making his father tired of the business, and decided to return to America.  However, first he wanted to visit his sister in Turkey.  

Shortly after the family arrived in 1915, the Armenian Massacre occurred.  Turkish policemen came to their door and insisted that everyone get out.  They took James father with them.  James mother dressed him up as little girl so that they wouldn't take him, too.  James saw men lined up against the wall and shot point blank.  He saw women raped before his very eyes, too young to comprehend what was happening.  

James father was killed by the Turkish police.  James found out later that he had saved the lives of 30 Armenians.  His mother met a doctor and remarried.  The family travelled to Beirut where they stayed in an Armenian refugee camp for four months, waiting to secure visas.  From there, they travelled to Le Havre France where they boarded the S. S. Niagara.  

The ship arrived shortly before Christmas and anchored off of Brooklyn.  They took a small boat to Ellis Island.  "I remember they had a big Christmas tree there in the big building.  I didn't know what Christmas was.  I didn't know what a Christmas tree was.  They had a gathering, a lot of people and they sang Christmas songs."

When James told the immigration inspector that he was American, the inspector replied:  "You're crazy.  Get out of here!"  James grandfather, relieved to see his grandson, wrapped his arms around him.  James settled with his parents in a five story apartment building in New York City.  

Little immigrants in front of the Ellis Island Christmas tree circa 1920 courtesy http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-a-christmas-present-deportation-the-twisted-history-of-the-holidays-at-ellis-island.

The New Colussus

Emma Lazarus circa 1872 courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Lazarus/.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning,and her name

Mother of Exiles.  From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips.  "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses 

yearning to breathe free

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me

I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

The Statue of Liberty, dedicated in 1886, sits on Liberty Island.  New immigrants used to pass by it on their way to the immigration station on Ellis Island.  Emma Lazarus' sonnet, The New Colussus, was written in 1883 and inscribed on the base of the State of Liberty in 1903. 

State of Liberty circa early 1900's when poem was inscribed courtesy http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/how-a-sonnet-made-a-statue-the-mother-of-exiles/?_r=0.

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip

It reads like a movie script:  "Two men and a dog cross American continent in Winton roadster!"  Normally, such a story would not merit the first page of the newspaper.  However, back in 1903, such a trek was no small feat.

Photo of Horatio's Winton touring car courtesy www.pbs.org.

Horatio Nelson Jackson, a Vermont doctor on vacation in San Francisco, with no car and little driving experience, took a $50 dare to cross the United States in a horseless carriage.  He enlisted the aid of a local mechanic, Sewall K. Crocker, and the two men packed up his new Winton touring car in San Francisco, and headed east across the desert.  At only 20 horsepower, the touring car did not go very fast; of course, it had no roof or windshield so the drivers had to wear goggles.  In the day and age before paved roads (only 150 miles of the entire trek were paved), before gas stations, and before road maps, Dr. Jackson had to rely on his own resources.

Photo of Horatio's pit bull, Bud, courtesy www.pbs.org.

On the trek, the travelling companions saw caravans of pioneers in Conestoga wagons; they met cowboys with lariats which came in handy to tow their roadster out of sandhills; they encountered ranchers' wives who served them home-cooked meals for a chance to ride in the new automobile; and they even photographed Native Indians in full headdress (in the last days of the frontier).  They also met a pit bull in Idaho which Horatio adopted and named Bud; he was given his own pair of driving goggles.  The co-drivers crossed streams and saw buffalo wallow; they crossed railroad trestles over wide rivers; their roadster spooked horses not used to motorized vehicles.

Photo of Great Plains Indians courtesy http://1.bp.blogspot.com.

As word spread about Horatio's drive, crowds started to line the streets of the towns that he passed through.  Some locals would give him the wrong directions just so he would head through the town where that person's aunt or grandma or cousin lived.  What a spectacle to see a horseless carriage!  Nineteen hundred and three was the year that Henry Ford started his company; the age of the Model T was still 5 years away and the age of the car for the common man was still at least a a decade away.  Other car companies got in on the act:  Packard and Oldsmobile both dispatched vehicles with drivers to beat Dr. Jackson to New York City.

Photo of Henry Ford with Model T courtesy www.antiques-bible.com.

As Horatio crossed the country, he wrote letter after letter to his wife Bertha with accounts of his adventure:  the flat tires, the burnt out side lanterns, the fuel leak, running out of oil, the tainted water which made Horatio sick, the lost coat (with money inside), the broken drive chain and wheel bearings, and the list goes on.  Even so, Horatio retained an indomitable spirit, bent on finishing the trip that he had started.  After 63 1/2 days, on July 26, the roadster reached New York City.  The touring car had sucked up 800 gallons of gasoline.

Photo of New York City circa 1903 courtesy http://img262.imageshack.us.

The car later went into the Smithsonian Institution.  Dr. Jackson returned to Vermont with his dog, Bud where he lived out his life with his wife Bertha.   He later owned a newspaper, bank and radio station and became one of the founders of the American Legion.  Horatio once was fined for driving above the 6 mph speed limit in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont.

Display of Horatio Nelson Jackson, his dog Bud, and the Winton roadster at Smithsonian courtesy http://farm3.static.flickr.com.

Source:  www.en.wikpedia.org
              www.pbs.org/kenburns/films/horatio.html

For more information:

1.  Watch the Ken Burns documentary "Horatio's Drive:  America's First Road Trip".
2.  Read the book by the same name by Dayton Duncan & Ken Burns.

George Kaufman & Moss Hart's "You Can't Take it with You"

The play "You Can't Take it with You" premiered at the Booth Theatre in 1936, running for 838 performances.  Mr. Kirby, played by William J.Kelly, is a Wall Street banker who intends to buy up a 12 block radius around a competitor's factory to put him out of business.  However, there is one hold out; Mr. Kirby suggests offering the family a large amount of money and if that fails, causing trouble for them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Take_It_with_You_(play).

Mr. Kirby's son,Tony, played by Jess Barker, is the Vice President of the company.  He has fallen in love with the company stenographer, Alice Sycamore, played by Margot Stevenson, and proposed marriage.  No one knows that Margot lives in the hold out house.

Mr. and Mrs. Kirby disapprove of their son's choice of a mate, given that she is of the lower class.  Alice invites the Kirby's to dinner one evening, hoping to smooth things over.  However, the Kirby's come on the wrong evening and find the house in disarray.  The police arrive and arrest everyone in the house for setting off firecrackers illegally.

In prison, the Kirby's and Vanderhof's get to know each other a bit better.  Mr. Vanderhof points out to Mr. Kirby that even though he has wealth, he "can't take it with him."  Sprung from prison, the two families have their day in court where the judge asks why a wealthy family was associating with a lower class one.  Someone explains that they were discussing the possible sale of the house, but Alice points out that they are about to be in-laws.  However, disappointed at the poor treatment displayed by the Kirby's Alice spurns Tony and flees town.  Grandpa Vanderhof decides to sell their home and the neighbourhood prepares to vacate for the proposed factory.

Kirby's competitor, Ramsey, dies after confronting Kirby about his ruthlessness.  Kirby realized that Mr. Vanderhof is right:  he has no friends.  He visits the Vanderhof's again and realizes that they are good people.  Alice takes Tony back and the final scene shows the two families dining in harmony.

You Can't Take it with You was adapted for the big screen in 1938, directed by Frank Capra.  The production starred Jimmy Stewart as Tony Kirby, Jean Arthur as Alice Sycamore, Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa Vanderhof and Edward Arnold as Mr. Kirby https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Take_It_With_You_(film).

You Can't Take it with You circa 1938 courtesy http://basementrejects.com/review/you-cant-take-it-with-you-1938/.

Reginald Rose's "Twelve Angry Men"

"They arrive with calcified prejudices and hardened hearts, testosterone positively steaming up the windows."

One room, one day, twelve men.  It's the hottest day of the year.  The men are charged with deciding the fate of a young teenager who has supposedly killed his father.  The jury reaches a verdict:  eleven vote guilty, one votes not guilty.  It's a hung jury.  

Over the course of the day, the dissenter manages to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of the other jurors.  The vote is recast over and over.  If declared guilty, the accused faces the death penalty.  His fate rests in the hands of "twelve angry men".  

In 1954, Rose Reginald served on a New York City jury in a manslaughter case, his inspiration for Twelve Angry Men.  He explained:  "[The] moment I walked into the courtroom...and found myself facing a strange man whose fate was suddenly more or less in my hands,  my entire attitude changed." (http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3420700025/twelve-angry-men.html)

Reginald wrote a play for television in 1955.  Two years later, a film premiered, starring Henry Fonda.  A stage play followed, debuting in London in 1964.  

Twelve Angry Men movie scene circa 1957 courtesy http://jasoncollin.org/2013/09/01/12-angry-men-1957-movie-review-recommended/.

George Axelrod's "Seven Year Itch"

George Axelrod, a radio program writer, wrote the script in 1952.  While he had enjoyed moderate success as a writer, he had not yet made his mark on the theatre.  That was all about to change.

On November 20, 1952, The Seven Year Itch premiered at the Fulton Theatre on Broadway.  It starred Tom Ewell as Richard Sherman, a 39 year old employee of a 25 cent book publisher.  During a summer heat wave, he sends his wife, Helen Sherman, and his son to the coast of Maine.  He, however, remains in New York City due to his work obligations (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ewell).

The upstairs apartment is being sublet by a 22 year old played by Vanessa Brown.  She keeps visiting the much older book publisher, coming up with airhead comments like:  "When it's hot like this, you know what I do?  I put my undies in the ice box."  Ironically, the actress who played "The Girl", Vanessa Brown, had an IQ of 165.  Later in life she worked on the political campaign of John F. Kennedy (http://www.playbill.com/news/article/vanessa-brown-original-girl-of-bways-seven-year-itch-is-dead-at-71-82127).

The Seven Year Itch ran for 1141 performances and almost three years.  For George Axelrod, it was his breakout play.  For Tom Ewell, it was his most identifiable role, earning him a Tony award. Vanessa Brown would also make her mark in the play.

In 1955, The Seven Year Itch hit the big screen, starring Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe.  While in the play, the two stars actually do have an affair, in the movie, it is just a fantasy of Tom Ewell's character.  Also, the movie adds the iconic scene of Marilyn Monroe cooling off on a New York City subway grate, her white halter style dress billowing in the breeze (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Year_Itch).

twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/the-seven-year-itch-1955-billy-wilder/

Jane Jacobs' "Downtown is For People"

"These projects will not revitalize the downtown; they will deaden it."

Jane Jacobs was a woman ahead of her time.  In 1958, she penned a prophetic essay for Fortune magazine called Downtown is for People.  City redevelopment projects were all the rage in the United States at the time.  Urban renewal was taking place in San Francisco, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, to name a few.  Jacobs warned that these projects would drive people away from the downtowns.  She suggested that city developpers focus on the buildings rather than on the blocks, focus on the people rather than the automobiles.  She said that rather than looking at the boulevards of Paris, city planners should "get out and walk" to acquire a feel for the city.  

Jacobs criticized the uniformity of these plans, the lack of originality:  "From city to city, the architect's sketches conjure up the same dreary scene; here is no hint of individuality or whim or surprise, no hint that here is a city with a tradition and flavor all its own." (http://fortune.com/2011/09/18/downtown-is-for-people-fortune-classic-1958/)

"All the truly great downtown focal points carry a surprise that does not stale," explained Jacobs.  She mentioned the Times Square Waterfalls and Boston's Arlington Street Church steeple (http://www.candidish.com/there-is-nothing-common-about-boston-common/).  To that list I add the Washington Monument and Chicago's Old Water Tower.  Jacobs' fear was that the downtowns would be razed, that the old classic buildings would be flattened.  The author praised New York's Rockefeller Center, a project that was planned around the existing buildings, a project that respected the existing streets.

Jacobs criticized American cities, stating:  "Waterfronts are a great asset but few cities are doing anything with them."  She mentioned how New Orleans remained detached from its river, the Mississippi; not one restaurant sat on its riverfront.  While Cleveland planned to build a convention centre on its waterfront, Jacobs thought that the choice of property was too isolated from the rest of the city.  On the other hand, Jacobs praised Chicago for the lack of barriers along the Chicago River, where the Wrigley Building and Sun Times Building sat, lending the city's visitors an inviting view (https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Chicago_River).

City planners might have read Jacobs 1958 essay for within a generation, waterfront regeneration had entered the American vocabulary, evident in projects like:  Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Boston's Quincy Market, New York's Pierhead Building, San Diego's Waterfront Village, and San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf (http://www.fishermanswharf.org/).

Historic preservation entered the American lexicon as well, starting with the National Historic Preservation Trust of 1949.  Museums and historic homes fell under this umbrella.  Historic preservation as part of downtown redevelopment became popular by the 1970's.  Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' campaign to save Grand Central Station, which started with an eloquently composed letter to New York City's mayor, is one such example   (http://www.citylab.com/politics/2013/02/surprising-role-jackie-kennedy-playing-saving-grand-central-station/4596/).  Philadelphia was the site of the first historic preservation commission in the United States, which helped preserve the city's treasures (http://juh.sagepub.com/content/39/2/193.abstract?rss=1).

Note:  For a blogger's take on "Downtown is for People" Fifty Years Later, check out http://streets.mn/2013/05/07/downtown-is-for-people-fifty-five-years-later/.

Downtown is for People drawing courtesy http://fortune.com/2011/09/18/downtown-is-for-people-fortune-classic-1958/.

E. B. White's "Here is New York"

One writer claims that "there is no more quoted piece of prose" than E. B. White's essay "This is New York".  Before the famous author wrote Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, he penned an essay for Holiday magazine.  It is the perfect example of an essay filled with the elements of fiction, including foreshadowing.   Who would have thought that he would predict 9/11?

"New York is to the nation what the white church spire is to the village," explained White, commenting on how New York was filling with skyscrapers.  Early in the essay, White maps out his location by explaining how many blocks he is away from certain events in history:  Rudolph Valentino laying in state, Nathan Hale's execution, Ernest Hemingway punching Max Eastman, Walt Whitman writing editorials and Marceline clowning on the boards at the Hippodrome.  History is on every corner of New York City.

When White went downstairs to eat at the cafe, he found himself sitting eighteen inches away from Fred Stone, star of the Wizard of Oz.  "The eighteen inches were both the connection and the separation that New York provides for its inhabitants."  He uses the eighteen inches analogy to highlight the proximity of everything and everyone in New York.

White points out that since he's arrived in town, a number of "splashy events" have occurred, almost unnoticed:  a man killed his wife in a jealous rage; the world's two largest ocean liners arrived and departed; the greatest air show on earth took place.  It's all part of a normal day in the city.

"New York is peculiarly constructed to absorb almost anything that comes along," observed White.  The author says there are three types of New Yorkers:  the native, who gives the city solidarity, the immigrant, who gives the city passion, and the commuter, who gives the city restlessness.  On any given day, you might have a farmer arriving from Italy to set up a grocery store, a girl from Mississippi trying to escape her small town and a man with a manuscript from the Corn Belt (the latter could describe Theodore Geisel who did just that in 1957, later called Dr. Seuss).

White points out those who have moved up in the world in New York:  Irving Berlin's journey from Cherry Street to the East Side.  He reminds us that New York "reached it highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the Depression".  Irving Berlin was one of the city's 2 million Jewish residents; at the time it also had 700,000 Blacks, half a million Irish and half a million Germans, along with 230,000 Puerto Ricans.  "In New York Smolders every race problem there is but the noticeable thing is not the problem but the inviolate truce."  How fitting that the United Nations would be built in such a city.

White describes how New York is a big city full of small neighbourhoods.  Within two or three blocks its residents could find a grocer, barber, newsstand, dry cleaner, deli, flower shop, etc.  They could spend a lifetim in an area smaller than a country village.

E. B. White concludes by saying that New York is both "changing and changeless".  He focusses on the willow tree in the East River:  despite the abuse that it takes, it keeps growing upward.

http://www.startsateight.com/2011/11/here-is-new-york-2/

New Year's Eve Trivia Test

1.  Which are the top three cities to celebrate New Year's Eve?

a.  Las Vegas, Orlando, New York City
b.  Los Angeles, Orlando, New York City
c.  Sydney, Orlando, New York City

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2.  In Italy, what do people do for good luck?

a.  Wear red berets.
b.  Wear red underwear.
c.  Wear red t-shirts.

ecvacanze.it

3.  In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico, what do people do at midnight?

a.  watch an old movie
b.  stuff a pig and roast it
c.  stuff a doll called "Mr. Old Year" and set it ablaze

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4.  On New Year's Eve, it is considered good luck to eat:

a.  brown beans, beef and bologna
b.  black-eyed peas, ham and cabbage
c.  sausages and cabbage rolls

jasoncollinphotography.com

5.  In Ancient Rome, the new year commenced on:

a.  February 1
b.  March 1
c.  April 1

www.tondering.dk

6.  The first New Year's Eve celebrated in Times Square took place in:

a.  1904
b.  1906
c.  1908

timessquarenyc.org

7.  "Auld Lang Syne" written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, is a Scottish phrase which means:

a.  "times gone by"
b.  "out with the old"
c.  "in with the new"

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8.  Sydney, Australia sets off ____ fireworks on New Year's Eve.

a.  8,000
b.  50,000
c.  80,000

cityhdwallpapers.com

9.  Edinburgh, Scotland is famous for its New Year's Eve:

a.  dance
b.  parade
c.  street party

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10.  While New York City has the ball drop, Seattle, Washington residents watch an _____ drop.

a.  elevator
b.  egg
c.  apple

ANSWERS

1.  a
2.  b
3.  c
4.  b
5.  b
6.  a
7.  a
8.  c
9.  c
10.  a

The Most Famous Christmas Movie

Last night, we watched the 1947 classic, "Miracle on 34th Street", the most famous New York City Christmas movie.  In the summer of 2012, when Rob and I walked to the Empire State Building, spotted Macy's and realized we were on 34th Street, it was a surreal moment for us; all the memories of the movie came flooding back.  Here are fifteen facts you may not know about the movie.

1.  "Dear Santa" letters were up by 25% in 1947 after movie goers saw the 21 sacs of mail sent to Santa in the 1946 movie.

2.  Edmund Gwenn, who played Kris Kringle in the movie, also played Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of 1946.

3.  Edmund Gwenn's character replaced the drunk Santa in the parade.  In 1948, the New York Times magazine reported a "Santa who grabbed a trim young mother, set her on his knee and suggested they both go out and have a drink".

4.  In the opening scene of "Miracle on 34th Street", Edmund Gwenn's character walks down a New York City street and notices Santa's reindeer in a store window.  Rudolph, however, is missing. While Rudolph had already been invented in 1939 in the Gene Autry song, he did not become popular until the 1964 TV special "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".

5.  Edmund Gwenn's character was given a psychological test in which he had to answer a series of questions including "Who was the Vice President of the united states under John Quincy Adams?"  He answered it incorrectly by saying "Daniel D. Tompkins."  The correct response should have been John C. Calhoun.

6.  The headline "'Kris Kringle Krazy!  Kourt Kase Koming Kalamity!"'  Kry Kiddes" was probably inspired by the absurd headlines run by the Daily Variety in the 1930's and 1950's including "Sticks Nix Hick Pix".

7.  The Santa suit that Edmund Gwenn wore was auction for $22,500 in 2011.

8.  A little Dutch girl meets Santa at Macy's and sings the traditional Dutch song "Sinterklaas Kapoentje".  Edmund Gwenn's character, who happens to speak Dutch, sings along with her.

9.  A real life rivalry did exist between the two departments stores, Macy's and Gimbel's, from 1910 until 1987, when the latter when out of the business.

10.  Every year at Christmas time, U.S. courts re-enact the trail of Kris Kringle for children.

11.  Screen writer Valentine Davies was inspired to write "Miracle on 34th Street" after Christmas shopping in 1944.

12.  Edmund Gwenn grew a white beard and gained 30 pounds for the role of Kris Kringle.  He won an Oscar for his performance.

13.  Three hundred children each year sit on Santa Claus's knee at Macy's.

14.  "Miracle on 34th Street" could have been called "It's Only Human", Mr. Kringle of "The Big Heart".

15.  Seven-year-old Actress Natalie Wood, who played the little girl who didn't believe in Santa Claus, actually thought Edmund Gwenn was the real McCoy.

Note:  For more information on the movie, read my post "Rickety Wooden Escalators & Cracked Marble Floors" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/08/august-11.html.

Source:  theboweryboys.blogspot.ca/2014/12/the-real-miracle-on-34th-street-21.html AND
blogs.amctv.com.

Edmund Gwenn in "Miracle on 34th Street" courtesy theboweryboys.blogspot.ca.

Disney Legacy at 1964 World's Fair

Unisphere courtesy en.wikipedia.org.  

A group of New York City businessmen, with fond memories of the 1939 World's Fair, decided to recreate it in 1964.  Set on an old garbage dump in Queens, the fairgrounds composed 646 acres of land.  The centre of the exhibit was the Unisphere, a 12 story high structure donated by US Steel. While attendance totaled over 50 million in the fair's 12 month run, it still fell short of their 70 million goal, resulting in huge financial losses.  The fair did leave a legacy, however, including the Ford Mustang.

Ford Mustang debuts at World's Fair courtesy nydailynews.com.

Walt Disney participated in four exhibits at the 1964 World's Fair.  "Pepsi Presents Walt Disney's It's a Small World:  A Salute to UNICEF" was a roaring success.  The exhibit was later reassembled at Disney World.

cheapflights.com

General Electric co-hosted an exhibit with Disney called "Progressland".  The Sherman brothers wrote the signature song for the show called "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow".  The well attended Carousel of Progress was reassembled at Disneyland and later, Disney World, where it still operates today.

thisdayindisneyhistory.homestead.com

"Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" was another successful Disney production.  It was later reassembled at Disney World as The Hall of Presidents.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln courtesy static.flickr.com.

Walt Disney also co-hosted the Magic Skyway with the Ford Motor Company.  The Skyway exhibit inspired the People Mover at Disney World.

Ford's Magic Skyway courtesy randytreadway.com.

Christmas in New York City

1.  December 1950 courtesy blogspot.com.

2.  New Yorker courtesy pinimg.com.

3.  December 15, 2008 courtesy bikeportland.org.

4.  December 1959 courtesy pinimg.com.

5.  December 1948 courtesy pinimg.com.

6.  December 1942 courtesy poppygall.com.

7.  December 1996 courtesy tcj.com.

8.  December 1963 courtesy blogspot.com.

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9.  December 1957 courtesy pinterest.com.

10.  December 1949 courtesy printspast.com.