Blog - Page 633 of 771 - Hither & Thither

Gridlock

“This is the purpose of New York’s geometry,” wrote Roland Barthes, the 20th-century French philosopher. “That each individual should be poetically the owner of the capital of the world.”

Yesterday was the 200th anniversary of the Manhattan grid: John Randel’s plan for seven miles of 90-degree grid was certified by the street commissioners.

There’s an interesting article about the map, apparently described recently as “the single most important document in New York City’s development” in the New York Times. What’s really impressive is how little has changed since the 1811-proposal was made!

You can toggle between today’s grid and the original map, here, using the slide bar. Amazing.

[Image from the NYT March 20, 2011]

Love, Adorned

Everything in Love, Adorned seems carefully considered–from the practical (heavy-stock, letterpress business cards) to the fanciful (engraved fossilized-mammoth-tusk jewelry)–and the result is one of the more beautiful, interesting boutiques to land in NoLIta. We have been watching this store and its evolving collection from our favorite booth across the street at Jo’s since it first opened this past December. It just keeps getting better.

Lori Leven of New York Adorned–a popular tattoo parlor–stocks the shop with beautiful tools, decorations, and plenty of covetable jewelry designs. It’s a lovely space with an unusual collection–and an unusual mix of hard and soft: in fact, the last time we were there, Lori had set up the back of the store as a New York Adorned pop-up ink parlor to make-do while her permanent space is being remodeled.

So far I’ve left empty-handed (many of the goods are, sadly, not on my budget), but it’s a fantastic addition to a favorite neighborhood.

Spring forward

Since returning from our trip to the Caribbean, I haven’t had the heart to return to wearing my big winter jacket. Given that we came back at the end of February, this has meant I’ve endured some cold days in the city. But the weather has finally caught up to my expectations and, after a heat wave of high-70s on Friday, spring was in full bloom this weekend. Ashley was a super-star and we walked more than 30 miles over the course of this weekend–including some beautiful strolls through Central Park.

Apologies to readers who saw a wayward Friday post go up last week–that should be straightened out now. And apologies in advance to any who may tire of spring flowers: winter’s change to spring is one of my favorite times of the year in New York, and I can feel my trigger-finger itching already.