Tag: halloween decorations

A Chelsea Market Halloween

Published on by juliebrannan1 Comment

Going through Chelsea Market recently, I tried to remember what my blog post about it had featured. I mean, I had done multiple posts about High Line Park (see here and here), the nearby parks, Little Island and Pier 57, and I love Chelsea Market! So imagine my surprise when I searched my blog only to find that I had never posted anything about it. I generally post in October about the fantastic Halloween decorations in New York City (some previous examples are here specifically about townhouse decorations, here about decor on the Upper East Side, and here about a special Halloween event on Governors Island) and since Chelsea Market goes all out to decorate for Halloween, the time seems ripe for a post about Chelsea Market this time of year.

First, a little history about Chelsea Market. The building that the Market is in, the entire block between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, and between 15th and 16th Streets, was once the factory of the National Biscuit Company – Nabisco – and the iconic Oreo cookie was developed and manufactured here in 1918. If you look, you can find reminders of the building’s history scattered around the current Chelsea Market, including the medallion above and a mural showing Oreos on the lower level. Nabisco moved manufacturing to the suburbs in the 1950s, and in the 1990s the building was repurposed as retail space on the lower floors and office space on the upper floors. Alphabet (Google) now owns the Chelsea Market building (it paid over $2 billion in 2018!) as well as the building across Ninth Avenue.

Chelsea Market is part of a revitalized far west Chelsea neighborhood, with neighbors being the Whitney, the High Line (the section of it between 15th and 16th Streets actually runs through the second floor of the building, one floor above Chelsea Market), and several new innovative public parks along the Hudson River. Because of this, it is often crowded with groups of tourists. Going early in the day is usually the best way to enjoy all the shopping and eating opportunities without being impeded by slow-moving groups.

Chelsea Market has many iconic NYC businesses, like Little Witch Bakery, LiLac Chocolates, Sarabeth’s, Pearl River Mart, and Amy’s Bread, as well as some completely unique to Chelsea Market. I particularly like the Chelsea Market Baskets store near the 10th Avenue entrance. Yes, you can make up a gift basket – and that is fun – but it is also a great place to get and try little food and toiletry treats from around the world at surprisingly reasonable prices. Across from it is the Posman bookstore that has a huge selection of very unique greeting cards. I would say that I go to these two places fairly often for gifts and highly recommend them both.

Neighborhood Goods is a very unique shop, with many items (snacks, toiletries, home goods, clothes, candles, and more) from many different small businesses all in one place. There is also a small bar there (Tiny Feast) there that serves pastries and light bites as well as alcohol.

There are so many terrific places to eat in Chelsea Market that I always have a hard time deciding what to choose when I want to have lunch or dinner there. Saxelby Cheesemongers not only has cheese to buy and the ability to create cheese boards for events, but you can have incredible cheese sandwiches there with excellent cheese – my favorite is a truffle grilled cheese. Friedman’s has elevated American classics from breakfast to dinner, and cocktails as well. Creamline has fantastic milkshakes. Buon Italia is a market for Italian pantry items as well as serving fantastic pasta dishes.  If you go to Chelsea Market, don’t forget that there is a downstairs, as that is where you will find Buon Italia, Saxelby, and a wonderful fruit market (as well as the bathrooms).

The bathrooms have a series of very old-fashioned looking sinks in double rows.

Chelsea Market has a very unique appearance overall simply because of its history as a factory and the clever ways the repurposing of the space was accomplished. The building itself is timber and wood, covered in brick. There are vaulted ceilings, exposed pipes and vents.

Something I always particularly enjoy about the Market is the way it decorates for holidays throughout the year, and Halloween is perhaps the most elaborate. 

I often wonder if little children get afraid of the decor! They have pretty scary figures hanging from the ceilings, around every corner, and some are even audio-animatronic (see here for an example of one talking).

Paula Guran, author of multiple fantasy books including New Cthulhu, has said “The farther we’ve gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we’ve come to need Halloween.” I do think that New York City, ever-modernizing and looking toward the future, does also give us plenty of magic and mystery when decorating elaborately for the holidays. I believe Chelsea Market is worth visiting for the decor in addition to all the shopping, drinking, and dining opportunities. Maybe I will see you there!

The Upper East Side of Manhattan in October

Published on by juliebrannan2 Comments

When one thinks of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, you often imagine rows of elegant townhouses and apartment buildings, interspersed with high-end shops, elegant restaurants, and schools with children in tidy uniforms. All those things are true, but they aren’t the entire story. The idea of the Upper East Side as a stuffy, reserved neighborhood is negated every October when walking through the gauntlet of Halloween decorations that adorn block after block in the neighborhood. Some decor is indeed elegant but much of it – much more than you would expect – ranges from spooky to terrifying. I have posted before about Halloween decor in NYC (here and here for instance) but this post is specifically about the Upper East Side this year, with a bonus of a dog costume contest held yearly in Carl Schurz Park!

I have posted a few videos on Instagram, too – here’s an example.

I talked to a UPS delivery man while taking one of these photos and he said he felt he needed hazard pay to go to some of these houses, because he had no idea who would come to the door!

I love the skeleton above – almost seems like a jaunty “Singing in the Rain” pose.

Here’s another video that I posted on Instagram. This was one of the more terrifying displays, and the sound was triggered by someone walking by.

Another Instagram video, just to give more of the flavor of being in front of one of these houses.

Although a lot of those photos may make the Upper East Side seem like a terrifying place in October, there are more light-hearted things to enjoy as well! One of the best is the yearly “Halloween Howl” dog costume contest held in that well-kept secret treasure of NYC, Carl Schurz Park in the Yorkville neighborhood of the Upper East Side (I’ve blogged about it before, in general and after a snowstorm). Here are a few photos from this year:

Now, a lot of these same townhouses decorate for the December holidays as well, but there is nothing quite like the gothic excess of so many of these decorations! Walking to an appointment on the Upper East Side in October, with the first touches of chill in the air, and taking in the sights of what my fellow New Yorkers have done to celebrate the season in the city – and share it with others – I am reminded once again of how fortunate I am to live and work in this vibrant city.

Halloween on Governors Island

Published on by juliebrannan3 Comments

I have written before about the experience of taking a short ferry ride from lower Manhattan and ending up on Governors Island, walking and biking around a little bit of country with killer views of iconic skyscrapers (read my previous report here). In addition, for years I have taken the drive up to the Historic Hudson Valley to see the Blaze, a massive display of carved illuminated jack o’ lanterns. This year I discovered, to my delight, that there is a Halloween ticketed event on Governors Island called Rise of the Jack O’ Lanterns (also held in other locations outside NYC) so of course I needed to check it out.

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This year the experience started October 18-20, and will conclude later this week (October 24-27). The ticket is timed for the ferry you will take over, and you aren’t allowed to get on an earlier or later ferry, so be on time! The earliest time slot is 6 PM, and the latest is 10:40. There tend to be discounts for later times, and of course some time slots are already sold out. The ferry leaves from the Battery Maritime Terminal, the same one that is used for regular ferries to Governors Island.

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At least in my opinion, some of the old houses left on Governors Island are a little creepy even during daylight hours, so being around them at night with mysterious music playing and thousands of illuminated jack o’ lanterns around is certainly enough to put you in the Halloween mood. I will say, though, that it is not particularly “scary,” so is appropriate for all ages.

All the jack o’ lanterns are hand-carved by artists out of real pumpkins, and the night I was there an artist was on site demonstrating the elaborate technique needed for such detailed compositions. Many are traditional spooky themes, but others reflect popular culture.

There were several in memoriam (see Luke Perry, above), plenty of Disney princesses and Game of Thrones tributes, as well as Harry Potter.

I loved the jack o’ lanterns themed to artists.

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I kept looking for a “She said yes!” jack o’ lantern near this one, but couldn’t find it. Erika, did you make it to the RISE and were you impressed?

The jack o’ lanterns are mostly on pillars raised up so that you can easily observe the details.

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One of the more surreal experiences on Governors Island is when you suddenly see the towers of lower Manhattan while immersed in this rural setting. Every now and then while viewing jack o’ lanterns I would glimpse One World Trade.

On the way back to the ferry there is an opportunity for unimpeded views of Lower Manhattan.  The views are terrific when seeing during the day on Governors Island, but the night time view is simply magical.

Those who don’t live in New York City might think that it’s difficult to experience a festive Halloween, but I definitely disagree! In addition to the RISE, Governors Island has trick-or-treating for children on October 26 (see details here). There are Halloween decorations all over the city, especially on townhouses (see a previous blog post on this topic here). The Cathedral of St. John the Divine has a marvelous Halloween Extravaganza every year that includes a scary silent movie accompanied by live organ music. And of course the famous Halloween parade takes over Greenwich Village the night of October 31.

I know I’m biased, but I do believe that New York City is the best and most fun place to live – any time of year!