Wednesday, June 02, 2004
The Hottest Ticket in New York City
This weekend was the first of various trips to meet Shelly that I will take this summer. We thought we would start off by meeting in the middle (mostly so she could hand off my car, Johann, to me): New York. We stayed with my wonderful cousin Wendy and her more-like-me-than-I-had-originally-suspected husband Mike. We had a great time.
More than anything else, we wanted to get tickets to the Manhattan Temple open house. Months ago, when we were planning this trip, Shelly called the church hotline and was told that tickets were all sold out for Memorial Day weekend, so don't even bother asking. Nobody gets in to see the temple! Not no way, not no how!! Well, we showed up on the sidewalk at 66th and Broadway and told the usher, "We don't have tickets, but we'd like to get in on a tour." He cheerily showed us to the line and up the elevator we went.
Of course, the new Manhattan Temple is different from any other temple I've ever seen (OK, it's different from any other temple in existence, whether I've seen it or not). Not only is it a multi-story combination temple/chapel/family history center, a la Hong Kong, it's also a refurbished pre-existing building, a la Vernal or Copenhagen (did you ever expect to hear someone say that Vernal and Copenhagen have something in common?). I used to go to church in this building for a few months back in 1999. I've seen the restaurant that used to be where the baptistry is now. I've stared blankly during boring sacrament talks out the windows that are no longer there, thanks to the thickening of the walls for soundproofing purposes.
A few thoughts about interesting things that struck me in or around the temple:
* The newly renovated third floor chapel looks fabulous, but I wish they had been able to preserve the windows. I'm told one of the huge columns up in the choir seats is to support the weight of the forthcoming spire, and the other is to match the first one.
* Speaking of which, it doesn't have a spire yet (a la Boston), and the building's exterior certainly wasn't designed with a spire in mind (I also learned the 5th and 6th floors (where the temple is) used to be a racquetball club before the Church bought them!). But we saw a conceptual drawing of it, and it looks all right--the spire sticks straight up out of the corner of the building, and Moroni is tooting his horn at the Met and Julliard, saying, "You think YOU can play? Get a load of THIS!"
* I was quite impressed with the mural work in the Garden Room. It's too bad murals in temples are dying out. Or are they making a comeback, a la Nauvoo?
* A lot of fine decorative art work displaying a Tree of Life motif, from the stained glass on the windows to the carved carpet.
* Very cool quadruple chandeliers instead of the more traditional single monster chandelier in the Celestial Room. I also quite enjoyed that the tour guide (as well as everyone else) didn't say a word in that room.
* I was most particularly struck by what was termed "The Grand Hallway." Essentially, outside the sealing rooms is a big, spacious, luxurious hallway adorned with pictures of Jesus. We were told it serves as the waiting room for families of couples getting married. Cool idea, though it was probably a last recourse when there really wasn't enough space for a true waiting room.
* When you get married in the Manhattan Temple, and you come outside, where do you get your picture taken? Do you just stand on the curb at 66th Street and the photographer stands in the crosswalk when the light is red? I suppose you would go the short walk to Central Park, which would be as pretty as most temple grounds (prettier than some), but what about that obligatory picture every Mormon couple needs of the two of them standing in front of their temple?
* After we left, we ran into, of all people, the president of the Boston Temple and his wife on the subway. They had just been on a tour, too, because as soon as the Manhattan Temple is dedicated, they won't be allowed to come to New York because it won't be in their temple district anymore. We've never seen them outside of the Boston Temple, so it was a little weird to have a conversation while clinging to a subway pole.
More than anything else, we wanted to get tickets to the Manhattan Temple open house. Months ago, when we were planning this trip, Shelly called the church hotline and was told that tickets were all sold out for Memorial Day weekend, so don't even bother asking. Nobody gets in to see the temple! Not no way, not no how!! Well, we showed up on the sidewalk at 66th and Broadway and told the usher, "We don't have tickets, but we'd like to get in on a tour." He cheerily showed us to the line and up the elevator we went.
Of course, the new Manhattan Temple is different from any other temple I've ever seen (OK, it's different from any other temple in existence, whether I've seen it or not). Not only is it a multi-story combination temple/chapel/family history center, a la Hong Kong, it's also a refurbished pre-existing building, a la Vernal or Copenhagen (did you ever expect to hear someone say that Vernal and Copenhagen have something in common?). I used to go to church in this building for a few months back in 1999. I've seen the restaurant that used to be where the baptistry is now. I've stared blankly during boring sacrament talks out the windows that are no longer there, thanks to the thickening of the walls for soundproofing purposes.
A few thoughts about interesting things that struck me in or around the temple:
* The newly renovated third floor chapel looks fabulous, but I wish they had been able to preserve the windows. I'm told one of the huge columns up in the choir seats is to support the weight of the forthcoming spire, and the other is to match the first one.
* Speaking of which, it doesn't have a spire yet (a la Boston), and the building's exterior certainly wasn't designed with a spire in mind (I also learned the 5th and 6th floors (where the temple is) used to be a racquetball club before the Church bought them!). But we saw a conceptual drawing of it, and it looks all right--the spire sticks straight up out of the corner of the building, and Moroni is tooting his horn at the Met and Julliard, saying, "You think YOU can play? Get a load of THIS!"
* I was quite impressed with the mural work in the Garden Room. It's too bad murals in temples are dying out. Or are they making a comeback, a la Nauvoo?
* A lot of fine decorative art work displaying a Tree of Life motif, from the stained glass on the windows to the carved carpet.
* Very cool quadruple chandeliers instead of the more traditional single monster chandelier in the Celestial Room. I also quite enjoyed that the tour guide (as well as everyone else) didn't say a word in that room.
* I was most particularly struck by what was termed "The Grand Hallway." Essentially, outside the sealing rooms is a big, spacious, luxurious hallway adorned with pictures of Jesus. We were told it serves as the waiting room for families of couples getting married. Cool idea, though it was probably a last recourse when there really wasn't enough space for a true waiting room.
* When you get married in the Manhattan Temple, and you come outside, where do you get your picture taken? Do you just stand on the curb at 66th Street and the photographer stands in the crosswalk when the light is red? I suppose you would go the short walk to Central Park, which would be as pretty as most temple grounds (prettier than some), but what about that obligatory picture every Mormon couple needs of the two of them standing in front of their temple?
* After we left, we ran into, of all people, the president of the Boston Temple and his wife on the subway. They had just been on a tour, too, because as soon as the Manhattan Temple is dedicated, they won't be allowed to come to New York because it won't be in their temple district anymore. We've never seen them outside of the Boston Temple, so it was a little weird to have a conversation while clinging to a subway pole.
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