Johanna Kelly-Activity #7

Johanna Kelly
Activity #7
For my plaza observation, I went to visit Paley Park located on East 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. I went there during an early break that I had in school. As I arrived there, I didn’t see much people there probably because it wasn’t around lunchtime yet. Thus, there were many seats there available for me to sit on. As I sit down I decided to face the falling water at first. It was a very pleasant feeling to have a break in a quiet spot. I noticed how this unique park was very serene and relaxing. It did not feel like any of the other parks that I usually encounter in my every day life. It was a very warm day however; I noticed that where I was sitting there wasn’t any sun. I spotted a chair where it was directly standing in the sunlight. I decided to sit there instead. As I sat around and observed the scenery, I noticed that it was getting warmer as it was reaching mid afternoon. And now the sun was not beaming on me anymore but in a different area. This reminded me about what William H. Whyte wrote in his book about urban spaces. He noted in his text that the sun does not directly link to the people. People in urban spaces enjoy sitting in the sunlight. However, even if the sun does shift away, the place feels warm enough to the people that it does not want them to move.
As I looked around, I saw a few people sitting alone in their chairs. Their ages varied from thirties to maybe early sixties. I spotted a young girl about in her early thirties dressed in a black and white suit. She was eating her lunch while listening to her iPod. I found this interesting because I on the other hand did not even think to listen to my iPod. I found it very serene to listen to the water falling instead. I noticed how little time I ever have in the day to pay attention to what is going on in the city. One of the important ways to make observations is by using one of the five senses, such as hearing. So I did not want to disconnect myself from the rest of the world with music as the young lady next to me did. I then spotted a woman about in her early sixties. She was sitting and reading a book. I noticed that people came to Paley Park for different reason. Some came during their lunch breaks at work and some just to relax away from the busy streets. The trees surrounding the parks created a sense of serenity and it clearly felt like I was separated from the noisy New York City streets. As I sat and observed the area, I noticed that more people were coming to the park. People in pairs were coming very excited to talk and eat their lunch. They grabbed seats that were available and positioned them in different places. I noticed that the people who sat alone liked to face to the side where they could have more privacy and not be distracted. People sitting talking with others positioned themselves more to the center or towards facing the street. I really enjoyed sitting and observing the people in this park. It was nice to experience being in a different kind of park in the city. The setting of the environment in Paley Park was very pleasant to be in and I would definitely return there for leisure time.