New York City Travel Moment

New York City travel moments are so common they’re almost trite, but when they happen, they can take the breath away. I’m in New York City for TBEX, the travel bloggers’ conference, but it’s a familiar place; I lived here for years after college. New York is famously a walking city, so despite the humid, hot summer air, walking is still the best way to get acclimated to the seeming chaos of the city culture.

Walking south on Broadway, past 34th Street, later 20th, and so on, the sheer noise is almost overwhelming to those of us accustomed to quieter environs. Sirens, street performers, commuters grumpily shouldering past more slow-moving tourists… these are tolerable sights and sounds in NYC. Walking closer to 11th St on Broadway, the commonplace sight of a major construction project looms into view. There’s the scaffolding, there are the men in hard hats yelling to each other in order to be heard over the constant jackhammers…well, this is just too much. On 10th and Broadway, I cross the street. And there it is, suddenly yet as always: Grace Church.

Grace Church, in the East Village near NYC icons New York University and Webster Hall, is like NYU and Webster in that all three date back to the 1800′s. While Webster Hall and NYU have seen many renovations and updates in the past 200 years, Grace Church keeps its place in time. It has, of course, been restored through the ages, but the original architecture remains intact. Built between 1843 and 1846 in the Gothic style, of unfinished marble, it still contains the cornerstone of an earlier church (also called Grace Church) erected in 1806. The multiple tall spires and high arches mark this to any clear-eyed passer-by as a remarkable historic structure, and the green grass is tempting after a long walk down Broadway. The construction workers continue to yell across the street, and the jackhammers make it hard to think. It’s an easy decision to step inside.

A moment where everything suddenly falls into place and seems perfect, an epiphany or simply a heightened awareness: in this case, a New York City travel moment. It’s instantly quiet and darker in the Episcopalian church. A couple of people are sitting in a pew, one more is tidying up. While there are prayer and Eucharist services in this active church, right now it is completely peaceful. The darker shade of the inside of Grace Church allows light to gleam in through the original stained glass windows, over the high altar. These stained glass windows are elaborate, encompassing most of one wall as well as the wall above the altar. The carved pulpit is a work of art. St Peter, St Paul, and St John the Baptist are represented in the carving, along with cherubs, foliage, and other delicate filigreed woodwork. Anyone who cares to is welcome to slowly stroll, or sit for a while. I do.

A subway train rumbles past, somewhere near and underground. It’s a momentary break in the quiet reverence here, so strikingly different than the loud, constant bustle of New York City. Stepping back outside into the bright sunshine and heat of summertime, those sirens and jackhammers now seem much more tolerable. Edifying New York City travel experiences like a stop in Grace Church can happen any time. It just takes open eyes and the willingness to slow down and take a look around.  There are very few “hidden gems” here; one just has to open one’s eyes to what’s in plain view. New York City can be a difficult place in which to find serenity. But it can be easy here, too, to find that moment of grace.