Blackwell House, Roosevelt Island, New York City, quiet in the chill of an afternoon. Trees, stripped bare in winter, and long shadows leaning east brace the scene.
According to the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, building the house straddled the 18th and 19th Centuries. Construction started in 1796 and finished in 1804.
Here’s an oddity. The rear entrance faces Main Street, but no one really knows why. And the same is true for the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, another historic landmark poking its rear end at the road.
Read the full story here.
Today, it’s maintained by New York State, recently refurbished and open to visitors.
What the Promenade Remembers
The light on the East River in the early morning is different from the light anywhere else on the Island. It comes in low and sideways, catching the water in long, uneven flashes. On certain days it makes the promenade feel less like a walkway and more like a corridor someone once meant to finish but never quite did. When I was younger I found the suggestion to stop and look at it faintly ridiculous.
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