On Aug. 18th I’ll be at the Lincoln Center in NYC to see the evening performance of “My Fair Lady”. I’m staying at a hotel across the street - The Empire Hotel. Since it’s a quick walk over to the Vivian Beaumont Theater, I wanted to spend a little time taking in the Lincoln Center complex.
Prior to the show I won’t have a lot of time to sightsee as I’ll be coming from the Shubert Theater at the end of the 2pm “Hello, Dolly!”. And then there’s hotel check-in and a very quick dinner. I have a minor leg injury, so any long walking is out of the question. Sunset is 7:50pm, so after the show I plan on taking a few night pictures.
Any thoughts on how to soak in the Lincoln Center in about an hour? Are there any notable plaques, markers, signs, features, or sites not to be missed?
I highly recommend checking out the Performing Arts Library which is right next door to the Vivan Beaumont so it's not far from your hotel or My Fair Lady. They always have very interesting exhibits and they from time to time will also have free concerts there as well. Also, depending on the day and the weather, definitely just soak up the beauty of the space because the campus of Lincoln Center is just beautiful (the fountain at night especially).
I second checking out the library. Not sure when theNext big exhibit opens bit they always have some type of exhibit going. I have seen many of them. Also, the MET store is fun to walk through. It is to the right of the main entrance to the MET opera house. And sit by the foundation and just take the complex in!
The stairs at night leading up to LCT are all lit up. I like to check out the names sometimes, and it can be fun to photograph them with the fountain in the background with different apertures/ios settings to make really pretty lighting effects. The area is fabulous for photos in general.
There are a couple of interesting pieces of 20th-century sculpture on the Lincoln Center campus: Henry Moore's "Reclining Figure", in the reflecting pool directly in front of the Beaumont, and Alexander Calder's "Le Guichet", just to the left of the Beaumont, in front of the library entrance. I used to think the Calder looked like a spider, but I recently learned (courtesy of http://nyhandmadecollective.org/blog/2016/6/22/hidden-public-sculpture-part-1) that Calder designed it as an abstract box office. I still don't see it, but see what you think.
Lincoln Ristorante overlooks part of the Lincoln Center plaza and reflecting pool right by the theatre (though there are tons of other dining options in that area). That would let you see part of Lincoln Center while having your dinner.
It does not take very long to walk around the Lincoln Center area if you do have free time. It's an iconic set of buildings, but it's really not that big.
Unfortunately I can’t see the Performing Arts library since I’ll be getting up into that part of town near its closing time. After I’ve checked into the hotel and get cleaned up a bit it’ll be close to 6pm.
And I don’t plan on a full dinner, just a quick bite, since I want to make the most out of the time I have that evening. The rooftop of the hotel has an indoor/outdoor lounge and bar that has a great view of the Lincoln Center.
I imagine I’ll spend over an hour, before and after the show combined, just walking around the complex and taking pictures. I’m very excited about all of this and hope the weather isn’t too scorching hot that day. I still have a few items from this thread to check off in the Times Square area too...
The Church of St Paul the Apostle is a very short walk from Lincoln Center. It has recently been restored and is now one of the most breathtaking churches in the city. Worth a visit just to gasp.
Wick3 said: "Since you have a leg injury, I'd just sit by the fountain and soak it all in and people watch."
This is sounding more and more like my only option due to the very late time of day, and what I can try to get accomplished after getting cleaned up after a long, hard, hot day in and around the Times Square area, changing for the show, and then eating. That won’t leave me much time to venture out away from the Lincoln Center complex and still get all of the pictures I want. Thank you to everyone for your input!!! :)
I hope you keep your expectations low since the magic of Lincoln Center only happens inside the buildings during performances and there's not much going on outside at all unless there's some type of outdoor performance in that area just south of the opera house. Other than that, as someone else said, just go to the fountain and sit there. If you like art, look towards the opera house and you can see the two big Chagall murals. When you make your way to the theater to see My Fair Lady you'll see on your right the nice reflecting pool and statues and if you really care you can also check out Alice Tully Hall which is a street north of Geffen (formerly Avery Fischer) Hall but really, outside of seeing a performance of some sort, Lincoln Center is pretty down the list of things for tourists to see.
^ ^ ^ I think maybe as a first-timer, and for someone who has longed to visit the Lincoln Center since I was a kid, even for just the architectural aspect of the complex, I’ll be fairly easy to please just sitting at the fountain and taking in the area. I was hoping there were maybe some milestone plaques or other signage of special interest like what you may find at a couple of the Broadway theaters around Times Square, but I’m guessing that’s not the case. Anyhoo, I’ll be happy just to be there, watching a fountain show and taking pictures prior to the show. That’ll be excitement enough.
While stumbling around the Lincoln Center website this morning I did find a list of times for the fountain shows that run up to 7:50pm, so I'll catch the 7pm show before heading over to the Vivian Beaumont theater. There was also a link for the Lincoln Center app for iPhone, which has two nice self guided tours called "Touch and Go" and "The Grand Tour" (45 minutes) of the complex area with videos and commentary. Cool that the stairs in front of the Lincoln Center complex say "Welcome' in 350 ways. :)
joined:3/4/17
joined:
3/4/17
Posted: 8/5/18 at 7:51am