Is Brooklyn in the House?

I dusted off my passport and headed to Brooklyn to check out my old 'hood.  I take the train to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum.

First stop, the Brooklyn Museum of Art.  When I lived across the street from the Museum I went once, now I remember why.  It's a gorgeous building and a stunning structure, after the '04 reopening, but it's still disorganized and feels vastly empty.   The Egyptian and Middle Eastern exhibits are great  but outside of that, underwhelming.  The gift shop seemed to have more interest than the museum.  The Museum is both underwhelming and overrated!  Go figure.

Some exhibits are by unknown or artists with virtually non name recognition, which is cool, but leaves me with a degree of uncertainty.

On a nice day, go to the museum climb the outside stairs and taken in the surround area.  The public space out front makes up for the mess inside.

Save money go on a First Saturday when it's free.  The subway (part of the station entrance was remodeled) lets you off right in front.

I think a museum should have a grand entry and think they should have recreated the museums original staircase and entry.

After the museum I walk down Eastern Parkway toward Grand Army Plaza.  
The buildings look better than I remember.

I walk past the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.  Like their neighbor, the Brooklyn Museum, they now have an updated entrance.

I never noticed that Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum subway station had a second entrance.
Apparently there is a second, unused mezzanine, token booth, and turnstile area.

Ugh.  On Prospect Park by Richard Meier.   A voyeurs paradise.  It so doesn't fit into the historical fabric of the neighborhood, it's sticks out like a red headed step child at a family reunion.  Based on what I've learned 80% of the building is empty.

  

I arrive at Grand Army Plaza.  The main entrance to Prospect Park.  The focal point of Grand Army Plaza is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.

The Bailey fountain with it's sculptures of Poseidon.

 

I enter the park and go through the Endale arch.  I walk down to the Vale of Chasmere.  

It's off the beaten path, lush and very relaxing.

  In all the years I've been to the park, the fountains have never been operational.  

Hopefully the Prospect Park Alliance can fund restoration.

 

I walk down to the lower portion of the area.  
It's gorgeous, although about a third of the pound seems to have dried up.  What a shame.

 

I walk across the lawn where a heated soccer game is underway.

 

Looking out to the meadow I'm amazed at the number or people out. When I lived in the area, you would hardly see anyone at the Park.

 Granted this was a decade a go.  Nice to see so many people enjoying a beautiful day in a beautiful park.

 

Time to bounce, so I head out to Prospect Park West.  The Litchfield Villa in all it's glory.

Back to Grand Army Plaza.

Navigating your way across Grand army plaza is like walking thru a mine field, but there are some stunning buildings.

Since I could see Downtown Brooklyn and it's a nice day, I decided to walk down Flatbush to Atlantic Avenue.

Not really a fan of how this renovated station entrance was incorporated into the rehabilitated Atlantic Avenue station.

I end this trip at Williamsburgh Bank.  Once the tallest building in Brooklyn, now it is now being converted into luxury condos.