View Full Version : A great man-cave
The other day, I went by the Morgan Library in NYC.
themorgan.org
JP Morgan built a library/mancave next to his house in Manhattan in 1906. It is superb, a single-purpose giant stone building, secret passages, one giant library room, one "study", and a smaller office for his librarian. Apparently it was his retreat from his business offices, and he'd sometimes invite friends over, then spy on them from the secret passages/stairs when they thought he was out of earshot.
His study has a great vault built inside it.
The library has a wonderful collection of historical bibles of various sorts, including 3 Gutenbergs. The other books are amazing as well, and offer some insight into Morgan's character.
Of all the museums I just saw in NYC, this was the one that was most personally appealing to me. JP Morgan must have been a cool guy to hang with, from his selection of books and artwork.
They have a working research library there now too, you can make an appointment, and actually access all the rare materials. They allowed my wife and daughter some time with some of the huge array of musical scores in the collection, while I hung out in the man-cave section. They are also putting quite a bit of the collection on-line.
Well worth the visit if you are in NYC and like books.
Here are some lame iphone shots I took of the library room, it was too dark to get good shots of his study and vault, alas.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IM5_mkMF15M/T6a9rhdlpmI/AAAAAAAAFG8/IIeIJf1DUOY/s640/IMG_0736.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QlhF6Y6vlKw/T6a9t-6dFQI/AAAAAAAAFHE/IcdPAFze1NE/s640/IMG_0737.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lnBufAYCBHA/T6a9v9PAA9I/AAAAAAAAFHM/hReNZ6Qg5DY/s640/IMG_0738.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_drlufXJbwU/T6a90GM_04I/AAAAAAAAFHc/j9-rXBY2dBg/s640/IMG_0740.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ObFmV8QxXrg/T6a94ONLiQI/AAAAAAAAFHs/Yr-AMQwOiO0/s640/IMG_0742.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-dd9AvLlYhK4/T6a98chYGSI/AAAAAAAAFH8/WJQneoHgnbM/s640/IMG_0744.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FUBlp877os8/T6a9-iRuT5I/AAAAAAAAFIE/obMkJdx0uQ0/s640/IMG_0745.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xbG8uY1MOGo/T6a-AiD1pfI/AAAAAAAAFIM/P-lIKtckPVI/s640/IMG_0746.JPG
I'm now thinking my own needs some remodelling help:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IP--8kz3FMM/TEzZLc0IblI/AAAAAAAAD8U/a6W8-0nbthk/s720/gse_multipart1675112953521401029.tmp.jpg
that's beaut! I'm surprised it hasn't been used as a film set yet.
yes, bae. you either need: 1. a book cull; 2. more shelves; 3. a larger room and more shelves. :)
A "book cull"?!?!?
One of weaknesses is I can almost never bring myself to get rid of a book. I need to develop some method of dealing with this. Buying Kindle books the past couple of years has been helpful, but the historical stacks are out of hand.
Tussiemussies
5-6-12, 4:21pm
What a beautiful work of art! The art on the ceilings, the bookshelves, I bet the flooring is amazing too. Thanks for sharing!
I know it's hard, man. But I realized that libraries have stacks, so that's golden. :)
That libary is added to my list of things to do on my next visit to NYC.
You mentioned that you went to see Gotterdammerung. What did you think of it and the expensive set? Seems that there has been some controversy about it. I'll comment after I hear your thoughts.
That libary is added to my list of things to do on my next visit to NYC.
You mentioned that you went to see Gotterdammerung. What did you think of it and the expensive set? Seems that there has been some controversy about it. I'll comment after I hear your thoughts.
The main purpose of our expedition was to see the whole Ring. We saw Siegfried and Götterdämmerung before we went when the Met streamed it this winter, and had already seen the set, sort-of.
In real life, the set worked much better than it did via broadcast. In the actual hall, you were far enough away from it that it produced some nice effects, whereas on video you were too close and the magic evaporated, because you could see too much fine detail of the mechanism.
The sets allowed them to do some nice staging and scene transitions, and overall, I liked it and was happy to see that they'd taken this risk. The machine rarely lept out and intruded into the experience, rather it added to it.
Some of the singers looked quite concerned at times that they were going to be sucked into the machine though. During the Ride, 6 of the 8 Valkyries looked like they were having a great time, smiling and whooping it up, and two of them looked to be clutching on for dear life. The Rhinemaidens have mastered the art of using the machine as a giant play set, and were great. The scene with some of the gods ascending in slow-mo the rainbow bridge to Valhalla during Rheingold was almost great, except poor Frika looked pretty darned upset at being winched up, and 2 of the gods almost took a spill as they rotated the bridge-piece of the set from vertical to horizontal at the end of the scene. Siegfried himself took a spill while running through the wall of fire, but he recovered perfectly and integrated the accident into his acting.
I can see why it is controversial, but it was very interesting to see in action. I went to dinner with a friend who plays with the Met opera orchestra, and he said the machine got off to a really rocky start.
Overall, I really liked the production, though it had some rough spots. That's what makes it art though :-)
Thanks for the input and perspective from inside the Met itself. Some Met productions work better from the distance and some are blessed with the close-up perspective. Satyagraha is another requiring distance, I think.
I have now seen all four with the The Ring HD productions but initially didn't really understand the purpose of the elaborate machinery. (Debated seeing the encores but probably won't due to commitments.)
For the last two productions, a friend who is an avid Wagnerite gave me this Father Owen Lee book http://www.amazon.com/Wagners-Ring-Turning-Sky-Round/dp/0879101865. It gave so much more of the story and the background in Norse myths and insights into Wagner's use of each myth plus the geography of the mythical Gods. Now the huge machinery set made more sense. I loved the behind the scenes interviews where the cast mentioned some of the challenges of working on that set.
The technology and the lighting effects were truly amazing.
We read through that very book as a family in preparation for this trip!
I have to also say, our community got the Met/HD capability at our local community theater center this year as the result of a grant from a thoughtful person, and it has been wonderful. It is such a luxury to be able to see these events out here at the end of nowhere, and they are very well-attended.
Another thing about the machine set - in real life, the 3-dimensional shapes it assumes allow all sorts of illusions, which can be breath-taking. This doesn't come through at all in the 2D HD broadcasts.
I'm now thinking my own needs some remodelling help:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IP--8kz3FMM/TEzZLc0IblI/AAAAAAAAD8U/a6W8-0nbthk/s720/gse_multipart1675112953521401029.tmp.jpg
I like yours better. It's real. J.P.Morgan's library is way too ostentatious for my taste.
Another Wagner tip - my wife just pointed me at another Met streaming production coming up, this one devoted to the behind-the-scenes efforts for this production of the Ring. Here's a link to a preview of it:
http://bcove.me/8xot98fj
I also didn't see an accordion or banjo anywhere in the Morgan library. ;)
Was the ceiling mosaic or painted? Beautiful library.
Magnificent! Back when architecture and design meant something and stood for something.
Was the ceiling mosaic or painted? Beautiful library.
The library room there was painted and soem bits carved, the entry hall had really incredible ceiling painting, and the study room had a carved wooden ceiling that would have been at home at Hogwarts.
Mighty Frugal
5-9-12, 12:55pm
I think I may be channeling Morgan's spirit. I have always wanted a magnificent library. Complete with those wheelie ladders and a secret passage way (a la Scooby Doo). Good for ole JP..but I wonder why he needed to sequester his 'librarian' in his man cave...hmmmmm;)
Bae yours is great too but needs more shelves and a librarian too
San Onofre Guy
5-9-12, 1:33pm
Your library reminds me of a story. My folks were driving to Ontario from Maine and stopping overnight in Northern Vermont. My brother and his family were taking the same trip. My folks couldn't find the motel described in the AAA guide. Upon return my Dad was perplexed as to why the motel in the AAA guide wasn't where it was supposed to be. The AAA guide he was using was from 2001!. These things are free for AAA members.
Bae,
How many out of date guidebooks do you have in your mancave?
I love it! I love your man-cave too, though, bae. Both of them are awesome in their own way.
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