Built in 1799, Gracie Mansion has been the official mayoral residence since LaGuardia started the tradition in 1942. Under the leadership of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani the Gracie Mansion Conservancy continues to maintain the historic residence, improve the surrounding garden, and enrich the mansion’s collection of fine and decorative art. Almost all of the objects in the mansion were made in New York, and many of the paintings and prints on view depict scenes of the City. Gracie Mansion is located at the entrance to Carl Schurz Park, one of the most beautiful parks in New York City.

The house is located on the corner of the embankment Rasinovo nabrezi and the street Resslova, within walking distance from the underground station Karlovo namesti.

The house is used as an office building and it is not open to public. However, you can visit the restaurant La Perle de Prague, located on 7th floor, with a nice view of the river and Prague Castle panorama.

The current complicated layout of the Golden Ring House arose from the constructional unification of two separate medieval houses.

The cellars and the corridor on the first floor with the original barrel vault are preserved from the early Gothic period of building development. In this corridor there are also fragments of wall paintings from the end of the 15th century. The wooden painted decking ceilings with Renaissance themes date from the 16th century. The newel staircase, small oval skylight and Renaissance barrel vault come from the period of rebuilding in about 1609. The entry portal with the house sign was adapted changed in the 19th century.

The Gallery acquired use of the building in 1990. The permanent exposition of Czech art from the 20th century from Gallery collections was opened in 1998, and the reading room is open to the public on the 2nd floor.

The Reading room is for on-site reading only. It offers interested persons the possibility studying professional literature, an extensive range of exhibition catalogues and professionals magazines on the subject of fine art. It is available either as part of viewing the exposition or independently – entrance is free. The foundation of its collection comprises of catalogues and publications referring to works of artists, whose works are included in Gallery collections, or artists that the Gallery had exhibited and had published a catalogue for.

In the rear wing there is the Týn literary café, which is available not only for Gallery visitors.

The land on which the present cathedral sits was purchased for $11,000 on March 6, 1810, as a site for a school for young Roman Catholic men to be conducted by the Jesuits. This school failed, and in 1813 the land was sold again to Dom Augustin LeStrange, abbot of a community of Trappists (from the original monastery of La Trappe) who came to America fleeing persecution by French authorities. In addition to a small monastic community, they also looked after some 33 orphans. With the downfall of Napoleon in 1814, the Trappists returned to France, abandoning the property. The orphanage was maintained by the Diocese of New York into the late 1800s. Some of the monks resettled to Canada and eventually founded St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer.
The Diocese of New York, created in 1808, was made an archdiocese by Pope Pius IX on July 19, 1850. On October 6, 1850, Archbishop John Joseph Hughes announced his intention to erect a new cathedral to replace the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in downtown Manhattan. The “Old Cathedral” had been destroyed by fire in 1866 but was rebuilt and rededicated by 1868.
The new cathedral was designed by James Renwick, Jr. in the Gothic Revival style. The cornerstone was laid on August 15, 1858, just south of the diocese’s orphanage. At that time, midtown Manhattan was far north of the populous areas of New York City.
Work was begun in 1858 but was halted during the Civil War and resumed in 1865. The cathedral was completed in 1878 and dedicated on May 25, 1879, its huge proportions dominating the midtown of that time. The archbishop’s house and rectory were added from 1882 to 1884, and an adjacent school (no longer in existence) opened in 1882. The Towers on the West Facade were added in 1888, and an addition on the east, including a Lady Chapel, designed by Charles T. Mathews, was begun in 1901. The stained glass windows in the Lady Chapel were designed and made in Chipping Campden, England by Paul Vincent Woodroffe between 1912 and 1930. The cathedral was renovated between 1927 and 1931, when the great organ was installed and the sanctuary enlarged.
The cathedral and associated buildings were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a vast Gothic structure made of white marble and stone that seats about 2,400 people. The impressive interior contains numerous altars and statues worth a look.
The St. Michael and St. Louis altar was designed by Tiffany’s, also located here on Fifth Avenue. The St. Elizabeth altar was designed by Paolo Medici of Rome and includes a modern statue. It honors Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint.
The stained-glass windows were created by artists in Chartres, France; Birmingham, England and Boston, Massachusetts. The cathedral’s Pieta statue is three times larger than Michelangelo’s in St. Peter’s, Rome.

Concerts on the cathedral’s organ are held often, so be sure to check the events schedule if you’re interested in hearing this fabulous instrument.

Ambiguousness and ambivalence of the symbolical works forces one to active perception, to attempt to analyse their meaning. For František Bílek´s work this decoding is made more challenging by the author´s complicated thinking and completely original way of phrasing. Without dependence on the previous development of Czech sculpture of the 19th century, he created his own symbolical language based upon dynamic line, sharp shape and emphasis on the meaning of the gesture, in which he connected in a unique way the symbolism of Art Nouveau with Christian and the Oriental spiritual tradition.

Expressiveness and strangeness in that Czech atmosphere, almost in irritating way, affected particularly his early compositions, rose above all from a deep faith in God. Bílek took his creation as a mission to through art “sacrifice to regain one´s brother´s health”, e.g. to serve through his works to advise and to moral edification of humankind. Therefore, in his own houses he created the studios always as the essential space, on the basis of which the other spaces in the building were conceived. Bílek´s works are characteristic by the use of symbolical connections of the natural and spiritual worlds.

There are exhibits of many of his essential works in the studio of Villa Bílek, e.g. Future Conquerors (1931-1937), Grief (1908-1909), Golgotha (1892), How Time Curves Wrinkles (1902), Adam and Eve (1921), Anxiety for the Body, for the Word and for the Canopy of the Heavens (1909), Madonna (1901), Bound (1917), and also very remarkable furniture collection which was made according to his design

The National Cathedral’s final design shows a mix of influences from the various Gothic architectural styles of the middle ages, marked, among other things, by pointed arches, flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings, stained-glass windows, stone-carved decorations, and three similar towers, two on the west front and one surmounting the crossing.
Its west end is reminiscent of Bristol Cathedral in England. It sits on a landscaped 57 acre (230,000 m²) plot on Mount Saint Alban, in northwest Washington, DC.
Washington National Cathedral consists of a long, narrow rectangular interior formed by an eight-bay nave with wide side aisles and a five-bay chancel, intersected by a six-bay transept.
Above the crossing rising 91 m (301 ft) above the ground is the Gloria in Excelsis Tower. Its top, at 206 m (676 ft) above sea level is the highest point in Washington, DC. In total, the cathedral is 115 m (375 ft) above sea level. Uniquely, the tower has two full sets of bells — a 53-bell carillon and a 10-bell peal for change ringing.
The one-story porch projecting from the south transept has a large portal with a carved tympanum. This portal is approached by the Pilgrim Steps, a long flight of steps 12 m (40 ft) wide. Most of the building is constructed using gray Indiana limestone. Some concrete and structural steel were also used sparingly.
The interior of Washington National Cathedral abounds in architectural sculptures, wood carvings, mosaics and wrought iron pieces. There is even a gargoyle of Darth Vader on the north tower.
There are other works of art including over two hundred stained glass windows, the most familiar of which may be the Space Window, honoring man’s landing on the Moon, which includes a fragment of lunar rock at its center.
Most of the decorative elements naturally incorporate Christian symbolism and biblical stories, but the cathedral is also filled with memorials to persons or events of national significance: statues of Washington and Lincoln, state seals embedded in the mosaic floor of the narthex, state flags that hang along the nave, and stained glass commemorating events like the Lewis and Clark expedition

Shop ‘Til you Drop
There are enough over-the-top shopping opportunities on Fifth Avenue to satisfy everyone’s taste. Women will love browsing and buying at stores like Bergdorf-Goodman, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Emanuel Ungaro, Gucci, Ferragamo, and Versace. Men can check out Bergdorf Men, Brooks Brothers, and the wonderful NBA Store.

Looking for something shiny or sparkly? Browse the displays at Harry Winston – jeweler to the stars, Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany and Company, Van Cleef and Arpels, and Fortunoff.

Kids will love making their way through the stupendous displays at FAO Schwartz, the world’s largest toy store, and a very, very enormous Disney Store. For something a little different, make a stop at Takashimaya, a wonderful Japanese department store that sells beautiful silks, perfumes, gifts and fragrant fresh orchids. There’s even a spa at Takashimaya where you can spend the day pampering yourself. Of course, you won’t want to miss the famous Saks Fifth Avenue as well.

Other Points of Interest
On Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets, you’ll find the incredible St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Built in the Gothic style, this amazing church is the seat of the Archbishop of New York. It accommodates about 2,200 worshippers, has three organs, the statuary is breathtaking, and visitors can participate in Masses several times a day. Tours are self-guided.

Fifth Avenue is also some to a few of New York City’s finest hotels. The Trump Tower, located at 56th Street, boasts stunning views, luxurious rooms, top-notch amenities, and one of the world’s ritziest addresses.

Similarly, the Plaza Hotel – just a few blocks uptown from the Trump Tower – has earned its reputation as one of the world’s best. Recently renovated and partly converted into condominiums, the Plaza is home to the Palm Court and the famous Oak Bar.

New York Times Headquarters
The inauguration of the New York Times’ new headquarters at 1 Times Square was celebrated with a fireworks display, starting a New Year’s eve tradition which still continues today. The first famous ball-lowering from the 1 Times Square’s rooftop pole was held on New Year’s Eve 1907.

Theater District
At the start of the first World War, Times square was the center of the Theater district and attracted a large number of visitors. This made the square an ideal place for billboards. In 1917 the first large electric display billboard was installed. 11 Years later, the first running electric sign was let for the first time, to announce Herbert Hoover’s victory in the Presidential elections. The billboards have become such a tourist attraction for the area, that the zoning now requires the buildings to be covered with billboards!

Decline
In the thirties, the Great Depression led to a sharp decline in theater attendance. Many businesses had to close down, and they were quickly replaced by strip teases and and peep shows. The area continued to attract visitors though and after the second World War, the Theater district was booming again. At the end of the sixties, the area started to go downhill and by the mid-seventies, tourists avoided Times square, which had become a seedy, crime-ridden and drug-infested place.

Disneyfication
In the 1980′s redevelopment proposals were submitted, with little result. This changed a decade later, when the Walt Disney Company opened a Disney store on Times Square. This attracted more family-friendly businesses to the area, leading to a so-called ‘Disneyfication’. The area is – like most of New York City – a lot safer now than in the early nineties and is once again a magnet for tourists and a center of New York’s social scene.

Castle Tower

Climb the tower of the Český Krumlov Castle for a great bird’s eye view of the town and river below (160 steps, small entrance fee).

Castle Gardens and Rotating Auditorium

When you’re in the castle area, make sure you take a stroll through the large gardens. They are beautifully maintained and are especially nice to walk around on a sunny day. Also take a look at the outdoor theatre with its famous rotating auditorium. The auditorium can be turned during a play to follow acts performed in different areas of the park.

Walk Around the Historical Center

You can spend a few exquisite hours simply walking aimlessly along the narrow streets and lanes of the historical center and exploring on your own. If you’re staying overnight, try to take a walk after dark when the day-trippers are gone and you can almost have the town to yourself.