<p>Hello Columbians!
I'll be visiting campus this week and am figuring out how I'd like to spend my time. I'm an avid photographer, so I can't really imagine being in Manhattan without shooting some photos. Of course there's Times Square, Ellis Island, Central Park, etc., but I figured that trying to keep my photographic subjects on the UWS would make for more unique & creative photos as well as saving transportation hassle.</p>
<p>So, Butler, the Van Am quad's rotunda, Low, and maybe even the Lerner ramps would be obvious subjects. What else on and around campus is aesthetically interesting? Oh, and are there any busy intersections with interesting buildings? It's always fun to get a night shot of the streaked lights of cars whizzing on an interesting background.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for the recommendations!
-wmmk</p>
<p>P.S. Any especially cool places to go/eat/hang out on or around campus? I can't spend all of my time in NYC photographing things and going on campus tours. :)</p>
<p>Some of the classrooms are pretty cool if you can get in -- the big lecture hall in Pupin (physics) and in Havermeyer (chemistry) are really old-school looking and they've been used in tv/movies/commercials I believe.</p>
<p>The inside of Butler is good to photograph.</p>
<p>Any sort of McKim Meade & White (the architects) shots would be cool. Like, the whole South lawn with JJ, Hartley, Wallach, Hamilton, etc.</p>
<p>There are some weird statues on campus, like that squiggley thing in front of the business school that nobody has a clue what it is.</p>
<p>Thanks! Will it be hard to get access to the inside of Butler? I'd presume our campus tour would go in, but I, being a totally anal photographer, kind of like to spend 20 minutes setting of shots and things like that. I hadn't thought of the actual lecture halls, though. I'll see what I can do with those.</p>
<p>There's an overhead bridge connecting Columbia's main campus to East campus (dorms, SIPA, Law school). It's exclusively for Columbia foot-traffic and on it, there's a really nice lawn + a statue but more importantly, on both ends, you can look at manhattan for as far as the eye can see. It's beautiful.</p>
<p>By the way, that "squiggly-thing" in front of the Business School is actually a dollar sign when you look at it from above.</p>
<p>Neat! Thanks for all the great suggestions. That bridge to east campus could be a cool spot for a quick self portrait around dusk. </p>
<p>As I likely won't have time to visit both, would you recommend Riverside or Morningside as a better place to take a walk/photograph? Thanks again!</p>
<p>Interesting comment about Riverside. My dad is actually taking me walking around Morningside at night (nothing too late, maybe 9 or 10-ish) and maybe on the subways to try to give me a feel for the actual safety (or lack thereof) around campus. </p>
<p>Anyhow, if Riverside is unsafe but truly avoidable as a student, I can make it avoidable on our trip as well. </p>
<p>By the way, will we be able to get into John Jay for dinner without any specific passes? I don't think we'll be able to get onto campus before the visitors center closes. Thanks again!</p>
<p>"but in all honesty the one place I tend to avoid is Riverside park"</p>
<p>riverside drive and morningside drive around columbia (the avenues adjacent to the parks) are very safe, the parks themselves are not bad at all in the daytime, but in the nights i've only been to riverside, and riverside is darkish and sparsely populated but i haven't read or heard of anything happening there. Morningside i haven't been to at night, because it is talked of in a less safe light, and more stuff tends to happen there, it too is darkish and sparsely populated. avoid either at night if you're worried, but if you have to visit one, make it riverside any day of the week. morningside drive has the advantage of being elevated above all that is east, and so you get a spectacular view of harlem and can even see into queens, and the bridges connecting.</p>
<p>Riverside Park, during the daytime at least, is really completely safe. Morningside Park, which is on the eastern border of the Columbia campus, used to be less so, but has gotten a lot better. </p>
<p>Fun places to see in the neighborhood (which I've lived in since I was little) include:
Cathedral of St. John the Divine at Amsterdam betw. 110-112-ish. It's a really nice example of Gothic architecture, even though it isn't complete (there have been problems with funding and several fires).
Tom's Restaurant - not great food, but is famous from Seinfeld. Also the quintessential Greek diner.
Riverside Church - 120-122nd, spanning the block from Riverside to Claremont. It's also where Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of his speeches right before he died.
If you're willing to walk uptown a bit, the place where the subway comes out of the ground and becomes an elevated train is quite impressive.</p>
<p>Hope you have a good time! If you have a chance, be sure to get brunch at Community Food and Juice on B'way and 112. It's absolutely delicious! The Hungarian Pastry Shop, on 111 and Amsterdam, is a great environment for studying, talking about philosophy, or just drinking coffee. It's a Columbia institution - be sure to check out the hilarious and very political graffiti in the bathroom!</p>
<p>If you're looking for human photography, the cafes on broadway between 110th and 115th are a great spot. </p>
<p>Riverside Church up on 121st & Claremont is a good spot.</p>
<p>My absolute favorite view of the UWS is from the roof of a Columbia building however. The best option involves some minor shenanigans (walking through a complicated boiler room to get to the roof stair) but the reward is a beautiful view of manhattan, all to yourself. IM me on AIM if you want details.</p>
