At the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Memorial.

Roar! Yesterday was the 99 year memorial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. The memorial was held at Judson Church the same place they have Bailout Theater. Since it was only the 99 year memorial the evening sort of served as a preview for next year's centennial.

Here I outside of Judson Memorial Church across from Washington Square Park. It turns out the Triangle Shirtwaist Company was just a few blocks away.

1911-2011? I guess this is going to be next years banner.

They had all sorts of different performance pieces at the memorial service. This one was an interactive art piece where audience members carried around these shirt patterns on poles to mimic ghosts. It was a really great effect.

There were also several song and dance numbers and even a couple plays. I really liked hearing bluegrass music about unions. It just seamed so appropriate! Roar!

The absolute standout performance of the evening was this avant garde, puppet theater piece. It combined elements of traditional hand puppets with shadow puppets to great effect. I also really liked all the little touches like how the main hand puppet was being sewn from the machine she was working on. I really can't wait to see the full version next year! Roar!

Happy P-Rex Day!

Roar! On February 2nd there is an old T-Rex family tradition going back millions of years that predicts the weather for the next 6 weeks. So this morning I got up and headed to the roof see what the weather was like. 

The sun was trying to peek its way through a cloudy sky. Looks like I won't be seeing my shadow today!

Yup, definitely no shadow today. That means spring is on the way! I decided I should go out have some fun. What would my great great grandfather, Punxsutawney-Rex, have done on a day like today?

Why, old P-Rex would have gone to his favorite steak house in the city, Gage & Tollner! I decided to head over to Fulton Mall to check it out. 

Woah, it turns out the building that was originally the Gage & Tollner Steak House is now an Arby's. Apparently things got really rocky for G&T in the mid 1990's and they had to close. Then a T.G.I.Fridays came in but that closed in 2007. Now it's an Arby's. They've gone from crinolines to curly fries! I'm just glad there is still a restaurant here.

The inside of the Arby's is really nice. Since this was once New York City's oldest restaurant the building is a historical landmark. Arby's renovation of the interior had to be approved by a landmark committee. As a result all the original wood trim, gas light fixtures, and plaster walls are still intact. While old P-Rex would probably be sad he can't get a steak here anymore, I'm sure he'd be glad to know it's still the same old place inside. Roar! 

I got two Beef n' Cheddar sandwiches! They were really tasty and filling, P-Rex would have loved them.  Today turned out to be a fun and interesting day full of restaurant history! Roar!