DIY NYC: What To Do In Manhattan This Weekend: September 29 and 30. (Far And Away, Your Best Patriotic Guide To NYC’s Museums!)

Downtown, at the South Street Seaport Museum, you’ll find ‘More Than Just Toys‘, an exhibit of model ships, and the Fighting Irishmen, a tribute to Celtic prizefighters. (Remember Tom Cruise in Far and Away? OK, so they ended up in Oklahoma - where the wind comes sweeping down the plain - not Manhattan, but you get the idea, right?)

While you’re at the South Street Seaport, feel free (because it is free) to help celebrate the winners (they’re all winners) of the Men’s Health Urbanathlon. It’s a post-race festival Saturday, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The Urbanathlon is a “city-based, multi-disciplinary race that had men and women running, scrambling through urban obstacles, climbing and more. By incorporating urban landmarks and layout, this one-of-a-kind event brought together the best of personal competition with the excitement of an urban playing field.” Something Tom Cruise’s character, Joe, in “Far and Away,” would have done.

Just a few short blocks (not far and away) from the Seaport is the (’Ye Old’?) Fraunces Tavern Museum, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The actual building is 288 years old, though it’s benefitted from some restoration, and lots of reconstruction. Enjoy the current exhibit, If These Walls Could Talk, which celebrates the museum’s home, Manhattan’s oldest surviving building. And yes, there is a Fraunces Tavern, which is, you guessed it, an actual tavern, where you can actually eat.

Getting back to Tom Cruise in Far and Away (yes, I’m on a roll here,) well, as the story goes, Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise) and Shannon Christie (Tom’s now ex-wife Nicole Kidman) flee Ireland to fulfill their dream of owning land (land!) in the Oklahoma Territory. It is possible (if it were a true story, which it isn’t) that they would have entered America (ah, America,) through Ellis Island. Now, you’re already in America (I’m assuming) so you don’t have to enter America, but if you did, and if it were 1893 (as it was in, yes, “Far And Away,”) you probably would have gone through Ellis Island. Much better that you’re already here, but you can still visit the historic Ellis Island Immigration Museum. (Whew, that took a long time.)

The Ellis Island Immigration Museum is just a short ferry ride away from Battery Park. Battery Park is just a few short blocks (not far and away) (did we do this already?) from the Fraunces Tavern Museum. (It’s amazing how all this old stuff happened in the same neighborhood. And yes, George Washington did sleep there. Because New York was America’s first capital.)

Now, you can’t visit New York City, or live in New York City, without visiting The Statue of Liberty. And, considering how our liberties are currently being squashed, it’s important to pay your respects to this icon of Liberty. So, hop on the Circle Line, and visit Lady Liberty and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. On your way back, pretend you’re passing through Ellis Island as a new citizen of The United States of America. Pretend it’s 1893. Pretend you’re Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise) or Shannon Christie (Nicole Kidman), if it helps. And imagine how it must have felt to be an immigrant (there’s a word that’s lost some prestige,) entering the great United States of America, a land of dreams, opportunity, freedom, justice, and civil liberties. Imagine how it must have felt.

See a Google map of the historic area, or of the South Street Seaport area.

You may also be interested in:

DIY NYC: What To Do Sunday, September 23, 2007.

Labor Day 2007 | Weekend in Manhattan Edition: DIY NYC or, See Manhattan Like A Local.

DIY NYC or, See Manhattan Like A Local.

Tags: 10004, America, buildings, civil liberties, DIY NYC, Ellis Island Immigration Museum, freedom, liberty, Manhattan, Maps, New York City, Nicole Kidman, NYC, Old New York, opportunity, restaurant, South Street Seaport, Tom Cruise, United States of America, Urbanathalon