Saturday, August 18, 2012

camminando | Urban Nature: Rockaway Beach


 
Motivated by the Creative Time Sandcastle competitions, where the young and hip artists were invited to show off with their building skills I decided to take some time off and embark into a A train journey to Rockaway Beach in Queens. I have to admit that actually the A train ride turned out as the most exciting part of my excursion.

The discovery of the beach area, once inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans now turned from into hip destination —from traditional boardwalk to skateboard park— was also interesting. The mix of low income high-rise with the rough Atlantic waves breaking into the manmade breakwater makes us aware of  nature accessible from the city.

 Birds flying over my head, almost out of the Hitchcock movie


From Boardwalk to Skateboard Park

The Creative Time sandcastle competition
And finally the encounter with the unusual structure (reminding me of Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro) made me feel almost like being transported by the A train disappearing in the water.

Unusual concrete structure for a bus shelter, reminded me of Copacabana beach architecture
The view from the A subway train, emerged from the underground and floating on water