Recently, my dear friend Kathleen and I spent a great day together in Manhattan looking for a dress for her to wear to her daughter’s upcoming Labor Day weekend wedding in North Carolina. We were masked, but neither of us had been in a large department store in 18 months. It was a strange feeling to be out and about, let alone to think about actually wearing nice clothes and shoes again. Even though everything looks good on Kathleen, we failed miserably on the dress search. Merchandise was limited.

After a stop for a few cocktails at The Lobby Bar at the Ace Hotel, I walked Kathleen to her train. The newly renovated Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station was surprisingly empty, incredibly clean, and well guarded. We went in a side door and, since we were not familiar with the new layout, we had a tough time finding the artwork we wanted to see. We apparently looked completely lost, as a nice police officer, and his dog named Tall Dark & Handsome (the cutest name for a black Lab don’t you think?) helped us locate what we were looking for. He could not have been nicer.

Here is an article which talks about the art that was commissioned for the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station. Kathleen and I found the Kehinde Wiley piece, and then she had to run to catch her train.

Next, I found the Elmgreen & Dragset piece, and was glad I did. Kathleen goes through Penn Station regularly, and has since seen it as well.

Next time I am there, I will look for the Stan Douglas piece. It was getting late, my feet were starting to hurt (as I never wear the right shoes in NYC) and I still wanted to walk down to my hotel on the Lower East Side. Perhaps I should have had a little something to eat with the cocktails!