Rockettes' Last Gleaming

I can remember my first trip to Radio City Music Hall, back in the early '60s, when I was but a wee lad. I went with my grandparents, and we stood for two hours in a line that wrapped around the building, across Sixth Avenue and down 50th St. When we got into the movie palace, it was filled with huge bronze statues, large smoked-glass mirrors, and the biggest candy counter I'd ever seen.

We saw some Walt Disney movie about an astronaut and a monkey going up together in a space capsule; after the movie, some guy came out and played too-happy music on a huge organ. Then my grandmother grabbed me and rushed me down to the second row so we could get good seats for the stage show. That was my first stage show, one of the famous Great Easter Shows, and it was just amazing. The way the Rockettes did that kickline and all those people flying around the stage in glittery costumes--even the orchestra was incredible. I never knew there were so many instruments. Since then, I've been back to Radio City ten or twelve times. The last time, I saw "Smokey and the Bandit." Even with dreck like that on the screen, the place still had a special charm.

But all is soon to be lost. April 12 will by Radio City's last day. The grand old mid-town monument will close its financially-floundering doors, and the next customers who visit the place will be the bulldozers. When they get through, New York City will have a big hole in the ground at the corner of 50th and Sixth. No more huge lines (those disappeared years ago), no more Rockettes, no more block-long candy counters.

It's a tremendous cultural and historical loss for the City, and this vacation is your last chance to visit the old legend. I mean this is it, the clearance sale, the closeout, the end of the affair. No more movie/stage spectacles. It's now or never. The last double bill, which will run through April 12, is "Crossed Swords," starring Rex Harrison, a film based on Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper," and the last Great Easter Show.

So much for legends. Maybe some Rockefeller will come through with a last-minute gift to save the Hall, but don't count on it. History, after all, is bunk. Time for a geography lesson.

New York is supposedly laid out very simply. The Avenues run north and south from One to Twelve. (The City also threw in Park, Madison, Lexington and some other unnumbered avenues just to make it difficult.) The East Side is anything to the right of Fifth Avenue if you're facing north--that means Third Avenue, Second, etc. In general, even avenues run uptown, odd avenues run downtown. A couple run both ways, and Broadway is just plain weird. It runs diagonlly across the City from the Northwest to the Southwest.

The streets are also numbered, even streets running east and odd streets running west. A few streets, like 42nd, run both ways. When you get into the real downtown area, around Greenwich Village, the streets are named and make no particular sense. Central Park sits right in the middle of this large grid, and that means that a whole lot of streets north of 57th just end at the Park. In short, you're bound to get lost driving or walking, so take a cab. It's one of the most adventurous things you can do in New York.

Cab drivers are a unique breed. They race along Fifth and Sixth Avenues like they were the Indianapolis Speedway, and they habitually try to squeeze through spaces that are too narrow for even a bicycle to navigate. New York City lights are synchronized so that if your timing is right, you can drive for fifty or sixty blocks without hitting a red light. Cabbies always insist upon perfect timing, even if it means a high-speed chase through the pot-holed streets of the City. Commuting by cab is a sure-fire route to hypertension, ulcers and the inability to lace up one's own Adidas. It's kind of like the rolled coaster, whip, and bumper cars all rolled into one and set loose on the streets.

When you get out of the cab, you may want a more sedate break, so walk down to the circle at the Southeast end of Central Park, (59th and Fifth), and hop in a horsedrawn buggy. The ride is very romantic, and it is one of the only remnants of old New York that is still around. While you're there, hop across the street to F.A.O. Schwarz, the world-famous toy store. You can marvel at the outrageously-priced Stieff stuffed animals, or tinker with the countless mechanical contraptions always on display.

Also right in the area is the Plaza Hotel, a favorite spot for socialites who like to linger in hotel lobbies. If you are in the mood for elegant and excellent dining, just hop downstairs to Trader Vic's, New York's premier Polynesian restaurant, located in the Plaza's lower level.

The ultimate in Tiffany New York lounging is way downtown, at the top of the World Trade Center. The twin towers, thrusting high above the rest of New York's skyline, house the fabulous Windows-on-the-World restaurant and bar. If you want to eat dinner there, you'd better have your first million along, and also a reservation. The wait list for reservations is currently somewhere around three months.

But for $3.50 a drink you can sit in the bar and look out over a breathtaking panorama of New York City: quite a scene from the foot of the great island of Manhattan.

All this is very magnificent, but it's also very expensive. Let's come down to reality and talk about some good-time cheap entertainment. A true New York City favorite is the Sabrett hot dog. For 50 cents you get the world's best all-beef (well, maybe mostly beef) frank with mustard, onions and sauerkraut. Have it with the works and that New York City flavor will stay with you for the rest of your vacation.

If you'd rather sit down while enjoying an inexpensive meal, go down to the corner of 29th St. and Sixth Avenue. George's Coffee Shop is one of the finest of New York's many Greek coffee shops. It's the only place in New York City where the guys behind the corner refer to a glass of water as "a ninety-one." Everything from a Western on a roll to a tunafish on rye tastes exactly the same, but the prices are reasonable.

Just around the corner, you can enjoy more authentic Greek cuisine in the heart of New York's "miracle mile of fast food." Gyro, the Big Apple's version of a Mediterranean McDonald's makes the world-famous Gyron sandwich. It's grilled lamb wrapped in pita bread and packed with lettuce, tomatoes and onions, sprinkled with paprika and the mysterious special sauce that adds a kick to the dish. It looks like an ice cream cone with meat on top the way they wrap it up, and it's a sure fire delight.

While you're there, you can visit the Madison Square Garden Center, which is right across the street (Seventh Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets). During the vacation, the Garden will be busy day and night with the antics of Ringling Brothers. Barnum and Bailey's Circus. The annual spring stop in New York of the world-famous three-ring extravaganza fills the arena with multiple shows every day. Ticket prices range from $9.50 to $40. Sports fans: the Knicks will be in town on March 28 and 30, while the Rangers will play hockey on the 27th and 29th.

Disco-pop lovers can fill the Felt Forum on March 25 and 26 at 7 and 11 p.m. to see the Sylvers, who will bring their music to the Garden for Easter weekend.

But traditionalists love to sightsee, and that's great stuff in New York if you car endure a day on your feet and in buses. The Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Central Park Zoo, and the10CrimsonLaura J. Levine