People from far and wide took to the streets of Hell’s Kitchen to glimpse the near-total solar eclipse on Monday. From about 2 to 3:30pm they looked into tinted glasses and homemade cardboard box-turned celestial viewing devices. This would be their last opportunity — in North America — for the next two decades to watch the moon cover close to 90% of the sun.
Out on the Hudson River, the Intrepid Museum’s observation deck was covered by hundreds of people hailing from around the world and around the block; as far as Geneva, Switzerland, and as close as Manhattan Plaza and The Victory. Flanked by World War II fighter jets, many sat or lay on the ground as the sky slowly grew darker.
When the moon covered the sun at 3:25pm, the lights of shops on 9th Avenue became noticeably brighter as darkness drew in across Hell’s Kitchen. Further up the street, a worker stopped to rest on the hood of his truck to take in the view.
Further up the river, on the recently-reopened Pier 97, dozens of Hell’s Kitchen neighbors gathered with their friends and families. Kids from nearby schools ran around while adults set their heads to the sky. A couple, Kenny and Stacy, had made their own cereal box eclipse viewer. “They actually work!” they declared, letting children have a view inside.
Stacy said she enjoyed her experience, but at the same time she was ready to move on with her life. “I never want to hear the phrase “the path of totality” again,” she quipped.
Bashir, a construction worker, stood on 10th Avenue and W37th Street, wearing a welding mask he’d borrowed from a colleague. It was his first time seeing an eclipse. During the last one in 2017, “I was a baby” he joked.
On the deck of the Intrepid aircraft carrier Karen sat in a lawn chair next to her mother, Susan, husband Sid and their son Jacob. The family had driven up for the day from Piscataway, New Jersey.
The family had also built their own eclipse viewers out of recycled cereal boxes. “It’s not exactly perfect, it’s not as clear as when you look through the glasses, but I can see it’s different than it was an hour ago,” Karen said. The trick is to get the angle just right, so the hole at the top of the box reflects the sunlight into the viewer’s eye. “It’s the neatest thing then to say ‘oh my god, you can see it!’” she added.
At 3:13 pm, mere minutes before the sky darkened to its fullest, Hell’s Kitchen residents and W42ST readers Ilene Zeins, Susan Godwin and Leslie Riddle gathered for a selfie on the Intrepid.
“We’re so grateful that the Intrepid is doing this,” they said in chorus. “We love being here with all the tourists, to see this experience!”
Stay tuned for W42ST’s coverage of the next solar eclipse in 2044!
* Additional reporting by Catie Savage and Phil O’Brien.
Fabulous Gary Hershorn photo w/Lady Liberty!