Clamp Center

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: 101 Park Ave.
Date: Nov 2014
Website:  www.101park.com

  Gremlins 2 takes place primarily inside one skyscraper.  In the movie it is Clamp Center, but in reality it is 101 Park Avenue in New York City.  The main tenant is Clamp Enterprises and they are involved in all sorts of scientific testing.  Mix Gizmo the mogwai with a little water and then some eating after midnight and eventually the building is crawling with gremlins.  Unlike the original Gremlins, the sequel is out of control.  It seems that any idea is fair game and nothing ends up on the cutting room floor.  As a result we end up with a new batch of gremlins. These include a spider gremlin, a flying gremlin, an electric gremlin, a vegetable gremlin and even one that sounds like Felix from The Odd Couple.
 

  In one scene you can see Billy (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates) crossing the street and Grand Central Station is visible behind them.  This is because the real building is just south of Grand Central.  Also visible in the movie is the big 101 over the main entrance.  The CEO of Clamp Enterprises decides to hang a huge curtain over this entrance and trick the gremlins into thinking it is night time.  Once all of the gremlins have congregated in the lobby then the curtain will be dropped and they will meet their demise.  If you are unfamiliar with the rules pertaining to mogwai and gremlins please watch the original Gremlins movie.
  If you are in New York and visiting Grand Central Station then you are just a short walk from where all the mayhem of Gremlins 2 took place.  Now let's join Tony Randall and the gremlins in a rousing chorus of the classic Frank Sinatra tune "New York, New York".

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Map of Our World
Clamp Center

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Post # 55

Captain John's

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada 
Address: 1 Queen's Quay West
Date: Oct 2006

  Captain John's Harbour Boat Restaurant has been floating at the foot of Yonge Street in Toronto for about 40 years.  The ship's real name is the MS Jardin and it used to be a cruise ship before sailing over from Yugoslavia to take it's place as part of Toronto's waterfront.

  We went to eat at the restaurant once.  It was much later in the life of the restaurant when it was no longer the glory days.  We enjoyed ourselves, but we both agree the meal tasted more like we were eating at someone's house rather than in a restaurant.  On the way out there was a chance to win a free dinner for two so we threw a business card into the bowl.  Sure enough we got the call.  We went to eat at the restaurant again.  While the food tasted the same, our stomachs were thankful both times that it never felt like we were on a boat.  Lake Ontario doesn't usually get that rough, especially on a large ship moored in the harbour.

  Time passed on and eventually Captain John's Restaurant was closed.  There was much debate on what to do with the now vacant ship.  The boat was unable to move under her own power and had never moved during her entire stay in the harbour.  It was finally decided that the ship and this part of Toronto's history must go.  In May 2015, tugboats pushed the ship out into the lake.   The whole thing was hauled off to the scrap yard with Captain John himself standing on the deck waving goodbye.

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This location is near Queens Quay station. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

Map of Our World
Captain John's

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Post # 54

Halifax Public Gardens

Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 
Address: 5665 Spring Garden Road
Date: July 2006
Website:  www.halifaxpublicgardens.ca

  It was the perfect summer's day to relax in the park.  Our plan was to do nothing but walk around downtown Halifax.  We walked through the wrought iron gates of the Public Gardens and it wasn't long before we realized what a beautiful place it was.  We walked over a small bridge and stopped to admire the view.  A small stream flowed under the bridge past trees, flowers and miniature buildings.  The stream was also home to many of the park's resident ducks.

  Three ducks managed to steal the show.  Below they are devising a plan to get our attention.

And then they put the plan into action as a duck parade began and marched right across the pathway in front of us.  Well done! Attention received!  We followed the parade deeper into the gardens.

  Before we go further, one more word about these ducks.  We have determined that these were mallard ducks.  We also noticed that the heads of the two males were blue and not the traditional green.  It seems that there is much debate over this on the internet, much like how one person might see a dress as gold while another sees it as blue.  Some people claim that the blue is just a trick of the light reflecting a certain way.  Others have stated that the bright green is caused by the high testosterone levels in the ducks and that these blue headed ducks must therefore have lower testosterone levels.  A third option is that we have completely misidentified them and these are not mallard ducks at all.  All we know is that they put on one heck of a parade and it wasn't long before the ducks lead us to another pond.

  In the center of the pond is the Boer War Fountain.  It was erected in 1903 and has a soldier standing at the top of it to commemorate the Canadian soldiers who served in the South African War.  At the base of the fountain is a pond filled with ducks.  We also noticed many other birds in the gardens.  There was a Toulouse Goose being watched over by a pigeon and an American Pekin Duck waiting by the pathway hoping to take part in the next parade.  After following the birds around, we finally took a seat on a bench near the bandstand and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

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Map of Our World
Halifax Public Gardens

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Post # 53