Sock It to Me

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lichtenstein-subway-mural

Roy Lichtenstein is a painter like no other, whose style is both derivative and instantly recognizable. Those are some of the contradictions at the heart of Pop art, the movement that brought Lichtenstein to fame in the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol and others.

Lichtenstein’s work, using appropriated imagery from popular culture, with bold colors and thick black outlines, rich in irony, became an iconic example of 20th-century art, and has been collected by museums all around the world. In 2017, his 1962 painting “Masterpiece” sold for $165 million.

And one of his most distinctive works hangs in the middle of the Times Square/42nd Street subway station. Standing six feet high and 53 feet across, “Times Square Mural” was created in 1994, three years before Lichtenstein’s death, and was installed in 2002 as part of a broader revamping of the station.

Read from left to right, the mural shows a sort of historical timeline of urban life, as masonry arches give way to steel girders and then to the sleek, streamlined retro-futuristic look of Buck Rogers. The colors are bold and instantly recognizable, even across the various textures he depicts. The mural consists of 16 panels of porcelain enamel, shiny and reflective. You can see the artist’s distinctive signature at the far right (along with some unfortunate water damage).

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority offered Lichtenstein $200,000, but he refused all payment, making it a gift to his native city. It’s also a reminder to all who pass by that sometimes it’s worth looking up.

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https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hershey-s-chocolate-world-and-hershey-trolley-works

Hop aboard a mobile trolley for a ride through Hershey heritage, enjoying candy samples as you go. Hershey Trolley Works is more than a tour: It’s a live show brimming with fun facts and lively stories.

This family-owned company’s signature 75-minute history tour chronicles the town from the days before a chocolate factory even existed to the Hershey of today, pointing out landmarks such as chocolatier Milton Hershey’s birthplace, Hersheypark (Pennsylvania’s largest amusement park), and the famous Hershey Kiss streetlights that exist along Chocolate Avenue near its intersection with Cocoa Avenue—the two original streets that Hershey built for his company town. 

There are also specialty trolleys that run at various times throughout the year, like the Halloween’s Trick-or-Treat trolley and the end-of-year Holy Jolly Trolley, complete with Christmas carols and a visit from Santa himself. Memorial Day through Labor Day, the Trolley Works’ Summer Family Trolley brings a more of a theatrical production: For 45 minutes, two conductors bring Hershey’s story to life through sing-a-long songs, a wealth of characters, and samples of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to Hershey Kisses with Almonds and more. This all-ages show is popular with kids and adults.

Each of Hershey Trolley Works’ trolleys are enclosed and climate-controlled, so you don’t have to worry about the weather. All tours begin and end at Hershey’s Chocolate World, a visitor center where you can embark on a free chocolate factory tour ride to see how Hershey chocolate is made or stuff a one-pound peanut butter cup with your favorite mix-ins. Chocolate World also features a “create your own candy bar.” 

While here, swing by the world’s largest Hershey’s store for every Hershey candy imaginable. The visitor center also has its own food hall, serving up pizza, soups and salads, and ice cream sundaes, as well as themed cocktails such as the seasonal toffee truffle martini and Jolly Rancher margaritas. 

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https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/karin-boye-statue

Next to the City Library stands this proud statue of the lesbian legend; the poet Karin Boye. The bronze portrait was made by Peter Linde, and was the first statue of a named woman in the city. It was inaugurated in 1987 and has since then become a pilgrimage site for queer women, who often embellish the statue with flowers or season-related ornaments.

Boye moved from Göteborg to Berlin, Germany, where she met her life partner Margot Hernel. Boye helped the Jewish Margot flee the Nazis and they ended up in Sweden, where they shared an apartment in Stockholm. Their story has a tragic ending, with both taking their own lives after which their love was hidden for many years.

Make your own pilgrimage to this lesbian icon and honour her by placing a fresh flower in her hand.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/karin-boye-statue

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hershey-gardens

When Milton Hershey opened Hershey Gardens to the public in 1937, it consisted of 7,000 roses spread across 3.5 acres. Today these hilltop gardens stretch over 23 acres and feature annual autumn chrysanthemums, color-changing Japanese maples and much more. Stroll in the shade of mighty oak trees, walk among hollies and dogwoods, or peruse the onsite garden shop for tote bags, holiday ornaments, and other take-home souvenirs. 

These days, the rose garden features 3,000 roses representing 115 varieties, from fragrant hybrid teas to floribunda, a cross of hybrid Teas and polyantha roses that are known for their clustered blooms. The 23-acre space also features a variety of theme gardens, including a fully immersive Senses Garden, and an Herb Garden filled with medicinal, aromatic, household, culinary, and dye-making plants. The M.S. Hershey Tribute Garden, created in 2012 for Hershey Gardens’ 75th anniversary, features a special seating area and showcases the newly revitalized M.S. Hershey Rose, a crimson red bloom named for the gardens’ founder. The American Rose Society gave the flower its title in 1940. 

Other theme gardens range from a new garden celebrating plants that are native to northeastern North America to the Children’s Garden, a space filled with meandering pathways, whimsical characters, and interactive components like a fragrance garden, caterpillar tunnel, and pretzel maze. 

Along with hundreds of varieties of flowers and plants, Hershey Gardens is also home to a conservatory that overlooks the historic rose garden. It consists of three distinct areas: a welcome pavilion, an education and horticultural wing (which hosts a popular orchid show in late January/early February, and an indoor tropical butterfly atrium that’s only one of 25 such atriums in the country. In addition to colorful winged insects brought from as far away as Africa and Asia, the atrium also has its own zoology zone where you find frogs, tarantulas, and scorpions from around the globe.

Hershey Gardens hosts events year-round such as guided walks, winter wreath workshops, and music among the roses, as well as a walking program for visitors who want to get fit while touring the grounds. Just ask for a Walking Program punch card when you visit, then have it punched every time you explore the gardens. Every 10 walks earns you a free pass to bring a friend.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hershey-gardens