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     In December a quick weekend trip to The Big Apple provided me with an opportunity to tour the Chelsea Market in the Meatpacking District with Allison.  Located on a full city block between 9th and 10th Avenues and 15th and 16th Streets, it is the site of the former National Biscuit Company (NABISCO) dating back to the 1890's.  It's where Oreos and Saltines were created.  But the massive building was vacant for over 4 decades, the haven of hundreds of pigeons. 

     That was until Ira Cohen had the vision of a mixed use office and retail development for the old building.  He and a band of investors came up with $9.5 million and purchased it and began to entice tenants with an amazing lease offer.  For only $1 million any business could rent 10,000 square feet of space for 20 years.  That was undoubtedly the cheapest floor space in the entire city.  And move in they did, to the longest indoor walkway in New York City.

     We spent a full 3 hours learning about the Chelsea Market: it's origins, it's architecture, and it's many cuisines.  And we also were able to sample the diverse foods of the market, from cupcakes to meat pies, to spelt and olives.  We also walked along the "highline" and down to the street level where deliveries of fresh meat were brought to be butchered and packaged, giving the area its name.

     The Chelsea Market is a remarkable accomplishment.  Locals and visitors to the area are encouraged to "...stroll through a sort of postindustrial theme park, carefully festooned with the detritus of a lost industrial culture, interspersed with food stores and restaurants."