Judyta Banach Activity#7 Plaza Observation

I decided to observe Paley Park on a beautiful afternoon. The plaza had small, round tables with chairs as well as concrete seats around it. It was surrounded by big walls that were covered with greenery. Also, around every tree there were pots with yellow tulips that brighten up the place. Although there was no direct sun light in the plaza, the place was still crowded. Because the plaza is located between Madison and 5th Ave, it was mostly occupied by “white-collar” profession people who ate their lunch and enjoyed their short break from work. Once 12 o’clock hit, there were less table available, and the plaza got really crowded. There were also some tourists who were taking a lot of pictures. At the beginning, when there were less people in the Paley Park, those who came in tended to seat far away from others, but once there were less seating available, it didn’t bother them that they were surrounded by others. The one thing that I observed with a relationship with William H. Whyte observations, was that majority of people passing by either stopped and took a seat at the Paley Park, or just looked at it from the outside.
The main attraction of the plaza was a waterfall located at the end of the place, where lots of people sat in front of it to enjoy the sounds of the nature. The waterfall was so loud that if one sat in the middle of the plaza, the car noises were barely heard. This factor makes the place more interesting because even if people stay there for a short period of time, they are being able to relax more. The only place that in my opinion could be used differently was water itself. Although the waterfall makes the place unique, there is no direct contact with the water, where people could for example put their feet in it. The Paley Park didn’t have any surveillance mechanisms, but it was monitored by people that maintained the park to be clean and nice. One of them even asked the girl who threw her cigarette at the ground to pick it up and put it into marked bins.
Even though the plaza was very crowded, I felt very relax and comfortable sitting around all those people because they all minded their own business. Now that I know of places like this, I will visit them more often, especially during warm days.