Many associate the term “big sky” with America’s West, Montana especially, where you can stand in the middle of a vast, unspoiled land, breathe deeply, and take in the wide-open sky. Who would think of New York City in this context? Believe it or not, New Yorkers have their own places to search out “big sky” – a riverfront, ocean beach, park, or building roof where the skyscrapers or apartment buildings peel away and you get that feeling of open sky, clouds, and Earth. Gantry Plaza State Park in Queens is one such special space.

Some may scoff at the comparison. Still, there’s something monumental in both a Western landscape and a New York City view when a dramatic feature like mountains or a skyscraper canyon can be seen at a distance and the sky and water suddenly dominate. This is one of the feelings of standing at the edge of the East River, on the lawn or one of the four piers, at Gantry Plaza State Park. The lapping river unfolds before you, the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan feel close enough to be at the end of one’s fingertips, and the open sky beckons above.

It’s an excellent place to watch the sun go down over Manhattan, as I discovered on a recent briskly cold winter day. Thus, Gantry Plaza is a Mindful Walker nominee for one of New York City’s “Great Sunset Spots.” (See “New York’s Great Sunset Spots: Pier 84” on MindfulWalker.com.)

Like the natural rhythms of seasons, beginning and ending and beginning again, Gantry Plaza State Park exemplifies rebirth. First opened in 1998, it’s a 12-acre park on the East River that the Queens West Development Corp., the state government, and others have created out of a formerly gritty industrial and docking area in the Hunter’s Point Section of Long Island City. A place once marked by cranes, railroad cars, horses and wagons, and barges, and then decaying waste and trash from this now-gone activity, is now parkland where people can be in touch with the river again.

From Gantries to Grassy Lawn

The designers (Thomas Balsley Associates with Sowinski Sullivan Architects and Lee Weintraub) sought to create a space that would honor the site’s industrial past combined with a 21^st century appreciation for the natural environment and the community. When I arrive, my eyes are drawn first to the open waterfront and then to the huge overhead restored gantry cranes. Using these gantry cranes from the mid-19^th century to the early 20^th century, workers loaded and unloaded rail car floats and barges serving Long Island industries and the Long Island Rail Road. The state park’s northern section was a former Pepsi bottling plant.

Walking the park, I reflect about the transformation that has occurred, peering up at those gantries and thinking of the men who worked at grueling jobs moving cargo from ships to trains – and the loss of industry that ultimately took place. Now, a park like Gantry Plaza again allows the people of Queens and visitors to be on the riverfront and to enjoy its peace and playfulness. Where metal rusted out and waste befouled the ground, the park has native grasses, trees, flowers, an open lawn, fishing from the pier, picnic areas, and even lounge chairs and hammocks.

Today on my visit, it’s a subdued winter setting, perfect for concentrating on the sky, the river, and the skyline. During the warmer months, Gantry Plaza draws many to its paths, piers, and lounge chairs, but on this January day of temperatures in the 20s and strong winds, I am among very few who have come to savor the dusk and the sunset. A couple of others are photographing the scene, a woman is walking with her baby in a stroller, and a few others stroll around. The only sounds are the river water splashing and the muffled sound of traffic from the FDR Drive in Manhattan. The quiet makes it hard to fathom that I’m standing in the midst of a city of 8 million-plus people.

Show-Stopping Skies

On a late winter afternoon, I look southwest and watch the lowering sun above the buildings of Lower Manhattan’s East Side. The sunlight creates an array of patterns on the East River, matched by varied color and light above. The water is in a dance – shimmering, swirling, and circling – in creamy golden light. Small plumes of steam arise from the Manhattan skyline.

The panoramic view, from the Queensboro Bridge in the north down toward the tip of Manhattan and the Brooklyn shoreline in the south and west, is one of many different evolving skies. Long pinkish swirls are on the horizon above Brooklyn, and a dark gray sky is above the bridge to the north. Above in the southwest lay a wide-open blue sky with rounded puffs of white cumulus clouds and a band of thick gray clouds underneath, and I’m awed.

The patterns change by the minute. As the sun hides behind a line of gray clouds, the silhouettes of the gantries, the piers, and Manhattan’s skyscrapers become darker. Then as the sun heads toward the horizon, it suddenly emerges anew from a horizontal line of gray clouds and casts a luminous light-golden light across the river. Suddenly things become brighter again. The sky looks like one long swirl of pink, gold, and pale blue toward the sunset. All feels still, and the seagulls glide slowly above the piers and river.

Minutes later, the sun dips below the horizon, its work of wowing coming to a close. But the skies and clouds, reflecting the remaining light, still have much to do this evening, becoming deeper and richer blues, grays, and pinks. The lights of Midtown Manhattan’s skyscrapers begin to appear in the twilight. In a little while, the skies will go dark and the lights of Manhattan’s night skyline will take over the show.

But for now, I’m lingering to catch the very last of the sunset sky.

View the slide show larger at Flickr.

Note: Gantry Plaza State Park can be reached via public transportation on the 7 subway stop, or by driving via the Long Island Expressway. You can find directions here at this page on Gantry Plaza park at About.com. If you want to make a day trip out of a visit to Long Island City, you’ll find art at places such as The Noguchi Museum or P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center. Nearby Vernon Boulevard is an interesting avenue to stroll and find restaurants, taverns, and shops.