I finally finished walking the NoMAD neighborhood the other day and it is getting confusing keeping up with all these neighborhood names. The Flatiron District, NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park), Kips Bay and Rose Hill (which crosses boundaries with Kips Bay at Lexington Avenue) all claim the same small section of neighborhood. It makes it confusing to know what neighborhood association to join.
I then discovered a nine-block section of Midtown South that has no name to it. It is squeezed between Kips Bay and Koreatown from Fifth Avenue to Lexington Avenue from East 34th to East 30th Street. Technically it can be considered part of Koreatown since it has stretched from it’s traditional borders but the maps say differently.
In my research of the neighborhood maps of Manhattan, I discovered that this section of the island has no name to the neighborhood because it is not part of Kips Bay or Koreatown and saying Midtown South for this nine-block region does not sound glamorous enough. So, in the tradition of the realtors in Manhattan, I named it NoNaNe, No Name Neighborhood. I wonder if it will catch on.
This is a nine-block section of Midtown South that borders Lexington Avenue to the East, Fifth Avenue to the West and from East 34th to 30th Streets. It lies next to Koreatown, which itself has grown from its traditional borders of 33rd to 31st Streets from Sixth Avenue to Fifth Avenue. Koreatown now stretches to East 35th Street to the north and to Park Avenue to the east. The restaurants and stores are pushing out even further from the core of the original neighborhood.
So after a wonderful afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art visiting the new “Goya” exhibition, I took the subway to Midtown at 34th Street just outside Macy’s Herald Square to start my walk. It got dark early the first day so I did not get the time in I thought I would.
The Goya Exhibition at the Met
The YouTube video on the Exhibition
The weather has also gotten so cold. From the mild December and January weeks that we had it has led to one of the coldest February’s since the great Arctic Vortex that we had two years ago. I am still thawing out from the Marcal Factory fire of 2019 (see my blog from My Life as a Fireman on this blog).
It seems that the Vortex is back again, and it will be just as cold. It is predicted to be 0 in New Orleans which must be some sort of record. Trust me it got cold when the sun went down around 5:15pm.
I started my walk this afternoon by looking at Macy’s window displays along Broadway to see if much had changed since Christmas. They never were the most exciting displays even when I was working there. Lord & Taylor and B. Altman’s had better windows. Long gone now. I am amazed at the change of the department store scene in New York City since I worked there in the 1990’s. I could see it from the corner of West 34th and Broadway.
I started my walk from the front door of Macy’s and walked down Sixth Avenue from West 34th to West 30th Street. Things have changed so much in thirty years. The whole area has gotten so much better. It was so run down when I worked there. Also, the retail scene was so much different. Where the H & M is now used to be Herald Center, an upscale mall that never did well, and the concept closed two years later when I returned to work in the buying offices. The only thing that survived was the food court on the top floor.
Before 1965, this was home to Saks 34th Street before its move to its current Fifth Avenue location. The store was founded by Andrew Saks and opened its doors in Herald Square in 1902 just five weeks before Macy’s opened their doors. The store was designed by architects Buchman & Fox in the Classical style. The store was bought by the Gimbel family in 1923 and that is when it was moved to its current location at 511 Fifth Avenue. The original store is now covered with new siding to give it its modern look for H & M (NYC Circa). The building stretches from West 34th to West 33rd Street along the Broadway corridor.
The Saks 34th Street Building on the corner of West 34th Street and Broadway
Next door to that was the old Gimbel’s Department Store building that closed in 1986, a year and a half before I started at Macy’s. Gimbel’s had always been considered our rival for years but I think because of the sheer size of Macy’s I have a feeling that we beat them in sales. Gimbel’s had come to New York City by way of Philadelphia by the Gimbel’s family. It was founded by Adam Gimbel in 1887. The store in Herald Square opened in 1910 in the classical style by architect Daniel Burnham (Wiki). The store stretches from West 33rd to West 32nd Streets along Broadway.
Gimbel’s Department Store at Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street
When the store closed in 1986, it was renovated and was called A & S Plaza when that store moved into the space. When A & S closed in the mid 1990’s when it merged with Macy’s, the store was renovated again and now is called Manhattan Mall. It is mostly office space now (Wiki).
In the middle of this former shopping district and just south of Herald Square is Greeley Square named after Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune. The square was acquired by New York City in 1846 and turned into the park. The statue that dominates the southern end of the park was designed by sculptor Alexander Doyle in 1890 (NYCParks.org).
Greeley Square was named after Horace Greeley, who published the first issue of The New Yorker magazine and established the New York Tribune. He was also a member of the Liberal Republican Party where he was a congressman and ran for President of the United States after the Civil War.
Publisher and Politician Horace Greeley famous for his quote “Go West, young man, Go West”
The Horace Greeley statue is located in the park just south of Herald Square in Greeley Square.
The statue was created by artist Alexander Doyle. Alexander Doyle was an American born artist who studied in Italy with several artists. He is best known for his marbles and bronze sculptures of famous Americans including many famous Confederate figures that have come under fire recently.
Once you leave Greeley Square and walk south you will be entering what is left of the old Wholesale district where once buyers used to come into these stores to commercially buy goods for their businesses. Slowly all of these businesses as well as most of the Flower District is being gentrified out with new hotels, restaurants and bars replacing the businesses. It seems that most of the district is being rebuilt or renovated or gutted.
The Broadway side of the park opposite the old department stores starts some of the most beautiful architecture in South Midtown. This portion of Broadway until you reach the Battery has the most unique stonework and embellishments on the buildings that show the craftsmanship of another era when companies-built headquarters that were meant to last.
One building that faces Greeley Square is 1270 Broadway at the corner of West 33rd Street.
1270 Broadway, known once as the Wilson Building, was built between 1912 and 1913 in the class Beaux Arts style. It now serves as an office building. You have to look up from the square to admire its beauty.
Next to the building is across the street at 1265 Broadway, the former Browning, King & Company building. The building was built in 1910 by developer William R.H. Martin for commercial use. The building was designed by architects Townsend, Steinle & Haskell in brick, stone and terra cotta. The interesting decorative top was designed for the Men’s retail company Browning, King & Company. You have to look up at the detail work and the eagle at the roof of the building (Daytonian).
1265 Broadway-The Browning, King & Company building
Another building that stands out and sadly boarded up at this time is the former Martinique Hotel at 49 West 32nd Street (1260-1266 Broadway). This was also built by William R. H. Martin in 1898 with the design by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in the French Renaissance style. The hotel had a notorious reputation in the 1970’s and 80’s as a welfare hotel that closed in 1988. It is now a Curio Hotel of Hilton Hotels (Wiki).
I remember this hotel well when I worked for Macy’s in the late 1980’s and all the people yelling and screaming outside the hotel with fire trucks all over the place. The hotel had been nothing but a problem for almost twenty years. It has since been bought by the Hilton Group and is now a historical luxury hotel.
1260 Broadway-49 West 32nd Street-The Martinique Hotel
A couple of buildings that stand out when walking down Broadway are 1234 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and West 31st Street, an elegant Victorian building with a standout mansard roof and elaborate details on the roof and windows. I did not realize that it was the Grand Hotel built in 1868 as a residential hotel. The hotel was commissioned by Elias Higgins, a carpet manufacturer and designed by Henry Engelbert. Currently it is being renovated into apartments (Daytonian). It shows how the City keeps morphing over time as this area has become fashionable again.
1234 Broadway in all its elegance, the former Grand Hotel
After rounding the southern part of Greeley Square, I headed back down Sixth Avenue to West 30th Street, the southern border of the neighborhood with the ever-changing NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park). This southern section of South Midtown as I have mentioned in other blogs is being gutted, knocked down and rebuilt into a hip area of the City with trendy hotels, restaurants and stores. Even in the era of COVID, the streets were hopping and most of the hotels were still open. Broadway has even been closed off for outdoor dining.
In the middle of this new ‘hipness’ there is an old standby, Fresh Pizza & Deli at 876 Sixth Avenue (see my review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). I had a craving for a late breakfast, and they had a $4.95 special for a Bacon, Egg & Cheese sandwich on the sandwich board outside and I ordered it. You have to make a special trip to this little hole in the wall.
Fresh Pizza & Deli at 867 Sixth Avenue
Not only is their pizza really good but the Bacon, Egg & Cheese on a soft roll is outstanding. The way the flavors meshed in the sandwich and the perfect meal on a cool afternoon. After my snack and rounded the corner west down 30th Street. Here you are dodging construction sites and scaffolding in this ever-changing section of the neighborhood.
On a cold day there is nothing like a Bacon, Egg & Cheese on a roll from Fresh Pizza & Deli
Most of the buildings on 30th Street were non-descriptive until I reached the corner of West 30th Street and Fifth Avenue. At 284 Fifth Avenue is The Wilbraham Building, a beautiful Victorian building built between 1888-90 that was commissioned by jeweler William Moir. The building was designed by architect D.J. Jardine in the Romanesque Revival style. The building has been home to Shalom Brothers Rugs for many years (StreetEasy.com).
You really have to stop and look at the details of 284 Fifth Avenue to appreciate the craftsmanship of the building
Another beautiful building that faces East 30th Street but is located on Madison Avenue is 105 Madison Avenue a beautiful former office building that has been converted to condo’s. The building was built in 1913 in the Gothic Revival style with a terra cotta facade.
When I reached the corner of East 30th Street and Lexington Avenue I reached the border of the neighborhood which it shares with Kips Bay and it was like visiting an old friend. I have walked this part of the City so many times I feel like I have moved in. I love walking down Lexington Avenue and visiting “Curry Hill” and all the Middle Eastern and Indian restaurants.
I took a little detour from the walk and headed down Lexington Avenue and enjoyed the sites and smells of the neighborhood. I stopped in at one store, Heritage India Fashions at 131 Lexington Avenue after looking over the display window. The window was filled with clothes with vibrant colors and glittering jewels and pictures of models in exotic places.
Heritage India Fashions at 131 Lexington Avenue
When you walk in the store is piled floor to ceiling with brilliant colors and interesting embellished clothing, shoes and accessories. There were also collections of jewelry and small gifts for the wedding season. The woman working there was very helpful and enthusiastic of explaining the clothes to me. It is worth the trip in.
I traveled back up Lexington Avenue and passed many places that stand out in the neighborhood. Turning the corner onto the bustling Lexington Avenue, you see that the border of the neighborhood is a bustling commercial district with a combination of office buildings and apartments and as you cross East 30th Street a restaurant district with an international flair to it. The avenue is also lined with interesting architecture where many buildings stand out. I walked up and down Lexington Avenue between East 30th Street until I turned the corner at East 34th Street.
While walking down East 34th Street was seeing the unique sculptures of artist Linus Coraggio. This interesting sculptures were on the outside of 154 East 34th Street.
154 East 34th Street sculpture
The sculptures by artist Linus Coraggio are at 154 East 34th Street.
Artist Linus Coraggio is an American artist who is a native to New York City. He has a BFA from SUNY Purchase and his known for his unique abstract and figurative sculptures (Artist bio website).
The beautiful detail work carved into it is 160-164 Lexington Avenue and East 30th Street, The Dove Street Marketplace, which offers floor after floor of high end goods is just amazing.
The detail work is amazing on 160-164 Lexington Avenue-The Dove Street Market
The building has the most beautiful detail work on all sides. It was built in 1909 as the New York School for Applied Design for Women. It was designed by one of the school’s instructors, architect Wiley Corbett, to resemble a Greek Temple (Forgotten New York).
Across the street from the Dover Street Market at 154 Lexington Avenue is the First Moravian Church. The building was started in 1849 and finished in 1852 at the Rose Hill Baptist Church designed in the Lombardian Romanesque style. In 1869, the church was sold to the First Moravian Church which had been located at Sixth Avenue and 34th Street (Daytonian in Manhattan).
The First Moravian Church at 154 Lexington Avenue was built in 1854
West 34th Street historic homes near Lexington Avenue
Tucked to the residential side of the avenue is 170 Lexington Avenue an Italianate brownstone building that stands out for it yellow exterior. The brownstone was part of three building complex built in the early 1850’s. The house was owned by George and Elizabeth Youle, a wealthy couple with two married daughters. The address was originally 158 Lexington Avenue and then changed to 170 Lexington Avenue in 1866. Sometime in the 1940’s the yellow clapboard veneer was added in a renovation of the building (Daytonian 2020).
170 Lexington Avenue was built in the early 1850’s
The New York Design Center Building at 200 Lexington Avenue stands out for its detailed beauty and its embellishments that accent the outside of the building. It was built in 1926 and designed by architect Ely Jacques Khan as the New York Furniture Exchange. The building was to cater to furniture and department store buyers. It now caters to the full interior design experience with furniture, lighting and textiles.
As I rounded East 34th Street and Lexington Avenue, I saw more life on the streets than I had in a while. The area near the NY Langone Hospital is always busy and when you head back in the other direction back towards Herald Square it always has traffic and people.
On my way down East 34th Street, I passed many of the interesting buildings that share the border with Murray Hill, the neighborhood to the north that I had visited over the summer. I reached Madison Avenue and walked past the grill work of another interesting office building. The Madison Belmont Building at 181 Madison Avenue was built in 1924 and designed by architects Warren & Wetmore in the Renaissance style with Art Deco details for the Cheney Brothers Silk Company.
“The Madison Belmont Building” at 181 Madison Avenue
Look up at the interesting grill work and details of the building
Reaching the border of Murray Hill to the south is the former B. Altman Department Store that closed in 1989 and in the other corner is the Empire State Building, once the tallest building in the world.
The B. Altman Building at 361 Fifth Avenue was built by Benjamin Altman for the new location for his ‘carriage trade’ store. The store was designed by architects Trowbridge & Livingston in the “Italian Renaissance Style” in 1906. The palatial store was home to couture clothing, fine furniture and expensive art work.
The former B. Altman Department Store at 361 Fifth Avenue
As the shopping district left Sixth Avenue below 23rd Street, the former “Ladies Shopping Mile” (read my Victorian Christmas Blog on the shopping district) gave way to stores opening between 34th Street to 42nd Street and eventually to the Fifth Avenue locations between 50th and 60th Streets where what is left of the great stores stand today.
My blog on the Ladies Shopping Mile and a “Victorian Christmas”:
Across the street from the old B. Altman’s building is another impressive building also under scaffolding 10 East 34th Street, The Ditson Building. The impressive building with it intricate details was built in 1906 and designed by architects Townsend, Steinle & Haskell in the Beaux-Arts style for Charles H. Ditson. Mr. Ditson ran the New York division of his family’s company, Charles H. Ditson & Company, a publisher and musical concern (Daytonian).
Crossing Fifth Avenue, I continued to walk down West 34th Street once a major shopping district lined with shops and department stores. The most impressive and well known building in the neighborhood is the former tallest building in the world at 102 floors, the Empire State Building at 2-20 West 34th Street.
The Empire State Building is probably the most famous building in New York City outside of maybe Rockefeller Center and one of the most prominent. The building sits on the side of the former Astor Mansion and the first Waldorf-Astoria Hotel before the current one was built in the 1930’s on Park Avenue.
The Empire State Building was inspired during the “Race to the Sky” movement in New York City during the 1920’s prosperity with builders vying for the “World’s Tallest Building” title. This was going on in cities all over the US at a time of great innovation in building. The building was conceived in 1929 long before the Stock Market Crash of 1929 as 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building were being constructed (Wiki).
The building is known just by its appearance and is probably best known for the movie “King Kong” back in the 1930’s and most recently “Sleepless in Seattle” in the 1990’s. The movies don’t do the building justice from its sky decks with views of Manhattan and beautiful Art Deco details on the elevators and in the lobby. The 102 story building is one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Modern World’ and was the tallest building in the world until the World Trade Center opened in 1970 (Wiki). It is now the second tallest building in New York City.
The famous Empire State Building scene from “King Kong” in 1933
The building is a major tourist site and it was so strange to see no one in line for the now open sky ride to the sky decks where you can see across the whole City. The lines are usually really long down West 34th Street but there were just a few people talking to the guards the days I passed. If you get a chance to walk around the lobby it really is beautiful but that was pre-COVID. You have to have preassigned tickets to get into the building.
As I continued down West 34th Street, I saw the old Orbach’s Department Store building at 7 West 34th Street. The store was still open when I started to work at Macy’s in 1988 but it closed about a year later to be followed by B. Altman & Company in 1990. That left Macy’s alone on West 34th Street until a branch of the A & S opened in the Gimbel’s building in the 1990’s (that would close when A & S merged with Macy’s in 1995).
7 West 34th Street-McCreeyers/Ohrbach’s Department Store
What I did not know was the building has an older past by its original owner James McCreeyer & Company, a luxury department store that had started in the 1860’s and had closed this location in 1953 due to changing styles and business. Ohrbach’s bought the store in 1954 and ran it as a moderate department store until it closed in 1988 (Wiki and Defunct Department Stores).
Another impressive building on the this former shopping street is 19 West 34th Street, The Martin Building. The building was built and finished in 1907 for the Réveillon Freres, a leading manufacturer of furs and accessories. The building was designed in the Italian Renaissance style with Beaux Arts features. The company moved out of the building and further uptown in 1918 and leased the building out (Daytonian). The building now serves as offices on top and retail on the bottom.
17-19 West 34th Street-The Martin Building/Revillon Freres Building
Another standout building I saw was 31 West 34th Street the former Oppenheim, Collins & Company Department Store building. The store was built in 1907 for the Oppenhiem, Collins & Company wholesalers when they decided to open a retail store in the location. The former department store was designed by architects Buchman & Fox in the Beaux Arts style. The store existed until 1963 when it was merged by the owner of the store with Franklin Simon & Company Department Store and the name disappeared. The store closed in 1977 (Daytonian).
31 West 34th Street-The Oppenhiem, Collins & Company/Franklin Simon & Company building
The last building I noticed for its beauty was on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 34th Street, 47 West 34th Street (1378 Broadway or 2 Herald Square) the Marbridge Building. The Marbridge Building was by architects Townsend, Steinle & Haskell in 1909 in the Classical Beaux Arts style and has been used as an office building since its opening (Wiki/Photo/Street).
It is funny that in all the years I had worked at Macy’s Herald Square, I either never noticed these buildings on all my walks along 34th Street or never gave them a lot of though. When you realize the rich architectural history of the neighborhood and the role it played in the retail history of New York it really amazed me how prominent a shopping area this once was between 1900-1960. This growth came about as the retail district moved further uptown from the Ladies Shopping Mile district on Sixth Avenue below West 21st Street.
I finished my walk of the borders of this neighborhood with a quick break by relaxing in Greeley Square again and using one of the few public bathrooms in the area (the other being Macy’s lower level Men’s Department) and just sat back and admired the Horace Greeley statue. I wondered how many people passed this statue and never gave it any thought. I wondered what he might of thought of the changes here in the last 100 years. The neighborhood is so rich in history of the development of the business sector in New York City.
I went to dinner that evening at my new favorite Dim Sum restaurant , AweSum Dim Sum at 160 East 23rd Street. I love the selection of items and everything is always so good there. The best part was that the Mayor finally opened the restaurants again for indoor dining on Chinese New Year/ Valentine’s Day weekend on February 12th and we dine inside finally. No more sitting outside in the cold.
AweSum Dim Sum at 160 East 23rd Street
The menu outside showing their delicious choices to order.
I ended my day over small plates of Soup Dumplings, which were hot and juicy and burst in my mouth, crisp Spring Rolls with a nice crunch in every bite and the Baked Pork Buns with their crisp sweet exterior and rich meaty interior. It was just nice to sit back in a warm environment and see people again.
Don’t miss the Baked Pork Buns here
After a nice meal in a warm restaurant, I walked back up Lexington Avenue to admire the lights coming on in the City and the sights and smells of “Curry Hill” as I walked up through Kips Bay back to Port Authority. This is when you really experience New York.
I returned to the NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park) neighborhood after the holidays were over on a rather cold and cloudy day. What a difference three weeks makes in the mood of New York City. What ever was left of that little Christmas cheer that was in Manhattan was over. The streets had gotten really quiet again. Not the same when I walked the neighborhood on Christmas Day but still the busiest place in the neighborhood was Madison Square Park. Those little kids really love that playground and the dog walkers are finding refuge in the Dog park. Madison Square Park has been a blessing in disguise for many people in this neighborhood.
I started my walk on West 30th Street and Broadway. I have walked this part of Broadway many times on my full length walk of Broadway from 242nd Street to the Bowling Green Park at the tip of the Island and recognized many of these buildings from previous walks. This part of Broadway is so impressive in architecture and played such an important park of the City’s development as a business district.
My ‘Walk down the Length of Broadway’ has been done four times:
As the neighborhood as started to gentrify before my eyes (I have never seen so many buildings being gutted and sandblasted back to life), a new generation of upscale stores and restaurants are finding a home on Broadway between 30th to 26th Streets. Broadway right now is closed off for outdoor winter dining in the era of COVID. I could not believe the way people are bundling up to eat outside.
One of the most impressive buildings on the edge of the neighborhood that is currently under renovation is 1200 Broadway, former The Gilsey House Hotel.
This elegant Victorian confection was designed by architect Stephen Decatur Hatch with a cast iron facade in the Second Empire style. The hotel opened in 1872 as a luxury hotel catering to well-heeled guests when this was the main business district. I now is being renovated for residential use (Wiki).
One of the most beautiful buildings on Broadway is 1181 Broadway, The Baudouine Building, at the corner of Broadway and West 28th Street. The building was built for furniture maker Charles A. Baudouine with architect Alfred Zucker. The building was completed in 1896 (Daytonian).
The ornate building has a unique feature on the top in the form of a small Greek temple on the roof that was once used for the Baudouine Realty business. There was a succession of businesses using the building over the years but it has now given way to apartments (Daytonian). You really have to walk around this building to admire its details done in terra cotta and limestone.
The Greek Temple roof at 1181 Broadway
Walking down Broadway, I passed 1133 Broadway, The St. James Building. It is another building that makes you stop and take notice of the detail work on the outside of the building. The St. James was built in 1896 by architect Bruce Price in the Beaux Arts style with a limestone exterior and noted for its arched windows (New Yorkitecture).
1133 Broadway The St. James Building entrance.
The embellishments on the top of the building.
The buildings in this section of Broadway became more commercial towards the turn of the Ninetieth Century in a ‘race to sky’ with the rise of early skyscrapers (Flatiron Partnership).
One building that stands out in the neighborhood that sits right near Madison Square Park like another overgrown confection amongst the other buildings is 1132 Broadway (also known as 210 Fifth Avenue), the Cross Chambers Building, once home to the Marc Cross & Company leather goods store. This detailed building was designed by architect John B. Snook & Sons in the Beaux Arts style (Daytonian).
1132 Broadway-The Cross-Chambers Building (210 Fifth Avenue)
This marble clad building stands guard impressively amongst the surrounding buildings and you really have to look closely of the details in design to see its beauty. Walking closer to the park, another stand out building is 1128 Broadway (212 Fifth Avenue).
This impressive building is next door to 210 Fifth Avenue and faces Madison Square Park between West 25th and West 26th Streets. This former commercial building was converted to residences in 2016. The building was built in 1912 by architects Schwartz & Gross in the Neo-Gothic and Romanesque style. The building is amazing when it is lit at night (Flatiron Partnership).
210 & 212 Fifth Avenue (1128 and 1132 Broadway) across from Madison Square Park
Making my way through the park, I relaxed by the playground again and could not believe how busy it was for a late afternoon. I was wondering if these kids were in school or had virtual classes and were taking a break. If the parents were cooped up in the apartments surrounding the park with their kids, maybe it was them that needed the break and the fresh air. Either way, the kids were having a ball and climbing all over the place while the parents talked amongst themselves happy to see other adults.
From the park, I started my trip up Fifth Avenue from 25th to 30th Street. Fifth Avenue is the dividing line between the West Side and the East Side of Manhattan and has been almost the cultural divide between these two sections of Manhattan over the years.
Madison Square Park at night.
For years when I was working in Manhattan in the Rug industry, this had been the Handmade Rug District and the Textiles District for the Garment Industry. Slowly this is giving way to more residential and commercial use for other industries such as the growing Tech, Advertising and Multi-Media industries that have been growing since 1998. It has been because of the fiber optic cables that line Eighth and Ninth Avenues along with beauty of all these classic buildings. More and more people want the charm of these Beaux-Arts style buildings that just a decade ago were considered obsolete and were being knocked down.
I finished my afternoon by having dinner at AweSum Dim Sum at 160 East 23rd Street. Since dining inside was still closed in the City, I had to brave eating my dinner at one of the outdoor tables in the 40 degree evening with no pool heaters in site. I could not believe the other five tables were filled as well. It shows the popularity that this restaurant has gotten in the four months I have been visiting this neighborhood.
I explored the Dim Sum menu and settled on an order of Fried Rice Dumplings, an order of Spring Rolls and for dessert an order of Baked Cream Buns. Everything was nicely wrapped in small containers and boxes and I ate the furthest table by East 23rd Street. Talk about a view at twilight. All the lights were coming on and surprising the traffic around the restaurant was busy.
The food here is excellent and reasonable. The Cream Buns especially were crisp on the outside due to the rice dough and sweet on the inside. Everything on the menu here is terrific.
The Cream Buns here are amazing
The Spring Rolls are delicous
Fifth Avenue has so many charming buildings as well. Walking up Fifth Avenue from Madison Square Park I passed one of the most impressive buildings at 225 Fifth Avenue, the former Brunswick Hotel and called The Grand Madison. It presides over the northern part of Madison Square Park.
This impressive building also once the New York Gift Building was designed by architects Francis H. Kimball and Harry E. Donnell in the Renaissance Revival style in 1906. The outside of the impressive building is built with multi-color brick and limestone (StreetEasy).
225 Fifth Avenue-The Grand Madison/The former Brunswick Hotel
As I headed up Fifth Avenue, one neighborhood museum you should not miss is the Museum of Sex at 233 Fifth Avenue. Talk about an interesting museum dedicated tastefully to the art and history of sex.
I had visited the museum in the Pre-COVID days (that seems like a lifetime ago) and visited the exhibitions on the “History of Pornography” in film and “Punk Lust: Raw Provocation 1971-1985”, an exhibition on the ‘Punk Music Scene’ during the height of the ‘sexual revolution’. I also saw their “Artifacts” exhibition that opened their very unusual collection to the public.
Items from the movie “Deep Throat” in the “Artifacts” show at the museum
There is some very interesting art in this museum as well as they were building ‘Funland’ while I was visiting so I have to go back and see the exhibition. Don’t miss their interesting gift shop.
Funland at the Museum of Sex
Funland at the Museum of Sex
At the corner of West 27th Street and Fifth Avenue, is 236 Fifth Avenue with a colorful painting of a Victorian woman by artist Triston Eaton. The painting has many meanings from the emancipation of women through the “Ladies Mile” shopping district where women could walk without being escorted by a man to the trail of the century of the Stanford White shooting.
“The Gilded Lady” on the side of 236 Fifth Avenue by artist Triston Eaton (no longer there as of 2023)
Artist Triston Eaton is an American born artist who graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and started his career in the toy industry. He is now sought out today for his large-scale murals (Artist Bio).
Artist Triston Eaton in front of “The Gilded Lady” (Triston Eaton Bio)
As I continued the walk up Fifth Avenue, I passed another architectural gem at 242 Fifth Avenue, The Bow Building. This unique building was finished in 1885 and was converted to apartments in 2016 (CityRealty.com).
Fifth Avenue at East 23rd Street
The building was the former home of John C. Ely, a real estate owner and was originally built in 1883 as a private brownstone home. In 1885, architect George Harding converted it from residential to a commercial building with the addition of the large bay windows and a cast iron front (Daytonian).
Just further up Fifth Avenue near East 28th Street is 256 Fifth Avenue which also has the most interesting facade. The building was built by furniture maker Charles A . Baudouine when he started to buy real estate. The building was designed by architects Alfred Zucker (who also designed 1188 Broadway for the same owner) and John H. Edelman and was completed in 1893. The building is designed in the Moorish Revival style and was designed for retail use that started to fill the area at the later half of the 1800’s (Daytonian).
Tucked in the courtyard of The Cambia Hotel at 123 West 28th Street are some interesting flower paintings lining the walls of the courtyard. These colorful paintings enhance the look of a hotel that was built in the middle of the Flower District.
The Cambria Hotel courtyard painting at 123 West 28th Street
The other wall
Artist Alixandra Jade painted this in 2022. It was painted after I toured the neighborhood
Alixandra Jade is an artist and owner of Alixandra Jade Art & Design. She has a BS in Design in Visual Communications from the University of Alberta. She is known for her bold abstracts and murals.
At the tip of the neighborhood between East 29th and 30th Streets is the Marble Collegiate Church at 272 Fifth Avenue and 1 West 29th Street. The Marble Collegiate Church is one of the oldest churches in New York City being part of the Reformed Dutch Church. It was founded in 1628.
The Collegiate Marble Church at 272 Fifth Avenue at 1 West 29th Street
The church building was built between 1851 and 1854. It was designed by architect Samuel A. Warner in the Romanesque Revival style with Gothic Trim and is made of Tuckahoe marble (Wiki).
The Dr. Norman Peale statue just outside the church.
Clergyman and Author Norman Peale who wrote “The Power of Positive Thinking”
The plaque outside the church dedicated to Dr. Norman Peale.
For dinner that evening, I made a detour back through Kips Bay to try Kips Bay Deli at 545 Second Avenue again for dinner. Indoor dining was still not available in Manhattan so I ordered a sandwich and took it with me to the little plaza across the street from Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone on the corner of East 34th Street and First Avenue.
The sandwiches at Kips Bay Deli are just excellent and can easily feed two people. I ordered a Chicken Parmesan on a hero roll and it was just excellent (see my review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The sandwich was stuffed with two large fried chicken cutlets with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. I was starved from all that walking up and down both Broadway and Fifth Avenue. It tasted so good on a cool night. I just sat and watched the doctors leave from their shifts that evening.
The Chicken Parmesan sandwich here is really good
My last afternoon in NoMAD, I explored all the side streets from West to East 30th to West to East 25th Streets again between Sixth and Madison Avenue. I saw a lot of the same buildings that lined both Broadway, Fifth and Madison Avenue before and it was nice to admire them from all angles. Even on the side streets, I can tell even in the era of COVID this is an extremely desirable neighborhood and buildings are being gutted and renovated.
I started back in Madison Square Park to figure out my game plan. On this cool day, the park was extremely busy. The dog walkers were all talking amongst themselves while the kids were all yelling and screaming in the playground.
I started my walk on the corner of Madison Avenue and East 26th Street and made my way down the street. I passed the now closed Museum of Mathematics at 11 East 26th Street (now at 225 Fifth Avenue) and looked through the window. The museum finally reopened after its COVID closing in December of 2022. This interesting interactive museum is perfect for young children and their parents.
The museum is all about teaching children math from a hands-on approach. There are two floors of displays where children and adults alike can participate in the activity.
I found the Tessellation Display and the Human Tree to be fun for me to play at and create my own art while learning something about math and its distinctions. Still, it is geared for children under the age of twelve.
The Tessellation Display at the National Museum of Mathematics
The Human Tree at the National Museum of Mathematics
Walking down from East 26th to West 26th Streets to Sixth Avenue, I passed many of the historic buildings on Fifth Avenue and Broadway again with their beautiful details and their impressive stonework. This is true until you get to Sixth Avenue with its modern apartment buildings that were built in the late 1990’s until today.
Slowly the borders and businesses of the Garment and Flower Districts around Sixth Avenue are slowly disappearing. There is still some small manufacturing and whole businesses left but little by little these buildings are being torn down for another building or gutted for an upscale merchant or restaurant. The character of the old neighborhood will be gone within the next five years.
As I made my back down West 26th Street and rounded the corner on Madison Avenue to East 27th Street, so many interesting small buildings stood out when you left the confines of the Avenues. There is one standout that has an interesting history at 13-15 East 27th Street, The Prince Edward Hotel.
The was designed by architect Howard Greenley in the Beaux-Arts style and opened in 1904 with a ‘British Flair’ with a “Ladies Tea Room’ and a “British Tap Room’ as noted by the signs outside. When it opened, it had its own celebrity clientele that spanned that era. The history changed 65 years later when in the 1970’s it was considered one of the most dangerous welfare residencies in the City. Today the hotel is going through another renovation to bring it back to its glory (Forgotten New York).
Another set of beautiful buildings you have to look up at to admire their beauty is 28-32 West 27th Street which was built in 1909 in the Beaux-Arts design and 34 West 27th Street next door which has a unique design itself and both are heavily decorated.
28-32 West 27th Street and 34 West 27th Street next door
The beautiful details of the outside of 28-32 West 27th Street.
There are two small places to eat on the way back down West 27th Street that you should not miss. Pastry Chef Dominique Ansel opened his new bakery, Workshop at 17 East 27th Street recently and the pastries are amazing and innovative (as unusual). The small bakery is very creative in its design to match the delicious treats being sold.
Dominique Ansel’s Workshop Bakery at 17 East 27th Street
I tried the Brown Sugar DKA (Dominique’s Kouign Amann), a type of caramelized brioche/croissant that is loaded with cinnamon and butter and baked in a muffin dish. You have to pull it apart to enjoy each sweet piece of pastry. I also tried a savory pastry, the Crispy Molten Comte Gougere which is a type of cream puff filled with Comte and mozzarella cheese and then topped with bread crumbs and then warmed up. It was heaven.
The bakery case at the Workshop.
The Crispy Molten Comte Gougere.
The pastry when it is heated and melting.
The DKA Brown Sugar
The DKA Brown Sugar pulled apart and so buttery
The other is a little hole in the wall pizzeria called French Pizza at 1158 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and West 27th Street. The pizza slice was a $1.00 and the pizza was quite good. The sauce was amazing and the guy working the counter was really nice. They have a selection of breakfast and lunch dishes that are all under $5.00.
French Pizzeria at 1158 Broadway is a reasonable ‘hole in the wall’ restaurant
Heading back down 27th Street to Fifth Avenue, I passed the Museum of Sex again and I could see through the window that the gift shop was busy. It was interesting that everyone was wearing masks because of COVID but it seemed rather suited for the museum.
My walk down East 28th Street offered similar architectural treasurers. As the neighborhood started to change from wealthy residential to commercial, the rich started to build their new mansions on the upper parts of Fifth Avenue around Central Park. This area became the new Midtown from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of WWI. It became home to many of the top hotels and the Hotel Latham from 4-8 East 28th Street became one of the top hotels.
The Latham Hotel was built 1904 and designed by architect Augustus N. Allen in the Beaux Arts style. The hotel opened as both an upscale residential and transient hotel. Like the Prince Edward Hotel, the modern era was not the best to the hotel and it was used for the homeless during the 1970’s and 80’s. Currently it is being renovated again (Daytonian).
One building I admired was at 34 East 28th Street. This small building has a unique facade that looks like it belongs in New Orleans. This brownstone with marble trim was built in 1910.
I rounded the corner again to East 29th Street and stopped right in front of 2 West 29th Street. This elegant marble commercial building was built in 1928 and has since been renovated into condos. Don’t ask what the going price is to live here!
On the way back to the East Side of Fifth Avenue, I walked past 1186 and 1200 Broadway again with their scaffolding and sandblasting that will be going on for months. I also passed many small groups of Caribbean men who work at the wholesale stores huddling under the scaffolding to keep warm and dry on the gloomy afternoon.
As the buildings in this neighborhood go through the transition back to hotels and upscale retail awaiting the post-COVID days in the future I wondered how much longer they will all be working here. Almost all the buildings I have highlighted in the neighborhood are going through some form of renovation turning the neighborhood back to its glory days as the Midtown hub.
My last stop in the neighborhood was the Church of the Transfiguration at 1 East 29th Street. The church was built in the English Neo-Gothic style in 1849. The church had continued to be added onto during the late 1800’s with the tower and guildhall built in 1852 and the lych-gate designed by architect Fredrick Clarke Withers in 1869. The chapels were added in 1906 and 1908. The early claim to fame of the church was it had actor Edwin Booth (the father of John Wilkes Booth) Memorial stained glass window designed by John LeFarge in 1898 located in the church (Wiki).
The Church of the Transfiguration at 1 East 29th Street
What is nice about the church is the gardens in the front where you can sit down and rest and contemplate about yourself. The original architect of the church is unknown but designed these English gardens as a place of refuge. What I thought was interesting was that the church had been used in films since Silent films and the most famous current film was the Woody Allen film “Hanna and her Sisters” (Wiki).
Still even on a gloomy day, it was a nice place to just rest, relax and think about how this neighborhood is going through its own transformation as the rest of the City is during this time of COVID. What will be the end results and what will the City look and be like?
I ended my evening once again with a quick slice of pizza at Fresh Pizza and Deli at 876 Sixth Avenue. I don’t know why I love this little dump of a restaurant but the food is so good. The pizza is a $1.00 and on a cold gloomy night tasted so good. The cooks here keep giving strange looks like I am going to arrest them or something. The people that eat here are real characters that work in the neighborhood and like to defy City orders and eat their pizza and sandwiches at the small counter inside the restaurant. I found myself doing the same until they nudged me to the sidewalk.
I keep wondering how long this little neighborhood gem with last in the latest transformation of this neighborhood. I will stay-tuned as I continue my walk around the old Midtown.
My blog on “Walking the Borders of NoMAD/Rose Hill/Flatiron District”:
I have never seen such a transformation of a neighborhood.
I finished Kips Bay right before the holidays and discovered the section between Lexington and Third Avenues was also considered part of “Rose Hill”, an old farming estate from colonial times. The area had not been called “Rose Hill” since the mid-1800’s and was surprised why anyone would want to bring the name back. That’s the real estate market for you. Anything to sell an apartment in a neighborhood.
This area of the Manhattan is actually a cross section of three neighborhoods, the “Rose Hill” estate section, NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park) and the Flatiron District, dominated by the Flatiron Building located on the cross section of Broadway and Fifth Avenue. The area in question is between Fifth and Sixth Avenue from East and West 25th to 30th Street, which is part of both the Flatiron District and NoMAD with a block being in Rose Hill.
It must be very confusing for the residents to know where they live and what neighborhood association to join. That being said there is not much residential in this area as opposed to it being more of the start of the lower Midtown Business District. This is where a lot of your “hip” companies like to have their offices.
The neighborhood’s central point is Madison Square Park, a small oasis of green in the middle of what used to be the financial and retail district from the turn of the last century to about the Great Depression era. Most of the commercial buildings were built between 1890 to about 1930. This district shows that these companies believed in their businesses and built these spaces to last a lifetime. Many of the companies that built this district no longer exist. Still a few of the insurance companies and banks still own their buildings but in the era of COVID with everyone working at home, we will see what the future holds for them as well.
The upper portion of the neighborhood is what is left of the old “Wholesale” and “Flower District”, which are both starting to dwindle in relevance in this neighborhood. As the neighborhood slowly started to be knocked down in the early 90’s and replaced by high rises especially above 23rd Street along Sixth Avenue, it went from being an old commercial district to one that was middle to high end residential.
What is left of the old “Wholesale” district is now concentrated around the stretch from Fifth to Sixth Avenue along East 30th Street and a little along Broadway but little by little the stores are closing up.
All the department stores that the district used to cater to are long gone with the exception of Macy’s Herald Square and realtors have discovered that people really do love the old charm of these turn of the last century Victorian and Art Deco style architecture. These buildings are slowly being converted back to their original use of hotels, stores and restaurants as they were in the early 1900’s.
Even the ‘Flower District’ is down to about a dozen stores. What was once lined with fresh flowers and decorative house plants as well as all sorts of gardening supplies have packed up and moved to Hunts Point in the Bronx along with the Fish Markets of South Street Seaport and the Meatpacking District in Chelsea. The buildings and land have just become too valuable, and the areas are being zoned for residential.
During Mayor Bloomberg’s last term in office all of these and other areas of the City that were once commercial were rezoned for residential and have changed the complexity of these neighborhoods. Some for the better and some for the worse. In NoMAD, the area just keeps morphing even during the era of COVID.
I started my day walking down from Port Authority and touring through the first floor of Macy’s Herald Square. The changes in that store since I have worked there have been tremendous. The Christmas decorations are long gone (except from the Ninth Floor where the Christmas Shoppe was still going strong) and the store was preparing for Valentine’s Day like the rest of the retail industry. The store was pretty crowded for early afternoon and gave me faith that the industry was not dead.
The Christmas windows at Macy’s Herald Square in 2024
I exited through the back door into Herald Square and walked through both Herald and Greeley Squares where people were eating their lunches and socializing on the park chairs and tables (socially distanced of course). It is surprising how busy the parks were a cool cloudy morning. I then walked around Koreatown on my way to NoMAD and the restaurants were really busy again like they were on Christmas Day. People still enjoy eating outside even at this time of the year.
Looking at the main floor of Macy’s Herald Square at Christmas 2024 from the Broadway entrance
I started my walk of NoMAD on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 30th Street. This was interesting because in all my years at Macy’s, this had been the Textiles and Handmade Rug showrooms during the late 80’s and through the 90’s. Now there was not much left. The few showrooms that were left in the handmade rug business were closed that afternoon and the commercial part of the block was really quiet. There were not too many people walking around so I could take my time and really admire the buildings.
Many of the wholesale businesses were open but they are becoming few and far between. Even in the Pandemic, I do not foresee them being here in the next two years. As the leases start to get broken or the buildings get renovated, they are slowly emptying out and there are many for rent signs on 30th Street.
Looking down Broadway around 29th Street in the afternoon
Most of the buildings on 30th Street were non-descriptive until I reached the corner of West 30th Street and Fifth Avenue. At 284 Fifth Avenue is The Wilbraham Building, a beautiful Victorian building built between 1888-90 that was commissioned by jeweler William Moir. The building was designed by architect D. & J. Jardine in the Romanesque Revival style. The building has been home to Shalom Brothers Rugs for many years (StreetEasy.com).
284 Fifth Avenue at East 30th Street-The Wilbraham
Rounding the corner on East 30th Street to Madison Avenue, the border of the neighborhood is shared with the “Rose Hill” section of the neighborhood. Technically “Rose Hill” is the eastern section of the neighborhood by historical fact to the location of the original estate. Still on most maps, NoMAD stretches to the border of Kips Bay on Lexington Avenue. This is where the borders of all these neighborhoods got confusing.
So, I walked around the block and walked up and down Madison Avenue, the main artery and border of the neighborhood to revisit some of the most beautiful and picturesque buildings on the avenue. This starts the border also of the residential and business district of the neighborhood.
Walking down East 25th Street, you realize as you start to border the Midtown area that the buildings take up more of the blocks and there are less smaller brownstones and tenements in the area. The dominate building on the block by Madison Square Park is 11-25 Madison Avenue, the Metropolitan Life Buildings. The building that lines this part of East 25th Street is the Metropolitan Life North Building (or 11 Madison Avenue).
Metropolitan Life North Building at 25 Madison Avenue
The archways ‘Loggias’ on each side of the building
This beautiful building was the extension of the main headquarters next door on Madison Avenue. The building was designed by the architectural team of Harvey Wiley Corbett and D. Everett Waid in the Art Deco style in the late 1920’s as the tallest building in the world but the Great Depression changed the plans and it was built in three stages. The first finished in 1932, the second in 1940 and the third in 1950 (Wiki).
What stands out about the building is the arched vaults on each corner of the structure called ‘loggias’ and the features were made in limestone and pink marble. When you stand under them you can see the colors and details of the marble carvings (Wiki). Just walking around the building, the features are impressive and standout.
Across the street from the Metropolitan Life North Building at 27 Madison Avenue is the Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State and one of the most beautiful and detailed buildings I have seen on my walks. The building was designed by architect James Lord Brown in 1896 in the Beaux Arts Style and is adorned heavily in sculpture (Wiki). You really have to step back and walk across the street to see the details on the building.
27 Madison Avenue The Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State
Looking up closely, you can see that the building resembles a Greek Temple and was considered one of the best examples of the “City Beautiful Movement” that occurred during the 1890’s and 1900’s to enhance cities with monumental grandeur and beauty (Wiki).
The historical beauty of the architecture continued up the border of the neighborhood as I walked up Madison Avenue towards East 30th Street. You have to walk both sides of Madison Avenue to appreciate the designs and details of the buildings that line the avenue.
You have to look close to the building or you will miss it is the sculpture by artist Harriet Feigenbaum. It is a memorial to victims of the Holocaust and is very powerful in its work showing the concentration camps.
“The Memorial to the Injustice of the Victims of the Holocaust”-“Indifference to Justice is the Road to Hell”
Harriet Feigenbaum is an American sculptor and environmentalist. Her works cover sculpture, film and drawings that are seen all over the world (Wiki and artist bio).
I passed 50 Madison Avenue and noticed how the buildings blended in design. The bottom level of the building was built in 1896 as the headquarters of the ASPCA (American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals). The building was designed by architects Renwick, Aspinwell & Owen and had a classic ‘club like’ design to it. The building was refitted and added to in 2005 by the firm of Samson Management with a six-story addition to luxury condos (CityRealty.com).
Another ornamental building that stands out in the neighborhood is 51 Madison Avenue which is the home of New York Life Insurance Building. The building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert in 1926 in the Art Deco style with Gothic Revival details along the sides and was finished in 1928. The structure is topped with a gilded roof (Wiki & New York Life Insurance history). This is another building that you have to see from all sides.
51 Madison Avenue-The New York Life Insurance Building
Continuing my walk-up Madison Avenue while admiring the architecture of the neighborhood is The James NoMAD Hotel, the former Seville Hotel, on the corner of East 29th Street at 88 Madison Avenue. This interesting hotel has gone through several name changes and renovations since it was built in 1904. The hotel was designed by architect Harry Alan Jacobs in the Beaux Arts style and the annex to the hotel was designed by Charles T. Mott in 1906 (Wiki).
88 Madison Avenue-The James NoMAD Hotel (formerly The Seville)
The outdoor dining was open for the restaurant the first afternoon I had visited the neighborhood even though I thought it was a little cool to eat outside. Even though you can’t go inside unless you are a guest, I could see the holiday decorations and lights from the street, and it looked very elegant inside.
Across the street from this elegant hotel is 95 Madison Avenue the former Emmett Building. The structure was designed by architects John Stewart Barney and Stockton B. Colt of Barney & Colt for Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet in 1912 when the area was a wholesale district. The building is designed in the French Neo-Renaissance with Gothic style ornamentation (New York Landmark Preservation Commission and Wiki).
Turning the corner at East 25th Street and Madison Avenue is Madison Square Park, named after our fourth President of the United States, James Madison. This well landscaped park is the gathering place of the residents of NoMAD and has a wonderful playground that has been busy the whole time I have spent in the neighborhood.
Madison Square Park is an interesting little oasis from all the traffic and office space. It has an interesting history since it was designated a public space in 1686 by British Royal Governor Thomas Dongan. It has served as a potter’s field, an arsenal and a home for delinquents. In 1847, the space was leveled, landscaped and enclosed as a park. It became part of the New York Park system in 1870. There are many historical figures featured in the park (NYCParks.org).
The park today is a major meeting spot for residents and tourists alike with a dog track and the original Shake Shack restaurant.
Madison Square Park in the Spring when I was walking the length of Broadway
An interesting sculpture that that welcomes you into Madison Square Park is the statue of William Henry Stewart, the former Governor of New York State, US Senator and Secretary of State during the Civil War. He also negotiated the Alaskan Purchase in 1867.
Governor William Henry Stewart statue in Madison Square Park
Governor William Henry Sewart, who negotiated the Alaskan Purchase “Sewart’s Folly”
The statue was designed by artist Randolph Rogers an American born sculptor who studied in Italy. He was a Neoclassical artist known for his famous historical commissions.
When I walked into the park to take a break, it must have been the busiest section of the neighborhood between the playground and the original Shake Shack that were serving food to a crowd clung to their cellphones.
I stopped to look at the statue of our 21st President Chester A. Arthur, who had taken oath just two blocks away in his New York townhouse where the Kalustyan’s Specialty Foods is located at 123 Lexington Avenue (See My Walk in Kips Bay below). I thought about what was going on in our government today and what they must have gone through with this transition.
The Statue of Chester A. Arthur in Madison Square Park
George Edwin Bissell was an American born artist from Connecticut whose father was a quarryman and marble carver. He studied sculpture abroad in Paris in the late 1870’s and was known for his historical sculptures of important figures of the time (Wiki).
The Admiral David Farragut statue in Madison Square Park by artist Augustus St. Gaudens
Another interesting statue that stands out in Madison Square Park is the of Civil War Navy hero, Admiral David Farragut. Admiral Farragut commanded the Union Blockage of Southern cities and helped capture New Orleans. The statute was designed by sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens. This was the artist’s first major commission when it was dedicated in 1881 (NYCParks.org).
Augustus St. Gaudens was an Irish born American artist whose specialty during the Beaux-Arts era was monuments to Civil War heroes. He had created the statue the William Tecumseh Sherman in the Central Park Mall on Fifth Avenue along with this statue of Admiral Farragut. He had studied at the National Academy of Design, apprenticed in Paris and then studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts (Wiki).
Don’t miss the beauty of the park at the holidays. They really decorate the park at Christmas with a beautiful tree and Christmas lights all over the place. Even the Shake Shack in the park is decorated for the holidays. It was so nice to cut through the park and look at their Christmas tree every evening after classes had ended. It really cheered me up after a long day.
The Madison Square Park Christmas tree
The park is so beautifully decorated for the Christmas holidays
Even the Shake Shack in the park was decorated to the hilt for Christmas
Upon leaving Madison Square Park and proceeding across East to West 25th Street (Fifth Avenue separates the East Side from the West Side of Manhattan), I was traveling into what was once part of Midtown between the Civil War until WWI and then after that Midtown moved closer to Central Park during the 1920’s through the 1940’s. This leads to the former ‘Ladies Shopping Mile’, which I had covered the previous Christmas on a walking tour.
My blog on my Christmas Walking Tour of the Ladies Shopping Mile in 2018:
Most of the buildings in this section of NoMAD were built with decorative stonework and elaborate ornamentation. There are so many in this section of Manhattan I will highlight the ones that are the standouts. As I walked the border of the neighborhood, you could see many beautiful buildings lining 25th Street.
When walking down East 25th Street from Madison Square Park, the first interesting site you pass is the historic Worth Square, the Memorial to and burial site of General William Jenkins Worth.
William Jenkins Worth was a native New Yorker (Hudson, NY) and decorated Army officer who had served our country in the Battles of 1812, The Second Seminole War and the Mexican American War. His series of campaigns shaped this Country to where it is today. He died working for the Department of Texas in 1849 (Wiki).
The General’s remains are buried under the monument at Worth Square at the corner of Fifth Avenue, Broadway and East 24th and 25th Street. General Worth was interned here in November of 1857 on the anniversary of the British leaving the colonies (NYCParks.org).
The Worth Monument between East 24th and East 25th Street at Broadway and Fifth Avenue
The General Worth artwork on the statue.
The Worth Monument was designed by artist James Goodwin Batterson, whose main profession was one of the founders of the Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford, CT and helped design the Library of Congress Building in Washington DC. He had immersed himself in his father’s quarrying and stone importing business early in his career and traveled extensively to Europe and Egypt for the job. He designed this monument in 1857 (Wiki).
Passing Worth Square and continuing down West 25th Street, I was revisiting the edge of the former “Ladies Shopping Mile” and noticed the impressive architecture that lines the streets of this section of the neighborhood.
At 1123 Broadway is the detailed Townsend Building that was built between 1896-97 and was designed by New York architect Cyrus Lazelle Warner Eidlitz in the Classical style. The building is names for Isaac Townsend whose estate the building was built on (Flatiron Partnership).
Another beautiful building is the Heritage Hotel at 18-20 West Fifth Avenue. This detailed hotel was designed by the architectural firm of Israels & Harder in 1901 in the Beaux-Arts style. The hotel opened in 1902 as the Arlington Hotel, a residential hotel for well-heeled guests (Daytonian).
By the time I reached Sixth Avenue, named “The Avenue of the Americas” only to tourists and out of towners, I had seen a significant change in this part of Sixth Avenue in the last thirty years. At West 25th Street, the intersection is just above what had been “Department Store Row” that ends at West 23rd Street.
This had once been the heart of the “Flower District” and while there still are some wholesale flower businesses tucked here and there on Sixth Avenue and some of the side streets, that business has mostly moved on. What had once been lined with rows of smaller buildings housing flower shops selling their wares to people in the Tri-State area is now lined with new modern apartment buildings up to almost West 34th Street. The area is still being redeveloped.
As I ended my first day in the neighborhood, I walked back down West 30th Street back to Madison Avenue passing the familiar buildings back through Madison Square Park and just relaxed. It was fun watching people walk their dogs in the park and the dogs have a great time playing with one another.
I ended the evening with a slice of $1.00 pizza at my new ‘go to’ place in the neighborhood, Fresh Pizza & Deli at 876 Sixth Avenue, a little hole in the wall pizzeria and sandwich shop. The prices here are extremely fair both for the pizza and for the sandwiches that range from $5.00 to $7.00. The pizza here is pretty good and has a nice sauce that gives it some flavor. At night, it has some interesting characters hanging around.
After my snack, I made one last walk around the northern border of the neighborhood to visit what was left of the wholesale businesses. Slowly these jewelry and accessory stores are giving way to boutiques, trendy restaurants and bars. Even in the era of COVID, the whole neighborhood is either being gutted and renovated or knocked down and being rebuilt. There is not one block in NoMAD that isn’t being transformed.
It will be interesting to see the results when all of this passes.
Please read my other blog on walking the Avenues and Streets of NoMAD:
Day One Hundred & Ninety: Walking the Streets and Avenues of NoMAD/Rose Hill:
Well, Christmas is finally officially over for me. It was one for the books. The holiday season just came and went without much fanfare or activities. Nothing like last year which was a lot of running around visiting decorated homes or running to the next cocktail party or dinner. Those things just did not exist this year. This season was all about the outside walking tours and small get togethers.
The whole holiday season became a blur and I started to attend a lot of outdoor activities that became available. Anything to get out of the house and see people or go do something out of the ordinary. I really had to search things out.
They started closest to home. I was trying to split my time between places that were just a drive away, going back and forth to the Hudson River Valley, which gave me a change of scenery and walking the neighborhoods of Manhattan, which gave me a sense of purpose as I felt I was supporting the City by being a cheerleader for all it had to offer even in the era of COVID.
My holiday journey started with the delivery of 375 Christmas trees for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. It was a big undertaking for a major charity that supports graduating high school seniors with scholarship money for college. I sometimes wonder if these students know what we go through to get the funds.
The trees were really nice this year
I have never seen so many Christmas Trees fly off a lot so fast. The membership of the Men’s Association got there at 9:00am and the truck arrived at 10:15am. We sold our first tree at 11:30am as we were tagging them. I stayed the entire day from 9:00am to 10:00pm when we closed the lot down for the evening. In the three shifts that I was there with the other guys, we sold 45 trees which we have never done our first day of sales.
The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association at set-up 2020
We were completely sold out by December 11th which I have never seen before. It seemed in the era of COVID everyone reverted back to the 1970’s and wanted a fresh Christmas tree for their home. I thought this was wonderful and people could not have been more supportive to our organization.
Please read my blog on “Christmas tree sales in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ”:
Please watch the commercial I did in 2015 to sell our trees
The first week of December means “Open Houses” at some of our merchants in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights. I look forward to seeing all the Christmas merchandise being offered, all the bouquets created for the event and the beautiful Christmas windows that our florists in town have done.
Bill O’Shea’s Florist at 231 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ always has a nice gathering the weekend before Thanksgiving. This year was like no other but it did not keep a nice crowd of residents from coming out and looking over ideas for floral displays, house decorating ideas and listening to festive holiday music all while nibbling on prepackaged treats and bottled drinks.
Bill O’Shea’s has some of the nicest displays at the holidays
In a normal year, it would be hot chocolate and coffee with freshly baked goods but COVID has changed the way these businesses are run. Everything had to be prepackaged and most people at it outside as juggling and shopping with a mask on was tough.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, the same weekend we set up the Christmas Tree lot for the Men’s Association, Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ had their Open House and that was equally as nice.
Heights Flower Shoppe is housed in a turn of the last century home that dates back to the original founding of our downtown and has a very classic boutique look to it. The store was stocked with all sorts of Christmas decorations, homemade candies, decorative household gifts and beautiful floral displays as well as outside had decorated wreathes and grave blankets.
The homemade candies and Christmas decorations adorn the store
Like Bill O’Shea’s, there was all sorts of packaged holiday treats to enjoy including Italian sodas, small bags of homemade Christmas cookies and candies. Last year they had a nice assortment of cookies and small sandwiches with coffee, tea and punch so there are always holiday treats to nibble on too here as well.
All of Downtown Hasbrouck Heights was beautifully decorated for the holidays with wreaths on all our lamp posts, Christmas lights on the trees, merchants display windows decorated to the hilt and Christmas music playing.
Downtown Hasbrouck Heights, NJ is always so nicely decorated for the holidays
This year because of COVID, the Annual Holiday Parade and Christmas Tree Lighting were cancelled in town but they did have a small get together at the Circle in Hasbrouck Heights to light the town Christmas tree. It was lit from Thanksgiving until the Epiphany on January 6th. It is always a beautiful site when entering town from the west side of town.
The Christmas Tree on the Circle in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Even the little Neil Parrot playhouse, a local landmark in Hasbrouck Heights, was decorated for the holidays and was lite up at night as well.
The Neil Parrot Playhouse on the Circle in Hasbrouck Heights awaiting Santa
There were several nights of my aunt and I exploring the town and driving block by block to see all the decorated homes. Hasbrouck Heights and the surrounding towns of Lodi and Wood Ridge always do a wonderful job decorating for the holidays but with everyone being home and COVID hitting the area hard, people wanted to really decorate and make this year even more festive. Between the merchants and home owners, they made this time of year in Hasbrouck Heights very festive.
Please read my blog on Visiting Downtown Hasbrouck Heights, NJ:
I did not just celebrate Christmas in Hasbrouck Heights. I ventured into other parts of New Jersey, to New York City and my usual haunts in the Hudson River Valley but like New Jersey, New York State was on a lock down as well and all the decorated mansions and holiday gatherings were all cancelled as well. So everyone did their best to celebrate outdoors and have all sorts of tours and small get togethers. You had to move fast when reserving these events as they did fill up because everyone wanted to get out of the house and see things.
The Sinterklaas Parade that I have participated and volunteered at for so many years was cancelled because of COVID but like the Halloween Parade, the committee put together a video of the parade to share with the world. Still it did not compare to the excitement of walking down the hill with stars and music lighting up Downtown Rhinebeck, NY.
The noble Frog was to be our mascot for this year’s Sinterklaas Parade
It was not the same as the year before where the crowds kept getting larger and larger every year. The whole town came to life with activities, songs, lights and laughter but was silent that weekend except for people having dinner in town. I was able to sneak up during the week. The entire town was decorated with white lights and beautifully decorated store windows. Rhinebeck is one of those towns in the Hudson River Valley that looks straight out of a Currier & Ives woodcut.
Downtown Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas
Since all the Christmas parties and get togethers were cancelled, it gave me more time to look into other outdoor events. I went to a special “Historical walking tour at the Holidays” at the Bergen County Historical Society in River Edge, NJ. The tour was lead by Historical singer and lecturer, Linda Russell, who explained the traditions of the Dutch Christmas all while singing Colonial Christmas songs in between the talks at each historical house on the property.
The Steuben House at Christmas
Actors dressed in costumes (and masks of course-COVID is still going on) danced in the Steuben House ballroom as colonialists celebrating the holiday, Dutch housewives putting their children to bed while awaiting Sinterklaas. There was a Dutch wooden shoe with carrots for his horse outside the door and mistletoe on the ceiling.
Linda Russell performing and lecturing at the Bergen County Historical Society
There was a discussion on the Pagan traditions of bringing ‘greens’ from outside inside to have a bit of ‘live nature’ into the home. So mistletoe, pine and holly adorned homes during the winter months as these things were green and brought a bit of life into the dead of winter.
The last part of the lecture was done in front of the Campbell-Christie House with a visit from Sinterklaas himself. We had a short talk about who Sinterklaas was and his part in the holiday season. Then all the members of the tour enjoyed refreshments and got a goody bag when we left with holiday sweets. The lecture and songs were a nice way to enjoy the beginning of the holiday season.
My favorite song by Linda Russell “I saw Three Ships”
As I was finishing up the semester at the College, I was getting holiday preparations done at the house, having small gatherings of family and friends and trying to be COVID safe. I was also running in and out of the City finishing my blog on Kips Bay before the holidays started getting busier. I learned a lot of New York’s Colonial past from walking around this area of the City.
My blogs on the Walking the neighborhood of Kips Bay:
The next weekend I made my last trip of the season to Long Beach Island to visit Beach Haven and the tour the rest of the island one last time before winter set in. It had really closed down since Halloween. I expected it to be much busier with more people moving down there on a permanent basis. Driving up to the lighthouse, I saw more dark homes then lite ones.
I wanted to take one more tour of Long Beach Island to see how they celebrate Christmas at the shore. They do things very quietly in Beach Haven. I went to the Surflight Theater to see the only play I had seen since I attended Carnegie Hall last Christmas to see the play “We need a little Christmas” which I had seen advertised at the theater over the summer.
“We need a Little Christmas” at the Surflight Theater in Beach Haven, NJ
After the theater, it was surprisingly warm that afternoon hovering around 58 degrees so I walked to the beach one block away and walked on the Jersey shore for my only time that year and for the first time on Beach Haven beach since 1975. It has been a long journey since that time.
The Beach Haven beach was beautiful that afternoon
The town’s Christmas trees were across the street from the theater on the square just off the downtown. Even they had a subdued Christmas at the shore and the whole event welcoming in the season was done virtually.
Christmas in Beach Haven, NJ adapted like the rest of the world
My holiday dinner was spent at the Chicken or the Egg that evening and it was really good. The menu is so extensive and innovative. It was hard to make choices.
The Chicken Wacker Sandwich at the Chicken & Egg
Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream sandwich at Chicken or the Egg
Their fried chicken sandwiches are really good and their Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream sandwich should not be missed.
The Chicken or the Egg at 207 North Bay Avenue in Beach Haven
I was able to tour the whole island that afternoon before it got dark and even at twilight here and there were signs of Christmas in small trees lit in the shopping areas and decorated homes. It is an interesting place at the holidays with the waves crashing in the background.
My blog on “Exploring Downtown Beach Haven and Long Beach Island, NJ”:
The next week was finals week at the College and I had to give my final exam. The students also finished work on their case study, “Bud N’ Mud”, a simulated flower/coffee shop I had the students develop. It was interesting to see how a group of student entrepreneurs would create a store with their own ideas on how to grow the business. This project ended the Fall semester.
One of my favorite logo’s from the “Bud N’ Mud” project
With the Christmas trees selling out by December 11th, we held our annual Christmas party at the Christmas tree stand site for the Men’s Association. It was a cool not cold night and we all huddled around the fire taking alternate turns hitting the makeshift buffet table and enjoying good conversation. It was a great way to end the year successfully and there will lots of scholarships being given out at the end of the school year.
The last big event before Christmas came was the Sunday before Christmas with the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department holding our Annual “Santa Around Town”. Because COVID was growing, the event was revamped from previous years and instead of stopping at sites all over town, we drove down each street in town slowly, having Santa wave and greet people who were on their lawns, driveways and porches. The residents of Hasbrouck Heights seemed touched by it and I could tell from the safety of the fire truck that the kids got a kick out of seeing Santa. People really needed the pick me up in holiday spirit at the time.
The Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department at “Santa Around Town” 2020
On the Tuesday before Christmas after I finished work with my other job I needed a break and wanted to go on a road trip to the Hudson River Valley again. I was nostalgic for Christmas’s past and decided to visit some of the towns Upstate.
I explored Downtown Woodstock first seeing their very unusual Christmas tree in the square. I have to say one thing about Woodstock, they do pick out the most interesting tree to sit in the square. It always looks more surreal than traditional. Their annual “Santa Parade” was cancelled this year as well and they did a drive by with Santa at the Woodstock Fire Department who runs the parade.
Downtown Kingston, NY was next on the list. Talk about a town in transition. In the almost three years since I have been visiting Kingston, I have never seen a downtown change so rapidly. The businesses there have gone from all this ‘hippie granola’ businesses to all these antique furniture stores and art galleries and some really expensive restaurants. One of the locals told me the new residents are “Brooklynizing” Kingston.
Still the downtown was nicely lit for the holidays and their Christmas Tree while small is nicely lit for the holidays on the edge of the downtown “Stockade” district. The Dutch Reformed Church on the other end of downtown was nicely lit with wreaths on the doors.
I crossed the river and drove to Red Hook, NY which I love. Their downtown looks like an old fashioned shopping district straight out of another Currier & Ives print. All the little stores were decorated with garland and white lights and the merchants decorated their windows to the hilt.
My last stop on my search for the perfect picturesque Hudson Valley River town was returning to Rhinebeck, NY for the day. Rhinebeck was quiet on this Tuesday evening as most of the restaurants were closed and the shops had closed for the evening. Still it was nice to walk around and admire the while lights on the trees and admire the display windows.
The Christmas lights and windows of Downtown Rhinebeck, NY
Even the way I celebrate Christmas changed this year. Instead of spending time with my family, I spent three days in Manhattan with my best friend, Maricel, at a hotel in Times Square. Neither of us had the time to travel and we both had to work in the City, her at her hotel and me working on my blogs so both of us needed the rest.
AC Hotel New York Times Square at 260 West 40th Street
We stayed at the AC Hotel New York Times Square at 260 West 40th Street. What the room lacked in size, it made up in the view and in the location. We were one block from Port Authority, two blocks from Times Square and within walking distance from all the Christmas attractions from Saks Fifth Avenue’s Christmas windows and the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
While Maricel worked on Christmas Eve, I walked around the City. I saw the tree at Rockefeller Center which was loaded with people not keeping socially distanced. I admired the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue which had a New York City theme with Christmas scenes from around the City “This is how we Celebrate”.
Saks Fifth Avenue’s Christmas Themed window “Over the East River and Through the Neighborhoods to Grandfather’s House We Go”
Rockefeller Center’s Christmas Tree was even more special this year
I thought the windows at Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf-Goodman really lacked in creativity. Bloomingdale’s was having a bad year and Bergdorf’s had just gotten sold again (forth time since I worked there in 2004) so I did not expect much. With Lord & Taylor declaring bankruptcy earlier in the year and closing the main store on Fifth Avenue and B. Altman’s long gone and Macy’s going mechanical for the last few years, the excitement of seeing the windows has been less than enthusiastic.
Still it was nice to walk around Midtown after leaving the Rockefeller Center area and just walking around Third, Park and Madison Avenues. By 7:00pm, everything had shut down for the night and the streets were really quiet. What was eerie was when walking down Park Avenue and looking up and seeing so many dark buildings. The area looked abandoned with so many apartment lights out. I wondered where everyone went?
When Maricel got off work, I brought in dinner 9th Avenue Deli at 769 Ninth Avenue. I brought in a juicy cheeseburger and chicken fingers which we shared and then dug into. The perfect comfort food on a cool night. Christmas Eve was a mild 59 degrees and it was nice to walk around.
9th Avenue Deli at 769 9th Avenue
We just hung out the whole night and watched movies in the hotel room. I went to bed early and sunk into the wonderful Marriott hotel bed. Marriott had the best hotel beds and every time I stay at one of their hotels, I slept like a log.
Christmas Day we just relaxed in the room and I called many members of my family to wish them a Merry Christmas. While Maricel went to work, I decided to start touring neighborhoods like Kips Bay, Rose Hill and NoMAD in preparation in my walks there. It started out being a cold, cloudy day and there was barely anyone on the street. I saw a few people walking their dogs and that was about it until about 3:00pm. It them cleared up and was a mild 55 degrees until it got dark and then cooled down.
What really shocked me about Times Square was how dirty it was on the streets. They had not picked up the garbage on Christmas Eve day and did not pick it up until after Christmas Day so between the theaters being boarded up and the ply boards filled with graffiti, hotels closed and restaurants shut, the whole Theater district looked like NYC circa 1975. It was creepy how the pandemic was affecting the business of this neighborhood.
Neighborhoods like Kips Bay, Murray Hill, Rose Hill, NoMAD and the Flatiron District were really quiet that morning and early afternoon. All the restaurants and stores were dark, three hotels had closed in the district and I saw just a few people milling around. Things changed as I got closer to Macy’s Herald Square.
When walking around Koreatown, which runs between Sixth and Fifth Avenues between 35th to 32nd Streets, the side streets were teeming with Korean couples and groups of family members dining in the outdoor restaurants and cafes. This neighborhood was really jumping and full of life.
As the day wore on by 5:00pm, the rest of the City came back to life and more restaurants and stores opened up. Christmas morning and afternoon were now over and I could tell that people wanted to get out of the house (probably to get away from the family celebrations).
Golden City Chinese Restaurant at 423 Ninth Avenue (Closed January 2025)
When Maricel returned, I ordered in dinner from Golden City Chinese Restaurant at 423 Ninth Avenue, one of the few neighborhood restaurants open and we our dinner in the room. The food was okay. It was nice to just eat in the room and relax.
Christmas dinner was Lemon Chicken and Fried Rice from Golden City Chinese Restaurant
We checked out at noon on the 26th and she left for work that afternoon, I headed into Brooklyn to visit the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Museum. Both were really quiet that day. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden was mostly dormant for the winter and most of the garden was closed off because of COVID. The “Studio 54” exhibition had long closed at the Brooklyn Museum so I just wondered the halls and looked at some of the changes in the permanent exhibitions that they had. I left the City for home early that evening.
The last week of the holiday, I entertained family at a Lasagna and Champagne dinner I had a the house. Since I was not able to spend time at home during the holidays, my aunts came over to my house and we had a three course meal with champagne and wine. We spent the whole night laughing and enjoying the evening.
New Year’s Eve was a quiet evening at home alone talking with other friends who were staying home alone as well. Times Square was empty that evening with the exception of the 350 first responders who were invited to the ball drop. When I watched it on TV it was eerie to see it so quiet. There was no one for blocks except police guarding Times Square.
I headed back up to the Hudson River Valley again on New Year’s Day to go on two walking tours in Staatsburgh, NY at the Mills Mansion. It was the Annual “First of the Year” walking tours and it was a cool, crisp morning for a walking tour of the property. There were two tours that morning, one was on “Winter Activities in Victorian Times” with us learning about all the winter activities that the residents here enjoyed like skating , sledding, ice boating and horse drawn sleigh rides.
Staatsburgh, the Mills Mansion at Christmas
The Mills Mansion in the winter time
The other tour later that afternoon was on “Ice Harvesting in the Hudson River Valley” , where we learned about how the ice harvesting of the Hudson River was a big business before the advent of refrigeration. Large slabs of ice were cut from the river, floated down stream and then packed in straw awaiting sale over the metropolitan area for peoples ice boxes throughout the year. It just gave me anther excuse to visit the region I love so much.
My blog on the Mills Mansion on VisitingaMuseum.com:
Another local event that was COVID safe was a driving tour through the “Holiday Lightshow” at Demarest Farms in Hillsdale, NJ. This was the first time that the farm opened the apple and peach orchard across the street from the farm stand. I saw this display the last week it was open and even after the holidays, it was a special treat as we awaited the Epiphany.
Driving through the display only took about forty minutes but was a delight in the senses and sounds. I played the classical music station as I drove through and admired all the colorful lights on the now dormant trees while Santa’s and Snowmen winked and waved and toy soldiers lit the way through the dark field. Even the Demarest homestead was ablaze with lights.
Demarest Farms at 244 Werimus Drive in Hillsdale, NJ
My blog on “Visiting the Farms of Bergen County, NJ at Christmas”:
Don’t miss this holiday lights ride through the orchard in 2021
The Bronx Zoo “Holiday Lights” sign in the zoo
The holiday event I visited was the Bronx Zoo for their “Holiday Lights” event at the zoo. It was the last night of the event and I arranged for the tickets that afternoon. The zoo gave me a 30% discount to go that evening and I was on the subway ride up to the Bronx.
The Bronx Zoo Light Show
I was really impressed by the display. The entire park was decorated with white lights, with different sections of the park decorated with different themes such as jungle animals, aquatic mammals and all sorts of assorted elephants, seals, penguins, lions, tigers and bears (oh my haha). There were costumed characters to take pictures with and they even had the Bug Carousel open that evening. I got a kick out of riding this since I had not done this since I was a little kid.
The Bronx Zoo musical Christmas Tree in the old part of the zoo
The Magical Christmas tree musical show
In the older section of the park, they had birds on stilts and a musical Christmas trees that had an interesting soundtrack of contemporary Christmas songs. Even though Christmas had been over now for almost two weeks, it me back into the Christmas spirit.
The birds on silts or puppets as they might be called
So there was the Christmas holidays in the era of COVID. Lots of outdoor activities in hot and cold weather. Many walking tours and more subdued events. Gone were the cocktail parties and big formal dinners and in their place were many more smaller outdoor events and communicating with nature.
Colorful flowers at the Bronx Zoo “Holidays Lights” show
Maybe we all needed to take a break from the more formal traditions and go back to the basics of family and friends. I think this was a reflective year and realizing what is important. It had not changed that much for me. I just adjusted to the times, wore a mask and got going. Staying safe and keeping others safe is what is all about.
Hours: Open Thursday-Sunday: 11:00am-5:00pm (the last tour is at 4:00pm)/Open Monday Holidays from April 19th to October 28th. The mansion then closes to prepare for the holiday season. Closed on Thanksgiving and Easter. There are special programs from January to April so please see the website.
Admission: $8.00 for adults/$6.00 for groups and Seniors/Children under 12 are free. Special events have separate fees and can run from $8.00 to $10.00 and above.
When I finally finished walking Sutton and Beekman Places, I finally decided to take the long walk down Broadway that I had planned for two years. As you can see by the blog, I like to take one neighborhood or section of the City at a time and concentrate on getting to know it. What is the history of the neighborhood? What is there now? Who are the shop keepers and the restaurant owners? What is the neighborhood association doing to improve the area? I like to become part of the neighborhood when I walk around it.
But recently I have noticed people on the Internet have been posting blogs that they walked the entire length of Broadway and bragged about it like they were ‘performing brain surgery’. So, I put aside my next walk and decided to see what the fuss was about walking up and down Broadway.
I am not sure about everyone else, but it was a long trip that took a little over eight hours and I highly recommend the exercise. It was a lot of fun and I felt terrific afterwards. The walk goes by very quickly as there is so much to see and do.
The entrance to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx at 242 Street in the Summer of 2025
The entrance to the park during the Fall of 2025
I got to visit neighborhoods that I had not seen in about two to three years. The most striking thing I had discovered especially walking through Harlem and Washington Heights is how many of the old businesses I had either passed or had eaten at had closed. Just like the rest of the City, these areas are going through a lot of change and are being gentrified.
It seems like the college campus neighborhoods are leading the way especially around Columbia’s new campus above 125th Street and SUNY between 145th Street to 130th Street. The shifts in neighborhoods are changing very fast and more and more buildings are under scaffolding or being knocked down and replaced.
Since the walk down Broadway from 242nd Street to Bowling Green Park is so extensive, I will not go into the intense detail of historical sites and parks along the way. More detail can be found on my sister sights, VisitingaMuseum.com, DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com. On these three sites I will discuss more on each site and a more detailed history. More information on each neighborhood can be found section by section of Manhattan on my blog, MywalkinManhattan.com. I have added as many links to the information as possible.
With the COVID-1 pandemic going on especially the months from March to July 2020 when the City started to reopen for business, I wanted to see how Manhattan has changed in just six months and the findings were pretty shocking. It was like someone put Manhattan into a time machine and brought us back to 1989 or 1990. I felt like I went through a time warp.
Now New York City admittingly was having its problems with the cost of apartments and rents on stores but this is something different. The mood of the City has changed from optimism to walking the streets being scared again. I have not seen this since the Dinkins’s Administration when it was dangerous to walk the streets during the day and night and all the racial problems in Crown Heights. It just seems that the progress of the last thirty years has been wiped out in a few months. I was pretty shocked at the changed I saw while walking down Broadway.
I also have been tired of the controversy with statues all over the United States, so I decided to take a better look at all the public artworks along Broadway and feature in more detail the statues, their meaning and their artists. We should not be wiping out our history but have dialogue about it.
During the recent 2021 walk, I have noticed that things are going back to normal with the exception of a lot of businesses closing over the last year, but construction still persists, and renovations of older historic buildings have gained steam as well as new restaurants opening in place of the older ones. New York City is again reinventing itself.
During the walk in 2022, almost a year later, I found Manhattan bouncing back in its own way. Older stores and restaurants have been replaced by new ones and businesses that were able to hold on during the pandemic are open for business much to the delight of the local residents and tourists who are slowly making their way back to New York City.
I also noticed on my walk in June 2022, the number of people in Manhattan has increased. The sidewalks and tourist spots were much busier than before. Even the restaurants were getting crowded. People are up and about with very few masks in site. The vaccines are obviously working, and people are going about their lives again.
In the Spring of 2024, I took the walk again a few weeks after the official walking of the “The Great Saunter” so I had a lot of practice time in. The walk took nine and a half hours this time due to two meal breaks where I had to charge the phone from all the pictures I was taking. It was the perfect day to take the walk with a 71 degree start.
In the Summer of 2025, it was a rather humid day with a 81 degree start and a 90 degree finish. The humid was not bad that day but it did get hot by the time I got to West 80th Street and I had to walk in the shade whereever I could.
The start of the walk in Van Cortlandt Park, the old Van Cortlandt estate in the Bronx.
The History of Broadway:
Broadway itself as an Avenue has a very interesting history. Broadway is the English-language literal translation of the Dutch name, ‘Brede-wey’. Broadway was originally the Wickquasgeck Trail that was carved into brush of Manhattan by the Native American inhabitants. ‘Wickquasgeck means “birch-bark country” in Algonquian language. The trail originally snaked through swamps and rocks along the length of Manhattan Island (Wiki).
Manhattan in Colonial Times
When the Dutch arrived, the trail became the main road through the island with the colony of Nieuw Amsterdam at the southern tip. The word ‘Brede-wey’ was translated when the British took possession of the island, they changed the name to ‘Broadway’. Known in the past as ‘Broadway Street’, ‘Kingsbridge Road’ and ‘Bloomingdale Road’ in parts around the island, it officially became ‘Broadway’ in 1899 when the whole street from the top of Manhattan to the bottom was named for one long road (Wiki).
The entire length of Broadway through Manhattan from Inwood to the Battery is 13 miles and the length in the Bronx is 2 miles. There is an additional 18 miles that runs through Westchester County all the way to Sleepy Hollow, NY where it ends. I just concentrated on the subway route from the 242nd Street Subway exit to the Bowling Green at the tip of Manhattan.
The walks down Broadway:
I started my mornings in 2019 and 2020 at 5:30am getting up and stretching. The sun shined in my room and that was a good start to the day. The weather was going to be in the high 70’s with a touch of clouds and the weather really cooperated. In 2019, I got into New York City at 8:15am and started my day with breakfast at my favorite deli in the Garment District, 9th Avenue AM-PM Deli (or Juniors AM-PM Deli as it also known by (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). In 2023, having just come back from Europe, I was not sure I was ready for the walk. It ended up being no problem. I got to the Van Cortlandt House by 10:00am.
What I love about 9th Avenue AM-PM Deli is the generous portions at a very fair price. I started one day with a French Toast platter ($4.99). I had four very nice sized slices of French Toast that were nicely caramelized and just a hint of cinnamon. On my second time on the walk, I ate here again ordering one of their Hungry Man Hero’s ($9.75), which is three eggs, potatoes, ham, bacon and sausage on a soft hero roll with mayo. Laden with calories yes but taste wise wonderful. It had all the calories and carbs for a 15-mile walk.
Their Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a hero roll is one of the best in the City.
It is always nice to grab one of the stools and eat by the window and watch the world go by. Just remember to get here early before all the construction workers from the Hudson Yards come over for their half hour union break. Then it really gets busy.
After breakfast, it was off to Times Square to take the Number One Subway up to 242nd Street-Van Cortland Park stop to start the walk. Manhattan actually starts lower than that but on such a nice day, I thought it would be nice to start at the very top of the subway route.
On the trip to Van Cortlandt Park in 2020, the subway was practically empty. There were about five of us on the car and the funny thing was that people sat near one another on an empty car. So much for socially distancing from people. They all sat near me! In 2022, the subway was empty of everyone, and I travelled alone to the last stop. In 2023, being Father’s Day, I found the whole city quiet and there was just a few of us on the train. In 2024, all the colleges had let out for the summer, but the schools were still in session with Memorial Day being next week and the City seemed quiet during the day (with the exception of Times Square). In 2025, I had to change subways to take the bus because of repairs on the subway so I got a late start that morning. No matter, the weather cooperated and the trip went by well.
The first stop on this journey is the 242nd Street stop at the end of the Number One line
Starting the walk in the same position in Fall 2025
Interesting street art on the subway
I had not been to the Van Cortlandt House Museum (See VisitingaMuseum.com and TripAdvisor for my reviews) since right after the holidays to see the house decorations and not seen the park ever in the warmer months.
I got to my destination at 9:00am and had to go to the bathroom. What is nice about Van Cortlandt Park is that the public bathrooms are right near the subway exit and there is another set right next to the Van Cortlandt House Museum so that is covered when you enter the neighborhood.
The Van Cortlandt Manor House in the late Spring
Make sure to take a bathroom break now because the options get slimmer until about 207th Street at the Ann Loftus Playground (and in 2022 those bathrooms are closed for renovations). The bathrooms at the park were even cleaner in 2020 with new park regulations for COVID-19 so the hand sanitizers were all full and the hand blowers were fixed. That was nice. Both the bathrooms at the 207th Street stop and at the manor house are really well maintained.
The Van Cortlandt House in the Fall of 202
I started my adventure by walking into the park and visiting the museum grounds. Van Cortlandt Park is a beautiful park that was once the Van Cortlandt estate. The last time I had been here was to tour the house for Christmas and to see the decorations.
The Van Cortlandt Manor at Christmas time in 2022
Van Cortlandt Manor gardens and house in 2022
The house was closed when I got to the park (in the summer months it does not open until 11:00am), so I just walked around the grounds to stretch a bit and admire the foliage. It was nice to see the trees with leaves on them and the gardens surrounding the house were in full bloom (the house is open-Check the website for hours).
Van Cortlandt Park and the Manor House in the Spring of 2024.
Don’t miss when exiting the park to stop and see Memorial Grove, a small section of the park dedicated to 21 servicemen who gave their lives in World War. There are twenty-one oak trees that were planted by the graves which are now fully grown. It is a somber but quiet place to reflect on what these men gave for our country.
I always start my walk at the statue of General Josiah Porter, a Civil War hero who is memorialized just outside the entrance to Van Cortlandt Mansion. Every year I salute him before I start the walk. I consider him my guardian angel on this walk. I swear in 2024, I could have sworn that the statue moved his head in my direction when I saluted him. In 2025, I saluted the General again for good luck on the walk.
This elegant statue was created by artist William Clarke Nobel in 1902. He was commissioned by the National Guard Association of New York to create the statue and it was placed in front of the parade grounds inside Van Cortlandt Park.
General Porter lead the 22nd Regiment of the National Guard of New York during the Civil War. His contributions to the war effort helped the North win. After the war, he had been promoted to Colonel in 1869 and then was promoted again 1886 to Major General, the highest-ranking position in the New York National Guard (NYCParks.org).
General Josiah Porter in front of the Van Cortlandt Mansion
This is the reason why I started at the Van Cortlandt Mansion. To the see the condition of statues along the route of Broadway. There are so many historical monuments on the way down that I wanted to note them in the updated blog. With all these idiots knocking down statues all over the country, New York City has not seen much of this. I am sure that art historians and the police are just waiting to pounce on these people.
In 2025, Van Cortlandt Park was just passing its peak in foliage and the park was spectacular to look at from all aspects.
Van Cortlandt Park in the Fall of 2025
Van Cortlandt Park in the Fall
Van Cortlandt Park in the Fall
Once I left the park, I started the walk on the west side of Broadway and the plan was to walk the west side the first day and then the east side the second time so that I could see the buildings along the way and see what restaurants had opened, closed and what looked interesting. Plus, where to find public bathrooms along the way. This was the interesting part of the walk was trying to find bathrooms when you needed them.
Since I have visited most of the neighborhoods already from 59th Street up to the tip of Inwood and wrote about historical sites, buildings, gardens and museums that I have visited along the way in other blogs, I won’t be mentioning these in as much detail as you can see them in other entries.
*I will refer to the other sites DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, VisitingaMuseum.com and other entries of MywalkinManhattan.com for more details to read on each neighborhood.
Also, to make the walk more enjoyable and include all the wonderful places to visit and see along the way, I will be blending many days of walks down Broadway experiences into one blog so I can make stopping points that visitors should take time to see. The walks took just over eight hours and please watch the humidity. There was a big difference doing this walk in 70-degree weather versus 85-degree weather with humidity. You should also give yourself stopping time for bathroom breaks and time to rest in some of the small parks along the way.
I needed more liquids in me and more time to sit down. Suggestion after four trips down this route is two water bottles frozen the night before. This way they melt on route, and you always have cold water until you hit the next park. This makes all the walking easier. Still, it was great exercise, and you will never be bored.
When I passed the entrance of Van Cortlandt Park by Van Cortlandt Avenue, another statue at the entrance of the park caught my eye. It was of a coyote guarding the front entrance. It seems that coyotes were wild back then and are still being seen today in the park system.
The statue known as “Major Coyote” is a symbol of coyote sightings in the park as late as 1995. This statue guards the main entrance and gardens of the park.
Once I left Van Cortlandt Park, I walked through Twin Oaks Square, a small park outside the park which is a nicely landscaped. It is picturesque and looking at from the street gives a beautiful entrance way to the park.
Twin Oaks Triangle
The Twin Oaks Triangle in the Fall of 2025
I continued walking down through the commercial district of the Bronx along the Broadway corridor which is loaded with chain stores and malls of all sorts. So much for people saying the Bronx is dead. There was so much shopping going on that you never had to leave for the suburbs to find a chain store. This part of the walk was still vibrant proving that the chain stores still have the staying power. Even during COVID and when the City reopened, these areas the stores remained open.
At each subway stop station I did notice clusters of small family run businesses and here you can find some interesting restaurants and pizzerias. There are a lot of family run bakeries as well but none that stood out. The fact that the area was still so vibrant in 2020 showed the resilience of the area.
As I was leaving the Bronx on the way to Marble Hill, I noticed a lot more sidewalk and street art all around the neighborhood. Here is some that stood out to me on my 2025 walk.
Sidewalk art on Broadway
Sidewalk art on Broadway
Sidewalk art on Broadway
Street art on Broadway
Street art on Broadway
When you reach the edge of Marble Hill (the Northern most part of Manhattan), you will pass the Marble Hill Houses. I had more whistles and yells when I passed the projects on my many trips in the neighborhood. I am not sure what about me screams cop.
The Marble Hill Houses in the Summer of 2023
The Marble Hill Houses in the Fall of 2025
Even so as I walked in the front walks of the houses, I noticed that the residents were growing gardens that were part of the ‘Outer Seed Shadow Project’, a program of growing crops on the project’s lawns in raised beds. I thought it will be interesting when everything gets harvested. Some of the plants were fully grown when I visited this early in the season.
The Outer Seed Shadow Project at the Marble Hill Houses
For breakfast the morning of my June 2025 walk down Broadway, I revisited Rosarina Bakery at 5215 Broadway. I have been coming here since the first day of the walking project in 2015 and the baked goods here can be hit or miss. Sometimes they are really delicious and sometimes that can be hard. This time around I had one of their Vanilla Doughnuts and it was really good. It was cake like and sweet with a thick Vanilla icing. Enough sugar to start the walk.
After enjoying the sweet treat, it was off for the walk down Broadway crossing over the bridge from Marble Hill to the Island of Manhattan. I stopped at the Columbia Campus to look at the boathouse and admire the parks. One a beautiful day in the summer, there is nothing like the Inwood Parks.
The crossing from Marble Hill into Inwood with Muscato March in the background.
The foliage was especially beautiful in the Fall of 2025. I passed the bridge, and the views were just spectacular in the morning.
The cross in the Fall of 2025
The cross in the Fall of 2025
It was when you will cross the bridge at 225th Street in the Bronx to the tip of Manhattan in Inwood is where it all starts to change as you enter the northern Columbia University campus and pass the football stadium.
The Columbia University ‘C’ when you exit Marble Hill and go over the bridge to the Island of Manhattan in the Summer of 2024
The same view in the Fall of 2025
The interesting part of this part of Inwood is that on tip of Manhattan is nothing at the end of it. Here we have bus stations, garage trucks and delivery vans. This is one of the most commercial parts of Manhattan I have ever seen outside parts of the Garment District. The area has been rezoned so there will be a lot more changes up here in the future. Once you cross the bridge from the Bronx, you feel the difference in the neighborhoods depending on what side of Broadway you are on.
Crossing the bridge means that you have entered Columbia University territory and to the right is Columbia Stadium which is pretty much shut down this time of year. There were some football players on the field, but the Ivy League season starts later so it was not that busy. On my second trip down the east side of Broadway, I made two pit stops in Inwood past the stadium that I think tourists and residents alike should see.
Columbia Stadium at 533 West 218th Street was locked for the summer but there was a Summer Camp going on
During my trip pass the college in 2020, everything is locked tight. Columbia University’s football season I believe has been cancelled. In 2022, the field was being prepared for the football season and some students were out on the field. In 2023, again the field was being prepared for the upcoming football season (Cornell will be playing them home in 2023).
Please read my blog on the Columbia-Cornell rivalry and the football games at the stadium:
Still there are a lot of sites to see around Inwood Hill Park. The first is Muscota Marsh at 575 West 218th Street (See review on VisitingaMuseum.com) right behind Columbia Stadium that faces the shores of Marble Hill. This interesting marsh is one of the few in the City and one of the only ones in Manhattan that I know of, and it is a great place to just sit and relax.
The marsh takes on a different look in the Fall of 2025 with all the leaves changing colors and the skies so clear. On a warm Fall Day, the park looked amazing.
Muscato Marsh
Muscato Marsh
Muscato Marsh
Muscato Marsh
The views of the marsh and Inwood Park in the Fall of 2025
The Muscota Marsh is right next to the Columbia Boathouse where their rowing team set their boats off and right next to the Columbia Football stadium. On a sunny morning or afternoon, it is a nice place to just sit back and watch the boaters and people on jet ski’s zoom by. It is nice to just sit by the flowers and relax.
There were a lot of local residents relaxing in the park on all afternoons that I visited. Each year I see that more people have discovered this little hidden gem. In 2025, it was my stop off point to cool down for a bit.
Muscota Marsh is right next to the Columbia Boathouse
If you want to walk a little further into Inwood Park, visit the Shorakkopoch Rock the place where it has been said that Peter Minuit had bought the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans. This is where a three-hundred-year-old tulip tree had once stood, and legend stated that the event had taken place under a tulip tree in clearing on the island. No one is too sure if this is the right place but to really understand the history of Manhattan. this is the spot where to begin.
Shorakkopoch Rock the site of the purchase of Manhattan Island by Peter Minuit
On the way of exploring Broadway in 2019, I followed the path of artwork by artist Nicolas Holiber and his bird sculptures that lined Broadway similar to the art by Joy Brown and Bernadette Myers. So, traveling from 165th Street to 59th Street searching for bird artwork. There were still a few of the sculptures still up during the Summer of 2020 but no one seemed to notice them. Still, that was the fun of walking down Broadway, trying to search for the sculptures to find them all.
As I left Inwood Park, I watched as kids participating in summer camps were playing games and running around in 2019. Parts of the park were closed to reseeding so you can see that money was being put into the park and renovations were starting. When I did the Broadway walk in 2021, the lawns had been reseeded and green with lots of kids running all over the place.
As I walked down Broadway the few times, I have visited the area since my initial walk in 2015, I have noticed so many businesses open and close which is almost an epidemic all over Manhattan. Broadway for almost the entire length is no different.
In 2021, I had read an article about Borough President Gale Brewer walking the length of Broadway in Manhattan and saying that about 200 store fronts were empty. This is not good and is showing what is going on not just in the economy but how the landlords are beginning to gouge small businesses with rent increases. So many small Dominican businesses I have watched close to be replaced by Hipster restaurants who are also not making it with these rent increases.
In the Summer of 2020, what a difference a year makes. The COVID-19 pandemic and the stalling of the economy has changed the neighborhoods along Broadway even more. I have never so many businesses close along the route both Mom & Pop and chain stores alike. It looks almost like the Upper West Side of the early 1990’s with all the empty store fronts and a lot more homeless milling around the area.
In the Summer of 2021, things were opening back up and changing. On the walk in 2022, you can see that many businesses have reopened, and new restaurants and shops are opening in many of the closed spaces. Still there are still quite a few vacancies between West 96th and West 72nd Streets.
On the Father’s Day walk in 2023, the whole neighborhood was starting to come back to life. New York City especially Manhattan was slowly coming back. Maybe not to 2019 but was getting better. The storefronts were filling up all over Broadway. On both walks in 2024, Manhattan was back in business and the empty storefronts were starting to fill up again.
When I walked down Broadway in the Summer of 2025, it was as if COVID never existed. The shopping areas and restaurants were back in full swing, everything was open. When I started the walk up in Van Cortlandt Park, groups of men were playing cricket in the ball fields and lots of people jogging and walking their dogs. It was just another day but the park was really busy early in the morning. The walk down Broadway has seen new businesses open and a vibrant shopping district in each neighborhood.
Still there are many businesses that are thriving along the Broadway corridor and a lot of great restaurants to stop and visit along the way. Even after a big breakfast, I needed to take snack breaks along the way and the restaurants in the Washington Heights area are reasonable and have great travel food.
My first stop after visiting the Muscota Marsh was Twin Donut at 5099 Broadway (permanently closed July 2021 and still sitting empty in 2022 and 2023) for a donut and a bathroom break. You will need to know which public bathrooms are good along the way and for the price of a donut it was well worth the visit. Their donuts are around a $1.75 depending on the type but go for one of their jelly or custard filled. They are really good. This is one of the first places I used to visit during the Cornell/Columbia Football games.
Rumor has it by 2021, it will turn into a residential building. In the Summer of 2022, the building is still there but is long closed. They have not started construction on the residential tower that was supposed to go there. In 2023, the building was behind fencing and nothing been done. In 2025, the building still sits there awaiting development.
Twin Donut was formerly at 5099 Broadway (Closed in 2021-it still sits empty in 2025)
As I passed Isham Park, which is a beautiful Inwood Park with lots of rock formations, I stopped to look at the Church of the Good Shepard at 4967 Broadway. I had never really noticed it on previous walks, but I had walked around the church when I visited the Farmer’s Market two months earlier when I walked “The Great Saunter”.
The church was built in 1930 and designed by architect Paul Monaghan in the Romanesque style. The church is a combination of limestone and granite and has the most beautiful gardens planted that were in full bloom on the corner of Isham Street and Broadway. During the warmer months, there is a terrific Farmers Market that lines Isham Street by the park with all sorts of fruits, vegetables, baked goods and flowers to buy.
As you are traveling down Broadway, take some time to walk the side streets into the heart of ‘Little Dominica’, Inwood’s Dominican community of stores, restaurants and bakeries. The first stop should be walking down 207th Street to the subway stop on 10th Avenue. While the street is full of all sorts of restaurants, stop at the street vendors for fresh juice and pastilitos, the Dominican version of the empanadas.
These usually run about $2.00. There are all sorts of street vendors selling their wares along the sidewalks. On my second trip down I stopped at a vendor for fresh chicken pastilitos and there is nothing like them when they are just out of the fryer.
Fresh Pastilitos at the stands in the shopping district at 207th Street to Tenth Avenue
As I traveled through Inwood, I stopped at the Dyckman Family Farmhouse (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com), which is the oldest home on the Island of Manhattan. The Dyckman Farmhouse was built in 1785 and was once part of a 250 acre that stretched to the tip of Inwood. The house now sits on a bluff overlooking Broadway and Washington Heights on about an acre of land.
The house is still impressive to walk through and when you have time, take the formal walking tour of the home and hear about the history of how the farm worked and about the Dyckman family (the site has now opened up for tours outside in 2022 and the house will open this summer).
As you pass the Dyckman House and walk south also take a side trip down Dyckman Avenue to visit more Dominican restaurants, bakeries and stores from Broadway to Nagle Avenue. There are some interesting places to have a snack but again check out the street vendors first especially on the weekends when the weather is nice. More people are out walking around.
Walking down Isham Park on the way to Ann Loftus Park offered more beautiful views of the foliage.
Broadway by 213th Street
Broadway by 212th Street
Broadway by Isham Park
The Dykman House in 2025
In 2021, I stopped back at G’s Coffee Shop at 634 West 207th Street, one of my favorite places to eat when I am visiting The Cloisters. Their food is excellent and so reasonable.
In 2023, I had a Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a hero roll, and it carried me through walking through Washington Heights. Talk about a sandwich as it was stuffed with loads of eggs and bacon and had that nice buttery taste of the grill (see my reviews on DiningonaSheStringinNYC@Wordpress.com and TripAdvisor)
Their Bacon, Egg and Cheese is really good
In 2024, I had a Bacon and Cheese Omelet with Home Fries and Rye Toast that was wonderful.
The breakfast in 2024 was spectacular and gave me the energy of the 13 mile walk.
In 2023, I stopped at the Park Terrace Deli where I had the same sandwich. I love the Bacon, Egg and Cheese when I am doing this walk and it fills me up for the afternoon. Park Terrace Deli offers all sorts of breakfast and lunch sandwiches at very reasonable prices. Their hamburgers and cheeseburgers are excellent too.
I took my breakfast and ate at Muscota Marsh on the benches and just watched the water drift by on the river. What a beautiful morning to be outside. it is the nicest place for excellent views of the Hudson River.
Muscato Marsh was so pretty that morning
The Hudson River looms in the distance
The park in the summer of 2025
When you cross Dyckman Street, Ann Loftus Playground at 4746 Broadway (named after a local community leader) will be to the right and there are nice public bathrooms and water fountains here. There are also benches under shade trees to sit under and on a warm day, there are vendors selling Dominican ices for $2.00. Go for the mango/cherry or the rainbow. On a hot day, they are very refreshing (The Ann Loftus Playground is closed for renovations in the summer of 2022 and I ended up having my mango-cherry ice at 110th Street after lunch).
Ann Loftus Playground is part of the extensive Fort Tyron Park that runs from Riverside Drive to Broadway from Dyckman Street to 190th Street.
The park in the Fall of 2025 offered many different colors of red, gold, orange and still some green on the leaves. The walk through the park was beautiful.
Ann Loftus Park
An. Loftus Park
Ann Loftus Park
Sidewalk art by a creative child artist
Ann Loftus Park
Ann Loftus Park
Ann loftus park
Fort Tryon Park in the Fall of 2025
If you want to take a walk through the park, not only are there beautiful views of the Hudson River along the stone paths but it leads up to The Cloisters Museum at 99 Margaret Corbin Drive which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that features Medieval Art including the ‘Hunt of the Unicorn’ tapestries.
The park also has many colorful flower gardens and paths along the river with amazing views. There is a lot of walking up and down hills in Fort Tyron Park but trust me the views are breathtaking and the paths lead to amazing gardens and lawns. There are also nice public bathrooms to stop at here.
When I visited the park in 2020, the NYC Parks Department has issued new cleanliness standards for the bathrooms, so they were much cleaner on this trip with soap and working hand blowers. I would find this in all bathrooms along the route. In 2022, there is a complete renovation of the park and the bathrooms so be prepared to hold it in until you hit the McDonalds at 183rd Street. In 2025, I found the bathrooms needed a really good cleaning again.
Inside and outside of Ann Loftus Playground, there are always local merchants selling pastilitos and ices on hot days. The prices have gone up slightly since COVID but the food is always wonderful. Two freshly made pastilitos (Dominican Empanadas) and flavored ices are the best meal when you are on the go and trust me, those ices cool you down both inside and out.
At 207th Street, the pastelito vendor has been my favorite snack place while I begin my journey downtown. I eat these on a nice day in Ann Loftus Park.
For $2.00 they make the perfect snack and he makes these so good!
In Ann Loftus Park, there was also a vendor selling the Dominican ices and a rainbow ice on a hot day there is nothing like it.
As you leave the park and continue walking down Broadway, you will be in the heart of Washington Heights so on a warm day expect to see people sitting on the benches socializing, playing checkers and dominoes and listening to music. There is a lot of life on these sidewalks.
As you pass Fort Tyron Park, take a peek at the street artwork inside the 190th Street Station and take some time to walk the corridor. It is its own museum in constant change and the street taggers do some interesting work.
The subway station at 190th Street in 2024.
The decorations are quite interesting
The weather was hot and humid in the summer of 2025 and I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. The walk down Broadway next to Ann Loftus Park was especially nice as the weather was clear and sunny and everything was in bloom in the park.
Broadway at West 212th Street
Ann Loftus Park and Fort Tryon Entrance
The playground in the summer of 2025
When walking into the streets between 187th and 160th, there are some wonderful Spanish restaurants catering mostly to Dominican families, but the menus are extensive, and the prices are reasonable. There are a lot of restaurants especially clustered around the George Washington Bridge Depot.
In 2020, I stopped for breakfast and lunch at the Chop Cheese Deli at 4234 Broadway. Having eaten breakfast at 5:45am, I was hungry for another breakfast and could not decide what I wanted to eat. So, I ordered both the Egg and Cheese on a roll ($2.95) and their signature Chopped Cheese on a roll ($4.95). Both were really good, but the Chopped Cheese should have had shredded lettuce not chopped lettuce, so it was a little soggy but still good. The deli’s prices are excellent and there is nothing over $10.00 in the hot food’s menu (In just three years they have expanded to four delis).
The Chopped Cheese on a roll here at Chopped Cheese Deli at 4234 Broadway is really good
I must have built up some appetite because I made on pit stop on the 2021 walk and wanted to revisit a few places from previous walks on 118th Street. My first stop was Papi’s Pizza at 1422 St. Nicholas Avenue. I had passed by here many times when walking Washington Heights and never got a chance to try it. The cheese slice was very good and really large. It made a nice addition to the sandwich I had just eaten. In 2023, they were closed for the day (the restaurant closed permanently at the end of 2023).
Papi’s Pizza at 1422 St. Nicholas Avenue (Closed December 2023)
I then stopped at Esmeraldo Bakery at 538 West 118 Street for something sweet to tide me over and I just love this bakery. There prices are not just reasonable, but the selection of interesting desserts is hard to come by. I love their guava pastries, their iced doughnuts and their glazed twists. I settled on a powder covered cream horn and it was delicious. Sweet and flaky with each bite.
The wonderful selection at Esmeraldo Bakery
In 2022, I stopped here again for a quick early lunch. I had a Ham and Cheese roll that just came out of the oven, and I had a Cinnamon Raisin Pinwheel was dessert. The Ham and Cheese roll was really good with chunks of ham and melted cheese in every bite. Esmeraldo’s is always a staple with me when I am in the neighborhood, and I love the quality of their baked goods.
In 2023, I was back again. I decided I needed something sweet after the breakfast sandwich and settled on an apple turnover and a sugar doughnut. The apple turnover needed some more apples inside, but the sugar doughnut was excellent. It was soft and sweet and loaded with granulated sugar. Each bite had an extra sweetness to it.
The sugar doughnuts at Esmeraldo Bakery are excellent
Esmeraldo’s Apple and Pineapple turnovers were delicious as well on my walk in 2024
New street art has shown up in Washington Heights and the artists are extremely talented. I love going in search for new murals that seem to go up every year.
Street Art in Washington Heights on 182nd Street
Street art in Washington Heights on 175th Street
Street art in Washington Heights
Street art in Washington Heights
As you walk further down the shopping district there are better and reasonable restaurants. Three standouts that I highly recommend are La Dinastia at 4059 Broadway (at 171st Street) for Dominican Chinese food and 5 Star Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway (at 161st Street) for pastries, pastilitos and all sorts of hot snacks. George’s Pizza at 726 West 181st Street is also excellent.
The restaurant row around 181st Street has a nice selection of restaurants
The active shopping district on 181st Street is the heart of Little Dominica
181st Street decorated for the upcoming holiday season in the Fall of 2025
Washington Heights shopping district
Broadway in Washington Heights in the Fall of 2025
On the other side of West 181st Street in the Summer walk of 2025, I stopped at George’s Pizza at 726 181st Street. I had not been there for a while, and the pizza was still excellent and very reasonable.
My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:
The inside of George’s Pizza
The pizza is amazing
Yum!
When you get to 172nd Street, La Dinastia has a reasonable lunch menu and I recommend having the Chicken Cracklings, a type of batter fried chicken patty with their Special Fried Rice which contains shrimp, sausage, eggs and vegetables (See review on TripAdvisor).
La Dinastia at 4059 Broadway
A lunch special here can run about $12.00 with a Coke and tip and you will be full for the rest of the afternoon.
La Dinastia’s at 4059 Broadway’s Chicken Cracklings and Special Fried Rice lunch special
Before you leave this area, check out the former Coliseum Cinema on the corner of Broadway and 181st Street before they tear it down. It was built in 1920 as an old vaudeville theater and famous actors including the Marx Brothers and Harold Lloyd performed there. The building is slated for demolition due to its structure concerns and will be replaced by housing and a retail mall. In 2020, a church group is now using it.
The Coliseum Theater at 181st & Broadway has interesting detail work
Palace Theater in 2024. The details on the building are amazing.
I noticed that on my trip in 2020 that the shopping districts in Washington Heights have been devastated by the COVID-19 crisis. I saw a lot of closed and empty businesses in the 207th and 181st shopping districts and a lot of popular delis and stores have closed along the Broadway corridor of Washington Heights. This made the lines at the places that were still open even longer.
In 2022, when I took the walk down the 181st Street shopping corridor, I noticed that there were still some empty storefronts but not as many as two years ago. Some older restaurants have been replaced by chains and there is a new Chick fil A on the block. It seems that the chain stores have now discovered the shopping area so expect to see more changes. With the changes in the neighborhood’s demographics, I expect to see more chain stores here in the future. In 2025, many new Latino cuisine restaurants have opened to replace the ones that have closed and the chain restaurants have discovered the district as well. The areas population is changing with the shifts in the neighborhood.
There is a small park across from the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Mitchell Square, at the corners of Broadway and St. Nichols Avenue at 168th Street, that features the Washington Heights-Inwood War Memorial by artist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. It was dedicated in 1922 for members of the community who fought in WWI. I found it very touching. It features two soldiers assisting another wounded one.
Washington Heights-Inwood War Memorial by artist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney
Also check out some of the Dominican bakeries in the area. 5 Star Estrella Bakery is near the corner of 161st Street and Broadway. Everything at the bakery is delicious and I have never had one bad thing to eat here (See reviews on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com and TripAdvisor).
Their chicken and beef pastilitos are cooked perfectly and stuff full of filling ($1,50), their doughnuts are light and slathered in thick icing ($1.00) and their cinnamon buns ($2.00) are the best. They are light, chewy and sugary. Another item that stands out is a type of potato croquette that is filled with meat ($1.50). If they are available, grab one. Totally delicious!
The Cinnamon Swirl pastry here is excellent
The lines in 2020 were the longest I have ever seen with about 15 people waiting outside for service. I had a Raisin Swirl doughnut ($2.00) and a chewy fried doughnut ($2.00) which I ate on the way down Broadway. Even in 2022, the lines were long and I was still stuffed from my earlier snack.
As you reach the small pocket park, the IIka Tanya Payan Park at 157th Street, you will come across the first piece of Broadway Art by artist Nicolas Holiber for his “Birds on Broadway” Audubon Sculpture Project exhibit which is a partnership he has with Broadway Mall Association, NYC Parks, NYC Audubon and the Gitler Gallery.
Ilka Tany Payan Park at Edward Morgan Place and Broadway
The park is named after the Dominican actress from the 1960’s and 70’s who later became an AIDS activist and Lawyer.
The park in the summer of 2025
These interesting sculptures bring attention to birds’ species that are endangered by climate change. These birds are either native to New York or do a fly by when in season. They are made of 100% reclaimed or recycled wood (Nicolas Holiber website).
The Wood Duck by artist Nicolas Holiber (the sculpture is still up in 2020)
The inside of Ilka Tanya Payan Park
The first sculpture on the walk that I saw was the Wood Duck. It was an interesting piece that unfortunately was being walked on by a couple of kids that did not seem to know the significance of the work. These rustic pieces really do stand out though and I like the write ups with each one which gives a short story on each bird.
When I was walking through IIka Tanya Payan Park in 2022, there was a very strange looking sculpture that looked like a shell formation called “Gifting Angel” by artist Jon Isherwood for the project “Broadway Blooms: Jon Isherwood on Broadway”, part of the Broadway Mall Association project with eight sculptures along Broadway. This exhibition opened in 2020 and has been extended to July 2022.
The “Gifting Angel” sculpture by artist Jon Isherwood sits in IIka Tanya Payan Park in 2022
Mr. Isherwood is an English born American artist and a graduate of Canterbury College of Art in England and holds an MFA from Syracuse University. He has had exhibitions all over the world and is known for his public art and large sculptures.
Boricua College Campus where both museums are located
As you pass the sculpture and continue south to the right is the Audubon Terrace at 155th Street and Broadway, which is home to Boricua College, the Hispanic Society of America Museum (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) which is currently closed for renovation and the American Academy of Arts & Letters (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) which just recently closed and is only open twice a year to exhibitions. Both museums are only open at select times of the year, so you have to visit their websites for more information.
The American Academy of Arts & Letters at 633 West 155th Street
The inside of the museum in 2025 after the long renovation
Inside the Hispanic Society Museum in the summer of 2025
In 2021 when I revisited the college, the college was hosting the Latinx Diaspora exhibition with artwork and musical displays. Artists Danny Pegresso, Carla Torres, Dister Rondon and FEEGZ displayed their works outside the building in the courtyard.
The Latinx Diaspora Exhibition at the Hispanic Society Museum & Library
The exhibition displayed several works of art in galleries that spanned three buildings. I got to see many local artists display their work as well as seeing an exhibition on the progression of the musical “Hamilton” from local theater to the smash hit on Broadway. It was interesting to see how the show progressed. It also gave an interesting perspective on what is going on in the world by younger artists. The exhibition will be open until August 2021.
In June of 2022, there was an exhibition outside entitled “Art of Solidarity” by artist Andrea Arroyo. The exhibition touches on the themes of immigration, gender rights, love and peace, gun violence and environment crisis (Artist website).
Ms. Arroyo is known for her paintings, illustrations, public art and site-specific works and a noted lecturer, curator and speaker (Artist bio).
The college abuts the Trinity Church Cemetery that holds the graves of many prominent New Yorkers including John Jacob Astor IV and Mayor Ed Koch. It is interesting to walk along the paths of the cemetery during the day and look at the historic tombstones. When visiting the grave of Mayor Koch, be prepared to find lots of stones along the grave site as a sign of respect for the dead. Take some time out when visiting the cemetery to pay your respects to one of New York City’s greatest mayors.
As you pass the borders of 155th Street into Harlem there is a distinct change in the street life. It is a lot quieter when you reach the borders of Washington Heights and Harlem. There are less people on the sidewalks here. In Washington Heights, there is music on the sidewalks, families playing games and men debating issues. It is a lot quieter I noticed when you cross the 155th Street border between the neighborhoods.
The cemetery at the Church of the Intercession is the border of Washington Heights and Harlem.
The General Washington plaque on Broadway and 155th Street.
The entrance to the cemetery at 155th Street
Broadway in Washington Heights in the Fall of 2025
The cemetery at 155th Street
155th Street by the cemetery with a view of New Jersey
Another church I had not really taken a good glimpse at over the last few walks is the Church of the Intercession at 550 West 155th Street. This elegant church sits in front of the cemetery, holding guard on the gravesite.
The Church of the Intercession at 550 West 155th Street (Church Website)
The Church of the Intercession was founded in 1846 and the current building was built in 1915. It was designed by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue from the firm of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson and was designed in the Gothic Revival style with a combination of English Perpendicular style (Wiki).
As you past the church and the Trinity Cemetery, you enter the heart of Washington Heights though some would consider it upper Harlem. This part of the neighborhood was dealing with hyper gentrification before the pandemic started and I noticed that a lot of stores and restaurants were opening and closing before the pandemic. The closer you got to the CUNY campus that stretches from West 142nd Street to the border of West 129th Street, the businesses started to become more geared to the college students. That has since slowed, and a lot of bars have closed.
Street art a Bird on the building at 145th Street
There is also a difference in the types of restaurants and shopping as slowly CUNY is starting to spread its wings and more businesses catering to students and faculty are opening in this area. More pizzerias, wing shops and bakeries gearing to both the neighborhood and the college students have opened in the old businesses place since 2022. More and more businesses are behind brown paper so we will see in the next few months before college resumes in six weeks what comes out of it.
I kept following the path of Broadway artwork. The next stop was to see Nicolas Holiber’s Snowy Owl at 148th Street. This was one of the more whimsical pieces in the exhibit and was unique with its outlaying wings.
The Snowy Owl by artist Nicolas Holiber at 148th Street
Street art on Broadway
The Beeagloo artwork on West145th Street
My next stop for a snack was at Olga’s Pizza at 3409 Broadway (See review on TripAdvisor). Olga’s, I had just stumbled across as I had a craving for a slice and the pizza is delicious. The secret to a good pizza is a fresh tasting and well spiced sauce and Olga’s hits both marks on this. It is a little pricey at $2.50 a slice but she is catering to the CUNY students who venture from campus to the restaurants on Broadway for meals. I got to meet Olga herself in the pizzeria who was working alongside of her parents, and she seemed please that I liked her pizza so much (Olga’s Pizza is closed in 2020).
To the right of Olga’s just down the block is Montefiore Square Park, which is always a nice place to take a break and sit down to rest under the trees. It is a real mixture of neighborhood families, college students and teenagers who are eating at the local McDonald’s or one of the food trucks that line the park in the warmer months. Just north of the park at 139th Street is the third sculpture in the Nicolas Holiber exhibit, the Hooded Merganser.
The Hooded Merganser by artist Nicolas Holiber at 136th Street (still here in 2020)
Montefiore Square Park has since gone through a renovation closing off the Hamilton Place Road extension and bricking up the road to make it a pedestrian park. It is now full of small vendors and food carts catering to the people of the park but again the college students are moving into this area, and it is starting to change again.
One surprising thing I found at the corner of Broadway and 135th Street was a Pediatric office that housed in the front of it the Martinez Gallery at 3332 Broadway. The gallery features in the front waiting room an array of street art. This was interesting for a doctor’s office.
The inside artwork at the Martinez Gallery. Very unassuming doctor’s office (because of COVID the gallery looked closed to visitors and then closed permanently in the Summer of 2025)
Once you pass 135th Street, you enter the new extension of the Columbia University campus and because of the growth of the campus to this section of Harlem especially around the 125th Street corridor, it is changing fast. I have never seen so many new restaurants and shops going up right across the street from the Manhattanville Housing Projects. It is becoming a real extreme in this part of the neighborhood.
In 2021, the campus is now stretching from the corner of 132nd Street with more new buildings under construction to the 125th Street shopping district. All around this area the housing is being renovated and newer stores catering to students are starting to open up. I walked the streets again on the campus and it is expanding to the Hudson River parks.
In 2022, most of the buildings have been finished and opened. New pocket parks have opened on this side of Broadway. More construction is going on as Columbia University marches northward to meet up with the CUNY campus.
Columbia University’s new Manhattanville campus that stretches from 125th to 132nd Streets
The new extension to Columbia is changing the neighborhood
The Manhattanville campus in 2024.
The view of Old Broadway projects in the Fall of 2025
I took a walk back down 125th Street to West Harlem Piers Park at Marginal Street which stretches up to 132nd Street. The park is one of the nicest to visit on a warm sunny afternoon and offers the coolest breezes and the most beautiful views of New Jersey. It is a nice place to take a break and just enjoy nature.
In 2020, this became my place of rest on this walk as well as a stopping point on “The Great Saunter” in May. The views are just spectacular in this small Hudson River Park and the breezes on a hot day will cool you down. It is just nice to sit and admire the views. I just like to admire the views of New Jersey and watch the boats go by.
West Harlem Piers Park between Marginal Street from 125th to 132nd Streets
As I made my way back down 125th Street, I came across the very much renovated St. Clair Rose Garden which sits just under the bridge at corner of 125th Street and Riverside Park. The last time I had seen the garden two years ago, it had been infested with weeds.
The St. Clair Rose Garden was fixed up during COVID and is now maintained
Ángel Toren is a contemporary artist known for his vibrant and thought-provoking street art. Hailing from Spain, Toren has garnered attention for his ability to blend traditional graffiti techniques with modern artistic elements. Toren’s art explores themes such as identity, social issues, and human emotions, often portraying these subjects through surreal and abstract imagery (Artist Bio).
Once you cross 125th Street on this part of Broadway, you enter Morningside Heights and the home of Columbia University. This part of 125th Street and Broadway has really changed since I started the walk of the island. There is a more established ‘Restaurant Row” that stretches from 125th Street to 122nd Street on Broadway that contains such restaurants as LaSalle Dumplings at 3141 Broadway (currently moving to West 113th Street as of this writing in 2020) and Bettolona at 3143 Broadway (Closed in January 2022) that I have tried in previous entries on this blog and check them out on my blog on Morningside Park. They are both excellent and I highly recommend them.
Bettolona at 3141 Broadway is where I spent my birthday lunch when visiting the neighborhood (and I just found out closed in January 2022-it was empty when I passed it)
As soon I arrived on the Columbia University campus at 125th Street the mood of Broadway changed again from the streets of Harlem to a collegiate atmosphere. Don’t miss a break at the Columbia University commons around 116th Street. It is a lot of fun when school is in session and even during these quiet times of the summer, there still is a lot of energy here. It is a nice place to gather your thoughts and relax.
What is also nice is all the food trucks outside the commons that cater to the Asian students. You can get fresh dumplings, pork pancakes, noodle dishes and fresh soups for very reasonable prices and you can relax in the commons on a nice day and enjoy your lunch (these were gone when school was not in session in 2020).
Right next to the campus on East 117th street is the third in Nicolas Holiber’s sculptures, the Common Goldeneye. This is one of the nicer locations for the work as there is plenty of seating in much less congested area of Broadway. You can sit back and just admire the work.
The Common Goldeneye by artist Nicolas Holiber at 117th Street
Don’t miss the beautiful Union Theological Seminary building at 3041 Broadway. This non-denominal Christian Seminary is affiliated to Columbia University. The building was finished in 1910 and was designed by the architectural firm Allen’s & Collins in the English Gothic Revival design (Wiki).
The Union Theological Seminary building at 3041 Broadway
After taking a break in the commons and watching the summer students reading and chatting amongst themselves or so involved in their cell phones that they would not look up at a zombie attack. Still, it is a nice place to take a break and relax on the stone benches. The commons is open to the public but with school out and many people out of the City, it was really quiet. I just like to find a shady spot and look at the buildings and let life pass by.
The Columbia University Commons is open and a nice place to relax
The Quad was going through a renovation when I visited
The Columbia Quad in the afternoon.
In 2024, the campus was padlocked down after the Pro-Palestinian protests and the campus was closed for the summer break. If you were not a Columbia student living on campus, you were not entering that campus. In 2025, you can no longer go into the Columbia Quad without a Columbia student ID and there is security all around the campus. The days of ‘just walking around campus’ are over!
The Columbia campus padlocked down in May of 2024 after the protests.
I headed back to Broadway to cross into the Upper West Side. It is amazing how everything between 125th and 110th have changed over the past few months and even from 110th to 100th Streets the changes have been constant in a twenty-year period. Businesses are opening and closing at a rapid rate and with the students gone from campus and may not come back for the Fall of 2020, it will hurt the area more. The locals though are filling the outdoor dining and making do with masks and all. In June of 2020, the masks were all but gone even indoors. In the summer of 2025, it was like it never existed but still you see some masks outside with older people.
I needed a lunch break by the time I reached West 110 Street and spent some time searching for old restaurants on my DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com blog to see if they were still open. Hunan Chens Kitchen, a tiny Chinese take-out place at 1003 Columbus Avenue A closed during the pandemic and is now empty. West Place Chinese Restaurant at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue A is still open but only for takeout and delivery. That’s when I stopped at Koronet Pizza at 2848 Broadway for lunch in 2022.
I was starved and needed one of their giant slices of pizza that takes up three plates. At $5.50 a slice, it is well worth the money. The slice could easily feed two people and even when you fold it, it is hard to maneuver but it is so good! The sauce is so well spiced, and it is loaded with cheese and was so fresh. It tasted like it just came out of the oven.
The giant slice at Koronet Pizza is well worth the $5.50 price tag (Yum!)
I just sat outside on the tables they set up and chopped away. God did that pizza hit the spot. This is the perfect college pizzeria, and I can see why this is their major location. They have two more in the City. It was just nice on a sunny day to sit back and watch the world go by.
Tom’s Restaurant in Morningside Heights at 2880 Broadway made famous by the TV show “Seinfeld”.
Before I left the edges of Columbia University, I found my ices lady at the corner of Broadway and West 110th Street. These Dominican women own the ices carts, and it is now $2.00 for small Mango-Raspberry ice but she loaded on the scoops for me, and I said a big “Thank you” in Spanish. I could tell she was happy that I was so happy. It was so sweet and cooled me down on a hot day’s walk.
The Columbia campus on Broadway
By West 120th Street in the Fall of 2025
When you need to take a break from the heat, Straus Park which is between 107th and 106th Streets. This shady and well landscaped little pocket park was name after Isidor and Ida Straus who were once the owners of Macy’s and died in the Titanic sinking. The park’s beautiful fountain is centered in the park with the statue “Memory” by artist Augustus Lukeman and architect Evarts Tracy who designed the statue and fountain and dedicated it in 1915.
The Statue “Memory” by Augustus Lukeman in Straus Park
Artist Augustus Lukeman was an American born artist from Virginia and raised in New York who studied at the National Academy of Design and Cooper Union with continued studies in Europe and at Columbia University. He was known for his historical monuments (Wiki).
There is a beautiful memorial to them in the park. Friends of the Park maintain it with the city so it is always beautifully planted. On a hot day, it is such a nice place to take a break and since The Friends of Straus Park maintain it, the gardens and statuary is always in perfect shape.
The Entrance to Straus Park and the Straus Park plaque
Look closely or you will miss it is the ‘Art for Art Sake’ dedication to Duke Ellington on the Broadway Island on West 106th Street. The work is done in tiles, and you have to look down to see the work as it on the bottom park of the cement island facing the bench. I guess most people miss this interesting piece of street art.
One of my favorite bakeries in Manhattan is located right near the park at West 105th Street and Broadway, Silver Moon Bakery at 2740 Broadway (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com-Closed March 2025). I love coming here for all the creative pastries and buns that the bakery created, and I have the most delicious blueberry Danish ($3.50) and cinnamon bun ($3.25) for a snack.
Don’t be shy in this bakery and try several items. Everything I have ever ate there was wonderful. With so many businesses closing in the City, when I walked Broadway in 2020, the lines were out the door. People obviously needed comfort food in these troubling times. Even in 2022, the lines were still out the door, and I could not get in for a snack.
Silver Moon Bakery at 2740 Broadway (Closed March 2025)
Their delicious Crumuffin is what they are known for. It is a delight!
When I got to 103rd Street, I saw the next part of the Birds on Broadway exhibit with the Double Crested Cormorant that stood proud on the Broadway Island looking over the neighborhood.
The Double crested Cormorant by artist Nicolas Holiber at 103rd Street
In 2022, the sculpture was “Chances Wish” by artist Jon Isherwood at the 103rd Street stop
“Chances Wish” at Broadway and West 103rd Street
Another little pizzeria that you might miss is Cheesy Pizza at 2640 Broadway (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The food is really reasonable and their personal pizza ($5.00) and pizza special (Two slices and a Coke for $5.00) are a real steal and their sauce is delicious and so well spiced (the restaurant is still open but with new owners and prices as of 2020 and in 2022 it got more expensive). They no longer have those wonderful reasonable lunch specials.
On the corner of West 103rd Street and Broadway is a beautifully detailed building at 203 West 103rd Street, the Edinboro Building. The apartment building was built in 1888 by architect E.L. Angell and the stone carvings and designs standout on all parts of the building (CityRealty/Voorhis-Architect paper).
The detail work on the entrance of 230 West 103 Street
When you finally cross over past West 100th Street, you enter the Upper West Side which has been extensively traveled on this blog. There are dozens of shops and restaurants that line Broadway on this stretch of Broadway and sadly a lot of empty store fronts. This seems to be an epidemic all over the City with landlords jacking up rents every month. It really is changing this stretch of Broadway. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has not helped matters in this area as businesses are closing left and right.
At West 96th Street and Broadway is the next “Birds on Broadway” piece, the “Brant Goose”. This part of Broadway enters into the traditional boundaries of the Upper West Side and there are many changes along this stretch of Broadway as well. It was almost like the mood in 2020 harked back to 1989 or 1990 with the store closures and the homeless taking over the streets.
The Brant Goose at West 96th Street
Another interesting building located at West 85th and Broadway at 2350 Broadway is Bretton Hall which once was a residential hotel. The building was complete in 1903 by architect Harry B. Mulliken of Mulliken & Moeller and was designed in the Beaux Arts style. The detail work with its stone carvings is very elaborate with cornices and (Wiki/CityRealty).
When walking on Broadway in the West 80’s, don’t miss walking through Zabar’s at 2245 Broadway near 80th Street. It is fun to wander around the store and smell the aromas of cheese, olives, freshly baked breads and chocolate. Don’t miss their café at the corner of West 80th Street (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). There is a nice assortment of pastries and soups at a reasonable price and on certain days they have specials that are reasonably price. They have the most delicious pastries and pan pizza.
In the summer of 2020, the café was closed because of the pandemic but the supermarket part was still open for business. In 2021, the Café has now reopened but only to outside dining and delivery. The once lively comradery of the customers has moved to the sidewalk tables. In 2022, the Zabar Cafe is open for business, but they still have the outdoor cocktail tables where you have to stand while eating your food.
Zabar’s Café is the original place where Zabar’s started at 2245 Broadway
The Zabar’s Cafe is one of my favorites for a nice snack.
You will also see the next sculpture by Nicolas Holiber at West 79th Street, the “American Brittern”, which stands majestically on Broadway.
“The American Brittern” by artist Nicolas Holiber at West 79th Street
Still when you reach the West 70’s there are many beautiful apartment buildings that I admired that were built at the turn of the last century when builders were trying to woo the wealthy in the late 1890’s to the early 1900’s. The area itself is going through building boom and is changing all the time. At West 79th Street, look to the Broadway Island again to see Nicolas Holiber’s “Scarlet Tanager” sculpture. These playful little birds are fun to look at.
The Scarlet Tanager by artist Nicolas Holiber at West 86th Street
Broadway has a series of churches that are really beautiful in design and in the details like the stonework and the stained-glass windows. One church that stands out is the First Baptist Church 265 West 79th Street. It was built between 1890-93 and was designed by architect George M. Keister. The large window facing Broadway depicts Christ as the center of the New Testament Church (Wiki).
Some of the apartment buildings are quite spectacular. The Apthorp Apartments at 2211 Broadway (that stretches back to Broadway) is one of the most beautiful, enclosed buildings with an elegant courtyard in the center. This building was built in 1908 and is the largest type of apartment of its kind in New York City. If you can take a peek inside the gates, it is worth it.
The next spectacular building was the Hotel Belleclaire. One of Manhattan’s oldest luxury hotels, Hotel Belleclaire debuted on the Upper West Side in 1903 with its Beaux-Arts architecture blended with Art Nouveau-Secessionist style. Designed by legendary architect Emery Roth, the building’s brick and limestone facade have been brilliantly restored to its original splendor, which have earned the Hotel Belleclaire its landmark status. Once home to writers Mark Twain and Maxim Gorky, as well as, a residence for Babe Ruth, Hotel Belleclaire continues its legacy of historic hospitality into the 21st century (Hotel Belleclaire website).
William Waldorf Astor hired architects Clinton and Russell to design the two southern towers of The Astor in 1901. In 1914, William Waldorf Astor hired Peabody, Wilson & Brown to design a third tower for The Astor. The third tower, completed within a year, is structurally and aesthetically similar to both original towers. All three wings are connected at the base and have gray brick facades above a limestone base (Wiki). The architectural firm of Pembrooke & Ives has done the renovations of the current building (Astor.com).
The Ansonia Apartments at 2109 Broadway is one of the biggest and grandest of the Victorian age apartment buildings on the Upper West Side. Built between 1899 and 1904 the outside of the building is studded with beautiful stonework, interesting torrents and a Mansard roof. Take time to walk around the building and admire the stonework.
The details at the top of the Ansonia. This looks like a confectionary.
The details of the Ansonia
The details on the Ansonia
Another building that stands out in the neighborhood is the Dorilton Apartments at 171 West 71st Street that was built in 1902. This elegant building is in the Beaux-Arts style and is another building that sets the tone for this part of the neighborhood.
The Dorilton just finished a multi-million dollar renovation and the building looks amazing. It was brought back to life.
In the Summer of 2025, the Dorilton Apartments were done with the outside renovation and the building looks spectacular now. You can see all the stone details.
In the 2021 walk, I made it to Verdi Park on the corner of West 72nd Street and was able to relax. The small park has gone through a recent renovation and now has upscale umbrella cart businesses selling coffee and pastries. The park was named after Giuseppe Fortunino Francisco Verdi, one of the most famous composers in the late 1800’s (NYCParks.org).
I was able to relax for a bit and listen to a sax player play “New York New York”. It is a nice place to cool down and people watch as they race in and out of the subway.
Verdi Square Park between West 73rd to 72nd Streets (Guiseppe Verdi Statue)
The details on the Apple Savings Bank (the former Central Savings Bank Building.
The Apple Bank Building is another older building that has a lot of charm. Constructed as a branch of the Central Saving Bank, now Apple Bank, from 1926 to 1928, it occupies a trapezoidal city block bounded by 73rd Street to the south, Amsterdam Avenue to the east, 74th Street to the north, and Broadway to the west. The Apple Bank Building was designed by York & Sawyer in the Renaissance Revival and palazzo styles, patterned after an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo (Wiki).
This is where the Upper West Side has changed so much. This area has become so expensive, and the once notorious “Needle Park” Sherman Square is now a nicely landscaped park with a coffee vendor and young mothers with strollers. It is amazing how the City just keeps changing itself.
Sherman Square; the once “Needle Park” in the Fall of 2025
Right by the subway stop at West 72nd Street is the next sculpture the “Peregrine Falcon”.
“The Peregrine Falcon” at West 72nd Street
Once you pass the borders of West 72nd Street, you will begin to see the magic of former Parks Director and major City Planner, Robert Moses. In the mid-1960’s, the City decided the area was dilapidated and pretty much leveled the neighborhood to build the Lincoln Center complex and branches of the local colleges so you will see more modern architecture on the western side of Broadway.
The Van Dyke Apartment Building at 175 West 72nd Street embellishments
Both Harry Mulliken and Edgar Moeller graduated from Columbia University’s School of Architecture in 1895. Mulliken opened his own practice around the turn of the last century and in 1902 he and Moeller went into partnership as Mulliken & Moeller. The two specialized in apartment hotels like the Bretton Hall Hotel, the Hotel York, and the violet-colored Lucerne Hotel (Miller, Tom Landmark West).
On July 29, 1905 the Real Estate Record & Guide reported that Mulliken & Moeller, “are making revised plans for the 12-story 34-family apartment house” on the northeast corner of 72nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue for developers Ripley Realty Co. The Van Dyke, as it would be known, would have a near twin, the Severn, on the southeast corner of 73rd Street and Amsterdam, separated by a service alley (Miller, Tom Landmark West).
The entrance of 2020 Broadway is the only interesting part of the building but it is so beautiful.
This pre-war apartment building was built in 1901 and it now a rental building.
Interesting grill work on one of the renovated buildings
In the small park triangle park across from Lincoln Center there was a statue of opera singer Richard Tucker that I had never noticed in all my trips down Broadway. It sits in the middle of this small park with tables and chairs where people enjoy coffee and snacks on a warm sunny day.
The Richard Tucker statue in the small park across from Lincoln Center
Richard Tucker had started off as a Cantor who in 1945 made his operatic debut with the Metropolitan Opera, where he stayed on with the company until his passing in 1975. The bust of him by artist Milton Hebald that graces the park was donated to the park system by his wife, Sarah, in 1975.
By the time you get to West 67th Street, you will see Julliard School, some of the buildings in the Lincoln Center complex and then Lincoln Center itself between West 65th and West 62nd Streets. On a theater night, the complex is so full energy and it is always a nice trip to see the ballet, opera or the philharmonic. The groundbreaking for this complex was in 1959 with President Eisenhower present and the complex was developed between 1962 and 1966 with current renovations still occurring in 2005. Take time to walk the courtyard and admire the fountains and the artwork that are around the buildings.
While passing Lincoln Center, you will see Dante Park across the street and the stately Empire Hotel. Here in Dante Park which is named after the Italian Poet, Dante Alighieri.
The statue of Dante Alighieri in Dante Park with the Empire Hotel in the background in the summer.
The statue of Dante Alighieri was designed by artist Ettore Ximenes for the Dante Alighieri Society for the 50th Anniversary of Italian unification in 1912
Ettore Ximenes was an Italian born artist who studied at the Palermo Academy of Fine Arts and the Naples Academy. His works captured the themes of Realism and Neo-Renaissance. He was also known for his big, commissioned works.
This beautiful little pocket park sits across from Lincoln Center and has been a place to relax on my walks down Broadway. This is also the location of the last sculpture on the “Birds on Broadway” tour, the “Red Necked Grebe with Chicks”. This whimsical piece shows the mother grebe with her little ones on her back.
The Red Necked Grebe with Chicks by artist Nicolas Holiber at West 64th Street
The Empire Hotel sits right across from the park and Lincoln Center. These were some of the historical buildings. In 1889, a seven-story building rose from the ground that would later become The Empire Hotel. Herbert DuPuy purchased this building in 1908. In 1922, DuPuy decided to tear the original structure down and build a 15-story building. On December 5, 1923, The Empire Hotel opened with its iconic red neon signage reading “Hotel Empire” erected on the rooftop (Wiki).
During the 2020 walk down Broadway, Lincoln Center has been closed down for all performances for the rest of the 2020 season and not slated to open up until 2021. Because of the riots in the City in early June, the complex has been cordoned off and you can only walk through the complex to the fountain. It is surreal how empty this seems for a complex normally full of either arts patrons or tourists. Even the fountain in the middle of the complex was not at full capacity.
In 2021, things were still pretty quiet as the complex waited for the official opening date. In 2022, the Center is fully open for business but going through a renovation in the courtyard. I had seen a Christmas concert there in December 2021 with Kristin Chenoweth.
“Christmas with Kristin Chenoweth” concert in December 2021. She brought down the house with this song “Why couldn’t be Christmas Everyday?”
As you head down Broadway, you will reach the Time Warner Building with its upscale shops and restaurants and Columbus Circle with its impressive statue of Christopher Columbus and the soaring fountains that surround it. This is one of the best places in Manhattan to just sit back and relax and people watch. The statue was recently part of a controversy on statues of specific people and history and happily that seems to have gone away for now. This is because of the twenty police vans and high police presence on Columbus Circle.
In 2021, with the election long behind us there is still a pretty big police presence in this area. The guard fencing is still surrounding the park but at least now you can walk into the park with its elaborate fountains. It is a nice place to converse and relax. In 2022, the fountains are up and running but the barriers are still there. I don’t think anyone even notices the Christopher Columbus statue now.
The Time Warner Building in Columbus Circle is heavily guarded now
Since the Trump World Hotel and the famous statue of Christopher Columbus are located in the same spot, it is a lot more difficult to walk around here and the NYPD is on guard in this area of the city. In 2020, rioters have been tearing down statues of Christopher Columbus in parks across the nation so now monuments all over the United States have been protected.
Columbus Circle at West 59th Street
The famous statue of Christopher Columbus dedicated in Columbus Circle and the start of the annual Christopher Columbus Parade in Manhattan was designed by artist Gaetano Russo, the famous Italian artist for the 400 anniversary of the discovery of America in 1892. A procession from Little Italy to Columbus Circle of over 10,000 lined the streets for this gift from the Italian community to the City of New York (Wiki)
The statue of Christopher Columbus right next to the Time Life Building in the background
Gaetano Russo is an Italian born artist who studied at the Academia del Belle Arti whose works in historical sculpture were well known. The statue of Christopher Columbus in New York is one of the most famous of his works.
On the other side of the Columbus Circle when making the left is the Maine Monument by artist Attilio Piccirilli. The monument is a dedication to the victims of the USS Maine which was the navel disaster that started the Spanish American War. You really have to look at the details all around the statue for a full appreciation
The most interesting part of the statue is the stone figures that flank the front of the monument that are noted to be “The Antebellum State of Mind: Courage awaiting the flight of Peace and fortitude supporting the Feeble” which gives the meaning that peace still could have reigned before war was declared (Diane Durant article on the Maine Monument).
Attilio Piccirilli was an Italian born American artist who worked for his family’s company Piccirilli Brothers in the Bronx as a sculptor, stone carver and modeler. He is known for many historical monuments.
The Globe Sculpture by artist Kim Brandell
Artist Kim Brandell
Mr. Brandell is an American artist with 50 years in the art field.
This statue hides in the courtyard of Trump World Hotel
As you pass Columbus Circle and enter into Midtown Manhattan, notice to the south the Museum of Art & Design at 2 Columbus Circle. This innovative little museum has the top floors of the building has a interesting exhibition of “Punk Rock” art and music going on right now. (See my write up on it on VisitingaMuseum.com.)
One building that needs to be noted on the way down to Times Square is the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway. Built in 1931 by builder Abraham E. Lefcourt the building was originally known as the Alan E. Lefcourt Building and got its current name from a haberdasher store front in the building. The building was known to play a major role in the music industry housing music studios and music company offices. Performers such as Carole King and Burt Bacharach had their offices here (Wiki).
As I was walking down Broadway through the theater district, I noticed a small statute in the middle of the sidewalk. It was Jim Rennert’s “Walk on a Tightrope” at Broadway and West 54th Street.
Jim Rennert’s “Walk on a Tight Rope” at Broadway and West 54th Street (Artist Bio)
Mr. Rennert is an American born artist who is known for his large figural sculptures of the everyday man. He attended Brigham Young University but concentrated on his business interests. He became a sculpturer later in life focusing on his passion of drawing and art (Wiki).
At 1170 Broadway, I saw a Disney looking Hippo statue that I thought I saw in Midtown.
The sculpture labeled the Hippo Ballerina was created by Danish artist Bjorn Okholm Skaarup. The placement of the sculpture was coordinated with the New York City Art in the Park program. The sculpture was inspired by the dancing hippos in the movie “Fantasia”.
Okholm Skaarup is a Danish born artist. Skaarup holds a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence from 2009 and is a member of The Royal British Society of Sculptors. He has created a contemporary bestiary, or classical book of animals, in bronze. Each sculpture presents a whimsical story or allegory to decipher, with sources ranging from ancient fables and art history to music and modern animation (Artist bio).
Things start to get busier as you get to Times Square and the heart of the Theater District. The crowds get larger the closer you come to the 42nd Street Mall. This part of Broadway near the TKTS for Broadway shows becomes crowded as these four blocks of Times Square is now an open-air mall with seating and loads of costume characters who beg for pictures and money with tourists.
It has gotten really crowded and annoying and the quicker you get through it the better. This is where the Ball drops on New Year’s Eve, and you can see it up above the One Times Square building (the building is currently going through another renovation in 2022).
One Times Square Building where ‘the ball’ drops on New Year’s Eve.
Still get through Times Square, especially on a Saturday or Sunday as quick as possible. Even in 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis, tourist still flock to this area. I think people like the energy. In 2022, Times Square is really one of the busiest sections of Manhattan.
Broadway during the day.
The one thing that is important to know is that the bathrooms at the Marriott Marquis at 1535 Broadway are free and it is a good pit stop before heading further downtown. They are located on the Eighth floor and are clean and very nice. They also have some good restaurants in the hotel like the Broadway Bar (See review on TripAdvisor) to eat at but wait until you head further downtown (I did not visit the bathrooms on the 2020 walk so I am not sure if they are open now).
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Times Square was still pretty busy with out of towners and mostly locals and businesspeople as the City has opened back up again. Costume characters were fighting for customers all over the square and even the “Naked Cowboy” a staple in Times Square was out again. He was still there singing and dancing in 2022.
Video of the Naked Cowboy from the movie “New York Minute” with the Olsen Twins.
While in Times Square there are a few more sculptures that I missed on previous walks. The statue of Father Duffy sits erect on “Duffy Square” the northernmost part of the Times Square triangle. This is dedicated to “Father Francis P. Duffy”, a Canadian American priest in the New York Archdiocese and on the faculty of the St. Joseph’s Seminary. He gained fame in World War I as an army chaplain and was noted for his bravery and leadership during the war with the 69th New York.
The Father Duffy Statue in Times Square’s “Father Duffy Square”
The statue was created by artist Charles Keck and was dedicated in 1937. Charles Keck is an American artist who studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York.
Another statue that most people miss is the statue of composer, actor, and theater performer George M. Cohan, one of our great American artists. The artist wrote some of the most famous songs of that era including “Over There”, You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Give my regards to Broadway”.
The George M. Cohan statue in Times Square
The statue in Times Square of the composer was designed by artist Georg John Lober and was dedicated in 1959 in Father Duffy Square. Artist Georg John Lober was an American sculptor who studied at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and the National Academy of Design and was part of the New York Municipal Arts Commission from 1943-1960.
As you head down past Times Square you will notice that not much has changed on this part of Broadway. Most of the buildings are pre-war and been around since the 30’s and 40’s. Here and there new buildings have creeped in.
Stop in the lobby at 1441 Broadway, the Bricken Textile Building that was built in 1930 to see the “Nurturing Independence Through Artistic Development” art exhibition (2019). It is quite creative. The whole lobby was full of modern art. There was a very interesting piece by artist Daniel Rozin who created a ‘Software Mirror’ where when you looked into it, it then looked back at you.
Artist Daniel Rozin demonstrating how the piece works
A piece of art that appeared on my walk in May of 2024 was the work of artist Chakaia Booker, Shaved Portions. The work was created from used tires and the theme of the work covered many issues. This work was part of the Spring 2024 Garment District Alliance program.
The sign on the exhibition from the Garment District Alliance.
Artist Chakaia Booker is an American born sculptor known for creating monumental, abstract works from recycled tires and stainless steel for both the gallery and outdoor public spaces. She holds a BA in Sociology from Rutgers and MFA from City College of New York (Artist Bio).
In 2025, the exhibition on Broadway changed and it is now “New York Roots” by Artist
American artist Steve Tobin is an American born artist with a BS in Mathematics from Tulane University. The artist draws his inspiration from nature and he twists and welds repurposed steel pipes to create New York Roots, a series of modernist forms that evoke gatherings of figures, families, and community. The works seem to grow from the earth, telling stories of relationships, and prompting viewers to reflect on their own life histories and roots (from the Broadway Alliance website)
After wondering through the outdoor art show, I stopped in Frankie Boys Pizza at 1367 Broadway for a slice and a Coke and just relaxed. I was starved by this point of the walk. Their pizza is very good (See review on TripAdvisor) and was crowded that afternoon with people having a late lunch (Closed in 2024 and is now a Joe’s Pizza).
After I finished my lunch, I continued the walk to Herald Square the home of Macy’s at 151 West 34th Street, whose store still dominates the area and is one of the last decent department stores in New York City. It is fun to take a quick pit stop in the store to see the main lobby and there is another public bathroom both on the lower level and on the Fourth Floor.
Macy’s at 151 West 34th Street’s Broadway entrance
The Macy’s Broadway part of the store was designed in 1902 and is a historical landmark in the City. It was designed by architects Theodore de Lemos and A. W. Cordes and has a Pallidan style façade, which is a classical style based on Greek and Roman symmetry. The additions of the building along West 34th Street are more in the Art Deco design.
Macy’s Broadway side of the store
Macy’s is now open for business so take a peek in and see what the store has in store. It has been pretty busy since it has opened. After that, cross the street into Herald Square Park to take a rest under the shade tree. People packed the park during lunch hour (socially distanced) as they normally do to avoid the heat.
Macy’s at the start of the holiday season in Fall 2024. It was getting dark by 4:00pm
When I worked at Macy’s in the early 1990’s, Herald and Greeley Squares were places to avoid until about 1994 when the parks were renovated, and new plantings and French metal café tables were added. Now it is hard at lunch time to find a table. In the process of the renovations, the City also restored the statues dedicated to James Gordon Bennett and Horace Greeley.
The statue dedicated to James Gordon Bennett and his son James Gordon Bennett II
Herald Square Park
Herald Square in the evening in the Spring of 2024.
The statue is to Minerva, the Goddess of Wisdom and Invention and two blacksmiths who flank a bell that once topped the Herald Building where the New York Herald, which was founded by James Gordon Bennett in 1835. The statue was dedicated in the park in 1895 (NYCParks.org).
Antonin Jean Carles was born in France and was a student of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Toulouse. He was known for his monument sculptures.
Greeley Square was named after Horace Greeley, who published the first issue of The New Yorker magazine and established the New York Tribune. He was also a member of the Liberal Republican Party where he was a congressman and ran for President of the United States after the Civil War.
Publisher and Politician Horace Greeley famous for his quote “Go West, young man, Go West”
The statue was created by artist Alexander Doyle. Alexander Doyle was an American born artist who studied in Italy with several artists. He is best known for his marbles and bronze sculptures of famous Americans including many famous Confederate figures that have come under fire recently.
When I visited in 2025 during the start of the Fall, the area had been decorated for the upcoming Christmas holidays. It was getting dark by 4:00pm and the area lit up like a Christmas tree. It never looked like this when I worked at Macy’s in the 1990’s.
Greeley Square in the Fall of 2025
Herald Square in the Fall of 2025
Broadway by Greely Square
Once you leave Herald Square and walk south you will be entering what is left of the old Wholesale district where once buyers used to come into these stores to commercially buy goods for their businesses. Slowly all of these businesses as well as most of the Flower District is being gentrified out with new hotels, restaurants and bars replacing the businesses. It seems that most of the district is being rebuilt or renovated.
One building that stands out is 1200 Broadway, the former Gilsey House Hotel with its Victorian architecture and the details of the clock at the top of the building. Gilsey House was designed by Stephen Decatur Hatch for Peter Gilsey, a merchant and city alderman. It was constructed from 1869 to 1871 at the cost of $350,000, opening as the Gilsey House Hotel in 1872. The cast-iron for the facade of the Second Empire style building was fabricated by Daniel D. Badgar, a significant and influential advocate for cast-iron architecture at the time. The extent to which Badger contributed to the design of the facade is unknown (Wiki).
1200 Broadway finally emerging from the scaffolding.
The clock that sits above the building that you have to walk across the street to admire.
A couple of buildings that stand out walking by is 1234 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and West 31st Street, a elegant Victorian building with a standout mansard roof and elaborate details on the roof and windows. I did not realize that it was the Grand Hotel built in 1868 as a residential hotel. The hotel was commissioned by Elias Higgins, a carpet manufacturer and designed by Henry Engelbert. Currently it is being renovated into apartments (Daytonian). It shows how the City keeps morphing over time as this area has become fashionable again.
1234 Broadway in all its elegance, the former Grand Hotel
Another beautifully designed building is 1181 Broadway the former Baudouine Building built by furniture manufacture Charles Baudouine in 1896. The building was designed by architect Alfred Zucker and is ten stories of office space (Wiki and Daytonian).
The unique feature of this building is the Greco-Roman temple structure on the room and the terra cotta details along the outside and windows of the building.
The roof of 1181 Broadway, the Baudouine Building
The building has some very strange stories of tenants who have leased there and it has not always been that pleasant. The unusual history of 1181 Broadway:
Another standout building was at 1133 Broadway, The St. James Building. The building was finished in 1896 and was designed by architect Bruce Price in the Renaissance Revival style (Metro-Manhattan.com).
The details of 1133 Broadway-The St. James Building
I got down to Worth Square by Madison Square Park in the early evening and admired the William Jenkins Worth monument. General Worth was a military hero during the War of 1812 and the Mexican American War. The monument was designed by James Goodwin Batterson and when General Worth died in 1849, his remains were buried under the monument.
Another sculpture that is in Madison Square Park is the statue of William Henry Stewart, the former Governor of New York State, US Senator and Secretary of State during the Civil War. He also negotiated the Alaskan Purchase in 1867.
Governor William Henry Stewart statue in Madison Square Park
Governor Sewart statue in Madison Square Park in the Spring of 2024.
Governor William Henry Sewart, who negotiated the Alaskan Purchase “Sewart’s Folly”
The statue was designed by artist Randolph Rogers an American born sculptor who studied in Italy. He was a Neoclassical artist known for his famous historical commissions.
The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park in the Spring of 2024
Madison Square Park is noted for its beautiful plantings, shaded paths and for being home to the first Shake Shack, a Danny Meyers restaurant and popular upscale fast-food restaurant.
The very first Shake Shack is in Madison Square Park
Looking at the sunset in the Fall of 2025 where I had seen ‘Manhattanhenge’ a few months earlier
As you look down further on the square, you will see the Flatiron Building one of the most famous and most photographed buildings in New York City. The building was designed by Daniel Burnham as a Renaissance Palazzo with Beaux-Arts style. The original name for the building was the “Fuller Building” for the Company. The name “Flatiron” comes from a cast iron clothes iron from the turn of the last century. (Wiki)
The ‘Flatiron’ Building at 175 Fifth Avenue at 23rd Street
As you pass the Flatiron Building and continue the walk south between 23rd and 14th Streets, take a look up to admire the buildings that once help make up the “Ladies Shopping Mile”, once the most fashionable neighborhood after the Civil War for shopping, hotels and entertainment (See my blog in MywalkinManhattan.com “Walking the Ladies Shopping Mile”).
My Christmas Blog on “Victorian Christmas in New York City”: Day One Hundred and Twenty-Eight:
The buildings that line Broadway from the Flatiron Building until you get to Bowling Green Park at the tip of Manhattan are some of the most beautiful and detailed examples of Victorian architecture and were built between 1870 to about 1915. You really need to put the cellphone down and look up when walking south on both sides or you might miss the details of these buildings.
The Warren Building is another example of turn on the last century elegance. Designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White in 1896, the building was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style (Daytonian).
One of the most elegant buildings on this part of Broadway is the former “Lord & Taylor” building at 901 Broadway. The building was constructed for the department store in 1870 and was the main store until 1914. It is now the Brooks Brothers Red Fleece store. Really take time to look at the detail work of the store and step inside. The Mansard Roof is an amazing touch. In 2020, the branch of Brooks Brothers has since closed. In 2022, it is now a restaurant on the lower level.
901 Broadway “Lord & Taylor” building from 1870-1914
I had not really noticed this building as much on my last couple of visits down Broadway as I was too busy looking across the street. 889 Broadway is the former Gorham Manufacturing Building and was built between 1883-84 and was designed by architect Edward Hale Kendall. it was designed in the Queen Anne style and the first two floor was their retail store with the remaining floors converting to offices in later years (Wiki).
Across the street at 888 Broadway is the ABC Furniture and Rugs store housed in the old W. & J. Sloane Store when in its day was one of the upscale carriage trade merchants as well. The store was completed in 1892 and was designed by architect William Wheeler Smith. It had a mixture of Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic styles coining the phase “Commercial Palace Style” (Daytonian in Manhattan.com). The upper floors the building was recently sold and renovated for office space (888 Broadway).
889 Broadway-The Gorham Manufacturing Building
888 Broadway-W & J Sloane Building/ABC Building (888 Broadway.com)
Another beautiful building along the “Ladies Mile” is 881-887 Broadway with its graceful Mansard roof and elaborate details was built in 1896 by architect Griffin Thomas. It served as the second location for the Arnold Constable & Company department store.
881-887 Broadway was the second location for Arnold Constable & Company 1869-1914
Another interesting building is 873-879 Broadway with its Victorian details was built in 1868 for merchant Edwin Hoyt, a partner of Hoyt, Spragues & Company. The retail company also used architect Griffins Thomas to design this building as well. The company went out of business in 1875 and other businesses moved in over the years (Daytonian).
The Roosevelt Building at 841 Broadway was built in 1893 and was designed by architect Stephen D. Hatch. It was designed in the Renaissance Revival style and when you look up at the details you can see the decorative touches and ornamental designs with faces staring back at you. Look at the elaborate designs around the roof and windows (VillagePreservation.org).
Finally reaching Union Square at Broadway and 14th Street, I was able to relax on a bench under a shade tree. I stopped at the Farmers Market, that is there every Wednesday and Saturday, and pick up some fruit and a couple of cookies from one of the stands. This is a lot of fun in the warmer months and don’t miss it September and October when the produce really comes in.
As you venture inside Union Square Park to enjoy a meal or just relax, you have to admire the statue of Abraham Lincoln which is tucked among the shade trees. For all the controversy with President Lincoln these days no one in the park seemed to make a full about it especially all the people sitting by it eating their lunch.
The Abraham Lincoln statue in Union Square Park
The statue was designed by artist Henry Kirke Brown and was dedicated in 1870. The statue was a commission of the Union League Club after Lincoln’s assassination (NYCParks.org)
The statue was created by artist sculptor Horatio Greenough (1805- 1852), known for his huge classical marble portrait of Washington. Simultaneously, the committee also invited Henry Kirke Brown to submit a design, though it was unclear whether he was to assist Greenough or compete with him for artistic selection (NYC Parks.org).
Artist Horatio Greenough was American artist who studied at Harvard and with various artists. He was best known for his government commissions including this important work.
As you leave Union Square and head south again, you will be entering the campus of New York University and all over you can see classrooms, stores and restaurants that cater to the students. Sometimes I think these kids are trying so hard to look cool it becomes outlandish. The way some of them dress is over the top.
At the bend on Broadway, another church stands out in the neighborhood. Grace Episcopal Church at 802 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and East 10th Street sits at a bend in Broadway and makes an impressive statement in the neighborhood. The church was designed by architect James Renwick Jr. in the French Gothic Revival style and started construction in 1843 (Wiki).
Grace Church at 802 Broadway
The beauty of the front of Grace Church in Greenwich Village.
Grace Church in the evening well lit and elegant at night.
Walking south, stop in front of both 770 Broadway between 8th and 9th Street, the former home of John Wanamaker Department Store and 693 Broadway at 4th Street, the Merchants Building. These two buildings stand out for their beauty and design.
770 Broadway was built between 1903 and 1907 by architect Daniel Burham as the annex for the main store of Wanamaker’s which was next door. There was a skyway that once connected the two stores. The company closed for business in 1954. (Wiki)
770 Broadway, the former Wanamaker’s Department Store Annex
One Astor Place, which faces Broadway is another building that you have to admire from the other side of the road. You will see the beauty in the details when you look up and admire the faces staring back.
The former Schermerhorn Building at 700 Broadway is another beauty on the Broadway corridor. The building was designed by architect George C. Post in 1891 and designed in the Romanesque Revival style (New York Architecture).
The historic plaque to 700 Broadway
Stop at 693 Broadway to admire the design of the building. Built in 1908 by architect William C. Frohne the building is studded with interesting stone carvings and ornamentation. What really stands out is all the owls that decorate the building (Greenwich Village Preservation).
684 Broadway is a 12-story, 22-unit cooperative built in 1905 and designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Frederick C. Browne.
Don’t miss the beauty of 642 Broadway with its elegant windows and doorways. This unique building is at the corner of Broadway and Bleeker Street. I could not find any information on who built it online, but it must have been built in the late 1880’s.
Looking up at the scaffolding of 611 Broadway, The Cable Building, it is not hard to miss the detail work of this graceful building. The stonework like a lot of the buildings on lower Broadway has beautiful, detailed stonework adorning it. The building was designed by architect Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White and was designed in the Beaux-Arts design of “American Renaissance”.
The building was once home to the Metropolitan Traction Company, one of New York’s big Cable Car companies. In the last twenty years it has been home to the Angelika Film Company and Crate & Barrel home store. (Wiki)
555 Broadway was built in 1890 and has been sandblasted back to its original glory. It was designed by Aldred Zucker as a store for Charles Broadway Rouss (LoopNet).
530 Broadway is a unique property comprised of what was originally three adjacent structures530, 532-534, and 536-538 Broadway on SoHo’s most coveted corner at Broadway and Spring. These loft-style buildings have been treated as a single property since 1904 (SoHo Initiative).
The buildings are emblematic of the neighborhood’s fourth wave of development around the turn of the 20th century: designed by notable local architects, Brunner & Tryon, Ralph S. Townsend, and De Lemos & Cordes for New York real estate developers, constructed out of brick, limestone, and terra cotta with Classical elements, and specifically configured with large, operable windows and high ceilings to comfortably accommodate workers engaged in light manufacturing in the textile and dry goods industry (SoHo Initiative).
Walking further down Broadway, take time to admire 495 Broadway. This early example of Art Nouveau architecture was designed in 1893 for the New Era Printing Company. The building was claimed to be designed by architect Alfred Zucker for client Augustus D. Julliard (Wiki).
Another interesting SoHo building is 487 Broadway the former “Silk Exchange Building” built in 1896 by developer and architect John Townsend Williams. The exterior is done in limestone and terra cotta details along the edges of the building.
The beauty of this building is almost matched by 451-433 Broome Street which stretches to Broadway with its main entrance on Broome Street. The building was designed by John Townsend Williams and built in 1896.
Because of the businesses housed here in the middle of the luxury fabrics, the building was known as the “Silk Exchange Building”. It is now housing luxury condos (SoHo Loft.com).
The former Grosvenor Home at 385 Broadway is another interesting piece of the past in this part of the neighborhood. The home was built in 1875 and was owned and managed by two sisters, Matilda and Charlotte Grosvenor. It was later used for manufacturing when the area stopped being residential and is now used for retail space (Real Estate Weekly/LoopNet).
I took a break when taking the walk in 2020 at Joey Pepperoni Pizzeria at 381 Broadway which had just reopened. This small reasonable pizzeria is quite good and the prices are very fair. The pizza really has a nice flavor to it and the sauce is well spiced. You can buy two slices and a Coke for $2.99.
Joey Pepperoni at 381 Broadway (closed August 2023)
Take some time to admire 366 Broadway, a former Textiles Building built in 1909. Designed by Fredrick C. Browne, the building was designed in Edwardian commercial architecture and look at the detail work of the pillars, stone carved faces and other decorative stonework. The building once housed the Royal Typewriter Company then moved on in its later life to house textile firms including Bernard Semel Inc. (where the signage comes from on the outside), who was a former clothing jobber. Now called The Collect Pond House is a coop in Tribeca neighborhood (Tribeca History News).
The former New York Life Insurance Company/Clocktower Building was built between 1894-1898 and was designed by McKim, Mead & White on plans by architect Stephen Decatur Hatch. The marble exterior is done in the Beaux Arts style and the building is now a residential condo (Wiki).
The details of 346 Broadway
The close up beautiful detail work on the corner of 346 Broadway.
Tucked under all the construction of the Federal Building at 290 Broadway stands a very lonely sculpture that had been hidden from all my walks that I just noticed on a recent trip to the neighborhood.
The statute at Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway. This has been hidden behind construction. This is part of the African Burial Ground site.
African Burial Ground Monuments outside the museum.
One stands out building at 280 Broadway is the former home to the A. T. Stewart Department Store and the New York Sun Building headquarters for the well-known newspaper. Known as the “Marble Palace” in its retailing days, it was considered one of the most famous department stores of its day. It was designed by the firm of Trench & Snook in 1850-51 in the ‘Italianate Style’. When the store moved further uptown, the building was acquired by the New York Sun in 1917.
280 Broadway is the former “Marble Palace” A. T. Stewart Department Store and Sun Building
The Sun Times Clock at 280 Broadway-The Former Sun Building and Marble Palace.
Heading downtown I passed 277 Broadway, the “Broadway-Chambers Building”. The building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert and was built between 1899-1900. The building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style and has many detailed decorations around the lower doorways, windows and especially around the cornice at the top of the building. The building was built with granite and terra cotta embellishments (Wiki/Daytonian in Manhattan.com).
The Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway is one of the most famous buildings on Broadway. The former headquarters for F. W. Woolworth & Company was once the tallest building in the world when it was constructed in 1913 and stayed the tallest building until 1930 when the Chrysler Building was finished on Lexington Avenue in 1930. The building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert in the neo-Gothic style and was a representation of the time as a “Cathedral for Commerce”. The lower floors are clad in limestone and the upper floors in glazed terra-cotta panels (Wiki). The lobby is one of the most detailed and ornate in New York but ask security first if you can walk around.
Across the street from the Woolworth Building is the very popular City Hall Park home to the to the 1803 built City Hall (Tweed Hall) and the seat of government for the City of New York. The park has always been used as some form of political function since the beginning in the Colonial days as a rebel outpost to its current function. It has had a prison, public execution site and parade ground on the site.
The unique detail work of the Woolworth Building.
The view of Downtown from the City Hall Park entrance
Since the renovation in 1999 under then Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the City Hall Park at Broadway and Chambers Street has been a place for people downtown to gather and relax by its fountain and beside the beautifully designed gardens. There are about a dozen statues in the park to admire so take time to enjoy a walk in the park (NYCParks.org).
The historical marker next to City Hall. Where City Hall stands near the park was once the British Barracks during the Revolutionary War.
In 2020, the park had just been cleaned up from an “Occupy City Hall” protest so the police presence in the area is high and the entire park is closed off for patrons. There is heavy metal fencing all around the park to prevent people from coming back in.
City Hall Park during “Occupy City Hall” July 2020
In 2022, the park was in full bloom and everyone in the park was walking around with no masks. The park was beautifully landscaped, and it is so nice to just sit by the fountain and relax. The fountain is elegant and detailed. It was designed by Jacob Wrey Mould, who designed the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park in 1871. It was returned to the park after its renovation in 1999 after it had been moved to the park in the Bronx in 1920.
The Jacob Wrey Mould City Hall Fountain in City Hall Park (NYCParks.org)
Cannupa Hanska Luger is an American born artist who has a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts. He is known for his sculptures and performance art that address environmental justice and gender violence issues (Wiki/Artist bio)
Downtown at night
Another historic church that played a big role in the recovery of the World Trade Center events of 9/11 is the St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church at 209 Broadway. The Church was built in 1766 and is the oldest surviving church in Manhattan and is designed in the late Georgian church architecture by architect Thomas Mc Bean and crafted by Andrew Gautier (Wiki).
St. Paul’s with the new World Trade Center in the background. The contrast of old and new New York City in Spring 2024.
The view at night in the Fall of 2025
George Washington worshipped here on his Inauguration Day in 1789 and continued to worship here when New York City was the capital of the country. The church had been spared by a sycamore tree on the property that absorbed the debris from the World Trade Center site and became a place of recovery and reflection in the aftermath of the events on 9/11 (Wiki).
195 Broadway-The former AT&T/Western Union Building
The former AT&T Building at 195 Broadway has a very historical past. The building was built between 1912-1916 when AT&T acquired the Western Union Company in 1909. Designed by William W. Bosworth the building has a Greek inspired ornamentation with Doric and Ionic styles of columns. It was where the first transatlantic, transcontinental and Picturephone phone calls took place (Wiki).
The embellishment details
The embellishment details
The embellishment details
The embellishment details
The embellishment details of 195 Broadway have a Greek tone and theme around the building. You really have to walk around the building to appreciate the details of 195 Broadway.
The Equitable Building at 120 Broadway was designed by architect Ernest R. Graham in the Neoclassical style and was completed in 1915 to replace the previous building that had burnt down. The building was designed in three horizontal sections with a design of a column with a base, shaft and capital (Wiki).
The founding of The American Institute of Architects plaque at 120 Broadway
Another building to admire is 108 Broadway at Leonard Street. This beautiful Italian Renaissance Revival building was designed by McKim Mead & White and has been refitted for apartments.
Upon reaching Zuccotti Park which is right near the World Trade Center sight and the home of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement that traveled around the world after the 2008 meltdown of the New York Stock Market. The movement and occupation of the park, which is private property, began in September of 2011. The park which is owned by Brookfield Office Properties was named after the Chairman of the company, John Zuccotti in 2011. (Wiki)
Zuccotti Park at twilight at Broadway and Cedar Streets
Zuccotti Park during its days of “Occupy Wall Street”
This interesting sculpture was installed in the park in 2006 and features “four open-ended tetrahedrons”. (Wiki)
“Joie de Vivre” by artist Marc di Suvero
Another historic statue located in Zuccotti Park is the sculpture “Double Check Businessman” that had survived the attacks on 9/11. The sculpture by John Seward Johnson II was created in 1982 and depicted a businessman reading himself to enter the World Trade Center nearby when it was made. It survived the attacks of 9/11 and was a symbol of those businesspeople who died that day.
“Double Check Businessman” by John Seward Johnson II
Artist John Seward Johnson II is an American born artist and a member of the Johnson & Johnson family. A self-taught sculptor he is known for his life like cast sculptures. This famous statue was formerly in Liberty Plaza Park by the World Trade Center.
Across the street from Zuccotti Park in the plaza of the Brown Brothers Harriman Building is the sculpture “Red Cube” by artist Isamu Noguchi. This interesting sculpture stands on one edge of the cube.
Artist Isamu Noguchi was an American born artist of an American mother and a Japanese father. After dropping out of Columbia Medical School, he concentrated on sculpture maintaining a studio in New York and Tokyo. He is known for his large-scale modern sculptures and was considered one of the most important artists of the Twentieth Century (Artist Bio).
As you pass Zuccotti Park and head down the last stretch of Broadway, look around at the buildings on both sides of Broadway as they have not changed much since the early 1900’s.
Just as you leave Zuccotti Park at 111-115 Broadway right next to Trinity Church is the Trinity & US Realty Building. This elegant and detailed building was designed in the “Neo-Gothic” style by architect Francis H. Kimball in 1905.
113 Broadway
115 Broadway
111-115 Broadway is the Trinity & United States Realty Building
Another building with an interesting history is The American Surety Building at 100 Broadway. The building was designed by architect Bruce Price in the Neo-Renaissance style between 1894 and 1896 and when finished it was the second tallest building in the world at its time (Wiki).
The exterior is of Maine Granite and the ornamentation of the building was designed by J. Massey Rhind. The building was one of the first to use the new steel frame technology of the time (Wiki).
The last historic church I have visited and have walked past many times when in the neighborhood is Trinity Church, an Episcopal church at 75 Broadway. The first church on the site was built in 1698 and burned during the Revolutionary War during the Great Fire of 1776 when two thirds of the City burned after a fire started in tavern and left most of New Yorkers homeless (Wiki).
The true beauty of the church in the Fall of 2025. This is at 5:45pm at night
The current church was built in 1839 and finished in 1846 and was built in the Gothic Revival design by architect Richard Upjohn. It was the tallest building in the United States until 1869. The church has played important roles in recent history as a place of refuge and prayer during the attacks on 9/11. It also was part of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2012 as a place of refuge and support to the protesters (Wiki and Church History).
The Macomb Mansion that once stood at 39 Broadway.
Just outside of 39 Broadway is the marker to the Macomb Mansion, where President George Washington lived when he first became President of the United States. New York City served as the first Capital of the United States as Washington DC was being planned out. The mansion was built for merchant Alexander Macomb, who leased the house first to the French Ministry and then to George Washington when he moved from another part of the City at One Cherry Street. The mansion was demolished in 1940.
26 Broadway in the front.
26 Broadway-“The Standard Oil Building” (fineartamerica.com)
One of the most elegant buildings in lower Manhattan is the Cunard Building, the former home of the Cunard Shipping line. The building was designed by architect Benjamin Wistar Morris and opened in 1921. The company sold the building in 1971 and has different tenants now.
I finally got to my designation of Bowling Green Park on the first trip down Broadway at 5:45pm (starting time again 9:00am) just in time to see all the tourist lined up by The Bull statue (see my review on VisitingaMuseum.com). The statue was designed by artist Arturo de Modica and was installed as ‘renegade art’ meaning he did not have permission from the City to place it there. It has been a big tourist attraction since its installation, and I could not see a reason for the City to move it from its location. At 7,100 pounds they can move it too far.
The Charging Bull at Bowling Green Park by artist Arturo de Modica
The Charging Bull has many meanings now but it depends on how you interpret the statue.
I reached the end of Broadway at 5:45pm the next few walks and relaxed in Bowling Green Park (See review on VisitingaMuseum.com) for about a half hour. It was so nice to just sit there watching the fountain spray water and watching the birds as they pecked around.
The end of Broadway by Bowling Green Park in the Spring of 2024.
Bowling Green Park at Broadway and Whitehall Street has a rich history as a park. It was designed in 1733 and is the oldest park in New York City. It was here that the first reading of the Declaration of Independence was read and then the toppling of the Statue of King George III in defiance.
The historic plaque on the Bowling Green fence.
You can still see where the citizens at the time cut off the small crowns on the fencing that surrounds the park. This is another place that was rumored to be the site of where the Dutch bought Manhattan. The park is the official start of Broadway.
Bowling Green Park at Broadway and Whitehall Street at the height of its beauty in the Spring of 2024.
The tulips coming into bloom in Bowling Green Park in Spring 2024.
The park in the Summer of 2025
I walked from the Bowling Green Park and sat by the harbor in Battery Green Park and watched the ships go by. It is a nice place to relax and watch the sun set and the lights go on in all the buildings in lower Manhattan and watch the Statue of Liberty illuminate. It is quite a site. Look at the lights of Jersey City and Governors Island.
Bowling Green Park in 2024
Me finishing the Broadway walk for my ninth time in July 2024 at 7:45pm
The view from Battery Park in 2025
Me finishing the walk down Broadway at 6:20m in 2025. In six hours and twenty minutes.
I arrived downtown at Bowling Green Park at 6:38pm and completed the Broadway Walk in the Fall of 2025 in eight hours and fifteen minutes. It had gotten pitch black by this point at around 7:00pm and I thought it was 9:00pm. Still the lights came on and this is when Manhattan truly shines.
Bowling Green Park in the Fall of 2025
Battery Park in the Fall of 2025
Bowling Green Park in the Fall of 2025
For dinner that night in 2019, I walked from the Battery into Chinatown and went to Chi Dumpling House (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) at 77 Chrystie Street in Chinatown. They have the most amazing menu that is so reasonable. Ten steamed dumplings for $3.00 and a bowl of Hot & Sour Soup for $1.50. In 2020, with most of Chinatown shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic (which is bleeding Chinatown NYC), this is always my ‘go to’ place for dumplings and noodles.
Chi Dumpling House at 77 Chrystie Street (Closed January 2023)
For dessert that evening I came across Gooey on the Inside at 163 Chrystie Street (See review on TripAdvisor) for the most soft and gooey homemade cookies. I saw a bunch of people smiling as they left this basement business raving about the cookies, and I had to investigate. I have to admit that they are pricey ($5.00 and higher) but the cookies are amazing. The Chocolate Chunk was loaded with large pieces of chocolate and the Birthday Cake is filled with icing and is soft and chewy. The best way to end the evening.
Gooey on the Inside Birthday Cake Cookies at 163 Chrystie Street
On my second day of walking down Broadway, I stopped at Pranzo Pizza at 34 Water Street (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com-now located at 44 Water Street) for dinner. I had arrived later in the evening and did not realize they closed at 8:00pm. The food, which is normally excellent, had been sitting for a while and was not that good. I had a Chicken Parmesan and spaghetti special that was dried out. Not their best work.
Pranzo Pizza at 34 Water Street (moved to 44 Water Street in 2021)
After dinner, I returned to Battery Park to admire the lights on Governor’s Island and the illuminated Statue of Liberty. There is nothing like this site in the world and only off the. Island of Manhattan can you see it this way. The crowds have started to get bigger in 2020 and 2021.
In 2021, I decided to take off early and dined near the Port Authority at Chef Yu’s Chinese Restaurant for dinner. After a very forgettable meal where the food has gotten mediocre since the reopening, I wished I had just walked to Chinatown that evening. In 2023, I had no appetite for dinner and just headed home after relaxing for an hour. I finished the walk at 7:00pm and just wanted to go home and relax.
Things are changing in 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis and will keep changing in NYC. Keep watching this entry for updates over the next year or so. In 2021, things are still morphing, and I plan on making the Broadway walk part of the ongoing walk in Manhattan.
In 2024, I was so tired and so hot from the walk I decided I wanted a small dinner and wanted some dumplings. I went to Dumplings at 25B Henry Street.
I was lucky that they were still open for the evening. When I got there, all the hipsters were in line for their dumplings and all the steamed dumplings were gone, so I order the Roast Pork Buns. This order is $5.00!
The Roast Pork Buns that I had that evening. I needed the carbs to get me through the rest of the evening.
I did the same thing in 2025. After all that walking and snacking along the way, I just wanted some Fried Dumplings and that was it.
The Fried Dumplings are wonderful too.
The Fried Dumplings here are excellent and there is a nice park around the corner to eat
I sat in the tiny park down the road from the takeout place on Catherine Street which is across from the Al Smith Houses. I relaxed and watched the kids playing basketball and tag while it got dark outside. When I finished I walked around for a bit and then headed home. Another walk done well.
Some of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown are across from the park
In the Fall of 2024, I decided to go to Dim Sum Go Go on 5 East Broadway for dinner. I was starved at this point and wanted something special for dinner. So I ordered two courses of Dim Sum for dinner. I started with the Shrimp and Pork Shu Mai and the Pork Soup Dumplings.
The first course
The Shrimp Shu Mai
The Pork Soup Dumplings
I was still hungry, and I ordered the second course of Dim Sum and then I ordered dessert. They did not have the Egg Custards I loved so much so I tried the Mango Pudding. Excellent choice by the waiter.
The Second Course
The Second Course
The Second course of dinner I ordered Duck Spring Rolls, Fried Shrimp Balls, Fried Pork Dumplings and for dessert I had the Mango Pudding. It was an amazing meal and I really enjoyed it. Perfect food for a perfect walk!
The Duck Spring rolls
The Fried Shrimp Balls
The Fried Pork Dumplings
The Mango Pudding
After dinner, I walked around Chinatown and for the first time was really tired after this walk. I must be getting rusty with not walking as much in the City as I had in the past. I have to get back to the neighborhoods more. I still have to finish Alphabet City as of Fall of 2025. I highly recommend Dim Sum Go Go for dinner or just for a snack. I love the assortment.
Chinatown at night in 2024
Downtown Manhattan at the end of the walk in 2024. It was just about twilight.
*Bloggers note: this blog will continue to be built on trip after trip and there will be more walks down Broadway to see the many changes and developments that are happening along the way.
The Broadway Mall Art Exhibition: (some sculptures still up in July 2020)
The Birds of Broadway by artist Nicolas Holiber:
Artist Nicolas Holiber in front of his sculptures for the “Birds on Broadway” show
*Authors Note: All the hours for these establishments have changed with COVID-19. Please check their websites and call them first before visiting. They may change again after the City reopens. Also too, the prices keep changing as well, so please check with the restaurants.
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