Don’t miss this unique little store in the Hell’s Kitchen section of Manhattan for unique one of kind merchandise.
Don’t miss this quirky fun store in the heart of Midtown West/ Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen for fun merchandise and personal service from the owners of the store.
The front door at Domus is very welcoming.
The special handmade ornaments on their display tree inside the store
Even in the era of COVID, it is nice to see stores still hold their creativity and vitality in such a hard time. While I was walking around the Midtown West/Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen section of Midtown Manhattan I came across this wonderful little store, Domus at 413 West 44th Street. Sometimes there are little things that set a store apart from another like the window displays or the sign that directs you in the door. Domus has both. The first time I visited the store it was closed for the day but I would visit it another day.
Domus at 413 West 44th Street has eclectic window displays
As I finished by Borders and Avenue walk of the Midtown West/ Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com”…
I have experienced many cold but sunny days when I finished walking the Streets of Koreatown/Midtown South/NoNaNe. I have never seen so many named neighborhoods overlap one another in Manhattan. The one major thing I did observe is how the whole neighborhood is going through a rebirth and either being gutted, sandblasted or rebuilt. For a City in the throngs of COVID, I have never seen such building activity. The City continues to roll ahead without the businesspeople and will look different when they return.
Koreatown during the day
I returned to the neighborhood a few days after exploring the borders of the neighborhood on a sunny afternoon. On a cool Sunday Koreatown was in full swing a big difference from the downtown streets of Chinatown which seems to have been forgotten by office workers and tourists. It is the proximity to the southern part of Midtown, the shopping district of 34th Street, the location near Penn Station and location next to Macy’s Herald Square that keeps this area of the City vibrant. Plus a lot of Koreans who live and work near the neighborhood keep the restaurants and shops filled at all time of the day.
My day started with organizing notes in Greeley Square and using one of the few decent public bathrooms in the area where you do not have to eat anything (the other being the lower level Men’s Store at Macy’s). Still I want to let readers know that it closes by 4:30pm. Even in Greeley Square in the cold afternoons that I was there every seat was taken and as the restaurants have started to open indoor dining not every restaurant was doing it so people had to take their lunches outside in 43 degree weather.
I started my walk of the Streets of Koreatown at West 31st Street having walked the borders of West 30th Street so many times that I could start naming the buildings. Being on the cusp of Midtown South, the area transitions from the old Beaux Arts style buildings to the newer Art Deco styles that started to come in the 1930’s. This is as businesses started to move uptown.
As I rounded Sixth Avenue onto West 31st on my way to Lexington Avenue, I passed the beauty of 1234 Broadway again. This amazing Victorian building is currently being renovated back to its original glory.
1234 Broadway in all its elegance, the former Grand Hotel
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.
Walking west to east down 31st Street revealed a treasure trove on interesting buildings and hotels with graceful architecture and richly embellished features. The first building I passed was 38 West 31st Street which I discovered is the back part of the same building. I had read some horrible reviews on TripAdvisor that this was an operating hotel. The reviews were scary to say the least.
You really have to look at the beauty of 38 West 31st Street that was built in 1890. The interesting details of the building really standout.
The outside details of 38 West 31st Street
Another old hotel with interesting design was at 19 West 31st Street The Luxe Life Hotel New York. This elegant building was originally the Life Magazine Building and was designed by architects Carrere & Hastings in the Beaux Arts style and built in 1895 for the magazine’s offices. The gilded design of the cherub “Winged Life” above the doorway was the symbol of the magazine. The magazine left the building during the Great Depression and was left as a residence hotel. It was renovated in 1988 as the Herald Square Hotel and now serves as the Luxe Life Hotel (Daytonian).
Another hotel stands out down the block with the beautiful and graceful Hotel Wolcott at 4 West 31st Street. This elegant hotel was built in 1904 by architect John H. Duncan in the French Beaux Arts and French Neo-Classical styles and was named after businessman Henry Roger Wolcott. In the beginning of its illustrious history famous guest lived here such a dancer Isadore Duncan and socialite Doris Duke. It also has a reputation of being haunted. Since 2020, it has been turned into a transitory hotel (Wiki).
Reaching Fifth Avenue I noticed the beauty of 303 Fifth Avenue on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 31st Street. This interesting building was designed by architect Buchman & Fox in the Beaux Arts style and was built in 1909. Known as the ‘Jewelry Building’, it has been home to many prominent retailers in the past such as FAO Schwarz and now serves as office and retail space (MetroManhattan).
Another impressive hotel is the Hotel Chandler at 12 East 31st Street. The hotel was built in 1905 by architects Buchman & Fox as the Hotel Le Marquis. The hotel was designed in the Beaux Arts style and served as a high end hotel going through major renovation in 2012. It now serves as a homeless shelter for City families during the pandemic (Hospitality History).
The Chandler Hotel embellishments on the building.
As I walked back towards the border of the neighborhood with Kips Bay at Lexington Avenue, I passed Hotel 31 at 120 East 31st Street. This recently renovated hotel was built in 1902 and was designed in the Beaux Arts style it had opened as The Dunsbro, a resident hotel. The hotel has had an interesting history until its renovation in 2007 to the Hotel 31 (Daytonian). The hotel is an interesting addition to the block of small brownstones on this tree lined block.
At the end of the block as you head towards Lexington Avenue that shares the border with Kips Bay are all the old brownstones that line this part of East 31st Street. It is a reminder that it is still a residential neighborhood.
As you back down East 31st Street to Greeley Square, you pass two more impressive buildings. At 35 East 31st Street is a beautiful apartment building that was built in 1914. It looked more like it was once an office building but has been sandblasted back to life as a luxury apartment building. Look at the interesting details of this Neo-Classical Beaux Arts building.
The final building that impressed me in their treasure trove of architectural styles was 35 East 31st Street. Built in 1904, this intricate building now houses renovated apartments.
I needed a break after walking back and forth to Kips Bay again and I stopped by my new favorite restaurant in the neighborhood Fresh Pizza and Deli at 826 Sixth Avenue and ordered an vegetable Samosa (see my review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
For a dollar, it made an amazing snack that packed with flavors of the well spiced ingredients. I took my snack and relaxed in Greeley Square watching the people snake in and out of the park, heading for the Korean restaurants that line West 32nd Street. It was nice to just relax and soak up the sunshine.
The Samosas here are really good
I headed down West 32nd Street next following the crowds into the heart of Koreatown. As I walked out of Greeley Square I saw to the left the scaffolding of the old Martinique Hotel. It brought back a floor of memories and not such good ones of the days when this was a welfare hotel and was nothing but problems for the neighborhood. I remember one evening when I was working in Training Squad at Macy’s that there was a line of fire trucks in front of the hotel with people screaming out the windows at them and then all the crime at the store that was talked about. Now it sits idle awaiting it current renovation to be finished.
The former Martinique Hotel is 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).
1260 Broadway-49 West 32nd Street-The Martinique Hotel
Next to The Martinique Hotel is the Stanford Hotel with its Beaux Arts design and intricate details. The hotel was built in 1896 by architect Ralph S. Townsend and opened as the Hotel Pierrepont. In 1986, the whole received a gut renovation and opened as the Hotel Stanford (Wiki).
Once you pass the hotels, you are in the heart of Koreatown with all its interesting restaurants and shops. One of my favorite places to go for a snack is the Food Gallery 32 at 11 West 32nd Street.
Ever since the City reopened indoor dining and the weather has gotten nicer, this food court has been very busy. It is so much fun to walk around and see the sites and smells of all the food vendors. You could spend about two hours just watching everyone cook and then observe what people are ordering making it harder to choose.
Many of the booths offer Korean dishes and barbeque but there is also please to buy simple but amusing looking desserts in the shape of fish and the vendor by the front door offers churro desserts and ice cream in whimsical shapes and colors. They are desserts for the senses. I am slowly eating my way through the food court.
My first visit to the Food Gallery, I made an exploration trip just to see what was available and took some mental notes and then on the second trip I knew where my first stop would be and I chose MaMa K-food, a stall that sells buns, croissants, Matcha Taiyaki a type of fish shaped waffle that is filled with either red bean paste, custard, cream cheese or Nutella chocolate and Delimanjoo which is a smaller version of the fish shaped treat in original or chocolate filled. I chose the Matcha Taiyaki filled with custard ($6.50-see review on TripAdvisor).The waffle was good but it was not as creamy as I thought it would be. Still it warmed me up on a cool afternoon.
MaMa K Food at Food Gallery 32
My third trip to the food court I visited Sweet Churro for their specialty the Churro Dog ($6.50-see review on TripAdvisor). I have never had something so simple and so mind blowingly good. The stall takes a hot dog, cooks it and then wraps it in sweet churro batter and then deep fries it. When it comes out, the churro is crisp and golden brown and the hot dog crackles. Then they dip the churro in cinnamon sugar and tops it with a honey mustard glaze. I took it into Greeley Square to eat and I swear that people were observing me have a good time untangling it and happily chomping it down. It is a great combination of sweet and savory flavors.
Sweet Churros is located to the left as you walk into the Food Gallery 32
The Churros and Korean hot dogs.
I love the food here. I recently came to lunch and had to get my fix of fried food. I had one of the Potato encrusted Mozzarella stuffed Hot Dogs and a Fruitti Pebble Churro. They were both delicious and made for a wonderful lunch. Admittingly I can’t do this everyday but every once in a while it tastes really good and is a treat.
My Lunch at Sweet Churro in Koreatown
The Potato Encrusted Hot Dog
I highly recommend this hot dog for lunch or dinner (but only every once in a while).
The Passion Fruit Lemonade is so refreshing on a hot day.
The Frutti Pebble Churro
The Fruitti Pebble Churro that you have to try when you are in Koreatown.
My first week at New York University for Graduate School on September 7th, 2022, I took a food walking tour of Koreatown, and returned to the area for lunch but this time with classmates (who were all thirty years younger than me). I ordered my lunch from BBQ Chicken at 25 West 32nd Street.
This was a group shot of all of us at the tour ordering lunch at the Food Gallery.
Group shot of us from NYU for the Koreatown walking tour on September 7th, 2022
We joined each other for lunch in the Broadway sitting area that borders West 33rd and 32nd Streets. This is next to Greeley Square Park. It was a nice way to introduce myself to other students in the SPS Program. I felt less nervous about school. Martin, our tour guide was really nice and really took us around Koreatown and learning about the restaurants in the neighborhood.
Us from NYU at lunch during the Koreatown walking tour
It was nice to visit the neighborhood again that afternoon. It brought back good memories of visiting the area a few years earlier for lunch.
The Fried Chicken here is excellent
The Fried Chicken dishes here are so good. I had the Honey Garlic Chicken both times I came here, and it is just excellent. The portion sizes here are very generous and I was stuffed after lunch.
For dessert, I stopped at Paris Baguette at 6 West 32nd Street. I never knew that Paris Baguette was a Korean chain. The pastries were much different from the other branches they have. I had the most interesting apple doughnut there. You need to check them out here.
After eating my lunch that warmed me up, I continued walking down West 32nd Street past all the busy restaurants and people happily eating both outside and inside on this cool day. It was nice to spend the afternoon with my future classmates.
As I made my way to Fifth Avenue that splits the neighborhood from west to east, I passed the elegant 315 Fifth Avenue.
The building is known as “The Rock Building” and was built in 1907 for owner Mathias Rock, a local merchant and tailor who made a fortune in his trade and had this building built for his business. The architects for the building were Maynicke & Franke and the building was a hybrid of French Classical and Beaux Arts trim with cast iron show windows and heavy decoration are the room and around the top windows (Daytonian). The beauty of this building is that it is tall and narrow and the way it fits into its space on Fifth Avenue.
Located in the bottom level of 315 Fifth Avenue is the museum/cafe Ginseng Museum Cafe by CheongKwanJang. This unique little museum/retail store has the most beautifully wrapped merchandise and tells the history, production and trade of Ginseng Tea (Closed August 2025).
Ginseng Museum Cafe by CheongKwanJang at 315 Fifth Avenue (closed August 2025)
Sitting at the end of the block between East 32st and East 33nd is the Design Building on Lexington Avenue at 200 Lexington Avenue on the border with Kips Bay. You have to walk the width of this building to appreciate its beauty.
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.
What I love about this building is the beautiful merchandise you can see in its windows and the displays of furniture. The upper part of this neighborhood has a lot of design and home furnishings stores on the side streets.
The embellishment on the Design Building.
On the way back down the block I passed the the HG Hotel at 34 East 32nd Street, one of the Small Luxury Hotels in the World. The hotel was built in 1920 as the St. Louis Hotel and was designed in the Beaux Arts style (HGU Hotel History and StreetEasy).
As I walked further down the street, I peeked over some of the scaffolding to see another interesting building being renovated at 29 East 32nd Street, The Grolier Club building. This was the second home of this private club now located at 87 East 60th Street. This building was the second home for the club and was built in 1890 and designed by architect Charles W Romeyn in the Romanesque Revival design. The club left this building in 1917 for its new home uptown (Wiki and Daytonian).
29 East 32nd Street-The old Grolier Club buildings
Two other hotel buildings stood out on the walk back down to the west side of 32nd Street. The first one being at 15 West 32nd Street, The Hotel at Fifth Avenue. This was the former Aberdeen Hotel. This beautiful hotel was designed by architect Harry B. Mulliken in the Beaux Arts style with immense detail and opened in 1904 as an ‘apartment hotel’ (Daytonian).
Crossing the street, I took a detour back to Keki Modern Cakes at 315 Fifth Avenue, a small Korean bakery that sells cream puffs and fluffy cheese cakes. I had to try one of their Milk flavored cream puffs.
The Ube Cream Puff at Keki Modern Cakes is amazing
At $4.00, these were a little pricey but the quality is excellent. The outside is crisp and sweet and the inside is a silky creamy filling. I was so impressed that I came back at second time to try the Ube version of the cream puff and was told that it is a type of sweet potato. This version had a sweet purple cream inside.
Keki Modern Cakes at 315 Fifth Avenue (Closed December 2025)
Having a little sugar inside me gave me that extra boost of energy and turned the corner to walk down West 33rd Street. Here’s where the architecture starts to change from the beautiful Beaux Arts buildings of the lower 30’s to the more Art Deco style and contemporary designs of the progress of the neighborhood.
There were still the holdouts with the Herald Towers, the old Hotel McAlpin, 1282-1300 Broadway once the largest hotel in the world. The hotel was built in 1912 by architect Frank Mills Andrews for hotelier General Edwin A. Alpin. The hotel had the most modern touches of its era and remained a hotel until it was converted into apartments in the 1980’s (Wiki).
1282-1300 Broadway-The Herald Towers/McAlpin Hotel
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.
Still the most amazing building in the neighborhood is the Empire State Building on the corner of Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets. It’s 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 clip of the original “King Kong”
The security has gotten tighter around the building lately so you have to move quickly if you are going to take pictures. The Skydeck and the Museum at the Empire State Building just reopened and is opened with timed tickets.
I ended back at Lexington Avenue on the other side of the Design Building and then turned around as it started to get dark that evening. This is where the neighborhood starts to modernize with newer buildings along Park and Madison Avenue and the parts in between East 33rd Street.
I got back to Greeley Square as the sun started to go down. On my first night in the neighborhood before indoor dining opened, I stopped at BBQ Chicken Ktown at 25 West 32nd Street for dinner.
They have a nice assortment of to go dinners, and I grabbed a box of their Honey Garlic Glazed Chicken. It was delicious and on a cold night was the perfect dinner. The only problem was I had to eat it on stone barrier in Greeley Square and it must have been 32 degrees and windy that night. Still the sticky sweetness of the chicken pieces warmed me up as the wind whipped by.
The Honey Garlic Glazed Chicken is delicious. It is a real treat!
On another trip to finish the neighborhood, I stopped at Teso Life at 1265 Broadway just off Greeley Square. This small but unique Japanese department store carries all sorts of cosmetic and care products on the first and second floor. On the second floor, it has a snack and small grocery department where they have the best assortment of unusual bagged snacks.
I grabbed two bags of snacks, Wagaya Corn Hot & Salty puffs ($1.39) and Sanko Karikari Twist Cheese Swirls ($1.99). They were salty and savory and I devoured both bags in record time. I love it when you find such unique places to shop.
The Snack department at Teso Life Department store. The different flavors of chips.
When visiting Koreatown/Midtown South it offers such a distinct amount of experiences. You are seeing the old mix with the new in this ever changing neighborhood. Koreatown has expanded its original borders from West 32nd and 33rd Streets from Sixth to Fifth Avenues to almost Park Avenue with some new restaurants bordering Lexington Avenue.
NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park) is expanding as well to what was once called Herald Square and Greeley Square with the ongoing renovation of the older buildings for newer businesses. The neighborhood is coming full circle again as the center for the Tech and Media industries and the expansion of the City’s colleges.
The old is becoming new again!
Koreatown at night
Read my other blogs on Exploring Koreatown/Midtown South/NoNaNe:
When you think of the words ‘rural’ and ‘farmland’ these are not terms you hear a lot in Bergen County, NJ, one of the heaviest populated counties to surround New York City. Yet the county has a rich history in farming and agriculture from the late 1600’s up into the 1970’s when development pressures got too strong and most of what was left of the farms of the area got plowed over for development.
Early in our county’s history, the Dutch and then the English supplied much of the fruits and vegetables for the New York City markets. Much did not change until the suburban expansion after WWII and many strawberry, celery and potato farms were plowed under for shopping malls and housing developments. Since that time and with the help of the Right to Farm Act, The Open Space Act and Farmland Preservation of the State of New Jersey, it is helping many small farmers in the state preserve their land for agriculture.
“From Revolution to Renewal” our Historical Bergen County project
This is why in Bergen County we revere our farms and our agricultural past. Last semester when I taught Marketing at Bergen Community College, I had my students create an extensive project describing and promoting our Colonial Heritage and our agricultural past. This included promoting many of our remaining farms.
Our small farms in Bergen County do more than just provide fruits and vegetables for our tables. They are open air classrooms to our agricultural past, places to buy fresh produce and baked goods to support local family farm stores and for interesting special events and outings for families. During the holiday season, some of these farms have haunted hayrides, turkey pardons and visits from Santa all while selling Christmas trees and wreaths.
This lead me to explore many of the small farms that make up the fabric of Bergen County all while seeing how the owners are reinventing the way they do business with today’s consumer. How do we react with nature and the great outdoors? So I walked through farm stands and fields and across parking lots looking for our rural past in the year 2020.
The Farm Cafe for wonderful breakfasts and lunches
I drove to Closter, NJ on my first stop to Old Schraalenburgh Farm and Farm Stand at 40 Old Hook Road and the Abram Demaree Homestead at 110 Schraalenburgh Road on the corner of Schraalenburgh Road. For years I had passed this farm and never gave it much thought until two summers ago I noticed the sign for the ‘farm burger’ and had to stop to see what it was all about. What a burger! (see my review on TripAdvisor).
Old Schraalenburgh Farm in the warmer months of fall 2022
The Corn Maze in fall 2022
I have since have had lunch here many times mostly when the weather is warmer. What I love about the Old Schraalenburgh Farm is that it is under the radar from most of the commercial farms in the county like Abma and Demarest farms which have all the family activities like hayrides and pumpkin and apple picking events.
The farm in the fall months
Old Schraalenburgh has a smaller restaurant and bakery and in the summer months tables outside to eat breakfast and lunch while admiring the fields of flowers and the barns and chicken coops.
The wonderful selection of gourmet items at Old Schraalenburgh Farm
The farm items are various at the farm stand
The Sweet and Savory pies
What I love about their restaurant is the quality of the food here. The ‘Farm Burger’ which they tout so much is much worth the ride here. This juicy burger loaded with cheese and fresh vegetables and a mayo type sauce and is a mouthful in each bite. Bring your appetite because this burger is large! (see review on TripAdvisor).
The “Farm Burger” at the Old Schraalenburgh Farm Stand restaurant
Their chicken pot pie is another lunch item I would recommend. They make them fresh here and bake them with a golden crust and when you let it cool is a mouthful of creamy sauce, hunks of chicken and fresh vegetables. You won’t need dinner after this entree.
The Chicken Pot Pie at the farm is delicious.
Digging into the layers of Chicken and Vegetables of the Pot Pie.
I recently stopped at the Farm Cafe for breakfast after an appointment and their well known Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich ($5.95). It was amazing. The eggs used on the sandwich were fresh from their chicken coops and picked up daily. Topped with crisp bacon and American cheese on a toasted brioche bun it was heaven.
It was nice to just take my sandwich and eat it on one of the picnic tables overlooking the fields that were in the process of beginning to grow this seasons crops. On a sunny morning, there is nothing like this.
The Bacon, Egg and Cheese here is excellent
For dessert though, even with the options of their fresh brownies and homemade ice cream, you have to try their freshly baked fruit pies and pie cookies. The chocolate and fruit filled pie cookies resemble small fruit filled deep dish pies and are a delight in every bite.
The blueberry pie cookies
The bakery also has something called “Burnt Cookies” (.50 cents) that are in jars near the register. I thought someone made a mistake and overcooked them. The woman at the counter said “Oh no. People like a crisper cookie.” I still say they were selling a mistake but they were really good! I had the sugar, chocolate chip and an oatmeal cookies and they were really crisp.
To tell you how popular they are I dropped a piece at the chicken pen and the chickens and roosters got all excited and ran out of their pen to eat the piece that had fallen on the ground. That’s an endorsement.
The chicken coops are busy when you feed the chickens
During the summer months, it is fun to walk through the fields and admire all the beautiful rows of flowers growing and visiting the barn and chicken coops. During the holiday months, the store and restaurant were decorated for Christmas and were stocked with handmade gifts and artwork. The bakery section had a selection of meat and fruit pies for the holidays.
The bakery case at the farm
Walking across the street to the Abram Demaree Homestead and Farm across the street from the farm stand, the main house and barn were also decorated for the holidays. All the tables, counters and shelves were stock with all sorts of decorative objects, antiques, furniture and artwork. These treasures can decorate any home contemporary or historical.
The antiques and holiday decorations at the Abram Demaree Homestead
Off to the side of the main building, they were selling Christmas trees and holiday decorations for the home. The buildings with Christmas retro items and tree ornaments really put me into the holiday spirit. The homestead is fun to walk around in to see how our Colonial past played a part in the growth of Bergen County.
The beautiful old buildings on the farm
The beautiful old antiques on sale
During Halloween, the farm was busy with visitors buying preserves and jellies, baked products for home and people eating lunch on a warm afternoon.
The Skeletons guard the farm at Halloween at Old Schraalenburgh Farm
History of the Old Schraalenburgh Farm and the Abram Demaree Homestead:
In 1677, David Des Marest, a French Huguenot, purchased a large tract of land from the Tappan Native American tribe. This land passed from Dutch control to British rule and through the American Revolution, which produced an uncertain concept that became the United States.
In 1769, Abram Demaree, David Des Marest’s grandson, bought the house and ran it as a General Store and Tavern at the crossroads of one of the busiest intersections of colonial roads in Bergen County. His son, David, added to the house in 1809. The conjoined Demaree house along with a colonial Dutch-style barn, servants house and blacksmith shop form the original Abram Demaree Homestead (Farm History website).
The Abram Demaree Homestead in the Summer months
In the 1970’s, the house and property was falling apart and a group of citizens fought to get the homestead on the National Register of Historic Places. Since then, the home and farm have been part of a non-profit, The Demaree Homestead & Farm, with all the proceeds going to restoring and maintaining the home and farm. The farm and farm stand cafe are open to the public and the profits go to maintenance of the property. The Farm Stand Cafe features in season items grown right on the farm (Farm History website).
Across Old Hook Road from the Demaree Homestead is their working farm, The Old Schraalenburgh Farm, which has been continuously farmed since the 18th Century. Every Spring, the farm plants corn, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, apples, blueberries and pumpkins, among other fruits, vegetables and flowers (Farm History website).
Leaving the Old Schraalenburgh Farm, I headed down Old Hook Road on my way back to Westwood and stopped at the Old Hook Farm Stand for a look at their Christmas trees. The Old Hook Farm Stand is at 650 Old Hook Road in Emerson.
The Old Hook Farm at 650 Old Hook Road in the fall months
Old Hook Farm in the Fall
What I like about the Old Hook Farm is the selection of grocery products in their General store. They have an assortment of organic meats, dairy products, vegetables and baked goods that include delicious looking freshly baked pies, breads and cider doughnuts.
The Fall bounty is on sale at Old Hook Farm
Their shelves are stocked with all sorts of jellies, jams and condiments along with dry and snack goods that are accented by antiques and farm paraphernalia. This gives the store a feel of a turn of the last century General store that used to dot the towns of rural Bergen County.
The Old Hook Farm grocery section of the General store
In the Spring and Summer, the greenhouse stocks all sorts of decorative plants, flowers and garden supplies and I am sure is better stocked in the summer months for lawn care and landscaping. In the Spring, the tables are stocked with all sorts of seedlings for gardens, decorative plants for the home and gardening supplies and landscaping decorations including stones and layerings.
All sorts of decorative plants available in the Fall
In the Fall, the farm is awash with pumpkins, gourds and decorative plants for designing the house in a festive mood. There are all sorts of items for the Halloween holidays.
Blogger Justin Watrel at Old Hook Farm for the Halloween season
During the holiday season, there were all sorts of wreaths, cemetery blankets and Christmas trees to choose from. The perfect assortment to ‘deck the halls’ for the holidays.
Like everyone else in the County, when I got there, there was only a few trees to choose from. They had sold out early in a year when everyone wanted a fresh tree. Still the atmosphere with the atmosphere of fresh pine and snow gave the farm that old fashioned ‘1970’s feel’ when I used to visit the farms in Bridgewater, NJ growing up. Things seemed a lot slower then and you could just relax and enjoy the sites and smells of a farm.
The Christmas trees were pretty much sold out when I visited
From a distance behind the greenhouse, you could see under the snow that had just fallen, the fields where the crops are grown in the warmer months. The old farmhouse on the property was decorated for Christmas as well and looked like a home out of a Currier & Ives print.
History of the Old Hook Farm:
The town of Emerson did not exist during the Native American origin. The name ‘Old Hook’ on the east side of the town came from the Dutch word ‘Hoek’ meaning ‘angle’ or ‘corner’. The angle of the land was created by the three connecting water ways, the Hackensack River, the Pascack Brook and the Musquapsink Brook. The first person to make their home here was William Rutan, who settled on a parcel of land just west of today’s ‘Old Hook Farm’ sometime around 1748 (Emerson Town History).
The current ‘Old Hook Farm’ was bought by current owner, Bruce Marek’s grandfather in 1925 as a weekend getaway. He rented the farm and the farm house to a local resident for 35 years and the family had a large garden on the property until about 1948. Then his father took over the land and cleared the fields and had Soil Conservation come in and do contours and started to grow in the greenhouse. When his father died in 1973, he took over the farm and within eight years, reopened the garden store and started to experiment and grow organic crops (Bruce Marek’s interview with ‘Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network’).
The old farm house at Old Hook Farm
I next ventured to Hillsdale, NJ, two towns away to visit one of the most beloved farms in Bergen County, Demarest Farms at 244 Werimus Road, right off the Garden State Parkway. I have been visiting the farm since the early 1970’s when I used to visit my family who lived just two blocks away. Back then it was just a small farm stand just outside the family homestead. In 1991, they build the big store across the street.
The Demarest Farm Store at 244 Werimus Road
The farm stand building is always a buzz with people coming and going. People buying sandwiches, soups, hot entrée items and baked goods for lunch and dinner. There is a large selection of in season produce (which is a little pricer than most supermarkets) as well as jams and jellies.
Fall decorations at Demarest Farms in 2022
Where the market really shines is their bakery filled with cookies, brownies, freshly baked pies and their well-known cider doughnuts. They also have great potato pancakes that taste good hot or cold (in the era of COVID the food has been toned back a little from the past).
Demarest Farm store carries an array of fruits and vegetables at all times of the year
Demarest Farms in October 2022
The stand also has a nice garden section during the Spring and Summer seasons with everything you need for lawn care and for landscaping your home or decorating inside. During the Fall, there is all sorts of decorative items for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.
Demarest Farms right before Halloween 2021
During every season, Demarest Farms is always full of activities. During the Summer months (Pre-COVID), there was the big barbecues that the farm sponsored that got so popular that they had to have the police direct traffic into the complex. These ‘All You Can Eat” affairs were so much fun. It was like a throw back to the 1970’s when families used to dine out together in the Summer months. You could listen to a local band play while chomping on endless hot dogs, barbecue chicken, fresh corn on the cob, baked beans, salad and watermelon for dessert. There were also be chests of ice full of Coke, Sprite and Bottled waters (see reviews on TripAdvisor). Eating at the farm is fun.
Dining at Demarest Farms is a treat on a warm afternoon. I recently stopped in for some apple cider and decided to stay for lunch. I have the most delicious Chicken Salad sandwich with one of their potato pancakes which they are know for. I had a pint of their wonderful Apple Cider to finish the meal and everything was great. It is so nice to sit out on the tables and just watch everyone come back from their hayrides laughing and having fun.
My lunch that afternoon: A Chicken Salad sandwich on a roll, their well-known potato pancakes and their house made Apple Cider.
Demarest Farms is known for their Potato Pancakes,
The farm is known for their Apple Cider.
The Chicken Salad here is excellent (See TripAdvisor review)
During the Fall months, there would be Hayrides through the orchards, Pumpkin and Apple Picking that are so popular you need a reservation and Haunted Halloween events that have people driving from all over Northern New Jersey to attend.
Getting ready for Halloween at Demarest Farms
The farm was packed with people during Halloween 2022 with the weather being in the sixty degree area. The farm had hayrides, pumpkin picking, apple picking and a maze for the children. The lines to get into the farm stand were fifty deep and traffic was crazy. One of the employees said that people were traveling as far as Long Island to come to the farm.
The maze at Demarest Farm Halloween 2022
Pumpkins of all sizes at Demarest Farms 2022
This Christmas, in the era of COVID, the farm really outdid itself ringing in the holiday season. The farm stand sold an array of Christmas trees, wreaths and cemetery blankets, all sorts of holiday treats in the store including cookies, pies and jams and jellies. There was also a nice selection of holiday decorations. By the last week before Christmas, most everything was sold out.
What I thought was fun and it was the first time the farm had done this was the “Holiday Light Show” through the Demarest Farm orchard which is across the street from the farm stand. This show was sold out every night for almost three weeks ending on January 3rd.
Demarest Farm Store decorated for Halloween and the Fall
The tour started at the farm stand where you could buy S’ mores to roast at the fire pit next to the nursery ($6.50). I thought it was a little expensive for two graham crackers, two marshmellows and a small bar of chocolate but people scooped them up and were roasting away. There were also cut outs from the holidays to take pictures and there was a small light show of singing reindeer performing all the classic Christmas songs.
Then it was time to take the drive through the orchard. We started the tour at farm stand and then drove across the street to the family homestead which was ablaze with colorful lights on the house and the surrounding trees. I took a slow drive through the orchard carefully following the cars in front of me to keep pace.
The apple and pear trees were decorated with multi color lights, Santa’s and Snowmen winked and greeted you at every turn. The barns were decorated with white lights and there was a tunnel of flashing lights to greet you and exit from. All along the way I listened to the Classical music channel to enhance the mood of the trip. It may have only been a half an hour but it was mesmerizing trip through a fantasy land of lights that put me back into the Christmas spirit. Demarest farms seems to have that effect at the holidays.
The History of Demarest Farms:
The Demarest family has been present in the New York area since David DeMarest arrived to New Amsterdam in 1663. The current farm has been in the Demarest family from Bergen County since 1886. In the 1970’s, Peter Demarest and his wife, Marsha introduced the pick your own apples and pumpkin business and eventually added peaches to the mix.
The Demarest Family history at the farm
In 1991, the family opened the current farm store on what had once been corn fields. The store today has evolved into a selection of fresh produce, prepared foods, baked goods, apple cider, jams and jellies and homemade crafts (Demarest Farm website).
The flowers at Demarest Farm are colorful
In 2014, Peter Demarest decided to retire and the sold the farm stand and farm to longtime employees Jason DeGise and Jim Spollen. The farmland had been preserved under the Farmland Preservation Fund and by the Open Space Trust Fund. The 27 acres are to be preserved as farmland and can only be used for agriculture (NJ.com).
Demarest Farms put out this wonderful promotional video on the event
Leaving Demarest Farms, I headed north taking the turns on Route 17 and Route 208 and headed up to Wyckoff. My first stop was the Goffle Road Poultry Farm at 549 Goffle Road. The farm which once must have taken up much more area has been reduced down to a few acres with chicken coops and hatcheries and the farm store.
The parking lot was a mob scene of people trying to get in and out of the driveway and being directed by one man in a mask. When I finally was able to get out of my car and park, I asked him if they were giving money away. He just laughed and said, “I wish”. He quickly said to me it was busier at Thanksgiving and they had lines going down Goffle Road.
Goffle Road Poultry Farm at 549 Goffle Road
I just walked in the store to look around passing all the people in line who were waiting to pick up their pre-orders. The store is stocked with all things poultry with fresh eggs. whole roasters and butchered chicken parts. In the freezer there were crab cakes, chicken nuggets and chicken and turkey pot pies, all of which they are known for and sought out.
The stand at Goffle Road Poultry Farm
Here there are no hayrides or special events although they told me Santa had already visited the farm. Just high quality food and excellent service done by a staff that looked very over-whelmed at the holidays.
When I returned recently to the Goffle Road Poultry Farm, I was able to buy some of their brown jumbo eggs ($2.95) and one of their frozen Chicken Pot Pies to bring home with me. There really is a difference in the fresh eggs versus the commercial ones. There is a richer flavor to the taste when you have them scrambled and in a omelet.
The Brown eggs at Goffle Farms have a richer flavor
The Chicken Pot Pie tasted more like a chicken pie, which has less chicken gravy in it, but it pretty much follows the same Bisquick recipe that I have at home with a mixture of vegetables and canned cream of chicken soup as its base. Still, it cooked up nicely and a flaky golden crust. It is worth it to stop and do some shopping here.
The Goffle Farm Pot Pie is more like a Chicken Pie
History of Goffle Road Poultry Farm:
The Goffle Road Poultry Farm has been a family owned and operated business for four generations. Joseph and Rose Silvestri came over from Italy in 1920 and started Belmont Poultry in Paterson, NJ in the 1930’s. In 1948, Joseph and Rose’s son, Dominic, started Goffle Road Poultry Farm of Wyckoff, NJ. To this day, the Goffle Road Poultry Farm is operated as a family owned business by the current owner and grandson, Joseph Silvestri and great grandson, Brian Silvestri. The family has found it hard to keep up with demand on such a small plot and is now partnering with Amish farmers in Pennsylvania who share the same standards of raising animals (Goffle Road Poultry Farm website).
Goffle Road Poultry Farm at the Halloween Holidays
My last stop on this journey was the largest farm of them all, Abma’s Farm at 700 Lawlins Road in Wyckoff, NJ. Abma’s is an impressive working farm with many greenhouses, large fields, a gift shop, nursery, and a farm store. They also have a large petting zoo to amuse children and adults alike.
The Abma Farm at 700 Lawlins Road in Wyckoff
I have to admit that I have only visited the farm in the cooler months and with COVID going on, the petting zoo was closed the day I was there and it looked like you needed a reservation to get in. The price is $3.00 unless you join their Barnyard Loyalty Program by accumulating 30 points from their farm store and nursery.
The greenhouses were pretty empty the afternoon I visited. What was left of wreaths and Christmas trees dotted the the nursery area. I am sure it was totally stocked with all sorts of items to decorate the house. There was still a nice assortment of wreaths to choose from and garland to decorate the banisters and hallways with for Christmas. The Christmas tree selection was down to about ten trees and they were very sad looking. Being right before Christmas, the selection was limited.
Abma Farm during the Fall of 2022
In the Summer months, the greenhouses were full of flowers and decorative plants and the fields are ablaze with colors. It will be about four months before we see that again but Spring is not that far away.
Halloween at the farm
The farm store was buzzing with people and it was hard to find a parking spot after the snow storm we had just had. Some of the drifts made parking tough but there was someone in the lot who made it easy to park.
Abma’s Farm Market & Garden Center in the Fall of 2021
The farm store at Abma Farm is full of fresh vegetables and fruits, a whole selection of bakery products including cookies, brownies, freshly baked pies and cider doughnuts. The prepared food section has all sorts of salads and sandwiches available and there is a selection of soups. There are also crafts available for sale.
The Abma Farm Store stocked with delicious foods
Though some of the special events on the farm have been cancelled because of COVID, they did have a socially distanced “Story with Santa” program and “You Pick” events for strawberries, potatoes, pumpkins and tomatoes during the different seasons. Events like pony rides and Easter themed events have been put on hold for the time.
The farm stand with fruits and vegetables
What I really enjoy about visiting Abma Farm is just walking around the farm itself. I was able to walk through some of the greenhouses and see the trees and decorative items, look at the vast field and can’t wait to return in the Spring when we can see the fields of growing produce and greenhouses full of flowers and plants.
The History of Abma Farm:
The Abma Farm
First generation of the family, Barney Abma, was born on April 25th, 1901. He came to America for the first time in 1917 when he was 17 years old searching for a new beginning. After spending a few years out west, then a short stay in Pennsylvania, he went back to Holland to marry. Barney and his new wife, Anna, settled in Wyckoff at the present location of Abma’s Farm in the late 1920’s (Abma Farm History website).
The front of the farm stand
The couple began working for the ‘Yeoman Farm’ and rented out part of the original farmhouse from owner, Daniel Yeoman. The farm was next passed on to Mr. and Mrs. George Fox (nee Yeoman). Barney Abma bought the farm from the couple in 1932 for $6,000. Part of the 50 acre farm was sold off and it is now the current 32 acre farm that it is today (Abma Farm History website).
The farm is now under the ownership of the forth and fifth generations of the Abma family under Barney and Anna’s son, James and his family.
I love this video on the family and about the farm.
There are also a few smaller farms in the County I was not able to visit before they closed for the season. Also most farm stands have closed for the Winter so there will be a lot to visit in the warmer months.
Still the holidays at the farms in Bergen County, NJ have a special place in our lives and have become part of the traditions of many families.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and look forward to updates in the Spring!
Spring and Summer of 2021:
As the weather has gotten warmer, I have been revisiting the farms that were closed right after the holidays . As the warmer months have come upon us, April has ushered in warmer weather and the bounty of Spring has arrived. The greenhouses are starting to fill with plants and shrubs and the farm stands.
The entrance to Stokes Farm at 23 DeWolf Road
I made my first trip to Stokes Farm at 23 DeWolf Road in Old Tappan, NJ. The farm stand has just opened since it has closed up shop right after Christmas. The shelves of the farm were starting to fill with fresh produce from the warmer states and there were all sorts of colorful fruits and vegetables.
Stokes Farm in the fall of 2022
The farm stand also has a bakery that has pies, cookies and cider doughnuts. The problem is that because of COVID all the items were prepackaged in large packages and you could not buy individual pieces. The woman at the counter said things will go back to normal business once all of this passes. By 2022, the bakery was up and running in full force.
The Stokes Farm Stand bakery area
The delicious pies and Bundt cakes
Still the refrigerator cases are lined with fresh eggs, Amish butter, honey and cheese from the Amish Country in Pennsylvania and the shelves are full of jellies, jams, salsas and pickles that are made for the farm.
The private label sauces, syrups and jellies
The farmstand is just opening and there will be more to come as we move into the warmer months.
All sorts of delicious items line the shelves
The inside of the farm stand
I made my way out to the greenhouse in the back where plants are being grown for planting and for decorating the house. Most of the plants are still so small but as May and June arrive, these greenhouses will burst of all sorts of plants.
The plants and greenhouses
The front of the greenhouses
The flowers in the greenhouses
The colorful potted plants
Though the part of the farm that you can visit is small, you can see that the farm is lined with greenhouses going back many acres and next to the stand is a farmhouse that was built in 1890. It is nice to just walk around and enjoy the fresh air at the farm.
The farm was getting ready for Halloween
The History of Stokes Farm:
In 1873, Isaiah Stokes headed out on a ship to America from his home in England. When he arrived, he purchased 40 acres of land in Old Tappan, NJ where he started a farm. He thought this would be a good location for selling produce, as Old Tappan is very close to New York City, as well as many established towns along the Hudson River.
His products included chickens, eggs, milk, hay, asparagus, beets and other assorted vegetables. As time went on, his son, Joseph Stokes took over the farming. The Stokes family continued sowing and growing into the early 1900’s. Joseph Stokes and his wife, Anna, worked very hard and soon developed a produce route through Piermont, Nyack and points further north along the river. They were one of the first farms to have a truck in the area when farms were still powered by men and horses.
The Greenhouses and gardens
Joseph Stokes had one child, Madeline, who married Ernie Binaghi in 1927. Madeline ran the farm and Ernie was a carpenter. The farm carried on through WWII. Madeline and Ernie had one child, Ronald, who after dropping out of NYU Music School in the early 1950’s , came home to help out with the chores. Ron married Jean and she moved into the farmhouse to become a farmer too.
The Stokes farmstead
In 1955, they opened a roadside farm stand, which was a four post open air shed. The stand did well, selling from the five acres of strawberries, five acres of tomatoes, in addition to peppers, eggplant and asparagus.
The garden plants for sale outside
As the years went on, Ron and Jean started selling produce at the Paterson Farmers Market. It was here that a farmer could sell his produce directly to the consumer or to wholesalers. The farm stand was rebuilt in 1966.
In the early 1970’s, the energy crunch started and the farm stand began to flounder. It was then that Bob Lewis came to visit Ron and Jean with a proposal. He asked them to participate in the first NYC Greenmarket at 59th and Second Avenue. So in 1976, Ron and his sixteen year old son, Ron Jr. ventured into the big city. Their lives changed that day. After the people bought everything on the truck, Ron Sr. was heard to say, “Is there a famine in this City?” Ron Jr., then sixteen started selling produce at the now famous Union Square market on 17th Street and it seemed that this type of market suited the farm quite well. Greenhouses were built in the 1980’s and the bedding plant business started to thrive.
The Stokes Farmstand and the farmstead behind it
High tech growing coupled with practical family values, helped the farm to grow steadily into the 1990’s. Ron Jr. and his wife, Jeanine, took over the day to day operations of the farm and the Greenmarket stands, while Ron Sr. and Jean continued to run the farm stand.
Grocery items at Stokes Farm
In 2000, Ron Jr. was named “Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year” for the State of New Jersey. This award is given to a farmer who has made his farm better over the years and also is active in his community. Ron went to Indiana to the national competition, where he placed fifth in the nation.
Ron Binaghi Jr. at Stokes Farm in Old Tappan, NJ
Today the farm is seventeen acres with 40,000 square feet of greenhouses. It is the goal of the farm to grow the best possible product to keep the customers healthy and happy and to keep the land as a farm for future generations.
The extensive amount of produce and baked goods are perfect for the holidays
Another farm that I missed during the holiday season was DePiero’s Farm at 156 Summit Avenue in Montvale, NJ. I have been coming to DePiero’s Farm for years at the old farm stand where the current Wegmans Supermarket and mall now stands.
Halloween at DePiero’s Farm
Haunted happenings at DePiero’s Farm Stand
Here used to be the large farm stand building that had everything from produce and baked goods to arts and crafts items and gardening equipment. That was torn down in the early 2000’s. I thought that they had closed for business until I rediscovered it again.
Depiero’s Farm Stand at 156 Summit Avenue . This is the original farm sign.
When I visited recently, I asked the woman who was working the counter about the history of the farm. She said that she had worked for the DePiero family for years and told me that this was the original farm stand until the family built the larger one down the road. When that was torn down to make way for the market strip mall, they moved the operations back to the original stand on the original farmland. I thought that was interesting.
The original farmstead building is currently being renovated and expanded. The tables around the store are ladened currently with fresh produce from the Hunts Market (until the summer when local produce will be offered), there is a small bakery area with fresh pies ($18.00-$20.00), fresh pickles and peanut butter from the Amish Country. The shelves are lined with honey and fresh jellies that are made for the farm.
Early Fall at DePiero’s Farm
Outside the farm stand, there is a large greenhouse with rows of tables lined with all sorts of flowering plants and small vegetable plants growing. The larger greenhouse is surrounded by smaller greenhouses growing more plants. It is a large operation.
The greenhouse at DePiero’s Farm is full of flowers and decorations for the Fall
What amazes me is how the farm has survived with all the suburban sprawl surrounding it. On land that was once the farm, all sorts of new condos are going up, the second farm stand is now a mall and office buildings surround the whole small patch of farm.
DePiero’s Farm Stand decorated for Halloween
The History of DePiero’s Farm:
The DePiero Farm has been an owned and operated farm since 1924. The original farm was about 250 acres that stretched from Montvale, NY to New Paltz, NY. In 1987, the opened the original farm store that was popular for years. That facility closed in 2015 and has since been replaced with a new shopping complex anchored by a Wegmans.
The family has since reopened the original farm stand which is farmed on limited basis where they sell farm products, baked goods and Christmas items like wreaths and Christmas trees.
The outside of the original family farm stand
(NJ.com-Myles Mia 2015-“Longtime Montvale Farm closes its doors”)
My last farm that I did not have a chance to visit during the Christmas holidays but had opened on April 1st was Secor Farms at 85 Airmont Avenue in Mahwah, NJ. I would consider Secor Farms more like a giant nursery. Both on the outside and inside the greenhouses, you can walk around rows of flowers, decorative plants and seedlings for the vegetable gardens. The greenhouses are fun to walk in as you can see plantings at different stages of growth. It will be interesting to come back towards the summer to see how many of these plants progress to full form.
Secor Farms greenhouse is laden with flowers and plants
There is also a small shop to make your purchases. Here they sell gardening supplies, decorative objects for the home, hand creams and soaps, honey and candies and their homemade cider doughnuts that are unfortunately only packaged in bags of six ($5.95). Still they smell so good and the girl working the counter said that they are made fresh daily. I could see by the signs when the fresh produce starts to come in during the summer and fall that they sell this in the gift shop as well.
The Cider Doughnuts and other treats on sale at Secor farms in the Fall
Outside the gift shop, the parking lot is laden with bags of mulch and soil for garden beds awaiting their Spring cleaning. The lot is well stocked as we are just starting the gardening season.
Secor Farms in Mahwah, NJ
Ready for Halloween at Secor Farms in Fall 2021
The spooky entrance to Secor Farms at Halloween 2021
In the Fall especially around Halloween, the whole farm looks like Disneyland with Haunted Hay Rides, Pumpkin Picking, Fall decorative items for sale and the general atmosphere that welcomes in Halloween with a bang. The whole place was filled to the brim with cars ready for a long day at the farm.
Pumpkin picking at Secor Farms in Fall 2021
All of these farms in Bergen County, NJ have their own attributes so try to visit them all when you are visiting the area.
The History of Secor Farms:
Begun by Darryl Secor’s great grandfather when he moved to the area from Paterson nearly 80 years ago, the farm originally consisted of 50 acres in Upper Saddle River. In 1973, the family expanded into Mahwah.
The Secor Farm at the Fall Holidays
Secor Farms not only has been a famous landmark passed down through three generations: The Secors themselves have been extremely active in supporting the town (Mahwah-Ramsey Daily Voice 2017).
Fall at Secor Farms in Mahwah, NJ
The Fall produce at Secor Farms during the Halloween 2021 holiday weekend
Farms to Visit:
Old Schraalenburgh Farm Stand and Abram Demaree Homestead
177 Schraalenburgh Road
Closter, NJ 07624
(201) 289-3627
Open: Farm Stand Cafe: Wednesday-Friday 11:00am-5:00pm/Saturday and Sunday 11:00am-7:00pm
It is funny to go back to a place that you have not visited since 1975 and realize that time does pass by. I had not been to Beach Haven, NJ since the summer of 1975 when I was just a little kid. We used to visit friends of the family who had a house there and we would visit for about three days.
The amusements are staying open into October as the weather has gotten warmer until the end of October.
Miniature golf into October
It was interesting to visit a beach community as we never went farther than Sandy Hook, NJ. Going to the Jersey shore was a hike from our home in Bridgewater, NJ and since we belonged to a swim club, my parents saw no reason to run “down the shore” as we say in New Jersey. Why deal with the crowds and lousy parking?
The October 2025 Chowder Fest was packed as the weather was sunny and in the 80’s that Sunday
This blog takes place over many visits to Long Beach Island, experiencing the museums, restaurants and the beach and parks areas. There is no one ‘good’ time of the year to visit Long Beach Island, there are many times from the summer season to Halloween and Christmas for the island’s activities. More a year round community now it is not the Long Beach Island of the 1970’s, the economy and then Hurricane Sandy changed all that.
These visits cover different times of the year so you can experience all the island has to offer and what is opening and closing (which is very fast in a shore community). I have had many wonderful and relaxing trips to the barrier island and I hope you enjoy these experiences with me (this is why the blog seems to jump around).
This blog starts at the tip of Long Beach Island at the Barnegat Lighthouse and park to the last beach on the southern most tip of beach an park.
The Barnegat Lighthouse at 208 Broadway in Fall of 2023
Still I remember visiting there in 1974 and 1975 before these friends no longer belonged to our pool. All I can remember of those visits was swimming in the ocean and diving in the waves wanting to impress these two twin sisters and all I did was tumble in the waves. They and my older bother dove into the waves with no problems. The other thing I remember is the planes going by and saying to eat at “Tilly’s Pizza”. So we begged for it one night for dinner. It was terrible pizza and we ordered this cheese pizza that was just dried out and no flavor. It is funny the things you remember as a kid.
Touring The Barnegat Lighthouse Park is a nice way to spend the morning
Exploring the dunes in the state park in Fall 2023
The pathway in the Summer of 2024
The beauty of the park at sunset time in the Summer of 2024
The Dunes Woods path
The Beach Dunes path near the entrance way
I returned to Long Beach Island last summer on my way to the Firemen’s Convention in Wildwood, NJ to visit the Long Beach Island Historical Society, which I had read about in a beach magazine for my blog, VisitingaMuseum.com. I had a long visit at the museum and it was nice afternoon. I had not realized that the NJ Maritime Museum was a couple of blocks away but I did not have time that afternoon to visit. I said that I would go back later.
Later was September 2020 over a year later. Hey better late than never. In the age of COVID, it had been a pleasure and escapism.
The Long Beach Island Historical Society at 129 Engleside Avenue
After visiting the museum for my blog and then visiting the Barnegat Lighthouse, I gained a new found respect for Long Beach Island and all it has to offer. I also realized how much it had changed in 45 years. It went from a sleepy working class resort to an upscale community with the growth of Wall Street in the late 90’s and the rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
The back galleries of the Long Beach Island Historical Society
The back galleries with nautical displays, school room and Victorian Rooms.
Many of those small little cottages that once lined the streets were long gone and they have been replaced by stilted ‘McMansions’ by the sea. The whole town has been practically knocked down and completely rebuilt. Even the stores were more upscale in their wares and the restaurants were expensive. I did not see too many tee shirt stores or beachy Knick -knacks being sold. These are not Boardwalk businesses.
The display of the 1916 Shark attacks that inspired the movie “Jaws”
Still there are some great stores and restaurants to visit, cultural and natural sites to see and of course the beautiful beach with its calming sounds and gorgeous sunsets. You never know the complexity of a place until you visit a few times and find the true beauty of the surroundings and people. The downtown of Beach Haven has a lot to see and do as does the surrounding areas of Long Beach Island.
Downtown Beach Haven, NJ. in Fall 2023
New stores in Downtown Beach Haven in the Summer of 2024, the Mod Hatter and Baked by the Beach
I started my last two visits to Long Beach Island exploring Beach Haven, a small beach hamlet towards the southern part of the island and where I had spent a few summers when I was a child. I do not remember much of the trips except visiting the beach and how rough the waves were to swim. I don’t remember venturing out that much.
When I returned 45 year later, the town changed so much especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy flooding the island as well as the rest of the Jersey Shore. It leveled homes and tore though businesses with a vengeance. What it left was a chance to build the island again from the ground up. Everything is so new all over the island. Still there are a lot of older homes and businesses that did survive. Some adapted and some just changed.
The Beach Haven Historic District
The Beach Haven Historic District
I walked the whole town and it was a interesting visit over the past two summers especially on two recent tours of the town in the late summer and early fall. My first stop on my recent trip is where I started touring last year at the Long Beach Island Historical Society at 125 Engleside Avenue in Beach Haven for their Ghost Fest, a family event that the Historical Society was running that afternoon for local families.
The ‘Ghost Fest’ at the Long Beach Island Historical Society
The Historical Society had not opened yet when I got to Long Beach Island so I started my tour of the island at the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern part of the island. Even on a gloomy morning in October, the park was very busy.
The Barnegat Lighthouse in the fall 2023.
The cloudy weather did not deter the fisherman from casting and boats were dotting the bay. It was still a warm day and people were out and about. I joined other visitors to the park on the breakers watching the fisherman discuss the days catch and politics about the upcoming election. Some people were admiring the boats or just relaxing to the sounds of the waves. I just enjoyed the salt air and the sound of the waves crashing.
The lighthouse from the bunker.
After I left the walkway, I took a tour through the woods in the sand dunes. It was what is left of some virgin woods at the shore. The woods are very interesting because of all the native plants that can live in a sandy shore and survive the winds are harsh winters. Plants such as Jersey Pines, Beach Plum and American holly are native to the area and played an important role in Colonial New Jersey especially during the holidays.
Walking down the path through the dunes.
In November 2021, I revisited the lighthouse again and it finally reopened after a year and a half of being closed. I was able to climb the stairs all the way to the top on a sunny but extremely windy day. Talk about views from the top. You could see the surrounding park, the inlet area and beautiful views of the sea. A lot of people walking up the lighthouse seemed to suffer from vertigo halfway up but trust me there is no way to fall down these stairs with barely enough room to move either way and no gaps in the stairs. All the views from the three landings on the way up also offer views of the ocean.
The views of the dunes, bunker and bay from the top of the lighthouse.
The lighthouse itself was built in 1859 replacing another lighthouse that fell into the sea with the changing tides (see my review on TripAdvisor). The lighthouse has been closed since March with the onset of COVID but the grounds around it were still open and people, masks and all, were walking along the trails and conversing at the picnic tables. Families were walking the trails and paths along the bay. For an early morning in October the park was busy.
The Barnegat Lighthouse and surrounding park is a nice to tour in the early morning
My next stop was the Barnegat Light Museum but it had been closed all season due to the COVID pandemic. I was able to call one of the Board Members of the museum and I would have to tour it later that afternoon. So took another tour of the park at the lighthouse and drove back down the island to visit the museum later. I would do this until August 2024 when the museum was open during regular summer hours.
Walking through the dune paths right next to the lighthouse.
Maybe it was the salt air or maybe it was the two hour drive down the shore but I was getting hungry again. Not wanting to eat another breakfast, I stopped at an old time restaurant, Surf City Pizza for a slice. They had just opened for lunch and I could not believe I was eating pizza this early in the morning but it was good.
Surf City Pizza at 1017 Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City, NJ
When I made my trip up to the lighthouse in November 2021, the pizzeria was still closed when I drove up so I went to Baked on the Beach, a small funky bakery at 2101 Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City. The bakery was open that morning and I had wanted to try it on my last three visits to the island but it always closed early.
There was a nice selection of pies and cookies but what caught my eye was these Cinnamon rolls that had just come out. One was a traditional Cinnamon roll which she would ice on the spot for you and the other was filled with sharp Cheese and NJ Pork Roll. Sold! I needed something savory for breakfast and this filled the gap. They have now opened a branch in the Summer of 2024 in Beach Haven at 1101 North Bay Avenue.
The selection of products at Baked on the Beach in November 2023.
The Cheese and Pork roll was delicious and would have been better warmed but it was still good. As I rolled out each layer, I could taste the sharp cheese and the spicy pork roll that was thinly sliced in between the layers. I munched on it on the outside benches and that must have done something because all of sudden other people were stopping for baked goods. I guess the big smile on my face had something to do with it.
The “Beach Bum” cookies with the works mixed into it.
When I returned in November 2023, the bakery was still opened for the season and I was able to try the “Beach Bum” cookie with chocolate and Vanilla chips, crunchies and a big mix of other ingredients to give this cookie a sweet and complex consistency. It was crispy, chewy and rich.
The cookie was rich and decadent.
I got to the Long Beach Island Historical Society as they were in full swing of their Ghost Fest and what a nice event it was that afternoon. They had all sorts of activities for adults and children alike.
The Museum was decorated for Halloween
They had a pony ride, marshmallow roasting and smores by the fire pit, corn hole games, a maze, games of chance, a small gift shop, tours of the museum and even a costume parade with the Jersey Devil. The museum had a nice turnout on a somewhat gloomy afternoon but by the end of the event the sun started to shine.
The ‘Jersey Devil’ lead the Costume Parade that afternoon
For Christmas in 2021 and 2023, the Historical Society sponsored an “Elves Workshop” for kids and their parents with all sorts of arts and crafts happening at twelve different tables lining the front room of the museum. There was cookie decorating and Christmas tree creation with beads and cloth and gingerbread house making. To end the evening, they had Smores and Marshmallows roasting over open firepits in the park across the street.
The Elves Workshop at the Long Beach Island Historical Society
The museum knows how to welcome in the holiday season.
Santa finds his way at the Long Beach Island Historical Society in 2023 when I returned again.
The Christmas display at the Long Beach Island Historical Society during the Elf Workshop in 2023.
The Christmas tree and front of the museum.
The excitement of the Elf Workshop afternoon at the museum.
I had a while before I had to meet the President of the Barnegat Light Museum so I decided to explore the downtown strip of Beach Haven. What an interesting downtown for a shore community. The days of tee shirt shops and beach gift stores has given way to a collection of interesting restaurants, upscale boutiques and gift stores, small specialty shops and art galleries. When you are selling million-dollar homes in the area, you need places for those residents to shop and Long Beach Boulevard has an eclectic group of stores to choose from.
The Woo Hoo is the best place for ice cream and sandwiches when in season.
When I first visited Beach Haven after my 45 year absence, I discovered The Woo-Hoo around the corner from the museum. On my first trip to Beach Haven last summer, I came across this impressive little ice cream and lunch stand around the corner from the Historical Society and on a recommendation from the staff had lunch that afternoon. It was excellent!
The Woo Hoo at 211 South Bay Avenue in Beach Haven, NJ
I had one of their Classic Burgers with hand cut French Fries which was just excellent. The burgers have a rich juicy flavor and the mix of ingredients was delightful to eat. The fries were perfectly cooked and salted. I was so impressed by the lunch I went back later for their homemade ice cream that is just excellent.
In the Summer of 2024, the Woo Hoo discontinued hamburgers on the menu and now just have ice cream and their hand cut French Fries.
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Strawberry Cheesecake sundae at the Woo Hoo
I had the most amazing Strawberry Cheesecake which was rich and creamy and a Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which was loaded with the cereal. On a recent trip, the hot food had closed for the season but the ice cream was still going. I have this amazing holiday special called ‘Cookies & Scream” for Halloween. It was made with holiday M & M’s and Halloween oreos. It was worth the trip to Beach Haven just for that.
The burgers at the Woo Hoo are delicious (no longer offered in Summer of 2024)
When I visited again in November 2021, I had this flavor that just caught my eye, “Pillow Fight”. When I asked the girl working the stand what it was, she told me it was marshmallow ice cream with Oreo Cookies and Rainbow sprinkles mixed in. Then she gave me a sample and I swear I heard angels singing. The ice cream was mind-blowingly good with that mixture of sweetness between the cream and the marshmallows with the Oreos and sprinkles mixed in.
What I love about walking around downtown Beach Haven is the interesting array of stores and food establishments they have on the strip. They are fun to explore on a nice sunny afternoon. I lucked out on my two most recent trips here. The weather broke both days and it ended up a sunny warm afternoon. So I set out to explore the town and I discovered a small community that was much than the beach.
How to Live, the original store at 7 South Bay Street in Beach Haven, NJ.
My first stop when I exited Engelside Avenue onto South Bay Avenue is the unique little gift store, “How to Live” at 7 South Bay Avenue, which has a great selection of local artisan gifts, artwork, children’s clothes and books, women’s clothes and art and book items created by the owner, Sandy Gingras. Her whimsical books and art work dot the store.
The inside of How to Live at the close of the season.
Walking into the store is an experience with the smell of fragrant smells of body products and the musical sounds of the 1980’s. It is a step back in time to when people took time to decorate their homes and give small host gifts. I really loved the homemade Christmas ornaments by a local artist. Her Christmas decorations and home products are beautifully packaged and will mix in any home decor.
The How to Live Bayside store across the street is for furniture and accessories.
Inside the furniture and accessories store in the Summer of 2024
Christmas decoration in How to Live in August of 2024
The new clothing line in the How to Live Living store
Further up North Bay Boulevard, the main artery of the town is Chicken or the Egg at 207 North Bay Boulevard with its constant crowds, popular outdoor dining and creative menu. The menu is stocked with interesting sandwiches, burgers and sides. The outdoor seating on a nice day is the way to dine. I have not had a chance to try the restaurant but it is on my bucket list on my next trip to town.
The Chicken or the Egg is at 207 North Bay Boulevard
North Bay Boulevard has a long stretch of eating establishments that are opened at various times of the week.
When I returned for my Christmas visit, I ended the evening having dinner here. I swear on a cool night, it was the perfect place for a meal. I had their New England Clam Chowder with its thick roux and heavy cream base and it was loaded with clams.
It warmed me up immediately. For dinner, my waiter suggested the ultimate comfort food in cold weather, the Chicken Pot Pie that was just amazing.
The Soup is amazing
The Chicken Pot Pie is really filling
Loaded with chunks of chicken and a creamy base topped with a flaky crust, each bite warmed me up after the cool walks by the bay and down the main street of town. You could really taste the roasted chicken in the gravy and its rich flavors. The service here is always friendly and very welcoming.
I love the food here
I stopped at Fourchette at LBI at 511 North Bay Avenue to enjoy the smells of the array of cheeses and look at their assortment of host gifts. They have a lot of interesting cheeses in the case line and the woman behind the counter was eager to explain them all to me.
I love the smells of cheeses when you walk in. It is a mouthwatering experience when you see them all lined in the cases.
Another interesting store was Sandy Banks Art Store at 515 North Bay Avenue in which the first afternoon I visited a local artist was having an art show in the small courtyard adjoining the store. The art was vibrant and the artist was proud of the paintings she was showing off.
Anchoring the main part of the downtown is the local shore department store, B &B Stores, which has been a Jersey Shore staple since 1932. Located in many well known beach communities, B &B stocks not just bathing suits and swim gear but an array of clothing, gifts and accessories for the local community. I have been in the store during the summer months and it is wall to wall swim suits, tee shirts and shorts but as the cooler months approach and the rushing of the holidays, I saw my first Christmas tree down the shore.
That afternoon there was a nice rush of locals and tourist grasping the last days of warm weather down the shore and even though we were all in masks (COVID is big down the shore too), people were going about their shopping with a vengeance. It was nice to see a crowd of people enjoying a shopping trip and conversing with one another talking over their masks. In November of 2023, it was business as usual as people starting shopping for the Christmas holidays.
The selection of merchandise at B & B Department Stores give me faith in the department store industry especially at Christmas.
When I visited in November, the holiday season was in full swing and the store was full of locals talking about their Thanksgiving holidays and getting back to school the next week. The store was stocked with holiday and winter merchandise for those making the island their home for the winter.
The B & B Department Store airline display.
The Nautical gift shop in the Summer of 2024
The Christmas Shop in October 2025
Crossing the street , there is a tiered mall, The Seaman’s Village, stocked with small stores and restaurants that is big with the beach going community on a rainy afternoon. During the two trips to Beach Haven that I made most of the stores were closed or has partial hours during the week and weekends. It seems though with the warmer weather extending into November and the exodus of people out of the cities, the stores are staying open much longer than usual.
Another homegrown store that I have enjoyed visiting on my last few trips to town is the Crust & Crumb Bakery at 9 North Bay Boulevard. This old fashioned bakery has the usual assortments of cookies, cakes, pastries and doughnuts and an array of Italian pastries as well. I have enjoyed their jelly and custard filled doughnuts and their seasonal pumpkin glazed doughnuts are delicious.
Trust me, after a day at the shore or just walking around enjoying the beautiful weather, a trip here can satisfy any sweet tooth. The selection is extensive and don’t miss the giant cinnamon elephant ears.
I finally got back to Crust & Crumb on my trip to the island in August 2024 and looked through the selection of baked goods before I settled on a Chocolate Doughnut for dessert after my large lunch at Tucker’s Restaurant. The doughnut was excellent but a little pricey at $3.00. Most of their baked goods prices were higher than they are in Manhattan. I thought maybe their rent went up in an ever upscaling Beach Haven downtown. Still, it was really good.
There are a lot of delicious items to choose from at Crust & Crumb
The cake case at Crust & Crumb in the Summer of 2024
The special “LBI Cake” at Crust & Crumb
The Chocolate iced doughnut that I had at Crust & Crumb for dessert in 2024
Walking back down North Bay Boulevard, passing Fantasy Island Amusement Park reminds you that this is still a shore town. On my first trip to Beach Haven in September the park was still open just very quiet. On a warm sunny Friday afternoon, there were not too many people walking around and the staff spent most of their time on their cellphones or chatting amongst themselves.
Fantasy Island Amusement Park at 750 North Bay Avenue
On my second trip in late October, the park was closed but the arcade was open. Talk about bells and whistles with lots of music, lights and excitement. There were only about a dozen of us in the arcade but it was a lot of fun taking a step back into time when I used to visit the pinball and skeetball machines when I was in high school. There were a lot of the old machines that I remember including a version of PacMan and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
The arcade at Fantasy Island Amusement Park brings back memories of a simpler time.
The amusements in the Summer months
The amusement park in the summer months
Walking around the arcade before dinner was an experience. The few people who were playing games were laughing and having a good time. The adults were having just a good time as their kids and I saw that it brought the kid back in them.
Fantasy Land at night just as I was leaving lit for the holidays.
I stopped for a snack before venturing further at Slice of Heaven Pizza at 610 North Bay Avenue. The restaurant was closed for indoor dining so I ate outside with the pizza chef who was taking a break. The pizza was pretty good and when I was talking to the pizza cook he said how sporadic the business had been all summer. It was just starting to get busy by the end of the summer.
The Cheese pizza is really good at Slice of Heaven Pizzeria.
Another wonderful gift, design and furniture store is The Spotted Whale at 500 North Bay Avenue. The store has a light and breezy beach feel to it with light colors and a lot of nautical looks. This store is more geared to the shore customer.
During Christmas, the store was ablaze with a lighted tree and ornaments twinkling from it while all sorts of decorating ideas for the shore houses were on display. Christmas ‘down the shore’ must be interesting.
The Spotted Whale at 500 North Bay Avenue has two locations on the island.
The Spotted Whale has some interesting looks about it.
Inside the Spotted Whale at the branch at Viking Village.
Walking further south, I took detour into the Coffee Nest at 106 North Bay Avenue to see what their baked good were like. The store is a combination gift store, coffee shop and bakery with some floral arrangements up front. There was not much left in the bakery area when I got there but they have a nice assortment and the prices are a bit high. I liked the music playing though. A step in here and your would think you are in Williamsburg or Bushwick and not Beach Haven.
The Coffee Nest at 106 North Bay Street (changed names in the last year-closed)
When I visited the first time, I came to see the NJ Maritime Museum that is located around the corner from the Coffee Nest on Dock Road towards the bay. The NJ Maritime Museum is located across the street from two very popular restaurants facing the bay at 528 Dock Road.
The NJ Maritime Museum is located at 528 Dock Road by the bay
This small but interesting museum contains not just the history of the towns of Long Beach Island but also has the history of the hotels that once dotted the shore, shipwrecks, the Coast Guard and the 1916 Shark Attack that inspired the movie “Jaws”. Several cruise disasters have interesting displays with documented accounts and all sorts of memorabilia. The museum was founded in 2007 by collector Deb Whitcraft.
The museum’s nautical displays on diving are very detailed
The Shark Attacks from 1916 that inspired the movie “Jaws”
Take time to explore each room and read the details of the displays. You will delve deeper into the history of Long Beach Island and its rich history as a fishing and hunting area for the Lenape Indians, then the Dutch and English traders to its time as a resort community to the new morphing during COVID as a full-time community catering to the residents on their exodus out of New York City and Philly. The museum is rewriting history again in the era of COVID. Don’t miss the Moro Castle luxury cruise display room in the back of the museum with accounts on the fatal trip.
The Morrow Castle tragedy at the NJ Maritime Museum.
For lunch on my recent trip I had to find a place to watch the Michigan State versus Rutgers game. It was depressing watching us get tapped danced on by Rutgers during the third quarter. What made it less depressing was the food at Tuckers Tavern, a restaurant facing the bay at 101 South Bay Avenue( see review on TripAdvisor).
The bar area was socially distanced and they had plenty of TV’s to watch the game. We ended up losing 38-27 but I knew the game was over pretty much by the end of third quarter and I did not travel two hours to sit at the bar and get depressed.
Michigan State lost to Rutgers that afternoon
What perked me up though was the food. It it was excellent. I had a crab cake sandwich that was out of this world. It was loaded with crab and was so sweet. The fries were freshly cut and deep fried to perfection. The whole meal was delicious and picked me right up to keep going for the rest of the afternoon.
When I returned to Tucker’s in August 2024, the sandwich had been taken off the menu and it was only in entree form. I asked and they made this for me. The crab cake was was oversized and was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Their French Fries are amazing.
Do not miss the Tuckers Tavern’s Crab cake sandwich
The Crab Cake sandwich was made for me when it was taken off the menu in the Summer of 2024
Yum!
It was nice after lunch to just walk around the bay area and admire the sunshine. The views from the restaurant that lined the bay was just amazing. It was so nice to just walk off lunch and admire the views. I watched the boats coming in and out of the docks.
The bay side restaurant row is breathtaking
After visiting both museums on the lower part of the island, I headed back to the northern part of the island for an appointment that I had to see the Barnegat Light Museum at 501 Central Avenue in Barnegat Light, a tiny museum that housed the original Barnegat Lighthouse light.
The original Barnegat light from the lighthouse
It was an old schoolhouse built in 1903 that had been converted into museum. The museum housed interesting artifacts like dinosaur bones found on the island, housewares from local residents, notes from the students who went to school at the schoolhouse and nautical items. Out of the three museums on Long Beach Island, this one has the most limited hours and I was only able to really tour it properly in August 2024 during my last summer visit to Barnegat Light.
The President of the museum took me on a private tour of the museum and she told me about all the pieces in the space. I also got to tour the gardens that surrounded the museum that were tended by the Long Beach Island Garden Club who did a wonderful job.
The Edith Duff Gwinn Garden plaque at the museum
The gardens at the Barnegat Light Museum in the off season.
The gardens in the Summer of 2024
As the day wore on, I walked the Barnegat Lighthouse State park one more time and admired the inlet and enjoyed the breezes. People were walking along the pathways before the park closed at 4:00pm.
The gardens in the August of 2024
The gardens in the summer months
The gardens at the museum in the summer months
The Gardens from the side of the museum
As I walked the around the area, exploring Andy’s at the Lighthouse at 202 Broadway, an old general store that had a lot of handmade wood works by a local artist and has a nice selection of tee shirts and gifts.
Another store that stood out was Wildflowers by the Lighthouse by owner and artist, Cricket Luker and the store really stands for it innovative clothing and accessories. The owner is a local artist who took her art studio and turned it to a clothing store over time.
She also opened Wildflowers Too! an art gallery at 506 Broadway that shows local and metropolitan artists with a collection of paints, sculpture and gifts.
Before I made the journey to the southern part of the island on my November trip, I stopped by the “Santa’s Viking Christmas Village” to see the arts and crafts festival at Viking Village at 19th and the Bay Barnegat Light. It was a sunny but cool afternoon but the winds had calmed down and I was able to walk the booths with no problems. I was in search of homemade Santa’s for my mother’s upcoming birthday. I found them in two different booths, one made of a conch shell and another made of wood.
The local seafood restaurant was open for takeout and you could smell the fried fish in the distance along with the horrible singing by a guitarist who could not carry a note. Thank God he took a break in time for the Barnegat Light Fire Department to bring Mr. and Mrs. Claus to the Village for a visit to the local children.
Santa’s Viking Christmas Village during Christmas time-Santa’ coming!
I waited for Santa to arrive via the Barnegat Light Fire Department and it was some crowd! There must have been over a hundred families waiting to see Santa. He arrived at 1:00pm as planned by fire truck to the Vikings Village and I had to elbow people just to get the picture of him and Mrs. Claus arriving. I know it is probably a fellow firefighter and his wife but the way people behaved you would have thought he really come from the North Pole.
The Barnegat Light Fire Department arrives with Santa.
Santa welcomes the crowd on the Barnegat Light fire truck.
Santa helping Mrs. Claus off the truck.
Santa and Mrs. Claus greet the crowd at the Viking Village Craft Show.
Viking Fresh Off the Hook’s outdoor seating was open that afternoon.
Because it was so cool out and I was starting to get hungry after the long trip down to Long Beach Island, I stopped at Off the Hook Seafood for a bowl of their Clam Chowder. You want heaven on earth on a cool November afternoon, it is a bowl of New England Clam Chowder and a Coke.
Viking Fresh Off the Hook Seafood at 1905 Bayview Avenue in Barnegat Light, NJ
My heavenly New England Clam Chowder really warmed me up while waiting for Santa.
After touring the Village, I made my way back down Long Beach Boulevard to the LBI Foundation of The Arts & Sciences Holiday Market 2021, which was mostly full of more expensive artwork and home decor products. It was not as festive as the Village Market and all our mask wearing steamed up everyone’s glasses which was a big complaint. In November of 2023, that was no longer a complaint. It was open and people were having a good time.
The Craft Fair at Viking Village in November 2023.
It was later in the afternoon on my October 2020 visit, when I headed back down to the southern part of the island to Beach Haven and I had some dinner. When I was walking past the NJ Maritime Museum, I came across Polly’s Dockside and Clamhouse at 112 Northwest Avenue. The restaurant is a small establishment right on the dock facing the bay and has the most amazing fried shrimp and clam chowder.
Polly’s Dockside & Clamhouse at 112 Northwest Avenue during the off season.
Polly’s in the Summer of 2024. The restaurant was hopping that night
Polly’s in the summer. I loved this little clam sign
I sat at the bar facing the water and watching the sun set. I ate the richest clam chowder while watching boats come in and out of the dock. The sun set right in front of all of us as we ate and it was like watching a movie. Mother Nature can really treat you to the most beautiful things in life. I swear I snacked so much during the day that I could barely finish my fried shrimp appetizer which was much larger than I expected. Still with a little sweet chili sauce, I finished the whole thing. I wanted to save some room for dessert later that afternoon.
Dining at the bar facing the dock
The Cup of New England Clam Chowder is a meal to itself
The Clam Chowder here is excellent
The Fried Shrimps with Tater Tots were so good!
Polly’s Dock in the Summer of 2024
The inside of Polly’s Dockside in the Summer of 2024
Polly’s Dockside in the off season when it is closed for the summer months.
Polly’s in the Summer when it is in full swing
The bayside restaurants at night during the height in the Summer of 2024
I left when it got dark much later than I thought I would leave and I had a two hour drive home. I stopped at the Custard House at 6403 Long Beach Boulevard for some vanilla custard that settled my stomach. It was the right pick me up after all the food, touring and walking. This popular little stand has plenty of outside seating on a warm evening.
I was able to visit the island once more before the dark days of winter came upon us. Surprisingly enough when I visited in December, it was warm. The whole weekend was going to be in the high 50’s. It did not disappoint me as the sun came out.
I started this journey by visiting Barnegat, a small town just north of the cross-way from Long Beach Island. I was exploring the downtown and visiting a store named the ‘Unshredded Nostalgia’, a antique store that carried everything from old movie posters to local history books, 70’s posters and records to house hold decorations. It was one of those stores that a movie scout might look for props.
The town of Barnegat is a small hamlet just north of Long Beach Island on the mainland a few miles from the cross-way. The Victorian architecture is a little shabby and the downtown has a lot of potential if it was renovated a bit more. It does have a unique look to it. It was a stop over for me on my back to Long Beach Island for a pre-Christmas visit.
During the late summer I had came across a flyer from the Surflight Theater for a Christmas production entitled “We need a little Christmas”, a COVID related play about Christmas in Maine. I had thought about it and at the last minute decided to visit Long Beach Island to see what the Jersey shore is like at the holidays. This was pretty shocking how quiet it had gotten.
The play was cute and not too serious with a happy ending and a lot of Christmas songs that trust me everyone in the audience needed to hear. It really cheered me up and put me into the holiday spirit.
“We need a Little Christmas” at the Surflight Theater
The irony of the show was that when it was over and we walked outside the theater, the clouds gave way and it was sunny and 56 degrees out. It was so nice outside and no wind that I walked down the block and walked on the beach which surprisingly I had not done in all my trips to Beach Haven. This was the first time I had touched the Jersey Shore all year and since 1975 here.
This is when I believe in God when we can enjoy the Christmas holidays with late summer weather. This is what I liked about visiting Hawaii during the holidays. I could walk on the beach and dig into the sand and smell the salt air without freezing. It was nice to just walk on the beach and hear the waves crash. The dunes were so quiet in December of 2023.
Beach Haven beach, what a day!
The dunes in the winter months are so quiet and relaxing
The dunes in the Summer of 2024
The dunes and the beach of Beach Haven in the Summer 2024
After the walk on the beach, I decided to walk around the downtown. I was amazed on how much was now closed. “How to Live” was closing for the season and everything was 50% off, the Crust & Crumb and a whole list of other restaurants has closed for the season. The arcade closed for the season as well. B & B Department Store was still open and decorated for the holidays but pretty much everything surrounding it was closed for the season.
The museums, art galleries and some of the bay side restaurants and attractions were shut down for the winter months as well. I thought with so many people staying on the island as residents more would be open. I had lunch at The Shack at 302 North Bay Boulevard, which was one of the few places that was still open. I had noticed it when I was visiting in October and they had a nice selection of lunch specials for $8.00.
Just wanting a snack, I had their $5.00 pizza combination, which was two slices of their fresh pizza and a Coke. I highly recommend their pizza. It must have been cooked in a hot coal oven because the crust and bottom were really crisp and pillowy. The sauce was well spiced and had a nice flavor and the slices were very generous (see review on TripAdvisor).
The Shack Pizza is delicious
After lunch, I decided to head up the coast and explore how the island was decorated for Christmas. In the downtown areas of Ships Bottom there were some nice decorations of lighted trees but outside that with a few store fronts with lights, the area was dark. Everything had closed for the season. With each town I passed, it was really quiet.
When I got to Barnegat Light, the lighthouse was dark and the park was closed as was all the stores surrounding it including Wildflowers at the Lighthouse, which I enjoyed visiting on my last two trips. The stores either were closed for the season or closed at 4:00pm when the park closed.
Getting back to the dock when the sun was still out.
On my trip back down the island, it was eerie how quiet the neighborhoods had gotten since Halloween. I thought more people were staying down here full time and I did not see that many homes lite up let alone decorated.
The one thing I did see was the most amazing sunset over the island and especially the bay area. The whole sky was reflecting off the clouds and had the most beautiful array of colors in reds, oranges and whites bouncing off the sky. The sun really gives a performance on Long Beach Island.
Beach Haven sunsets
Before I left the island for home that evening and for the rest of the season, I stopped at the Chicken or The Egg for dinner which had been on my bucket list to try since the end of the summer. The food and the service were excellent and everyone was so laid back.
The dinner was excellent (see review on TripAdvisor). I had a sandwich named the Chicken Slammer, which was a fried chicken breast topped with Bacon, Jack Cheddar, Lettuce and Tomato and capped off with tangy barbecue sauce with a side of fries and pickles. it had such nice flavor in each bite.
The Chicken Slammer sandwich at The Chicken or The Egg
Make sure that you get everything on top.
The restaurant has the most amazing desserts. I had their Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream Sandwich, which I highly recommend. They bake their own cinnamon buns and then cut it in half, load it with vanilla ice cream and top it with caramel syrup and then top it with cinnamon sugar. I swear that their is nothing like each bite of that dessert! No wonder it is so popular.
Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream sandwich is heavenly
I was so stuffed from dinner, I needed to take one last look around and I went back to the square and walked around all the lit Christmas trees , all twenty five of them surround the gazebo, and then the main one inside. On a warm night, with the waves crashing in the background, I thought this was an amazing place to admire a Christmas tree.
It was a treat to come to Beach Haven and Long Beach Island again after a forty-year absence. Who knew that the island in its transformation from working class resort to high class residential community offered so much in the way of shopping, restaurants and cultural sites packed onto one island? There is something for everyone here including the beach.
As I keep visiting Long Beach Island, I keep finding more and more things to visit and explore which show the true beauty of these shore communities at various times of the year.
To end my evening after an afternoon of visiting Christmas activities and cultural sites in November, I decided to drive to the end of the island to see what was there and I came across the Holgate Nature Conservatory at 11 West Lincoln Avenue. It was cool and still sunny out when I reached the park.
The Holgate Nature Conservatory in the Summer of 2024
The preserve in the Summer of 2024
This natural preserve at the southern tip of Long Beach Island was very quiet, less some laughing surfers and a few seagulls. The waves just lapped the shore and I could see the skyline of Atlantic City in the distance. There is something about a quiet beach in the Fall that seems serene and picturesque. It was like watching a nature documentary.
The Holgate Nature Preserve at the tip of the island with Atlantic City looming in the distance in December 2023
After dinner on my visit in November of 2021 and in 2023 at the Chicken or the Egg, I finished dessert at The Woo Hoo and walked up through the downtown to see the last of the people roasting marshmallows in the park and walked to Kapler’s Pharmacy at 1 South Bay Street.
Kapler’s Pharmacy at 1 South Bay Avenue is in the Christmas spirit.
The inside of the store is just as festive.
The crowds await as the horse drawn carriages arrive to take people on rides around town.
The horse drawn carriages.
The drug store was sponsoring horse drawn carriage rides around the neighborhood. I thought what a nice way to end the evening with a twilight view of the sun setting and watching the Christmas lights going on at houses around the neighborhood. The Jersey Shore at Christmas can really surprise you.
Kapler’s Pharmacy event at 1 South Bay Avenue in 2021
People enjoying the horse drawn carriages in the afternoon and early evening.
I thought it was a nice group of visits to get my mind off what is going on in the world. What’s better than the Jersey Shore in warm weather? Visiting at all times of the year in warm weather and then returning for the Christmas holiday events. Who says the Shore closes at Labor Day?
Later that day I found out that Michigan State beat Penn State 30-27. What a way to end the day on my November trip!
The Michigan State versus Penn State Game 2021
Christmas at the Shore! What a change from COVID 2020 to November 2023!
The Beach Haven Christmas Tree Lighting 2020 (virtually of course):
Merry Christmas from Beach Haven, NJ in November 2023. It was in full swing
The Kapler’s Pharmacy horse drawn carriage in front of the Long Beach Island Historical Society at twilight.
The park across the street from the historical society at dusk lit for Christmas.
Relaxing at the firepits and watching the Christmas lights turn on that evening.
Who says that a beach town closes down at the end of the summer? Beach Haven has many wonderful things going on all year round!
The gardens in the Summer of 2024 along the main drag
Landscaping along the downtown area
The artwork along the Main Street
Patriotism in shell art
The old businesses that line the downtown are still popular, the Dairy King at 1806 Long Beach Boulevard
No matter what the season, on the beaches of Beach Haven as well of all of Long Beach Island there is something to do both in the summer and at the holidays. You just have to keep coming back.
The dock by the Maritime Museum
The dock by the bay
The dock side party continues into early October of 2025
All this keeps bringing me year after year to Long Beach Island
a
Just sitting by the bay relaxing
Admiring the boats while I digested
The creative artwork by the shore
Christmas of 2025:
In 2025, I returned for the Christmas festivities and I have to say for a beach community, Long Beach Island and its small beach towns do not roll up their sleeves for the holiday season. It is alive with all sorts of activities and special events that make this a series of unique towns to come and enjoy at any time of the year.
It was an early morning drive to Long Beach Island and the holiday activities of the shore towns the line it of Beach Haven, Ships Bottom and Barnegat Light. Even in the colder months, there is a lot going on in these once sleepy summer towns. They are open for the holiday season.
The statue outside is always clever in its decorations
The entertainment was really good. Musicians Jimmy Azziz
His performance singing “Easy as Sunday Morning”
I really enjoyed the performance as did other people who stood by to listen to the mini concert.
I got to walk around the craft fair, admiring all the artists works and many of the display pieces. There were a lot of talented artists showing there work that afternoon.
One of the craft displays outside a store
While I was walking around waiting for Santa to arrive on the fire truck, I was admiring the display the people at Viking Village had set up in his honor for the holidays.
The Santa display set up in Santa’s honor
Then 1:00pm arrived and we could hear the bells and whistles of the fire truck as Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at Viking Village. There is always a lot of anticipation for their arrival and the crowds lined up so deep, that the truck dropped them off at the entrance and they walked in this time.
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive by fire truck with help of the Barnegat Light Fire Department
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive to a enthusiastic crowd
Then they sat down to join the crowd and hear requests from children and adults alike. They were busy for the rest of the afternoon.
Santa and Mrs. Claus await the first family to visit them
The proud couple with their first little visitor
As the long lines started for their visit, I decided to get some lunch while the crowds waited in line. In the same complex was the restaurant, ‘Off the Hook’, a wonderful seafood restaurant I had eaten at before.
Viking Fresh Off the Hook at 1905 Bayview Avenue in Barnegat Light, NJ
The food here is excellent and again I really enjoyed my meal. They had a limited menu and I started with the New England Clsm Chowder, which I enjoyed so much the year before.
The start of my meal, the New England Clam Chowder
It was thick and rich and loaded with clams
For my lunch, I ordered the Fried Shrimp Tacos. They were served in a soft taco shell with fresh shredded lettuce and tomatoes. With a little hot sauce and sour cream, they made the best lunch.
The Fried Shrimp Tacos with fresh shredded lettuce and tomatoes and fried potato chips
Now this is dining at the shore!
Yum!
Maybe it was the salt air or the excitement of the holidays and Santa’s visit or just the beautiful day of just the delicious food and eating outside on the picnic bench but it was such a nice lunch and I really enjoyed myself. The meal was excellent. It was also nice to eat outside on a sunny day.
On the way back to Beach Haven to visit the Beach Haven Library Open House, I stopped at Baked on the Beach at 2102 Long Beach Boulevard for dessert. I love their cookies and needed something sweet to finish the meal.
Baked on the Beach at 2102 Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City
I had to get one of their cookies and got the ‘Beach Bum’ with all sorts of chips inside an oatmeal cookie.
The Beach Bum cookie
The delicious desserts at Baked at the Beach
After I finished at the Craft Fair and lunch, I headed down to Beach Haven to go to the Beach Haven Library & Museum Open House. I never knew that there was a museum at their library so I looked forward to seeing it. What a beautiful library.
The Beach Haven Library & Museum at 219 North Beach Avenue
It is such a beautiful and historical library dating back from 1924. The downstairs was very interesting with wooden bookshelves and display cases and shelves showcasing the libraries collection. On the top floor was the museum with many artifacts from the island’s nautical and resort past.
The first floor of the museum with the library book collection
The second floor book collection
The second floor museum gallery
While the museum was small, it was packed with all sorts of interesting artifacts. There were hotel ledgers from long closed hotels, relics from ship wrecks and items from local families.
Hotel ledgers where guests once signed in
The artifacts save from ship wrecks and pictures of local spots
The upstairs conference room decorated for the holidays with book shelves lined with the collection
Downstairs there was a very nice Open House with snacks and a working fire with music and nice conversation with the staff.
The Open House Refreshment table
The Christmas decorations in the library with the working fire place
The Christmas tree in the Children’s Room
After I left the library, I explored the Downtown area and the Pharmacy had their Open House too with ice carvings and several contests. This was a how many reindeer can you count in the window contest.
The Counting Reindeer contest in the window
So many reindeer
The ice carving demonstration
Before I left for my last event on the island, the Ships Bottom Tree Lighting Ceremony, I stopped for some ice cream at The Woo Hoo.
I decided on the Christmas specialty flavor, ‘Santa’s Favorite Cookie’, which was a Cinnamon ice cream filled with crushed biscotti cookie, cookie dough, chocolate chips and M& M’s. It was heavenly.
‘Santa’s Favorite Cookie’ ice cream
Yum!
I love the holiday decorations at the Woo Hoo
With the wonderful lunch and some time before the tree lighting, I walked over to the pier to see the sun set over the island. This is always a treat.
The sunset over the pier
The sunset was so beautiful that night
The decorations in the park in Beach Haven
It got darker for the tree lighting ceremony and I got so lost. Then I did not know where the tree lighting was taking place. I had to Google the location about three times and I finally found it down by the harbor by the bay. By that point, they had lit the tree and people were visiting Santa. It was a nice way to end the evening at the shore.
The Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Ships Bottom, NJ
People were taking pictures by the tree and visiting Santa. They also had refreshments for everyone as well.
The beautiful Christmas tree in Ships Bottom by the bay
The decorations with Santa leading the way
The festive pirate ship
People were visiting Santa in the gazebo that night
This was a nice way to end my evening at the shore. The lights and the sounds were really nice and there was still a nice crowd when I left the tree lighting. It was really a wonderful afternoon at the shore. Long Beach Island knows how to celebrate Christmas.
Who says the shore quiets down after summer is over?
Welcome to Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. from Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder:
“This is the second time I have opened the firm, Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc., for my Introduction to Business 101 class. As a College Professor, I have always felt that the only way that the students are going to learn is by doing the work in real life. So every semester we do a group project that encompasses everything we are learning in the text book. The entire class becomes members of the Paramus-branch Team and they have to do a real life project that has to be presented in front of a group. This project took it one step further as the Team was invited to present the project to His Honorable Andre Sayegh, Mayor of Paterson and his Executive Team.”
The website for Bergecco-Parc Consulting Incorporated’s latest project: “Take me back to Paterson, NJ”:
For this semester, I developed something different from the previous projects. I had been in Paterson, NJ visiting some sites for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” that is available on WordPress.com as well, that is an off-shoot of my main blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com”.
I had visited the Paterson Museum one afternoon and then walked to the Paterson Falls, which is the second highest Falls east of the Mississippi. Along the way I had a hot dog and fries at Libby’s Lunch, a restaurant that has been in Paterson since 1936 (See my review on TripAdvisor-Now closed in 2021).
The Paterson Museum at 2 Market Street
Inside the Paterson Museum
While I was walking around the Falls after lunch and admiring them for all directions, I wondered why people don’t come down and visit them.
The Paterson Falls in the Summer
Paterson, NJ does not have the best reputation in the State of New Jersey. The schools, the gang problems and the poverty rate does not add to the reputation of a city that has been left behind. It was once the shopping and entertainment mecca from the end of the
Second World War until the riots of 1967. ‘
White flight’ and the closing of manufacturing plants sealed the fate of the city and the 1991 fire of Meyer Brothers Department Store in the downtown area just personified the problems of the City.
Downtown Paterson, NJ
The former Quackenbush Department Store
Yet I still saw something there. There is a lot of beauty to the City. Walking from the Falls back to the Paterson Museum I decided to find Lou Costello Park, a small square that is dedicated to the Comedian Lou Costello of the comedy team of Abbott & Costello. This small park just down the street from the Falls and was weed investing and full of homeless people. It was a little scary walking through the park, more for the homeless than for me as they thought I was an undercover policeman.
Lou Costello Memorial Park
The park in the summer
Walking down the street from the park leads to “Little Lima” the home of one of the largest population of Peruvian-Americans in the county. This vibrant neighborhood contains restaurants, retail stores, bakeries and salons and there is a lot to offer. This was once home to a large Irish population who used to work in the Mills and then it was Paterson’s Italian “Little Italy” until about the 70’s when most families moved to the suburbs.
Little Lima in Paterson, NJ
I stopped in Los Immortales at 21 Market Street, a deli/bakery (see review on TripAdvisor) for a snack. They had the most delicious dulce de leche doughnuts, filled with a kind of caramel tasting sweetened milk filling. They also had delicious pastilitos, similar to empanadas, a pastry filled with beef or chicken.
Los Inmortales at 21 Market Street
On another trip I made to the City later that week to finalize the field trip, I ate at Central City Pizza at 301 Main Street (see my review on TripAdvisor). Their pizza was amazing for a small pizzeria. The slices were huge, the pizza sauce amazing and at $2.00 a slice was well within budget.
All of these sites were only within a few blocks of one another. As I was walking back to the car at the museum, it dawned on me why people were not coming here with these free cultural sites and reasonable meals. This is where the idea for marketing Paterson, NJ for tourism came about.
The front of the Paterson Museum
The front of the museum
This semester I wanted to introduce my business students to the concept of marketing and using their business tools from class to see the same vision of the City that I was seeing. So I presented the project, “Take me back to Paterson, NJ”, to the class. How could we take the second largest City in New Jersey, one that was surround by some of the wealthiest suburbs and make it a destination to travel to for entertainment?
Our logo promoting the City of Paterson, NJ
Another proposal on the logo for the City
What I like about working with students in the entry level classes is their eagerness to look at things in a new light and their ambition to push themselves on their own. When I set the Executive Team up, it was interesting to see how they all come together. It takes time but I always see new relationships and friendships come out of it.
Walking through ‘Little Lima’, the Peruvian section of the City of Paterson
It was a slow start on the project as the students had to get to know their groups and the trust factors start. I saw the project start to jell when I arranged a trip ‘into the field’ to Paterson, NJ after our Midterm exam. I was surprised how happy some of the students were to go on a field trip. We lucked out and the weather was terrific, warm and sunny, a perfect fall day.
Our trip to the falls really amazed them
The interesting part of this trip I found out later on in their research papers on the project was that many of them were worried about visiting Paterson, NJ. The reputation was already established in their minds and it was my job as their CEO of the company to change it.
As a group, it was an information trip and I could tell really opened the eyes of the students. Not only were they really surprised by what they saw but I liked how they bonded together both over lunch at Libby’s for a hot dog and fries and touring the Falls for a second time.
We started the trip by visiting the Paterson Museum first and meeting the curator and staff. I don’t think the students realized what a rich history Paterson had and the role it played in the history of this country. The Paterson Museum covers from the time of the Lenape Indians when they used this area as a fishing site and for worship to when Alexander Hamilton created the first planned City using the water source as energy and this lead to the creation of the Silk Industry henceforth the nickname “Silk City “.
The Museum covers the history of the City of Paterson including famous individuals such as Lou Costello the Comedian, the growth the aerospace business of Curtis-Wright, the gun manufacturing industry, the silk industry and locomotive industry. There is also displays of minerals from the area as well as art work. Some of the students from our Talent Division had to plan a press party here so they asked lots of questions.
The history of ‘Silk City’ at the Paterson Museum
Touring the museum
After our tour of the Paterson Museum, we started our first part of the tour of the Paterson Falls before lunch. Since the day got clearer and sunnier, the Falls were in their prime. It was just beautiful to enter the Paterson Falls National Park.
The Paterson Great Falls in the Great Falls District of the City of Paterson at 72 McBride Avenue
This is where the students were able to capture of the real beauty of the City. The Falls were just beautiful with all the leaves changing colors behind them. We saw the entrance to the park for a quick explanation of the Falls and how they developed and how the Indians used this area as their summer camp.
The Paterson Falls
Before we took a full tour of the Falls, I took the students to Libby’s Lunch at 98 McBride Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor-Closed in 2020), a small diner restaurant that has been by the Falls since 1936. We had a group lunch of hot dogs and French fries (some of the students had turkey burgers) and Cokes. This is where I really saw my students bond. There was a lot of laughing and talking around the table and I could see that everyone was having a good time. The service could not have been nicer and more friendly and our waitress handled this large crowd well.
Libby’s Lunch in Paterson, NJ at 98 McBride Avenue (Closed in 2020-now Silk City Cafe)
After lunch, some of the students had to leave for work and other classes (they would return later for future visits) and the rest of the class and I continued on with our tour of the falls. We walked from the restaurant to the top part of the river and walked over the bridge covering the Falls and then we walked over the Falls. That’s when I knew I had their attention. The Falls are just so majestic and natural that when you hear the roar of the Falls it is enjoyable.
The hot dogs and fries were terrific
I gave the students about twenty minutes to walk around the park and just admire the view. I could see that many of the them were captured by the beauty of the park and after walking all over the park, some of them met on the benches below and just talked. it was nice to see that they were getting along so well.
Our next stop was Lou Costello Park, a tiny triangle of land down the block from the Falls and into the Mill district. This small park was dedicated to the famous comedian is located just behind the ‘Little Lima’ neighborhood District just off Ellison Street.
Lou Costello Park on Van Houten Street
The information sign in the park
It is a sad reminder of the famous comedian. The park was falling apart and I had to warn the students of the homeless who took up residence here. For the most part, our group seemed to scare away everyone and we were able to walk the whole park with no problems. The statue could have used a good sandblasting and the lawn a good mowing and trimming but overall it was a good tour. There were not a lot of homeless that day in the bandstand.
Our next part of the tour was to “Little Lima’, the Peruvian-American district of shops, bakeries and restaurants that is tucked between Downtown Paterson and the Paterson Museum. Little Lima is between Main Street, Spruce Street, McBride Avenue, Cianci Street and Ward and Olive Streets. The border is with the Paterson Museum.
We walked all the streets in the neighborhood and on the edge of Downtown Paterson, where I showed the students all the Beaux-Arts buildings that once made up all the upscale department and specialty stores, office buildings and hotels. The one thing our little group did was shock all the merchants and patrons who looked at us like “Oh, no gentrifiers!” If I saw a mixed combination of students and a professor walking through my neighborhood, I would think the same thing.
Walking down Market Street in Paterson, NJ once the shopping hub of North Jersey
We walked all the side blocks so that I could show them the businesses that were open and the condition of the neighborhood. We walked all around the church area and parking lot for a view of where we could hold events. Then I took them to Los Immortales at 21 Market Street (see my review on TripAdvisor) for dessert. We had the most delicious doughnuts filled with dulce de leche that I had eaten a few weeks before and cookies filled with the same. Each of the students took time to walk in and check out the store. Some even bought pastiletos, a type of empanada even after the big lunch. We really wiped out their baked goods. The staff got a kick out of it.
Los Immortales at 71 Market Street in Paterson, NJ
We walked back to the Paterson Museum and ate our dessert outside on the benches. We discussed the day and then the next group of students had to leave for classes and work and the last group of us headed to Lambert Castle.
Lambert Castle is located away from the downtown and we had to go to Garret Mountain Reserve Park to visit the former mansion of silk baron, Catholina Lambert. The home was closed as it was getting ready for the annual bazaar and then after the holidays it would close for a five-year renovation.
We got to walk the grounds and admire the castle with its spectacular views of Paterson and New York City plus the glorious foliage that surrounded the house and the hillside. We got to walk the fountains and walkways around the house and discussed how this could be used for parties and get togethers. From there, we finished our visit and now it was up to the students to work their magic.
From that afternoon on until the presentation on November 22nd, we met at the end of class to have Board Meetings and group discussions on our progress. Some of groups gelled better than others and with each class that I have done this there are always the ones who think they don’t have to do anything. They always stand out in the crowd.
Then there was a weird twist to the project. I stopped in City Hall in Paterson to see the Mayor and drop off a copy of the project to see if he and the Council would come and hear the presentation. Because of a mix-up in appointments, he thought I was someone else and being in a blue suit I am not sure knew who I was or what I was doing there (the intern who told me to come in was off that day and did not leave the message).
Paterson City Hall at 155 Market Street
We had a good laugh and I proceeded to tell his Honorable Andre Sayegh about our project for my class. We had a long discussion about what I wanted to do and the things I wanted the students to achieve on the project. He liked the ideas and came up with a better idea then him coming to class (he worked as a college professor as well and his class was right after mine). Why didn’t bring my class to City Hall to meet him? I loved it and told the Mayor I had to check with the school and then with the students but it should not be a problem.
The next week after our quiz and then lecture, almost everyone in my class got into their cars and off we went to Paterson City Hall on Market Street for our visit with the Mayor. I will tell you, it was a great meeting. The Mayor Sayegh is so personal and so enthusiastic about building the City of Paterson back to being an entertainment and dining destination that he embraced the project and encouraged all of my students with ideas and questions that we might have on how to bring tourists and surrounding residents back to the City.
My class and I meeting with His Honorable Mayor Andre Sayegh
With that I invited the Mayor and the Council to come to campus to hear our ‘pitch’ on how to sell the City of Paterson as a destination. He upped it more and asked if we would like to make the presentation in Paterson City Hall the morning of the project.
The class got all excited and high-fived one another. I asked everyone to slow down as permission to do this project would have to come from the Dean’s Office. I just can’t take thirty students to City Hall on a Saturday morning to present a project without permission. So with the help of my Chairman, Dean and the Vice-President of the College, we got the approval to present the project in Paterson City Hall.
I am the first one to say that I was really nervous about the presentation. I had not seen a dry run of it before that day and I found out later in the student’s papers that I read that there was a lot of last minutes preparations for the presentation up to that morning. When we got to City Hall I could see that a lot of students were nervous and when they were giving their presentations there were some that ummed their way through. This was not a problem as when you are giving your first presentation especially in a real life situation, it can be nerve wracking.
Presenting the project at Paterson City Hall
Even before the presentation I was giving the students their Dress Code grade. Getting a group of Millennials and Generation Z students to dress like it was the Reagan Administration was a challenge. Some of the men did not own suits or a blue blazer, so I allowed sweaters. Some did not know how to tie a tie but I have to admit they all had shoes that were shined. Still they presented themselves as gentlemen. The ladies were completely professionally dressed in dresses, skirts, blouses and pantsuits.
Still I opened the presentation to the Mayor of who I was as CEO, who we were and the presentation that we were about to give. After that I had the President and the Senior VP of Operations take over and what a job they did. We were working without a screen, monitor or projector that worked (surprising for a City Hall) but our President took full control of the situation and she and the Senior VP can it like pros.
Each team gave their presentation group by group. We started with the Special Events team with a presentation by their VP and her teams. We had the Lambert Castle team, The Paterson Falls Team, The Paterson Museum Team and the Abbott & Costello Film Retrospect Team. Each gave their presentation on how they would promote their areas followed by commercials promoting their section.
The Paterson Falls Team Commercial:
The Paterson Museum Team Commercial:
The Lambert Castle Team Commercial:
Then our Restaurant Team made their presentation promoting “Little Lima” as a dining and entertainment district in the way of the new “Ironbound Section” as in Newark, NJ. Our VP of the Restaurant Division also came with samples of Peruvian cookies for everyone to sample which I thought was a nice touch.
The ‘Little Lima’ Restaurant Team Commercial:
Our VP of Talent & Security and her team gave their presentation on how we were going to pay for the Paramus Division. She and her team gave their report of salaries, benefits and perks of the company. As a progressive and innovative company, Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. wants to keep the employees happy.
The President and Senior VP lastly gave their report on where we would be running the Division from and picked out the location in an office space in Downtown Paterson, NJ right near City Hall where we could work with the Mayor and his team.
When the students finished their presentation, I was floored by the professionalism of the project, the details and just the way the students presented themselves. I swear I thought the whole thing was really real as did the Mayor and his team.
When we opened it up for questions of the Executive Team, I enjoyed hearing how the students could justify their work and research with the field trip and then their own visits to Paterson on their own. Some of the questions got so detailed that I thought they believed this was a presentation by an outside firm. It was a great relief when it was over. The students were happy and the Mayor and his team seemed impressed.
Our last order of business was taking a picture of the Bergecco-Parc Team with the Mayor and his team. That was a thrill for me. You will never know how proud of I was of this group of students (and of all my students who do this project.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. team Fall 2019 with his Honorable Mayor Andre Sayegh and his Executive Team at Paterson, NJ City Hall November 22, 2019.
Here is the attachment to the Bergecco-Parc Website:
The Presentation was feature in the recent “Inside Edition” of Bergen Community College Number 8:
As the team broke up and I talked with the Mayor, I saw the team leave one by one with new found respect for one another. Frustrations, concerns and last minute details over. Was the presentation 100%? There were some things we needed to work on including some dress-code issues, articulation in speeches and some of the details of the Power Point but this is what a real team faces everyday when they go to work. Who really does the work, who doesn’t, who thinks they can ‘coast by’ and who does the extra mile. I hope they all thought of this by the time we got back to class after the Thanksgiving break.
I said my goodbyes to everyone and had a quick conversation with my President and Senior VP of Operations to tell them how proud I was of the ladies for leading such a good presentation and taking control of the situation with the IT.
The only bad part is I never got to taste one of the muffins that the Mayor brought in for the team for breakfast. When I finally left, everything on the breakfast table was gone (more like stripped away).
When I came back from Florida after my break, I called the Mayor to hear his feedback and the best part was he said ‘he would hire us’. That was nice to hear!
If there was ever a Professor that felt prouder of his students it was me!
In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am featuring all the small individually owned restaurants on my blog, DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com. These reasonable places won’t ‘break the bank’ when visiting New York City.
Barcelona’s in Garfield, NJ.
G’s Coffee Shop in Inwood, NY
Since the site has been created, the prices of food have gone ‘through the roof’ since COVID. So, I changed the price to $20.00. I have continued to look for quality restaurants and take out places that meet those standards. There are a lot of them out there.
My name is Justin Watrel and I created ‘Dining on a Shoe String in New York City’ (DiningonShoeStringinNYC.wordpress.com) as an extension to the blogs: ‘MywalkinManhattan’ (MywalkinManhattan.com) along with ‘VisitingaMuseum’ (VisitingaMuseum.com) and “LittleShoponMainStreet” (“LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com), in search of a delicious meal for $10.00 and under. It is difficult in an area as expensive as Metropolitan New York but many restaurant owners are paving the way with small, innovative menus at a fair price.
Lung Moon Bakery in Chinatown, NY
I created this blog when I discovered all these wonderful small restaurants, bodegas and bakeries that were fantastic both in that the quality of their food and the prices that they cost. I also looked at atmosphere and cleanliness of the establishment. Most cost under $10.00 (USA) for their main food items and provide small places to sit down and eat.
With everyone on a budget, I thought this would cater nicely to…
In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am featuring wonderful restaurants that are reasonable in New York City.
Corrado Bread & Pastry’s outdoor cafe.
The case line of sandwiches and pastries
The Chicken Salad on a Brioche bun
*Bloggers Note: Corrado’s Bakery closed in early June of this year and is now being replaced by another coffee shop. The Upper East Side loses another great little restaurant.
I came across Corrado Bread & Pastry shop when I was walking around the Upper East Side for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com” and looked in the window to see a large display of pastries and sandwiches and decided I needed a dessert and walked in. What a delicious variety of foods so beautifully displayed and so colorfully placed like jewels in a case. The best part is that everything I tried was delicious and their prices are very fair for the neighborhood.
This indoor/outdoor cafe is a block from the main campus of Hunter College and caters to everyone from the college students up for coffee and pastries between classes…
Hacklebarney Farm Cider Mill is a unique and family run farm stand that I have been coming to since I was four years old. They have the best baked goods, apple cider poached hot dogs and homemade apple cider.
The farm is fun to visit!
The Farm was really busy on a recent visit in the Fall of 2024
The wonderful gourmet products on sale at the farm store
The baked goods and gourmet products on sale at the farm store
Don’t miss this New Jersey institution tucked in the corner near the entrance of Hacklebarney State Park, one of the most beautiful and underrated parks in New Jersey. Just driving down State Park Road brings me back in time to the mid-1970’s when we used to stop at the farm for apple cider. My mom always liked to have it in the house to serve with dinner when we were growing up. The best part is that they still press their own.
Coming to Hacklebarney Cider Mill Farm is a step back into the rural era of New Jersey and the family that runs the farm respects its history and does not treat it like a theme park like the…
I needed a break from walking around New York City and my jobs. The late-night edits on my book “Love Triangles”, walking around Midtown East for the next entry on my blog and my three jobs I needed a change of scenery. My recent trip to Washington DC for my interview for Graduate School at Georgetown was hardly a leisure trip with running back and forth from New York City, so on a whim I made two escapes from my home life, one to Cape May, New Jersey on Tuesday night and one to Narrowsburg, NY on Thursday night.
There were two restaurants on my bucket list that I wanted to try before the summer was over, The Magnolia Room at The Chalfonte Hotel (which closes for the season September 6th) and The Heron Restaurant, which is run by a follow Alumni from the CIA and I has just passed by in 2016 on my way to an Alumni weekend at Cornell (See ‘Day Seventy-Seven’ on “MywalkinManhattan.com” site). I had planned these revisits but did not realize that it would take three years to do. Funny how time slips by:
I left after work on Tuesday on a whim to Cape May. I knew I would be back in two weeks for the NJ Firemen’s Convention but The Magnolia Room would be closed for the season and I wanted to try it one more time for dinner. Also, there was a list of museums that I wanted to add to my blog, VisitingaMuseum.com, before I started teaching for the school year at the college. I did not know how much time I would have once classes started.
So on a rather gloomy Tuesday morning, I called the Chalfonte Hotel to make a reservation for the night and off I drove down the Garden State Parkway to Cape May. From Bergen County it is a straight run from the top of the State to the bottom with a few rest stops along the way. My first stop was Beach Haven, NJ on Long Beach Island, a giant sandbar of an island that protects the coast line. I had not been to Beach Haven since 1975 when we were visiting friends at their beach house (which I am sure does not exist anymore). My destination was the Long Beach Island Historical Association Museum at 129 Engleside Avenue in Beach Haven, NJ (See reviews on TripAdvisor.com and VisitingaMuseum.com).
Long Beach Island Historical Association Museum at 129 Engleside Avenue: Destination One
I wanted to make these two trips a working vacation for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” and there was a list of museums that I wanted to visit over the period of four days. I wanted to visit the historical societies of Long Beach Island and Cape May as well as return to some of the sites around Cape May.
The dunes and beaches of Beach Haven
I got into Beach Haven in the later afternoon. Things have really changed over the last forty years. When you come off the causeway, you enter the town of Ships Bottom, which I barely remember. Here and there were still some of the old businesses that had been around since the late 60’s and early 70’s, whose popularity does not wane year after year. Hidden in those pockets is what is left of the old beach cottages that once lined all the streets of the town. I remember all these little shore houses that looked like dollhouses even then. They all looked the same with their one story construction, small yards and never ending towels drying on the outside.
Downtown Beach Haven, NJ.
What has replaced them over the years due to a bustling economy, changing times at shore towns and finally storms like Hurricane Sandy, which really wiped out a lot of homeowners, the make up of these towns has changed from more working to middle class families to these upscale homes on stilts that dominate those tiny pieces of land. I could not believe they let these people build on top of one another.
My first destination was the Long Beach Island Historical Association Museum which is located in the historical section of homes in Beach Haven. This unique museum gives a through history of Long Beach Island from the time of the Lenape Indians summering here in the hotter weather to the development of area as a resort for working and upper middle class families from Philadelphia to the current development of a year round community.
The inside of the museum
The back section of the museum
After my visit to the museum, I walked around the downtown area which still had a lot of life left into it so close to Labor Day Weekend. The small amusement park was still open but very quiet on this Tuesday afternoon with bored teenagers texting and talking waiting for the next customer. It looked like most of the restaurants and shops were gearing down for the end of the season with sales on merchandise in the stores and limited hours on the restaurants.
The Amusement section of the Downtown Beach Haven, NJ
After walking in and out of beach shops and gift stores, I took a recommendation from the people that ran the museum and went to The Woo Hoo for lunch. What a wonderful experience! The food and the service were excellent. Located around the corner from the museum at 211 South Bay Avenue, The Woo Hoo is an engaging little drive in concept restaurant with a walk up counter and outside picnic tables (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
The Woo Hoo at 211 South Bay Avenue in Beach Haven, NJ
For lunch I had a traditional burger ($7.95), which was two high quality freshly ground hamburger patties with fresh lettuce, tomatoes and slathered with mayo. You could really taste the meat which was rich and juicy with the right amount of caramelization. Their French Fries ($4.45) are freshly cut everyday and you can taste it when biting into these fries that are cooked per order. Washed down with a Coke ($2.95), there is nothing like it. The sun peaked out when eating so being outside on the picnic bench was not so bad after all.
The Cheeseburgers are so good here (they no longer make hamburgers in 2024)
I was so impressed by the food that I stopped by before I left Beach Haven to have some of their homemade ice cream. It was heaven. I had a scoop of Strawberry Cheesecake and a scoop of Cinnamon Toast Crunch ($4.95). Each was amazingly creamy and the flavor of the cheesecake mixture really stood out. Not too many restaurants make my DiningaonShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com site outside the City on the first shot but this restaurant is superb.
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ice Cream here is amazing! (They ran out of Strawberry Cheesecake on my fourth trip to the Woo Hoo. Bummer!)
After lunch I walked around the town’s historical section for a bit and looked at all the old landmarked houses that I had just read about in the museum. This area surrounds the blocks around the Historical Society so look for the plaques on the homes in the next two blocks.
The Historic District of Beach Haven
The Historic District of Beach Haven right near the Historical Society
After my walk to work off lunch, it was off to my next destination, Cape May and the Chalfonte Hotel for dinner at the Magnolia Room. Talk about a destination trip for a meal!
Cape May is a really strange exit as you get to 0 (zero) on the Parkway, you exit over a small bridge to enter Cape May and it is literally going from open farmland to a quaint little New England fishing village.
Cape May Harbor at 0 Garden State Parkway
As you drive into town you will be entering the Marina area of the town and the famous Lobster House restaurant, which is known for their fresh seafood dishes. The homes towards the back of the town are newer being built after the war years but as you get closer to the shore, the streets are line with Victorian homes, many of which have been renovated or updated over the years.
My destination was the Chalfonte Hotel, which I have written about several times for this blog especially at the holidays. The hotel was built in 1876 and is one of the old grand beach hotels on the Jersey shore.
The Chalfonte Hotel at 301 Howard Street in Cape May
I was lucky that the hotel was quiet the week of Labor Day. The weather was not that pleasant to the oncoming Hurricane Dorian. The waves were rough and the skies dark with slight break for a little sun. When I arrived at the hotel since it was midweek right before Labor Day, the hotel was not that busy and I went right up to my room.
The park in Downtown Cape May, NJ
After settling in, it was off to put my feet in the beach. Well not for long because Hurricane Dorian was churning up the surf at the beach and with no lifeguards and that strong current it was not advised to go near the water. I just let the surf that hit the beach go up to my feet and even that was rough. Those waves went to the middle of the beach. Still the water was cool and refreshing and felt so good after a long trip.
I walked around the stores and shops that are normally closed at the holidays by the shore and finally got to go into places that I had wanted to visit for the last three seasons. This led me to a long walk to Washington Mall, the main shopping district to walk around the stores there. At least I knew where all the beach goers were who abandoned the rough waves of the shore. The place was mobbed with people having lunch or an early dinner or eating ice cream and relaxing on the benches.
After my walk in the mall, I visited the Cape May Firehouse Museum again which is right off the downtown next to the Cape May Fire Department Headquarters.
This little museum on the history of the Cape May Fire Department is very interesting. The museum covers the fires of the town which is mostly made of wood and the famous fires of the late 1800’s that devoured most of the old wooden Victorian hotels. The resort area has been a lot over the last century. It explains who many of their members were and how they developed the department (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com).
Inside the Cape May Fire Museum
After the long walk around town and by the beach, I just settled into my room at the hotel before dinner. The Chalfonte is an old-line Southern beach hotel with its own traditions. The hotel was built in 1876 and runs like a hotel in Georgia or any other Deep South state. The hospitality is warm and friendly, and it attracts the same families year after year.
the inside of the museum and the patch wall.
I lucked out and they upgraded me to a room with a private bath and a view. It is too bad that over a hundred and forty years has passed since the hotel was built and the only view I got was of the homes across the street. That beach view is long gone.
Dinner is what I came for that night and that meant dining at the Magnolia Room, the main dining room at the Chalfonte whose specialty is Southern cooking. Lucille Thompson, who has been cooking here since she was young alongside her mother, grandmother and now niece just celebrated her 60th year at the hotel and her 90th birthday as well. She works in the kitchen 12 hours a day making the crab-cakes, biscuits (which one of the ingredients is ice cream) and other delicious menu items.
Dorothy Burton and Lucille Thompson in the kitchen at the Chalfonte Hotel
Her sister, Dot Burton, had passed around the same time as my dad and I met her niece, Tina, in the dining room on my last trip at breakfast and we had a real heart to heart about our parents. She then introduced me to her aunt. So when I traveled this time, I made an effort to say hello to both of them and the hostess let me talk to Lucille again.
That was fun. Lucille is such a nice lady and one hell of a cook! I had met her the year before on another last minute trip to Cape May when I wanted to eat at the restaurant last year after reading several articles on the fried chicken and rolls that you could order in the Magnolia Room. Now it was time to try Lucille’s crab cakes!
When I asked the hostess if her niece, Tina Browser was in, I was told that she left for the day. When I told her I had met Lucille last summer, she asked if I wanted to say ‘hi’ and then off we went in to the kitchen to see Lucille. She was making her famous dinner rolls (the ones made with ice cream) and was ripping apart kale for a salad. She told me that she was still working twelve hour days at 90 and she would not have it any other way. She told me the secrets of long life and working hard and it boiled down to doing something you love and making people happy.
I told her of the time I traveled to Cape May for my first time in the 90’s and had heard that she and her sister were upset when the hotel changed the dress code from jacket and tie to casual resort clothing. She said that that no longer bothered her but she missed her sister, Dot (who passed away five years ago) everyday and how strange it was to work in the kitchen without her. I could not imagine that after working in the same place with your sister for over sixty years! There is a real love of the sister’s food in the Magnolia Room which shows in the crowds that eat here every evening when in season.
Lucille Thompson with her late sister, Dot Burton with those delicious crab cakes
I said my goodbyes and let her finish her work. I wanted to relax before I came down for dinner at 8:00pm. I was just sitting down for dinner after a long nap in my room when Lucille was leaving for the night. It was such a nice night and the temperature hovered around 80 degrees that I sat outside on the porch of the restaurant (that and they were resetting the dining room for breakfast, and I did not want to upset the table set-ups). What a beautiful night to eat outside with a gentle breeze and you could see the stars poking out in the sky.
Sitting on the porch of the Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel
Dinner was amazing as usual (See review on TripAdvisor). I had the $39.00 prix fixe menu which is an excellent bargain for the three-course dinner with an appetizer, entrée and dessert. I started dinner with a Pineapple Martini from the King Edward Bar ($14.00) (See review on TripAdvisor) and did that pack a wallop! The bartenders here don’t skimp on the alcohol and the drink seriously relaxed me.
I started dinner with a bowl of the Chalfonte Clam Chowder, which is made in a rich roux of butter, flour and heavy cream studded with fresh sweet clams. God, it was heaven on a nice crisp night. You could taste the sweet clams and the richness of the cream in every spoonful. I ordered an additional appetizer and had the Corn Meal Fried Oysters with the homemade remoulade sauce. These were delicious. I received a generous portion of sweet oysters which were plump and well breaded with a coating of egg and cornmeal. The were lightly pan-fried and were crunchy on the outside and moist and fresh on the inside.
The New England Clam Chowder was amazing!
My entrée was Lucille’s famous crab cakes, which are more like a crab croquette. You got one nice sized crab cake, which was filled with fresh sweet crab, fresh breadcrumbs and seasonings which are lightly fried being crisp on the outside and moist and creamy on the inside. Each bite I got a nice mouthful of wonderful fresh shredded crab. The crab cake came with a side of freshly made mashed potatoes and a side of the string beans that Lucille had been prepared earlier in the afternoon.
The delicious crabcakes at the Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel.
I scoffed down those delicious dinner rolls, which were so much better than last year as they had just made them that afternoon and not frozen like last year. Those rolls were golden brown on the outside and pillowy on the inside and I swear I could taste the vanilla ice cream.
The Chocolate Pie at the Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel.
For dessert, I had the white chocolate pie, that is baked by the owner of the hotel, with freshly cut strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. That is an interesting combination of flavors and the perfect way to end the meal.
Lucille Thompson with her famous crab cakes and dinner rolls
My waiter was the same woman who I had waiting on me last year, who works here when the hotel is in season. She is a student from the Czech Republic ( I keep asking her if she is Russian or Polish) and she even remembered me editing my book, “Love Triangles” the last summer ( I have to finish that book) when I was eating dinner. We just laughed at that and it was funny how fast a year goes.
After dinner, I walked over to the King Edward Bar, which is a small room off the lobby to hear a jazz combo perform. It was such a nice performance, and it was so crowded that I sat on the outside porch and listened as the wind went by. It had been such a magnificent night of good food, wonderful conversation and just the beauty of this elegant old hotel that I just relaxed and closed my eyes and soaked it all in.
I am not sure when I fell asleep that evening but when I got back to my room around 9:30pm after a quick walk around the block, I hit the pillow and went out like a light. The beds at the hotel are so comfortable that I just fell asleep, got back up and got ready for bed and did not wake up until eight the next morning. I had such a deep relaxing sleep. I highly recommend a quick escape night at The Chalfonte if you need to escape your life.
Breakfast the next morning was at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House down the block at 261 Beach Avenue (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The restaurant is a typical Jersey Shore breakfast place with the big windows and equal size portions.
The Egg Platter at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House
I had a breakfast egg platter with scrambled eggs, sausage and potatoes with orange juice ($11.00) that was delicious. The eggs and pancakes here are cooked on the grill with clarified butter and that really brings out the flavor of the food.
Uncle Bills Pancake House at 261 Beach Avenue is a Jersey shore tradition
Their staff is really young and very perky and always have a smile on their face like they are happy to work here. The wait for food is never long and I have never had a bad meal here.
After breakfast and before I left Cape May, I visited some more historical sites that I had missed on my last trip. First, I visited the Greater Cape May Historical Society: Colonial House at 653 1/2 Washington Street (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). This small two room home dates back from the 1700’s when it was a three room house and tavern right before the Revolutionary War.
Cape May Historical Society at 653 1/2 Washington Street
The house is decorated in vintage, but not family, furniture and the docent told me the story of the owner and his family. There were spinning wheels, children’s games and in the front room furnishings geared towards the tavern while the back room was more of a living space. The family later built the Victorian home in the front of the property and must have used this original house for guests.
The Hughes new home is now The Hugh Inn at 653 Washington Street
After visiting this quirky little museum, it was off to North Cape May and visiting the World War II Watch tower on Sunset Boulevard right near Sunset Beach (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) an interesting piece of New Jersey history played a role in watching the coastline during the war for German invasion. German subs were actually spotted off the coast and there was one attack off the coast of Cape May.
You can climb the hundred steps up the tower and there are three levels with a landing on each level with a display. The first level is of pictures of local World War II and Korean War vets in before and after pictures and the role these men played in the wars. The second display was of pictures of the tower during the war years and on the top level was a docent who discussed the history of the tower and how it played a role in the war.
The bunker and grounds.
The view from here of the beach and the surrounding park is incredible and the stories of the tower were interesting. The tower was pretty much out of date by the middle of the war and obsolete by the end as air traffic is what won World War II. Really take the time to see the display and talk to the docents.
Cape May during the war
My last place to visit before I left for home was Sunset Beach with its gorgeous evening sunsets and large white sand beach (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). In the evening, there is nothing like it watching the sun set over the horizon.
During the day, it is a bright and sunny beach with people milling around and in the later months flying kites and swimming. Any time of the year, including my trips during the holidays, Sunset Beach is worth the visit. I just love walking around the sandy beach with my shoes off and watching the ferries from Cape May to Lewes, DE sailing through. Just watching the birds fly by is relaxing.
Sunset Beach has the most amazing sunset show every night
Even though it is a three-hour trip home, I was so relaxed and in such a better mood that it was well worth the trip. I was just enjoying the ride home thinking of the relaxing night at the hotel and all the interesting things to see in just one day. Going up the Garden State Parkway was a straight run and I got home in three hours. Even though it was one night. I was so relaxed that I felt like I had been gone for a week.
Two days later, I was off again to try another restaurant, The Heron, in Narrowsburg, NY. I must be dedicated because only me could travel to two out of the ways spots just to try a restaurant. I had missed eating here in 2017 when I was passing through on my way to Bovina Center, NY (See Day Seventy-Seven on ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’):
I had gotten to Narrowsburg at 5:00pm that night and had to be in Bovina Center by 8:00pm so I just had about a half an hour to walk through the downtown and pass the restaurant. I vowed I would be back and it took three years to do it. Funny how life gets in the way when you are living it?
The goal is Downtown Narrowsburg, NY
My trip to Narrowsburg, NY was also a last minute trip that had been on my bucket list for the summer break from school. After such a wonderful day in Cape May, I wanted to take another drive to revisit the area in more detail plus there were a few museums that I wanted to visit that were also on the bucket list. So after work, I traveled up Route 23 into Sussex County and traveled up the highway to my first stop, The Franklin Mineral Museum (which I had passed years ago). It was a nice little museum on the site of the old Franklin Mine.
Before I got to the museum, I had to stop at the McDonald’s in Franklin, NJ, which has been my go to place for lunch before the long trip up to Narrowsburg. It is right around the corner from the Franklin Mineral Museum at 260 Route 23 in Franklin, NJ.
The limited edition Chicken Big Mac which is on the menu as a special
I had to try the new Chicken Big Mac that they were featuring as a special on the menu. It was two tempura chicken patties with the same sandwich set up as the beef counterpart with another type of secret sauce. I have to admit with a small Coke, it was more than enough to tide me over before dinner at 7:00pm. I did not need to order anything else. After lunch, I headed over to the Franklin Mineral Museum.
The entrance to the Franklin Museum 32 Evans Street in Franklin, NJ
The Franklin Museum 32 Evans Street in Franklin, NJ (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) is dedicated to preserving the history of the mining industry, the types of minerals that were found on the property plus interesting displays on fossils from New Jersey and Native American artifacts.
The Franklin Mineral Museum on a sunny afternoon
Before you start to tour the museum, they give you an option to tour the quarry on your own and look for specimens of rocks. I looked over the quarry to find smaller pieces to take home and they had a black light to look over what you found. I found several pieces of calcite that glows orange under the light.
The Mineral Room before the lights go out
When touring the museum, leave yourself plenty of time to tour each of the galleries with two standing out, the Illuminated Rock Room and the simulated mine shafts, which take you into a copy of what a mine shaft and working in the mine would be like.
The Illumination Room is interesting once they shut the lights and close the door
The gallery illuminated
The other rooms are dedicated to minerals and rocks that are found all over the world. The only problem with the museum is that it is a little dated. Most of the signs are typed and the displays could have had more videos to explain what things were and how they were mined. Still the museum is an interesting stop along the highway.
The Franklin Museum Mineral Room
The Native American and Pre-Columbian Gallery
The Fossil Room
After my trip to the Franklin Museum, I continued the drive up Route 23 to downtown Sussex, the County seat. I have never been to such a depressed downtown before since visiting Asbury Park in 2002 (this shore town looks nothing like that today). In 2024, this is the same with Downtown Sussex with a very big theater and arts district. Now the sidewalks are being ripped up and bricked up. The buildings are getting a new life with new stores, restaurants and I can see galleries.
The changes going on now will change Downtown Sussex in 2024
Driving through it looks very nice from a distance but when I parked the car and walked around, almost all the storefronts were empty. All these beautiful historical buildings were just sitting around rotting. The historic hotel on the edge of downtown that looked over the rest of the city was falling apart. There was a theater that had been turned into an arts center but the rest of the downtown had not caught up yet. The artists have not found this place yet. Even the Chase branch closed recently so it is telling you about business. I got in my car and continued driving.
When I stopped in Downtown Sussex in 2024 for the first time in almost five years and all the predictions I thought that would happen to this downtown are coming true. The artists and the creative types have discovered the area. The beautiful Victorian homes that surround the downtown are being renovated, the sidewalks are being bricked up and the ‘new windows’ on old buildings are showing repurpose. It , like Asbury Park, are finding a new beginning.
The views as you start the drive into the mountains on Route 97
The views of the Delaware River in 2024
The trip up Route 23 continues into the mountains and to the highest point of New Jersey, High Point Mountain in High Point Park. Here you will see a lush forest and a great park to go hiking in. Maybe for the next time. I exited through the town of Port Jervis, NY before making the turn onto Route 19 which lead me into the mountains.
The Route 97 plaque
Route 19 past Port Jervis, NY hugs the Delaware River
Route 19 right now is one of the most beautiful drives into the mountains. The foliage was still green on my way up but in a few months the leaves will start to change colors and the views will be even more spectacular. Just driving slowly up the road the Delaware River Valley shows off its true beauty. My advice when you travel up to Narrowsburg, NY is to take your time and if there is a driver that wants to pass you, stop at one of the stops along the way and take the time to admire the view.
Route 19 views of the Delaware River
The view on its way to Narrowsburg, NY
I have to admit though that the drive can be a little scary being so close to the cliffs. I had not been this nervous about driving to close to an edge since my trip to Hana in Maui, Hawaii so please take your time, drive alert and drive during the day. During the late summer, just seeing the river glisten beside me and driving through the small towns on the way up the highway was picturesque and romantic.
The views from the top of Route 97
I got up to Narrowsburg in the late afternoon and the everything in the town was closing down for the night. I arrived at the Narrowsburg Inn by 3:00pm and needed to take time to relax. I met the owners who were preparing for a wedding that Saturday so I did not want to take up much of their time. What surprised me was when they told me that this was their last weekend in business and that Sunday would be their last day running the Inn. Also I was to be their only guest that evening and that they were leaving by 6:00pm for the evening.
All I could think about was the Overlook Hotel in the movie “The Shining” and the rumors that I read online that the Narrowsburg Inn was haunted. The owners assured me that there were no ghosts at the hotel, and I would be fine. They showed me to my room toward the back of the hotel with a view of the park and the river in the distance.
For $100, I thought it was very nice (See my review on TripAdvisor). It had a nice large bedroom with a small sitting area and bathroom with another small sitting area. The whole Inn had been renovated and made to look rustic to match the environment of the town.
The views of the Delaware River from the bridge in Narrowsburg
I had time to unpack and then explore the town while my hosts returned to their work. Downtown Narrowsburg is right around the corner from the Inn and is a nice walk down the road (The Narrowsburg Inn has since been renovated since I stayed there in 2019 and I have no pictures of it).
In 2024, the Narrowsburg Inn was full and I stayed at the new Darby Hotel just across the bridge in Pennsylvania.
The Darby Hotel is a new hotel to the area and is a five minute walk across the bridge from Downtown Narrowsburg. This little hotel which was once a nursing home has been transformed to a hipster hotel with game rooms, wonderful jazz music in the lobby and at breakfast and the most comfortable beds. They had a fire pit at night and a wonderful continental breakfast in the morning. I slept soundly that evening and enjoyed walking the grounds in the morning.
The Common area of the Darby Hotel
The firepit on the grounds at night
My bedroom and the dreamy bed
The Continental Breakfast in the morning which is part of the package
The grounds of the hotel
Narrowsburg had once been a sleepy little logging and fishing town that had become depressed with the economy of Upstate New York until the artists and restaurateurs discovered the town again and made it the ‘Brooklyn’ of the Catskills. The downtown is filled with innovative ‘farm to table’ restaurants, some very expensive galleries and shops (these do not cater to the locals) and some excellent views of the Delaware River.
I think Narrowsburg is going through its second transition as some of the more expensive stores have closed up and some newer ones look like they have been planned.
Downtown Narrowsburg, NY in the Fall of 2024
The small four block downtown is filled with clothing and food stores, small gift shops and galleries and some interesting restaurants. Most of the stores were closed by 5:00pm and would not be opening until 11:00am the next day so there was not much to do but window shop. I walked the whole downtown and passed the grain factory at the end of the block and wondered how long it would be operating with this wave of change. It was nice to see the old and new next to one another and how the town is remaking itself.
Downtown Narrowsburg, NY post office
Downtown Narrowsburg with the Heron Restaurant in the background
I had time to walk ahttps://welcometonarrowsburg.com/exploreround the river and the bridge that lead to Pennsylvania and don’t miss out on this breathtaking view. It is really something to look down the river and see woods and rock formations as well as see the view of the “Big Eddy”, the bend in the Delaware River in the middle of the downtown. The river bends to create a type of lake that naturally flows. At one time, this is where the logging industry used to move the logs downstream but now its used for fishing, boating and photography.
The Bridge over the Delaware River
The views of Delaware River in the Fall 2024
After the walk downtown and saw how busy The Heron Restaurant was that evening, I decided to walk a little further to work up my appetite and walked around the other blocks and look at the old homes and small farms that surrounded the downtown. Right down the road there was even a small historic cemetery and Fort Delaware were right down the road from the Inn.
The views of the ‘Big Eddy’ of the Delaware River from the Downtown Narrowsburg
Dinner at The Heron Restaurant was beyond my expectations (See review on TripAdvisor). The whole experience was excellent. From the warm greeting that I got at the host desk, to the view from my deck table (if the weather is nice it is highly recommended that you get a table on deck facing the river) which is amazing, to the friendly and welcoming service. It was one of the best meals I had eaten in a long time.
The artsy entrance to The Heron Restaurant at 40 Main Street
The inside of the restaurant during October of 2024 with Halloween decor
Choosing to sit on the outdoor terrace at sunset
The outdoor dining that overlooks the Delaware River
Enjoying a Bellini before dinner and toasting my father on the Tenth Anniversary of his passing
My toast to my father with much love!
What is nice about The Heron is that the prices are very fair for the portions you receive and everything I had was consistently delicious. I started off with a side salad of fresh greens with a homemade vinaigrette dressing, which was a small side dish that could have passed for an appetizer. It was more than enough. It was a combination of mixed greens, red onions, carrots and radish which was crunchy and delicious.
The Mixed Green Salad to start the meal
The salad was crisp and tossed with a light dressing
For my entree, I ordered the Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy with a side of mac & cheese that was made with three cheese, caramelized onions and baked bread crumbs . Trust me when I say that the sides of salad and mac & cheese are more than enough. The appetizer portions were much larger and would be too much with a full entree.
My Fried Chicken and Mashed Potato dinner (there were no sides of Mac & Cheese on the menu on this visit)
The Fried Chicken was excellent. When you have a free range organic chicken you can tell the difference in flavor with that and a frozen chicken from KFC. The chicken was moist, succulent and flavorful. The outside had been coated with a crunchy breading that was perfectly fried and crisp. The mashed potatoes were loaded with butter and the mushroom gravy had a rich flavor to it. The mac & cheese must have contained three cheeses and was sharp, gooey delight. The entree was delicious.
I highly recommend the Fried Chicken the Heron Restaurant
For dessert in 2019, I skipped the rich, heavier desserts (even though I really wanted one) and opted for the homemade grapefruit sorbet which was light and tart and the perfect ending to spectacular meal. In 2024, that dessert was no longer available and I wanted some comfort food to end the meal. I had the Lemon Ricotta Cake with a pot of Tea for my dessert. Talk about heavenly. The dense cake was served with a side of fresh whipped cream.
My dessert, the Lemon Ricotta Cake with Hot Tea on a cool October night
The dessert was perfect on a cool October night
The view was the deck was just as breathtaking! As I waited for dinner to arrive, the view changed from a sunny evening that gave way to a beautiful sunset over the “Big Eddy” and the mountains to a starry night where you could almost touch the constellations. I could see the ‘Big Dipper’ perfectly from my table. It was the perfect compliment to the wonderful food and excellent service.
The people dining on the patio The Heron Restaurant looking over the “Big Eddy”
I was the last one left on the terrace which had such beautiful views of the stars
After dinner was over, I walked around the quiet downtown and walked over to the small deck that is next to the stores down the road and looked at the stars. Up in the mountains you don’t have all the light pollution of the City and you can really see all the stars and admire the constellations. The walk was the end of a perfect evening.
The Skeleton inside the restaurant greeting you and watching you leave
The Mummy Lady outside the restaurant
When I got back to the Inn, it was quiet. There was one light on at the other side of the building over the kitchen. I guess one of the cooks stays there. Outside that, when I walked in I saw the empty kitchen and dining room. I walked up the creaky stairs to see the other empty rooms and arrived back in my own warmly lite room and got ready for bed.
Downtown Narrowsburg at night with a full moon by the bridge
If there is a ghost in this Inn, I did hear them. I sunk immediately into the soft, firm, comfortable bed and went fast asleep. When I mean its quiet up here it is silent. I did not hear a peep and slept soundly the whole night. Since the owners were not coming back until noon the next day, I could sleep in and had one of the best night’s sleep since the trip to Cape May. All that driving wore me out.
The owners had recommended Gerard’s Cafe at 119 Kirks Road the next morning for breakfast (See review on TripAdvisor). It had been an old gas station that had been turned into a restaurant (I think they still pumped gas there). It was a pleasant little cafe where all the local farmers ate and caught up on their gossip.
Gerard’s Cafe is now called “Proper to Go” and is a gourmet grocery store (Closed June 2021)
I had a sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich with a side of hashbrowns ($10.95) and a blueberry Danish that had been brought in from a local bakery ($2.00) and everything was simple and delicious. The hashbrowns could have been warmer but overall it was a nice meal. It was fun watching the staff interact with the local guys and some of them went in the back to kid with the staff and give the cooks a hard time. It is a very nice place to eat if you want to go where the locals eat.
The Sausage Egg and Cheese sandwich was excellent (the restaurant is no longer open)
Since none of the downtown stores open until 11:00am, I stopped at Fort Delaware down the road. Fort Delaware is a local historical site (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) that is a recreation of an old fort that used to be on the Pennsylvania side of river.
The Historic sign
The fort was created in the 1950’s as a local tourist attraction by an area resident historian who later sold it the area Parks system. The fort was open for touring on my first visit and I got to see the grounds. In 2024, it was closed as they were preparing for a Haunted Halloween event.
The site has three homes that recreate life in the fort as well as a working blacksmith shop and areas for spinning cloth and cooking. There are actors walking around demonstrating their crafts and talking to the visitors. It is a nice place to take the family if they are interested in history. If you visit the fort, remember to take time to walk all around the upper decks of the fort to look inside.
Fort Delaware preparing for a Halloween event
After my visit to the fort, I was able to walk around the downtown area and visit the shops and galleries that line the street. There is very interesting but expensive art to be found in the galleries in Narrowsburg and several nice gourmet shops carrying brands that you do not see to often. Even though the town is becoming a tourist destination, I am not sure who is going to buy all these things in the winter months when the snow comes. The stores really didn’t cater to the locals the way some other small towns up in the Catskills do and the prices were a little high. The quality is there in the merchandise and you will find some nice things from local artists and food artisans. Just note that a lot of the stores don’t open until 11:00am.
Downtown Narrowsburg during the Halloween season
Downtown Narrowsburg at the start of the Halloween season
Downtown Narrowsburg in the morning just as stores were opening in 2024
The residents were getting into the holiday spirit
I stopped at the Narrowsburg Farmers Market before I left town that morning
After my quick tour of the shops of Downtown Narrowsburg, it was off for the 2:00pm tour at the Sterling Hill Mine Museum in Franklin, NJ (in 2024, the only tour was at 1:00pm and I just made it). It was about two hours away and it ride back down Route 19 and thank God there was no traffic. I did make one or two stops at the rest areas overlooking the Delaware River to admire the view.
You have to take your time down Route 97 and really enjoy the views. Take it slow by the cliff area (I sung “High Anxiety” from the movie “High Anxiety”)
Please take your time when coming back down Route 19. You are on the cliff side of the highway and if someone wants to pass you, let them. Just go fifteen miles an hour until you pass the cliff area and then you go fifty-five again.
The Sterling Hill Mine Historical sign
The Sterling Hill Mine Museum at 30 Plant Road in Ogdensburg, NJ
I got to the Sterling Hill Mine Museum just at 2:15pm as the tour began and I was able to catch up to the tour with the group and enjoy the tour. The Sterling Mine Museum is located at 30 Plant Road in Ogdensburg, NJ (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) and is the site of the former Sterling Hill Mine that operated until 1986 and was one of the biggest zinc mines in the world. Unlike the Franklin Mine that I saw the day before, the Sterling Hill Mine still has minerals in the mine but was closed because of cost prohibitive.
The miner statue by the entrance of the mine
The Miners statues in the front of the building
The tour starts out with a small lecture inside the main building and then moves into another building that houses the old mining lockers, samples of minerals, old equipment that had been used by the miners for over 100 years, all sorts of signing from the past as well as fossils from New Jersey and Native American artifacts. They give you plenty of time to look around and you can participate in Scavenger Hunt if you want and they will ask and answer your questions.
Artifacts inside the main part of the building
On the museum tour you get about an hour to tour around the galleries and displays
The Mining locker display
Then you get to tour the mine and that was the best part of the tour. The docent explained the workings of the mine and the day to day life of a miner and it must have been a tough experience. Long hours, dangerous conditions and not so working locations in the tunnels was not for the most productive life. Still these men and women endured a structured but dangerous life.
The mine tunnels at the Sterling Hill Museum
Miners in action on the tour of the tunnels
Still what these people accomplished was amazing as we got to tour the top of the mine tunnels and get to see the inner workings of the miners days. There was a complete foreman’s office to see how the day started, long tunnels to where the actual work was done, the tracks on how the ore was moved from one part of the mine to the other and how they transported from one part of the mine to the other.
The mining transport system
Most of the mine tunnels have been flooded now by underground streams that used to be pumped out. Otherwise you could go several miles down into the mine. Once you finish the main part of the tour, then the docent will take you to the Illumination cave with the mineral rainbow. When they turn out the lights, it is the most amazing site of colors and designs. Its natures way of showing off.
The colorful rainbow display in the rock formation before the lights go out
After the lights go out the show is amazing
The ceiling lit
The underground lake at the end of the tour
After the tour is over, take time to look over the gift shop and the snack bar. There are some interesting things on the menu including a meat pie that the miners used to eat for lunch. Just a note, the tour only takes place at 2:00pm so be sure to be on time and wear comfortable clothes and sneakers. I also would not advise people with strollers and canes on the tour even though they say it’s fine. I really saw people struggling here.
In 2024, there was plenty of time after the tour to brose the gift shop and have a snack at the Snack Bar. I finally was able to try one of the Pastie’s, the meat pastries that the miners used to have for lunch. I can see why. They are filling and pure comfort food when in the cool mines.
The gift shop at the Sterling Hill Mining Museum
The Snack Shop at the museum
The Meat Pastie, which the miners had for lunch, was my lunch in 2024. It is filled with meat, potatoes and onions in a pastry that is baked
The perfect meal on late October afternoon
Before I headed home for the day, I stopped at Franklin Chicken and Ribs (now called Olluco Cafe in 2024-same menu) at 535 Route 23 South for dinner and had one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I had had in a long time. Franklin Chicken and Ribs (See review on TripAdvisor) specializes in barbecue meats and accompanying salads and sides. There is an extensive menu and the family who runs the restaurant is really nice.
Olluco Bistro (formerly Franklin Chicken and Ribs) at 535 Route 23
The pulled pork is so tender and well cooked and slathered in rich tangy barbecue sauce and then topped with fresh homemade coleslaw. That with their hand cut fries and a ice cold Coke, there is nothing like it. Grab one of the picnic tables outside and relax while soaking up the sun.
The pulled pork at Franklin Chicken and Ribs is excellent
The delicious pulled pork and the freshly made to order French Fries are excellent. What a great meal
I also double backed for dessert at Holland American Bakery at 246 Route 23 South (See review on TripAdvisor) for some dessert. You will know the bakery by the giant windmill up front.
The sign that welcomes you to Holland American Bakery at 246 Route 23
The doughnuts here are delicious and I had one of the jelly and one of the blueberry filled doughnuts ($1.25). You will be tempted by all the sweet rolls, cookies, turnovers and the other colorful pastries. Be prepared to dig in and enjoy your dessert out on the picnic benches outside. You may want to take another round in the bakery after you are finished.
Don’t miss the Holland American Bakery at 246 Route 23
The inside of Holland American Bakery at closing time (which was an hour earlier than posted)
The selection of doughnuts that I had to choose from
Funny enough I chose the Blueberry filled for a second time and the Cinnamon Croissant in 2024
After dinner, I made my way back to Green Valley Farms for some ice cream. I had passed the farm early in the day on the way to dinner and wanted to head back (I kept the doughnuts for breakfast the next day). Green Valley Farms is a dairy and full farm on Route 23 North with some of the most picturesque views of the fields. They had a ice cream stand that with 70 degree temperatures was bringing people out for their ice cream fix. All the flavors were made on property.
Green Valley Farm Stand at 997 Route 23 in Sussex, NJ
I was in the mood for ice cream after this very long trip. I was only gone overnight and I felt like I had been gone a week. The ice cream made up for it.
The Creamery
The menu of homemade ice creams
I spied the Apple Crisp and the Caramel Critter and ordered those. The apple crisp was made with fresh apples from the farm and the Caramel Critter was Vanilla ice cream with chocolate turtles in them. For $4.00 (2024), the portion size for a medium was better than anything I had lately.
The Apple Crisp and Caramel Critter ice cream here is mind blowing. This is a medium!
The fields with the Corn Maze and the Pumpkin Picking
The fields were so beautiful in the Fall of 2024
This sign was on the family’s front porch
I thought it was a nice way to end the trip. I just sat in a chair overlooking the fields and enjoyed watching everyone go through the maze and explore the farm. The ice cream was mind blowing and if you are in the area in season, STOP!
After finishing my early dinner, I drove home slowly through Sussex County and enjoyed the mountain views. There are some really beautiful sections of the county with great museums and restaurants just a short drive away. It was really funny that on both overnight trips I felt like I had been gone a week. There is so much to see and do and to experience. I had passed these places many times but I had never stopped to experience them.
This time I am glad I did. If you get a chance to visit Cape May, NJ or Narrowsburg, NY stop where you can and relax and enjoy it.
Fee: Combination Museum & Rock Collecting: Adults $15.00/Children 3-16 $10.00/Seniors (65+) & Veterans $12.00 Other packages for just the museum and rock collecting are available. Please check the website.
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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