I have been travelling up to the Hudson River Valley much more than usual this Fall. There has been so much going on between the events up at the Dutchess County Fair Grounds since the Fair in August and all the of the ‘Mansion Hopping’ and visiting to historical sites for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com”, which I have been concentrating on building over the Summer and Fall. I have been visiting on most weekends between September and the end of October.
The Hudson River Valley in the fall.
Travelling up to the Hudson River Valley in the fall is an amazing time. Because of the lack of rain over the summer, the foliage turned much earlier than it usually does and the trees starting turning yellow and red in the end of September and beginning of October as opposed to last year and the year before where it was more the end of October and middle of November.
The views of the Hudson River are always so amazing
I started my journey up to Dutchess County right after the Dutchess County Fair at the end of August and continued through the end of October for Halloween events. I had bought a small Santa from a woodcarver for a small Mother’s Day present for my mom and she absolutely loved it so I had to seek him out again at events through the next three months. He was tough to find.
My mother loves the Santas at the fair
My first trip Upstate was for the Cornell-Marist Football game on September 21st. Because I have to teach college on Saturday mornings I left for the game later in the afternoon and I got to Marist College during the beginning of the second quarter.
The Marist College campus off Route 9 in Poughkeepsie is one of the nicest college campuses I have been to in a while. The campus sits right on the Hudson River and the nice part is that the football stadium is located right off the highway so as I was driving in I could see what was going.
Big Red Football
Long story short it was not the greatest football game I had ever been to and we won 21-7. Cornell University has not invested in its football team the way it should and it was like watching two high school teams play. The funny part was that Marist College and Cornell University have the same school colors so it was hard to see who was rooting for who in the stadium.
Watching the game
The one nice thing about the stadium is that on the other side of the stands of the stadium that Marist has lawn sitting and that is the best way to watch the game. It was also about 85 degrees that afternoon so it was the perfect football weather and I got tan while watching the game.
Sitting on the lawn side of the field is the best place to sit
After the game was over, I decided to explore the campus. God, the Marist College campus is gorgeous. The campus has expanded over the years since I went to school at the Culinary Institute of America and our campus was beautiful as well. Marist College has rolling hills, lush green lawns and the most amazing view of the Hudson River. People should just visit the campus to walk around. The foliage was just starting to turn so the view of the river and the hills that surround it was spectacular.
The next weekend I was back Upstate again to the fairgrounds in Rhinebeck for Oktoberfest. This interesting event was the smaller of the two events that I attended at the Dutchess County Fair Grounds after the Annual Fair in August. This was a smaller craft event that took up one section of the fairgrounds mostly where the craft exhibition space had been during the fair and the rides were located. I had gotten this event and the Sheep & Wool event later in the month mixed up and the wood carver was not there (later when I did meet up with him at the Sheep & Wool Festival he said that he was not invited). Still I stayed and explored the fairgrounds on this warm sunny day.
Along the main path, there were all sorts of arts and crafts vendors and gourmet food vendors selling their wares and there were a few food vendors towards the back of the event but the lines were so long that I decided to eat outside the fairgrounds. So I took a trip up to Red Hook, NY which is located just north of the fair grounds and had lunch at Village Pizza III at 7594 North Broadway (see reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for some lunch.
The food at this Village Pizza is just excellent and so reasonable as well! I had the most delicious Calzone ($6.95) that was just loaded with mozzarella, Parmesan and Ricotta cheese and was a gooey delight with every bite. Their red sauce that I have mentioned in my of my Upstate New York blogs, is just excellent. Well spiced and loaded with flavor.
Village Pizza III at 7594 Broadway in Red Hook, NY is just excellent for lunch and dinner
I came back two weeks later for the Sheep and Wool Festival which was a whole different experience in both 2019 and 2021 (the festival like everything else was cancelled in 2020 because of COVID).
The entrance to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds
The Sheep and Wool Festival which takes place the third week of October was a much bigger festival, larger than Oktoberfest but just a little smaller than the Fair. In the back by the animal pens there were displays from people in the 4 H with their sheep, alpaca and goats showing off these amazing animals. So many of the them were friendly and let you pet them. Most looked bored and tired of people taking their picture.
The sheep at the Sheep & Wool Festival
It was a lot of fun walking through the rows of yarn, specialty crocheted and knitted hats, blankets and baby items plus all the handcrafted items for the upcoming holidays. These took up most of the display pens that during the Dutchess County Fair are used for the animals. There are a lot of talented crafters and artisans that come to the Fairgrounds.
The Sheep and Wool Festival in 2019
The Sheep and Wool Festival in 2022
I did find the woodcarver, Joe Gleeson, on this trip and was able to buy to small Santa’s that he had in stock. It seemed that he had a good sell through at the Dutchess County Fair and there was not much left and he was just trying to keep up. I love Mr. Gleeson’s surrealist designed Santa’s. Another creative carver was Bill Kypreos from Bill-Lin Woodcarving, who I bought another Santa from in 2021.
kypreos8@me.com
After making that purchase, I walked all over the fairgrounds looking over the displays and all the crafts people. There were a lot of interesting vendors offering the most beautiful and interesting items.
Carapace Farm Puppetry by Susannah White
Mr. Gleeson has the most beautiful wooden carvings of Santa’s, Elf’s and Snowman. Bonnie’s Beast’s offered the most creative felt and knit play animals from felt wool. Artist Patricia McGarth created homemade all natural doggie treats that tasted like an all natural cracker. They were not bad to eat for a human. Utopia Bath Ltd. has an interesting bath line and lotions.
Bonny’s Beasts
Artist Susannah White builds and creates puppets through her Carapace Farm Puppetry. She carries the most interesting hand and finger puppets and masks. She works with her mother, artist Amelia McIsaac who also does felt art and works on the “Star Babies” sculptures and other children’s art.
Artist JoAnn Clark is a fiber artist who specializes in Needle felted folk art. She created the most interesting animal art and figurines. Amelia McIsaac created flowering art through her Flowering Art Homestead company.
The sheep were surprisingly friendly even after they were given a hair cut
For lunch, I discovered that Janek’s, the Food Truck vendor I had eaten lunch at during the Fair was at this festival as well and I made the ‘B-Line’ to have lunch there.
For $15.00, I got their special again. This was a half pound freshly ground beef patty that was juicy in the center and caramelized on the outside. Then they top it with Cheddar Cheese, Smoked Glazed Ham, Pulled Pork and homemade pickles with a side of freshly made potato-cheese perogies cooked in butter and sweet onions with a side of sour cream.
Don’t miss Janek’s Food Truck at all Dutchess County events
Okay, yes it is not for the cholesterol minded person but I eat this twice a year and do I enjoy it. I walked the Fairgrounds twice just to work it off. I had the exact same thing in 2021 and it was just as good but the price went up to $18.00.
Do not miss the Cheeseburger with pulled pork and pierogi special at Janek’s Food Truck
In 2021, I left the Fairgrounds around 2:30pm to visit the Bard Campus to visit two of the cultural sites I wanted to see on my last couple of trips to the Hudson River Valley, Montgomery Place, the home of Janet Livingston Montgomery and the Hessel Museum, Bard College’s on campus museum.
I had been to Montgomery Place at 26 Gardener Way & River Road many times before when the house was owned by the Hudson River Historical Society. They used to run tours of the house and have cocktail parties on the porch outside. The grounds were breathtaking with views down to the Hudson River and the lawns had been freshly cut. The trees were getting that yellow and orange hue to them and it was nice exercise to just walk around the grounds. The house is now closed to tours (by appointment only).
After a tour of the grounds of the old mansion, I visited the Hessel Museum which is the museum of the Bard College. This interesting museum is specializing in modern and contemporary art.
The Hessel Museum was featuring two different exhibitions: “With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration in Art 1972-1985”, which was a time of growth in home decorating themed art and “Closer to Life: Drawings on Paper of the Marieluise Hessel Collection”, the founder of the Museum and Co-Founder of the College’s personal collection of works. Both exhibitions displayed the art in its own unique way. What was nice was the museum was free as well as visiting the mansion.
In 2021, I spent the night at the Courtyard by Marriott in Fishkill, NY (see TripAdvisor review below) after the Sheep & Wool Festival so that I could revisit a lot of the businesses and small towns that I had been to in the past to check out the businesses and the status of the towns during COVID. What started as a specular day with a beautiful sunrise over the Catskills from my hotel room ended in a most gloomy cold day of driving around the Hudson River Valley.
The Courtyard by Marriott at Fishkill in Fishkill, NY at 17 Westage Drive
Almost all the businesses in Red Hook, NY were closed on Monday with the exception of Little Pickles, a small toy store that I have featured many times in my blogs (see LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com), The owner and I talked for awhile about the stores being closed on Mondays and how hard that is on customers.
Red Hook was pretty much closed for the day and was rather gloomy in the rain. On a nice day though, it is the most unique and quaint town to shop and visit.
I left Red Hook and my next stop was Downtown Wappingers Falls, NY where the Meisner Homestead was located. Everything was closed here and about six or seven stores had closed in its unique downtown. Even the Falls were dripping as there was no water coming down the river. I could not believe how much was empty since my last visit almost a year ago. This was the up and coming downtown.
My last stop on my journey was Beacon, NY where a lot more of the stores were open for the day and the weather had gotten nicer. The foliage was a little nicer here but most of the trees were pretty much still green.
I walked the whole downtown twice visiting stores that had interested me in the past. Colorant at 146 Main Street is such a unique clothing store in which all the clothes are made of all natural fibers and dies (see my review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com).
Another store that caught my attention was Flora Good Times, a very interesting flower and gift shop at 197 Main Street. They had all sorts of interesting handmade pottery and a nice selection of seasonal flowers beautifully displayed.
Before I left touring all of downtown, I stopped at my ‘go to’ pizzeria, Pizza & Stuff II which has the best pizza. The slices are really large and the sauce is so well spiced and gives it wonderful flavor. The service here is really nice (see my review on TripAdvisor below).
After touring all the towns in search of new material, I headed home on a rather chilly night. I ended up having to turn the heat on in the house. The rain really had dropped the temperature.
In 2019, after the time at the Sheep and Wool Festival, it was next to the ‘Pie and Punch Evening” at the Kearney House in the Palisades Interstate Park. I had been to the Kearney House two weeks early on a Sunday but it was closed due to a Square Dance fundraiser they were running so I saw this on the Internet and thought it sounded fun (Please see the reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). The house would all be lit by candles and fireplaces as there is no electricity in the house. What could be nicer?
Kearney House at the Alpine Landing is lit by candlelight
Well just to let all you readers know that the Palisades Interstate Park is closed after dusk and does not reopen until it is light out the next day and there are NO lights either on the roads going down the hill to the basin or in the parking lot. When I mean the park is pitch black, it is pitch black. I thought this was dangerous since the road leading to the basin is very steep, not much of a barrier along the cliff side and no lights on the signs. I had some jerk follow me at full speed racing down the hill behind me. Let’s just leave this that there was a small boulder that I did not see and it did not get out of my way. The next hour in the park was not fun!
The warmth of the fire calmed me down
After I calmed down and was an hour late for the event, everyone could not have been nicer to me at the get together. Once I relaxed and had some hot spiced punch and a few pieces of pie and some cheese I calmed down. The boulder aside, it was a very nice event and I had a good time.
The games in the Living Room at the Kearny House
The Kearney House is an old Revolutionary aged home that had been used by the Kearney family as Inn and resting place for sailors and shippers using the Hudson River back when it was bustling with trade. The family ended up selling it before WWI and it was bought by the parks system. The division that runs the Kearney House and fundraisers for its upkeep run these themed events.
The entrance of the Dining Room
The house was all lit up by candlelight in both rooms and both fireplaces were roaring when I got in the room. It was the pies that calmed me down. They offered three different pies, Strawberry Rhubarb, Apple and Pumpkin that were from a bakery in Closter, NJ and were ‘out of this world’ delicious. The apple pie had the sweetest filling and tasted like pears were baked into it along with the apples. The strawberry rhubarb had a tangy-tart sweet filling to it and the pumpkin had a nicely baked creamy almost custard like filling all with this amazingly buttery crust. This is the type of pie that can make you forget all of your problems.
Kearney House story telling
On the table as well were wedges of sharp cheese and accompanying breads, roasted peanuts, ice cold water and served to you by volunteers in period costume. If I had not been so shaken when I entered the house (and of course the couple who helped me with the car told everyone at the party what happened so everyone was extra nice to me) and all the volunteers who helped with the event had not been so nice, it could have been a bad night.
The house lit by candle light and by the fireplace
Still there was a tour of the house both upstairs and into the attic, a musician playing songs and then a half hour of story telling all by the glow of candle and fire light that made the evening special. I ended up having a nice time talking to the other guests and getting to eat the endless slices of pie.
The upstairs bedroom of the Kearny House
I left a little better than I arrived but I will tell you two things: I am NEVER going into this park again after dark, so matter what the event is and that was the last time I set foot in the Kearny House. It was so dark in the parking lot when I left I almost tripped on the barrier on side the of it.
The Attic Tour of the Kearny House
The Kearny House second floor bedroom
My next trip up to the Hudson River in 2019 that next Sunday lead me to Beacon, NY to visit Pollepel Island/Bannerman Castle Island and to visit the mysterious castle in the middle of the Hudson River (see my reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). I had talked about visiting Beacon, NY in my other blogs for the Third Thursday Shopping nights during the holidays and my visit to the DIA-Beacon in VisitingaMuseum.com.
Bannerman Island
Arriving at the island
When visiting Bannerman Island please remember that it is open seasonally and opens in later April and closes at the end of October so you have to plan your trip there accordingly. I got there the last Sunday it was open and please note that you do need advanced reservations to go to the island. I lucked out as there was two trips out to the island that day and there had been a cancellation that afternoon and I was able to make the boat trip.
The trip was on somewhat rough waters as it was a gloomy day with the sun peaking out only at the end of the tour. When we got to the island, we landed at the small dock and then had to walk up over 70 steps to the landing at the top of the hill. It wasn’t hard but hardly ADA compliant. We had excellent tour guide who knew the whole history of the island from when the family bought the island in 1900 to when the sons sold the island in the 1950’s.
The Bannerman Castle was actually an armory for munitions for the Bannerman company. Francis Bannerman IV bought the island to store his inventory of his military supply business and the items were stored there awaiting shipping to all over the world.
The gardens by the dock
The castle itself had partially blown up in the 1920’s when the munitions caught fire and then in turn burned in 1969 and the interiors were destroyed. Recently part of the wall to the castle collapsed so the building is now being held up by metal rods to prevent further collapse.
The ruins of the castle
The tour took us up the path toward the former arsenal so we could take a better look which is pretty dramatic sitting by the water with the vegetative growth around it. Mrs. Bannerman had once had the whole area landscaped with an exotic garden. Now that part is all growth and weeds.
The gardens on the island
Travelling up the path from the ‘castle’, we walked up the path that had been landscaped by the local garden clubs who have been put in charge of landscaping the old paths and gardens leading to the family mansion at the top of the hill. The mansion is going through a renovation so there is not much to see but there is a small gift shop inside and the history in the building. The outside of the mansion is being landscaped and used for theater show, movie nights and concerts. The views of the river are spectacular.
The view from the mansion on top of the hill the Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh, NY
We exited down the back path and saw more interesting views of the Hudson River. There are more gardens on the way down and we heard more of the history of the island in that it was closed off until recently and was only visited by kayakers and adventurers. The island is now open for all sorts of activities.
The views of the river
On our way back, the tour guides gave us their own take on visiting the island which was pretty funny. They run these tours and can’t believe how mesmerized people are by buildings that were falling apart.
The path by the main house and gardens
The Main House on Bannerman Island
As we took the boat ride back to the dock in Beacon, I noticed that the foliage had an unusual line to it up on the hill. It was dead towards the top of the hill and the rest of the trees were combination of yellow and green. The tour guide said that an unusual early frost hit the trees and the ones at the top of the hill had already gone dormant.
Walking along the Red Trail back to the dock
Back to the Dock to leave the island
For the rest of the afternoon, I explored downtown Beacon and all the innovative stores and trendy restaurants. I ended up though eating at a Pizza and Stuff II Pizzeria at 339 Main Street. The pizza there is delicious. Those trendy restaurants prices are ridiculous and I am not too sure how the locals afford some of these places. Still it is a beautiful and quaint downtown with nice businesses set in the distance of the Hudson River mountains. The foliage around the town sets the tone.
Downtown Beacon, NY in the Summer of 2024
The falls in Downtown Beacon by the Hotel Beacon
As Halloween approaches, there will be more to do and see. Check out my blog on Halloween Again 2019.
Open: The Kearney House is open seasonally usually weekend from 1:00pm-4:00pm; closed for the season except for special events. Please visit their website.
While I was staying in Kingston, NY for the puppet rehearsals for the Halloween Parade at the Rokeby Estate, I came across an article in the Red Hook Star Review newspaper for a parade in Red Hook, Brooklyn (I thought it was for a parade in Red Hook, NY where Rokeby was located). It seems that the Red Hook neighborhood on the coastline of Brooklyn off New York Harbor was having a small celebration in honor of the neighborhood surviving Hurricane Sandy’s wrath especially when the power went out in the neighborhood on October 29, 2012.
So on a somewhat gloomy afternoon that was grey, cloudy and misty I took the bus and subway out to Red Hook for the parade. It was an interesting and engaging afternoon and evening. I read later that the neighborhood had wanted to create a parade and the year after the storm rocked the neighborhood, business owners decided that a parade was just what the neighborhood needed to boost the morale and spirit of the residents.
The neighborhood had been hit with power outages, massive flooding and twelve-foot storm surges. Neighbors looked out for neighbors and the people in the Red Hook Public Housing were especially hard hit with power out for weeks. Owner of the restaurant, Good Fork at Van Brunt Street, Ben Schneider said, “We thought it would be a fun way to shake off the hardships of that first year and have a good time together.” (Red Hook Star Revue 2019).
Red Hook Brooklyn after Hurricane Sandy 2012
Red Hook, Brooklyn is an interesting neighborhood because of its maritime past and that most of the neighborhood was former marshes and creeks, some of which still flow underneath the streets and homes of the neighborhood. The area was also loaded with manufacturing so there are large swaths of industrial buildings now filled with light manufacturing and/or loft spaces. The artists still dominate this part of the neighborhood, but I could tell as I walked the parade route that is quickly changing as the lots of coastline buildings are in the process of being knocked down and new luxury ‘buildings on the Bay’ are being constructed on this flat flood plain (nobody learns anything from these storms).
This had only been the second time I had been to Red Hook, Brooklyn. The other time had been on a walking tour of the neighborhood with the Fashion Institute of Technology back in the summer of 2017. There we walked the entire neighborhood and got to see manufacturing and shopping as well. (See Day Eighty Walking Red Hook Brooklyn with the FIT Tours July 22nd, 2017)
I found the parade to be an interesting mix of artists, musicians, business owners, residents and then the people like me who just discovered it having a wonderful time together. The parade started at 4:00pm on the corner of Van Brunt and Pioneer Streets in the heart of the downtown area of Red Hook with a concert with a small band and residents who looked like they were preparing for Halloween. Some were dressed like fish, some like sea captains, ladies like mermaids and parents pulling their kids through the parade in little ‘ship carts’ (trust me that adults were more dressed up than the kids). One group of people used a blue tarp to represent waves (I am not sure of the symbolize to that) throughout the parade.
The Band plays on
We followed the Squid in the MTA Bus that was ‘out of service’ throughout the parade route. Bubbles were flowing everywhere. The parade route took us all over the neighborhood as we walked the coastline of the area with the parade at its starting point and walking down Pioneer Street to Conover Street then crossed King Street and then down Ferris Street which is lined with former shipping yards that are in the process of being knocked down. We stopped in front of Louis Valentino Jr. Park and Pier and the parade participants visited Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies at 185 Van Dyke Street #1011 for a sample of a small key lime pie.
Steve’s Key Lime Pies at 185 Van Dyke Street #1011 were given out complimentary
God was that delicious! I had not had one of those since the walking tour with FIT and it was so sweet and buttery. It was four small bites, but I thought that was so generous of them. Talk about good public relations. While stopping there, many people were able to walk through the park and even on this gloomy day where the visibility was not great you could see out to Liberty Island and watch the boats flow by. This was also the site of Fort Defiance, a fort that had been built to protect New York Harbor from the British during the Revolutionary War.
As the parade started up again, more people started to join the parade and more children who were dressed in costume who were chasing one another around. We made our way down Van Dyke Street turned the corner back onto Conover Street and then down Reed Street to the front of Hometown Bar-B-Que at 454 Van Brunt Street on the corner of Van Brunt and Reed Streets. There we stopped for a complimentary beverage break, but I was not really into the light flavored beers, so I skipped that one.
The restaurant though is an old warehouse where the guts were pulled out and the place has exposed walls and ceilings and flooded with Christmas lights. The rich smells of barbecue filled the restaurant and later at the block party I was able to try some of the food that they donated. Their pulled pork, fresh pickles and mac and cheese were delicious.
The inside of Hometown Bar-B-Que at 454 Van Brunt Street
The parade continued up Van Brunt Street, the heart of the neighborhood with more rousing nautical songs such as “By the Beautiful Sea” and “I’d like to be under the Sea” as we all marched up the street following the Squid Float which was now blowing blue smoke and more bubbles. We stopped again in front of The Good Fork at 391 Van Brunt Street where they were ladling out hot vegetarian chili (not one of my favorite things). It was nicely spiced and would have tasted better with a little meat in it. Everyone else though was devouring it as the night grew cooler.
The Good Fork at 391 Van Brunt Street (Closed June 2020)
Our next culinary stop on the parade route was Fort Defiance, a bar and restaurant at 365 Van Brunt Street for a cup of their Butternut Squash Soup. God was that delicious! I asked the owner how they made it and he said that it was a combination of pumpkin and butternut squash with just a little heavy cream in it. It tasted so thick and creamy, and you could taste the hint of sweetness of the pumpkin. As it got cooler that night, that soup hit the spot.
Our last stop before heading back up to Pioneer Street was at the local VFW on Van Brunt Street for a shot (that seriously warmed me up). I stopped in to look around and the place was decorated for Halloween with all sorts of decorations and colored lights. The guys were really cool about looking around and I swear I felt so much better.
The parade ended back at the corner of Pioneer and Van Brunt Streets with a musical band playing all sorts of rock songs and some dancing under all the gloom and mist. There was a tent set up with free food from Hometown Bar-B-Que with their pulled pork sandwiches, Southern Fried Chicken with seasonings, creamy mac & cheese, corn bread and someone donated some corn dogs which I never got to sample. There was also another tent where Pizza Moto was making homemade pizza with fresh mozzarella and basil and that really warmed me up as well.
What was nice was the food was free and they asked for a donation for the relief fund for the Bahamas, which I thought was a nice touch. I gave the $5.00 donation for the meal which I thought was well worth it. I thought it was nice of the restaurants to be so generous and thoughtful to the parade participants as well as great PR and introducing their food to the neighborhood (these are smart restaurateurs).
The pulled pork was delicious and was served with a hot horseradish sauce which we could top with fresh pickles and homemade Cole slaw. It was rich and decadent. The mac & cheese which was served on the side was creamy and loaded with Cheddar cheese. The fried chicken was meaty and nicely fried and spiced with Old Bay seasonings. What a nice and generous meal. The pizza was also excellent on a cool night.
The pulled pork sliders and mac & cheese were worth the wait in line
I stayed for another half hour enjoying the music and watching a group of kids run each other around in a shopping cart in a club that was open for sitting and using the bathrooms. These kids really carried on but in a fun way. I could see the other adults were worn out by it but I just saw myself and the fun I used to have as a kid.
I told one artist who was in a mermaid costume eating a slice of pizza that I would rather see these kids carrying on like this yelling and screaming and having a good time than playing with a cellphone not talking to each other. She smiled and agreed with me.
Before I left the neighborhood, I stopped at the new Ample Hills Creamery & Museum at 421 Van Brunt Street to see the new factory and store that they had built. I swear that this company has grown in leaps and bounds in just seven years and they now have eight stores plus this factory. It was very impressive and shows how their product is made. They also make all their add ins like cake batter, brownies and candy. Very impressive!
Red Hook to me is more than just a neighborhood in Brooklyn. It was like a small town where people know their neighbors and people talked and greeted each other and engaged in conversation. Some may not be best friends or agree with one another, but you can tell they are a neighborhood. This little parade will be something bigger in the future I know but for now it showed me the true spirit of a small-town community in the heart of New York City.
The Barnacle Parade is every October 29th to mark the Anniversary of the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. What a way to show the spirit of resilience of a community!
See my entry in MywalkinManhattan.com: “Day Eighty Walking Red Hook Brooklyn with the FIT Tours July 2017” for more insights on Red Hook, Brooklyn:
Here are some interesting videos on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on Red Hook Brooklyn:
Another Great insight on Hurricane Sandy:
Watch a neighborhood come together after the storm:
The Barnacle Parade in 2020:
I missed the Barnacle Parade in 2020 because there was a major downpour that afternoon and the thought of walking around for the afternoon in the rain did not appeal to me. I saw by the YouTube videos only about 30 people showed up which was WAY less then last year.
It did not look like anyone stayed that long as it was pouring in Red Hook Brooklyn too. It was too bad as this was a fun event the year before. I felt bad for the people getting soaked.
I updated my trip to New Haven blog because of yesterday’s visit for the 2019 Cornell-Yale football game. There are a lot of improvements in the town today and a lot more life there then when I lived there.
The New Haven Green in Downtown New Haven, CT.
I also updated this again in September of 2021 for the Yale vs Cornell game. We lost again
The inside of the Yale Bowl
The front of Frank Pepe and their delicious Clam Pizza
I took time from my walk to be a supportive Alumni and go up to New Haven, Connecticut for the Cornell versus Yale game on September 30, 2017. I also watched us get our butts kicked with the score 49-24. I swear, every time I thought we would catch up, we fell behind. We kept going through quarterbacks throughout the game.
It was even worse for the September 2019 game. We were tie with Yale, who does not look that good either, at 3-3 at half (I thought that was bad enough) but in the third quarter were lead 10-3 with an 85 yard run touchdown and looked really good. Then our quarterback through an interception that lead to a Yale touchdown and at 10-10 he was so rattled by that, the game was never the same. He threw three more interceptions and we botched an onside kick (Cornell is…
Eating at Curioni’s Pizza is a real local experience. The fun part about eating at this family run business is that if you want to meet the residents of Lodi, NJ, just sit at one of the ten stools inside the pizzeria and you will know all the town gossip. The customers come up and talk to owner, Walter Curioni Jr., while he is making his pies and his son, Ryan, who is usually running around behind him popping in pizzas into the pizza oven and preparing sandwiches. It is a real family atmosphere here as people come in to talk to one another and air their problems and concerns in the town and in their lives.
The business was opened by Mr. Curioni’s grandparents in 1923 as…
Check out Village Pizza III on my Christmas blogs and when you visit the Hudson River Valley in Upstate New York. The food is excellent and service is friendly.
Village Pizza III at 7514 North Broadway in Red Hook, NY.
Their entrees including their Spaghetti and Meatballs are excellent.
The Chicken Parmesan Sandwich at Village Pizza III
I came across Village Pizza III when I was visiting Red Hook, NY on a stop through on my way back from President Martin Van Buren’s home in Kinderhook, NY. I had want to visit the town to see of there had been any changes in the town over the last three years since my visit in the Christmas season of 2015.
The sauce on their pizza and pastas is amazing
I had just stopped in for a quick slice of pizza ($1.25) that afternoon and the pizza was amazing. The sauce on the cheese pizza was perfectly spiced and had a rich tomatoy flavor to it. You could taste the high quality tomatoes in the sauce. It…
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.
If you have never visited the Brooklyn Botanical Garden when visiting New York City you are missing a lot. I have been a member of the garden since 2002 and fell in love with walking around the gardens when visiting the Brooklyn Museum next door. It is the most relaxing place to walk around and just think. It is also nice to grab a book, sit under a tree and just relax.
The Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
One of the benefits of membership are the private event nights that the Gardens have for its members. ‘Rose Night’ is one of my favorites. This is when the Crawford Rose Garden and the surrounding rose gardens to the main one are in full bloom and on display. Because the weather has been so hot lately most plants have been blooming about two weeks ahead of their normal schedule.
The entrance to the Cranford Rose Garden on Rose Night 2024
The Cranford Rose Garden
The crowds were large on the night of Rose Night at 2024
The Crawford Rose Garden was no exception as the recent hot weather and two rainstorms put some strain on the rose bushes and some of them were going out of bloom the night of the party. Still the roses were ablaze with color and the fragrant smells of the garden were prevalent all over the garden. The event draws a very large crowd and people were all over the place picnicking and relaxing while listening to a jazz band that was performing inside the cherry trees.
The Glenn Crytzer Quartet performing on Rose Night 2024
The large crowd of members on Rose Night, a private members event
I started my day working at the Soup Kitchen working in the prep kitchen for the morning. They kept me busy making a cucumber and tomato salad and cutting kale for a side dish they were making the next day. One thing I like about working at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen is that the work is never dull. They always keep me busy.
Since I had plenty of time before the event, I decided to take a trip down to Coney Island to explore any changes that were going on in the amusement center. I wanted to visit the New York Aquarium and see the new ‘Shark Tanks’ exhibition and revisit the Coney Island Museum. When I arrived at the beach about 45 minutes later it was beautiful, clear and sunny on Surf Avenue.
The sign welcoming you to Nathan’s
The afternoon started out at Nathan’s at 1310 Surf Avenue for lunch (see review on TripAdvisor). I swear that I eat at Nathan’s in the suburb malls and it never tastes as good as it does in the original restaurant on Coney Island. Be prepared to face the lines for the rest of the summer as beach season approaches.
Their hot dogs and French fries are the best but they do not come cheap. I think this restaurant is getting more and more geared to tourists wanting to visit Coney Island. The hot dog was $4.75 and the French fries were $3.75, which is a little ridiculous considering a pack of their hot dogs are $1.99 and a bag of their frozen French fries are $1.99 on sale at the supermarket.
Their hot dogs are the best
Nathan’s French Fries are best!
Still their hot dogs were delicious. They have a nice garlicky snap to them and are nicely grilled and their French fries are cooked to perfection. It is nice to enjoy your lunch at their outside tables where you can breath in the fresh salt air. After finishing my lunch, I visited the New York Aquarium at 602 Surf Avenue.
The aquarium is finally updating itself as this is the first addition to the park in years. I got there in time before the last sea lion show and that was fun. The ‘Sea Lion Celebration’ as they call it takes place in the summer at 11:00am, 1:00pm, 3:00pm and 5:30pm. The trainers look like they are having a good time with animals. These sea lions were born and raised at the aquarium so they are used to being around humans. The surprising part is that they act like humans with their responses. Unlike a zoo, these mammals get out and get their exercise. It is an interesting show as they are very talented and seem to enjoy working with the trainers.
I was able to walk through the ‘Ocean Wonders: Sharks!” exhibition before the aquarium closed for the evening. I found it fascinating about the history of sharks and their place in ocean world and where they are on the feeding scale. They hardly care about eating humans and like one of the displays said that ‘Jaws’ gave them a bad wrap. They are bottom dwellers who eat all the things that are ‘left over’ and are a good cleanser for the sea.
The Shark Tanks
We as humans unfortunately over-fish them or with some of the Asian countries, they will cut off the fins of the sharks for meat and then throw them back into the sea where they drown, which I think it the cruelest thing you can do to an animal. Its like being buried alive and the aquarium showed the results of what happens to this fish when it happens.
The last large tank before you leave has several variety of sharks and fish which sets up an almost feeding ecosystem for them and it looks almost graceful watching the sea go by. They even have a small crawl tunnel where you can travel under the fish to see them up close. At the top of the exhibition, they have a new restaurant, ‘Oceanview Bites’.
The tunnel under the tanks
After the aquarium, I visited the Coney Island Museum at 1208 Surf Avenue (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). This is the most underrated museum that covers the history of Coney Island from just being dunes that Walt Whitman read poetry on to the modern day amusement parks to current developments.
The museum covers this history of the three great amusement parks, Steeplechase, Luna and Dreamland Parks especially in their heyday. The amusement area of Coney Island still is considered one of the most innovative in history and most developments in amusement rides took place in Coney Island.
Each room covers a part of the history of Coney Island from its years as a luxury resort, to seaside travel to the island, development of the amusement industry, to modern times and what the new developments might bring to the area. I was lucky enough to meet the curator of the museum, Lisa Mangels-Schaefer, whose family has a rich history on the island as a manufacturer of amusement rides. Her grandfather had manufactured and maintained many of the amusement rides in the park.
As the only two at the museum at the time, she gave me a personal tour of the museum, explaining the many displays and artifacts of the museum. She also told me stories of how her family used to manufacture the amusement rides back at the turn of the last century.
Some of the manufactured items by Ms. Mangels-Schaefer’s family
There are a lot of interesting artifacts at the museum from illuminated post cards to old amusement rides to many nostalgic pictures of the area from various times of history. Each gallery covers another theme of the history of the area. Don’t miss the displays of the amusement rides and the hall of fun house mirrors. For a $5.00, this museum is a real treat.
The Main Gallery of the museum.
After the museum, I walked on the boardwalk for awhile and then just put my feet in the ocean. After a long day of working in the kitchen, it started to catch up to me. It was nice to feel the cool water and breath in the salt air. Coney Island has its problems as I could see but still it is a place to relax and have fun. I just laid on the beach, relaxed and let the sun shine down on me. The view of the Rockaways in the distance is really nice and on a clear sunny day, the views were wonderful.
By 5:00pm, it was time to go back up to the Botanical Garden for the ‘Rose Night’ cocktail party and tours. I was smart taking the Q back as I got off by the back entrance and did not have to face the crowds of the main entrance by the Brooklyn Museum. I got there at the opening at 6:30pm and the place was already mobbed with people. The main part of the gardens by the cherry trees must have had about three hundred people sitting down having their picnic dinner.
The Rose Garden in bloom
The crowds walking through the gardens
While everyone else was conversing on the main lawn, I took the time to walk the gardens and see the Crawford Rose Gardens in bloom. It had been hot over the last two months and all the flowers were blooming two weeks earlier than usual, so a lot of roses had already bloomed and had fallen off the branches due to two recent rainstorms.
The Rose Garden Fountain
Still there were lot of species of roses and many were still at the height of blooming and made a very colorful and fragrant display while touring the paths. Many types of roses had the big blooms and smelled like perfume. Others lined the trellises and created a beautiful display overhead. You really have to take your time to admire the true beauty of the garden which only has about two weeks of blooming.
Crawford Rose Garden inside the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
After I left the Crawford Rose Garden, I walked the back fountain area which had large rose bushes that were all in bloom. The fountain had been cleaned and turned on for the event so it made quite an impression in color and design with the way the rose bushes were growing.
For the rest of the evening, I walked all the different garden concepts from the Rock Gardens to the Shakespeare Gardens to the new water recycling gardens that had just been completed. All the tulip, daffodil and magnolia gardens were long gone but still a good memory of visiting a couple of months earlier.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Rock Garden
The Rock Garden on Rose Night 2024
The only problem with the event is that it has gotten so big. When it was much smaller it was more intimate and concentrated in one part of the garden but now there are more members, and it is the first official ‘picnic night’ in the garden so it has gotten crowded.
Walking through the Rock Garden in Sprinv 2025
In the post pandemic years, they stopped making that wonderful ‘rose cocktail’ they used to make for the event and had canned and bottled beverages that were between $8.00 to $12.00 which I thought was a little ridiculous. I know you have to raise money but $8.00 for a non-alcoholic canned beverage.
In 2024, they brought it back and now the cost is $15.00 (less the member discount). It is not the one I remembered from the past put still good and was relaxing after a long business trip.
The Rose Night Cocktail
The Rose Night Cocktail in 2024 was made of blush wine, juices and a little rose essence.
I just sat back and enjoyed the drink and watched the other members relax with their families as well. It was a beautiful late Spring evening and a nice way to start the upcoming Summer season.
In 2019, I had dinner at Family Pizza at 720 Flatbush Avenue, whose pizza is amazing. They have the richest tomato sauce which is the basis for any good pizza and the food here is excellent.
They make their own tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil and you can taste the flavor in the sauce. I had a Chicken Parmesan Sandwich. Talk about an amazing sandwich.
Not only was it loaded with fresh chicken cutlets but topped with several handfuls of melted mozzarella cheese. The sandwich was a gooey delight and the perfect dinner. They have nice outside seating and I like watching the characters walk by.
The flowers in bloom
Still, it was nice to have the gardens for the members only night and the newly renovated Japanese Gardens had opened again so I spent the last part of the evening walked around the wooded paths and stopping at the pagoda to look at the man-made lake that now feed the entire Botanical Garden its water supply. You could still hear the jazz band on the main lawn from here and it was a nice place to just sit and relax and enjoy the sun setting.
The Japanese Gardens
The Japanese Garden in the early Spring when the Cherry Blossoms were out.
It is a simple evening of walking paths and looking at flowers while listening to music but still isn’t that what a pleasant evening in a garden is supposed to be?
Returning to Rose Night again June 11th, 2025:
I had the day off from summer classes at the college and arrived in Brooklyn early and was able to get into the Gardens before 6:00pm and was able to tour the gardens with no crowds. It was perfect for picture taking.
The Crawford Rose Gardens in the Summer of 2025
The array of colors in the gardens that night
Walking through the archways when everything is in bloom
The gardens were an array of all sorts of colors
Purples and greens
Reds and greens
I walked around all the beds to see the dazzling display of colors
The beautiful display of colors
A combination of roses makes an interesting display
The brilliance of colors adds to the roses
The purple flowers were dazzling
The roses at the back part of the garden
The statue in the back of the gardens
The back of the Crawford Rose Gardens
The back of the Crawford Rose Gardens
I left the rose garden to explore the rest of the gardens before the concert started. The crowds were not huge at this time but when I finished my walk of the gardens the place was packed.
The Cherry Blossom lawn before the start of the concert.
I took a long walk around the gardens to see everything in bloom. All this rain made everything so lush.
The was the most unusual rose bush. I never saw anything like this.
I took a walk to the back of the gardens to see the Water Shed Gardens, the Rock Gardens and the Children’s Gardens. The whole place was spectacular.
Here is the band playing one of their songs that evening. This was the best shot I got as all the parents were dancing with their kids that night.
Overall Rose Night was another wonderful evening and I look forward to it every year. There will be more wonderful theme nights going forward at the Gardens.
The future of Coney Island under the Bloomberg Administration:
Open: Saturday and Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm/Monday-Friday 8:00am-6:00pm
Admission: Adults $18.00/Seniors (over 65) and Children over 12 $12.00/Children under 12 Free/Portion of the day’s tickets are free to community members who need them/Winder Weekends Pay as you wish.
The bitter winter finally gave way to some warmer weather and I was finally able to continue walking the streets of Manhattan again. It had been almost three months since I finished the Upper West Side but the holidays were particularly busy and full of activities that had me running from the Hudson River Valley to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for Christmas plus a host of holiday activities, fundraisers, dinners at the house with my family, parties, selling Christmas trees and generally a lot of running around. On the first warm (at this point 48 degrees) and sunny day, off I went to continue my walk starting on the Upper East Side and revisiting East 59th Street.
After a long day at the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen serving up breads and pastries to the guests, I walked up to the Upper East Side to start my walk of Sutton and Beekman Places by the East River, neighborhoods steeped in history and beautiful architecture. It was a beautiful warm day with the sun shining and that was a plus.
I started the afternoon with lunch at Flip, the restaurant inside the main Bloomingdale’s store on Lexington Avenue and 59th Street (see my review on TripAdvisor). I had been here a few times before when walking the lower part of the Upper East Side. It is located in the lower level of the store and has the most wonderful hamburgers and sandwiches. I had the Bavarian Burger, which was delicious and the perfect pick me up after a long day serving other people.
Flip is in the Men’s Department in the lower level of Bloomingdales
The burger was made with a combination of ground meat and short ribs and was topped with caramelized onions, apple smoked bacon, Brooklyn lager cheese sauce and homemade bread and butter pickles on a pretzel roll served with a side a steak fries. It tasted as good as the description. I highly recommend a trip to Flip when visiting Bloomingdale’s main store. You will find it in the downstairs Men’s Department.
The 24 Sycamores Park sign welcoming you to the park
I started my walk at 24 Sycamores Park on East 60th Street. I needed to take a quick rest after that big lunch and it was such a nice day to just relax on the benches and watch the kids play with their nannies. It is such a great little pocket park with an interesting history. It was one of the parks developed for the Upper East Side residents who complained to Robert Moses that there was no greenery on their side of the City. Here I planned my walk around Sutton Place, Beekman Place and Sutton East (between First & Second Avenues), which some people consider part of the Turtle Bay neighborhood.
After relaxing in the park for a half hour and catching my breath from the Soup Kitchen and lunch, I started my walk along First Avenue. This is lined with elegant apartment buildings and a combination of old brownstones and mansions. It depends on what part of the Avenue you live on. The area around Sutton Place and Beekman Place is pretty much self-contained and off to itself. You really have to walk through the side streets and the parks to see the real beauty of the neighborhood and the little gems that make the neighborhood special.
The park in the Summer of 2024
The one thing I have noticed in this part of the neighborhood is that a lot of the stores on East 59th Street from Second to First Avenue have closed down and have joined the rest of the epidemic of empty store fronts in the City. Since I finished the walk of the Upper East Side in December, in just three months about a half dozen businesses have closed down. It will be interesting to see what replaces them.
The park in the Summer of 2024
I started the day walking down from East 59th Street and walked the perimeter of the neighborhood from FDR Drive to Second Avenue from East 48th Street where the United Nations is located to East 59th Street, the border of Sutton Place with the Upper East Side. Here and there lots of buildings and restaurants stand out.
I walked down Sutton Place from Sycamore Park down to the United Nations Building. This official border of Sutton Place is lined with pre-war apartment buildings, modern co-ops and a few brownstones and mansions tucked here and there.
Sutton Place is named after Effingham B. Sutton (1817-1891), a shipping magnate and entrepreneur, who made a fortune during the Gold Rush. He developed a series of brownstones between East 58th and 57th Streets in hopes of reestablishing the neighborhood for residential purposes from its then current state of small factories and commercial purposes. The Sutton Place Parks at the end of each street from East 59th through East 54th Street were established in 1938 when the FDR Drive was built taking away the access to the river. There are a series of five parks now along the East River at the end of each block (NYCParks.org).
At the corner of East 59th Street and Sutton Place starts the series of mansions that line this part of the street. In 1883, this little stretch of roadway had been renamed Sutton Place, a nod to Mr. Sutton, who had constructed that row of brownstone residences in 1875 (Daytonian in Manhattan).
The Vanderbilt and Morgan Mansions on Sutton Place
The beautiful old mansion at 2 Sutton Place was renovated by Anne Vanderbilt, the widow of William K. Vanderbilt. She sold the Vanderbilt mansion on Fifth Avenue that had been built by her husband’s family and bought the Effingham Sutton House. She hired architect Mott B. Schmidt to renovate the home into a 13 room Georgian mansion.
Anne Vanderbilt Mansion at 2 Sutton Place; next door is the Anne Morgan Mansion
Anne Tracy Morgan bought the 3 Sutton Place, the house on the corner of Sutton Place and East 57th Street and merged it with the home at 5 Sutton Place. Mott Schmidt filed revised plans for Anne Morgan’s house at 3 Sutton Place when she bought 5 Sutton Place and had the homes merged. The plans called for the rebuilding of the two structures into a four-story dwelling in American Colonial style with a roof garden and Morgan and Vanderbilt would share a common garden. To create the illusion of a vintage home, Mott reused the bricks from the old buildings on the site. The house was completed in 1922 (Daytonian Manhattan).
The entrance to the Vanderbilt Mansion at 2 Sutton Place
As you walk the side streets between East 58th through East 48th Street, these dead-end blocks offer magnificent views of Roosevelt Island and the Queens-Brooklyn waterfront which is quickly changing from old warehouses to luxury high-rises and waterfront parks. Each has its own unique view of Roosevelt Island.
The historic homes and mansions of Sutton Place
The Vanderbilt Mansion at sunset
At the end of Sutton Place at the corner of East 53rd Street there is a small park, Sutton Place Park South, overlooking the tip of Roosevelt Island and FDR Park with its beautiful landscaping and stonework. It is a nice place to just relax and enjoy the cool breezes and hear the racket of FDR Drive zooming by.
Sutton Place Park South at the tip of Sutton Place
The new Sutton Place Park after the renovation and the addition of a pedestrian bridge.
At 11 Sutton Place was once the home to architect I.M Pei and his wife, Eileen. They lived in the house for 45 years. The four-story residence is now on the market for eight million dollars. Mr. Pei was responsible for some of the most famous and innovative architecture in the twenty century.
11 Sutton Place was home to architect I. M. Pei and his family
This wonderful park should be visited by everyone who visits Manhattan. It has the most spectacular views of Roosevelt Island and the Queens/Brooklyn Waterfront and on a sunny warm day, it is one of the most relaxing parks I have visited since MywalkinManhattan.com started.
Sutton Place Park South
It is nice to sit amongst the cool breezes of the river by small gardens and shade trees. There were two dedications in the park that stood out to me. One was to Clara Coffey and the other was to Bronka Norak.
Clara Stimson Coffey was a landscape architect who in 1936 accepted the role of Chief of Tree Plantings for the NYCParks system and helped design several parks including the Clement Clark Moore Park in Chelsea which I recently visited on my Victorian Christmas Tour (Day One Hundred & Twenty Eight).
Bronka Norak was a long time Sutton Place resident and upon her death, her husband, the late Adam Norak, left an endowment for the maintenance of the flowers, trees and shrubs in the park.
On the west side of Sutton Place is lined with pre and post war apartment buildings each with a doorman that will look you over if you walk around the neighborhood too much as I did. You would think that they would have better things to do.
As I crossed back over East 59th Street, my next part of the walk took me to First Avenue which itself is going through a transition. Many of the old buildings and store fronts are giving way to new apartment buildings. As with the rest of Manhattan, this area is going through a makeover to upscale housing.
On my next trip to Sutton Place after another long day at the Soup Kitchen (the Bread Station is beginning to get to me. Every time we have desserts available, the guests’ pound on me), I walked from Ninth Avenue and West 28th Street to First Avenue and East 59th Streets. On top of all the exercise from running around the Soup Kitchen, I got even more walking in but on a sunny, warm day it does not make much a difference.
I stopped into Jimbo’s Hamburger Place at 991 First Avenue (See reviews on TripAdvisor) and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for lunch. This small hole in the wall diner has been there for years and is a favorite for many of the older neighborhood residents who seem to know the owners quite well. The food is here is wonderful and the whole menu is very reasonable for this neighborhood.
I had a cheeseburger with fries ($8.50) that tasted as if the meat had just been ground and cooked perfectly with a nice caramelization on the meat. The fries were cooked to order and the whole meal was delicious and hit the spot. What was nice was to talk to people who had lived in Sutton Place. The restaurant has a nice neighborhood feel to it and the patrons had obviously been eating here for years. One woman who sat next to me eats here every day. I guess as you get older and are single you don’t want to cook for yourself anymore.
Jimbo’s Cheeseburger and fries
Jimbo’s burgers are really juicy, well-cooked and delicious
After lunch, I continued the walk down First Avenue, I stopped at 931 First Avenue which had once been an old elementary school that had been built in 1892 in the Romanesque style. Instead of knocking the school down, the builder incorporated the school into the office tower above and around it. It gives the building a modern twist. As I was looking over the current renovation, I noticed a plaque on the corner wall.
The former P.S. 135 now the Beekman Regent Building
The school sat on the site of patriot James Beekman’s estate, Mount Pleasant, that had once been the British headquarters during the Revolutionary War. James Beekman (1732-1807) was a prominent New York City merchant and came from a family of merchants, lawyers and politicians. His ancestors had been Mayors of New York City and Albany and held positions as Governors of New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Gerardus Beekman, had been the acting Governor of New York under British rule (Wiki).
James Beekman whose name is given to Beekman Place
His estate and mansion, Mount Pleasant, had been used by the British as their headquarters during the war. The estate covering what is currently now both Sutton and Beekman Place. This was also the site for the trial of Patriot Nathan Hale.
Nathan Hale had volunteered to go behind enemy lines during the war and was recognized in a tavern by Major Robert Rangers of the Queen’s Rangers. Another story was he was turned in by his own cousin, Samuel Hale, who was a loyalist. Either way, Hale was questioned at the Beekman mansion by British General William Howe and was led to gallows on September 22nd, 1776 (See MywalkinManhattan.com on the Upper East Side. He was hung where there is a Pier One store at present).
Mount Pleasant, the home of James Beekman and his family
The house was moved once to a buff at First Avenue and East 50th Street when the street grid was put into effect and the house was torn down in 1874 at the start of the real estate boom after the Civil War (Untapped Cities).
The “Mount Pleasant” plaque of the original location.
I continued walking down First Avenue until I reached East 48th and 49th Streets where the road forks into First Avenue and United Nations Plaza. This area is filled with Embassies and offices for the United Nations and Trump World Tower is at end of the neighborhood at 845 United Nations Plaza, so traffic here is rough and the security all around the place is tight.
The Bridge leading to the East River Walk
When I reached the east side of First Avenue and at 51st Street, I took a turn down the road to the river and I went over the pedestrian bridge at the end of the block. This leads into the enclave of Beekman Place, the former estate of James Beekman. As you cross the bridge, you will enter Peter Detmold Park and its extension leading down FDR Drive, General Douglas MacArthur Park.
Peter Detmold (1923-1972) was once a tenant of the Turtle Bay Gardens. He was a veteran of World War II, serving under General George Patton in the Battle of the Bulge in France. Upon his return to civilian life, he was a Cornell graduate and when he moved to the City, became the one of the founders and President of the Turtle Bay Association and the founded the Turtle Bay Gazette. He along with other residents fought to keep the are residential and away from the commercial districts that were creeping into the area. On the night of January 6, 1972, after returning home from a meeting of the East Side Residential Association, he was murdered inside his building. The murder still has not been solved and the park was named after him later that year (NYCParks.com).
Activist, Veteran, Resident of Turtle Bay and fellow Cornell Alumnus Peter Detmold
Before I walked the bridge to the overpass, I walked down the steep stone steps down to the park area. It is a really hidden park. The area is surrounded by stone walls and apartment buildings above. To the left is a dog walk park that is extremely popular with residents and pooches alike. It is always busy.
To the right is a series of garden beds and benches to sit down and relax. There are tables where people were eating their lunches or playing with their dogs and being the beginning of spring, lots of flowers are in bloom. I walked around the area and watched as groups of residents talked and ate their meals or played games. The parks trees were just budding so the park had a canopy covering the top. When you walk through the gate at the end corner of the park, it leads to the General Douglas MacArthur Park and playground. Here you will find the much-needed public bathrooms and they are in good shape.
The General Douglas MacArthur Park and Playground was named for General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), who had a illustrious military career that spanned four wars and five decades. Having served in the Philippine Islands and Mexico, he served in France during WWI. He was called back into service for WWII serving as the Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific and developed the strategy of “island hopping” that turned the tide of the war. He also served in the Korean War as well. After serving as an unofficial advisor to two presidents before retiring in 1951. After that, he retired at the Waldorf Towers in NYC (NYCParks.com).
The park was originally built as part of the UN Plaza then was ceded to the City by Alcoa Associates and became part of the NYC Parks system in 1966. The small playground has a several swings, jungle gyms and tables to play chess along with bed of flowers and shade trees. It is right around the corner from some of the United Nations buildings so the outside can be busy with cars coming and going. The best part is the bathrooms are nice and open until 5:00pm (NYCParks.com)
After visiting both parks, I went back to Peter Detmold Park and went back up the narrow stone stairs and walked over the crosswalk to the riverfront promenade that lines the East River from East 51st to East 54th Streets offering breathtaking views of Governors Island and the Queens Riverfront. On a sunny day, the whole riverfront gleams.
View from the Riverfront Promenade of Long Island City
After walking the Promenade to East 54th Street and walking back, its hard to believe that changes in the riverfront areas in both Queens and Brooklyn in the last fifteen years. The whole coast is lined with luxury housing, boast slips and parks offering excellent views of the East Side of Manhattan.
Once you exit the park, you will notice a small tree lined street with brownstones and pre-war apartment buildings. You have just entered Beekman Place, a tiny enclave of older homes and an assortment of embassies.
I glanced down a small road lined with small brownstones, townhouses and pre-war apartment buildings and proceeded to detour down Beekman Place to tour the road and the side streets, each leading back out to First Avenue from East 51st Street to Mitchell Place.
As you walk down this quiet enclave of majestic architecture, there is a lot to admire in the surrounding buildings and the serene side streets of 50th Street and Mitchell Place. Each block is lined with unique buildings all decorated with plantings.
21 & 23 Beekman Place
Many famous people have lived in this neighborhood. At 23 Beekman Place, stage actress Katharine Cornell and her husband, Guthrie McClintic lived. Ms. Cornell was once considered one of the greatest American actresses on stage, best know for her roles in ‘The Barretts of Wimpole Street’ and her Tony award winning role in ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’. Her husband was a famous theater and film director whose production company produced all of his wife’s plays (Wiki).
At 21 Beekman Place, Ellen Biddle Shipman, one of the most famous and best regarded landscape architects in the United States known for her formal gardens with a lush planting style. A Radcliffe graduate, she is best known for her work on the Longue Vue Gardens in New Orleans and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University, considered her finest work (Wiki).
As you walk to the end of these streets facing the river, you get the most spectacular views of the Queens waterfront and Roosevelt Island. Along East 51st, East 50th and Mitchell Place you will find an assortment of embassies from countries I am not too sure people might know.
I exited down Mitchell Place at the edge of the neighborhood and passed the Beekman Tower at 31 Mitchell Place. Originally called ‘The Panhellenic’, the tower was built between 1927 and 1928 in the Art Deco style by architect John Mead Howells. It was opened as a residence for women of the Greek sororities who were entering the workforce in New York City but by 1934, the building had male residents. Today this graceful building is being used as a corporate apartment building.
The Art Deco Beekman Tower at 31 Mitchell Place & First Avenue
I walked back up First Avenue, I looked across the street and saw the most beautiful floral displays and flowers for sale outside of Zeze Flowers at 938 First Avenue (See review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). This is more than a store it is more like a museum of flowers. Everything from the window displays with the ‘Man in Moon’ to the exotic flowers enticing you inside you will be taken by the beauty of store.
Once inside Zeze Flower Shop you will admire the beauty of the displays, statuary and the gorgeous orchids that line the shelves and tables. All the tables are lined with all sorts of decorative objects and the walls with vases to hold their carefully cut flowers. The store itself is a work of art and the bouquets and arrangements look like something out of a painting. There is a lot of care in this store and the staff is attentive and friendly.
The beautiful flowers and gift ideas of Zeze Flower Shop
On the way back up First Avenue, I passed the spot of the Beekman Mansion again at First and East 51st Street and admired the renovation of the building which was once a school. The building, The Beekman Regent at 351 East 51st Street, had been designed and built in 1892 by George W. Debevoise, who was the Superintendent of Board of Education at the time as P.S. 135. Later it had become the United Nations School. It now serves as a luxury apartment building that won the 2002 Mercedes Benz Property Award for the ‘finest new redevelopment in the world’ (Beekman Regent history).
The Beekman Regent building at 351 East 51st Street
I continued up First Avenue past a long line of restaurants. I have noticed just in the two weeks that I have been walking the Sutton Place neighborhood, two businesses have closed and the storefronts are empty.
Another restaurant I ate at when walking the Upper East Side at another time was Go Noodle at 1069 First Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor). There combination platter at lunch are reasonable and I had a chicken with string beans and an egg roll ($8.50) that was delicious.
I made it back to East 59th Street in time to see the traffic building up on the Queensboro Bridge. The lights from the waterfront started to come on and when I walked back to 24 Sycamores Park, the place was still filled with families. I was exhausted and saved the rest of the walk for another day.
I came back to the neighborhood a week later on a beautiful sunny day after a long day working the Bread Station at Holy Apostles again. These guests love their bread and we were busy again, so it was another long walk up to Sutton Place. Here I started at East 59th and Second Avenue. Technically this area is known as Turtle Bay but some creative people in the real estate industry have called the area between First and Second Avenues between East 59th and 49th “Sutton East” as I saw on some of the buildings. So down Second Avenue I went to visit ‘Sutton East’.
Second Avenue between East 59th and East 48th Streets has become a real hodge-podge of buildings as the area closer to Midtown, between East 48th and 50th Streets have given way to larger office and apartment buildings. Once above East 51st Street, there still is a mixture of older brownstone and smaller apartment buildings that house the mom & pop stores and restaurants that keep the borders of Sutton Place and Turtle Bay unique.
I started my day with lunch at Mee’s Noodle Shop at 930 Second Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor) which I had passed a few times when walking back to Port Authority (the restaurant has moved its operations to Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen since 2022). The menu and the write ups on the restaurant had been very good and there is a lot of creativity to the selection.
Since it was Good Friday when I visited, I stuck to all seafood dishes which was a nice choice. The restaurant’s specialty is dumplings and noodles that are made fresh on premise, and you can see them being made as you walk in. Everything was fresh and delicious and you could tell it was homemade.
Mee’s Noodle Shop at 930 Second Avenue (Closed in August 2022-Now on First Avenue below East 14th Street)
I love the sign inside
I ordered the steamed seafood dumplings ($6.50) which were a combination of crab, shrimp and scallop. They were really light and had a nice taste to them with the soy dipping sauce.
The Seafood/Shrimp Dumplings
The Dumplings were light as air
They were delicious
For my main part of the meal, I ordered the Shrimp Lo Mein (Small $7.35/Large $9.20). This was especially good because all the noodles were being made in front of me and were fresh and cooked to perfection. The dish was studded with nice size shrimp and an array of vegetables including a very well cooked Bok choy. The service could not have been nicer especially during the lunch rush.
The Shrimp Lo Mein at Mee’s Noodle House is excellent. They do not skimp on the shrimp
The Lo Mein is excellent
After lunch I walked the distance of Second Avenue, looking over all the menus on the restaurants that lined the Avenue. There is a lot to choose from. There are coffee shops, Italian restaurants, Continental, German, Thai and several very good pizzerias. What I like about Second Avenue in this stretch of the Avenue is the juxtaposed look of the buildings that give it character. The most action at night seems to be between East 50th and 51st Streets where a lot of the bars are located. This part of the neighborhood I read that the residents here worked hard to fight the city on new construction to keep the character of the neighborhood the way it has been.
A nice place to sit and relax is the Katherine Hepburn Place by Sterling Plaza at Second Avenue and East 49th Street. This little park named after the actress who lived and advocated for the neighborhood is a small area of trees and benches that is nice to rest for a bit. It is nice to people watch here especially the dog walkers who all seem to converge here.
As I walked back up to East 59th Street, I began to notice that again smaller businesses between that and East 57th were beginning to close. It seems that the fringes of the Upper East Side are beginning to blend into this neighborhood. When you reach the top of the block at East 59th Street, you are greeted with the traffic going into the Queensboro Bridge, the tram going back and forth to Roosevelt Island and the sheer movement of people.
On the way back down Second Avenue, I visited La Vera Pizza at 922 Second Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor) for a quick slice. The pizza is really good and they make a delicious Sicilian slice ($3.00). The slice was pillowy and crisp and their sauce has a lot of flavor to it.
There is a distinct difference when you cross East 48th Street from the neighborhood as all the brownstones disappear and you see more office and apartment buildings on that part of Second Avenue. From East 58th to East 49th Streets, you will see a transition and change block by block. Some blocks will be all brownstones and small mom & pop businesses and others it will be a new building with a combination of businesses at street level.
From here, I walked block by block and explored the side streets of the neighborhood and there are many hidden gems in way of restaurants, stores and historic architecture to explore.
The vaulted ceilings under the Queensboro Bridge of Trader Joe’s
The Trader Joe’s under the Queensboro Bridge at 405 East 59th Street
Starting on East 59th Street a lot has changed since I walked the neighborhood since before the holidays. A lot of the stores that I had passed were gone and the stores were empty. Either to changing times or higher rents, these businesses disappeared right after the New Year so I turned the corner at Second Avenue and walked down East 58th Street and was surprised by the trove of stores and restaurants on the street. There are still a lot of antique stores and florists on the street as well many restaurants. You will also see the most amazing views of the Queensboro Bridge as it extends from Manhattan to the shores of Queens in the distance.
The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge on East 59th Street it extremely detailed in its look.
When you turn the corner and enter 58th Street towards the entrance to the Queensboro Bridge, you will see two small brownstones, 311 and 313 East 58 Street. They were built between 1856-57 by Hiram G. Disbrow for his own use. They were built in the Greek Revival-Italianate style with a porch with a picket fence (Streeteasy). 311 is now the home of Philip Colleck Ltd., an antique furniture store where they carry beautiful classic furniture for the home. 315 is still a private home right next to the ramp on the entrance to the Queensboro Bridge. These two interesting little brownstone homes stand out against the modern high rises that dot the rest of East 58th Street.
This pretty much dominates East 57th Street as well until you get to the Morgan and Vanderbilt Mansions at 2 & 3 Sutton Place with the amazing view of Roosevelt Island and the Queens Waterfront. There is a real beauty in the line of old mansions and brownstones between East 58th and 57th on Sutton Place.
The mansions on Sutton Place
East 56th Street is lined with an array of pre and post war buildings as well with more great views of the river at the end of street of the East River on Sutton Place. East 55th Street is about the same but there is a standout with A La Mode, an ice cream shop at 360 East 55th Street.
A La Mode (see my review on TripAdvisor) is a very cute and engaging ice cream shop that caters to the locals. The selection of homemade ice creams offers a few unusual flavors. I enjoyed a double scoop of Pink Sprinkle (Strawberry with colored sprinkles) and Partly Cloudy (Cotton Candy with baby marshmallows) both of which were colorful and delicious.
The Pink Sprinkle and the Partly Cloudy flavors are excellent and refreshing
They also carry an assortment of gifts and clothes for that lucky child. I must have enjoyed eating it because everyone smiled at me on my walk down to Sutton Place Park to enjoy it and the views.
As I rounded the corner onto East 54th Street, I stopped by both Sofia Pizza and Marinara Pizza many times when touring the neighborhood. Sofia Pizza Shoppe at 989 First Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor) has been noted as being one of the best slices in the City by several magazines. I would bypass the traditional slice as it was okay ($3.25) but the Sicilian slice ($4.50) was delicious. It had a nice pillowy consistency, and the sauce is loaded with flavor of fresh tomatoes.
Marinara Pizza at 985 First Avenue and the corner of East 54th Street (see my review on TripAdvisor) is a beautiful open restaurant that allows you to look in at all the pizzas. I had a slice from a pizza that just came out of oven, and it was excellent. Their sauce is delicious and well spiced, and the cheese was nice and gooey. Between the slice of pizza here and the sundae at A La Mode while looking at the view at Sutton Place Park at East 54th Street it was the perfect afternoon. People were smiling back at me that I seemed so happy to indulge in my ice cream while walking down the street.
When you get to the end of East 54th by Sutton Place, there is a small set up stairs that will take you to the first part of Sutton Place Park, Sutton Place Park North, with benches that overlook the skyline of Queens and Roosevelt Island. On a nice day, it is the perfect place to soak up the sunshine and relax while looking at soaring skyline.
The view into Brooklyn is amazing!
Walking down East 54th Street from the park you will find the Recreation Center 54 at 348 East 54th Street with the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater next door at 350 East 54th Street. The Neo-Classical building was built in 1911 as a recreation facility for the working classes and has many of the original details inside such as wrought iron staircases and marble baths. Originally called the 54th Street Baths and Gymnasium, the facility has now morphed into complete gaming experience with basketball, volleyball and swimming (NYCParks.org). Really look up to see the beauty of the building.
Recreation 54 Building on East 54th Street
On the outside of the Neighborhood Playhouse School next door, there is a plaque for Sanford Meisner, one of its most famous faculty. He developed the ‘Meisner Technique’, which is a self-investigation for the actor.
The Sanford Meisner Plaque at the Neighborhood Playhouse School
Mr. Meisner, who had wanted to be an actor since he was a child has studied under Lee Strasberg at the Theater Guild for Acting. In 1935, he joined the faculty of The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater which had been founded in 1928. He had served at the Director of the Acting Department until his retirement in 1990.
At the other end of East 54th Street by Second Avenue, there is an interesting and relaxing little public space that is part of the apartment complex, The Connaught Tower. This is the perfect place to relax and unwind after a long walk with benches, small gardens and shade trees. In the front of this public space is the artwork by artist Alexander Liberman, ‘POPS209: Accord’, a large geometric sculpture.
Mr. Liberman’s, Russian born immigrant as way of France, career as an artist covered many different forms of art including photography, painting, sculpture and retiring as an Editorial Director at Conde Nast. In his sculpture work, he was noted for his use of industrial objects like steel drums, and I beam and then painting them in uniform bright colors. POPS209: Accord is example of that, but you almost miss it as the trees are growing all around it.
After several breaks in this public space, it was off to explore East 53rd Street. As I made my way back to the river passing the southern part of Sutton Place Park and rounding Sutton Place South onto East 53rd. Be careful when walking in this area. You are blind to cars coming on street from Sutton Place South and they may not stop.
What stands here is this small red brownstone at 413 East 53rd Street that sits like a poor sole amongst the large apartment buildings that surround it.
This little building doesn’t look as good as this now on the outside, but it does have a colorful history in the transformation of this neighborhood several times. The property was once part of the Beekman estate in an area of summer homes and estates of wealthy downtown Manhattanites.
After the Civil War and the land boom that pretty much doomed the Beekman’s estate, this area was built up with tenement housing for the working class who worked in the nearby factories and this little house must have built somewhere in the late 1880’s. It has been lived in by several interesting characters.
The house was once lived in by corrupt politicians who were once slum lords in other parts of the neighborhood, then by a prostitute and her pimp and after that to an insurance company which dealt with cremations. After that it became a sheet metal shop and was fought over and sold by the slum lord’s estate (Daytonian in Manhattan).
By the time that Mrs. Vanderbilt and Mrs. Morgan built their homes up the road, the little brick building became a clock shop and then for the next several years was an antique reproduction store. Its last incarnation was as a dentist office and the upper two floors was renovated into a luxury home. Now it sits empty and boarded up waiting for the next stage of its history. So much history for such a small building.
As you pass the corner of East 53rd Street and First Avenue, take a peek inside the doorway to 400-402 East 53rd and look at the secret garden behind the locked door. If you glare to the back, you will see the garden that is hidden behind all the buildings on this part of First Avenue between East 53rd and 52nd Streets. If you could only sneak inside to take a peek.
The secret garden hides behind this entrance
The hidden garden behind the doorway
Walking further down East 53rd Street, two small wooden homes that stood out among all the luxury buildings and commercial shops on the street. These two little wooden homes are two of the last remaining in Manhattan and are currently landmarked.
The homes were built in 1866 by Robert and James Cunningham, two returning Civil War veterans who returned to an ever-changing City. The area had once been the farm of David Devore and now contained slaughterhouses and factories and was considered ‘sketchy’. The brothers built the two twin wooden homes right before the City changed the building codes banning wooden homes due to fires destroying the City like the ‘Great Fire of 1835, which destroyed most of downtown (Daytonian in Manhattan).
The two homes are built in the French Second Empire Style and have mansard roofs and brick basements and a shared garden in the back of both homes. The brothers leased the homes out until 1870. In the 1920’s 312 East 53rd was leased to Lincoln Kitsten, who founded the New York City Ballet and then to Society Hostess Muriel Draper and her dancer son, John. The homes were landmarked in 1968 and 2000 respectively (Daytonian in Manhattan).
As you cross the street at Second Avenue and walk down the other side of the street heading back to the river, you will pass Éclair Bakery at 305 East 53rd Street (see reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com), which I consider one the best independent bakeries I have tried on my walk since Estrella Bakery in Washington Heights and the now closed Glaser’s Bakery on the Upper East Side.
Éclair Bakery has some of the most delicious pastries, quiches and sandwiches at what I consider very reasonable prices for this part of the city. The Strawberry and Nutella mini doughnuts ($2.50) are pillowy and coated with sugar filled with fresh strawberry jelly and chocolaty Nutella and are three bite wonders.
The pillowy little Nutella and Strawberry Mini Doughnuts at Eclair Bakery.
The eclair’s ($5.75) come in various flavors and are arranged in the case like jewels. The Hazelnut was my favorite. The Quiche with ham and cheese ($5.75) when warmed up has a nice custard like texture and a sharpness due to the cheese. Everything here is delicious, and the service is really friendly.
Do not miss a visit to Éclair Bakery when visiting Sutton Place. Their delicious savory sandwiches.
The Ham and Cheese Quiche at Eclair Bakery is wonderful
The Turkey, Swiss and fresh tomato on a baguette is also delicious too
52nd Street between the river and Second Avenue is filled with mostly pre- and post-war buildings and filled with many embassies and consulates. As you walk toward the United Nations, you will notice that a lot of the smaller apartment buildings and brownstones between East 52nd and East 48th Street have many foreign signs.
Turning the corner onto East 51st Street on Second Avenue, you will see a change in the neighborhood again. Second Avenue is the border between Turtle Bay and Sutton Place East neighborhoods, and you will notice as you get further down the avenue block by block you will see a change between new modern apartment buildings and the smaller brownstone buildings that house the locally owned restaurants. It still is a neighborhood in this section between East 51st and East 49th Streets.
Again, on the corner of East 51st Street and First Avenue, you will pass the site of the Beekman Mansion on the way back to the East River. At the end of street, you will return to Peter Detmold Park. On a beautiful sunny day, take another walk across the bridge to take in the views of the East River and Roosevelt Island or just sit on the benches in the park and watch people playing with their dogs.
There is one little standout building on the Street at 328 East 51st Street. This beautiful little yellow townhouse was built in 1861 and was the home of actress Katharine Cornell when she moved back to the City in 1965. The two tiny sculptures that sit above the doorway are of Julia and Comfort Tiffany, the twin daughters of Louis Comfort Tiffany who were born in 1887. Ms. Cornell commissioned sculpture to artist, Mary Lawrence Tonetti, who was a good friend of her’s and whose son-in-law, Eric Gugler and architect, had designed the actress’s homes in Martha’s Vineyard and Sneden’s Landing (New York Times). Really look at the stonework and grill work of this home.
328 East 51st Street has a beauty of something in the French Quarter
When you turn the corner again to East 50th Street, the area around Beekman Place closer to the East River by the park has more classic brownstones and prewar apartment buildings and the area between First Avenue and the river is its own little enclave. Here the brownstones on the side streets are filled with many consulates. As you walked down to Second Avenue, the streets are lined with pre and post war buildings. Take the time though to walk Beekman Place and Mitchell Place near the Beekman Tower. It is like its own neighborhood.
Walking back and forth down East 49th Street, you will notice this lower part of the neighborhood is changing to more modern buildings and businesses catering to the United Nations around the corner and the same with East 48th Street which is more modern buildings and parking garages for the UN. The classic brownstones give way to the modern buildings of Midtown.
Still, you have two great restaurants between East 49th and 50th Streets, Mee’s Noodles for those wonderful dumplings and noodles at 930 Second Avenue and La Vera Pizzeria on the corner of East 49th Street and Second Avenue at 922 Second Avenue (see reviews on TripAdvisor).
My last trip into the neighborhood I made another trip to La Vera Pizzeria and the place was crowded with people getting off work from Midtown. Their pizza is very good, and the service is friendly.
The Cheese Pizza at La Vera Pizzeria is delicious
You can see how this part of the City like all others is in a state of transition as the brownstone buildings with their independent businesses are giving way to the more modern structures of today changing it to an extension of Midtown. Still many parts of the blocks have a ‘neighborhood’ feel to it and the area is loaded with interesting buildings, wonderful restaurants, small pocket parks and amazing views of the East River and the outer boroughs changing skyline. It is a wonderful place to just walk around and enjoy!
Steve Tyrell and Neil Sedaka “Laughter in the Rain”. It cheered me up!
I don’t know why but I kept humming this the entire time I walked Sutton Place. I had heard this the previous day at work and I could not get it out of my mind.
It took a long time to finish the Upper West Side with classes and work going on and the beginning of the holiday season. I started walking the streets between West 59th Street in early October when the weather was still warm and the trees were still green then somehow along the way the leaves turned a golden brown and I started to see cobwebs and pumpkins all over the place. By the time I was finished, these would be replaced by garland, holly, wreathes and pine trees. I had never seen a neighborhood transform so fast or was it just me revisiting so many times over the period of three months. The holidays just creeped up on me and then overwhelmed me.
The lower part of the Upper West Side is much different from the rest of this side of town. As noted in earlier blogs of the neighborhood, pretty much everything below West 69th Street was leveled to make way for the Lincoln Center complex and only buildings around Central Park West, historic churches and some pre-war ‘gems’ survived the wrecking ball. Everything east of Broadway seemed to survive the wrecking ball but that has continued to change.
This ‘clearance’ made way for the performing arts center, many branches of college campuses, a hospital, new residential housing and new schools. There are very few traces of the old neighborhood once you cross West 70th Street until you get to about West 58th Street where some of the older buildings survived. If it did not have historic value or a certain charm, it got knocked down in the way of progress.
The Lincoln Center clearance project that transformed this part of the City
The charm of the neighborhood continued from West 72nd Street to West 70th Street. These was the edges of the old Upper West Side that had survived the 60’s wrecking ball. West 72nd Street to me still represents the old New York with stores catering to the neighborhood residents and not to tourists. They are stores and restaurants for New Yorkers not New York places for tourists looking for a New York experience like walking around Times Square.
I started walking the streets of the Upper West Side from West 72nd Street to West 59th Street in early October and finishing a section here and a section there finishing closer to Thanksgiving. It was so weird to start this part of the walk when the trees still had green leaves on them to seeing Christmas decorations on the brownstone homes. Between work and the beginnings of the holidays and my hectic schedule it took a long time to see all the streets in the detail I wanted.
In the few months that I had been walking around, West 72nd Street has really started to change. I starting seeing a lot more scaffolding on the street and more restaurants opening and closing. I could not keep up the pace of the changes. Many older businesses started to close up shop due to the rent increases. All over the City rents that must have been negotiated in the mid to late 90’s were now coming due and business owners just can’t pay some of these rents. I am seeing more and more empty store fronts or restaurants replacing them with $20.00 hamburgers and $25.00 pasta dishes which are over-priced to the average person.
West 72nd Street is still worth the visit as they are many shops and restaurants that reasonably priced and are patronized by the neighborhood residents. There are many places that I like to revisit whenever I am in the neighborhood. As you round the corner onto West 72nd Street from Central Park West, you are greeted by the anchor of the neighborhood, the Dakota Apartments at 1 West 72nd Street, the famous home of John Lennon. These beautiful apartments were built between 1880-84 by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh for Edward Cabot Clark, the head of the Singer Manufacturing Company (Wiki).
During my time on the walk, there had been a memorial in the park on the date of his passing and many people were trying to take pictures there but the doorman are shooing people away. This is the private home to many people.
Walking down West 72nd is an array of well maintained apartment buildings and Coops but here and there on the street, there are still some pockets where you will find a brownstone here or there tucked into some corner of the street or look at the stone work on a apartment building.
Walking down West 72nd Street is a treasure trove of wonderful restaurants, interesting shops and historical architecture. It’s not just the Dakota and Olcott Apartments that are interesting. When looking up you notice so much. As you walk past the famous apartment buildings of Central Park West past Columbus Avenue, you pass an avenue of ever changing bars, restaurants and shops that continue to surprise residents and tourists alike.
The Olcott Apartments at 27 West 72nd Street were built in 1925
One restaurant/bar I enjoy visiting is Malachy’s Donegal Inn at 103 West 72nd Street (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and Diningonashoestringinnyc@Wordpress.com) just past Columbus Avenue. The bar has been there for years and a neighborhood staple for locals in the neighborhood. I had eaten here many times and I always felt like I was being watched, like people at the bar were trying to figure out whether I lived there or not.
The food is really good. Their burgers, chicken fingers and hot turkey sandwiches ($8.95 each) are generous in size and their prices for food and drinks is very reasonable. It is a great place to sit back and talk to strangers about just about anything.
Just past Malachy’s is an unassuming store, Stationary & Toy World at 125 West 72nd Street (See my blog ‘LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com) for a great selection of office supplies and toys for all ages.
The aisles are stacked top to bottom with popular games, crafts and building blocks while others with hard to find office supplies. Why order on Amazon when you can walk out your door and talk to people in the store who know their merchandise? It’s a throwback to a store in the 70’s that had it all. The people who work there are really nice and will help you find anything.
The extensive selection in the windows shows a glimpse of the inside
Verdi Square, part of the once infamous ‘Needle Park’ of the 70’s when this area got very run down has become a cornerstone of this part of the neighborhood.
There is no ‘Needle Park’ here anymore with fancy coffee vendors and musicians playing the park on a warm day. The park has been landscaped with flowers blooming each season and is a nice place to just relax and talk before taking the busy subway up or downtown.
What the neighborhood used to look like in the early 70’s
Just to tell you how much the neighborhood has changed there is a very popular Bloomingdale’s Outlet Store at 2085 Broadway with loads of merchandise from the popular chain and a 40 Carrots yogurt shop upstairs. You can get lost in the racks of clothing.
The unique shopping district on West 72nd
Just past Bloomingdale’s at 233 West 72nd Street is Westsider Records, another 70’s looking store for vinyl records and used books. If you are looking for the hard to find classics or for book or record that your mother threw out years ago, this is the store to start in. There is a wide variety of records here including original cast albums from musicals that I have not seen in years.
As you head down West 72nd Street, take a stop before arriving at West End Avenue and admire what is left of the old mansions that still peak out here and there on the street especially towards the very bottom of Riverside Park, when the neighborhood was an exclusive address. At the end of the block is Riverside Drive and the bottom of Riverside Park.
Across the street under all that scaffolding is The Chadsworth Apartment House that was designed in the late 1800’s (See Day One Hundred & Eight of MywalkinManhattan.com for full history of the apartment houses on West 72nd Street). Under all that piping if you look close, you can see the beauty and the detail work of the stone carvers. It will be something when the renovation is finished.
The beauty of The Chadsworth with the lower part of Riverside Park
Before crossing back, take a look at the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument at the corner of Riverside Drive and West 72nd Street. The statue is dedicated to the former First Lady and is a nice place to sit and relax on a warm day. American artist Penelope Jencks designed the statue and is a graduate of Boston College with a BFA. This is one of her best known works.
I have seen this part of the park in all seasons since starting to walk this part of the neighborhood and the Spring is best when the first set of flowers starts to peek out.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Statue at the end of West 72nd Street by artist Penelope Jencks
Walking back down West 72nd Street on the other side of the road is West Side Cafe at 218 West 72nd Street (closed as of February 2020), my go to place in the neighborhood for reasonable meals and snacks (See my TripAdvisor reviews and review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
How I found this restaurant/deli was the sign that they had on the street with the prices of their meals and went in immediately for their pizza lunch special ($5.00). The pizza there is amazing as is all of their food and seems to be the place all the cabbies and doormen eat at as well. Large portions of well made food at a reasonable price.
West Side Cafe and Pizza at 218 West 72nd Street (now closed in 2020)
The pizza was amazing here
If you are still hungry from all the walking, another place I like to stop for a snack is Gray’s Papaya at 2090 Broadway right across from the subway station. Their hot dogs are the best and since they are grilled, they snap when you bit into them (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
The food is really good and you have to eat outside when the weather is nice to experience New York City.
The hot dogs and Papaya drink is the best
Yum!
The one thing I like about West 72nd Street on the West Side is that there is something for everyone from the fancy dining establishments heading toward Central Park West to the more reasonable hole in the wall restaurants that dot the street and those hidden stores stacked high with merchandise, this street was created for the New York customer and has not given into the tourists yet.
Rounding the corner of Central Park West, this trip around the neighborhood took so much time that I saw the four seasons occur in the park. Fall is most distinct with the colorful leaves with a touch of still warm weather. Morning or night, the park is always busy.
West 71st Street has a more residential feel to it and between the park and Broadway is lined with impressive brownstones and apartment buildings. Facing Central Park is the Majestic Apartments at 115 Central Park West, which opened right before the stock market crash of 1929. The apartment building is an interesting example of Modern American Art Deco architecture and was considered quite innovative when it opened. The building was built by the firm of Chanin Construction Company by Irwin Chanin (StreetEasy 2019).
Take time to look at the buildings design from the other side of Central Park West. Its elegant design is in contrast to the more Victorian look of the Dakota right across the street. Just don’t stare too long or the building doormen will give you a funny look.
The beautiful row of brownstones and small apartment buildings on West 71st Street were decorated at all times of the holiday season. When I started the walk in early October with the leaves still green on the trees, people were preparing for the Halloween and the coming of the Fall. As I finished the walk, many people were putting up trees, garland and lights. With the care of these brownstones and their decorations, especially at night, made it look like a true neighborhood.
Halloween decorations on the Upper West Side are quite creative
Further down West 71st Street is the Church of the Blessed Sacrament at 152 West 71st Street which was built in 1917. The first church was built in 1887 near West 72nd Street and the second church was built in 1900 on the site of the current church. This church was built by architect Gustav Steinbach, a Columbia graduate, who modeled it after a much smaller 14th century French Gothic Sainte Chapelle in Parish (Church History).
The Church of the Blessed Sacrament at 152 West 71st Street
The church has a very engaging sermon and mass and if you are in the area during that time, take the time out to stay and enjoy it. It was a small crowd that afternoon that I was there but I only stayed for a short period of time. It would be nice to hear the whole mass sometime.
The plaque dedicated to the Reverend Monsignor Matthew A. Tailor
Once you reach Sherman Square, you will see the artist Kathy Ruttenberg’s statue, ‘In Sync’ which is part of her open air exhibition with the NYC Arts, ‘In Dreams Awake: Kathy Ruttenberg on Broadway exhibition (one of her other statues, ‘All the World’s a Stage’ is located in the neighborhood on West 64th near Lincoln Center). Take time to look at this interesting twist of nature by the Woodstock, NY based artist. She has four other statues up and down Broadway which means revisited the Upper West Side above West 84th Street.
‘In Sync’ By Kathy Ruttenberg
“All the World’s a Stage” by Kathy Ruttenberg
I have to say one thing is that she is very creative and looks at nature and art in an extremely unusual fashion. Her work takes on a different meaning showing nature in human form. The funny part is that the whole time I was looking over the statue everyone else just bumped into me passing it. No one stopped to look at the deer-man and tree walking in tandem like it was something you saw every day in New York City.
Two of my favorite and reasonable places to eat in this part of the Upper West Side are located right across the street on Broadway. The McDonald’s at 2049 Broadway and Little Italy Pizza at 2047 Broadway (see reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
The McDonald’s is one of the better ones in the City for food quality and cleanliness. I have many lunches and dinners here and it is fun to order a Sausage McMuffin and Egg and a cheeseburger at 9:00pm. When the weather was really hot at the beginning walk of this neighborhood I came here for one of their frozen lemonades.
The Sausage McMuffin with Egg
It is still the best dinner meal
Little Italy Pizza is one of the best places for slices in the City as their pizza actually has some flavor to it. When you have a slice ($2.95) here it is a decent sized piece of pizza and the sauce is nicely spiced. Their calzones are excellent ($6.50). They are almost the size of a small pizza and are loaded with ricotta and mozzarella cheese. Their marinara sauce is delicious and well spiced. If you have one for lunch, you will need no dinner. The service here is quick and the pizza makers are in a rush all the time so take your order and wait to be called.
As you continue down West 71st Street towards West End Avenue, there is a little slice of oasis in Septuagesimo Uno Park between Broadway and West End Avenue. The park was created in 1969 as part of Mayor Wagner’s ‘Vest Park Program’ to take vacant lots in neighborhoods at the time and turn them into a ‘small oasis’ for the neighborhood.
The park was part of an effort between the Mayor, the NYC Parks and neighborhood groups who wanted to beautify the neighborhood. It is beautifully landscaped and in season you can see the flowers and scrubs in full bloom. The only problem that I found with visiting the park is that the gate is always locked. Every time I wanted to visit, there was no one there.
The inside of the park in the Spring
As you walk to the end of the block, you will see the transition in the street from where it used to stop at the back of the Chadsworth Apartments and the new Heritage at Trump Place Apartment Building. This leads back to the extension of West 72nd Street and the new Riverside Boulevard. This is where you see old and new mix in both architecture and parks. When you reach Riverside Boulevard you will see all the new buildings that I described when walking the Avenues. It shows the ingenuity of the city planners of reclaiming land and redesigning the City into the 21st Century.
As you head back down West 71st Street, really look up and admire some of the architecture and details on the buildings along the street. Once you pass West End Avenue, look at the details of 260-266 West 71st Street with their large staircases and the elegance of the clean lines on these brownstones. These brownstones were built in 1899 and were to have a look ‘different from one another’ (NY Times Real Estate).
Lots of care has been taken to restore them to their glory and when the weather was warmer, were decorated outside with potted plants.
Move on to the brownstones from 248-250 West 71st Street that are across the street to see their details. These were build in 1892 and look up to see the weird faces staring back at you. Further down the street, sitting like a Grand Dame of the neighborhood and not part of the Moses chopping block is The Dorilton Apartments at 171 West 71st Street that were built in 1902. These were built at a time architects were trying to lure people off Fifth Avenue and onto Broadway which was modeled after a French Boulevard.
Heading back to Central Park West is the brownstones of 35-39 West 71st Street with their elegant staircases, curved windows and their lion keystones staring back at you. These brownstones were built in 1900 and show a grace and elegance of ‘Old New York’.
I found West 71st Street offers a lot in beautiful small parks, gorgeous architecture, wonderful restaurants and interesting shops. The people here must really love it.
Across the street, the buildings at 264-266 West 71st Street is just as beautiful. These buildings were built in 1899. The embellishments on the building are so interesting.
264-266 West 71st Steet has the most beautiful embellishments
The front of 260 West 71st Street
The embellishments
The doorway
The banister of the stairs
The four faces stare back at you as you w
I rounded Central Park West again looking at the Central Park as it transitioned seasons during the walk and walked onto West 70th Street. This is where the neighborhood starts to change. Up to Columbus Avenue, you see the older part of the neighborhood that survived the wrecking ball and past Broadway is all new construction.
I traveled down West 70th Street to Riverside Boulevard and it is amazing how in just one block a neighborhood can change. You see how ‘urban renewal’ can change the character of a neighborhood.
Still there is a beauty to many buildings on the block. It may not have all the charismatic brownstones as West 71st Street but still here and there are buildings that stand out and you take notice of when walking around. At 135 West 70th Street there is a building that has an Egyptian style motif that decorates the entire frontage.
The Pythian was designed by architect Thomas Lamb and was built in 1926 for the Knights of the Pythians, who were a fraternal order founded in 1864. The building was constructed of buff brick and terra cotta. The outside decorations of the building are designed in ‘Egyptian Revival Art Deco’ and are some of the best examples of the use of polychrome terra cotta in the City. The building was converted to condos in 1983. Really look up and admire the details of ancient Gods and Goddesses, mythical animals and artwork that looks like the outside of an ancient temple. Admire the orb that sits atop the entrance with the Goddess Isis stand guard (Streetscapes & Wiki).
I stopped by P.S. 199 as they were letting out of school and it was sea of children and parents for the next hour. Next to the school is Matthew P. Sapolin Park, which is a great place to visit on a hot day. There are really nice public bathrooms that come in handy after a long walk and benches under shade trees to relax on. The parents are so busy watching their kids and the other parents no one noticed me walk in the many times I visited here. This was my go to place for the bathroom and to relax when walking this section of the neighborhood and they keep the park up really nicely.
The former Playground 70 was renamed in 2011 to Matthew P. Sapolin Park after the former Commission of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, who died of cancer in 2011. The park is fitted for children with disabilities with a children’s garden, a basketball court with backstops for children in wheel chairs and picnic table seating low enough to allow for disability access (NYCParks.com).
Matthew P. Sapolin has a very interesting life before dying at age 41. He had been mainstreamed in school on Long Island, was a drummer in a band he formed and the Co-Captain of his wrestling team at NYU. Many people had commented that he was an inspiration for many people who never let a disability define them and it is fitting that such a park available to so many be named after him (NY Obituary).
Walking back from a relaxing break at the park, I walked back to towards Central Park West. Tucked away near Columbus Avenue is an interesting little antique jewelry store called Icon Style by Lara Kornbluh at 104 West 70th Street (See review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). Do not miss this interesting little shop refitted in a turn of the last century pharmacy, if you like vintage and antique fine and costume jewelry.
It has some of the most unusual pieces in the shapes of animals and sunburst. I got to meet the owner, artist Lara Kornbluh, whose work had been shown in galleries in the 90’s. She had gotten interested in jewelry as a side business while working as an artist to make extra money. Her creativity as an artist shows in the one of kind selections she has bought for the store. No two pieces look alike. For jewelry lovers, it should not be missed.
After a long day in Soup Kitchen and walking all of West 72nd to West 70th Streets and rounding onto West 69th Street, I had had it. I wanted to relax and decided to end this part of the evening at the New York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West. I had not visited the museum in a long time and wanted to look around some of the exhibitions. What is nice about the museum is that on a Friday night it is ‘pay what you want’ and since I was broke, I just paid $5.00.
The New York Historical Society & Museum at 170 Central Park West
It was an busy evening for the museum with the ‘Harry Potter’ exhibition going on. I bypassed that and went upstairs to see the ‘Billy Jean King’ exhibition on her career as a tennis player, philanthropist and activist. I also got to see the permanent collection of objects in the collection. What was nice about that was I had the galleries pretty much to myself. I stayed until the museum closed at 8:00pm. I stopped for a quick snack on Broadway and then headed home. There would be more to see for another day.
My next trip to the neighborhood started at the Soup Kitchen again. Why I exhaust myself and walk the rest of the afternoon amazes even me. I have no idea where I get my energy from. I worked the busy bread station and after my four hour shift was over, I walked from 28th and Ninth Avenue to Harriet’s Kitchen (see review on TripAdvisor) at 502 Amsterdam Avenue, a small southern hole in the wall restaurant for lunch.
I had visited Harriet’s before and wanted to try more entrees on their menu. I had a chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes for lunch ($12.95 plus $4.95 for the potatoes and gravy) which was the perfect lunch on a cool day and the calories would support an afternoon of walking around the neighborhood. Don’t miss this rich gravy loaded pie loaded with fresh white chicken.
Harriet’s Kitchen on 502 Amsterdam Avenue (Closed October 2019)
After a full lunch, I walked down Central Park West tracing the park side. I really looked at the park as the joggers and walkers entered and wondered when I missed the leaves changing colors. It was the middle of October and the pumpkin decorations and mums started to appear on steps and porches of the brownstone blocks of the Upper West Side.
As I walked onto West 69th Street, I was greeted by a juxtaposed of brownstone and small apartment house styles between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. The shopping area around Columbus Avenue has not changed much over the years but the stores are constantly in transition. In the three months that I visited and walked the neighborhood I had never seen so many restaurants change hands and even watched a few open and close while I was there. The rents must be skyrocketing in the neighborhood as the twenty and ten year leases that were negotiated after the last recession have given way to market rates. Again, I don’t think the Upper West Side needs another restaurant that serves a $20.00 hamburger.
The sign for the church
One of the most beautiful and quintessential blocks of the neighborhood is West 69th Street from Columbus to Amsterdam Avenues. This row of brownstones on both sides is met in the middle by Christ & St. Stephens Church at 120 West 69th Street. This cute little church has a garden just a few steps up from the side walk with benches to relax on.
Christ & Stevens Church at 120 West 69th Street. This block is amazing to walk in!
When I was visited earlier in the month, I just saw the last of the flowers in bloom and the leaves change colors. During the winter months, you could better appreciate the beauty of the buildings.
129-135 West 69th Street
The brownstones across the street were decorated with colorful pumpkins and potted plants and the whole effect was out of a movie. It is what you would think all of New York City should look like or probably did at one time.
129-135 West 69th Street
Take time to admire the brownstones from at 129-135 West 69th Street with the unique carvings, beautiful details and their curving stairs. Decorated for both Halloween and Christmas when I walked the neighborhood, this is truly picturesque.
The front of the buildings
The banister of the stairways
Once you cross Broadway, you see where the changes of the 60’s come in and the neighborhood has given way to modern construction. Between Amsterdam and Broadway you will begin to see the final buildings as part of the Lincoln Center complex of buildings of schools, theaters and offices which leads to the modern apartment complex of Lincoln Towers that continues from West 69th Street to West 66th Street. They are not so keen about letting people walk around the grounds so I snuck in carefully and did not walk around where I wasn’t supposed.
Along West End Avenue to Freedom Place is the same. Lincoln Towers, a modern apartment complex stretches from West 70th Street to West 66th and there are guards all over the place at each entrance to the complex. It is mostly paths leading the the apartments. Between Freedom Place and Riverside Boulevard are all the sparkling new apartment buildings that line the extension of Riverside Park. This new modern look to the city stretches on the West Side from West 70th Street to West 59th where some new buildings are behind fencing waiting to appear this Summer.
So to complete this part of the walk and it was such a nice day when I did it, I made a right turn up Amsterdam Avenue from West 69th Street and walked up to West 70th Street and walked the entire length around the Lincoln Towers Complex to West 66th Street and then back to see some of the garden and paths of the complex that I could see with the guards looking me over and then back around.
When I finished that, I made the turn once I returned to West 66th Street and West End Avenue and walked to Riverside Boulevard and re-walked all the side streets between West 66th to West 70th Streets between the park and Freedom Place and looked at all the new construction again. This part of the neighborhood is dissected from the rest of the Upper West Side and is almost its own self-contained neighborhood similar to Battery Park City. It has its own shops, stores and schools. It faces a beautiful sparkling new park where the sod had just been laid that Summer and it was in full use when I was there (See Days One Hundred and Twenty One and Two).
Freedom Place marker
I crossed back over the street at West 70th and continued to walk down past this extensive neighborhood and in the corner of Freedom Place and West 70th Street saw the Freedom Place marker from the Freedom Summer of June 21, 1964 when volunteers went to Mississippi to register Black voters. The plaque was dedicated to the three volunteers who were killed, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney. They had been ambushed and killed that evening. A very somber plaque for such an interesting block of luxury housing.
I made the turn again and back down the other side of West 69th I went. Once you past Broadway, you pass from new to old again and it is the other side of the brownstone row until you get to Central Park West. When you turn the corner again at West 68th Street, you are pretty much looking at what is left of the old Upper West Side between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. After that the rest of the neighborhood is new construction especially around the boundaries of Broadway which is loaded with chain businesses.
West 67th Street is almost the same as the area contains many new buildings between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. Here you start to see more of the buildings that are part of Lincoln Center just to the south or are part of the commercial district that has developed over the last twenty five years. When you turn the corner again from Central Park West to West 66th Street, you see the neighborhood streetscape change again with differences in the buildings from Central Park to Riverside Park.
West 66th Street takes you right back over to Riverside Park and then back to Central Park as I stopped in the park to relax. It has a wonderful view of New Jersey of the cliffs facing the Hudson River. On a warm Summer day you have a choice of things to do in the park, admiring the artwork, walking, jogging or just lying by the grass.
A tiny triangle of grass greets you right across the street from Lincoln Center in the former Empire North Park now dubbed “Richard Tucker Park”. This little park like its counterpart Verdi Square further uptown not only serves as a subway entrance but in the warmer months has a very popular Farmers Market, waffle stand and bookseller. Its a pleasant park to sit in the Summer and watch the world go by.
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.
West 65th Street brings you to the heart of Lincoln Center. This is also where the neighborhood has its extremes. On one side of Amsterdam Avenue is Lincoln Center and on the other is the Amsterdam Houses. Still the neighborhood houses some of the best schools in the country. Julliard is housed between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue as well as the Fiorella H. Laguardia School of the Performing Arts, two of the nation’s finest performing arts schools in the US.
Making the rounds back to Central Park and back in to the heart of the neighborhood, you will walk through Lincoln Center with all it’s beauty and glory. It really is a stellar site with its fountains and walkways and art. In the evening after a performance, I have always enjoyed just sitting by the fountain in the middle of the theaters and just watched people walk by either afternoons or evenings. It brings back many memories of performances past.
The Lincoln Center complex stretches from West 65th to West 62nd Streets from Columbus to Amsterdam Avenue so it takes some time to walk the whole complex and admire the gardens and statuary.
I had an interesting walk behind Lincoln Center once I crossed Amsterdam Avenue into the Amsterdam Houses, which are currently under scaffolding and being renovated. The Amsterdam Houses stretch from West 64th to West 61st from Amsterdam to West End Avenues. It is an interesting set of paths to walk through all the scaffolding. With my progressive glasses and dark jacket, I made most of the construction guys and residents a little nervous. I had a glass thrown from a third floor window at me, security guards look the other direction when I walked by and watched a few construction guys get nervous. It just seems out of the place with the rest of the neighborhood.
One bright spot of the complex is the Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd Playground located toward the back of the complex which has recently been renovated. It has new swings and a plastic climbing complex. The few afternoons that I entered the park, the kids seemed well-behaved but there were a lot of adults there talking.
Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd was a local resident and activist, who was a third generation member of the ‘San Juan Hill’ community who served as a mentor to children in the neighborhood and a sports coach.
I continued by walk down West 64th Street and walk all around the Amsterdam Housing Complex which made me very popular with the construction crew who seemed to step of the pace every time they saw me walking through taking notes. I walked down and around West 61st Street and covered all the area from West 59th Street to West 64th Street from Riverside Boulevard to Amsterdam Avenue. Amsterdam Houses are really an island on to themselves with the Lincoln Center complex to the east and the luxury apartments by Riverside Park South to the west.
As you head around West 59th and 60th Streets past Amsterdam Avenue you will see the John Jay College and Fordham College campuses just south of Lincoln Center. These and Mt. Sinai Hospital pretty dominate the very bottom of the Upper West Side.
There are two stand out buildings that you should not miss admiring on West 59th Street, the IRT Powerhouse between West End Avenue and the Henry Hudson Parkway and West 59th and 58th Streets. This historic building was built in 1904 by architect Stanford White for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and is designed in ‘Renaissance Revival’ and was part of the City Beautiful Movement (Wiki). Note all the beautiful carvings and decor at the sides of the building.
The beautiful details of the building on all sides
The other building not to miss is the Williams J. Syms Operating Theater at 338 West 59th Street right behind the Time-Warner Complex. It was built in 1892 as a medical hospital and is the last remaining piece of the old Roosevelt Hospital. Made with marble and mosaic floors as not to harbor bacteria, it was considered state of the art when it opened. It is now being renovated for a school.
From West 59th Street, I walked around the back of the Columbus Circle complex and walked up Columbus Avenue back to West 64th Street and continued the walk back to Central Park West. Here you see the sparkling new Time-Warner complex with its luxury stores, hotels and restaurants. This has set the tone for the transformation of the Upper West Side.
Making the walk back onto West 63rd Street, I walked again through the Lincoln Center Complex again and then through the Amsterdam Houses again just to rile the builders who by this point just ignored me. Towards the end of the block between West 63rd and 64th Streets and West End Avenue and Freedom Place there is another really nice park to relax in that does not have a formal name by the Parks system. It has a nice playground in the front and paths with benches to the back which is the perfect place to relax on a hot day. This park is always busy with kids.
Walking back to the commercial district of Columbus Avenue and right across from Lincoln Center is Dante Park, which in the summer is busy with vendors and book sellers and at the holidays has the most beautiful Christmas tree with an even nicer holiday event. Dante Park was originally part of Empire Park to the north but was renamed in 1921 for the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
There is a statue of him facing the park by artist Ettore Ximemes (Wiki). Mr. Ximemes was born in Italy and had studied at the Palermo Academy of Fine Arts and then at the Naples Academy under artist Domenico Morelli.
Dante Park shows its true magic when the sun goes down and the lights go on.
When walking back to West 63rd to Central Park and then back to Columbus Avenue the areas between West 62nd, 61st and 60th Streets are lined with commercial buildings, hotels and apartment buildings. The Empire Hotel which faces Dante Park and is always busy on theater night in its restaurants was built in 1923 by owner Herbert DePuy.
The last part of my walk that evening was exploring the artwork at Lincoln Center. As I looked over the signs for upcoming shows and watched the holiday decorations being placed on the inside of the opera house, I admired pieces of art tucked here and there in the complex. There was artist Henry Moore’s ‘Working Model for Reclining Figure’ in one part and Alexander Calder’s “Le Guichet” that stand out. In all my times at the theater, I never noticed these two pieces of outdoor art. Taking time to walk around and needing to sit down you do notice them.
Henry Moore’s “Working Model for Reclining Figure” at Lincoln Center
Henry Moore was a English artist who had graduated from the Royal College of Art in London and Leeds School of Art. He was known for his semi-abstract figures and his work in bronze. This work, “Working for Reclining Figure” was installed in 1965 and has been thought to be human figure in a reclining state. One piece represents that head and the torso and the other the figures legs. You really have to walk around the piece to figure it out (Wiki).
Alexander Calder is an American artist who graduated from the Stephens Institute of Technology. He was known for his abstract mobiles with some known of the themes of the cosmos and nature (Wiki). The work, “Le Guichet” (the ticket window) was installed in Lincoln Center in 1963. Some say it represents a irregularly shaped hand reaching through a window.
My last night walking the streets of the Upper West Side was also the beginning of the holiday season. It had been a long day at the Soup Kitchen working the Social Services area and I just wanted to get out of there.
I walked back up Columbus Avenue to look at the store windows and took a short cut through West 69th Street between Columbus and Broadway again to look at all the lights along the brownstones again. People really decorated their homes with lights, garlands and trees. At nightfall, this is what New York is all about. The simple decorations that make the City so special.
I ended my evening with dinner at the West Side Cafe again at 218 West 72nd Street (now closed as of February 2020). I just needed a couple of slices of pizza and remembered how much I enjoyed it. I am beginning to feel like a regular here.
West Side Cafe at 218 West 72nd Street (now closed in 2020)
The pizza here was amazing
So here on the Upper West Side is a wonderful mixture of architecture, unusual art by interesting artists, great hole in the wall restaurants and a great mix of retail. Here and there a real ‘gem’ pops out but at the end of the day it is a great neighborhood to take a long walk in.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Please read my other blogs on the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:
Day One Hundred and Twenty-One: Walking the Borders of the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:
It has been nice being on this side of town again. It has been a few months since my last visit to the Upper West Side. I had a long day in the Soup Kitchen working on the Bread Station and of course, they put me on the dessert section handing out cookies and pies. They kept me going until we ran out of desserts half way through service. How I walked all the Avenues from West 72nd to West 58th Streets in some parts, I don’t know.
After Soup Kitchen, I revisited Lions, Tigers and Squares at 238 West 23rd Street for a sausage and onion pizza square ($10.89-See Reviews on TripAdvisor and Diningonashoestringinnyc@Wordpress.com), which is a deep dish Detroit pizza with the cheese baked into the crust and loaded with chopped sweet onions and spicy sausage. I took the pizza and relaxed on the High-line. I just watched everyone walk by and get jealous watching me enjoy my pizza.
Lion’s and Tigers and Squares at 238 West 23rd Street (Closed May 2025)
Their sausage and pepperoni pizza is really good
After lunch, I walked up 9th Avenue which leads to Columbus Avenue by West 59th Street. The lower part of the Upper West Side is a neighborhood of extremes. This part of the Upper West Side is rather unusual in that once you pass West 70th Street everything is large block long buildings, new architecture and one of the most impressive cultural arts centers in the world.
In 1967, New York City planner, Robert Moses, had most of the neighborhood, over 67 acres demolished to make way for the new Lincoln Center complex. You can see the difference in the neighborhood as you pass West 71st Street and the change in each block. Some of the more historical buildings made the cut to survive and the rest were demolished. The City pretty much cleared the area of all buildings and housing and redeveloped everything south of West 70th Street from Columbus Avenue to Riverside Drive and the Hudson River to just past West 59th Street. You can see a distinct change in the architecture south of the low 70’s.
The area was once known as ‘San Juan Hill’ and ‘Lincoln Square’ and was the center of the Puerto Rican and Black community more so than Harlem and East Harlem was at the time. The whites were concentrated to the east from Amsterdam Avenue to Central Park West and the Blacks and the growing Puerto Rican population to the west to West End Avenue. The area was slated for demolition and renewal by the city planners.
I watched the neighborhood change from getting ready for Halloween to getting ready for Christmas (it tells you how long I spent on this side of the City), so I got to see how people decorated their homes during the duration of the holiday season.
Brownstones decorated for the holidays.
With the exception of some of the historical buildings and the Brownstone area between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West, they pretty much looked like they leveled the neighborhood from about West 71st Street all the way down to West 58th Street. Everything here now is relatively new in comparison to the rest of the Upper West Side.
The City leveled the neighborhood for the Lincoln Center complex
It is now filled with large apartment complexes, colleges, schools and office buildings though here and there some of the historic buildings were saved from the wrecking ball. With the exception of a small amount of brownstones and the apartment houses facing Central Park West, most of the buildings below West 71st are only about thirty to forty years old.
My first part of walking the neighborhood was walking down the new extension of Riverside Boulevard which is being built on claimed land that was once part of the railroad tracks. This area of the city has been added to on the shoreline of the Hudson River and the the City is just finishing the extension of Riverside Park with Hudson River Park.
This section of green space hugs the Hudson River from West 72nd Street to West 59th Street with new plantings, paths and playgrounds along the way. During my entire trip in the neighborhood no matter the weather, there were joggers, strollers and residents of the neighborhood sitting on the benches talking. This park has created a new neighborhood on the edge of this part of the Upper West Side.
The new Riverside Park on the West Side of Manhattan
All along Riverside Boulevard from West 71st Street to the extension by the walls of West 59th Street is lined with innovative luxury resident buildings that have a beautiful views of the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades. On a sunny day by the park, the views must be amazing from the windows facing the windows.
Turning the corner at West 70th to Freedom Place which dissects the riverfront from West End Avenue, you begin to see the changes that Robert Moses and the City of New York made when they leveled the neighborhood for Lincoln Center and the universities. The architecture changes from prewar apartments and brownstones to modern buildings of the sixties, seventies up to current construction. These are much bigger more modern structures that change the complexity of the neighborhood.
Freedom Place and Freedom Place South are separated by resident structures between West 66th and West 64th Streets. This area is morphing again as buildings are being sandblasted back to life or being rebuilt. Freedom Place is an Avenue in transition as the neighborhood is changing again and bringing in a whole new set of residents.
Unfortunately though these buildings don’t have the personality of those above West 71st Street. The detail to the architecture is more ‘big box’ then the stonework with carved details. What is does show though is a new modern neighborhood in Manhattan. These is one detail that stands out. On the corner of West 62 Street is Collegiate Garden, a small rose garden with benches to relax. When it was in bloom during the end of the Summer and beginning of Fall it was in full bloom. It was a nice place to just relax and watch people walking their dogs.
West End Avenue in this part of the Upper West Side does not have that pre-war classic look to it. In this section of the neighborhood it is modern apartment buildings dominated by 150 West End Avenue. This complex of modern apartment buildings covers from West 70th Street to West 66th Street. From West 63rd to West 61st Streets from West End Avenue to Amsterdam Avenue is the Amsterdam Houses which were built in the late 50’s when the neighborhood was being leveled.
The Amsterdam Complex on Amsterdam Avenue on the West Side
They are currently going under a renovation. Still it was creepy walking through the complex. Someone threw something out the window when I walked by. Also most of the construction workers stared at me as I walked through the complex as I had to criss cross it several times to walk this part of the Avenues. I still get that debated look on everyone’s face of whether I am a cop or DEA.
Like West End Avenue, Amsterdam Avenue is very similar to West End Avenue dominated by new construction, the Fordham University campus, two high schools one being the famous Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts where many famous actors, singers and performers have graduated from.
This part of Amsterdam Avenue is a place of extremes right across the street from one another. You have the Amsterdam Houses right which were built in the 1950’s right across the street from Lincoln Center which was built in the 1960’s. Literally a huge change in walking across the street.
I walked all through the Amsterdam Houses and got a lot of looks from the construction guys who were working on the renovation of the complex. Like most of the neighborhood, even the complex is going through changes. The whole complex was under scaffolding or under wraps as all the buildings were being fumigated. It is so strange that the City would have built this complex in this area considering what Robert Moses thought of the poor and being across from the new ‘jewel’ of the neighborhood, Lincoln Center.
If you thought you were in some upscale part of the area trust me I was reminded when a bottle was lodged from one of the top floors at me when I was walking around. It is amazing what people will do when someone was just walking around. That was the wake up call to what gentrification is doing to change the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see what the results of the renovation will look like. The weird part about this complex is that it sits like an island in the middle of a neighborhood that is getting richer and richer.
As you pass the Amsterdam Houses though, you are reminded that this is now a neighborhood of culture. Right across the street from the projects is Lincoln Center, one of the most influential and prestigious entertainment complexes in the world.
The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a 16.3 acre complex of buildings that house the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York City Opera. Built as part of the “Lincoln Square Renewal Project” during the Robert Moses program of urban renewal in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the complex spans from West 60th to West 66th Streets between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues.
The Lincoln Center urban renewal site in the 1960’s
Under the direction of city planners and civic leaders that included John D. Rockefeller III, almost the entire neighborhood from West 59th Street to West 69th Street from Amsterdam to West End Avenue was leveled of its tenements and the has become home to two college campus, two high schools, the sprawling Lincoln Center campus and many new apartment buildings that now line the streets from the Hudson River to Columbus Avenue.
Over the past fifty years, the entire neighborhood has changed with new buildings for schools and housing on the spot where black and Irish gangs used to do battle. This once area of immense black culture has given way to an upper middle class enclave that now includes the Time Warner Building with the Mandarin Hotel and upscale shops.
As you continue the walk up Amsterdam Avenue, you will pass Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts whose Alumni reads like a Who’s Who in the entertainment world. On the next block up from that is the Martin Luther King High School, which specializes in Law, the Arts and Technology. At lunch hour and after school the neighborhood is teeming with teenagers gossiping and yelling at one another. Nothing has changed in the 35 years since I graduated. The conversations are still the same.
LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts at 100 Amsterdam Avenue
As you cross over the West 70th Street border of the neighborhood, you start to see the older section of the neighborhood and this is the tail end of the neighborhood before everything below was leveled. You will see a distinct change in the architecture and how the city planners must have saved the more historic buildings of the neighborhood bounded east of Broadway.
Passing Sherman Square, a small pocket park on the corners of Amsterdam, Broadway and West 70th Street that is dedicated to Civil War General William T. Sherman once had a past all of its own as the notorious “Needle Park” of the 60’s and 70’s, where drug dealers and pushers used to habit.
I had to watch “The Panic in Needle Park” again to see how this stretch of the neighborhood has changed. Between Verdi Square and Sherman Square with the new plantings, trees and freshly painted benches and a branch of Bloomingdale’s around the corner, it is amazing how a city transformed itself in 35 years. The area is now loaded with new housing, restaurants and stores (and its still morphing!).
Sherman Square near West 71st Street (Formerly Needle Park)
In the lower part of Verdi Square, you can continue to admire what the Art in the Parks is doing with the statue “In Sync” by artist Kathy Ruttenberg. This unusual sculpture looks like a deer mashed with people and the strangest expression on its face. It is part of the project “Kathy Ruttenberg on Broadway, a series of sculptures by the artist. It is a cross between some surrealist beast in “Alice in Wonderland” or you would see “Over the Rainbow”. What I loved about her work in this outside show was how depicted nature in such an unusual fashion.
In Sync by Kathy Ruttenberg
“Kathy Ruttenberg on Broadway: in dreams awake”: features six large-scale, figural sculptures artist on the Broadway malls between 64th and 157th Street. In her first major outdoor installation, Ruttenberg created narrative works, combining human, animal and plant forms that bring alive a wonder world in which different species merge and figures serve as landscapes. The artist employs a variety of sculptural media including paginated bronze, glass mosaic, transparent cast resin and carefully orchestrated LED lighting. The interaction among color and form, opacity and transparency and even light itself used as a medium highlights the inherently theatrical nature of the visual storyteller’s art (Broadway Mall Association 2018).
Ms. Ruttenberg was born in Chicago but her family moved to New York City. She received her BFA with Honors from the School of Visual Arts in 1981. It was noted that her work expresses a distinctly feminine perspective with mostly women as main characters and masculine characters depicted in complex but usually secondary roles. The natural world and our relationship to it underpin her work and feature broadly in her narratives (Wiki). Try to see the works before they disappear in February of 2019.
Sitting at the corner at 171 West 71st Street and Broadway near the intersection with Amsterdam Avenue is The Dorilton Apartments which looks like a Victorian wedding cake. The apartment building is a reminder when apartment buildings were not glass boxes but graced with elegance and loaded with carved marble and statuary.
The apartment building was designed by Janes & Leo, the New York based architectural firm of Elisha Harris Janes and Richard Leopold Leo for real estate developer Hamilton Weed. The building is noted for its opulent Beaux-Arts style limestone and brick exterior, featuring monumental sculptures, richly balustraded balconies and a three story copper and slate mansard roof. The building was finished in 1902 (Wiki).
You can see through the gateway in front to the courtyard of the building, something similar to The Dakota and The Ansonia a few blocks away. Residents enter their building through a narrow entrance that leads into a recessed courtyard and the masonry archway over this entrance rises to the 9th floor. The doorway to this courtyard is comprised of a stone doorway topped with globes, all of which is sandwiched in between detailed wrought iron fencing (Wiki). You can see from the building that it sits as a grand dame amongst the new buildings in the area and was spared the wreaking ball by being on the right side of the neighborhood.
As you cross into West 72nd Street, you are greeted by the upscale coffee stands that are now in Verdi Square which lies above Sherman Square. It just goes to show how thirty years has changed this once downtrodden section of the Upper West Side. There is still grit along this side of the Avenue but slowly, like the rest of Manhattan, is covered up by scaffolding and will either be sandblasted or torn down to make way for the next high-rise. Still as written in various other walks, West 72nd Street still holds onto its charms with older shops in its business district that are geared to the locals and not the tourists.
On the way back down Amsterdam Avenue by the corner of West 63rd Street is the firehouse FDNY Engine 40/Ladder 35 made famous by the David Halberstam novel “Firehouse” based on the events of 9/11 which was published in 2002. Mr. Halberstam discusses in his book the tragedy of that day and the companies losing their members (eleven) in the collapse of the towers.
The memorial outside the firehouse shows the members who were lost that day. Take time to look over the memorial and say a prayer for these members who gave up their lives to make us safe.
Engine 40/Ladder 35
After meeting Mr. Halberstam at a book signing, it inspired me to write my novel, “Firehouse 101” a fictional tale taking it from the standpoint of the people were survived and were left behind to pick up the pieces of their own lives. My novel took it from the standpoint of the neighbors and friends where Mr. Halberstam took it from the stand point of the non-fictional lives of the fire fighters lost. I swear for the couple of weeks that I criss crossed the neighborhood and passed this firehouse, I just kept thinking of the sacrifice these men made and how that inspired books to be written.
As you pass the firehouse, you are walking in the back section of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Towards the bottom of the Avenue heading to West 59th Street is Fordham University and Mt. Sinai Hospital campus which run from Amsterdam Avenue to Columbus Avenue as you cross West 59th Street. As you walk from Amsterdam Avenue to Columbus Avenue down West 59th Street, you pass these active campuses.
At the corner of West 59th Street and Columbus Avenue is the William J. Syms Operating Theater that was built in 1891. This is the last part of the old Roosevelt Hospital that was part of the neighborhood. William Syms was a gun merchant, who had had surgery at the hospital. After a successful surgery at the hospital, he wanted to give more than his bill which the hospital would not accept (Wiki).
William Syms Operating Hospital at West 59th Street
What he did is upon his death, he left Roosevelt Hospital $350,000 of which $250,000 was to be used for an ‘operating theater’ and at the time used the most innovative materials to keep out bacteria. It had been used for this purpose until the 1950’s and left to ruin. The structure today was gutted and it now going to be used as a private school. The building is now part of modern structure that has been expanded. Look to the details of the building and the signage that is carved in.
As you walk further up Columbus Avenue, you pass the front part of the college and hospital campus and the new construction that happened in the 1960’s to the 1980’s. By the time you get to West 62nd Street to West 66th Street you get to the Lincoln Center complex and its grandeur especially at night with the lights of all the buildings ablaze. It is even more beautiful as we got closer to the holidays when everything was being decorated for Christmas.
Across the street from Lincoln Center is Dante Park which is located at the corner of Columbus Avenue, Broadway and West 66th Street. This little triangle of green across the street from the Empire Hotel and Lincoln Center, was originally called Empire park. The park, which was established in 1921 by Americans of Italian decadency and named it after Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet. At Christmas time, there was one of the most beautiful Christmas trees in the City lit in the park which was part of neighborhoods Annual Winter’s Eve festival, which takes place in the last week of November.
Across the street from Dante Park is the Empire Hotel, a small boutique hotel that has been part of the neighborhood since 1923. The hotel was built by Herbert DuPuy, who had knocked down the original structure in the park and opened this unique hotel on December 5, 1923 (Wiki). It has been part of the neighborhood dining experience since with a series of restaurants over the years that has graced the ground floor. Between the park and the hotel it sits in contrast to the rest of the neighborhood that has been rebuilt over the years.
Columbus Avenue gets interesting once you cross over West 68th Street as the modern structures of lower Columbus Avenue give way to the smaller brick buildings that house a series of homegrown restaurants and stores with an every growing number of national chain stores. Back in 1984, just as the economy was booming due to the rise in Wall Street and junk bonds, Columbus Avenue from West 70th Street to West 84th Street was the new ‘happening neighborhood’ with papers touting it as the next Madison Avenue.
Through several booms and busts in gentrification and the rise of rents, there is not much left of that era except the American Museum of Natural History. On my walk through the Upper West Side in the few months that I have explored the streets of the area, I have started to watch stores and restaurants change hands and open and close with lighting speed. Some have moved further up the Avenue and others have transplanted to other parts of the City.
These articles tell the Boom and Bust of the neighborhood:
Broadway has seen the most changes from West 59th Street to West 72nd Street with loads of new apartment buildings and stores built along the street since the 1980’s. I remember all the construction along Broadway in those years and I have never seen this section of the City change so much. Many modern apartment buildings are popping up along the street and this is going all the way up into the 90’s and 100’s now. Still it is interesting to see the old and new structures mix in various parts of the neighborhood.
I ended the walk in the neighborhood by walking across West 72nd Street, looking at the street come to life after work hours. The restaurants started to fill up and people were walking up and down the street heading into stores for dinner. I saw the guys lighting the lights around The Dakota at the corner of West 72nd and Central Park West. It is such a beautiful building.
I walked down to the Museum of Modern Art on West 52nd to see a movie and I just relaxed for the rest of the evening. It had been a long afternoon and my feet were killing me.
Please read my other blogs on the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:
Day One Hundred and Twenty-One: Walking the Borders of the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:
mywalkinmanhattan 