I have been a member of the Cornell Club for over a decade and enjoy all the special programs that the Club sponsors. There are so many interesting Alumni to meet along the way and many of them go out of their way to socialize and engage with other Alumni.
Having finally put my major Marketing project with my class behind me and having given the Final Exam the night before, I was able to join other Club members for an evening out to see “Romeo & Bernadette” that was to be followed by a Q & A with the author of the Book and Lyrics, Mark Saltzman.
Romeo & Bernadette at Theater 555 in Manhattan
The production like most on Broadway was in previews right before COVID hit and was just about ready to open when New York City closed on March 13th, 2020. This shut down everything in New York City. We went to see the production as it had reopened again and the week before the reviewers came out to see it.
It was a cute little production Off-Broadway that told the story of Romeo who was wooing his beloved Juliet, and both were drinking sleeping potions and then poison. Somehow Romeo got these mixed up and woke up in modern times. It kept in character of that time in modern Bensonhurst (I must have dozed off for a minute because it took some time to get the connection).
Talking about the Production
The Penza family travels to Verona with Bernadette traveling with her parents, Sal and Camille (Camille’s family is originally from Verona). Romeo sees Bernadette and mistakes her for Juliet and then the rest of the story moves to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. With a lot of twists and turns, Romeo charms Bernadette and love conquers all.
The only problem I had with the production is that I am getting tired of stereotypes people have of Italians in New York City. With everything going on in the world right now I thought they could have modernized the story a bit more. Still, I keep a good personally and enjoyed the show. The cast could really sing, and it was a very upbeat production.
The funny part was that because we got to pick our seats and I ordered the tickets immediately when the program came up, I picked a seat in the front so that I would have leg room. I ended up sitting next to the brother-in-law of the actress who played Bernadette, Anna Kostakis.
He spent the rest of the production when we had a free moment talking about her career starting with high school productions right up to making candy and working in the family restaurant in Rochester, NY. He then told me the family history of the restaurant. It was interesting how actors kept busy during the lockdown. I had to ask what his opinion was of the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. I was only kidding but he was serious of his thoughts of the film.
Still, it was nice to see how proud he and the rest of her family were of her to make it to Broadway. She had gone from starring in her high school plays to make it all the way to an Off-Broadway production is quite an accomplishment.
The audience reaction to the show before its release
I really enjoyed the performance, and it is a fun show to go see. All the actors can really belt a tune and the songs really played on the neighborhood situations that bring the story of Romeo and Juliet into modern times with a good twist to it.
After the show was over, I said goodbye to my seatmate and waited with other club members to talk with Mark Saltzman. Because of the COVID restrictions and wearing masks in the theater, we had to keep the Q & A short. We asked where the inspiration came from and how he built on the story. Many of the members asked about his experiences up in Ithaca and that is when the answers got fun. Everyone always likes to look back. It was a consensus amongst the Alumni that we enjoyed the show and we wished him luck in bringing it to Broadway.
After the show was over, the heavens opened up outside the theater and the rain that was predicted arrived in Manhattan. People left the theater with umbrellas out and sloshed along the streets. Everyone started to make their way down West 42nd Street very quickly.
I just had to walk back in the slushy rainstorm that would not let up until Sunday afternoon. I wanted to get to bed as soon I as I got home. The next morning, I had to be on the first bus into Manhattan to start “The Great Saunter Walk”, the 32-mile perimeter walk of Manhattan.
Read my blog on “The Great Saunter Walk” the next morning:
Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Six: Completing the Official “Great Saunter Walk” May 7th, 2022:
I was hungry but not starved so I stopped at my favorite ‘Dollar Slice’ place, 2 Brothers Pizza at 542 9th Avenue right behind the Port Authority for a quick snack. This has always been my ‘go-to’ place for a quick bite since they opened up about fifteen years ago and their pizza is consistently good.
I am always amazed by the characters that eat at this place late at night. That’s the neighborhood for you. It makes it more interesting when you are all dressed up and eating there. I can only imagine what the other customers thought of me.
I just wanted to get back on the bus and get ready for the next day’s walk.
In the Spring of 2022, I had been sent the notice that the County of Morris, New Jersey was having a two-day Open House of many of their historical sites for touring and for special events for a program entitled “The Pathways of History: Museum and Site Tours of Morris County, NJ”.
The “Pathways to History” event takes place every May
The weekend event spread to small museums, historical homes and cemeteries all over the County with walking tours and lectures at various sites. Having never been or even heard of many of these sites, I was interested in visiting as many as I could for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” which is here on WordPress.com as well.
I plotted my two days of the event and tried to organize the trip so that we could see as many sites as we could. The event asked the sites to open one of the two days as most of these sites are small and have a tough time getting volunteers. So, I tried to coordinate the sites I had wanted to visit with visiting other places along the way such as farm stands I wanted to visit and restaurants I wanted to try.
The map of historical sites that I wanted to visit
I recruited my aunt to help me take pictures of the sites and travel with me to get her opinions on each of the sites. She also wanted to get out of the house and travel with me so off we went. We started the day with a good breakfast at the Blue Cafe at 273 Valley Boulevard in Wood Ridge, NJ (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaSheStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). I like the hometown atmosphere and service of the restaurant.
The Blue Cafe at 273 Valley Boulevard in Wood Ridge, NJ
Not wanting to snack along the way, both my aunt and I had a large breakfast. She had an Egg White Omelet with bacon and tomatoes with a side of hashbrowns and toast ($8.95). I had the Pancake Platter which came with two pancakes and two scrambled eggs with a side of link sausage ($8.95). I have to say that everything came to the table promptly and was delicious. The portion sizes were very fair, and the service could not have been nicer.
We needed a good breakfast at Blue Cafe for the long journey
My pancakes were perfectly cooked and had that nice, malted taste and the scrambled eggs had a nice taste of clarified butter. The sausage had a nice spicy sage taste to it. My aunt could not finish her eggs and asked me to take some. They were delicious as well. The flavors of the bacon and the tomatoes had a nice complexity to them and the hashbrowns were well seasoned and crisp.
My pancakes and eggs that morning was delicious
With a nice breakfast behind us and a warm sunny day, we both looked forward to visiting the sites without stopping much. We travelled down Route 80 and then down Route 206, which once upon a time was one of the only highways to travel through the State of New Jersey. It took us down to Route 24 through the rolling hills of Chester, NJ and to our first stop, the Obadiah La Tourette Grist & Mill at 12 East Mill Road in Long Valley, NJ.
East Mill Road lead into a quaint little town that looked like something out of the early 1800’s with older clapboard homes and historic churches with old cemeteries surround them in a highly wooded spot. It reminded me of my trips through the Hudson River Valley.
The Obadiah La Tourette Grist & Mill at 12 East Mill Road
The Grist Mill was fascinating. The mill has been a working mill from the early 1800’s until about the late 1930’s, during the Depression when they needed to expand operations. The place had pretty much been abandoned until the 1980’s when it had been falling apart by the side of the road and concerned citizens got together to save it. It is now going through a renovation.
What the mill looked like in 1993
When I toured both the upstairs and the downstairs, upstairs was all the equipment to move the wheat and bundle it for processing and for milling. I even saw amongst the equipment the old portion size bagging attachment where the final packaging took place.
On the lower level of the mill, you could see the stream under the building and the turbine wheels of the old mill still placed in the stream and along the side of the mill. You could view from the deck the workings of the equipment and how the stream powered the mill itself. You could also see the flow of the stream and how it is now affecting the structure of the building.
It is amazing how we survived with just Mother Nature at one time
The staff takes immense pride in the building structure and how the renovation is coming along as well as its unique history. The tour guides could not have been more enthusiastic about explaining to myself, my aunt and the other visitors about the history of the mill, the way they milled the flour and the ongoing structure improvements. It was also so picturesque with the small flowing stream and woods that surrounded it.
We walked along the property back to the car and please to all readers, watch yourself on the road because for some reason everyone was speeding that morning and there is no sidewalk. Remember to walk to the back of the buildings to view the stream, the woods and all the historical homes in this little hamlet.
Our next stop was on the other side of the stream and around the corner from the mill. We visited the Union Schoolhouse & Union Church and Burial Ground at 6 Fairview Avenue in Long Valley, NJ. The Union Schoolhouse has been converted into Washington Township Historical Society building housing its collection. The Union Church burned down years earlier and was left is a stone structure that you can view inside and out. The church is surrounded by the old cemetery where prominent members of the community are buried.
The Washington Township Historical Society at 6 Fairview Avenue
The Union Schoolhouse/Washington Township Historical Society is a well-organized two-story building, that houses a collection of antique objects from the community. There was a set up a school room, selection of quilts, old dishware, antique furniture and on the first floor a complete display of the Welsh Farms Ice Cream Company and Dairy.
The second-floor school room reflects the buildings past as a schoolhouse
The original ice cream factory (no longer exists) used to be right down the road from the old schoolhouse and members of the Welsh family are buried in the cemetery. I thought that was fascinating as I never knew it had been started here.
The local Welsh family started the Welsh Farm Dairy and Ice Cream factory down the road
The Welsh Family cemetery plot
I toured through the old church with another patron and the tour guide while my aunt, who did not want to walk on the uneven ground of the cemetery got her own verbal tour with one of the members of the historical society. We got to walk through the cemetery and see the graves of the prominent families that were once members of the church. We also got to see how the staff used tombstone cleaner to make the tombstones brighter.
The Union Church and Cemetery
What was also impressive about the building was the beautiful flower garden that lined the stone wall between the schoolhouse and the cemetery. One of the local Garden Clubs must have planted and taken care of the gardens because they were so well pruned and planted. It was so colorful with an array of flowers line with blooming tulips along the path.
The old Washington Township Schoolhouse is now the museum
On the way back down Route 24, my aunt and I decided to stop for a snack. We stopped at an old favorite mine that I have been visiting since the early 1970’s, the Hacklebarney Farm Cider Mill at 104 State Park Road which is right outside Hacklebarney State Park, which I had also visited many times as a child for walks and barbecues.
Hacklebarney Farm is always busy especially on the weekends
The Hacklebarney Cider Mill Farm at 104 State Park Road
I love coming to Hacklebarney Farm Cider Mill at all times of the year. It is especially best in the late Spring and in the Fall months when the leaves are changing, and all the Halloween events are happening. The farm had opened their hot dog stand early on customer demand the owner explained to us as well as made sure the bakery was well-stocked for visitors on the tours.
The hot dog stand and the work buildings remind you that this is a working farm and not a tourist trap
The Apple Cider Doughnuts are delicious here
We toured through the bakery, and I ordered a Cider doughnut and a Fruit Dumpling for dessert, and we shared a Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla and two Cokes for our lunch (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). It was so nice to just sit and relax and enjoy the weather.
The wonderful baked goods at the Hacklebarney Farm bakery
The Quesadilla was well made and stuffed with lots of chicken and cheese and the salsa had a nice spicy flavor to it. I love the crispiness of their Cider doughnuts with lots of cinnamon sugar on top of them. The Fruit Dumpling was filled with fresh blueberries and strawberries and had nice buttery sweetness to it. We devoured everything in record time, and I could not believe how hungry we both were that afternoon. Maybe it was all the driving or maybe it was just looking over all the rolling hills and the soft breezes from the field.
Enjoying the farm on a warm day
We got a chance to talk to the owner again when she came over with an old picture of the farmhouse that her great-grandparents had built and the pride that they took in all their baked goods. She told us that everything is made from scratch in their kitchen and all the fruits are hand peeled for their desserts. In the Fall, I have watched them make their apple cider on property and you can watch the steps to make the cider you will buy inside (when it is in season, make the trip out here for it. It is well worth the trip).
The Hacklebarney Farm family farmhouse
The gourmet items in the farm shop are always a treat
After a relaxing afternoon of relaxing, playing with their dogs and walking around the farm, we left for Downtown Chester, which is located right down Route 24 and on the other side of Route 206. We passed the old shell of a building that was once Larison’s Turkey Farm Inn which closed in 2009.
The old Larison’s Turkey Farm building is a reminder of changing times
Closed for 15 years the buildings are beginning to rot and fall down
I had eaten here a few times with my family over the years and you used to be able to get a full turkey dinner for a reasonable price. Forget trying to visit the place at Thanksgiving. The place is now falling apart, and I read online that they want to knock down this historic landmark for a strip mall. It would not be a bad thing as the building looks like it is going to fall down on its own. Notice the roof is rotting.
Our next site on the listing was the Chester Historical Society or otherwise known as the Chester’s Rockefeller Center at 137 Main Street. Main Street Chester was a madhouse on Saturday as there was a food truck festival going on in the park downtown and traffic was all over the place. We must have circled the downtown three times looking for the Historical Society.
The soon to be Chester Historical Society at 137 Main Street
We finally found the empty building that was falling apart right next to the park. All that the historical society was an empty building that had been moved to the park and a kiosk that was closed off by the food truck festival. When we were able to stop and talk to the members who were there, they were closing up shop for the afternoon.
They said they were showing the plans for the renovation of the building and how they wanted to store the collection. That is what amounted to their current historical society. It was a work in progress. The little building was built in 1897 and was ordered from the Sears & Roebuck Company.
The Chester Historical Society is just beginning to be established
We quickly got out of downtown Chester and headed back up Route 206 North and took some back roads to our final destination that afternoon, the Silas Riggs Saltbox House/The Roxbury Township Historical Society at 213 Main Street in Ledgewood, NJ and the King Canal Store and the King Victorian Home at 209 and 211 Main Street right next store to the house. The sites were closing up shop for the afternoon, but they were nice enough to stay open so that we could have a long visit.
I am so happy that we could visit the sites as the people running them were so interesting and they took such good care of the sites. A few of the volunteers said that this always happens that someone comes late, and they were hoping to close on time, but they take such pride in all these sites that they did not mind staying for us.
Our first stop was the King Canal Store. The store had been sealed off after the death of Albert King by his wife, Emma. After his passing, she followed his wishes and closed the store down only opening it during the Great Depression when locals needed supplies.
After Mrs. King’s death in 1975, the store and her home, the King Homestead were bought by the Rotary Club of Roxbury, NJ and they set out to renovate and restore the site. The King Canal Store was left untouched and is a step back in time when the Morris Canal was a major form of transportation in the state. The store had been open since the Civil War and closed on the eve of the Great Depression even though the family had been seeing declining sales since the closing of the canal to traffic.
The King Canal Store is a step back in time when this was the neighborhood gathering place
Next to the King Canal Store at 211 Main Street is the King Homestead built in the Queen Ann style by Albert King for his family. The house was closed by that point, but I was able to walk the grounds and on the porch. It is a spectacular home.
The last place on the tour before we ended the first day of touring sites was the Silas Riggs Saltbox House at 213 Main Street. The home had been Emma Riggs King’s parents and it had been moved to this site when it was threatened with demolition. The home is a perfect example of the “Saltbox” architectural style.
The Silas Riggs Saltbox House/The Roxbury Historical Society at 213 Main Street
I loved touring this smart little house. Talk about well taken care of and well appointed. The home is well decorated with vintage antiques and artifacts and when you walk in the door you have this welcoming feeling. The house is so warm and cosey that volunteers have commented that people feel that they could move in here.
The front room of the Silas Riggs Saltbox House
What I enjoyed about the Silas Riggs Saltbox house is that the home was decorated in period furnishings that all worked to welcome you into the home. It was almost like the people who lived there just left for the afternoon.
What I really liked about the house was the back-room kitchen with the open hearth. Not only was it a perfect place to cook but it must have been the gathering place for the family and also heated the house. One of the volunteers told me that they had a successful “Soup Dinner” fundraiser during the holidays where they made homemade soup from scratch and homemade cornbread as well. It must be nice to eat a hearty meal in this period home during Christmas as the family once did.
The rustic kitchen at the Silas Riggs Saltbox House
After the house closed for the after, all the other sites had closed at 4:00pm as well and we made our way down Route 10 just off the old main street and then back on to Route 46 East to head home. It had been getting warmer all day and we both needed a snack before dinner. It was by coincidence that we just happened to pass the Dover Dairy Maid Ice Cream store at 240 East Route 46 and stopped for a cone.
Never having travelled down this part of Route 46 East before, I had never seen this popular place for ice cream and all of a sudden, I turned the car and needed some ice cream. There are times in life that you take a different bend in the road, and this was one of the more popular ones. Their homemade ice cream was amazing.
The Dover Dairy Maid at 240 East Route 46 is the best
While my aunt tried the Mint Chocolate ice cream, I had a yearning for something more fun and I got a bowl of Cotton Candy ice cream and at $5.45 for two large scoops, it was a reasonable trip. It is nice that a business not only does not gouge a customer but offers that personal service was reflective of when I was a kid in the 1970’s when this business opened. I felt like it was a step back in time when things were simpler. We even at our ice cream out on the benches in the back of the store. Talk about 70’s! Between here and Hacklebarney Farm I felt like a kid again.
In 2024, I indulged in a Butterscotch Sundae at Dover Dairy Maid
There was no traffic on Route 46 East that evening and got home in record time. My aunt and I needed some recovery time, so I dropped her off and met her for dinner later that evening. We finished off the evening at Napoli Pizzeria at 25 Washington Street #2 in Lodi, NJ for dinner. Napoli’s food is consistently excellent, and I love their pizza. The best part is that the parking is always plentiful and never have to travel far to go.
Napoli Pizzeria at 25 Washington Street #2 is wonderful for lunch and dinner
It was a nice evening chatting over a cheese pizza ($10.95) and a glass of wine. We talked about all the sites we had visited and the ones that we could not and made plans to revisit some of the sites in the future. There was a lot more to see and do in Morris County. It was a nice way to end the first day of touring and it had been such a perfect sunny day that it was a pleasure to stop and really enjoy each site.
The historical marker at the Ayres-Knuth Farm at 25 Cooper Street
On the second day of the “Pathways’ tour, my aunt was busy, so I started early with a quick breakfast at home and was on my way back to Morris County for a second day of adventure. My first stop on the tour was the Ayres/Knuth Farm (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation Inc.), a former working farm just off Route 10.
The main farmhouse on the Ayres/Knuth Farm
Not only was the site open for touring but they also had a mini car show with antique cars and fire trucks owned by some of the members. Seeing some of these Model T Ford’s and Steam Engine Fire Trucks in perfect condition shows American quality motorship at its finest.
What interested me about the farm is that it had been a working farm up until the last fifty years and showed the progression that the farm took in its almost 100 years in the county. The farm itself dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days with the farm being purchase in either 1735 or maybe 1759 by Obadiah Lum. The property itself was settled and developed by Daniel Ayres, who was born in New Jersey in 1778 (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation).
The Ayres-Knuth Farm and the outer buildings
105 acres of land was given to him by his father-in-law, David Garrigus upon the marriage of his daughter, Hanna in 1803. His son, William took over the farm in 1856 upon the death of his father in 1856, changing the farm to add husbandry and fruit cultivation. When William retired in 1896, none of his children wanted the farm and it was sold. Changing hands many times, it was bought by Martin and Anna Knuth in 1906. The farm was taken over by two of their children and it remained in the family until the 1990’s upon both of their passings. In 1996, the Township of Denville purchased 52 acres of the original farm and it is now managed by the Ayres/Knuth Foundation Inc. (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation).
On this clear and sunny Sunday morning, it was fun to walk around the former working farm to see how it developed. Both families learned to modernize and add to the operation. I was able to tour the smaller tenet farmhouse (built in 1895), the barn (built in 1895 (and the various outer buildings like the chicken coops (built in 1895), outhouse (built in 1930) and the Smokehouse (built in 1825). The small well was built in 1797 and was the oldest structure left on the property.
What got my attention is that there still are tenant farmers on another tract on the property still working the land and the property is protected by grants from Morris County. So, it still is technically a working farm. A lot of care was taken to preserve the farm as is and the volunteers told me that there were plans to fix up the other buildings. The Tenant House needed a lot of work and was run down but the main Farmhouse had been renovated and was closed that day.
After having a nice conversation with many of the volunteers about the development on the farm, I was off to the next site, The Whippany Railway Museum at 1 Railroad Plaza in Whippany, NJ. I usually don’t get excited by railway museums one looking like another but the care and dedication of the volunteers of this museum is just mesmerizing. They really care about the detail and condition of every railcar and artifact that comes into possession of this museum, and it shows by the way its displayed.
The Museum was so well organized and told the story of the rail systems not just in New Jersey but their development all over the country.
The inside of the museum
Unlike some rail museums that I have been to where they put dishes, lanterns and tickets all the same shelves, the Whippany Railway Museum took a lot of pride in setting up their displays more as a progression to how the railways evolved over time starting with coal, then to steam and then electric.
The Whippany Railway Museum
Not only that it was the way people traveled and how dining and then First Class tried to rival the growing Jet Age travel to keep customers. Each case line told a story. The cases show a progression in communication, ticketing, uniform, dining and equipment used on the trains. Take time to look over the information supplied in the cases as well. They also have a nice gift shop inside the museum.
The history of the Pullman Car
It was the hour-long walking tour that really blew me away. This volunteer named Mike walked around the museum asking people if they would like to take a tour at noon and then for the next hour and a half, we toured all the train cars.
The Whippany Railway Museum grounds
Each of the train cars were at different stages of renovation and some were fully restored. Mike explained to our small tour group that different members of the museum had special skills, and everyone had a hand in restoring the cars. The volunteers all dressed like period conductors and would be stationed at each car to describe the railcar to us.
The Whippany Railway Museum grounds
Where the museum really shines and where I saw the most pride is in the rail cars that have come to the yard over the years and have been carefully restored. The Southern Railway No. 385 built in 1907 for faster freight service, the Texaco Fireless Cooker No. 7240 built in 1937 for industrial switching duty and one of the newest steam locomotives still surviving, the U.S. Army No. 4039 built in 1942 for WWII service are just some of the cars on display (Whippany Railway Museum pamphlet).
The inside of the luxury car
The railcar that most impressed me was the Lackawanna Railroad Subscription Club Car No. 2454 that was once known as the “Millionaires Express” (Whippany Railway Museum). The mahogany paneled car carried businessmen from New York City through towns in the middle of New Jersey.
The inside of the car
What I thought was interesting was the people who rode it (Christie Todd Whitman’s father was a member) and the fact that you had to ‘buy’ the seat, which meant that no one could ever sit in ‘your chair’ if you were not there. This car ran for 72 years finally retiring out in 1984 (probably due to the recession and changing times).
The outside of the Lackawanna luxury car
After the extensive tour was over, I visited the model trains that were riding around the outside of the rail cars and talking with other volunteers on what the future plans of a new railcar that just arrived. I also walked up to their snack shop that is at entrance of the museum site and was bummed when they did not have any of the large pretzels in stock.
The snack shop at the museum
The woman said that they are their most popular item and had not arrived for the tour day. I then moved on to my third site, The Whippany Burying Yard at 325 Route 10 East.
The Whippany Burying Yard historic marker
The Whippany Burying Yard was also having a tour that I just made when I arrived. It was given by a retired college professor who had lived in town all of his life and knew the history of the cemetery quite well. The old cemetery is steeped in history as one of the oldest cemeteries in New Jersey and home to many Revolutionary and Civil War veterans. As we learned on the tour later on, the only people that can be buried there now are former Mayors of the Town of Whippany who have died.
The entrance to the cemetery
Two of the founding families of the town have many family members buried here, the Tuttle’s who still have relatives living in the area and the Kitchel’s. The guide for the afternoon took us on an hour tour of the cemetery, pointing out prominent members of the war years including Timothy Tuttle (died 1754), a founding judge of Morris County, Keturah Tuttle Platt (died 1850), who was a Charter member of the First Presbyterian Church, Captain Timothy Tuttle (II of III-died in 1816), who was a member of George Washington’s First Regiment in the Continental Army, Samuel Tuttle (died in 1762) and Colonel Joseph Tuttle, a blacksmith and Deacon at the Presbyterian Church who served in the French & Indian War.
The entrance to the Whippany Burial Yard
The Kitchel family was prominently represented as well with Abraham Kitchel (died in 1741), who was one of the six original judges of Morris County and his wife Sarah, whose family was claimed to date back to Charlemagne, Emperor of France, Abigal Kitchel (died in 1768), Uzal Kitchel (died in 1813), a Militiaman in the American Revolution and his wife, Anna (died in 1815). Many of these people as well as their ancestors made major contributions to the growth of the surrounding community.
The Tuttle Family burial plot
We were also given a lesson in the construction and care of the old tombstones, some of which were beyond repair. Some of the original grave sites were made from sandstone, marble and granite with granite becoming the popular choice later on. Here and there some of the tombstones were decorated with winged skulls or cherubs. These show morality images of the dead (Whippany Burial Yard pamphlet).
The Post Family cemetery plot
We were also walking by the river that the graveyard sits on and were told that current erosion is affecting some of the grave sites. These might have to be moved in the future and the tour guide was not sure if any have been lost over the years. The old Presbyterian Church that sat on the site (built in 1718 and removed in 1755) has since disappeared and there is no trace of it now.
The Whippany Burial Yard has many different types of tombstones
At the end of the tour, the guide explained to us that the old Tuttle House, dating back from the late 18th Century was just left to the town by its last owner to be preserved as a museum for the community. The Tuttle house will need a lot of work in the future.
The Tuttle House at 341 Route 10 will be a future museum for the Historical Society
It was getting late in the day after my last tour, and I figured I had time to see one more site before the day was over. I wished they did not end the day so early at 4:00pm. It does not give people much time to visit all these sites in one day, but the museum tour guides made them so interesting that you did not want to leave so quick.
One last look at the historic cemetery with the Tuttle House in the background
My last stop on the tour day was the Florham Park’ Historic Preservation Commission’s Little Red Schoolhouse and Hancock Cemetery at 203 Ridgedale Avenue. On the map it looked so far away but it was only ten minutes down the road from the cemetery and I got there in plenty of time to spend the last half hour of the day at the museum.
The Little Red Schoolhouse Museum at 203 Ridgedale Avenue
I was the only one there with two members who said that they were surprised on how busy the day was for them. They told me that almost every person who visited said the same things: either they passed the place a million times and never knew it was a museum or they lived here for about twenty years and never knew the town had a museum. I said I was from another area of the state, and this was my first time as well. The little museum is nicely set up.
In the back there is a small classroom set up keeping with the theme of the building. This lets students who are visiting the building of their counterpart’s early education with desks, ink wells and chalk boards that have not changed that much over the years. There are old desks and chalkboards and items that date either from the late 1880’s to about the 1930’s.
Not much has changed in the modern classroom over the years
There is early century clothing, farming equipment from the town’s farming past and event Native American objects found in the town and in private collections. Other items included decorative items from the home including dishware, home products and furnishings. Each section of the museum is divided up by lifestyle.
The docents that day explained that the items were reflect the town’s past and some came from families that have been in town for years. The museum reflects the community spirit of town’s past. It explains that times have progressed but not changed too much over the years. They also told me how hard they work to promote the museum.
I asked where the Hancock Cemetery was, and they told me down the road from the museum, so I left after about a half hour to let them close and looked for the cemetery. I never found it “down the road” so I was not too sure what direction they were talking about. By the time I got back to the museum, it was shut, and all the cars were gone. It was now 4:30pm. I decided to head off to dinner.
I got lost trying to take the back roads from Route 10 to Route 46 (later on when I got home, I found I was in the right direction but did not know it). I passed the Parsippany Historical Museum at the Bowlsby-DeGelleke House at 320 Baldwin Avenue on the way but at 5:00pm I could see one of the costumed docents was desperately trying to close up for the day, so I did not stop.
I finally made it to Downtown Boonton, NJ for dinner. The town was really quiet on an early Sunday evening. I passed the Boonton Historical Society and Museum at 210 Main Street that was closed for the evening. They had a full day of activities that day and must have closed early.
Boonton Historical Society and Museum at 210 Main Street
Inside the Boonton Historical Society in the main gallery
Ever since I got involved in the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association, I have been visiting this interesting little museum. They have the most intriguing walking tours on the history of the town’s development and on the ruins of the local iron works. They also have nice inhouse tours of the museum and very inviting Holiday Open House (pre-COVID).
Dinner that evening was a restaurant I had wanted to try several times but it either was not open or did not look open because there was no one in it. I2I at 408 Main Street just up the hill from the museum.
I had been looking forward to eating here for some time and even though the food and the service were quite good, the owner did something that really irked me, and I will not be returning anytime soon. (Please read my TripAdvisor review above for details on my experience) (The restaurant closed in May 2024 and is being renovated).
After dinner, I walked around Downtown Boonton for a bit, looking over stores that had opened since the pandemic. The downtown is getting more and more hipster businesses and you can tell that an ‘artsy’ crowd is starting to move into the area. All the neighborhoods around the downtown are having a lot of home improvements from new paint jobs and windows to new landscaping meaning the artists from the City are starting to move in.
Downtown Boonton, NJ
Please read my blog on Exploring Downtown Boonton, NJ-Day Two Hundred and Two:
Downtown Boonton, NJ has a lot of interesting stores and restaurants
I drove home later that evening. It had been an interesting two-day exploration to Morris County, NJ and I did not realize the rich history that it had. There are many more places that will be visiting in the future on their list as they open up for the summer months.
In 2024, I was able to visit other sites on the Pathways listing. The original sites I had visited were on the first day of touring so I was able to visit a whole other roster of sites in Morris County on a gloomy rainy afternoon. Since I had a late start and the weather was rainy and gloomy, I only got to visit five sites but there were different from the previous year’s visit. I also visited some museums at other times as well since they are only open at certain times of the month.
I got so lost getting to the Butler Museum that it took over twenty minutes to find. It was different from the Google Maps that I followed. I finally reached the museum which was located on the other side of the Butler downtown in the old town train station.
The Butler Museum 221 Main Street
The Butler Museum is housed in the former New York Susquehanna and Western Railroad station. Constructed in 1888, it was remodeled in the 1890’s and in 1907, when a freight room was added to the northwestern end of the building. A major restoration took place from 2011 to 2015. Purchased by the Borough of Butler for a museum just in time for the Bicentennial Celebration in 1976, the museum houses a large collection of artifacts of local and regional significance.
The Butler Fire and Police Department artifacts.
Exhibits highlight the social, educational, fraternal, political, and business life of the community. Unique to the Butler Museum are artifacts pertaining to the Statue of Liberty, statue designer Frederic Bartholdi, and his friend Richard Butler, for whom the town is named. Mr. Butler was an important member of the committee that raised the funds to construct the statue’s pedestal (Pathways to History of Morris County website).
The Statue of Liberty exhibition.
Displays also include products manufactured by the American Hard Rubber Company, the area’s largest employer from the 1880’s to the late 1950’s. Development of items such as Ace Bowling Balls and Ace Combs can be traced from blueprints and salesman samples to the finished products.
The Ace Company exhibit
The resource center presents the opportunity to view past copies of local newspapers, almost a century of Butler High School yearbooks, and a pictorial history of Main Street, Butler.
The Butler Museum main gallery with the Ace Rubber exhibition as well as the Butler Fire and Police departments. The displays represent years of tradition in the town. The displays contain many of the items from former businesses of the town.
The next two historical sites I visited were the Pompton Plains Railroad Station and the Martin Barry House which were located down the road from each other. The Pompton Plains Railroad Station Museum was just off the downtown and is a small compact museum on the history of the rail system in this part of the county.
The Pompton Plains Railroad Station Museum at 33 Evans Place.
I was visiting Morris County for the “Pathways to History” tour, I visited the Pompton Lakes Railroad Museum. This tiny museum served once as the depot for the local railroad but now houses its history. Piled all over the building is the history of the rail service in this area. Small displays are located all around a pot belly stove that serves as the center point of the museum. The memorabilia includes a series of pictures, maps and schedules.
(From the Pathways to History tour pamphlet 2024):
Pompton Plains Station, home to the Pequannock Township Museum, was erected in 1877 by the Montclair and Greenwood Lake Railway as a replacement for an earlier structure built when passenger service began in 1872. After closing in 1966, the station remained in private hands until 2006 when it was purchased by Pequannock Township with Morris County and Township Open Space funds, as well as, funds from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust. It was listed on the NJ and National Registers of Historic Places in 2008 and was restored to its “Turn of the 20th Century” appearance in 2010 (PPHS website).
The Historic Marker at the station.
The building’s simple wood construction is characterized by its late 19th Century American “Stick style” architecture, with its notable exterior embellishments being the distinctive “Dutch cap” trim over each window and door and its decoratively patterned slate roof. The museum supports an extensive collection of photographs and artifacts illustrating the Township’s 300 years of recorded history. Featured is a collection of over two dozen models of historic buildings, as well as, exhibits about Civil War veteran, Medal of Honor recipient, station agent and prior owner of the nearby Martin Berry House, James R. Evans (PPHS website).
The Pompton Plains Railroad Station Museum gallery.
Other exhibits cover the history of the station, and the pioneering 1940’s rocket engine factory Reaction Motors. Plans for 2023 construction, which will include restoration of the decorative 19th century slate roof and chimney, will be on display.
The Conductor’s Office is part of the display at the museum.
The next site I visited was the Martin Barry House, which is located just behind the strip mall on the highway. You need to make the right once you get off the highway on the street behind the mall and make a sharp right at the top of the street to find the house.
The Martin Berry House from the top of the hill at 581 Route 23 South. It is on a road hidden from the highway.
When I went to visit the Martin Berry House for the “Pathways to History” tour, I found it impossible to find. The Google Map has it in the middle of a parking lot in front of the strip mall along the highway and there is no pathway to the home from the parking lot. What you have to do is go the street behind the mall, head up the hill and make a right down a gravel road and there is the house at the end of the street.
There is not much parking here but with an isolated home like this, the Historical Society needs to put some things in place before they start having events here. The Society had bought the house not too long ago and there is still some renovation work that is being done, so the Society is in its first stages of opening the house to the public. It has some nice revolving displays and an interesting Colonial kitchen. The gardens are also beautiful when in bloom. Visiting the house in the future will offer many surprises.
(From the website of the Martin Berry House and the Pequannock Township Historical Society):
The Martin Berry House, or MBH, was built on this spot in about 1720. The original house was smaller than what you see here. This is the the result of the second major enlargement or renovation of the original construction as well as later renovations and remodeling.
The Martin Berry House from the gardens.
The MBH is owned by the Township of Pequannock and operated in partnership with the Pequannock Township Historical Society (PTHS). PTHS was formed in 2015 out of a movement that was original called the Friends of the Martin Berry House that had itself been initiated in 2014 to support the Township in its efforts to acquire the MBH.
The Martin Berry House Furniture display in May 2024.
Since a lot of these sites are far from each other I could only visit four this time. Since the Glenburn Estate was closed that day (with no notice), the last place I visited was the Lincoln Park History Museum at 141 Main Street.
Lincoln Park History Museum at 141 Main Street
The entrance of the Museum off the Main Street.
This colorful and well lit little museum is packed with information on the development of the town. The transformation took place with the form of transportation that changed the area starting with the Morris Canal running through then the railroad system and then the advent of the automobile. This area is still quite sleepy even though its located just an hour outside of New York City.
Lincoln Park History Museum, located at the original 1922 Library building. Lincoln Park, or as once known, Beavertown, is small in geographic nature but has a rich and diverse history. The museum’s goal is to rediscover the town’s past and celebrate / preserve the history, which sadly, at times, is lost and forgotten.
The history of the town’s police and fire departments
Join us and discover our past which includes: dinosaurs, native American artifacts, revolutionary roads /houses, civil war hometown hero, part of the Morris Canal path, part of the Boonton Line Railroad branch, airport, major flood events, some Hollywood film locations and of course our townsfolks who sacrificed in war, volunteers (fire department, police, first aid, pal, scouting etc.), all who made Lincoln Park a wonderful town to grow up in and formed pride and sense of community (Pathways Tour website).
The history of the Morris Canal that ran through the town before the railroads.
The Morris Canal was an important part of the town’s development.
Learn how the town transformed from a small crossroad in the American revolution to a canal stopping point with incline plane, lock and hotel. Learn how it progressed from farming to resort area to commuting town and transform to what it is today. The town keeps growing.
The day the Railroad came to town and it changed everything! On December 14, 1870 the first passenger train stopped at Beavertown. School was closed that day so the students could witness this momentous occasion. The following year Beavertown’s name was changed to Lincoln Park. This event, started a large and long transformation of the town. Prior to this, the town was all farmland and the few businesses in town centered on support of the Morris Canal. Once the railroad came, the transformation started (Pathways Tour website).
On a different day, I came back to Morris County and visited the Chatham Township Historical Society/Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum at 24 Southern Boulevard in Chatham, NJ. I had not been able to get there on the last trip and it is only open one Sunday a month and by appointment only. So I drove out to see it. What a delightful little museum.
The front of the Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum/Chatham Township Historical Society at 24 Southern Boulevard
The historical sign of the Mount Vernon School
The museum sign that welcomes you to the museum
The Mission Statement of the Museum:
(from the museum website)
The Historical Society of the Township of Chatham was established to increase the knowledge, awareness and preservation of the Township of Chatham history.
I visiting the Red Schoolhouse Museum on the first Sunday of the month and found a delightful little museum filled with artifacts that represent life in Chatham during various times in the town’s history. The museum has two floors with displays telling the history of the Township of Chatham from the beginnings with the Lenape Tribe living in the area to modern times.
The Museum gallery
On the first floor there is the special exhibitions that rotate in the museum. Some of the themes of the exhibitions were Children’s Toys and Playthings through the ages, Wedding gowns and formal wear and Revolutionary War items. The museum also has an interesting exhibition on the Lenape Indians who lived in this region before the Dutch arrived.
Wedding Gowns and Formal Wear exhibition on the first floor
Dressmaking and Sewing in the home and in business
Children’s Toys and Playthings through the ages
Children’s dolls and stuffed animals
The Train display of electric antique items
Revolutionary War and Trade items on the top shelf and historical cameras
The second floor has displays that tell different stories. The display cases have Native American artifacts, farming equipment, household items, pictures of the town at different stages of development, the community changes from a farming to business with the advent of the railroad. Here you see the changes in household items as time goes on.
The Lenape Display
Native American stone objects
The Arrowhead collection
Each display tells an interesting story of the Township of Chatham. Looking over how the towns in the area developed I didn’t even know there was a Village of Chatham and a Township of Chatham. I was also impressed with their toy collection which should be a conversation piece to any group of elementary school students. I think this would be interesting to seniors as well on times have changed since they were children. The museum really has something for everyone. All different stories are being told at this museum and the collection continues to grow when residents pasts become part of the museum’s future.
The display on resident Reverend Samuel Tuttle
The Statement of Purpose:
(from the museum website)
The Historical Society of the Township of Chatham, a volunteer, not-for-profit organization founded in 1975, is dedicated to increasing knowledge, awareness and preservation of our town’s unique historical heritage. We maintain the Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum where we coordinate our educational programs, research, and preservation advocacy as well as manage the discovery, collection, and conservation of materials that illustrate the history of the area prior to and after European settlement.
Artifacts from one of the museum’s historic digs
The audience served by the Society’s programs includes members of the Society, residents, students and visitors to the community, scholars, the public in general as well as businesses and governmental agencies in the area.
The display of the history of the Red Brick Schoolhouse
It was a lot of running around on a gloomy rainy day but it was a perfect time to visit all these sites and maybe revisit when they are reopen again. For now, there is more of Morris County that I want to explore when these small sites are open again.
Please look at their link for more details and happy exploring!
I have been teaching “Introduction to Business 101” at Bergen Community College for several years now and in the era of COVID, it has been especially difficult. With businesses shutting down never to reopen getting students to understand that business must go on and pivot is a difficult thing to do. You have to learn to adapt and survive or else everything fails.
This is happening in small downtowns all over the country. You have to learn to adapt, or you will fail. Things have gotten better though with the dropping of the mask mandates and businesses opening up.
In my live classes, I open my consulting company, “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.”, for business and the whole class bands together and we have one big project. In the era of COVID and online learning, I was lucky that I was able to teach one of the live classes on the Bergen Community College, Paramus Campus. It was such a pleasure welcoming students back to campus with live lectures and conversing with them.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. corporate logo of the six trees
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
This semester’s project “Rocking it in Rutherford: Being a Tourist in your own Town” was inspired by the success of the “Take me back to Paterson, NJ” project in 2019. I loved how the students really had to learn about the history of the City of Paterson and about New Jersey history in general. This is something not being taught in schools today.
The blog on Day One Hundred and Fifty-Five: “Take me back to Paterson, NJ” in 2019:
I chose Rutherford because it was the next town over from the Lyndhurst campus where I was teaching and the fact that Lyndhurst did not have a cohesive downtown area to promote. When I walked it, their downtown was in sections instead of one long stretch. Also, Downtown Rutherford had more of a history to it and was picturesque with its old buildings, classic look of an old church dominating the downtown and a park with a band shell at the top of the shopping district. There was more you could do with it.
The town is on two major bus routes one into New York City and one into Newark as well as being a railroad head for New York City. The town has become more desirable for people moving out of New York City for more open space, better schools and the amenities that come with living in the suburbs. They still want a ‘citified’ atmosphere though with good restaurants, clean safe parks to relax in and a strollable downtown with lots to offer for both shopping and eating. Rutherford has all of these.
I assembled the project together in two days after walking the downtown several times getting inspiration of how to market it and ideas that I had seen in the past in other towns of what they run at various times of the year drawing ideas from towns in the Hudson River Valley.
I entitled the project “Rocking it in Rutherford: Being a tourist in your own Town”, a creative approach to market the downtown for tourists to come visit from all over New Jersey and New York especially the City, the way Rhinebeck and Beacon do for dining, shopping and special events like “First Monday’s” and “Sinterklaas”.
The second week back from the Spring Break I presented the project and handed out the positions of the company and then explained the project. I go the usual ‘Yeahs’ and ‘groans’ from the students. I also got those panicked looks from the students who looked at me like they could never handle their position in the company. I would like to think as a CEO, I know them better than they know myself. After that, I had the Teams break up into their groups, met with my Executive Team and then met with the President and Senior Vice-President of Operations before they left for the night. It is always an interesting experience when meeting your Executive Team for the first time. They look nervous about being in charge.
The Project “Rocking it in Rutherford: Being a Tourist in your own Town”:
This all changes over the next few weeks as the students start up group chats and meet with one another after class. Then it was time to take the students out “into the field”. Right before COVID hit, I was going to take my class who were creating the project “From Revolution to Revelation-Visiting Historic Bergen County, NJ” out to visit historical sites, museums and farms all over the county. Then the virus hit, and we could not do any of that. I had seen how successful these field trips had been just by visiting our own campus or our trip to Downtown Paterson, NJ. I had to help the students overcome their fear of that city and see it gems and benefits.
I arranged for the students to take a field trip to Downtown Rutherford, NJ one night of class three weeks after the Spring Break. Of course, it has been raining the whole week and I asked the students in advance if they wanted to take the field trip even if there was a chance of rain. My Senior VP of Operations emailed me and said that people did not have a problem with it. It was the most rainy, miserable night to walk around a town!
We all met in class where I gave my speech about behaving themselves on a field trip and how they are representing Bergen Community College. That always helps. Then the heavens opened up on our way to the first stop, the First Presbyterian Church of Rutherford, an elegant church at the top of the downtown that was going to serve as the location for the “Snowflake Festival”.
The First Presbyterian Church of Rutherford at 1 East Passaic Avenue
The church was an example of Victorian architecture not seen today
I could not believe how beautiful this church was with it wooden carved benches, Tiffany windows and elegant pews. The whole church was done in carved wood and since it had an endowment to keep it up, the church was immaculate. It was one of those churches that you want to attend during the holidays to enjoy the pipe music and flowers. It also had lots of meeting spaces that were perfect for the project. I could tell that the students were impressed.
The inside the First Presbyterian Church of Rutherford is so elegant
After we left the tour of the church, we had to endure the elements and walk to Lincoln Park across the street to view the band shell for the “Big Band” concerts that we would be holding there in the month of August. I could not believe that most of the students were not carrying umbrellas (this is after I told them all to bring an umbrella with them twice). The rain was really coming down at that point.
We walked the park and I showed them how we could set the whole thing up and how operations could work. We could even use the meeting rooms at the church and their kitchen to cook the refreshments for the concerts. While we were finishing, one of the students snapped a group shot of us at the band shell.
My class at the Band Shell in Lincoln Park in Rutherford, NJ on that rainy night
After the tour of the band shell, we walked the entire side of the downtown going south with me pointing out historical points like the WWII Memorial at the circle and historic businesses like Varrelman’s Bake Shop at 60 Park Avenue (it was closed at this point of the evening). We then stopped at the railroad station and talked for a bit where there was a covering from the rain.
I explained how people could come into town by both rail and by bus where they did not need a car. This way people from other parts of New Jersey could join in the fun without having to look for parking.
Then we walked north up the other side of Park Avenue to our final destination, dinner at Da Mario Pizza at 25 Park Avenue for dinner. I had planned a pizza dinner for my class (which I pay for) which is a Team building event and also gives the students a chance to bond as a group. Plus, I feed them and on this gloomy night, they deserved it.
I ordered five large cheese pizzas and then let the students pick their beverages. I gave a little speech about the town and then about the project. We would be having another series of field trips to other places in town over the next few weeks while they worked on their project. They would also have to take trips to the town on their own. After that, I let the groups get together and work on their game plans for the project.
It was nice to just get out of the rain. I was hoping by the time we got out of the restaurant that the rain would stop. It poured more! After dinner, the Teams walked to the Williams Center to see the complex and I explained what would be happening in the future to the site with a new condo building and parking garage. It would bring more people to the downtown creating a new base of customers to the businesses downtown. Then I let them go home. It was a wet evening.
“Welcome to Rutherford” video promoting the attributes of the town
Over the next two weeks, there were two extra credit trips, one to the Meadowlands Museum on a Saturday so that the students could see the museum with time to visit all the exhibitions. The other trip was to City Hall for a Council Meeting to meet the Mayor and the Borough Council. Those were eye openers for not just the students but myself as well. These were the trips that I was to take with my students two years earlier to promote their projects before COVID shut us down. I could imagine the extra work that could have been done on those projects if the virus had not come.
I was able to arrange with the Meadowlands Museum, a small historical museum in Rutherford that concentrates on both the town and the County’s history from the Native Americans to the rise of the agriculture industry in Bergen County. I lead my class on a tour before class one Thursday evening and it was an eye-opener to students who lived nearby and never knew the museum existed.
We toured the first floor with its local art exhibition, communications display and section dedicated to a local doctor. Then to the second floor where children’s toys were located, the mining exhibition and a display of glowing minerals to show off New Jersey’s Mining past. Then it was to the basement level where spinning wheels, farm equipment and a turn of the last century kitchen was displayed. Some of the students had never seen displays like this before. After the tour, it was back to class for their quiz and lecture.
My class touring the Meadowlands Museum during class time
For the next three weeks, I gave the students class time to work with their Teams on the project and then on their own they revisited the town, created their commercials and put together their presentations.
The Historical tour of Rutherford, NJ brought to YouTube
On the night of April 28th, 2022, the students dressed in professional dress and presented their project to the Honorable Mayor Frank Nunziato and the Rutherford Borough Council. This is when I present a group of Generation Z students as Generation X consultants, and they are the executives of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Each group presented their part of the presentation to our invited guests and creatively introduced their section of the project. I could not have been prouder.
The PowerPoint Presentation of “Rocking it in Rutherford: Being a Tourist in your own Town”:
These videos of the presentation are available on YouTube:
The Introduction and the Talent Team:
My Introduction of the Project and the Talent Team Presentation
The Historical Team Presentation:
The Historical Team describes their ideas for the Historical Tour and updates at the Meadowland Museum
The Marketing Team Presentation:
The Marketing Team presented their ideas for Special Events and Advertising plus the new town song “Rutherford 07070”.
When the presentation was over, I could see that the Mayor and the Council as well as the Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce were blown away by the whole presentation. They were so impressed by the work that the student consultants did on the project. I had not seen the full presentation at that point and have to say that I was blown away as well.
Everyone had such great questions for the student consultants, and they were up for the challenge. I even had our Team Leader sing “Rutherford 07070” live to the Mayor and his Team and everyone enjoyed that.
The song “Rutherford 07070”
Each of the Council men and women got up and talked with each Team on their ideas and were very impressed by the thoroughness of the budgets and the realistic numbers that they presented. They even noted the student’s followed things like budgeting for the police and DPW for the Special Events. They also liked that everyone from locating our offices in the Rutherford area to using downtown restaurants for catering and for our company “Wrap Up” party. Everyone got a chance to give the student consultants their input on the project.
After the presentation, the Mayor and the Council along with the Vice-President of the Rutherford Chamber of Commerce took a group shot with my class and that meant a lot to me. It showed both myself and the students that they took the presentation seriously.
My Business 101 student consultants with the Mayor and Council and Chamber of Commerce of Rutherford, NJ
After we finished, I had a light reception for the students, their families and our invited guests. It was a nice evening, and I was so proud of my students. It was another group that has now entered to the Alumni of “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.” (Acronym for Bergen Community College-Paramus Campus).
I went to Heights Bar & Grill that evening to celebrate their success. It had been a long semester in the post-COVID era. We overcame the difficulties with masks and stress and achieved the goal! This is when a thin-crusted pizza and a drink taste even better.
This was the first year that “The Great Saunter Walk”, the 32-mile perimeter walk around the entire island took place since 2019. Since I had done the walk twice on my own, actually doing more of the walk than was required. This year I wanted to make it official.
I officially finished “The Great Saunter Walk” in May of 2022
The problem was by the time I wanted to sign up for the walk, it was completely sold out. So, I was put on a waiting list. With a prediction of rain all day (and it did rain all day!), many people dropped out before the event occurred, so I got to sign up. On a very gloomy Saturday morning, I got to the Frances Tavern at 7:30am to register and start the walk by the entrance of the Staten Island ferry.
Rather than rewrite the whole day, I updated the blog that I have written over the last two years and added to it. I hope you all enjoy my journey around the most famous island on earth on the gloomiest and rainy day ever. I hope you enjoy the journey!
I wanted to complete the walk again in the Summer to look at if from another perspective and walked the island perimeter again on July 15th. It took another three and a half hours to do the walk. This is due to meal breaks and just exhaustion due to the heat.
Normally I walk “The Great Saunter” in June around the time of either Father’s Day or the Summer Solstice, so that I have plenty of light. The problem was I was so busy in June that I had to push it back to July and the biggest problem was the heat. In the morning when I started the walk, it was cool and in the high 70’s due to the clouds. When they broke around 10:00am, it started to get hotter and went to the mid 80’s. It would not have been so bad, but the humidity plays a role in the walk. When I did the official walk in May, it was so cold and wet we never stopped for a long break as we all just wanted to get it done and go home.
In the warmer months, I like to stop and relax at various parks like Jefferson Park in East Harlem or Carl Schulz Park on the Upper East Side and let my legs relax. The reason why we finished the walk in May quicker is because the businessman who I was walking with in the last leg of the walk around Stuyvesant Cove just wanted to finish as well so we never stopped.
There were a lot more people in the parks that day, so it made maneuvering a bit harder and, in some cases, like in Jefferson Park, people were all over one another. I have noticed one thing and it is not just in New York City, people’s courtesy has gone way down. People were riding their electric bikes and motorcycles in the paths of the park and on the sidewalks practically knocking people down. One very over-weight woman rode a moped through the main path of Jefferson Park chasing her dog and nearly ran over two little girls who had just finished swimming. That was something!
The nice part of the walk in July was the clear sunny day it had been and being able to enjoy the breezes and the sunshine. It is much nicer to do the walk on a pleasant day than in the rain.
My first ‘Selfie” of myself at the start of “The Great Saunter” in May of 2023. I for the life of me can’t understand the thrill people have of doing this. I now know why people think I’m a Fed all the time!
The Second Official walk of “The Great Saunter” on May 6th, 2023:
I have to admit that I thought walking in the rain was an interesting way to do “The Great Saunter”. This year I had to add in a three-hour class that I had to take for my NYU graduate program for my upcoming trip for a class in Paris.
To make the walk easier this year, I decided to stay in the City so that I could get a good night’s sleep and be closer to the start point so that I could walk as much of the West Side of the Island before I had to leave for class at 9:00am.
I was in the middle of final exams for both my college and my graduate work at NYU so Friday night before the walk, I had to write my section of a research paper on tourism between Philadelphia and Boston, grade my students end of the semester papers, update some blogs that I was working on and work on other projects.
We had just finished my Business Communications class final at NYU and after lunch with my classmates and Professor, I headed downtown to get checked in at the Residence Inn in Lower Manhattan. The hotel is just a few blocks from Fraunces Tavern, which is the starting point for “The Great Saunter”. It would be an easier start for me since I had to stop and leave for class. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the hotel doing homework, reading and grading papers and working on updating my blogs. I ended up taking a long nap after all the work was done.
The Residence Inn Downtown Manhattan was our base for official “The Great Saunter” in 2023 and for the unofficial June 2024 walk:
Later that evening while I waited for my friend, Maricel to join me after work, I went to the Shake Shack in the Fulton Mall off Broadway for some dinner. I could not believe that a Shake Shack was so filthy, and the staff looked like they could care less about the food or decor. I could not believe how this restaurant was being run like there was no manager there. The Dining Room and tables needed a good cleaning and sweeping and the guy working there spent most of his time on his cell phone. I ate my dinner and left. Even though the food tasted good, visually speaking it was not up to the standards that I have seen at every other Shake Shack that I have eaten at over the years (See review on TripAdvisor).
The Chicken sandwich and French Fries at Shake Shack at the Fulton Mall
When Maricel arrived from work, we talked for about an hour and caught up. It had been a while since we could spend some time with each other. I think I lasted about an hour and then fell asleep. Later she told me that she was in the middle of talking to me and I went out like a light.
In 2024, I stayed at the Moxy Downtown, a hotel so hip that it was annoying. If you like to hang around with a bunch of 20 year old’s, it is the perfect hotel to stay at for the night. The rooms were really small, the bar was really noisy and the food very expensive for what you got in return. It was nice for the night but I am not much of a fan of the Moxy concept.
The Moxy Downtown at 26 Ann Street in Lower Manhattan.
The funny thing about the Moxy Hotel concept is that you know who they are catering too and even they do not seem to like it that much. I felt like I was with a bunch of undergraduates. There was not view from the room (no big deal I was there to sleep), the room was a bed with a room around it and a busy bar attracting people who looked like they had just come from a ball game. What I found really annoying was they tag on a $25.00 ‘Resort Fee” and make you spend it at the hotel.
The bed with the room around it.
I have to admit though the bar was pretty nice. The bartender mixed an excellent drink. Their ‘Piscos Colata’ was pretty powerful and made me feel pretty good after a long semester in both colleges. At $18.00, the Pork Sliders were good but not worth the money.
The bar “Recreation” at the Moxy Downtown. Hipster Central!
I was so relaxed that I ended up getting back to the room, hit the pillow and was out like a light at 10:00am. I did not wake up again until 3:30am and then at 5:00am. I decided to just get up, pack and get ready for the walk around the island.
Things were different in 2023, when I stayed at the Residence Inn. The next morning, I woke up and I had one of the best night’s sleeps in a long time. I had not felt that refreshed in a long time. I swear that the Marriott mattresses are worth their weight in gold. I had to get dressed and ready to go for the all day walk. Since I knew that I had to stop around 8:45am, I wanted to get started exactly at 7:00am.
While Maricel slept, I got shaved, showered and on my way. I stopped at Traders Express Deli at 22 Beaver Street which was the only place open at that time to get breakfast. All the fast food places were still closed, the hotel breakfast did not open until 7:00am on the weekends and all the coffee places just served coffee. This was an opportunity that Fraunces Tavern is losing to serve breakfast to a large crowd.
Trader’s Express Deli at 22 Beaver Street in Lower Manhattan
I ordered a Sausage, Egg and Cheese that I highly recommend. What I liked about the place was the friendliness of the staff and the fact that everyone seemed to be regulars. The sandwich was excellent and was the perfect breakfast to start the walk.
Eating my breakfast sandwich across from the start point
The Sausage, Egg and Cheese was yum!
In 2024, I could not find this place again. Either I was on the wrong street or it had closed. So I went to Garden City Deli which is right on the entrance to the “Stone Street” district of old buildings in the Wall Street area. This little place just changed ownership and was wonderful.
Garden City Deli at 77 Pearl Street right by the “Stone Street” complex
The breakfasts were just as good. I had a Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a hero roll for $7.99 that was excellent. Three eggs, three pieces of bacon and two large piece of American Cheese tucked into a soft chewy hero roll. I that and some orange juice and relaxed across the street from the start site. It was so good and the perfect combination of carbs and proteins.
The delicious Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich at Garden City Deli.
Yum! The calories you will need for the trip.
As I was walking to the starting spot, I passed one of the side streets and saw two paintings along the walls of a building. These were quite interesting. I could not figure out who the artists were but that will be for another day.
Painting One
Painting Two
After breakfast I got in the already growing line of about a hundred people and we got ready to go. At exactly 7:00am, off we went. We collected our hats and pins and were on our way up through Battery Park along the Hudson River West Side of the island. We lucked out this year as the weather was sunny, warm and just crisp enough in the morning to walk comfortably.
The start of “The Great Saunter” Fraunces Tavern in May 6th, 2023
Us lining up for “The Great Saunter” on May 6th, 2023
In 2024, we lucked out again and the weather was cool but sunny and clear for most of the morning. After breakfast was over, I enter the line at 6:50am. There had been a line of people at 6:30am but Shorewalkers let them start a half hour early so there was no line to wait in when I finished eating. I got my hat, the map and off I went to start the walk. It was a cool day so it was nice to walk around. There was construction all over the island along the way so it made this walk more interesting.
Lining up a year later at 6:30am in the morning May 4th, 2024.
Lower Manhattan the morning of The Great Saunter May 4th, 2024.
In 2023, we lucked out this year versus last year when it rained all day. I had never been so drenched. This year it was so nice. It was bright, sunny and crisp in the morning, perfect to start the walk. When we began at 7:00am, I got my hat, pin and off I went. Since I had the new iPhone to take pictures, I was stopping by all the statuary so that I could update my older blogs on “The Great Saunter” and on walks in those neighborhoods. I got some really great shots in of sculptures along the West Side of the Island of Manhattan.
The start of “The Great Saunter” on May 6th, 2023
It was funny that another blogger said he recognized me on the walk from a previous walk and he sent me a copy of the video. It was me walking around Lower Manhattan.
Angel sent me this video of myself starting the walk right in front of him until I stopped to take a picture of lower Manhattan.
I was making excellent timing getting through the Battery, but I kept stopping to take pictures of all the sculptures that I had passed on previous walks, and I wanted better pictures this time. The day was sunny and blue, so it was perfect for taking pictures around the city. I could not believe the beautiful views that I saw of Liberty Island, Jersey City and Hoboken. Even the shots of lower Manhattan were amazing and so vivid.
Lower Manhattan that morning when I stopped to take a picture.
Passing Lady Liberty in the harbor that morning
For most of the walk until I hit 60th Street, I stopped every ten minutes to take pictures. At 8:45am though, I had to head back down to the NYU Campus to present my walking tour in Paris in three weeks (be on the lookout for “My walk in Paris” segment of this blog) and it went by really well. So well, that the professor wanted more from me so there will be some adjustments.
The view from the Battery at the riverfront of Jersey City, NJ in the background
I kept on track for walk through the Battery and kept pace with everyone else mostly passing people on my way up through Battery Park. I was making good time enjoying the warm weather and the beautiful sites that was a pleasure from the cold miserable weather from last year.
As I walked through Battery Park, I had to stop at each of the sculptures that I admired so much in all the walks that I have done in the past. It is an open-air museum in that part of the City. The first thing I passed was Castle Clinton, which once upon a time was the place immigrants registered when they came to this country before they went to Ellis Island. It also was once home to the New York Aquarium until Robert Moses dismantled it. Now it is used as a museum and a place where you buy your tickets to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to the museums.
As we rounded the park in the Battery Park City, I saw a series of statues that I had seen many times on the walk. The first was the American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial. This is kind of a creepy statue as it stares at you from the bay. This was based on an incident from WWII.
The American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial at Battery Park
Ms. Escobar was born in Paris and raised in Venezuela and moved to New York in the 1950’s. She is known for her highly stylized boxy sculptures (NYCParks.org). She studied art at the Jepson Art Institute, the Ecole des Beaux Arts and Art Students League of New York (Wiki).
The signage for the statue
The next statue I remembered was the NY
Another sculpture I missed on my first two walks around the island was the New York Korean Memorial by artist Mac Adams.
The statue is one of the first monuments to the Korean conflict built in the United States and the void in the sculpture represents the absence and loss of the war and a metaphor for death (NYCParks.org).
Artist Mac Adams is a British born artist who now lives in the New York area. He holds an MFA from Rutgers University. He is known for his large public works and for the use of ‘space between images’ (Wiki/Artist Bio).
I have been on this walk around the island many times now and I do not know how I missed this statue of Gianni Verrazano that sits in Battery Park. This dynamic statue sits at the northern part of the park and was one of the few exits out of the park during its renovation.
The Giovanni Verrazzano statue by artist Ettore Ximenes
Artist Ettore Ximenes was an Italian born artist who had studied at the Palermo Academy of Fine Arts and then worked with several artists as an apprentice. He was known for his life sized sculptures. This statue was dedicated in 1909 (NYCParks.org/Wiki).
I left Battery Park and entered into the newer extension of Robert Wagner Jr. Park next to Battery Park City. In the front part of the park, I came across these unusual musical instrument sculptures that graced the entrance of the park.
The art entitled “Resonating Bodies” were created by British born artist Tony Cragg, whose work I had seen uptown many times. The sculptures resemble a lute and a tuba. The work is based on the concept that all physical bodies including we are constantly enveloped by various energy forms (NYCParks.org).
“Resonating Bodies” at Robert Wagner Jr. Park in Battery Park City
Mr. Cragg is a British born artist from Liverpool and studied at the Gloucestershire School of Art, received his BA from the Wimbledon School of Art and his MA from the Royal School of Art. He has been showing his works since 1977. He is best known for his contemporary sculptures (Artist Bio/Wiki).
Another work I saw along the walkway was “Cosmic Portal” by artist Tyler Schrader. Very unusual art.
Artist Tyler Schrader is an American born artist based in Upstate New York. He earned a BA in Drawing and Design. He transitioned into sculpture and design, embracing woodworking as his primary medium for the last decade. Inspired by the tactile and visual qualities of wood, he employs techniques such as intarsia, steam bending/lamination, lathe work, and carving to create intricate, organic forms (Artist Bio/website).
Once I passed through Robert Wagner Jr. Park at Battery Park City, I continued up the West Side Promenade on my way up the west side of Manhattan making great time. I got a better view of downtown Jersey City, NJ and could not believe how beautiful the skyline is at that time of the day.
Downtown Jersey City, NJ in all its glory
Manhattan looks so vibrant at this time of the morning. There is not a lot of action at 7:30am in the morning so you can see the City at its best. As we walked though Battery Park City and the park on our way up the West Side, I had to keep taking shots of familiar sites and the famous skyline.
Battery Park City in all it “Oz” glory at 8:00am in the morning
While in Battery Park, there were many art installations along the way. The first one I saw was Justice Reflected by artist James Yaya Hough. This was part of the ‘Art for Justice Fund’ series.
Artist James Yaya Hough is an American born artist who works out of Pittsburgh, PA. He is part of the “Lifelines Project”. LifeLines is a media and cultural project conducted in extensive, long-term collaboration with people serving Life Death By Incarceration (also known as Life Without Parole) sentences in Pennsylvania. The project uses interviews, visual art, creative media interventions, and sound installations to support the statewide campaign to abolish Death By Incarceration (Lifelines Project website).
A new piece of art appeared after the May 2024 walk. Either that or I had not noticed it when I walk around the area.
The sculpture of “The Eyes” by Louise Bourgeois appeared in Battery Park in June 2024 or I have just missed it
Artist Louise Bourgeois was a French born artist married to an American Art Professor who settled into New York City after her marriage. She was a graduate of the Sorbonne and continued to study art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and Ecole du Louvre and the Arts Student League of New York when she moved to the States. Starting as a painter she moved to sculpture on the recommendation of a colleague and known for her large sculpture works (Wiki).
Another piece of art that I came across that I missed in the last two trips is “Apple” by artist Stephen Weiss. The piece was part of the ‘Larger than Life” series of the artist and symbolized the heart and core of life in New York City (Hudson River Park).
“The Apple” by artist Stephen Weiss in Hudson River Park
Artist Stephen Weiss was a New York born artist who had attended the Pratt Institute. He had worked for his family company and was the husband of designer, Donna Karan. He was known for his family company and was the husband of designer, Donna Karan. He was known for his sculpture works (RoGallery).
As we were heading up the west side, I never noticed a sign that says “I want to Thank You” on the pier. I thought that was interesting in that I never noticed it before on my walks through Hudson River Park. I did not know if this was a piece of art work or just a message to someone.
The “I want to Thank You” sign in Hudson River Park
The last piece of art that stood out to me on this trip through Battery Park was entitled “Days End” by artist David Hammons. It looked like the shell of an empty building and struck a nerve as the sun started to set on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It is an ‘Open Air’ sculpture that explores the history of the neighborhood (Whitney Museum).
Mr. Hammons is an American born artist who studied at the Chouinard Art Institute (CalArts) and at Otis Art Institute. He is known for his Body Prints and sculpture work (Wiki/Artnet.com).
I headed up the thin stretch of park along Hudson River Park, I passed all the piers again that had become such a familiar site for me for not just The Great Saunter but for the neighborhood walks. I was able to judge where I was by the artwork and by the part of the park I had walked through. Since I have covered the whole island to 23rd Street, many of these sites I had remembered at previous times.
While I was walking through the parks, a few pieces of park sculpture stood out to me as I reached Hudson River Park in Chelsea. The long trek up Joe DiMaggio Highway made me more aware of my surroundings as I had to stop again. I came across the ‘Serpentine Sculptures’, these large twisting metal concoctions that graced the riverfront walkway.
These interesting, twisted sculptures are by American artist Mark Gabian who holds a BA in Art History and BFA in Sculpture from Cornell University (my Alma Mater!). Mr. Gabian’s sculptures can be seen all over the world. The artist has been quoted as saying he created monumental site-specific commissions in two or three dimensions’ (the artist’s website).
As I walked up Hudson River Park, I kept passing group after group of people on my way through the park. Everyone was pacing themselves but there are always those people that start jogging which I do not understand. They act like this is a contest and it is not the New York Marathon where we get judged for the time we keep. We just make it back to Fraunces Tavern and get our certificate.
Around the Meatpacking District, I walked through the LGBTQ Memorial which I had not noticed before.
The LGBTQ Memorial in Hudson River Park
This small garden was dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Pulse Nightclub of Orlando shooting back in 2016.
When I reached West 13th Street near Pier 53, I passed the latest attraction in Manhattan, “Little Island”, a whimsical park that had just opened the year before and I still have not visited. I was going to take a detour for a bit and walk inside the park but I wanted to make it as far as I could up the West Side that morning. Still, it is place that I want to visit and is on my bucket list.
The “Little Island” looks like visiting “Whoville” in the “Grinch who stole Christmas” in the summertime. This well landscaped park is now two years old, and I still can’t believe that I have not visited it. For another day I told myself and made a mental note of it.
My visit to Little Island with NYU just before school started in 2023.
Walking up Little Island
The Little Island Lawn
The view of lower Manhattan from Little Island that I had just walked.
As I passed West 23rd Street, there were more pieces of art that I remembered from when I was walking these neighborhoods. When you enter Hudson River Park from West 23rd Street, there is a very unusual set of sculptures entitled ‘Two Too Large Tables’ by artists Allan and Ellen Wexler. Two Too Large Tables consists of two elements. Each is constructed of brushed stainless steel and Ipe wood.
One piece has thirteen chairs extended up to become columns that raise sixteen square feet plane seven feet off the ground. In the second piece, the same chairs act as supporters to lift a sixteen square feet plane 30 inches off the ground. The first functions as a shade pavilion, the second as a community table. As people sit, they become part of the sculpture. People sitting together, forming unusual pairings because of the chair groupings (Artist bio).
Two Too Large Tables in Hudson River Park (Artist bio)
Artist Allen Wexler is an American born artist from Connecticut and studied at Rhode Island School of Design where he received his BFA and BS in Architecture. He studied and earned his MS in Architecture from the Pratt Institute. He is known for his multiple disciplines in art (Wiki).
The trip up Twelve Avenue is less than exciting. There is a tiny strip of park along the river that is mostly behind fencing. On the other side of the street is construction holes and fences from all the planned buildings that will start raising along the avenue.
The one place where there was some action was BLADE Operations at the Hudson River Park where helicopters were flying in. It reminded me of the opening scene of the Peter Bogdanovich film “They All Laughed” that I had just seen at the retrospect of the director’s work at the MoMA.
“They All Laughed” trailer by Peter Bogdanovic is a true Manhattan film
You will pass some very impressive buildings that are part of New York’s “Silicon Valley” including the well-known Starrett-Lehigh Building that has changed the complexity of the businesses in this neighborhood.
The Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 West 26th Street
The building was built and finished in 1931 for the Starrett Corporation and the Leigh Valley Railroad as a freight terminal. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Cory & Cory and in 1998 went through a renovation as a office building. It is currently going through another renovation that will be completed in 2023 (Wiki/Starrett-Leigh website).
As I crossed the street from Hudson River Park, I passed the renovations of Chelsea Waterside Park. This is the park where last year I started “The Great Saunter Walk” last year on the Summer Solstice. The park had a ‘Butterfly Garden’ that people were working the morning that I started the walk. The park is going through a full make over and the plans for it look amazing.
Chelsea Waterside Park at 557 West 23rd Street (Hudson River Park Archives)
When you walk through Hudson River Park, it is the nicest place to take a rest and sit under a tree to cool off. The park has the most amazing breezes and views of the river and neighboring New Jersey.
As I was walking around one of the wooded piers admiring the view, I came a across a grouping of stones that looked unusual with the way that they were set. The grouping was a sculpture garden by artist Meg Webster entitled “Stonefield”.
“Stonefield” by artist Meg Webster
This landscape sculpture consists of large stones chosen from quarries in New York State and the northeast corner of Pennsylvania. They were selected for their special shapes and unusual sculptural qualities. Some are colorful, some are concave, some craggy, one is very tall. The artist views each stone as special and arranged each to showcase its unique characteristics and individual “being-ness” (Hudson River Park.com).
Ms. Webster is an American born artist who has a BA from Old Dominion University and MFA from Yale University. She works with natural materials such as salt, sand and earth known for her Post-Minimalism and the Land Art Movement. She is known for her sculpture and installation work (Wiki).
Artist Meg Webster talks about her artwork
As I passed the Hudson Yards complex at West 30th Street, it gleamed like “Oz” in the distance. This complex has now opened in full force since the Pandemic and the mall and all the parks have large crowds that I have not seen since most of it had been finished. I could tell the tourists have come back to the City.
The Hudson Yards complex in all its glory that morning
From West 23rd Street to West 57th Street I accelerated my walking as I wanted to get to my goal of West 60th Street before 9:00am. I passed many familiar sites from previous walks including the Circle Line at West 42nd Street where I started my first walk in 2020 and where I had spent my birthday pre-pandemic wanting to see the exterior of Manhattan, which was a real eye opener. The Intrepid Museum had just reopened a year and a half before and I made another mental note that I wanted to see that too (see my previous blog above on “The Great Saunter”).
Another familiar piece of art that I stopped to admire by Pier 96 was Malcolm Cochran’s artwork “Private Passage” again. I came across this sculpture when visiting the park two years earlier. The piece is a giant bottle and when you look in the port hole you will see a state room of the former Queen Mary. It is an interesting piece of artwork that is not hard to miss and take time to look in the port holes.
The artist is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and is graduate of Wesleyan College who specializes in large sculptures.
Further up the park, I saw the old New York Transfer Station piece in Riverside Park. This is a relic of the old West Side Railroad tracks that were once part of the New York Central Railroad that the park and buildings behind it are built on. This transfer bridge once was used to attach railroad cars to the freight tracks that once ran up and down this part of the island (Forgotten New York).
The New York Central Transfer Station
It is interesting to see this now as a piece of art instead of a functioning part of the railroad, but it is fascinating to see how we use the parts of the past as a piece of art in the present. This shows the current park visitor how we have made new uses of the riverfront for recreation and pleasure which was not true during the early parts of the last century.
The New York Central Railroad Car is also in the park.
What was nice about having the new iPhone was that I was able to take much better pictures of all these wonderful sites and record them for the blogs. When I got home, I updated all the pictures on previous blogs, and they really showcase all these wonderful works in the West Side parks.
Hudson River Park was getting crowded with dog walkers and joggers by 8:30am and people were really out and about. We had to share a thin strip of walkway with everyone including the bikers who kept yelling at us to get out of the way. There are just too many people enjoying these parks at once. Still, I got some great shots in and made excellent time. By 8:45am, I made it to West 60th Street and stopped to head back to the hotel and get to class. I had to present my proposal for my NYU class to Paris this summer and did not want to go all sweaty and needed my computer as well.
So, I went to the Columbus Circle stop and headed back down to lower Manhattan where Maricel was still asleep. As I walked through the subway terminal, I passed the Underground Market, which is the food court that was so popular pre-COVID. After the City opened up, this food court was practically dead as most of the restaurants had closed due to the lack of people visiting and working in the area. It looked like it had finally started to come back (another mental note to visit it).
The Turnstyle Underground Market has reopened and filling up again at the West 60th Columbus Circle subway stop.
I ran back to the hotel, changed my clothes and went to class at West 12th Street. i presented my walking project for the Left Bank of Paris, explained what we were doing and then listened to my classmate’s presentations. We finished by 1:00pm and I ran back to the hotel, changed back into my clothes, said goodbye to Maricel and checked my luggage and took the subway back to Columbus Circle. By the time I got up to the station, walked down West 59th Street and got back to Hudson River Park, it was past 2:00pm.
I resumed the walk at 2:30pm on the dot back on West 60th Street. The weather was still amazing, and I was convinced that I could finish the walk around 10:00pm. Oh, the day I had ahead of me was going to be a long one. The weather was utterly amazing so walking up the west side of the island was not so bad. It was not that hot, so it made walking pleasant in the later afternoon. I just don’t remember it taking that long to get to Inwood Park, which I would not get to until 5:00pm.
Riverside Park at 60th Street
Along the way as I walked up Hudson River Park to Riverside Park at West 72nd Street, I saw a couple of people who had quit the walk. A couple with their baby must have gotten as far as Inwood Park and then made their way back down the West Side. They just smiled at me as I passed them.
In 2024, there were more art installations along the way in all the parks. This is why I always say that New York City is like an ‘open air museum’. Between all the public and street art you will see along the route you never have to visit a museum. There is so much to see and experience. The first was “Hope” by artist Helen Draves and the second was “Life Dance” by artist Susan Markowitz Meredith. This was part of the “Art in the Parks” exhibition that runs every year.
Artist Helen Draves is a South Korean-born artist who has resided and pursued my artistic career in New York for over 25 years. Her father, who was an artist and an art professor in South Korea, inspired her as a child to explore my creativity through crayons, pencils, and paper. She was enamored with the process of creating something on a blank canvas, and this passion led her to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ewha Women’s University in Seoul in 1993. She continued to pursue my artistic education in the United States, obtaining a Master of Fine Arts degree from the prestigious Pratt Institute in New York in 1996. As an artist, her work often reflects the aging of life, particularly through the metaphor of wrinkled, aging hands. (Artist bio website).
Artist Susan Markowitz Meredith is an American born artist who has a BS in Art from Skidmore College and an MA from University of North Colorado. She has been developing my skills as a sculptor since 2011 when she began taking classes in wood and stone carving at The Art Students League of New York. She has supplemented her technical knowledge with outside coursework and training in woodworking. Her explorations have led her to pursue a range of other materials including metals, plastics, paper, and lighting. These educational experiences have cemented her commitment to sculpting and helped her clarify her own particular artistic approach (Artist bio website).
The walk through the park was pleasant as usual. The weather was really on our side before 1:00pm with sunny, clear weather. It was pleasant to walk along the Hudson River and catch the breezes, enjoy the art tour and talk with an occasional passerby. There are a lot of twists and turns around this route and the views are just spectacular. Who says New Jersey is boring?! This part of the Palisades is amazing to look at from this side of Manhattan.
Then at the extension of Dyckman Avenue by West 207th, in 2023 as my day was just getting started, I saw a group of four people who looked like they had just finished lunch and by their body language I could tell were done for the day. I passed them too. After that I did not see anyone on the walk until I got to Jefferson Park on the other side of the island in East Harlem as I was eating my dinner.
Not only was the weather very pleasant for the walk, so was walking through the parks. Everything was either in full bloom or had buds out and the parks looked really green. It was so beautiful to walk through them on this warm sunny day.
I made it up to West Harlem Piers Park 3:30pm and it was pretty busy on the sunny day. People were out walking their dogs, fishing on the pier or reading books at the benches. The park was not as messy as it normally is but the parks department people were out in full force the entire time I walked on the West Side so the parks were really clean. I stopped to take more pictures.
I passed the unusual sculptures, Voice One and Voice Two by artist Nari Ward, a New York based artist who likes to use objects found in his own neighborhood (artist website). They have become a marker for this walk on how far I have traveled. They are quite unique.
These unusual silver sculptures I almost interpreted as people trying to speak and it was interesting that the sculptures were called Voice I and Voice II. I was not sure of what the artist was trying to communicate with his artwork, but it does stand out in the park. The unfortunate part of it was that there was so much garbage in the park you could not get up close to see them.
Voice I
Voice II
Voice III
I really enjoy this park. It has wonderful breezes and excellent views and plenty of places to sit down and relax. It offers such nice views of the river and as the morning progressed, I started to see more sailboats and water boats out cruising up and down the Hudson River.
While walking down the walkway to Fort Washington Park in 2023, I noticed these flock of seagulls in the cement barrier that I had noticed many times before. I did not realize how detailed they were until I really looked at them. This is what happens when you take your time to observe everything on this walk and not just rush by.
The seagulls wall
The seagulls wall
Passing this part of the park leads to the underpass that you have to walk through to get to Fort Washington Park, so you have a rather strange part of the walk near the treatment plant. If you can travel up to the sports facility, it is worth the trip. It really provides the neighborhood with all sorts of things to do. It also has a great snack shop, and their burgers are really good. When I entered Fort Washington Park, it was in full swing with barbecues and parties going on that afternoon. It is very different in the morning hours when the parks people are there cleaning up from the parties the night before.
Walking through Fort Washington Park during the walk in 2023
In 2024, the City was promoting their “Art in the Park” exhibition as they had done in the past. I saw some unusual art in the park that was on the lawn before you entered the pathways. It is so nice that Manhattan has these ‘Open Air Museums’ for us to enjoy all over the City.
Artist Sophie Kahn is an Australian born artist who lives in Brooklyn who has a BA in Fine Arts from the University of London and MFA from the School of Art Institute of Chicago. A sculptor and digital artist, Kahn utilizes technology—in its successes and failures—to analyze the complexity and poetics of capturing the human body in the digital age. Working from a 3D scan of musician and artist tiger west, Portrait of t. brings the digital, private realm into the public through a glitched body scan cast in bronze (Student Art League.com).
Artist Marco Palli is an Venezuelan born artist with MFA from the New York Studio School of Sculpture and MFA from the New York Academy of Arts both in sculpture. Expanding beyond the personal, Palli’s sculpture presents an opportunity for audiences to engage with the narratives of local versus foreign and the sense of belonging within the United States. Our Gates is a celebration of New York City and its diverse communities (Student Art League. com).
It was unusual but very interesting art. I was just surprised to see in a location that not too many people visit. It would have been nicer if placed further downtown on the Upper West Side, where people might appreciate it more.
The George Washington Bridge in the distance when walking Fort Washington Park
Making my way to the George Washington Bridge
I got to Fort Washington Park around 4:00pm and was able to visit the Little Red Lighthouse which I had visited many times on my trips to the park. With everyone else being on the other side of the island at this point, the park was relatively quiet, and I got to take lots of pictures.
The George Washington Bridge with the Little Red Lighthouse below it. It inspired the children’s book, “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge” by author Hildegarde Swift.
The Little Red Lighthouse at Fort Washington Park
I continued on into Fort Washington Park to see the Little Red Lighthouse, which I had not visited in almost three years since my last walk in the neighborhood. Many tourists were by the site just under the George Washington Bridge, taking pictures by the lighthouse and enjoying the sunny weather.
The Little Red Lighthouse had been constructed in 1889 and moved from Sandy Hook, New Jersey in 1917 and moved here in 1921. It was decommissioned in 1948 after the construction of the George Washington Bridge in 1931. What had saved the lighthouse from destruction was the book “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge” by author Hildegarde Swift in 1942 (Wiki).
The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift
The park was really quiet, so I got to enjoy the views on my own this time. I was able to finally take the pictures that I wanted and take my time exploring the park. It also has one of the few decent bathrooms in this area of the City. I looked downtown the area I had covered and was making very good time on this side of the island.
The view from under the George Washington Bridge from the Little Red Lighthouse to Lower Manhattan
On the way to Inwood Park from Fort Tyron Park, I passed the remnants of the old Tyron Hall estate. There is not much left but the entrance ways across the street and this balcony that looks over the river. You could tell at one time this must have been a very grand estate. It now makes up the framework for Fort Tryon Park where The Cloisters Museum is now located.
The Balcony of the old “Tryon Hall”
When you reach Fort Tyron Park by foot along the Henry Hudson Parkway, you will see two large stone columns that look like the entrance to an estate and then across the street there is a pillared overlook to the Hudson River. These are remnants of the former C.K.G. Billings estate, “Tryon Hall”.
The old entrance to the estate is covered with brush
The old entrance to the estate under brush
Mr. Billings, the Chairman of Union Carbide, owned most land of which the park is located, and these small relics are the remains of the great estate. I had never been in this part of the park before and thought it interesting that these pieces of the estate were left.
The archway and drive are still part of the park, and you can see them closer to The Cloisters Museum. The old driveway to the estate is still used inside the park.
The entrance to the old “Tryon Hall” estate in Inwood Park in 2023
I made the long trip up the hill from the park to enter the beginnings of Inwood Park and walked down to Dyckman Street to the Dyckman Street Beach and harbor area. People were out washing their cars and blasting music, and, in the distance, you could hear the yells of the baseball and softball games going on. I walked up the pier to take a better look at the beach and at least this time there was no garbage on it.
The Dyckman Street Beach is a small street of land on the Hudson River. I would not swim in it.
As I made my way through the bottom of Inwood Park, I stopped to take in the view of the Hudson River. I don’t think too many people know of the views from these parks on this part of the island, but they are really amazing.
The beauty of the Hudson River from Inwood Park
I made my way over the foot bridge in Inwood Park to the main part of the path and could not believe how beautiful the views were from the hills. When it rained last year, you could not enjoy it. All everyone wanted to do was get to the pavilion in Inwood Park so that we could dry off a bit and have something to eat and drink. Since I did not get there until 5:00pm, everyone was long gone (they closed this area down by 2:30pm).
I took my time snapping pictures, enjoying the view and admiring the Hudson River and the trees as they swayed by. The park was at its best at this time with the sun right above us. The paths and the lookouts were so picturesque.
The view from the top of the hill at Inwood Park
As I walked up and down the paths of Inwood Park, I took time to enjoy the views that Mother Nature offered me. I figured I was not racing with anyone to the finish line and would have plenty of time to get down to Fraunces Tavern.
Another view from the top of the hill path at Inwood Park
Heading down the pathway
The rock formations that make up the mountain stream
Following the path to the bottom of the hill
As I exited the park’s long hilly path, I arrived with this woman who tagged along with me to the halfway point. Right near the Shorakkopoch Rock, there was another usual sculpture right before it by artist Rose Simpson entitled “
Artist Rose Simpson is an American born artist who works out of New Mexico. She has a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts and has a MFA from both the Rhode Island School of Arts and the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is a mixed-media artist whose artwork investigates the complex issues of past, present and future aspects of humanity’s tenuous survival in our current ecological condition (Wiki/Artist Bio).
When I got to the bottom of the pathways and exited into the lawn area of the park, I saw a familiar giant boulder which is one of the most historic objects on the Island of Manhattan, the Shorakkopoch Rock.
The spot where Manhattan was bought by the Dutch
The rock is the legendary location of where Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from the Reckgawawang Indians for what is today $24.00 of household goods and trinkets.
In 2023, I bypassed the rest of the park and made my way past all the basketball and softball games and went to the pavilion to see if anyone was left there and everyone was gone. When I looked at the schedule of the map, they had closed up at 2:30pm and it was now 5:00pm. I knew it would be getting dark by 7:45pm and I did not want to be walking through Harlem at night, so I made my way through Inwood and Washington Heights following the path set by the map. I stopped for a quick Coke and made my way down 10th Avenue to Dyckman Street.
In 2024, I got to Inwood Park and the halfway point by 11:45am, a new record for me and was able to relax for about a half hour. I got to talking with a few women along the way and they tagged along with me. By the time I got out of the bathroom, they were both gone and I was able to finally relax on my own. I just vegged and ate the cookies, chips and power drinks they had for us and they had plenty of supplies which was nice.
Inwood Park halfway point in 2024.
The Farmers Market was there both years until 5:00pm and this is when it started to get gloomy outside. In 2024, the weather started to go in and out with the clouds and by the time I hit East 155th Street, it started to get cloudy and cooler. Still take time to walk around the Farmers Market in Inwood. It is really nice.
The Inwood Farmers Market is popular even on a gloomy day.
All the street vendors were in full swing, selling everything on a busy weekend. I was going to stop at one of the bakeries, but I did not want to sway too far off the path, so I decided to stop at my favorite pizzeria on East 145th Street so I decided to wait to eat lunch there.
On the way down 10th Street, I saw a lot of interesting street art. I don’t know who the taggers were, but their work was very creative.
This was just off 10th Avenue near 203rd Street
More Details of the artwork.
More details of the artwork.
I thought this was really creative in the right corner of the painting
I saw this on the side of condo and thought someone was really talented.
A new piece of art showed up next to it during the June 2023 walk.
I made my way past Dyckman Houses, which are always interesting because I keep thinking that someone is watching me from there. I always get that sinking feeling, so I make my way fast this development and get to the park to walk down the path along the East River. I got here by 5:30pm so I was making good progress.
As I walked down the Harlem River Drive pathway in Highbridge Park, the traffic was still really packed as people looked like they were still trying to leave the City for the weekend. At the beginning of the park, many people were having barbecues and birthday parties. All the tables were with families enjoying themselves. Once I passed all of them, the park was quiet. I noticed across the river in the Bronx how much of the waterfront had been built up with new condos and apartment buildings. I could not believe how much the developers were changing the waterfront.
The long curves of the park, the lush woods and rock formations show what was once the former shoreline of this part of the island. From this location it looks alike Inwood Hill Park with clean paths and virgin plantings. From a distance it looks really pretty.
The reality of the park is that if you walk through the park you are faced with the over-grown paths, the graffitied rocks and garbage that parts of the park suffer from. When you walk through the paths on the other side of the park, you see how far the park has gone down and the work that still needs to be done. Abandoned cars and garbage still plaque parts of the park from the park side paths. Still the City is doing a lot to improve the park blocking off parts of te park to renovate it with seedings and new plantings.
The approach to the High Bridge Water Tower in High Bridge Park in 2023
I passed the old High Bridge Water Tower that I heard has finally reopened. The water tower and the bridge are the lasting remnants of the way water used to travel into New York City from upstate in the late 1800’s. The tower was built in 1872 and was part of the old Croton Aqueduct system of moving water into Manhattan.
This part of the park had no activity and, on the path, leading down to the old Polo Grounds there was not much activity. What always makes me nervous is walking around the Polo Ground Houses that run from West 165th Street to about West 155th Street. The complex is a tired looking set up public housing with one building looking exactly like the other and a small patch of green in the middle.
The Polo Ground Tower Housing Complex as you approach it from High Bridge Park
All I kept thinking about is the activities that go on there and I zig-zagged my way down the sidewalk until I hit the part of the fence that was covered with trees and vines. Out of site from the prying windows. Ever since I read about the complex on the internet, I have never felt comfortable in this part of the City. This was before I walked all around the complex four years ago when I walked Harlem and didn’t think much about it. I walk around quickly in this neighborhood. Before I crossed the street, I looked at the John T. Brush staircase that used to bring people from the subway to stadium. I thought no one today except a few older New Yorkers would know the significance of this.
The John T. Bushman Staircase that used to lead to the Polo Grounds
I crossed the street and walked down Edgecombe Avenue on the upper side of Jackie Robinson Park. On the corner of the edge of the street is the John Hooper Fountain at 155th Street and Edgecombe Avenue. The fountain was designed by architect George Martin Huss and is a ornamental horse fountain and lantern. It was dedicated in 1894 and donated to the park by businessman John Hooper (NYCParks.com/MichaelMinn.net). It was used by the horses for drinking when carriages and horse riding at that time.
The John Hooper Fountain is at the corner of Edgecombe Avenue and 155th Street in 2024
The Hooper Fountain was working that afternoon for the walk in 2024
I finally got down to the Polo Grounds Public Housing and was able to get through that area pretty quickly. Hearing rumors about this place as well, I wanted to get past it and get to Edgecombe Avenue as soon as possible. The funny part about this area was pre-Pandemic this neighborhood was really gentrifying with many of the CUNY students moving into this area. It looked to me like it has retrenched a bit for now.
As I passed the benches by Jackie Robinson Park down the steps from this road, I saw small groups of people who made it their business to ignore me or were smoking pot and finding ways to try to hide it. It has been made legal, so I did not care. I finally made it to East 145th Street and made the turn and walked down the street.
East 145th Street has shown some real changes. Pre-Pandemic this was one of the fastest gentrifying areas of the neighborhood with new buildings going up, lots of new and more expensive restaurants and renovations of the old townhouses and brownstones. Having the students go virtual really put an end to it and the neighborhood has retrenched for now. There is still renovations going on but not like before where I would see CUNY students on their blankets in Jackie Robinson Park. That must have freaked out the neighborhood. CUNY will soon dominate this neighborhood again with a new apartment complex they want to build on the corner of East 145th Street and Sixth Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard).
I stopped for a quick lunch at King Pizza of Harlem at 110 West 145th Street for a snack. I knew that I wanted a chopped cheese for dinner as I had for the last two years but again, I was starved. When I walked in, there was the same owner in the same place where I ordered my lunch. I just sat and relaxed. I have been coming here for lunch on my walks in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
King Pizza of Harlem at 110 West 145th Street (Closed May 2025)
The cheese pizza is excellent. The sauce is so well spiced and topped with loads of mozzarella cheese. The slice was rather large and made a great snack. It was just pleasant to sit down and relax.
The slices at King Pizza are excellent! Don’t miss their delicious Cheese Pizza. Where I eat my lunch on my walks.
My lunch in June in 2023 when I visited the second time.
The Ground Beef pizza is amazing! This has been my go to place for my last four walks around the island.
The relaxation did not last very long as there was some big commotion outside the restaurant, and I saw about four police cars surround this group of kids who started to run in every direction. There were kids of all ages yelling and running across the street in front of the restaurant. No one in the restaurant flinched at the whole thing so I figured the owner had seen all this before and was prepared if someone came into the pizzeria to cause problems. It was like watching a movie as the police cars pulled up in front of the pizzeria and groups of kids screaming at one another as they passed the window. That was my excitement for the afternoon.
In June of 2024, I returned to King Pizza when I realized that Sweet Mama’s around the corner had closed permanently. I was not in the mood for pizza and wanted something different. Since there were no calzones available, I had their homemade meatball sandwich. That was really good and very reasonable at $8.50.
The Meatball Parmesan hero was a delicious meal for a late lunch. I never had to stop for dinner
The hero was amazing
As I made my way down Fifth Avenue from 143rd Street, I stopped again to look at the obelisk that is located on a tiny triangle near the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 142nd Street. The Monument is the 369 Infantry Regiment Memorial dedicated to the all-black unit that fought so valiantly in World War I with the Fourth French Army. It sits on a small triangle as you are crossing the bridge to get to the riverfront promenade. I don’t think many people even notice it.
I passed the memorial and walked across the street to the bridge that led to Harlem River Park, a small stretch of river promenade that goes to East 135th Street. Since the park looked like it was getting a small renovation, I got off earlier at East 138th Street and walked down Madison Avenue to East 135th Street where I saw the same homeless guy from last year panhandling people coming off FDR Drive. He was still standing in the same dangerous location where he could be hit by a car at any time. I could not believe he was still in the same spot at the same time as last year. Things don’t change.
The Street Art at Harlem River Park that I admired the year before
Words of Wisdom on the wall in Harlem River Park
The paintings on the wall at Harlem River Park
The close up shot of the paintings
The paintings along the pathways in Harlem River Park are very creative
The Paintings along the walls of Harlem River Park
The Creative Artists who did this work
I made a turn into the courtyard of the Lincoln Houses to see the statute of Abraham Lincoln with Child statute at 2120-2122 Madison Avenue. No one was around so I was able to take some good pictures of the statue. The last time I had stopped to see it a group of kids just gave me a funny look when I entered the public housings walkway, so I did not venture in. This time around there was no one there and I got this excellent picture of the statue.
Lincoln and Child at 2120-2122 Madison Avenue in the Lincoln Houses in 2023
The statue was designed by artist Charles Keck. Mr. Keck was an American born New York artist who studied at the National Academy of Design and the Arts Students League of New York. He was best known for his work on statues and monuments.
I got down Fifth Avenue rather quickly and made my way to East 128th Street where I walked to Second Avenue. It was funny how everyone did everything they could to ignore me. It was really funny. All the people on the street watched me through the corner of their eyes but did everything they could to turn away from me. It was very subtle.
On the way down the street, I passed P.S. 30 and its wonderful painting on the side of the school. I thought the kids were really creative. The schools were all closed today, and the area was really quiet. When I walked this neighborhood about five years ago during the school year this place is bustling with kids and parents especially with after school programs.
The painting on the side PS 30
As I turned the corner and made my way down Second Avenue, I passed the Taino Towers which look like they are still under a renovation of the complex. Still, you can see this wonderful mural from a distance on the side of the building.
Artist Don Rimx painted a mural of Nuyorocan poet Jesus ‘Tato’ Laviera. The painting had been unveiled in 2017 (long after my visit to the neighborhood) and 123rd Street was renamed after the poet (Street Art NYC).
The mural of Jesus ‘Tato’ Laviera at Taito Towers at 122nd Street and Second Avenue
Mr. Rimx was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in 2009 moved to Brooklyn and then in 2014 to Florida. He graduated from Central High School of Visual Arts and Escuela Des Arts Plasticas. He is known for his use of styles in art and culture and known for his murals (Artist Bio).
I crossed Second Avenue to the Wagner Houses complex. People were having all sorts of picnics and barbecues inside and outside the Wagner Houses. The lawns of this complex are always busy. The funny part of this neighborhood again like other sections of Harlem before the Pandemic was in full gentrification mode.
All the brownstones were under scaffolding when I passed the last time, and they were still there. All the new buildings around the Wagner Houses started look old and it was getting seedy again. It did not look like that before the Pandemic.
The Wagner Houses
I passed the monument to Robert Wagner Sr. which had not been damaged during the riots in 2020. I guess people had other things to worry about at the time. It still stands like a guard on the complex.
Georg John Lober was an American artist from Chicago who studied at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and worked for the New York City Municipal Art Commission for seventeen years.
Pleasant Avenue was once home to the East Harlem “Little Italy” and the ‘Dance of the Giglio’ takes place here every August outside the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (See Day Eighty-Four The Feast of Our Lady of Carmel and the Dancing of the Giglio). Now it is becoming a gentrified neighborhood and I saw many people eating in outdoor cafes or shopping at the local mall.
I stopped for lunch in both 2020, 2021,2022 and 2023 at Blue Sky Deli (now Chopped Cheese Delicious) at 2135 First Avenue for a Chopped Cheese. I swear I make any excuse to come up here and have that sandwich.
The Chopped Cheese Delicious (Blue Sky Deli) has a cult following
The ‘Chopped Cheese’ is a cult sandwich made up of two chopped hamburgers topped with American cheese, chopped lettuce and tomato with salt, pepper and spices and then pressed. It is like heaven with every bite. I took my sandwich into Thomas Jefferson Park, which is currently under renovation and ate my sandwich. After I was finished, I had the energy to continue the walk downtown.
I stopped in Thomas Jefferson Park to have my dinner and people watch. There were parties all over the park at this time. It was just about 6:45pm when I sat down for dinner and could see the sun patterns changing. I took my time to eat but I wanted to get on my way. I wanted to be at Midtown before it got dark. I enjoyed every bite of my sandwich.
The Chopped Cheese Sandwich at Blue Sky Deli (Harlem Taste Deli)
The delicious Chopped Cheese Sandwich
Before I left Thomas Jefferson Park, I came across another piece of art that I had not noticed on my many visits to the park. The sculpture located in the middle of the park is entitled “Tomorrow’s Wind” by artist Melvin Edwards. The sculpture is made of welded steel and is tilted so that it reflects the sun. The piece was placed in the park in 1995 (NYCParks.org).
Mr. Edwards is an American born artist from Texas. He is known for his known for his abstract steel sculptures. He graduated with a BFA from University of Southern California and studied at the Los Angeles Art Institute.
Artist Brower Hatcher is an American born artist who studied engineering in Nashville, then received an undergraduate degree in industrial design from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. Following graduate studies at St. Martin’s School of Arts in London in the late 1960s, he became one of the faculty members at that prestigious institution. Hatcher later taught at Bennington College in Vermont until 1985, and in subsequent years has continued to serve as a visiting artist and lecturer at numerous college campuses. He received an honorary PhD from the State University of New York. During his career, now spanning more than thirty years, Hatcher has been commissioned to create many major works for public sites
I left the park around 7:00pm and made my way down the East Side Promenade. By this point, I figured everyone who had done the walk was all already down at Fraunces Tavern. My goal was to get there by 10:00am but to walk the entire East Side in three hours would be a lot. I was determined to get the job done.
The only problem with doing this walk at this time of night is that all the public bathrooms are closed by 6:00pm so it made for an uncomfortable walk after a while. I was lucky I went to the bathroom before I left Jefferson Park, but I knew by the time I got to Carl Schulz Park on East 81st Street the bathrooms might be closed.
I was passing Hell Gate before getting to Carl Schulz Park
When I arrived at Carl Schulz Park, the bathrooms were closed, and I found out most of the park’s bathrooms would be closed all the way down the East Side. I knew this would eventually be a problem. For right now, it would be smooth sailing down the East Side, and I was making good time.
As twilight hit, I saw the lights come on at Roosevelt Island
Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island stood in the distance.
The trip down the East side to York Avenue via the promenade was not problem and then down to John Jay Park at East 78th Street and then down York Avenue to Sutton Place and then down to East 53rd Street to First Avenue and again smooth sailing. Then it really started to get dark outside as it was now almost 9:00pm and the streetlights came on. This is when the trip became interesting.
The East Side Promenade by the United Nations at 42nd Street was closed, and I could not get in. So, I had to walk down to East 35th Street and take the East Side Promenade for about two blocks and then I was back on First Avenue. This is when the fun began. With all the promenades closed for renovations, I made my way down the main roads, and I tried to get to the parks lining the river.
The last picture I took of the lower East Side before all the fun began
Later when I got home, I reread the emails sent to me by Shorewalkers and did not realize that all these promenades were closed and there would be people to direct us. At this time of night, they were long gone, and I was on my own. I ran into two guys at that I had seen get on at East 110th Street when I left Jefferson Park and saw them again at the East 23rd Street entrance to the promenade there. It was fenced off and being landscaped. He asks me, “What do we do now?” “Head South and walk down,” I said as I made my way what I found out later on was Avenue C. I walked Avenue C by myself in the dark until I hit East 13th Street and figured I would go east and head to the promenade from there. I did not realize the whole thing was closed.
I found myself walking down Avenue D from East 13th Street until I hit East Houston Street eleven blocks down the street. This is when I felt like Griffin Dunne in the movie “After Hours”. The walk from here could not be more surreal.
This is the way the rest of the evening went for me!
If you don’t know what Avenue D is like in ‘Alphabet City’ in the East Village, it is where people used to and probably still do go to to score drugs. Walking past the Con Ed Power plant at 9:30pm at night was bad enough with how dark it was but to walk next to the projects being 6:3 in a green polo and a number stuck to my shorts, I must have stuck out to these people, and they seemed to disappear. I was oblivious to how quiet the streets were getting until I looked at the street sign and realized I was on Avenue D. I did everything I could to walk as fast as I could down the street without making it look obvious.
Avenue D was less scary at twilight on a Thursday night at 6:30pm than at 9:30pm on a Saturday night in June 2024
I was parched at this point, and I needed something to drink, and I had to stop and get a Coke. I stopped in a bodega to something to drink and did I get a look from the guy at the counter. He looked at me like ‘where did you come from?” Then he went back to the couple arguing about the price a pack of water. I bought the Coke and was drinking it outside when two very young NYPD officers were standing a few doors down watching me. They said hello to me and I said hi back. The looks on their faces were interesting too.
On my June 2024 walk through Avenue D, it was a lot more civil. I got to Avenue D just as it was getting dark and it was on a Thursday night so there were not as many people outside. School had just let out for the summer so there were not too many kids around as the park was still full with people socializing (including the hipsters). I did get to the same deli as last year and still got the same looks but the price of a Coke is still $1.00 so I can handle anything at that point. I never realized there were so many reasonable deli’s on this block. I will be back to try them out.
I finally got to East Houston Street and tried to walk to the end of it toward the park but again there was not entrance to the park anywhere. I gave up with that and decided to head south to get around this area and get to the South Steet Seaport. This is when the more fun began because I had not been in this part of the East Village since 1994, I did not know the street names and my Google Maps on my phone was not working. So, I took the first street, which was Baruch Street and walked down that. Talk about desolate.
There was no one on the street and walked down this gloomy dark street until there was a section where the lights were on, and I walked faster. I finally made it to Delancey Street and finally started to recognize the street names. I saw the lights of the bridge and figured to go the other way. Don’t ask me how, I must have gotten mixed up in the darkness and walked down Ridge Street and ended up near the police station. I then did a turnaround and found myself walking down Broome which I did not realize was Broome and walked north.
Somehow, I ended up walking north on Avenue C and then got caught up in all the bars, where at this time at night drunken college undergraduates were spilling out of all the bars and restaurants and had to dodge them for a few blocks walking fast and ended back up on Houston Street. I was completely confused by this and had to get my bearings straight because I had just walked a few blocks north. I then walked across 2nd Street and ended up on the bar scene on Avenue B not realizing that I was there. More drunk college students surrounded me and then I walked south and finally ended up back at Delancey Street.
I walked to the end of Delancey Street to see if there was an entrance to the promenade but there was nothing here either, so I walked down Colombia Street and finally reached Grand Street and knew where I was, so I walked west and made it to East Broadway. Knowing now it was after 10:00pm and walking down by the river would not be safe (like walking down Avenue D and all through the Public Housing Projects was), walked the length of East Broadway to get to Chinatown, which the fringes have been gentrified and had to endure more drunk college students and hipsters.
In 2024, I just followed Avenue D to Grand Street, which the roads finally opened up over the last year which made the trip on the official walk in May and my walk in June so much easier. Still there were some pretty shady characters around the neighborhood who did not know what to make of me so they kept away. One guy recommended a pizzeria and then kept his distance from me.
On my official walk in 2023, I walked down south to Pearl Street and then to the City Hall area going south. It got quiet again and then made my way down Pearl Street to Water Street and finally got into Fraunces Tavern at 11:30pm. I could not believe I made it dodging homeless people in the shadows, freaked out cops and drunken college students only to get to Fraunces Tavern and everyone being gone.
I talked to two bartenders and both of them looked at me like I was nuts. The first one did not know what I was talking about when I asked if any representatives were left from The Great Saunter walk. The second said there were a few people in the bar who had been on the walked but could not tell me who was who. So, I went to the bathroom and left.
That was not the worst. Since Maricel could not get the room another night, I had to walk back to the hotel, grab my things which were in storage and the door was locked. I had to show the guard my old room key, grab my luggage and make my way back to the Oculus and take the subway back to Port Authority to take the 12:50am bus back home. Well, the A and E were not working that night because of repairs so I had to take the J to 14th Street and then take the A which was running on a different line back to Port Authority.
It gets even better because the 12:50am bus never came and the 1:00am bus left from the basement door not the third floor. Everyone who was waiting with me upstairs now had to go to the basement to catch the 1:20am bus. I made the bus lugging all my luggage with me. I did not get home until two in the morning, and this is after 33 miles around the island through all the craziness of the last two hours.
I got to bed at 3:00am and did not wake up until 9:45am the next morning. The silver lining was I survived and walked my fifth time around the island and completed The Great Saunter after all that. I will attempt it again in the summer.
In the May 2024 official walk, things were much better. I got to Inwood Park at 11:45am and than left at 12:15pm which was excellent time for me. I finished lunch at 1:30pm and felt more refreshed on finishing. I got to Fraunces Tavern at 5:45pm and completed the walk in ten hours and forty-five minutes, a new record for me! I got to relax on the outside tables and relish in the fact I just finished this walk for the third time officially and seven times overall.
It was fun to watch the people who completed it for the first time and how happy they were in finishing. This woman Emily, who I met on the way down in the East Village who looked like she was ready to give up walked up to me and thanked me for helping her finish. This is the second person who credited me in finishing the walk. I had met her in the East Village at Avenue D when I caught up with the two women who left me behind in Inwood Park (I ironically met them at the Tenth Street Bridge. I left them in the East Village and completed the walk a half hour before them).
That made me feel good as well as watching the euphoria of those who were finishing. It was fun to watch. Well, until June, it was another great walk and I felt really good after this one. It was the best one yet!
Me finishing the Great Saunter for the third time officially at 5:45pm May 4th, 2024.
The walk I did later on June 21st, 2023-The Summer Solstice:
Things were much better when I redid the walk in June of 2023. It was the Summer Solstice, so it was the longest day of the year guaranteeing me sunlight until 9:00pm. This made the walk a lot easier and I could plan the day better. I started the day at 7:00am and got on the bus for Manhattan. I started the walk at West 42nd Street at the Circle Line. I prefer starting the walk downtown but figured that I could get home quicker when I just have to walk three blocks to Port Authority instead of a subway ride exhausted. I also did not have to run to class in-between the walk.
I started at the Circle Line Terminal as I did the first time I did the walk.
I officially started this walk at 8:30am and finished back at the Circle Line Terminal at 9:20pm. I had done this once before and I have to admit that physiologically it is the same difference in length but when you have to walk from the Battery to West 42nd Street it seems much better.
There was not much of a difference in the walk on the West Side of the island. The weather broke and it was sunny outside for most of the afternoon. The parks were more in bloom and things were greener a month later. I was also able to get some great pictures in now that I was not racing to finish like I was in May. It was a much quicker walk for me that I did not have to stop midway through. I got to Inwood Hill Park by noontime.
Riverside Park was in full bloom now.
Inwood Hill Park was in full bloom as well and all the trees were sprouting leaves. I felt like I left the City for the wilds of Upstate New York but on the tip of Manhattan there still is a little virgin forest left. Since it was during the week, this part of the park was quiet, and I did not see many people on the paths. Once I got to the open field area, I realized that school was officially over, and the summer campus and soccer teams were out in full force as the kids were out of school for the summer.
Inwood Hill Park during the first day of the summer
Walking through the paths of Inwood Hill Park was just so relaxing. It was so quiet, sunny and you could hear the birds chirping and the only rustle you heard was a squirrel passing through. I forgot how wonderful this park really is in the summer months.
Which path do you take?
I had already toured Muscato Marsh when I walked the Broadway walk that Sunday for Father’s Day so I stopped in park to go to the bathroom before I proceeded on through Inwood and Washington Heights (See my blog on the Length of Broadway walk-Day One Hundred & Thirty Nine):
Being such a beautiful day, I stopped in Sherman Creek Park, which I had not toured in years and walked around the park for a half hour. There a was not too many people in the park so I got some great pictures in of the restoration as I made my way down FDR Drive down to the turn off at 155th Street by the Polo Grounds Houses, not one of my favorite stops.
Sherman Creek Park is a wonderful little oasis from the hustle and bustle of Inwood
I could not believe how long it took to get from Inwood to Harlem. I left Inwood Hill Park at 12:15pm and got to my lunch destination King Pizza by 2:00pm. By that point, I needed another break. I was lucky unlike the official walk day no one was around.
The waterfall at Sherman Creek Park
It was either the last day of school or the first day of the summer break for kids and the streets were empty but the parks were full. This made getting around the neighborhood easier than on a Saturday.
King Pizza at 110 West 145th Street has been my go to place for lunch when I have done the last three walks around the island and I look forward to their pizza every time I am in the neighborhood. I was going to try this one Chinese restaurant around the corner from the pizzeria but there were some shady looking people inside and decided to go back to King Pizza.
The pizza is always excellent and the slices are huge. They may be a bit more than the traditional slice but the quality is there and their sauce is delicious. I had a slice of plain and one of ground beef and both were freshly made and tasted wonderful. The Ground Beef slice was so well spiced that I liked the combination of tastes.
The only problem with eating a lunch this big was that it slowed me down a bit as I was digesting. I started to get sluggish around West 135nd Street as I exited the bridge. It is amazing to see the same homeless guys begging at the exit of the overpass. There are now three of them.
I stopped by the Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Houses and admired the statue of President Lincoln wondering how it survived all the statues being knocked down after the George Floyd riots around the country. I guess no one really noticed it before. It was done by a famous artist so it value is almost irreplaceable. I quickly made my way down Madison Avenue past the Lincoln Houses and then crossed over to East 128th Street and then down Second Avenue to East 120th Street and crossed down Pleasant Avenue to Thomas Jefferson Park. Here I relaxed for a half hour before the long walk down the Upper East Side. I needed a rest.
The worst part was my battery went dead so there were no more pictures to take. Not much had changed in this part of the city as it had in Washington Heights and Harlem with all the building going on in those neighborhoods. Thomas Jefferson Park is a nice little oasis before you leave Harlem, and it was fun watching all the barbecues and picnics going on in the park. I guessed many of the kids finally were off from school and this was the beginning of the summer for them.
I headed down the East Side Promenade and enjoyed the breezes. I made a final pit stop at Carl Schulz Park before I continued down the East Side and nothing on the route had changed since May. You still had to head south down York Avenue to Sutton Place and then down First Avenue to West 38th Street where you have to exit out of the tiny part of the East River Promenade that is open.
I got back down to East 14th Street where my last trip became surrealist and made my way around East 13th Street and the Con Ed complex to prove to myself that Avenue D was not as bad as I thought it was plus, I had to look for the entrance to the East River Park which I knew had to exist. They did not close the park down for renovations.
Ironically when I got to Avenue D and 10th Street, I saw a bunch of hipster joggers running through the housing the complex and I followed the over the bridge into the park. I knew that there had to be entrance to that park! The only problem was that post COVID they were still working on the renovations of the park, and you could only exit out of East Houston Street. In May, that entrance was not open. So now I knew why it was so tough to maneuver around during the night. There was one way in and one way out.
From there it was still a lot of twist and turns down the side streets of the Lower East Side. From FDR Drive to Delancey Street and from Lewis to Grand Street I finally figured out the directions from May and made the turn on Cherry Street to Jackson Street and finally to the familiar FDR Drive East River Greenway through the Two Bridges/Chinatown neighborhood. I was finally on my way to Fraunces Tavern again.
Even thought it was not the starting point, the Fraunces Tavern was my goal before nightfall.
The only problem was that I was getting tired. After cutting the lawn, trimming all the bushes and then walking the length of Broadway plus coming back from Europe just a week earlier it was all catching up to me. I was really worn out!
Then something struck me as inspirational. I was under the underpass of FDR Drive when I saw a group of 60- to 70-year-old Chinese women dancing in unison. They were just dancing to the beat and I stopped to watch them until they finished their routine. The woman that led the group knew exactly what steps to take and she led this group of women who could have been from the disco era. They were having a ball without a care in the world or what people thought of them, they just kept dancing.
I found this so enlightening that I just kept going all the way back to West 42nd Street. No matter how much I wanted to stop the music from the dance group kept with me. I just kept humming the song that they danced to and just walked. Tired as I was, I made it back to the Circle Line stop at 9:20pm in the evening. It took thirteen and a half hours to complete 33 miles (I walk more of the route up in Inwood than is required. Then I walked back to the Port Authority, and I was home by 11:00pm. A pretty good walk!
It was dark by then but it was nice to see the boats of the Circle Line in the distance.
The Circle Line at West 34th Street was the start and stop point for two walks on my own. Easier access to the Port Authority and the way home.
My walk in June 2024 unofficially:
What I like about doing the walk on my own is that I have the time to stop, take pictures, relax when I want to and not have a group of people dictating how fast I should go (or maybe I put that pressure on myself). I also don’t have annoying other walkers breathing down my back like in the May 2024 walk. I was able to stop where I needed to when there was an interesting photo opportunity. Also, more was in bloom during the June walk.
I stayed at the Residence Inn again at 170 Broadway again and my best friend arranged for me to have the room when I returned that day for another evening so there was no pressure to lug bags and go home like last year. I could relax when I back to the room, take a shower and sleep.
I got up around 6:00am on the Thursday morning and had a good breakfast at the hotel, something I did not have time for the last time we stayed at the hotel. The Breakfast Room did not open until 6:30am so when I got there it was really quiet. There were only about seven of us there eating.
The Residence Inn at 170 Broadway is the perfect place to stay for The Great Saunter
Breakfast is the most important meal when you are doing this walk and you need your share of proteins and carbs to make this walk successful. You need that good breakfast also because you don’t want to stop for snacks all the time. You had better bring water and bagged snacks with you for the trip.
The Breakfast Room at the Residence Inn
The Breakfast at the Residence Inn Downtown
My suggestion to anyone taking this walk is a good breakfast and take at least two bottles of water with you that you freeze the night before so when they melt you have cold water through your walk.
The renovated parts of Battery Park were open and in bloom that morning
I started my walk at 7:30am when it was still about 77 degrees outside so it was really a pleasure to walk in this weather. I knew that I needed to get to Inwood Park by 12:30pm as it would be 97 degrees by that point and I would need the rest and shade.
The Battery Park Pollinator Garden was new and I noticed its elegant gate to the gardens
The walk up the west side of Manhattan is a straight run and the trip to Inwood Park is the easiest part of the walk of the island with the exception of going up the hill by the Little Red Lighthouse but that is doable if you pace yourself well. Unlike the New York Marathon, which many of the walkers have done too, here you pace yourself and do the walk as you feel comfortable. During the official race, the Shorewalkers Inc. officials are at Fraunces Tavern until 10:30pm the night of the walk. When I do it on my own, I take my time, take lots of pictures and stop in parks to observe the views and small delis and bodegas to get snacks and meals. This is a time to explore the neighborhoods as well.
The view up the West Side of the island with Jersey City in the background
Since I did the walk on a Thursday morning and afternoon on the Summer Solstice, the crowds were not there blocking the way. I always have to maneuver around the slower walkers. This day it was walking around the early morning joggers and dogwalkers. It often amazes me how many people today are not at work by 9:00am. Things have really changed in the last twenty years as people work freelance and remotely.
This beautiful prism fence lit up some of the pollinator gardens as you walk through the South Cove
I also came across more outdoor art that I had either never noticed before or had been moved due to the renovation of the Battery Park. With a big portion of the park under renovation a lot of the art was moved to more open spaces and in all the walks I have taken since 2020, they never came to light. I swear you do not have to go to a museum to see famous works of sculpture and graffiti art. It is all outside for you to observe.
As I walked from park to park, there was a lot to admire on the New Jersey coastline of the Hudson River. You travel from Jersey City and Hoboken to Fort Lee and the Palisades. Then it is all park up the coast line. Along the way you observe the famous cliffs that were used for filming the “Perils of Pauline” the famous silent film shot back in the early teens.
The Cliffs of the Palisades
The “Perils of Pauline” and climbing those same cliffs in 1914
I continued up the coastline of the West Side of Manhattan on a beautiful sunny day that got progressively hotter.
Inwood Park
Inwood Park
I got up to Inwood Park in record time at 12:45pm and relaxed in the park for forty-five minutes. The worst part about being in the park is that there are no longer any outlets to charge your phone. I relaxed outside forty-five minutes before I asked one of the parks guys where I could charge my phone and he said that the City has covered everything up because of the homeless and ebikes. He told me good luck trying to find one.
I walked down the road from the park and stopped in the church of the Good Sheppard and relaxed in the very stuffy church (no air-conditioning) and charged my phone for an hour. Very spiritual yes on such an important day in my life but hot and sticky in the church. Still it felt like I should have visited there and I said a prayer to my father.
I was able to charge my phone in the church and say a prayer for my father
After I left the church, I stopped for a Coke at Luna Grocery on Sherman Street and continued down Sherman Street to 10th Avenue and made my way down Dyckman Avenue to FDR Drive and continued the journey to West 155th Street on a quiet afternoon. The sun was really out by this point and it did get hot. By this point in the afternoon, it was 96 degrees.
Luna Grocery is my ‘go to’ place for soda and snacks in Inwood which is on the path for The Great Saunter at 264 Sherman Avenue as you head through to 10th Avenue
From here, I followed the path that I took the last seven times doing this walk, visiting the same parks and viewing some of the same street art as the above walks. Not just sculptures and statuary but graffiti art as well that has some profound messages. Here and there though I noticed a few new works that I thought were inspiring:
Street art by 10th Avenue and Dyckman Street near the Dyckman Houses. A message
When I finished eating at King Pizza and made my way down East 143rd Street, I came across the most interesting artwork. I was not sure if it was artwork or just part of the building complex as there were no signs of what the artists name was or what the name of the piece was but I thought it was interesting.
The artwork on West 143rd Street outside the Bethune Towers
The artwork on West 143rd Street just outside the entrance to Bethune Towers
I never noticed how much artwork was on the walls of Harlem River Park. I had taken a few pictures of it in the past but either it has grown or I had to keep walking. You have to stop and admire these artists when walking past the bridge it is painted on. They keep expanding the artwork along the walls and it gets more interesting as you pass by.
The artwork in Harlem River Park
The painting’s artists
The paintings
The paintings
You have to admire these artists creativity. The murals keep growing.
Getting out of the park was pretty waring in that the homeless have camped themselves on the 128th Street Bridge and let’s just say I saw some things that I am glad that many out of towners did not have to experience when dealing with homeless with mental problems.
I know the path from Harlem River Park to 110th Street to Jefferson Park very well and I try to get through this section of Manhattan pretty quickly. No one bothers me but the cops always give me funny looks when they come across me.
What really surprised me is the hyper gentrification of Harlem seems to have slowed down a bit. I could not believe that by the Wagner Houses that all the buildings stopped being renovated. This section of Harlem pre-COVID was all under scaffolding.
East 120th Street across from the Wagner Houses
This section of Harlem around Second Avenue was all under scaffolding before COVID and I thought the whole area around the Wagner Houses was going to be the next big neighborhood. It still looks a bit run down in 2024. I still think this stretch of Harlem will be big deal one day and be the latest hip neighborhood.
I got down to Jefferson Park and could not believe how crowded it was for a weekday. People were out and about on this hot afternoon having picnics and barbecues. They were even preparing the pool for its summer opening. I just snapped a few pictures of the statuary and of the people enjoying themselves and off I went down the East River Esplanade trying to get to Carl Schulz Park while the sun was still out and not beating down on me. Even with all the smells of barbecued food, I was still stuffed from the meatball sandwich from King Pizza.
Just as I was passing East 100th Street and making the turn for the Upper East Side, another piece of artwork caught my eye.
The artwork along the fence between East 100th-98th Streets by artist Carmen Paulino “We care for Harlem”
This creative work was all colors of the rainbow and showed the creative spirit of the neighborhood. Still it is an engaging piece of art and you need to look at each panel of the fence to appreciate it.
Carmen Paulino is a Manhattan-based mixed media, fiber artist, or yarn bomber, who uses her art to beautify and strengthen the community (Artist bio).
When I got to Carl Schulz Park by East 84th Street, the park was just as beautiful as was in the early Spring. Being later in the day, the pack was packed with families. This is where I freshen up a bit and refill the water bottles. The water fountains here have the coldest water and they always work! Their bathrooms are some of the best in the City.
Carl Schulz Park
Carl Schulz Park
I continued my trip down the East River Esplanade to the stop at John Jay Park near the entrance to Sutton Place. The views were amazing and the day was so crystal clear.
Looking over Carl Schulz Park during the walk
I headed down the East Side Esplanade with the most beautiful views of Brooklyn.
The Hell Gate overlooking Queens from Carl Schulz Park
John Jay Park was in full swing when I passed it that afternoon. The families were out in force. By that point, school was out for the day and the kids were running all over the park. The pool was filled as it was getting ready for the opening.
John Jay Park in the late afternoon
I had not traveled through the park in a long time, just walked fast around it. I had not seen these sculptures by artist Douglas Abdell in a long time. When I passed through the park, some small child was hitting them with a pole. These are museum quality sculptures and people do not know what they are or how valuable they are worth.
Artist Douglas Abdell is an American born artist who graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Syracuse University. In the last 30 years his work has been devoted to political and social themes related to the Mediterranean Countries and their history more specifically Phoenician and Arabic with their specific symbols and languages.[3] The materials of these works are cast bronze, carved stone and etchings (Wiki).
I got down to Sutton Place in record time. Walking down York Avenue to the UN is a pretty straight run and I got down to the turn by the East River Promenade again. When I turned the corner at East 35th Street to go to the East River Promenade, I came across a series of paintings on the local school that I had not noticed in all the previous walks. They must have been put after the May walk. The works are entitled “Towards Wisdom” and are very interesting.
Artist Jesse Bransford is a New York-based artist whose work is exhibited internationally at venues including The Carnegie Museum of Art, the UCLA Hammer Museum, PS 1 Contemporary Art Center and the CCA Wattis Museum among others. He holds degrees from the New School for Social Research (BA), Parsons School of Design (BFA) and Columbia University (MFA). A professor of art at New York University, Bransford’s work has been involved with belief and the visual systems it creates since the 1990s (Artist bio).
This time around it was light our when I got to the lower East Side and East River Park. This time around it was not as scary. It was still light out and everyone from school groups to families to hipsters playing baseball were in the park. This time around I got over the 10th Avenue Bridge as fast and I could and walked down Avenue D while it was still light out. On a Tuesday night at twilight is very different from 9:30pm on a Saturday night.
I followed the path I had through the Twin Bridges neighborhood and through the twists and turns of the Seaport and Chinatown. All along South Street there was every obstacle you could imagine that was not there a month earlier. Construction signs, barrels, closed roads and everything under FDR Driver was cordoned off where it was not before. I swear that everything the Shorewalkers said to me the day of the official walk was true. You have to keep walking this route because every day it changes.
There was a small section of South Street that was open but not all the way. Here though, I got some of the most beautiful pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge, Downtown Brooklyn and South Street as well as Lower Manhattan.
The view of Brooklyn from Stuyvesant Cove around twilight
Downtown Brooklyn at dusk
The Brooklyn Bridge and Downtown Brooklyn at dusk
The Brooklyn Bridge
Passing the busy South Street Seaport
I finished the walk independently in 2024 at 9:45pm, three hours later than the official walk. The stops to charge my phone added on about two hours and it was 97 degrees that day. It made the walk much slower than a 80 degree still. Still, no problems with the walk. Thirty-three miles in one day. Wait until next year.
I finally finished for the day just as it was getting dark but stopped to take pictures as night fell.
Me at the end of the unofficial walk in June 2024 at 9:45pm. It took longer but the pictures I got were fantastic!
I lucked out because Maricel arranged for me to have another night at the Residence Inn and I got back to the room, showered and then fell fast asleep. I had a late check out at 4:00pm so I just ate breakfast the next morning and went back to bed and then read until I left at 4:00pm that afternoon. That was a better way to do then leaving after the walk.
Another great three walks for The Great Saunter! I don’t think Griffin Dunne could have done better! (Still my hero in that great film and we both got out of Lower Manhattan!).
The Official Walk on May 3rd, 2025:
I could not believe that a year went by so quickly. I had been so over-whelmed with classes and work and things to do around the house, I almost forgot about it. I could not find a reasonable place to stay in the City that night, so I got up at 4:00am and got ready to leave on the 5:40am bus into Manhattan. I could not believe how packed that first bus was the morning.
I took the Number One subway to lower Manhattan and joined the line in front of Frances Tavern at twenty to seven. Then off I went to start the walk around the island at 7:20am officially.
The Map of Manhattan at the South Ferry subway stop in Manhattan
Arriving in lower Manhattan that morning around the corner from Frances Tavern
The start of the line at The Great Saunter in 2025
All of us preparing for the 32 mile walk around the island
Since I got there so late, I got to the back of the line that wrapped around the corner and down the block
Before I got into line, I stopped in Queen Elizabeth II 9/11 Park to gather my thoughts before the long walk and take some pictures.
The plaque inside the park
The Queen Elizabeth II 9/11 Garden in the early spring
The park was so quiet that morning
Me taking my selfie that morning
Me entering the line at 7:00am on the dot
One last picture at the start line at 7:20am. I would finish thirteen hours later
Our part of the line starting the walk. There were so many people ahead of us it took time to give us hats and maps.
The snack of the line by Queen Elizabeth II 9/11 Garden and Park
The official time I started the walk was at 7:25am
Me finally getting through the line. I got my official hat and map and then started the long walk.
I finally got to break away from the pack around 7:30am and got into Battery Park City Park. There was no rain in sight (it was supposed to rain all day but the storm did not arrive until 11:00am) as predicted and the views were amazing that morning. Here is the skyline of Jersey City in the distance.
The skyline of Jersey City along the river
Since I was so busy walking and hSven taken so many pictures before of the area, I concentrated on the shots I had missed on previous walks.
North Cove of Battery Park City in the early morning hours
One of the beautiful gardens in Battery Park City
The beauty of One World Trade Center in the morning as I was leaving the Battery. The ghosts of 9/11 behind us.
I made really good time going up the West Side. I passed most everyone in my group that I started with back in the Battery and I got to Little Island at West 14th Street before 9:00am.
Passing Little Island Park at West 14th Street
The weather really cooperated this year as well. The reports said that it was supposed to rain all day and it ended up being sunny and warm in the morning and early afternoon but by 11:00am it really started to get hot.
When I got up to Riverside Park around West 72nd Street, the City had new pieces of art on the lawn for ‘Annual Art in the Park’. Two new pieces had been installed and I have to admit they were interesting.
Art in the Parks is an interesting way to see the artists work in an outdoor setting and really get up close to the works. Each year I continue to see the innovations of these artists.
As I was walking through Riverside Park, I noticed that the recent warm weather finally got all the buds opening on the trees and flowers and the lawns became more lush. The park was really taking the appearance that Spring had finally arrived.
The lush Riverside Park the morning of The Great Saunter
Even the old piers looked like artwork
As I passed West 95th Street, I saw the gardens sweeping down the stairs towards the river walkway. The members of their Conservatory were really taking good care of their park.
The beautifully maintained and landscaped entrance to the West 95th section of the park
I made it up the Upper West Side of the island in record time pacing myself well. I got to Fort Washington Park by 11:00am and as I entered the park, I saw more artwork around the southern entrance near the tennis courts.
This is “Hourglass” by Artist Patricia Espinosa
Artist Patricia Espinosa
The sign for “Hourglass”
The other piece being displayed in the park was also pretty unusual.
This is the piece “Moonfinder” by Artist Malin Abrahamsson
I think the City does a great job finding these artists and it is fun taking this walk as it is like an open air museum when you walk around these parks.
The walk through Fort Washington Park was spectacular and sunny
Someone took over the rock art for artist
As you enter the heart of Fort Washington, you get the most breathtaking views of the George Washington Bridge. This location is where you see the bridge in its most amazing sense.
Then came the walk up the hill through the park to the path that lined the highway. This walk is not for the faint hearted.
The walk up the hill we take from Fort Washington Park to Inwood it pretty strenuous up that hill. You have to walk forward to get up and around that hill and you have to be in good shape.
Once we got on the path that lead to Route 9A, we had to take a detour across the West 181st Bridge to West 181st Street to walk up Cabrini Boulevard and we had to cut through Fort Tryon Park past the Met Cloisters Museum. The bridge was covered with the most unique yarn art. This detour was a real treat.
Crossing the 181st Street Bridge
The artwork along the 181st Street bridge
The views of the Bridge from West 181st Street are magnificent
We had to cut through Fort Tryon Park this time as the repairs were going on the paths below and it was just at the time all the gardens were in bloom. It was gorgeous.
The entrance to Fort Tryon Park in full bloom
The gardens were in full bloom and colorful
The gardens on that sunny day. Alice did not have it this good in Wonderland.
I walked through Fort Tryon Park to the other side of the park and we came out on Dyckman Avenue near the entrance to Inwood Park. When we did this volunteer had the most clever sign.
The sign for ‘Upstate Manhattan’. Very clever!
I got through Inwood Park pretty quickly and found myself getting tired. Unlike the other Saunters I had walked recently, I had not had to work as much plus getting up so early to get into the City took its toll on me. I just wanted to get to the rest stop and sit down.
Walking through the winding paths of Inwood Park
This is my video of walking through Inwood Park
I got to Inwood Park at exactly 12:00pm and had to sit down. Getting up too early really did a number on me. They had all sorts of drinks and snacks for us and many people just relaxed under the shade trees. It was starting to get really hot outside. I could also see that some people were dropping off as one partner in the group did not want to continue on.
Everyone resting at the Inwood Park rest stop, the halfway point of the walk.
It was just nice to sit and rest. It had gotten in the 80’s by this point and no one had expected the weather to be like this. It has been supposed to be raining the rest of the day and it was sunny and clear. We really lucked out.
I got back to the walk around 12:45pm and made my way around both Inwood and down 10th Avenue towards the Dyckman Houses until I stopped for a moment and admired the murals at the school. They must have been new as I had never noticed them before.
P.S. 278 sign
The colorful murals on the school
This was fun artwork
We followed the path down FDRDrive and there were some bottle necks along the way. The only thing that I find annoying about the Saunter is that when groups of friends walk with one another, they walk horizontally and block the paths so you cannot pass.
The beautiful views of High Bridge Park along FDR Drive during the walk
I managed to get to 155th Street pretty quickly and then made my way down Edgecombe Street towards East 145th Street. This is when I discovered that my favorite lunch spot on the Saunter, King Pizza was closed percent. The whole block is being knocked down for a new apartment building. Some had to continue walking. They changed the route through Harlem and we no longer made all the twists and turns we once did in the neighborhood.
The Savoy Apartments
You can see the changes in Harlem but they are a lot slower than they were before. I passed the Savoy Apartments at West 139th Street who have a very mixed reputation. They still look like public housing to me.
Then I passed P.S. 137 and admired the mural on their school
The mural on the side of P.S. 137
A group of us continued our way through Harlem which was more of a straight run than in the past. I got down to 125th Street in record time and then down Second Avenue to 120th Street and then to Pleasant Avenue to Jefferson Park. This is when I had to stop again. My feet were killing me and I was starved. You cannot make lunch out of goldfish and Cheezits.So I stopped into Blue Sky Deli at 110th Street for a Chopped Cheese sandwich which I had not had since the year before.
The deli was really busy and the cook was behind with the number of Chopped Cheeses he had to make . People were even calling their orders in.
Inside Blue Sky Deli/Chopped Cheese Delicious Deli
Me promoting the deli once I got my sandwiches
I just relaxed in Jefferson Park for an hour and enjoyed my sandwich and watched all the families having barbecues and playing soccer. It was such a nice day outside. My sandwich was really good.
You have to have a Chopped Cheese sandwich with a Welsh’s Grape Soda
The sandwich is so good!
The best sandwich in New York City
I really enjoyed this lunch and just relaxing on the bench
Me talking about my lunch
After a long rest and a good lunch and just enjoying the sunshine, it was time to start the walk again. I was now up for the challenge and I left 110th Street refreshed and ready to go.
Getting down to Carl Schulz Park before my phone died. This is the last picture I took that day
I continued my walk down the East Side Esplanade to about East 78th Street by John Jay Park and continued down York Avenue to Sutton Place and then made the turn at East 53rd Street in front of the United Nations and continued down First Avenue to East 35th Street around St. Vartan Park and then turned again after a bathroom break (these are the last bathrooms for a while and you have to stop here) and then enter the Esplanade again at East 35th Street and then rounded the roads beneath that.
They had finished the East Side Green way around Stuyvesant Cove now and I could avoid the whole East Village (I remember that crazy night two years ago trying to get out of the East Village and having to walk down Avenue D late at night. I still can remember those two cops faces!!).
Stuyvesant Cove is really beautiful when things are in bloom
The view of the East River and Brooklyn by Stuyvesant Cove
From there, we just followed the paths through the park and then crossed over the walkway to Houston Street and then walked down the road through some of the side roads in lower Manhattan until we got to the Pier 42 Park where we lost most people who had to go to the bathroom.
Then a group of us passed the piers and then South Street Seaport, where all the tourists were treated to all of us walkers coming in exhausted at that point. On the last leg, I passed most of the other groups as I was pacing myself as I normally do and arrived back at the Fraunces Tavern at 7:20pm, thirteen hours on the dot from the time I started. It was two hours and fifteen minutes later than last year but I figured we started a half hour later than last year, me starting at 6:45am. Then there was the extra hour rest in Jefferson Park (well worth it) and the fact that I was not walking back and forth to the NYU campus from Port Authority as I had the last two years so I was not in the same shape as before.
Still it was better than the fourteen hours on my own but then I like to stop and take lots of pictures when I do it on my own.
Me finished the walk at The Fraunces Tavern at 7:20pm on May 3rd, 2025
I first discovered the ravioli from Pede Brothers in the frozen food section of Dollar Tree and for $1.00 a package I thought I might as well give them a try. I was surprised by how delicious they were when I made them at home.
First, these raviolis cook in about three minutes in boiling water and are perfect coming out of the pot. They are so tender on the outside and creamy from the ricotta cheese on the inside that they ooze when they are cut. They blend so well when they mix with the sauce.
What is nice about a package of their ravioli is that there is just enough for two people with a nice salad and garlic bread or nice sized meal for one person who is really hungry.
After two days of miserable weather and freezing rain, the storm finally passed, and we had blue skies and sunny weather all day. It was still cold at 38 degrees, but it felt warmer in the sun. Manhattan really does sparkle when the sun is out.
I started my afternoon with a trip up to Blondies Sports Bar at 212 West 79th Street on the Upper West Side. I swear just trying to catch a subway is next to impossible with all the work that is going on with the tracks. I got to the bar in time to watch the last two minutes of the Michigan State versus Purdue game that had started at noon. I thought the game would go on for more time but there we were with 1:15 minutes left and we were ahead by two points. Talk about a nail biter.
We sealed the game with a three-point shot and won the game with 34 seconds left. The time did run out and we won the game at home 68-65. Too close for comfort but still an exciting win for us. This means we have a good shot at making the NCAA tournament. The Alumni that were there were going nuts. It was an exciting end of the game.
Highlights from the Purdue versus Michigan State Game We won 68-65!
After the game was over, I decided that it was such a nice day that I would walk back to the Hudson Yards to start my walk. Still, I needed a snack, so I made a detour when walked through the Upper West Side to Epices Bakery at 104 West 70th Street which is right next door to Icon Style by Lara Kornbluh 104 West 70th Street, an exquisite jewelry store that I have visited many times.
Epices Bakery is like a little bit of Paris on the Upper West Side. This wonderful little French bakery has the most delicious pastries and savories. They had just taken the most wonderful looking Broccoli and Cheese Quiche out of the oven and put them into the cases, but I had my eye on the Ham and Cheese Croissant ($5.50), that was loaded with Gruyere Cheese and chopped ham that was baked onto the top. I could taste the sharp cheese with the buttery dough and how the filling oozed out with each bite.
For dessert, I had the Paris Brest ($6.00), a type of puff pastry that was filled with a Hazel Nut cream filling. It was delicious but suffered from too much refrigeration. The cream center was a little hard.
Epices Bakery selection of quiches, pies, doughnuts and croissants
The selection is amazing!
I took my purchases and ate them by the benches across from Lincoln Center. I could see in the corner of my eye that the birds were eyeing every crumb that I dropped and they did not wait for me to leave. I never saw so many birds in this City that have such good taste in pastries.
The Ham and Cheese Croissant is worth the trip
I walked down Columbus Avenue from the Upper West Side until it hit Ninth Avenue at West 57th Street and continued until I got to West 42nd Street and then walked around to Eighth Avenue and then walked the length of West 34th Street, visiting parks and artwork that I had seen last summer when I finished the Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton neighborhood that borders north of the Hudson Yards.
The Hudson Yards neighborhood like the rest of the areas around West 42nd Street are changing fast with new construction of office and apartment buildings. The area around Twelve Avenue on West 42nd Street is now built up with gleaming new apartment buildings with all sorts of new amenities or so their signs say as you pass them.
I reached the end of West 42nd Street to see the Hudson River gleaming in front of me and the Circle Line Cruise Line at 83 North River Piers sitting idle waiting for the weather to get nice enough again for the cruises around the island to start up again. Pier 84 where the boats are located was really quiet with the exception of a few joggers.
This is where I had spent my birthday cruising around Manhattan for my birthday in 2019 and when it cleared by the time we got to Inwood in the most northern part of the island, the weather broke, and it was the most breathtaking trip around the island.
My blog on the Circle Line Cruise for my birthday:
My blog from “Day One Hundred and Forty Seven: Cruising around Manhattan on the Circle Line”:
It was also the site of the first time I did “The Great Saunter Walk” walk around the perimeter of Manhattan in May 2020 as the City was just reopening from the clutches of COVID. It is the starting point for so many of my projects.
My blog from “Day One Hundred and Sixty-Seven: The Great Saunter Walk”:
When I walked down West 42nd Street, I revisited many of the buildings and outside art pieces that I had admired before. The buildings River Place at 650 West 42nd Street and Silver Towers at 620 West 42nd Street gleamed in the sunlight as I passed them. These large apartment complexes do break up the once warehouses and office buildings that had dominated the area since WWII. It really shows that a City can reinvent itself in a fifty year period.
What stood out to me was right smack in the middle of these two complexes and that was Tom Otterness Playground at 630 West 42nd Street. This space of green reminded me of the creativity in playground design that I had seen earlier in Waterline Square Park. Combining small space with creative design to produce a whimsical park for families. It was such a nicely landscaped park and a relief from the heat. I loved the beautiful and artsy playground which is a testament to Tom Otterness’s approach to playground design.
Tom Otterness Playground jungle gym structure is whimsical
Tom Otterness is an American artist who studied at the Art Student League in New York. His work is known as ‘whimsical and fun’ but also sends a message and tells a story. I just hope that one day he sells this creative playground equipment commercially as I can see this as an addition to many people’s backyard.
Please watch the video on Tom Otterness
The Silver Towers is a twin residential set of towers that stand tall in the neighborhood and set the tone for the new residential section of this side of the West Side. Their brilliance in design and reception of sun light is interesting. The buildings were designed by architect Costas Kondylis and were finished in 2009.
The gardens and playground of 620 West 42nd Street
Just a little further and across the street is the sculpture of an unusual polka dot pumpkin in the front of the Sky Building at 605 West 42nd Street by artist Yayoi Kusama. The sculpture sits in front of this elegant glass residential tower in the ever changing neighborhood by the Hudson River. The Sky is a mixed use luxury residential building that was designed by architectural firm Goldstein, Hill & West and was completed in 2016 (Wiki/Moinian Group).
Artist Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese born artist who studied at the Kyoto School of Arts & Crafts and is known for her installments and sculptures but also works in film, performance art and fashion among other mediums and is known for influence in ‘Pop Art’ (Wiki/Artist Bio).
Please watch the video of Yayoi Kusama
When you are making your way down Twelve Avenue, there is not much to see. You see the coastline of New Jersey and many idle boats in the distance. I do not think most of the cruises will reopen until the end of May so there are not too many people walking around this area.
Walking down Twelve Avenue from the street side going south is dominated by the enormous Jacob Javits Center Conventional Hall which covers from West 40th Street at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel (my lifeline travel home after a long day) and West 34th Street where the border of the neighborhood turns. I have been to the Javits Center many times for the Hotel/Motel Shows, The Restaurant Shows and the Fancy Food Shows. I have seen the most amazing equipment and tasted the most wonderful foods at these shows. I share my trips to the Jacob Javits Center over the years:
When I returned to walk along the coast line of Twelve Avenue I could not believe that I missed some things on my travels on The Great Saunter Walk. I must have been tired or else the area had not been open at the time.
When travelling past Pier 81 I encountered the most interesting sculpture that had been behind a link fence. It was further in towards the building and the work “Senes” by artist William Crovello really stood out for its twists and turns in stainless steel.
Artist William George Crovello is an American born artist who works in New York City. He is known for his Post War Geometric and Contemporary sculptures and public art.
I passed Pier 76 next, and I came across the Propeller from the SS United States. Originally opened in 1964, Pier 76 served as a freighter terminal for United States Lines and was leased from the Department of Marine and Aviation until the 1970’s (SS United States Conservatory).
During her service career, the SS United States, which was docked just up the river at Pier 86 for much of its service career was fitted with four propellers, two four-bladed and two five-bladed. All the propellers were manufactured from manganese bronze, and each weighed an astounding 60,000 pounds (SS United States Conservatory).
As I passed the piers, most were behind fences awaiting the warmer months when tourists will visit the boats docked here and have dinner or tour the Hudson River line. For now, the piers were really quiet.
As I rounded West 34th Street at Twelve Avenue and passed the empty Javits Center in front of me like the mythical land of Oz was the Hudson Yards, a series of new office and apartment buildings including an upscale mall. It is just breathtaking when the sun hits all the buildings with its brilliance of the reflection of the sun. It also offers really nice public bathrooms that are open throughout the day.
West 34th Street is in the middle of major construction changes as the Hudson Yards complex spills over to almost Seventh Avenue now as old buildings from the Garment District and over the rail yards are being replaced by shiny new office and apartment complexes bringing in new businesses and residents into what was once a barren area after 5:00pm. The whole look of the neighborhood is changing.
The Hudson Yards development
I walked to Bella Abzug Park, which was being partially renovated at the time and walked through the three sections from block to block. Part of the park is being renovated but the other parts look like they are ready to open in the warmer weather with cafes and seating. The park spreads over three blocks that are fully landscaped.
Bella Abzug Park with the Hudson Yards rising like Oz in the background during the summer months (NYCParks.org). The park was named after famous activist and politician Bella Abzug.
One thing stuck out as I got to the edge of the park and that was a giant red apple with seating in it. What looks like an elaborate bus stop is a work of art done by artist Felix Marzell. It looks like a place to sit and relax while waiting for the next bus.
‘The Big Apple” by Artist Felix Marzell (no longer in this spot as of 2023)
I was surprised that such a talented artist did not have much written about his early life or schooling, but I can see that he has moved around a lot and has many talents.
Please watch his video (in French) about Industrial Design
As you cross over West 34th Street where bridge covers the highway, there is an interesting piece of art entitled “Art by Ashley”, which is a colorful display on the cement barriers protecting the road. The work was done by New York based artist Ashley-Simone McKenzie.
The work was created by Queens based artist Ashley-Simone McKenzie who is an educator and multidisciplined in paintings, illustration and animation.
Watch her interview on this interesting piece of art
Her work on the barriers on West 34th Street
I admired the beauty if St. Michael Roman Catholic Church at 424 West 34th Street. I needed to relax and get some time in spiritually during the walk. Seeing all the problems that the City is facing at this time, I needed some time to reflex. It is such a beautiful church inside with the elegant pews and large pipe organ.
The church parish was founded in 1857 and the first building was built between 1861 and finished in 1868. It was destroyed by fire in 1892. A new structure was built but that was torn down in 1904 with the building of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The current structure was designed by architect Napoleon LeBrun & Sons in the Romanesque style using some of the previous buildings artistic details with stonework and the stain glass windows (Wiki).
Just after you past the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel on West 34th Street is the Webster Apartments, a residence that was created for women who were entering the retail industry. The apartments were created by Charles and Josiah Webster, who were cousins of Rowland Macy, who owned Macy’s Department store.
The apartment house opened in 1923, offering a room, three meals and other amenities that a young woman could need when entering the workforce. Outside the fact that the rates have risen over the years and the apartments updated, the concept has not changed and still caters to women making under $60,000 a year (Atlas Obscura).
As you turn the corner of West 34th Street to Ninth Avenue, you see the contrasts of the ‘new’ New York City and its ethnic past with all the brownstones and mom and pop stores and restaurants. Here you see the true character of ‘old New York’. Still from block to block on the left side of Ninth Avenue as you walk up to West 42nd Street, the Hudson Yards still has extended to this part of the neighborhood.
At the Hudson Crossing Apartments at 414 Ninth Avenue, there is a very interesting statue by Gillie and Marc entitled ” They were the last”, which has three rhinoceroses stacked one on top of another. This was created to bring awareness to conservation and end rhino trafficking (Artist bio).
Please watch the video on their artwork and their love of art
The couple have an interesting background with no formal art training with Marc being a graphic artist and working for an advertising agency and Gillie being a former model. The couple is known for their large public artworks. Their works are known for their emphasis on the importance on togetherness and the respect for the natural world (Artist website).
What I have always liked about Ninth Avenue near Midtown is the character of the neighborhood. There are still old tenements and brownstones along the Avenue from 42nd Street down into Chelsea. Here and there old restaurant and provision shops sit alongside newer delis and retail shops that show the change in the make-up of the neighborhood. Still with the rezoning of the area I am not too sure how long this will last.
Ninth Avenue not only offers an array of many interesting ethnic businesses but many reasonable and interesting delis, take-out places and restaurants that won’t break the budget. Many of the dining establishments featured on my DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com site is found in the Garment District on its borders and streets that will save you money and the food is wonderful.
As I passed all the restaurants on the other side of the street, I walked up Ninth Avenue to a small park that I never really noticed before. At least that it was a park. This little park called “The Canoe” Plaza is part of the Hudson Yards/Hell’s Kitchen Alliance and is at the corner of Ninth Avenue and West 37th Street. This was the creation of the design team of Design Wild and was convert the block to a flowery heaven right at the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel (Hudson Yards Alliance/Design Wild).
Jordan Baker-Caldwell is an American born artist from New York City and is the youngest artist in the history of New York to have a permanent public sculpture. The artist’s work has been noted as evoking questions about gravity, structure, balance and the human body in relation to space (Artist’s bio).
Please watch the video of the artist describing his work in the park
Starting right at the border of the neighborhood right across the street from the Port Authority near West 41st Street is Capprizzi Pizza at 547 Ninth Avenue. Their delicious small pizzas are all homemade down to the sausage made for the toppings. When I ate there a few years ago they were noted for their small pepperoni pizza which was excellent. The service was very friendly and very authentic. It can be pricey though, but the quality is excellent.
A block down and across the street from the Port Authority is the original Two Brother Pizza at 542 Ninth Avenue. This place has been around for years and has one of the best $1.00 slices of pizza in Manhattan. This is my ‘go to’ place when I need a quick snack and want something substantial. To my knowledge, it is one of the original dollar slice places in the City.
The restaurant is in a rather shady section of the shadow of the Port Authority. During the day it is okay but the later at night you get it does attract some interesting characters especially if you eat outside on one of the cocktail tables. The pizza is really good and is one of the few dollar pizza places where the pizza tastes like something. Most places I find in the City the pizza is just something to fill you up (it is now $1.50 a slice!).
Across the street from Two Brothers Pizza and our ‘go to’ place for breakfast during the Christmas holidays was Hell’s Kitchen Deli, a relatively new place to the neighborhood. This is where I ordered Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwiches. The place is really clean and has a nice selection of snacks and sandwiches.
Hell’s Kitchen Deli at 535 Ninth Avenue has the best breakfast sandwiches
Though most of the housing in this part of the neighborhood is old tenement housing, you can look up from a distance and see some unusual carvings in the buildings. The building at 510-508 Ninth Avenue has some strange faces staring back at you from above. The building was built in 1920 (Apartments.com/StreetEasy.com).
When walking down Ninth Avenue, you will see the signs of the past not just in the architecture but in former restaurants and provision stores that used to line the Avenue. First there is Esposito Meat Market at 500 Ninth Avenue which has been in business since 1932. You can see the selection of meats and different cuts from the window. The one time I walked in you could smell the aroma of the freshly cut meats. The store prides itself on always delivering quality (Esposito Meat Market website).
Years ago, I did an article on Manganaro’s Grosseria Italiano at 488 Ninth Avenue when owner Seline Dell’Orto still owned and worked at the store. The famous Italian provision store closed about ten years ago after years of squabbling, but the sign is still there. It is now Tavolo Restaurant.
Manganaro’s Grosseria Italiano at 488 Ninth Avenue in 2011
Enjoy the article I wrote on Manganaro’s years ago:
One of the places that had inspired my dining site, “DiningonaShoeStringinNYC” is the 9th Avenue Gourmet Deli (Formerly the AM/PM & Juniors Deli) at 480 Ninth Avenue. This amazing little deli has it all, a nice grocery department, cold drinks and wonderful hot and cold food section that never ceases to amaze me.
The breakfast platters here are heaping with eggs, pancakes and sausage and the sandwich platters fill the take out containers. Everything is freshly cooked and delicious. Their burgers are cooked perfectly and they don’t skimp on the fries. The best part is that they are open 24 hours.
Another great place that I love to stop at is Kashmir 9 at 478 Ninth Avenue. The cuisine of the restaurant is traditional Bangladesh and Pakistani food with all sorts of baked goods and entrees. I have had their Lamb Kebobs, Chicken Patties, Potato Cutlets and the Vegetable Samosas are out of this world.
When you walk in the whole restaurant has the wonderful smell of curry and spices with the hustle and bustle of many languages being spoken. There is even a prayer rug in the back section of the restaurant for those on their breaks which I thought was a nice touch for their busy customers.
The kebobs here are delicious
As I turned the corner of the border of the neighborhood at West 34th Street, I saw a familiar restaurant from Christmas time, Golden City Chinese Restaurant at 423 Ninth Avenue. This is where we ordered in our Christmas dinner. I have to admit that their fried rice is really good but the rest of the meal was okay.
While attending the International Restaurant Show in March of 2022, I decided to try the restaurant again and eat in. It was an experience to say the least. I wanted to try the Lemon Chicken combination plate again with Pork Fried Rice and an Egg Roll. The taste of the food was much better, and the portion size was extremely generous but again the food was way too over-cooked.
Golden City Chinese Restaurant at 423 Ninth Avenue (Closed January 2025)
The chicken tasted good, but the battered pieces should have been pulled out about a minute earlier and same with the egg roll. Their pork fried rice is always good. The staff could not be nicer but this time I ate in, and the restaurant could use a bit of a renovation. I will have to try it again in the future.
The Lemon Chicken is good but overcooked
When I walked the neighborhood again for the International Restaurant Show on the weekend of March 6th-8th, 2022, I got to walk inside and around the Javits Center. I could not believe what I had missed (I had not walked the Avenues yet). All the old parking lots and garages that used to be along Eleventh Avenue are now becoming glass towers. I am convinced within the next five years this will all be rebuilt.
My blog on the New York Restaurant Show in 2022 from March 6th-8th, 2022 at the Javits Center:
This area of the Manhattan is one to watch. The buildings from Ninth to Twelve Avenues are going to continue to shape the southern borders of Midtown Manhattan and change the way we shop and dine in the City.
We need some positive things going on right now in Manhattan. The COVID shutdown is showing its after-effects.
The current status of the Hudson Yards.
Please read my other Blogs on walking Hudson Yards:
Day Two Hundred and Twenty-One-Walking the Borders of the Hudson Yards:
I had to pick one of the coldest days of the year to come into New York City. Since it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I decided to finally visit the Museum of Mathematics on East 26th Street. The museum has been closed for most of the pandemic and finally reopened for people to visit. I decided to endure the cold weather and visit the museum I had passed so many times on my walks in the Rose Hill and NoMAD neighborhoods.
Since the museum and NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park) are the next neighborhood over from the Lower Garment District, I decided to walk the avenues as well to see what changes have taken place in the last twenty years as well.
With the renovations of the post office to the new train station and the development of the Hudson Yards, this neighborhood is quickly being changed from small office buildings to an extension of Midtown with shiny new office buildings and apartment buildings. New parks and malls are being developed for the residents moving in and in the over seventeen years that I have been volunteering at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen on West 28th Street, I have watched the entire neighborhood gentrify. I have never seen a neighborhood be knocked down or sandblasted since my walks in Harlem.
I started my morning walking down to Madison Square Park, which has been my headquarters since visiting these neighborhoods. The dog walkers were in full swing as well as parents strolling around with their children both in carriages and the playgrounds. Even though it was about 30 degrees at the time, it looked like people just wanted to get out of the house.
The first Shake Shack is located in the southern part of the park, and I could not believe the lines and the people dining outside. I guess people really did have cabin fever. Wanting a snack before I visited the museum, I bypassed the restaurants that I had seen earlier in the year and headed to a new takeout restaurant whose flags indicated that it had just opened. I went to Dim Sum Sam at 28 East 23rd Street.
The restaurant looked like it had just opened that day (I read that it had opened the week before) and the case lines when you walk in are filled with all sorts of buns and egg custards. The prices were a bit higher than Chinatown, but the food was a welcome on a cold day. I just had a quick Roast Pork Bun and an Egg Custard which were both delicious. I ate them as a crossed the park and finished before I got to the front door of the museum (see my review on TripAdvisor).
The Roast Pork Buns are amazing
The National Museum of Mathematics is a great little museum for families with small children. The museum has two full floors of exhibitions with a spiral staircase separating the floors and a gift shop at the entrance (In December 2024, it has moved to 225 Fifth Avenue).
On the main floor there are interesting interactive exhibitions such as the Shapes of Space that show how different shapes fit together on a curved surface. I was not too sure what the point of it was, but the kids seemed to enjoy it and it was interesting to see how they connected. The Square wheeled Trike was interesting as you rode a square wheeled type of bike on a bumpy surface to check velocity. The kids and young parents really liked this.
The “Shapes of Space” exhibition
The displays I enjoyed on the main floor were Motionscape, where you had to walk as fast as you could on the track to check the relationship between velocity, your position and acceleration. It was interesting to see how your body movements when walking affects the way you react. The other display that was really popular was Hoop Curves which was always busy. The exhibit used statistics and a robot arm to shoot the basketball. The kids got a real kick out of this when trying to make a basket.
New Motion Machine
On the lower level, there were more interactive displays along with an explanation of the math along with the creators of the theory. I found that interesting because you could see who all the mathematicians were who the projects were based on or who had contributed to them.
One of the interactive displays that I enjoyed was the Tessellation Station, where you could create displays with magnetic tiles on a large board. Later I learned about Tessellation as a form of making shapes fit together in a pattern and then the theory behind that. It was a fun way to use your creativity.
The “Tessellation Station” exhibition is a lot of fun
Another was the Tree of Life, where the computer copied the movements of myself and then used them to show the how I moved my arms and legs in a pattern. It was funny to see myself repeated over and over again like a tree with branches. It really did measure the movement of my body.
The “Tree of Life” display of little me’s
The Twist and Roll display showed how to put different shapes and sizes together and show their movement on the board. The one display that all the kids got a kick out of was the Math Board, where the colors and shapes of the section of the floor lit up when you walked on them and was controlled by the way you walked on them.
The “The Twist and Roll” display
The Museum of Mathematics is a great museum for younger children who want to get physical and have a good time and like the interaction. I learned a few things too about the fundamentals of math and some of its background theories.
Still, it is a great museum for kids under the age of twelve and their younger parents. I think anything over that age would warrant a trip to the American Museum of Natural History or the Liberty Science Center with more exhibits that are age appropriate. It is a museum you should visit once or twice with small children who are at the learning stage and just want to have fun.
After I left the museum, I decided to walk the two avenues in the neighborhood of the Lower Garment District and see how things have changed over the years. There has been tremendous growth and building in the twenty-five years since I worked here and for the better. Most of the older buildings and cut-rate businesses are gone being replaced by a vibrant commercial district that was desperately needed in this part of the City.
Ever since the City reopened last June and even before, this area of Midtown has been changing at breakneck speed. The blocks around Eight Avenue has been under construction for about three years with one small building blocking a bigger one from being built on the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 34th Street. Madison Square Garden on the corner of Eighth Avenue between West 33rd and 32nd Streets is under construction for renovations and additions and much of lower Eighth Avenue the smaller businesses have emptied out due to lack of business with the pandemic.
Madison Square Garden is one of the most controversial buildings in the City when it replaced the old Penn Station. The majestic building that was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Beaux-Arts style and opened in 1910 was closed in 1963 and knocked down for the current building.
The outcry from this started the Historic Preservation Movement in the City and prevented future buildings from demolition. These types of buildings are now protected under New York City’s Landmark Preservation Act. The biggest problem cited at the time was that the rail service was declining, and the building was getting too expensive to maintain (Wiki).
The old Penn Station that was knocked down in the 1960’s
With the reconfiguration of these grand train depots today not just at Grand Central Station (see my blogs on Midtown East and Murray Hill) as well as Penn Stations in Philadelphia and Washington DC, I could only imagine what it would be like today. We are now seeing it in the new Moynihan Train Hall in the former James A. Farley Post Office building.
The James A. Farley Building was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White and was designed in the Beaux Arts style, the sister building to the former Penn Station (where the current Madison Sqaure Garden now sits). The current renovation of the building to turn the dream into a reality is by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Wiki).
I was able to walk the halls and staircases of the complex that afternoon and the interiors are still not finished with a few of the restaurants now opened but the polished floors and new artwork is in full view. The public bathrooms are a nice change from the ones in Penn Station. The rest of the complex will be open by the spring.
The new James A. Farley Building to the Patrick Moynihan Train Hall (Vno.com)
The station lit at night.
How beautiful it is decorated for the Christmas season
Daniel Patrick Moynihan was a former politician and diplomat.
The new Moynihan Terminal at night
The train station is now open but not yet finished but the first restaurants have opened and there is good traffic flow through the former post office. I could not believe what a five-year renovation and millions of dollars can produce. When the new train station opens fully with shops and restaurants, it will rival anything all the other stations.
Inside the Moynihan Station Food Court at the holidays
Down the block from the station, there are two restaurants that do stand out amongst the closed establishments and the fast-food restaurants. One is New York Pizza Suprema at 413 Eighth Avenue. The pizza here is amazing but a bit pricer than most of the pizza places in the Garment District but the quality more than makes up for it. Every time I have eaten here the food has been terrific.
The other restaurant that I enjoy when I am in the area is New Dynasty Inc. Chinese Food at 393 Eighth Avenue in a store whose sign still advertises videos and games. Don’t miss this excellent and very underrated Chinese takeout establishment. I love their Orange Chicken and Roast Pork Lo Mien when I eat there. They also have excellent eggrolls.
The Roast Pork Lo Mein here is excellent. The only bad part of the restaurant is that you can’t eat inside anymore.
When I walked back around Eighth Avenue and down West 34th Street to Seventh Avenue, there is construction all along West 34th Street so don’t be surprised if this is all new businesses and shops and dining in the next year. Madison Square Garden is going through a major renovation and rebuilt on this side of the property.
Like the Grande Dame of the neighborhood, the Seventh Avenue entrance of Macy’s greets you on the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 34th Street. This entrance leads to the Men’s Store where you have really nice public bathrooms in the basement level if you need them.
Walking down Seventh Avenue from West 34th Street brought back a flood of memories for me of lunch breaks from work and a lot of late night walks from the Fashion Institute of Technology when I was attending graduate school there. There still is a lot of silence as Madison Square Garden is active but not as much as it was before COVID. Even Penn Station is not as busy even though Manhattan is opened up. Many people are not back to work yet in the office buildings.
The creepy part is passing the Hotel Pennsylvania, one of the most famous hotels in New York City (Pennsylvania 6-5000 as the song goes) at 401 Seventh Avenue right across from Madison Square Garden. The hotel had been closed since the pandemic started but even when I worked at Macy’s the hotel always seemed run down. It was not a place many Macy’s executives wanted to stay at when they were doing business at the store.
The Hotel Pennsylvania was built in 1919 by the Pennsylvania Railroad and was designed by architect William Symmes Richardson from McKim, Mead & White. It was designed by the firm who designed Penn Station across the street and the limestone facade mirrored that of the station. The hotel has gone through many ownerships over the last one hundred years and returned to the name Hotel Pennsylvania in 1991. The hotel closed for business in April 2020 and is in the process of being demolished. There will be a new series of office buildings built in the area (Wiki).
The Hotel Pennsylvania at 401 Seventh Avenue (Wiki)
We will always have Glenn Miller though. Pennsylvania 6-5000.
At the edge of the neighborhood lies the back of the campus of The Fashion Institute of Technology which just reopened to students earlier this year. It is nice to see the campus finally back in session again.
There are a few interesting restaurants that I have eaten at over the years along the way. Mustang Harry’s at 352 Seventh Avenue I had just eaten at earlier in the year for the Michigan State University versus University of Kansas Champions Tournament basketball game. The food is good, but it is very expensive for what you get (see the review on TripAdvisor).
Mustang Harry’s at 352 Seventh Avenue is a good place to watch the games
As I made my way back up Seventh Avenue, I stopped at Rony’s Fresh Pizza at 355 Seventh Avenue for a quick slice for a snack. This little hole in the wall pizzeria near FIT was really good. For a dollar, the pizza had amazing flavor and the sauce was delicious. Sometimes these places surprise you.
Rony’s Pizza
Rony’s Fresh Pizza at 355 Seventh Avenue is terrific
After I finished my walk of the Avenues, I took a detour up Sixth Avenue back to Bryant Park and stopped at Krispie Kreme at 994 Sixth Avenue for a doughnut. All this walking put me in the mood for something sweet and I had not been there in a while.
I had a Lemon Filled Glaze doughnut ($2.00) and I swear, it was the best two dollars I ever spent. I had not had one of these doughnuts in over a year and it always tastes so good. The best part it was still warm, and you could taste the glaze over the sweet filling (see my review on TripAdvisor).
I walked all over Bryant Park just admiring the crowds in the park on such a cold day and decided to take a walk-up Times Square and watch the crowds. I could not believe on such a cold day lots of people were milling around.
The Bryant Park Rink and Midtown in the background during the cooler months
I ended the evening back in Hell’s Kitchen at Real Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen at 811 Eighth Avenue. I had not been there in almost three years since before the pandemic. It had not been open for the longest time and before the pandemic, it was always packed during Christmas of 2019. I swear I have been coming to this restaurant since its opening.
Real Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen at 811 Eighth Avenue
The food here is excellent and what a meal on a cool night. I started with an order of Fried Bread, which tastes like a churro without the sweet filling. That really warmed me up with the crisp soft bread at every bite. I had an order of their Soup Dumplings and I love to slurp these things with every mouthful bursting with every bite in your mouth.
The order of Wonton Soup was perfect on a cold night with the rich broth and soft meaty wontons and Bok choy is almost a meal onto itself. I really missed the food here.
The Wonton Soup is delicious here
Walking around the neighborhood brought back so many memories of my years of working at Macy’s and for that has changed in the neighborhood it feels like little has as things still do look the same. They just look better and more vibrant.
That’s what can happen in twenty-five years in a City that just keeps morphing.
Please read my other blogs on walking the Lower Garment District:
Day Two Hundred and Seventeen: Walking the Borders of the Lower Garment District/Flower & Fur Districts:
I started my walk today with the threat of a major snowstorm. When I went outside, it was cold but blue skies and sunny. There were two times that the skies got cloudy with a small snow flurry and that was it. So much for an “Artic Plunge” in New York City. That lasted about twenty minutes each. So much for the big storm. It ended up being sunny and cold the rest of the afternoon.
I journeyed back to the Lower Garment District to walk the side streets and see what has developed in the neighborhood. Lots of renovations and new construction are part of the neighborhood fabric as this section of Midtown South is going to be redeveloped with new office buildings and apartments. Most of the building stock is rather old and needs a renovation.
The blocks between Ninth Avenue and Sixth Avenue along West 33rd and 32nd Streets is dominated by several older buildings: The former Farly Building is now the Moynihan Train Hall, the former Penn Station is now Madison Square Garden, the Hotel Pennsylvania is now being demolished for an office building and the former Gimbel’s Department is now the Manhattan Mall. New uses for classic buildings that is a trend in many neighborhoods in Manhattan.
The James A. Farley Building was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White and was designed in the Beaux Arts style, the sister building to the former Penn Station (where the current Madison Sqaure Garden now sits). The current renovation of the building to turn the dream into a reality is by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Wiki).
I was able to walk the halls and staircases of the complex that afternoon and the interiors are still not finished with a few of the restaurants now opened but the polished floors and new artwork is in full view. The public bathrooms are a nice change from the ones in Penn Station. The rest of the complex will be open by the spring.
The new rendering of the James A. Farley Building to the Patrick Moynihan Train Hall (Vno.com)
Daniel Patrick Moynihan was a former politician and diplomat.
The new Moynihan Building at night
Across the street from the Moynihan Train Hall is Madison Square Garden, one of the most famous sports areas in the country. It is what replaced the famous Penn Station that was knocked down in 1968.
Madison Square Garden is one of the most controversial buildings in the City when it replaced the old Penn Station. The majestic building that was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Beaux-Arts style and opened in 1910 was closed in 1963 and knocked down for the current building. The outcry from this started the Historic Preservation Movement in the City and prevented future buildings from demolition. These types of buildings are now protected under New York City’s Landmark Preservation Act. The biggest problem cited at the time was that the rail service was declining, and the building was getting too expensive to maintain (Wiki).
Madison Square Garden at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza
The former Penn Station that was knocked down in the 1960’s
With the reconfiguration of these grand train depots today not just at Grand Central Station (see my blogs on Midtown East and Murray Hill) as well as Penn Stations in Philadelphia and Washington DC, I could only imagine what it would be like today. We are now seeing it in the new Moynihan Train Hall in the former James A. Farley Post Office building.
The Hotel Pennsylvania was built in 1919 by the Pennsylvania Railroad and was designed by architect William Symmes Richardson from McKim, Mead & White. It was designed by the firm who designed Penn Station across the street and the limestone facade mirrored that of the station. The hotel has gone through many ownerships over the last one hundred years and returned to the name Hotel Pennsylvania in 1991. The hotel closed for business in April 2020 and is in the process of being demolished. There will be a new series of office buildings built in the area (Wiki).
The Hotel Pennsylvania at 401 Seventh Avenue (Wiki)
We will always have Glenn Miller though. Pennsylvania 6-5000.
Song “Pennsylvania 6-5000” by Glenn Miller
Behind the hotel is the old Gimbel’s Department Store building that closed in 1986, a year and a half before I started at Macy’s. Gimbels had always been considered our rival for years, but I think because of the sheer size of Macy’s I have a feeling that we beat them in sales. Gimbels had come to New York City by way of Philadelphia by the Gimbel’s family. It was founded by Adam Gimbel in 1887. The store in Herald Square opened in 1910 in the classical style by architect Daniel Burnham (Wiki). The store stretches from West 33rd to West 32nd Streets along Broadway.
Gimbel’s Department Store at Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street
When the store closed in 1986, it was renovated and was called A & S Plaza when that store moved into the space. When A & S closed in the mid 1990’s when it merged with Macy’s, the store was renovated again and now is called Manhattan Mall. It is mostly office space now (Wiki).
In the middle of this former shopping district and just south of Herald Square is Greeley Square named after Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune. The square was acquired by New York City in 1846 and turned into the park. The statue that dominates the southern end of the park was designed by sculptor Alexander Doyle in 1890 (NYCParks.org).
Greeley Square was named after Horace Greeley, who published the first issue of The New Yorker magazine and established the New York Tribune. He was also a member of the Liberal Republican Party where he was a congressman and ran for President of the United States after the Civil War.
Publisher and Politician Horace Greeley famous for his quote “Go West, young man, Go West”
The Horace Greeley statue is located in the park just south of Herald Square in Greeley Square.
The statue was created by artist Alexander Doyle. Alexander Doyle was an American born artist who studied in Italy with several artists. He is best known for his marbles and bronze sculptures of famous Americans including many famous Confederate figures that have come under fire recently.
Once you leave Greeley Square and walk south you will be entering what is left of the old Wholesale district where once buyers used to come into these stores to commercially buy goods for their businesses. Slowly all of these businesses as well as most of the Flower District is being gentrified out with new hotels, restaurants and bars replacing the businesses. It seems that most of the district is being rebuilt or renovated or gutted.
The Broadway side of the park opposite the old department stores starts some of the most beautiful architecture in South Midtown. This portion of Broadway until you reach the Battery has the most unique stonework and embellishments on the buildings that show the craftsmanship of another era when companies-built headquarters that were meant to last. These surround the whole square and are always fun to admire.
One building that faces Greeley Square is 1270 Broadway at the corner of West 33rd Street.
1270 Broadway, known once as the Wilson Building, was built between 1912 and 1913 in the class Beaux Arts style. It now serves as an office building. You have to look up from the square to admire its beauty.
Next to the building is across the street at 1265 Broadway, the former Browning, King & Company building. The building was built in 1910 by developer William R.H. Martin for commercial use. The building was designed by architects Townsend, Steinle & Haskell in brick, stone and terra cotta. The interesting decorative top was designed for the Men’s retail company Browning, King & Company. You have to look up at the detail work and the eagle at the roof of the building (Daytonian).
1265 Broadway-The Browning, King & Company building
Another building that stands out and sadly boarded up at this time is the former Martinique Hotel at 49 West 32nd Street (1260-1266 Broadway). This was also built by William R. H. Martin in 1898 with the design by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in the French Renaissance style. The hotel had a notorious reputation in the 1970’s and 80’s as a welfare hotel that closed in 1988. It is now a Curio Hotel of Hilton Hotels (Wiki).
I remember this hotel well when I worked for Macy’s in the late 1980’s and all the people yelling and screaming outside the hotel with fire trucks all over the place. The hotel had been nothing but a problem for almost twenty years. It has since been bought by the Hilton Group and is now a historical luxury hotel.
1260 Broadway-49 West 32nd Street-The Martinique Hotel
A couple of buildings that stand out when walking down Broadway are 1234 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and West 31st Street, an elegant Victorian building with a standout mansard roof and elaborate details on the roof and windows. I did not realize that it was the Grand Hotel built in 1868 as a residential hotel. The hotel was commissioned by Elias Higgins, a carpet manufacturer and designed by Henry Engelbert. Currently it is being renovated into apartments (Daytonian). It shows how the City keeps morphing over time as this area has become fashionable again.
1234 Broadway in all its elegance, the former Grand Hotel
After rounding the southern part of Greeley Square, I headed back down Sixth Avenue to West 30th Street, the southern border of the neighborhood with the ever-changing NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park). This southern section of South Midtown as I have mentioned in other blogs is being gutted, knocked down and rebuilt into a hip area of the City with trendy hotels, restaurants and stores.
When I made my way back down West 32nd Street past all the construction and then made my way down West 31st Street. There were some interesting buildings in the neighborhood. As I passed the southern parts of the larger buildings and walked down the street between Seventh and Sixth Avenues, I had to stop when I saw the beauty of St. Francis of Assisi Church at 135 West 31st Street. The building was so elegant and decorative with its interesting architecture and art details.
St. Francis of Assisi Church at 135 West 31st Street (Church Photo)
The church has an extremely interesting history and has been subject to the changes of the neighborhood. The parish was founded in New York City in 1844 and the church found that it was outgrowing it’s building. In 1890, the parish started plans for a new church. The church was designed by architect Henry Erhardt, and it was designed in the Gothic Revival style and was completed in 1892 (Wiki).
What I had not realized that this was the parish of Father Mychal Judge who was the Fire Chaplain for the FDNY. He had rushed down to the site on 9/11 and had been giving last rights to a victim when he was hit by debris and killed instantly. He had sacrificed so much that day to the men and women of New York City (Wiki).
FDNY Chaplain Mychal Judge the way he should be remembered (Wiki)
Next to the stairs leading to the church was a spooky and very realistic statute of someone who looks like they are begging. The work is entitled “When I was hungry” by artist Timothy P. Schmalz.
Artist Timothy P. Schmalz is a Canadian born artist and is known for his large-scale works. His work is considered spiritual, and the artist says that “he is devoted to creating art that glorifies Christ” and that an artist “needs an epic subject to create epic art” (Artist Bio). The artist attended the Ontario College of Art.
Timothy P. Schmalz YouTube video
On my way back from Sixth Avenue, I stopped at 4 Boys 99Cent Pizza at 252 West 31st Street for a slice of pizza (see my review on TripAdvisor). The pizza here is very good and made a nice snack to warm me up as I continued to walk down the street.
The pizza at 4 Boys 99Cent Pizza at 252 West 31st Street is very good
I made my way back done West 31st Street admiring the architecture of the Moynihan Train Hall and looking at the detailed work done on the building. They really brought this building back to life making it look like it had when it had opened.
West 30th Street takes you more in the heart of what is left of the Garment District with the last of the small furrier shops when this used to be the Fur District forty or fifty years ago. The Fur District still has about a dozen stores scattered between West 30th and 29th Streets just off Seventh Avenue between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The fact that women are not wearing fur the way they did fifty or sixty years ago, and rising rents are pushing a lot of these businesses out of the area.
I passed this interesting piece of street art on the corner of West 30th Street and Eighth Avenue
(Totem art was the artist and I could not find anything on them)
There are several beautiful and interesting buildings as you walk down West 30th Street. Another elegant church is St. John’s the Baptist Roman Catholic Church at 213 West 30th Street. The congregation started in Manhattan in 1840 and had a rough start in its history. The current church was built between 1871 and 1872 in the French Gothic style and was designed by architect Napoleon LeBrun. Mr. LeBrun is noted for designing many churches in New York City at the time (Wiki).
St. John’s the Baptist Roman Catholic Church at 213 West 30th Street at night.
The grounds of the church during the Spring of 2024.
The beauty of the church over the Summer of 2024
The summer foliage in 2024
The entrance to the church in the Summer of 2024
Christmas decorations in 2025
Another fascinating building that is part of the street fabric is the former 23rd Precinct Building at 138 West 30th Street. It really looks like an old police station. The precinct building was built in 1907-1908 and designed by architect R. Thomas Short of Harde & Short. The area was once known as the ‘Tenderloin’ and was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the City. It is now being used as the Traffic Control Division of the NYPD (Wiki).
Another building right down the block is ‘The Cass Gilbert” building at 130 West 30th Street. Originally called the S.J.M. Building for fur trader Samuel J. Manne, the building had been designed by architect Cass Gilbert and was built in 1928. The building’s decorations include friezes of animal reliefs and winged beasts at the entrance of the building. It had been originally built as offices and showrooms (Wiki).
“The Cass Gilbert” building at 130 West 30th Street
As you walk back to Ninth Avenue, you will notice how much more residential that blocks are between Eighth and Ninth Avenues along both West 30th and West 29th Streets. This is where the last of the small intimate brownstones and low-level apartment houses still exist.
This area had become very gentrified over the last twenty years, and I would watch the renovations happening especially on the block of West 29th Street, where all the brownstones lining the park that is part of the Penn Apartments. It is a colorful line of buildings facing the park.
Most of the block has non-descript buildings and a slew of smaller hotels. In a few years, I predict that most of these blocks will be knocked down to build new office high rises and leave most of the Garment District behind. There are still a few furriers closer to Seventh Avenue left, holding guard for those who still enjoy mink and ermine coats. It is a thrill to see all the high-quality coats and hats that are still popular amongst customers who still appreciate this type of clothing.
The Fashion Institute of Technology had some interesting paintings on the back part of the campus that have disappeared with the new construction of the campus. Still the students do an interesting job decorating the walls around the building.
The interesting paintings at FIT
The paintings around the back part of The Fashion Institute of Technology,
The creativity of the FIT students
One building does stick out and that is located at 214 West 29th Street. This unusual building was built in 1925 as an office building and now serves as a We Work office space. The unusual decorations at the entrance include strange statues of grinning males (or could be females as i could not get close enough without the doorman looking at me).
I sat down and relaxed in Greeley Square and watched as the few tourists sat down or were taking pictures of Macy’s and Herald Square just above the park. On the other side of the square is Koreatown (please see my blog on that neighborhood) and there is always a lot of bustles on that side of the park with its slew of great restaurants and now traffic due to the opening of the Martinique Hotel again after another renovation.
There are two wonderful restaurants at the Hotel New Yorker one of them is the Tick Tock Diner at 481 Eighth Avenue
That evening I finally made a trip inside the Hotel New Yorker inside of using the hotel as a starting point for my walks in this neighborhood. I ate at the Tick Tock Diner, the corner restaurant of the hotel at Ninth Avenue and West 34th Street (see my review on TripAdvisor). This busy deli is part of the hotel so you can see what the lobby looks like as well and see the other restaurants in the hotel.
I was starved and ordered a Turkey Club Sandwich with fries ($16.95) and a Pepsi. The food at Tick Tock is really good but pricey (see review on TripAdvisor). The club sandwich was really good, and the sandwich was layered with freshly roasted turkey and fresh lettuce and tomato. The portion size was very generous, and I enjoyed the meal. I even saved room for a piece of Apple Pie A la Mode ($9.95), which the waitress said was homemade at the restaurant but tasted more frozen and baked there.
The turkey club was delicious
The restaurant was still a nice experience and a great way to end the day. What we are seeing now in the Lower Garment District is a neighborhood is total transition and in the next ten years will probably mirror the changes that are going on in the Hudson Yards. This will be the lower extension of Midtown and with the new train hall a new hub of the City.
Have you ever walked around Manhattan when it is 25 degrees outside? When the picks up, it gets cold!
My best friend thought I was nuts when I started to walk the lower part of the Garment District on a sunny but cold Saturday. This part of the neighborhood is bound by the campus of the Fashion Institute of Technology in the middle of the neighborhood and what remains of the Flower District on the eastern border with NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park) neighborhood and the new Hudson Yards neighborhood to the west. In all parts of the neighborhood, old is mixing with new as this area of Manhattan continues to change.
As I crossed the border into the neighborhood at West 34th Street, I was greeted by Golden City Chinese Restaurant near the corner of West 34th Street
Golden City Chinese Restaurant at 423 Ninth Avenue (closed January 2025)
This is the restaurant I braved the cold last Christmas to pick up my best friend, Maricel and I’s Christmas dinner. Over orders of Lemon Chicken, Roast Pork Lo Mien, Hot & Sour Soup and egg rolls, we chowed down our dinner in our hotel room toasting Santa. The food is very good here and they have reopened their inhouse dining.
Their Lemon Chicken combination platter.
Walking down Ninth Avenue, you can see how the neighborhood is transiting from the former working-class neighborhood and docks to the upscale office and apartment buildings of the Hudson Yards to the west. Little by little the small brownstone buildings are disappearing and being replaced by shiny new glass structures.
Between One Manhattan and Two Manhattan West in the Hudson Yards complex between 389 and 395 Ninth Avenue is the Citrovia display. I was trying to figure out if this was a company display or an artist’s display. There were all sorts of lemons all in the trees and in the gardens. During the summer, these must be an amazing place to sit but between the snow and the winds that sunny day, I just walked through the display.
The Citrovia display at One Manhattan West on Ninth Avenue (Manhattan West Website)
Citrovia is a fantastic outdoor interactive outdoor installation that transports the visitor to a sprawling citrus garden of whimsical displays, a sitting area with a lemon tree forest and I swear when you walk through the whole thing you can smell fresh lemon (Manhattan West website). It is almost like the ‘Land of Oz” with lemon trees and slices all over the place. It is a whimsical journey through the lemon display.
I walked through the Manhattan West complex, and it really dawned on me how the neighborhood has changed so much in the last decade. They took a run-down neighborhood and made it shine with modern buildings housing new tech companies and a series of restaurants, shops and hotels. It is a neighborhood onto itself.
Across the street from the Manhattan West complex old meets new with the former NYC Post Office, which is now finishing its renovation and is now the Patrick Moynihan Train Station, The James A. Farley building.
The James A. Farley Building was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White and was designed in the Beaux Arts style, the sister building to the former Penn Station (where the current Madison Sqaure Garden now sits). The current renovation of the building to turn the dream into a reality is by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Wiki).
I was able to walk the halls and staircases of the complex that afternoon and the interiors are still not finished with a few of the restaurants now opened but the polished floors and new artwork is in full view. The public bathrooms are a nice change from the ones in Penn Station. The rest of the complex will be open by the spring.
The James A. Farley Building to the Patrick Moynihan Train Hall (Vno.com) (Christmas 2023)
Daniel Patrick Moynihan was a former politician and diplomat.
The new Moynihan Building at night
When I reached the border of the neighborhood at West 28th Street, I saw that I was across the street from the Church of the Holy Apostles at 296 Ninth Avenue, where I volunteer for the Soup Kitchen. I realized that afternoon that I have not been there in almost two years. The last time I had volunteered was the Friday before the government shut the country down on March 13, 2020. It dawned on me how long COVID has been going on.
What I never noticed in the almost 17 years that I have been volunteering at the Soup Kitchen was Chelsea Park across at the corner of Ninth Avenue and between West 28th and 27th Streets. I had always thought this was part of P.S. 33, the elementary school next door complex. This was a whole separate park.
Chelsea Park extends all the way to Tenth Avenue with soccer and basketball courts and places for people to not just run but relax under the blanket of trees in the summer. Facing Ninth Avenue in a small courtyard is the statue of the ‘Chelsea Doughboy’.
The statute was designed to honor the war veterans of WWI. The term “Doughboy” no one is too sure where it originated. Some think from the fried dough dumplings that the soldiers eat or maybe from the way their uniforms looked which were a little baggy or from the dough clay that they used to clean their uniforms (NYCParks.org).
Artist Philip Martiny was a French born American artist who settled in New York when he immigrated here in 1878. He was a contemporary of artist August Saint-Gaudens and known for his decorative styles in the Beaux-Arts fashion. He created many sculptures for buildings in New York City and Washington DC (Wiki).
Across the street is the Church of the Holy Apostles, where I have been volunteering for years in the Soup Kitchen (mentioned in many of my blogs between 2015-2020 before the COVID shutdown). The Church of the Holy Apostles was built between 1845 to 1848 and was designed by architect Minard Lafever with the stained-glass windows designed by William Jay Bolton (Wiki).
The church has always been progressive, and it was rumored to be part of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. The church had been an extension of the Trinity Church downtown for the working-class people in the area. Now it also runs the second largest Soup Kitchen in the United States. The biggest is in San Franciso (Wiki).
The Church of the Holy Apostles at 296 Ninth Avenue feels like a second home to me
Behind the church is the housing that formally union housing for the International Ladies Garment Union housing, now known as “Penn South”, that was created in the 1950’s for housing for union workers. Contruction started in 1960 and these ten building still house some of the elderly members of the union. In the courtyard of building Seven is dedicated to Bayard Rustin, a civil rights and union member who lived there. There is a memorial plaque to him in the courtyard Wiki).
The plaque dedicated to the activities is outside Building Seven between Eighth and Seventh Avenues
As I traveled the border of the neighborhood on West 28th Street from Ninth to Sixth Avenues, I have never seen so much transition on a street. On one side of the street is the back part of my Alma Mater ‘The Fashion Institute of Technology’. It seems that the college is taking the back loading dock area and building an addition to the college. On the other side of the street between Eighth and Seventh, the entire street has either been knocked down and rebuilt or older buildings renovated but the entire block between the two avenues is brand new.
As you cross Seventh Avenue at West 28th Street are the last remnants of the former “Flower District” which dominated these blocks here and along Sixth Avenue until the area was rezoned in the 1990’s. Now Sixth Avenue in this area is now apartment buildings and hotels. Still there are many commercial flower shops here and some amazing floral businesses along this block.
Mahir Floral & Event Designs at 156 West 28th Street is one of the nicest flower shops in the district. The store is so beautifully designed to showcase not only the flowers but the decorative items that they sell along with the plants and flowers.
Mahir Floral & Event Designs at 156 West 28th Street
There are all sorts of interesting design pieces that not only make the perfect gift but also to create the perfect event.
The store is so beautifully designed to showcase their items
Another wonderful store is Foliage Paradise at 113-115 West 28th Street. What I love about the store is the way it is designed when you walk through it. It is like walking through an enchanted tropical garden with paths down exotic trees and flowers on all sides. They have a big commercial and retail business according to the salesperson I talked to that day.
In the front of the store when the weather is warm, it is lined with the most seasonal flowers and plants. When you walk through the store, it is like walking through an Amazon jungle in a warm climate at any month of the year. Just touring this store is fun.
Walking through Foliage Paradise is an experience
What brought back a lot of good memories when I walked down West 28th Street was walking past the Moxy Hotel at 105 West 28th Street. This was my starting point of my morning of walking “The Great Saunter Walk”, the 32-mile excursion around the Island of Manhattan over the summer of 2021 (before I pulled my back out).
The Moxy Hotel at 105 West 28th Street has the most amazing views
I had the most interesting room on the 10th floor with the most breathtaking view of Midtown Manhattan. I would just sit on the bed looking at the views before going to sleep. You have never seen a site than Midtown all lit up at night.
The Lower Garment District shares the border with the NoMAD and Koreatown neighborhoods and even over the last few months I have noticed some significant changes in the blocks that I had explored for the blog. Many buildings had been finished that were under construction or were in the process of being renovated. They still looked empty but there were better days ahead when they will be filled with the latest tech and advertising companies. Sixth Avenue is becoming a big commercial and residential neighborhood.
Sixth Avenue from West 28th to West 34th Streets has been going through a big transition over the last twenty years as the flower industry has moved mostly to Hunts Point and new apartment buildings have sprung up along the avenue. Many of the Beaux Arts buildings have been or in the process of being renovated as this are served as Midtown from the Civil War to the end of WWI. Not much has changed along the Broadway corridor.
I started my walk on the 34th Street border of the neighborhood by looking at Macy’s window displays along Broadway to see if much had changed since the holidays. They never were the most exciting displays even when I was working there. Lord & Taylor and B. Altman’s had better windows. Long gone now. I am amazed at the change of the department store scene in New York City since I worked there in the 1990’s. I could see it from the corner of West 34th and Broadway.
I started my walk from the front door of Macy’s and walked down Sixth Avenue from West 34th to West 30th Street. Things have changed so much in thirty years. The whole area has gotten so much better. It was so run down when I worked there. Also the retail scene was so much different. Where the H & M is now used to be Herald Center, an upscale mall that never did well and the concept closed two years later when I returned to work in the buying offices. The only thing that survived was the food court on the top floor.
At the very edge of the neighborhood on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 35th Street is the most interesting piece of artwork on a building that once housed the Desigual flagship store. The work is by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel and entitled “Multicultural Freedom Statue” and was created in 2019. It is a tribute to multiculturalism in New York City (Artist Bio). The store has since closed.
The painting at Sixth Avenue at West 35th Street by artist Okuda San Miguel (now painted over in 2023)
Artist Okuda San Miguel was born in Spain and known for his colorful geometric styles in painting. He graduated from the Complutense University of Madrid with a BFA and has shown his work all over the world (Wiki).
The last building I noticed for its beauty was on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 34th Street, 47 West 34th Street (1378 Broadway or 2 Herald Square) the Marbridge Building. The Marbridge Building was by architects Townsend, Steinle & Haskell in 1909 in the Classical Beaux Arts style and has been used as an office building since its opening (Wiki/Photo/Street).
Before 1965, this was home to Saks 34th Street before its move to its current Fifth Avenue location. The store was founded by Andrew Saks and opened its doors in Herald Square in 1902 just five weeks before Macy’s opened their doors. The store was designed by architects Buchman & Fox in the Classical style. The store was bought by the Gimbel family in 1923 and that is when it was moved to its current location at 511 Fifth Avenue. The original store is now covered with new siding to give it its modern look for H & M (NYC Circa). The building stretches from West 34th to West 33rd Street along the Broadway corridor.
The Saks 34th Street Building on the corner of West 34th Street and Broadway
Next door to that was the old Gimbel’s Department Store building that closed in 1986, a year and a half before I started at Macy’s. Gimbel’s had always been considered our rival for years but I think because of the sheer size of Macy’s I have a feeling that we beat them in sales. Gimbel’s had come to New York City by way of Philadelphia by the Gimbel’s family. It was founded by Adam Gimbel in 1887. The store in Herald Square opened in 1910 in the classical style by architect Daniel Burnham (Wiki). The store stretches from West 33rd to West 32nd Streets along Broadway.
Gimbel’s Department Store at Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street
When the store closed in 1986, it was renovated and was called A & S Plaza when that store moved into the space. When A & S closed in the mid 1990’s when it merged with Macy’s, the store was renovated again and now is called Manhattan Mall. It is mostly office space now (Wiki).
There still is a trace of the Gimbels sign on the old building
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 at lunch hour
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.
In the middle of this former shopping district and just south of Herald Square is Greeley Square named after Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune. The square was acquired by New York City in 1846 and turned into the park. The statue that dominates the southern end of the park was designed by sculptor Alexander Doyle in 1890 (NYCParks.org).
Greeley Square was named after Horace Greeley, who published the first issue of The New Yorker magazine and established the New York Tribune. He was also a member of the Liberal Republican Party where he was a Congressman and ran for President of the United States after the Civil War.
Publisher and Politician Horace Greeley famous for his quote “Go West, young man, Go West”
The Horace Greeley statue is located in the park just south of Herald Square in Greeley Square.
The statue at Christmas time
The statue was created by artist Alexander Doyle. Alexander Doyle was an American born artist who studied in Italy with several artists. He is best known for his marbles and bronze sculptures of famous Americans including many famous Confederate figures that have come under fire recently.
Once you leave Greeley Square and walk south you will be entering what is left of the old Wholesale district where once buyers used to come into these stores to commercially buy goods for their businesses. Slowly all of these businesses as well as most of the Flower District is being gentrified out with new hotels, restaurants and bars replacing the businesses. It seems that most of the district is being rebuilt or renovated or gutted.
The Broadway side of the park opposite the old department stores starts some of the most beautiful architecture in South Midtown. This portion of Broadway until you reach the Battery has the most unique stonework and embellishments on the buildings that show the craftsmanship of another era when companies built headquarters that were meant to last.
One building that faces Greeley Square is 1270 Broadway at the corner of West 33rd Street.
1270 Broadway, known once as the Wilson Building, was built between 1912 and 1913 in the class Beaux Arts style. It now serves as an office building. You have to look up from the square to admire its beauty.
Next to the building is across the street at 1265 Broadway, the former Browning, King & Company building. The building was built in 1910 by developer William R.H. Martin for commercial use. The building was designed by architects Townsend, Steinle & Haskell in brick, stone and terra cotta. The interesting decorative top was designed for the Men’s retail company Browning, King & Company. You have to look up at the detail work and the eagle at the roof of the building (Daytonian).
1265 Broadway-The Browning, King & Company building
Another building that stands out is the former Martinique Hotel at 49 West 32nd Street (1260-1266 Broadway). This was also built by William R. H. Martin in 1898 with the design by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in the French Renaissance style. The hotel had a notorious reputation in the 1970’s and 80’s as a welfare hotel that closed in 1988. It is now a Curio Hotel of Hilton Hotels (Wiki). It looks like it recently opened for guests as the lobby was lit and people were milling around.
I remember this hotel well when I worked for Macy’s in the late 1980’s and all the people yelling and screaming outside the hotel with fire trucks all over the place. The hotel had been nothing but a problem for almost twenty years. It had once been one of the most notorious welfare hotels in the 1980’s.
1260 Broadway-49 West 32nd Street-The Martinique Hotel
A couple of buildings that stand out when walking down Broadway are 1234 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and West 31st Street, 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
After rounding the southern part of Greeley Square, I headed back down Sixth Avenue to West 30th Street, the southern border of the neighborhood with the ever changing NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park). This southern section of South Midtown as I have mentioned in other blogs is being gutted, knocked down and rebuilt into a hip area of the City with trendy hotels, restaurants and stores. Even in the era of COVID, the streets were hopping and most of the hotels were still open. Broadway has even been closed off for outdoor dining.
In the middle of this new ‘hipness’ there is an old standby, Fresh Pizza & Deli at 876 Sixth Avenue (see my review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). I needed a slice of pizza and with the budgets being tight, a dollar slice is always nice on a cold day.
After my snack, I walked back down West 34th Street to Ninth Avenue, passing new construction and scaffolding along the way. As I have noted in many of my blogs, West 34th Street from Broadway to Ninth Avenue has changed tremendously in the twenty-five years since I left Macy’s. Blocks that we would have never walked on then are vibrant and full of shoppers and diners now.
I made it back to the Hotel New Yorker by the end of the afternoon. The Hotel New Yorker like a Grande Dame guarding the Garment District. The Hotel New Yorker on the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 34th Street at 481 Eighth Avenue. The hotel was designed by architects Sugarman and Berger and designed in the Art Deco style. The hotel was constructed in 1928 and opened in 1930. The hotel now managed by Wyndam Hotels put the hotel through a full renovation in 2006 to bring it back to its glory years now reflected the resurgence of the neighborhood (Hotel New Yorker History website/Wiki).
I think the lower part of the Garment District like the rest of the area is in a state of transition. There is so much change and building going on you would never have thought that COVID was on the radar.
I think the City is ready for people to come back to work.
Please read my other blogs on walking the Lower Garment District:
Day Two Hundred and Seventeen: Walking the Borders of the Lower Garment District/Flower & Fur Districts:
The Garment District is an unusual neighborhood. It is a mixture of manufacturing, tourism from all the hotels that have opened in the last twenty years and office lofts of former manufacturing and showrooms. The Advertising, Marketing and Tech companies that are now quiet due to the pandemic. During the weekends, it is especially quiet in the area due to the lack of tourists after the holiday season. The most amount of people on a warmish day are concentrated around Bryant Park.
It has also been so cold lately that it has been no fun walking around Manhattan. When you have those rare days when there is no wind and it is around 40 to 50 degrees it makes it bearable. I am not much of a winter person but it is only two more months. The weather finally broke one afternoon and I was able to start the lower part of the neighborhood on a 45-degree day that was sunny with no wind. It made for nice walking weather.
I started my walk on a late sunny afternoon. I had tickets for a movie at the MoMA that evening and wanted to walk a few blocks before I left for the museum. I now understand what pandemic has done for small businesses all over Manhattan. It is getting spooky how the domino effect of closed offices has had on restaurants and shops not just in this area of the City. There were so many empty store fronts and, in some cases, open restaurants with staff sitting around on their cellphones. It reminded me of Chinatown in March of 2020.
Walking West 35th Street was like seeing where magic is created as most of the buildings are the backs of hotels and current and former department stores. On the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 35th Street is the most unglamorous part of the Hotel New Yorker with the loading dock and the employee entrance, the loading docks of Macy’s that stretch from Seventh Avenue to Broadway and the loading docks of the former Ohrbach’s department store that are now part of the office building that stretch from Broadway to Fifth Avenue. There are lots of delivery trucks going back and forth.
Macy’s facing Broadway and West 35th Street and Herald Square ay 151 West 34th Street hides it loading dock.
Here and there small hotels have been created in the spaces between the office buildings and these have changed the character and the foot traffic of the neighborhood. They have brought some life to a quiet block. What impressed me was that there are still a lot of fabric and clothing wholesalers left in the neighborhood. Between rezoning and the pandemic, so many of the fabric, button and zipper businesses have closed their doors.
What stands out is the restaurants that dot the street. There are so many reasonable restaurants that are surviving on the garment and the office workers that are still in the area and the shoppers at Macy’s. Some are also really popular on TripAdvisor and Yelp so that helps them as well.
Stick to My Pot Potstickers at 224 West 35th Street has been catering to both the garment and office workers since it opened two years ago. I love coming here for reasonable meals and snacks when I am in the area. The Fried Pork and Chive dumplings and the Roast Pork Bao Buns are just excellent (see my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
Stick to my Pot Potstickers is at 224 West 35th Street
A few doors down another reasonable take-out place just opened 99 Cent Delicious Pizza at 460 Seventh Avenue. They have the most amazing cheese pizza at $1.00 a slice.
99cent Pizza at 460 Seventh Avenue has been popular since it opened (it is also now $1.50)
I cannot believe how popular this place has become with both the tourists and local office workers.
99 Cent Delicious Pizza makes an excellent slice
Crossing the street, you will see how the innerworkings of Macy’s loading docks with the street loaded with trucks unloading all sorts of treasures that will be on display in the store in the coming days.
Herald Square was busy the afternoon I was there with shoppers and tourists relaxing on the chairs in the plaza outside the store and in the park. The park has dramatically improved since I worked at Macy’s. 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 during lunch
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.
Across the park is an impressive mural at the corner of West 35th Street and Sixth Avenue on a building that once housed the Desigual flagship store. The work is by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel and entitled “Multicultural Freedom Statue” and was created in 2019. It is a tribute to multiculturalism in New York City (Artist Bio). The store has since closed.
The painting at Sixth Avenue at West 35th Street by artist Okuda San Miguel (now painted over in 2023)
Artist Okuda San Miguel was born in Spain and known for his colorful geometric styles in painting. He graduated from the Complutense University of Madrid with a BFA and has shown his work all over the world (Wiki).
The rest of the block is the northern most edge of Koreatown and has some interesting restaurants that have been here for over thirty years. In between the restaurants there are more small hotels that have been part of the neighborhood for years. Then you reach the border of the neighborhood at Fifth Avenue and you are facing the formerly grand B. Altman & Company on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 35th Street.
The B. Altman Building at 361 Fifth Avenue was built by Benjamin Altman for the new location for his ‘carriage trade’ store. The store was designed by architects Trowbridge & Livingston in the “Italian Renaissance Style” in 1906. The palatial store was home to couture clothing, fine furniture and expensive art work.
The former B. Altman Department Store at 361 Fifth Avenue
I walked back down West 35th Street towards Ninth Avenue and the only really section of the street that was busy was in front of the Midtown Precinct South. It was going through their shift change in the afternoon. I rounded the corner and made my way down West 36th Street. Again as I was walking down the street it amazed me to see so many clothing and fabric businesses still in business. Here and there are traces of the old neighborhood mixing into what is developing since the rezoning.
West 36th Street is again a mix of the old and the new. Loft office buildings mix in with the new smaller hotels that line the street which surprisingly are all open. On a recent trip down Lexington Avenue in Midtown East, many of the larger grand hotels that line the avenue are still closed but these smaller commuter hotels are still filled with tourists and industry people. It is showing the resilience of the area.
Architecture wise, it is extremely bland with mostly buildings from the post WWII era that catered to the growing Garment industry. There are some conversions to new hotels and office buildings and some residential as well. Still there are some surprises along the walk.
488 Seventh Avenue was built as the Hotel York in 1903 by brothers James and David Todd, who had an interest in building luxury hotels. They commissioned architect Harry B. Mulliken, who had designed the Hotel Aberdeen on West 32nd Street for the brothers, with his new partner, Edger J. Moeller, who formed the firm of Mulliken & Moeller. The York Hotel was their first commission together. The hotel was designed in the Beaux-Arts style with elaborate carved decorations (Daytonian in Manhattan).
The Hotel York was a residential and transient for most of its existence attracting the theater crowd when 34th Street was the Theater District of the time. As this moved uptown, the hotel was bought in 1986 and was renovated for residential and commercial use (Daytonian in Manhattan). The Tokian Group now owns the building and it is luxury apartments.
Walking towards Broadway most of the buildings are relatively new but one does stand out that being the Haier Building at 1356 Broadway. The Haier Building was built by architects from York & Sawyer in the Neo-Classical Revival style. The building was completed in 1924 and was the headquarters for Greenwich Savings Bank. The building is built with limestone and polished granite and features Roman Corinthian Columns (Wiki).
1352 Broadway-The Haier Building (Former Greenwich Savings Bank-Wiki)
The Haier Building is especially beautiful at night.
The Haier Building stretches from Broadway to Sixth Avenue and is impressive on both sides of the building. The building was used by Greenwich Savings Bank from 1924 until 1981 when the bank went out of business (Wiki).
In front of the Executive Hotel Le Soleil New York at 38 West 36th Street, there is an interesting sculpture on the front terrace by artist Marie Khouri that looks like a tear drop. The sculpture. “Histoire d’O”, was created in 2016 and there are many different versions of it all over the world, this one prominently sitting in front of the hotel. Its beauty is in its curvature.
The Executive Hotel Le Soleil New York at 38 West 36th Street
Artist Marie Khouri was born in Egypt and raised in Lebanon and through a series of moves around the world is now based in Vancouver. She was classically trained in sculpture at L’Ecole du Louvre in Paris and has developed a vast range of cultural and historical influences within her practice. Her sculptures blend and extend metaphors of language, form and the body to propose an inextricable link to a life deeply affected by the complex history of the Middle East (Artist’s Bio).
When I reached the edge of West 36th Street, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 36th Street is 390 Fifth Avenue that was designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White for the Gorham Manufacturing Company of fine silver products in 1903. It was designed in the “Italian Renaissance Style” and was used for manufacturing and their showroom. It later became Russeks Department store and has now found other uses.
390 Fifth Avenue-The Gorham Manufacturing Building
It was getting dark when I arrived back at Ninth Avenue and I decided to call it a night. Before I left for the MoMA to see my film, I went to Stone Bridge Pizza at 16 East 41st Street for dinner. I have to say that their personal Cheese Pizza ($10.95) is excellent and very simple. The sauce is fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil topped with fresh mozzarella and baked until crisp (See review on TripAdvisor). With an unlimited soda fountain dispenser of Boylan’s sodas, it makes for the perfect meal on a cool night.
Stone Bridge Pizza & Salad at 16 East 41st Street (now closed 2022)
I made a second trip into Manhattan that Saturday. My plan was to walk the rest of the neighborhood, then go to the Met for the afternoon to see the Surrealist exhibition and then visit a few of the stores and restaurants that the internet had said had closed.
Walking the Garment District took longer than I thought walking back and forth between West 37th to West 41st Streets from Ninth to Fifth Avenues. It did not help that it was 28 degrees outside. Still, it was sunny with no wind and I found the crisp winter day the perfect time to walk the empty streets of the Garment District.
While buying my ticket for the return trip home, I passed a sculpture of passengers getting on a bus that before I had never given a second thought to and took a moment to look it over. It is the sculpture “The Commuters” by artist George Segal.
It really does depict what it is like to wait for a bus at the Port Authority after a long day at work. You are exhausted and worn out from work and then have to wait in a long line of other tired people while traffic backs up in the Lincoln Tunnel to leave Manhattan. The sculpture is true to form.
“The Commuters” by Artist George Segal (Wiki) in the Port Authority Bus Terminal
George Segal is an American born Native New Yorker who was raised in New Jersey and lived his whole life. He attended the Pratt Institute, Cooper-Union and graduated with a degree in teaching from New York University. Known mostly for being a painter, the artist gained fame with his realistic sculptures. “The Commuters” was installed in 1982 (Wiki).
Artist Shantell Martin is a British born artist now working out of Los Angeles, CA. She holds a BA from Central St. Martins, University of Arts out of London. She is best known for her art that explores themes like intersectionality, identity, and play (Artist Bio).
Artist Jennifer West is a American born artist who works in California. She had a BA from Evergreen State College and a MFA from Art Center in California. Her works in film, installation, sculpture, film quilts, photo, performance and artist books are based in the archaeology of media, memory, place and recuperation (Artist bio).
Artist Takeshi Murata is an American born artist. The artist graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1997 with a B.F.A. in Film/Video/Animation. He is an American contemporary artist who creates digital media artworks using video and computer animation techniques (Artist bio).
One morning before I left for my walk around the area and to Coney Island for the afternoon, I stopped at Villa Pizza on the main level of the Port Authority for breakfast.
Villa Italian Kitchen in the Port Authority first floor wing at 625 8th Avenue
I know that they served breakfast and I passed by here many times and never stopped. I had a slice of pizza here once years ago and it was good but I had not eaten here in over a decade. I needed a quick breakfast and stopped in for one of their breakfast strombolis.
The inside of the line of breakfast and lunch items. Scrambled eggs next to Spaghetti
The combination of breakfast and lunch items
The Breakfast Stromboli’s were pretty good. They were made of pizza dough and had a combination of bacon, scrambled eggs and cheese inside and then baked golden brown. It made a nice breakfast. It just seemed strange eating breakfast in the Port Authority.
The delicious Breakfast Stromboli’s
My Bacon, Egg and Cheese Stromboli that morning
Yum!
On the way down to Coney Island after breakfast, I noticed this piece of art that sits just outside the entrance to the subway in the Port Authority by Artist Lisa Dinhofer “Losing My Marbles”, which I had passed dozens of times but never really stopped to look at closely.
The sign for artist Lisa Dinhofer’s Losing My Marbles
Artist Lisa Dinhofer is an American born artist whose background is in painting, draftswomanship, and printmaking. She earned her BA with honors from Brandeis University and an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania (Artist bio).
“Losing my Marbles” located at the entrance to the subway at West 42nd Street
“Losing my Marbles” in the subway station at West 42nd Street
To see this magnificent piece of art in the Garment District, you have to travel by subway so try not to miss it at the entrance.
This piece of art spreads all around the entrance to the subway from the Port Authority
I rewalked West 36th Street to be sure that I had not missed anything as the other day it started to get dark early, and I rushed walking the street. I thought the side streets of the Garment District were quiet during the week. Try walking in the neighborhood on a weekend day when most of the businesses are closed. Most of the streets with the exception of around Herald Square and Bryant Park were desolate. I saw mostly bored shop keepers in the fabric stores and empty hotel lobbies.
One piece of art I missed on my first part of the walk down West 36th Street was just outside Vito’s Pizzeria at 464 Ninth Avenue. Just around the corner is an interesting painting on the wall on the side of the business by artist Chem Dogg Millionaire. The creative geometrics on the mural brighten up the side of the building.
Painting by artist Chem Dogg Millionaire (no bio on artist)
It was so quiet when I walked down West 37th Street from Ninth Avenue. The cold was keeping people inside but there were still the adventurous ones walking their dogs and just wanting some fresh air.
I passed M & T Pretzels at 349 West 37th Street which distributes vending and concession products all over the City and you can see all their carts that are the fabric of the food service industry. Their pretzels are a New York institution.
West 37th Street in not known for its architectural creativity or street art but where it lacks in these it makes up in reasonable places to eat and some great restaurants. The Garment District has some of the best places to eat when you are on a budget.
On the corner of Ninth Avenue and West 37th Street is 9th Avenue Deli (the former AM-PM Deli), which I think is one of the best delis in Manhattan. I have stopped by for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the food has always been consistently delicious.
I have mentioned this deli many times on my walks. It is where I have had breakfast to fill up with carbs before my thirteen-mile Broadway walks and have stopped here when walking the “Great Saunter Walk” around the perimeter of the island. Their ‘Meat Lovers” breakfast sandwich with bacon, sausage, and ham with three eggs helps carry me through one side of the island and their bacon cheeseburgers are the best.
The Cheeseburgers at 9th Avenue Deli are wonderful.
There has been some interesting graffiti work showing up on the walls of this area as well.
This popped up on West 37th Street.
This was right next to it.
Very clever and a nice way to cover it.
At West 26th Street is the FDNY Firehouse called the “Batcave” which is Engine 26. This firehouse has been active in the system since 1865 and had originally been part of an extensive volunteer network before the FDNY was established. It is the oldest active firehouse in the FDNY system (Foursquare and Manhattan Sideways).
Engine 26 in Midtown “The Batcave” at 222 West 37th Street.
Non Solo Piada at 302 West 37th Street just off Eighth Avenue is another wonderful place to dine. This tiny store front specializes in Roman street food with dishes such as Piadizze, which is a crispy thin pizza with multiple toppings and Cassoni, which is a smaller version of a Calzone, which is filled with cheeses and meats. They have wonderful desserts and when the weather is warmer, they have tables and a counter outside the store and it is nice to eat outside on this quiet block.
Non Solo Piada at 302 West 37th Street off Eighth Avenue (Closed in January 2025)
Amongst all the large office buildings and manufacturing companies is a tiny church tucked in the middle of all this commerce. The Shrine and Parish Church of Holy Innocents is at 128 West 37th Street and stands out for its beauty in design and the fact that it was still decorated for Christmas.
The Shrine and Parish of Holy Innocents at 128 West 37th Street
The church was built in 1870 when the area around Herald Square was still rural and the church was designed by architect Patrick C. Keely in the Gothic-Revival style. The fresco inside the church was designed by noted artist Constantino Brumidi, who later painted the rotunda at the U.S. Capital (Wiki).
As the area has changed over the last hundred and fifty years, the congregation has changed with it from the rural farmers then to the tenement dwellers, the theater and hotel crowd and now to office workers and shoppers who dominate the area during the week. The church still has its challenges with the poor but is optimistic in serving the community (Church history).
Just off West 37th Street on Broadway is an interesting little pizzeria Encore Pizza at 1369 Broadway. I have eaten here many times on my walk down Broadway and they make a nice pizza.
Encore Pizza at 1369 Broadway (Closed in June 2024-now a Little Italy Pizza)
Try to get there though when a fresh pie comes out of the oven.
Encore Pizza at 1369 Broadway
A new and very impressive addition to the neighborhood, Marvelous by Fred (Aux Merveilleux de Fred), opened a gluten free meringue bakery at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 37th Street at 1001 Sixth Avenue. Not only are the pastries mind-blowingly good but the just watching the bakers prepare them in the open kitchen window make you want to walk inside (especially with how cold it has been).
I have to admit that the bakery is not cheap especially for this section of the City and during COVID but it is a welcome addition in high quality pastries and when you need a guilty pleasure, trust me it is helpful and so enjoyable.
The sugary Brioche with a sweet crunchiness
I had a Brioche with a sugary filling that was still warm when I bought it and each bite was a treat with a rich buttery. The sugary filling bursting in my mouth and on a cool afternoon, really warmed me up.
The Brioche and the Merveilleux
I also ordered a mini Merveilleux, called a ‘L’Exentrique’, which is two small meringues filled with a creamy mixture and then rolled in cherry crunchies.
The ‘L’Exdntrique’
This sweet creamy pastry melts in your mouth when you bite into it and you have to eat it quickly when walking or otherwise it is a gooey mess. Both pastries were well worth the money and put a big smile on my face.
The inside of the bakery at Christmas
The marvelous pastries and sandwiches at the bakery
I was a very happy traveler when I reached Fifth Avenue to see the warm sunshine covering the block. Fifth Avenue has changed since my walk around Murray Hill in 2020. A lot of the buildings are either being renovated or have ‘For Rent’ signs in the windows as small businesses in the area have suffered from lack of office workers and tourists.
Across the street is 401 Fifth Avenue, the former home to Tiffany & Company before the operations moved to East 59th Street. The impressive building stands guard still on lower Fifth Avenue as a testament to when the shopping district was below 42nd Street.
401 Fifth Avenue-The former Tiffany & Company building (Wiki)
The building was designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White and was completed in 1905 as the company headquarters and stayed here until the move uptown in 1940. The design was based on the Palazzo Grimani de San Luca in Venice, Italy (Wiki).
On the way back down West 37th Street, I passed another restaurant on the other side of the street that I really had not noticed and crossed to take a look at it. Tengri Tagh Uyghur Restaurant is at 144 West 37th Street. The cuisine was Uyghur, which is an interior section of China that most of the residents were being interred by the Chinese. I remember reading that the food has more Turkish and Indian influences and the smells coming out the restaurant were amazing. You could almost taste the spices in the air. I knew where I was eating dinner that night.
One of the architectural gems of the neighborhood is covered with demon-looking faces. It sits at 301 West 37th Street, which has the most unusual carvings of gargoyles all over the sides and inside the window ledges. It gives the building almost a creepy, demonist look to it. The building was built in 1915 and is currently going under a gut renovation.
As I walked around to West 38th Street, I was greeted by an old friend in the family business of Esposito Meats at the corner of West 38th and Ninth Avenue at 500 Ninth Avenue. Esposito Meat Market has been in business since 1932. You can see the selection of meats and different cuts from the window. The one time I walked in you could smell the aroma of the freshly cut meats. The store prides itself on always delivering quality (Esposito Meat Market website).
West 38th Street to me is the Garment District’s ‘Restaurant Row’.
Just off the corner of Ninth Avenue and West 38th Street is the now closed (and hopefully to be opened soon again) Fu Xing at 273 West 38th Street (Closed in 2021). The restaurant was my go-to place for Roast Pork, Custard, Pineapple and Cream buns ($1.25) when I volunteered at the Soup Kitchen or when I needed a quick lunch and was in the area (see my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
The roast pork buns here were the best
This little hole in the wall catered to the Asian garment workers but somehow found its way to tourists and office workers all over the area.
On the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 38th is another building beautiful in detail but has been sadly neglected over the years is 557 Eighth Avenue. The Beaux-arts’ designed building was built in 1903 by architect Emery Roth who was part of Stein, Cohen & Roth. It was run as a residential hotel for most of its history and now houses commercial space in the upper floors and fast-food restaurants on the bottom (Daytonian in Manhattan.blogspot/Loopnet.com).
You have to really look up or you will miss the beauty of the building with its detailed carvings around the windows and the portraits of women carved between the windows.
The side entrance of the building at 302 West 38th Street
Further down the street towards Seventh Avenue is Lazzara’s Pizza Cafe at 221 West 38th Street #2, which is known for their lasagna pizza (see my review on TripAdvisor) which was lunch for us many an afternoon when I was a in the Buying line at Macy’s. These deep-dish pizzas are wonderful and the service has always been so friendly over the years.
A few doors down is Ben’s Kosher Restaurant, the former Lou G. Siegel’s, that is known throughout the Garment industry as the place for piled high pastrami sandwiches and matzo ball soup. The original restaurant had been in business for over 79 years before being bought out by Ben’s in 1996 (Ben’s Kosher History).
Ben’s Kosher Restaurant Manhattan at 209 West 38th Street (now called Mr. Broadway in 2024)
The interesting family fact is that both myself and my grandfather both ate at Lou G. Siegel’s when it was open thirty years apart. My grandfather had worked as an officer in the Ladies Garment Union and this is where they used to have lunch back in the 1950’s. I still love to dine there, always ordering the Double Dip ($16.99), a Pastrami on Rye with a side of Matzo Ball soup and a Potato pancake. There is nothing like it (see my review on TripAdvisor).
Don’t miss the Double Dip at Ben’s Kosher Restaurant
Ben’s Kosher Historical Marker as the original Lou Siegel Restaurant (his father’s) and is now called “Mr. Broadway Restaurant”.
Unless I had missed this before but there was a new mural at the top of the building. This was very unusual how this got up so fast but it was really interesting.
The work at the top of the Mr. Broadway Restaurant building by artist M. Schorr.
Artist Mitchell Schorr is an American born artist from New York City and is best known for his urban mural paintings. This is one of many in New York City and around the world (Artist bio).
During the week, there is a tiny cart right off Broadway, Empanada Suprema, with the little empanada with a cape as its symbol. This little cart makes the freshest empanadas in Mid-Town with cheese, chicken and beef fillings made right in front of you and fried fresh at the cart. With a little hot sauce, two of these make the perfect lunch and I love munching on them on a cold day.
The Empanada Suprema cart at West 38th Street. Look for the capped empanada
My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:
Walking towards Fifth Avenue, the architecture starts getting interesting and at 63 West 38th Street is the Refinery Hotel. This beautiful and interesting looking hotel was built in 1912 and was the former Colony Arcade Building. It had been home to a 19-century milliner and a tearoom (Refinery Hotel history). The hotel has two excellent restaurants one being on the roof top looking over the Bryant Park neighborhood.
The Refinery Hotel at 63 West 38th Street (The Refinery Hotel)
Arriving finally at Fifth Avenue is the famous former department store Lord & Taylor, once a New York institution in women’s high fashion. The former Lord & Taylor headquarters store that opened in 1914 just recently closed with a sale to the now imploded WeWorks company and was just sold to Amazon for 985 million dollars.
This former ‘grand carriage trade’ store replaced the former headquarters store at Broadway and 20th Street by Union Square and opened at this location at 424-434 Fifth Avenue. The 11-story building was designed by architects Starrett & Van Vleck in the ‘Italian Renaissance Revival’. The store closed for business in January of 2019 after over one hundred years in the location (and a recent store renovation).
Lord & Taylor was founded in New York City in 1826 and has moved around the City several times in its long history. I will miss walking around the store and wondering through the store at Christmas time which was always magical in the store’s heyday. I like everyone in the City will miss their Christmas windows.
I’m not sure if Amazon will continue this tradition at the holidays
As I made my way back down West 38th Street, I finally saw a bit more foot traffic off Fifth and Sixth Avenues as the afternoon crowds went to lunch or were heading in the direction of Macy’s. There was another one of their big sales and it was attracting late shoppers.
On the corner of West 39th Street is one of the best places for deep-dish pizza in Manhattan at the ever-growing Upside Pizza (which now
The Detroit deep dish Pepperoni is the best
has two more locations) at 598 Eighth Avenue. The pizzeria makes delicious deep-dish cheese and pepperoni pizza and their regular cheese pies are terrific too. The Sicilian pies are a cross between traditional Sicilian and Detroit deep-dish.
As I made my way down West 39th Street, I passed more fabric and small wholesale stores proving that the Garment District businesses are alive and well, maybe not in the numbers as in the past but still going strong. Tucked in between buildings are more national chain hotels and restaurants that keep opening and closing with the traffic of the area. There are a lot of empty store fronts as you get to Seventh Avenue. Business from the surrounding office buildings has indeed slowed down.
When arriving at the corner of West 39th Street and Seventh Avenue in front of the Chase Bank at 551 Seventh Avenue is the very iconic sculpture of the Needle Threading the Button that is part of the Welcome Booth on Seventh Avenue.
The Button and Needle Sculpture is actually part of the information booth (NYPL.org)
The Needle and Thread has now been replaced by a new sculpture in 2023
According to the New York Public Library, the sculpture of the needle and button is actually part of the Fashion Center Information Kiosk that has been closed for a few years. The sculpture was designed by Pentagram Architectural Services in 1996 and was inspired by artist Claes Oldenburg’s sculptures. The district is currently looking into replacing this kiosk (New York Public Library Research Department).
Artist Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish born American artist. He was born in Stockholm and moved to the United States with his parents. His father was a Swedish Diplomat who was stationed in Chicago and he studied art at Yale University and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was known for his large art installments. Even though this was not designed by him, the work was inspired by his sculptures (Wiki).
In front of the Chase Bank at 1411 Broadway is Golda Meir Square with an open plaza. Tucked into a garden almost hidden from view by the plants is a bust of Golda Meir by artist Beatrice Goldfine. It looked like from old pictures the original pedestal is now beneath the planter. It was unveiled in 1984 (Wiki).
The bust of Golda Meir by artist Beatrice Goldfine in Golda Meir Square is now hidden in a garden.
Artist Beatrice Goldfine is an American artist born in Philadelphia and studied at the Barnes Foundation and the Pennsylvania Institute of Fine Arts.
When walking back down West 39th Street, I noticed another small Chinese restaurant named Bao Bao Cafe at 214 West 39th Street that has an interesting menu. This is one to check out in the future.
On West 40th Street is where you really start to see interesting architecture on the fringe of the old shopping district. The buildings on the southern edge of Bryant Park, which had once a upon a time had been just ‘old buildings’, now have become the symbol of the park and some of the most classic examples of Beaux Arts and Art Deco architecture.
The walk from the Port Authority on Ninth Avenue is remnants of the ‘bad old days’ of Times Square that have not been torn down yet. This area was in the process change before COVID and is still being developed.
As you cross Sixth Avenue with Bryant Park on one side, there is a line of beautiful buildings between Broadway and Fifth Avenue that make it quite an impression. The enormous detail to these structures is evident along the sides and top of the buildings.
The details on 119 West 40th Street (the other side of the building is 114 West 41st Street) are unique. The building was built in 1913 by Philip Lewisohn with the architectural firm of Manike & Franke with the purpose of designing a loft type building. What makes the building so unique is the Gothic figures above the curved windows (Daytonian in Manhattan/Emporis).
The second is 110 West 40th Street. The building was designed by architect Edward S. Browning of the firm of Buchman & Fox and was built in 1914. It was known as the World Building. Browning has designed the building so that all four sides were equally detailed (MetroManhattan.com).
On the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 40th Street I saw the green and red lights still blinking of the new Bank of China building at 1045 Sixth Avenue (or 7 Bryant Park). This building is interesting for its shape and its ongoing light show. The second day of visiting the neighborhood, the lights of the holidays were gone.
The building was completed in 2016 and was designed by architects Henry N. Cobb and Yvonne Szeto from the firm of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and it was interesting on why they designed the building in an ‘hourglass’ design. The firm stated that “they wanted to enrich the experience of the park while at the same time make its relationship to the park a clear expression of its identity (Pei Cobb Freed & Partners). The building is the New York home of the Bank of China.
Bank of China Building at 1045 Sixth Avenue (7 Bryant Park)
Across from Bryant Park to its south are a grouping of beautifully designed buildings. On the corner of West 40th Street and Sixth Avenue is 80 West 40th Street, ‘The Bryant Park Studios’. The building was built in 1910 as showrooms for artists. The building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by architect Charles A. Rich (Daytonian in Manhattan).
The Bryant Park Hotel at 40 West 40th Street is another standout that sits on the edge of the park. The hotel was built in 1924 for the American Radiator Company and known as the American Radiator Building (it was renamed the American Standard Building).
It was designed by architects John Howells and Raymond Hood who designed it in a Gothic Modern style with black and gold bricks, the black bricks symbolizing coal and the gold bricks symbolizing fire. The style of the building is a combination of Neo-Gothic and Art Deco. In 1988, the building was sold and the Bryant Park Hotel was born (Bryant Park Hotel History).
The Bryant Park Hotel at 40 West 40th Street (Bryant Park Hotel)
A few doors down from the hotel is 32 West 40th Street, the former Engineers Club Building. The building was designed by architects Henry D. Whitfield and Beverly S. King of the firm of Whitfield & King and was built in 1907. The building was designed in the neo-Renaissance style with Corinthian style capitals. The building was partially funded by Andrew Carnegie for a new club house for the Engineers Society that had been founded in 1888 (Wiki).
Making my way back to the border of Garment District at Fifth Avenue sit two impressive buildings of the bygone era from this was a major shopping district, the Knox Building and the Arnold Constable Building.
The building at 452 Fifth Avenue, the former home to Knox Hat Company, was incorporated into the HSBC Tower in 1984. The glass tower was built around the Beaux Arts building for the HSBC and it was considered an architectural marvel when it opened. The Knox Building was built in 1902 and is considered one of the finest examples of ‘Beaux Arts style’ in Manhattan.
452 Fifth Avenue-The Knox Hat Company Building part of the HSBC Building
The detail work of the Knox Building at 452 Fifth Avenue.
The Knox Hat Company was considered one of the finest hat companies for men when it was founded in 1838. It once had 62 retail stores and was sold in all the finest stores. It did not survive the Great Depression and was merged with three other companies in 1932 to form Hat Corporation of American (Hat Co) (Bernard Hats history).
The last interesting building I saw before returning to Bryant Park to relax by the fountains was 454 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street, the old Arnold Constable & Company department store.
Fifth Avenue at 40th Street-Arnold Constable & Company Department store
The building opened in 1915 and closed when the company went out of business in 1975. It is now part of the New York Public Library. Arnold Constable & Company was founded in 1825 and was considered one of the oldest stores in New York City. The building was created as the shopping district moved further uptown. The company closed for business in the 1990’s.
As I finished the edge of the neighborhood walking West 41st Street, most of the buildings were either the front or back of old theaters or large new office buildings that were the result of the final demolishment of the blocks around Times Square (which was much needed at the time).
As a result of these large buildings compacted into one area, there needed to be setbacks for the public in the way of small parks and one of them is just behind the new Whole Foods at 1095 Sixth Avenue (Three Bryant Park). Inside the park near the stone benches, I admired a rather strange statue entitled “The Guardian-Superhero” by artist Antonia Pio Saracino.
Guardian-Superhero at Three Bryant Park (Antonio Pio Saracino)
The statute was created by the artist in mirrored stainless steel. The artist uses a digitally generated architectural composition (Frameweb.com).
Artist Antonio Pio Saracino is an Italian born artist based in New York City. He is a graduate of the La Sapienza University of Architecture with a master’s degree. The artist is multi-talented in sculpture, building and furniture design (Wiki).
I finally was able to relax in Bryant Park for a bit before I continued the walk to Kips Bay. I had read online that DiDi Dumpling in Kips Bay had closed, and I wanted to check it out for my blog. I walked through the side of Bryant Park that faced West 40th Street and admired some of the statuary and the tiny Merry go Round that was closed for the season.
The first statue that I admired was Goethe Monument inside the path. The Gothe statue is of author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and is a replica of a copy by artist Karl Fisher. It was presented to the park by The Goethe Society of America in 1876 and it was moved to Bryant Park in 1932 (NYCParks.org).
I passed the tiny French Merry go Round, Le Carrousel, that brought into the park after the renovation to give the park the Parisian feel that it had. It was created for the park by the Fabricon Carousel Company of Brooklyn, NY and many interesting creatures for children and adults (I did ride it once when it first came to the park. I am too big for this thing).
The Bryant Park Carrousel on the south side of the park (NYCParks.org)
The last statue that I admired in the park was of the park’s namesake, William Cullen Bryant, from artist Herbert Adams and designed by Thomas Hastings of the architectural firm of Carrere & Hastings in 1911 (The firm that designed the New York Public Library). The statue was of poet, journalist and editor of The New York Evening Post Willaim Cullen Bryant (NYCParks.org).
The statute of William Cullen Bryant (NYCParks.org)
Herbert Adams was an American born artist. Born in Vermont, he was raised in Massachusetts, He studied art at the Massachusetts Normal Art School. He opened a studio in New York City and in his time, he created over 200 public works of art and is considered one of America’s best sculpturers (Wiki).
As the last traces of the Winter Villages Christmas decorations have disappeared, I walked all around the skating rink and the open restaurants. I could not believe how busy the park was at this time of day and was not sure if it was all tourists or just locals having a good time. With all the gloom and doom in the news lately, these people deserved it!
On the way back towards Broadway I came across an interesting set of artwork by artist Santi Flores that lined the Broadway Mall. These interesting works reached for the sky. These interesting little sculptures looked like they were raising their hands for attention (“Here” ended October 22nd, 2022).
The Broadway pop-up of Artist Santi Flores display “Here”
Artist Santi Flores at the street exhibition “Here”
Artist Santi Flores is a Spanish artist who is also a musician and visual artist. His creativity shows no limits (Artist Bio).
As I walked back down West 41st Street towards the Port Authority, I walked in between the terminals on my way back and forth from Ninth to Eighth Avenues and rediscovered the Robert Wyland paintings that had been done in the 1990’s. It was ironic that he had painted them because I had just visited his galleries in both Waikiki and in Maui.
The Robert Wyland mural “Inner City Whales” on the side of the Port Authority wall at Eighth Avenue and West 41st Street in 1993 (Part of his “Whaling Walls” series across the United States)
The Robert Wyland Mural on the inside wall of the Port Authority at West 41st Street is easy to miss with all the traffic and noise. I was not sure why he would place this wonderful piece of art in such an odd place that most people miss.
Mr. Wyland is an American born from Detroit. His works have been inspired by nature when he visited the ocean for his first and his love of diving. In 1993, he started his foundation, and started to paint murals in major cities. He is known for his conservation as well as his art(Artist bio).
I finished the streets of the Garment District in the early afternoon, and it was still light out, so it was time to travel to other parts of Manhattan to check other businesses from my blogs to see if they were still opened. This meant a trip down Lexington Avenue to DiDi Dumplings at 38 Lexington Avenue.
DiDi Dumpling is one of my go-to places on my blog, DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com for delicious meals of steamed dumplings and fried potstickers. Google had posted that they closed but I had to check this out for myself. Not only were they still open but really busy. So, I stayed for some Steamed Shrimp Dumplings ($5.75) with a Coke. After all that walking, I felt I earned it.
DiDi Dumpling at 38 Lexington Avenue (closed in January 2024)
The Fried Potstickers were a bit overcooked but still good
The Soup Dumplings here are pretty good but not the same when it was DiDi Dumpling
Now that I was rested and well fed (God those dumplings hit the spot on a cold day), I walked to my next location, La Crosta Pizza on East 72nd Street and First Avenue. I took Lexington Avenue and walked up a combination of that and Madison Avenue. On my way up to the Upper East Side, it was shocking to see how many businesses were shut and all the empty storefronts. These being victim to the economy and COVID.
I made it to 436 East 72nd Street and indeed La Crosta Pizza is now closed. I was really bummed in that they had wonderful lunch specials, excellent food (their pizza and calzones were the best) and the guys that worked there could not have been nicer. It was a big place to eat with the people at the hospital. The sign says that it is being replaced by York Pizzeria. I will have to revisit when they open but I could see by the inside menu that the prices have doubled.
The pizzeria is now names York Avenue Pizza but the prices are much higher.
The delicious items at York Pizza made by the same cooks as La Crosta
The pizza at both versions of the restaurant were excellent
As I walked back down from the Upper East Side to the Garment District again, I crisscrossed the avenues going from First to Second then walking down Lexington to Park Avenues looking at store fronts and dark apartment buildings and hotels and wondered how many of these people have come back to the City. It still seemed quiet after the holidays.
I ended the walk that evening back at the Uyghur Restaurant Tengri Tagh at 144 West 37th Street. I kept watching from the window all the interesting dishes coming to the tables and it fascinated me that this tiny hole in the wall restaurant was so busy.
I later found out when I got home that they just had three back-to-back excellent reviews on the internet. The food really warms you up on a cool night.
Uyghur Restaurant Tengri Tagh at 144 West 37th Street
When I got there at 6:30pm, it was quiet. There were only two other tables full. By the time my dinner started to arrive at the table, the place was packed. I could not believe this small restaurant on a side street and a gloomy one at that was so busy.
The inside dining room and decorations
I kept it simple and ordered a dish of dumplings, a baked bun and an opened faced meat and vegetable bun. When it all came out, it was more than enough food. The baked bun was filled with a spicy lamb and cumin mixture that with each bite brought warmthinside my body. The food is really spicy here.
The buns here are really good
The open-faced Lamb and Cumin Bun was filled with a combination of ground lamb and vegetables and a very hot sauce. It really had some kick to it and it did not need any additional sauces. The order of dumplings was almost a double order from the usual Chinese restaurants I go to and are perfect for sharing.
The Dumplings are amazing
They were also filled with a spicy lamb mixture and an extra kick was added with the hot oil that they brought to the table. It was more than enough food for one person. The hot tea that the waiter brought to the table helped cool my stomach down. The waiter could not have been nicer.
The Baked Buns are excellent
After a relaxing dinner and some much needed sitting it was back to the sidewalks and the walk back up Eighth Avenue to Port Authority. Talk about a walk. I must have covered at least five miles. When I finally got on the bus that evening, I could not believe all the changes in the neighborhood since I worked there twenty-seven years ago. It has gotten so much nicer than what it had been even with COVID.
Bryant Park at night when all the buildings are lit.
This area may be down a bit, but it is not out!
Bryant Park in the summer of 2023.
Please visit my other blogs on the Garment District:
Day Two Hundred and Three: Walking the Borders of the Garment District:
mywalkinmanhattan 