Zabar’s is one of the most interesting grocery stores in New York City. Back in the late 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s, it was the only place to go for certain gourmet items, baked goods and a variety of vegetables. Their cheeses were some of the best in the city and when you needed fresh pasta, it was here or Manganario’s which went out of business about five years ago.
While other stores have gotten fancier or more expensive in their wares and grocery items, Zabar’s stays tried and true to its roots and is still a place for the average person to come and do their grocery shopping while buying high quality at a fair price. New York City has never been cheap.
Walking the Streets of the Upper West Side was harder than I thought because there is a treasure trove of historical spots and buildings all over the neighborhood. Here and there is a plaque or a statue that had gone unnoticed or a beautiful carving on a building that just catches my eye. You look hard enough and there is another plaque to someone famous or a garden that ‘pops up’ out of no where. If you blink, you might miss something.
I started my day working the beverage station at Soup Kitchen. Being the middle of the month, we started getting busy again. The chef made a type of stew that was very popular with the guests and we were busy that afternoon. I was tired by the end of the afternoon but ready to go.
I stopped at Taco Bandito at 325 Eighth Avenue (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for a quick snack for lunch. I spent $2.90 on a Chicken Fajita with Guacamole. The restaurant’s food is cooked to order and is really good. It is spicy and everything I have tried there has some kick to it.
The best part of their menu is that everything is under $10.00. Check it out my blog, ‘DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com for my article on the restaurant. It is a local gem by the Fashion Institute of Technology (it has since closed a few years ago).
Starting at the subway stop at West 72nd Street and Broadway
I started the walk on West 72nd Street visiting a lot of the places I had visited when walking the borders of the neighborhood.
The West 72nd Street Shopping District
There were a lot of stores to revisit and restaurant menus to look over. Being a nice but cool day, I wanted to walk around Riverside Park.
The mansions at West 72nd Street and West End Avenue.
I passed the Eleanor Roosevelt Statue again at the corner of Riverside Drive and West 72nd Street and really looked at it again as I was relaxing on the benches. The artist really did a nice job with the statue and it is a nice place to stop and relax. The flowers were starting to pop up as the weather was getting warmer. As I left this part of the neighborhood in the late spring, the dogwood and cherry trees came into bloom and the surrounding area of the memorial is quite spectacular.
Eleanor Roosevelt Statue in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side
Ms. Penelope Jencks is an American born artist who is a graduate from Boston University with a BFA. She is known for her large public works.
As I crossed onto the Streets off Riverside Drive to West End Avenue, the area is part of the West End Historical Society and much of the area is landmarked all the way to Broadway. On the blocks between Riverside Drive to West End Avenue from West 72nd to West 84th Streets the whole area is in two historical zones, the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historical District (from West 95th I Street to West 62nd Street from Central Park West to Broadway & Amsterdam Avenue in some parts) and Riverside-West End Avenue Historical District (West 108th Street to West 70th Street to Broadway).
The historic sign for the West End-Collegiate Historic District
This is the reason why I think that the Upper West Side has not seen the changes of the Upper East Side. So much land marking. Not just the historic value but the sheer beauty and detail in the buildings.
The West 72nd Street shopping districts
The subway station at West 72nd Street shopping districts
One of the most beautiful buildings on West 73rd Street across the street from the Ansonia Apartments is the Apple Savings Bank at 2100-2108 Broadway, the former Central Saving Bank Building. This elegant, graceful bank sits on the tip of the northern part of Verdi Park in the Italian Renaissance palazzo style by the firm of York & Sawyer. The grillwork was done by Samuel Yellin, the master casting iron maker of the 1920’s. He did all the iron work of the grilles, doors, gates and lanterns. The rooms are vaulted look was said by the bank to be a ‘noble building’ (Wiki). From the outside, admire the stone and grill work around the building especially facing the park.
The Park Royal Building is another elegant building near The Dakota on West 72nd floor. The building was built in 1928 by architect George F. Pelham as a type of apartment/hotel with maid service for the residents and restaurant service. It was a new concept of hotel amenities given to apartment dwellers. The building has wonderful views of the park, and the apartment owners were able to design their apartments.
The lower level is in limestone and the upper part of the building is made of a golden-colored tapestry brick. It is now a luxury cooperative (Park Royal history). Admire it from the other side of the street to see all the striking details of the building.
The West End Collegiate Historic District which runs from West 79th Street to West 74th Street from Broadway to Riverside Drive (the extension is from West 79th Street to West 70th Street) is full unique buildings with the center is the Collegiate Church on the corner of West End Avenue and West 75th Street.
Then you will start to pass all the beautiful townhouses and historical brownstones. Then you will all have to stop and stare at the details and stone work that is part of these buildings block by block.
110 West 74th Street
The beautiful architecture that dominates the neighborhood.
Don’t miss the new artwork by artist Kathy Ruttenberg on the traffic island at West 79th Street and Broadway named “Ms. Mighty Mouse”. This whimsical statue has its own interpretation, and I am not sure if its empowerment or just taking control of the situation. Either way, don’t miss seeing the statue while it is here.
Ms. Kathy Ruttenberg is an American born artist who is a graduate of School of Visual Arts with a BFA with Honors. Her works are known for a “wonder world in which species merge and figures serve as a landscape.” She is currently taking courses at New York University in Italy and School of Visual Arts in Morroco.
The West End Collegiate Church is the center of this district. The church was designed in Dutch Colonial style by the firm of McKim, Mead and White in 1893. The church was built to attract old Knickerbocker families in the city as well as give the local residents with a sense of history to the church and its Dutch background (Collegiate website). The church has some of the most beautiful stained-glass windows with armorial designs based on Dutch provinces. The church has since expanded in the neighborhood.
The church in its full beauty from across the street
At 33 Riverside Drive, there is a plaque dedicated to Ira Gershwin, the famous American composer, when he lived here and wrote some of his most famous songs. He lived in a three-bedroom penthouse in the building from 1929-1933 and wrote ‘Girl Crazy’, ‘Of thee I Sing’ and ‘Let’em Eat Cake’ while living here (on the plaque). The apartment went on the market in 2015 for six million dollars.
On my most recent walk I missed a lot of the beautiful details on a lot of buildings. Here are some of the stone carving on many of the buildings. The building is not much of a standout but there are a few details you should not miss.
West 73rd Street
West 73rd Street
West 73rd Street
As I rounded West 74th Street, I searched for the best and most detailed artwork on the block. All you have to do is look up.
Looking down Columbus Avenue from West 74th Street
I saw this sign for the J.M. Ice Cream Company at the top of this building on Columbus Avenue
As I walked down West 74th Street, I admired some of the beautiful carvings on the townhouse and brownstones that I had not noticed before.
This I thought was one of the nicest
I love it when the faces stare back
The detail work at 124 West 74th Street is very unique
The beautiful carvings at 130 West 74th Street
The equally beautiful carvings at 132 West 74th Street
The Streetscape looking down West 74th Street
Looking down on the rows of brownstones
The brownstones up close
Between 128-132 West 75th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue take a look up and look at the entrance way of buildings and in the carvings by the entrance at 128 West 75th Street, you will see what appear to be two angels inside the flaps of both sides of the doorway. Look at the detailed carvings of these buildings and you will see stonework that I have not seen in any of my travels in the neighborhood.
128th-132nd West 75th Street
The doorway decorations in detail
The ‘flap’ decorations on the home
The beautiful decorations on the doorway
Other carvings that stood out were just as impressive. The buildings themselves were not elaborate but the embellishments made them fascinating to look at when walking by.
I loved the animal faces on this embellishment
I love when the faces stare back
Rounding the streets at West 76th, there is a building at 132 West 76th Street with the most interesting stonework. Look at the way the statuary sticks out on the brownstone and the way it was carved. It is beautiful and unusual at the same time. It looks like a butterfly wing. I wonder how many people walk by this every day and never really notice it?
I thought this was pretty interesting
I thought this outdoor garden was beautiful
The Streetscape down West 76th Street
Looking down Columbus Avenue at West 76th Street when the Avenue was closed for Mother’s Day
The homes in this part of the Upper West Side between Central Park and Riverside Park really are interesting the brownstones really have their own designs, and many are not your typical ‘row houses’ as they have different types of stonework designs on them.
The mansions along Riverside Drive
You will see the most elegant stonework lining these buildings that have been sandblasted and detailed back to life. People here have really invested in their homes and decorated them nicely with potted plants and trees.
Take time to stop at the Tecumseh Playground at Amsterdam and West 78th Street, with its colorful murals and interesting playground. There is a lot to see and if you have kids, it is a lot of fun. Don’t miss walking through the park which is flanked by an interesting mural of ‘out west’ on the wall and the unique ‘jungle gyms’ designed like buildings and cars.
The mural on the back of the park
I got such a kick at watching the kids of all ages running around the park and the parents talking amongst themselves. It still gives me faith that all kids are not glued to their phones.
The park is named after Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) who after graduating from West Point in 1840, served in California and the Mexican American War.
Sherman Playground at Amsterdam Avenue and West 78th Street
Sherman was appointed to brigadier general of volunteers in 1861 and fought at Bull Run and Shiloh. Promoted to major general in 1862, he distinguished himself in the Vicksburg and Chattanooga campaigns of 1863. Sherman blazed a trail of destruction as his troops seized Atlanta, marched to the sea and headed north through the Carolinas. He received surrender of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston on April 26, 1865. This deserves at least a playground and much more (NYC Parks).
When you are heading back to Riverside Park, remember not to miss the Hamilton Fountain on Riverside Drive between West 76th and 77th Streets and the Neufeld Playground right inside the park if you need to use the bathrooms before 5:00pm.
When you exit the Neufeld Playground, you will notice the Robert Ray Hamilton fountain, an empty fountain with an eagle statue topping it. The ornate, baroque styled marble fountain is named for Robert Ray Hamilton, the great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, the great statesman, who was a prominent businessman, landowner and politician in his own right.
The park was named for Henry Neufeld, a prominent cardiologist and scholar who held many prestigious positions in the medical field in his career and worked with the World Health Organization.
As the weather got warmer, the daffodils and crocuses were starting to come into bloom. Take time to relax here and walk into the park to see the Hudson River before the leaves start (read more about this in the Avenues section of the Upper West Side).
While walking down West 77th Street, the one building that really stuck out was the firehouse built in 1901 at West 77th Street.
Completed in 1901, the firehouse was designed by architects Vincent Slattery and Arthur Horgan, who had been picked by Tammany Hall to design selected civic structures. The architects’ design for Engine Company 74 and Hook & Ladder 25. Brick and limestone came together in an double Italianate palazzo with Beaux Arts splashes. Recessed balconies provided an elegant air and triangular pediments above the cornice bore giant shields with the Fire Department monogram (DaytonianinManhattan.com)
The front of Engine 74
The front of Hook & Ladder 25
This is one of the most elaborate firehouses in the City
When rounding West 78th Street, admire the architecture on the whole block. There are graceful brownstones between West End Avenue and Riverside Park and between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenue. Really look up at the stonework and the carvings on these buildings before the scaffolding goes back up and they are sandblasted again.
This beautiful townhouse was created by architect Rafael Guastavino in the Moorish design. In 1885, the same year he patented his “Tile Arch System,” he started work on a row of six townhouses on the north side of West 78th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues for developer Bernard S. Levy (DaytoninManhattan.com).
The doorway at 132 West 78th Street
The window balcony at 132 West 78th Street
Looking down the Streetscape at West 78th Street
One of the nicest looking brownstones with the wisteria lining the home on 116 West 78th Street was built in 1910 (Streeteasy/com).
On West 79th Street, two things really stood out, the Banksy “Hammer Boy” mural on the side of the wall near Broadway, which the neighbors are trying to save and is under Plexiglas and so noted by the artist. He looks like he has about the hammer the FDNY’s standpipe.
The other is the gorgeous Baptist Church at 265 West 79th Street. Take time to look at its stained glass windows and curvature in the design. The church was built in 1890 by George M. Keister, who later built the Apollo Theater. It sits on what was a bend in the Avenue and can be seen on the way downtown. The stained glass shows God as the center of the New Testament Church and shows Him as the Bright and Morning Star with His Crown as the King of Kings (Wiki). It makes quite the statement.
The Lucerne was designed by architects Mulliken & Moeller with a reddish brown façade of wonderful richness and finished in 1904. The detailing is heavy and thick making the building seem all the more like clay, but it is skillful enough so that it never feels overbearing. The entrance is one of the finest, thanks to the deeply modeled, banded entrance columns (Stanley Turkel “No Body Asked Me” 2013).
The beautiful detail work on the front of The Lucerne
The embellishments around the corner on Amsterdam Avenue
I stopped at West 80th Street as I rounded West 79th Street by Riverside Park. I had to relax for a while and boosted more energy to walk down to West 72nd Street to Malachy’s Donegal Inn Bar for some dinner. I saw the hamburger special for $8.95 and thought that was good for me. It is a local West Side watering hole where the patrons are mostly locals and the food really good (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
I noticed at Malachy’s that both the bartenders and the locals size you up to see who you might be, and I am not sure that they could read me. One thing was that they were really friendly and engaging to me and I appreciated it. After walking from the top of West 72nd Street to the bottom of West 80th Street, I didn’t need a suspicious look or conversation. I just joined in and we talked about the Yankees and their current season.
The burgers at Malachy’s are excellent
Just to let you know, if you are in the area of West 72nd Street, take the time out to have lunch or dinner and a drink at Malachy’s. The burger was cooked perfectly and had a salty, caramelized crust to it and the fries were deep fried perfectly. It was delicious and with an icy Coke, it was just what the doctor ordered to relax after a long walk. From West 80th to West 84th Streets would have to wait for another day.
At the end of the week, I made another trip to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen and was assigned to the Prep Kitchen and before finishing the rest of the neighborhood, spent my morning prepping vegetables and cutting chicken breasts for the next day’s meal. (I saw on the chart the next week that we did over 800 meals that next day. I must be doing something right).
I started my walk by the American Museum of Natural History at 200 Central Park West and walked around Theodore Roosevelt Park, which is located at the back of the museum. This small well-landscaped grassy shade park is managed by a partnership between the Museum, The New York City Parks Department and the Friends of Roosevelt Park.
This is a nice place to relax on the benches under the shade trees or just walk through the pathways. The former President would have loved this if he had seen it today. It was my ‘go-to’ spot when I was walking the rest of the Streets between West 80th and 84th Streets.
Theodore Roosevelt Park behind the American Museum of Natural History
What I found interesting in the history of the park is that it was originally part of Central Park and became of the museum when it was created in 1877. The park became ‘Theodore Roosevelt Park in name in 1958 with the statute that was dedicated to our 26th President. In later years, namely the troubled times of the 70’s the park was in disarray and the Friends of Theodore Roosevelt Park was created in 1993, who help maintain the park in partnership with the NYC Parks and the Museum.
The Theodore Roosevelt Park in full bloom in Spring 2024
Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite as well as over 300 other patents and a known scientist was honored with this memorial in Theodore Roosevelt Park.
After leaving the park, I walked down West 80th Street and stopped at Zabar’s at 2245 Broadway and stopped in the Café Zabar (See Review on TripAdvisor) for a snack. For $1.00, they had a special on specialty croissants and I indulged in a Ham, Egg and Cheese Croissant, which made a great snack and I highly recommend stopping when they have specials or for their chicken soup which looks so good. Also, when it is one special, don’t miss their homemade pizza. The place is the local hangout for older Upper West Sider’s, and they made themselves known to me when I tried to sit in their seat.
Take time to walk around Zabar’s to see their bakery, cheese and prepared food departments. It is really something. Their selection is really interesting, and the smells are wonderful especially in the Cheese Department. The place is packed all the time so expect to bump into people which is part of the fun of shopping there. You could be lost in Zabar’s for about an hour.
Some of things that stand out in this area are the stately mansions that line Riverside Drive by Riverside Park between West 80th through 84th Street especially between West 80th-West 81st Street.
The Streetscape of West 80th Street
I loved the way this brownstone looked at 110 West 80th Street. This beautiful building was built in 1900 (CityRealty.com).
The poet lived here as a child with her father and Step-Mother. The apartment building was designed by Ware, James Edward and Son(DorothyParker.com).
The brownstones in the part of the neighborhood are beautifully designed. It is best to see them from the park side. They are disrupted by apartment buildings on some blocks but the ones that remain are being renovated back to their original glory.
114 West 81st Street is a townhouse built in 1892, this townhouse is meticulously renovated and restored to preserve the original turn-of-the-century detail designed by famed NYC architecture firm of Pierce Allen (Streeteasy.com).
136 West 81st Street is also beautiful with amazing details was built in 1900.
Riverside Park by the beginning of April was beginning to show signs of Spring and I saw more flowers coming out and if I was lucky to be in the sun, a bit warmer. Winter lingered late this year and even into April I had to wear a heavier jacket.
The blocks between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West from West 80th to 84th Street is dominated by graceful brownstones and marble homes. Like its neighbors to the north and south, this area by the park is being sandblasted back to life and every time I walk in the neighborhood, I see more scaffolding up around the buildings. There is a uniqueness to each one as you take the time to slowly look at them.
I loved the look of this brownstone staring back at 116 West 81st Street in 1900
Take time to look at the displays at West 80th Street and Columbus Avenue of the bear statues and flowers by florist, Floris, that is located across the street. This whimsical display shows two bears greeting you with flowers. It changes at each holiday I noticed.
This cheerful bear stands guard outside the florist at West 81st Street
Broadway in this area is getting more commercial but then you need these stores to compliment the neighborhood. It seems that Broadway is becoming the commercial core of the Upper West Side with the chain stores and theaters. What makes it look like the elegant European boulevard that it is the island between the Avenue. This is landscaped and now coming into full bloom. As the trees and the flowers sprout out with the coming of Spring, the whole effect is just beautiful. This look to Broadway continues down to Columbus Circle.
Along West 82nd Street, you feel like you are being followed by the number of faces staring back at you as you walk down the street.
The carvings along West 82nd Street
I loved these series of faces with their sinister stares
They just keep staring at you along West 82nd Street
I loved the lions head in front of the Savoy
The beauty of the buildings along West 82nd Street are not reserved just for the brownstones as the Holy Trinity Church stands so elegantly at West 82nd Street.
Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church at 213 West 82nd Street
The church was built between 1910-12 by architect Joseph Hubert Mc Guire and was designed in the Byzantine style and built with brick and terra cotta. The church was dedicated on May 11th, 1912 (Wiki).
The Streetscapes at West 82nd Street
I could not wait to see what surprises I would see as I rounded West 82nd Street to West 83rd Street to walk the last blocks of the neighborhood.
On my trip around the neighborhood in 2025 while revisiting the neighborhood, I stopped for lunch at Lyla’s Bodega at 177 West 83rd Street. It must have opened recently as I had never seen the restaurant before.
My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:
The food at this tiny take out place is wonderful. They had a special where you could get two empanadas for $2.50 or three for $6.00. I chose the three and ordered one of each, the chicken, the beef and the cheese. They were so fresh out of the fryer and they served them with a ketchup sauce and a garlic sauce that really enhanced the flavor. I washed it down with a Tropical 7 Up which I had never seen before.
The selection of Empanadas
My lunch at Lyla’s Bodega
The delicious empanadas
Yum!
The lunch was really good and gave me the energy to continue walking the neighborhood. The price could not have been better. For three nice sized empanadas and a can of soda, it was $7.00. With prices being what they are today, I thought this was very fair.
Don’t miss the unique architecture on West 83rd Street right off Columbus Avenue at 141 West 83rd Street. When really looking at that parking garage you could that the Cedarhurst building was once a stable. Designed by the firm of Thom & Wilson, it was once part of the Cedarhurst Livery Company and was built in 1908, with the horse motifs that decorate it and the horse head that flanks the front of the building. You can see the areas of the building that must have been used for airing the horses out after they were stabled back inside for the night (NYT).
The Cedarhurst Building on the Upper West Side at 147 West 83rd Street
Some of the carvings were hiding under the scaffolding
Across the street is the Engine 74 building of the FDNY that was designed by Napoleon DeBrun in the 1880’s. There motif on their building is the dinosaur with the theme, ‘Lost World’. Being so close to the American Museum of Natural History I can see how they play off that.
Engine 74 at 120 West 83rd Street was built in 1880
Also, really look at the Kiosk that is located by Broadway and West 83rd Street, which was built in the 1960’s as an information center for the neighborhood, which is now landmarked and is used to display local art. Artist Gregory Sanger was showing his work and it must have been very popular as there was a note left by someone not to steal the work as a piece was missing. Through its history, this kiosk has displayed the goings on in the neighborhood for over 50 years and has become a focal as well as vocal point to the residents (now gone). The kiosk was originally built in 1970 by architect Roger Bartels of the West 83rd Street Block Association (Patch.com).
Another building that stood out and I am not sure how I missed it the first time was 66 West 83rd Street with its beautiful and interesting embellishments.
This beautiful brownstone was built in 1900 and is now condos (Streeteasy.com).
66 West 83rd Street embellishments
66 West 83rd Street embellishments
The faces that stare at you at 66 West 83rd Street
When walking down West 84th Street I came across the plaque at 215 West 84th Street, Eagle Court which stands on what was once the home of Edgar Allan Poe’s farmhouse that was located between Broadway and 84th Street. The plaque noted that this is where he wrote the “The Raven” (HistoryHomes.com).
I ended my trip to this part of the Upper West Side by visiting the Bard Graduate Center Gallery at 18 West 86th Street (bgc.bard.org and see the review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum@Wordpress.com). I had missed seeing the gallery the first two times to the neighborhood as their hours are different from most of the other museums. Through my affiliation with the Newark Museum, I was able to get in for free and see the special exhibits.
The Bard Graduate Center Gallery at 18 West 86th Street
The Gallery was featuring an exhibition of ‘Bookbinding and the Creation of Books’, which explained why they were so expensive and rare at the time before the printing press and a ‘Balinese Textiles’ exhibition. It is an easy gallery to visit, and you will be out in about an hour and a half. It is a quiet place to visit so you will have the galleries to yourself. It makes it more fun so don’t miss this little hidden ‘gem’.
The murals outside Brandeis High School
The murals are really eye catching
When I was walking around late in the evening before dinner I came across the colorful murals outside the Brandeis High School at 145 West 84th Street. These student artists are very creative.
The mural outside the Brandeis High School at 145 West 84th Street
I finished the evening with dinner for a second time at Malachy’s Donegal Inn bar on West 72nd Street, this time having the ‘Turkey Dinner’ platter. I had a nice time that evening talking politics with the other patrons and the sheer cost of living on the Upper West Side when I wanted to get off the politics and talk about all the empty store fronts in the lower 70’s throughout the neighborhood. They were able to give me their opinion on it.
The dinner was good and for $8.95, it was some open turkey sandwich. I had to walk back to Port Authority just to work it off (the prices have since changed).
I have seen so much on the middle part of the Upper West Side and look forward to my next trip in the neighborhood from West 72nd to West 59th Street. There is so much elegant architecture in the neighborhood, so many famous people living here and so many interesting stores, you could visit here many times and not soak it all in. It really opened my eyes to a place I have been visiting for years and never truly experienced the way a local might.
Please read my other Blogs on walking this part of the Upper West Side:
Day One Hundred and Five: Walking the Avenues of the Upper West Side from West 84th to West 72nd Streets:
I have found that walking the Avenues of the Upper West Side to be much easier than the Upper East Side. There are less blocks to walk and this side of the island is smaller in space than the middle of the Upper East Side which begins to jut out on that part of the island.
Each Avenue on the Upper West Side has its own uniqueness to it. Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues are more of a shopping district with Amsterdam Avenue having most of the quirky restaurants and old-time stores. Broadway is rapidly changing was the stores of the 80’s and 90’s are quickly losing their leases and with the rents jacked up is home to more chains now more than ever. It seems that another new chain restaurant and store opens up every month. Even here, I have watched the chain stores lose their leases and go away.
West End Avenue is strictly residential and the blocks between it and Riverside Drive hold a treasure trove old stone townhouses, brownstones and marble mansions with the graceful cravings, ornate stairs and potted plants outside the homes. There is an immense pride in this part of the neighborhood, and I swear probably not much as changed since the turn of the last century.
I was walking up from Soup Kitchen that afternoon and after a long day on the Bread Station holding off questions of why we do not have any pastry (none was donated) and the lack of raisin bagels (again none were donated) and why we no longer use butter for the bread (the peanut butter was donated), it was off for a long walk to the Upper West Side. Being closer to midtown, I have been walking more often than using the subway.
I have walked Central Park West, both sides many times and the biggest changes I have seen in the buildings here is that most of them are being sandblasted back to life as new owners and residents have been rapidly converting the Upper West Side into the new Upper East Side. The new residents seem much richer, less liberal and a whole lot younger.
I have never seen so many baby carriages and little dogs since walking the heart of the Upper East Side. At least here, the dogs seem less spoiled (with the multiple grooming places for dogs, the B & B for Dogs (upscale kennel) and places for doggies treats and clothes, dogs get better treated than the homeless).
As you walk up Central Park West, the first thing you see it the statue dedicated to the members of the U.S.S. Maine that was mysteriously bombed February 15th, 1898, which started the Spanish-American War. The War started on April 25th, 1898 and would last eight months. After a series of conflicts due to the War, the Philippines and Cuba gained their Independence and we got Guam and Puerto Rico as part of the deal.
The statue, designed by sculpture Attilio Piccirilli and Charles Keck, with the help of architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle and was dedicated on May 30th, 1913. The statue was dedicated to the 261 people lost when the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana harbor in February of 1898. This started the Spanish-American War in April of 1898 (Wiki).
Really take time to look at this statue for its details, its plaques that line the base and the detail work. It unfortunately is now used as a bench for most people who attend the Christmas and Farmer’s Markets that now line the base of the statue. I don’t think most people today know what the Spanish-American War of 1898 was or its significance in our country’s history. If you say, “Remember the Maine” today, most people will go ‘huh’?
As I walked up Central Park West along the park side, you will see the landscape lined with trees, lawns, parks and massive rock formations which seem more prevalent ten blocks up. These formations are leftovers of the last Ice Age, and it is amazing to know that these will drag for hundreds of miles as the ice moved. I have noticed more of these rock formations on the Upper Upper West Side and in Washington Heights and it is interesting to see our connections still to the last Ice Age.
Being the time of year that it is, the whole park was winter hibernation but people using the park on a 46-degree day brings life to almost everything. The kids dominated the playgrounds after school and tourist and locals alike were walking dogs and chatting along the paths. Even in the colder months, Central Park is always busy.
When I reached the border of the neighborhood at West 72nd Street, I passed the famous Dakota Apartment Building that dominated the corner of West 72nd Street and Central Park West. Really look up at the detail work of this building. Built between 1880-1884, the building was designed by the firm of Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, the same firm that designed the Plaza Hotel. The name ‘The Dakota’ some feel came from the isolated location so far uptown at the time it was built in that the Dakota Territories were so isolated from the country at the time.
This video is on the Dakota Apartments and Rosemary’s Baby
The building is currently under renovation, but you can still peek into the side of the building to see the old courtyard where the carriages used to drop residents off and the apartments themselves were designed around the French layouts at the time with large ceilings and rooms that flowed into one another. The resident listing is a Who’s Who of the entertainment and arts industry and the filming of the movie ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ was done in the front of the building as well as the death of musician, John Lennon in the early 80’s.
As you pass the beauty of The Dakota, West 72nd Street has an array of architectural styles of brownstones and marble homes lining the street. The carving of the stone is work that you no longer see in design and so much of the neighborhood is under scaffolding as new owners are sandblasting these buildings back to their original beauty.
Continuing the walk-up Central Park West, you continue to pass many beautiful and graceful stone apartment buildings with beautiful views of the park that are going through their own renovations.
At West 77th Street, you are at the Museum Row of the Upper West Side with the New York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West and the American Museum of Natural History located on Central Park West and West 79th Street.
New York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West
If you are reading this blog post in 2018, please remember to stop by the museum to see both the ‘Unseen Ocean’ and the ‘Senses’ exhibitions that just opened. The ‘Unseen Ocean’ explores the unknown deep of our oceans and the new species that we are discovering in the deep. It takes a look at the new development of equipment where we can explore deeper than before and the new discoveries that pop up with every trip. The ‘Senses’ exhibition explores how we react to the environment around us. These can be seen with the museum day pass.
As you round West 84th Street and down the block to Columbus Avenue, really look up around you and see the faces following you down the block to the next Avenue. The carvings of faces on the buildings stare out into the abyss or look to one another. You won’t really notice it until you really look at the detail work of each building. You will be doing a lot of stopping and staring between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.
Just look up and they all stare back
Back in 1984 to 1987, during the first really big gentrification of the Upper West Side, Columbus Avenue was a big deal, everything from 59th Street to about 86th Street was being sandblasted back to life and all sorts of new restaurants and shops were opening up left and right around the American Museum of Natural History.
Stores like the DDL Food Show (Dino De Laurentis’s Gourmet Shop), Penny Whistle Toys and the infamous Museum Café (where the Shake Shack is located now) were the topic of conversation when they opened. After the crash of 1987, most of these places had closed or where long gone and by the mid-90’s, the whole block was changing again as all the expensive stores and restaurants started to leave.
This building on West 81st Street started it all with the trendy stores on Columbus Avenue
Today Columbus Avenue between 72nd Street to 84th Street is starting to go through another change. Instead of all the expensive places kicking the reasonable places out, many store fronts have gone dark and sit empty. This is a plague that is going all not just all over the Upper West Side but all over the City. Many old-line businesses from the 70’s, 80’s and even the 90’s that I have seen for years, like Isabella’s Restaurant, on the corner of Columbus Avenue and 78th Street, where my dad and I had many a meal for his birthday and for Father’s Day, shut its doors about a year ago and now sits empty.
Columbus Avenue is now in a state of flux with newer more expensive places opening up here and there. I don’t think it has dawned on these landlords that not everyone wants a $16.00 hamburger. In the lower 70’s of Columbus Avenue, it is more and more chain stores and even they seem like they are struggling. You can have only so many stores selling the same merchandise that is currently on sale at Macy’s while the restaurants have similar menus. The rents are forcing, from my opinion, the merchants away from their creativity to what is safe.
Looking down Columbus Avenue during a recent street fair
All along stretches of Columbus Avenue, especially closer to the American Museum of Natural History, the store fronts are mostly empty and looking at the current prices to buy an apartment in the neighborhood, you can see the reason why. Apartments are going for what their East Side counterparts are going for (or maybe a little less depending on the street). The street is once again changing from more expensive fashion to I am not sure what, but I can’t wait to see what happens next on Columbus Avenue between West 72nd Street and West 84th Street.
With these changes comes the changes at the museum’s as well. The American Museum of Natural History is ever renovating displays or launching new shows. “Unseen Ocean’s”, the story of the newly explored deep, is resulting in long lines at the museum. New ways to explore the bottom of the ocean with nautical looking machines that even Jules Vern could not have thought of are finding new species and showing the food network of the bottom of the sea. This museum has woken up in the last ten years.
The American Museum of Natural History’s “Unseen Oceans” exhibition
The New York Historical Society is a far cry from what it was fifteen years ago when no one entered the musty halls of that relic. Today more and more innovative programs are opening, and they even have an upscale coffee whose prices are ridiculous even for a museum.
Both museums have been sandblasted back to their original glory, have been renovated and are showing innovative programming that rivals anything of their East Side counterparts.
Amsterdam Avenue I have always felt feels like real New York with the funky stores, small independent restaurants and pocket parks that line interwoven parts of the neighborhood.
I had lunch this afternoon at Harriet’s Kitchen at 502 Amsterdam Avenue for one of their famous ‘Fried Chicken Sandwiches” (now closed). Trust me, it lived up to the hype I saw online. The sandwich was $9.95 with hand cut French Fries and a Coke made a total of $11.95 and it was worth every bite.
Harriet’s Kitchen at 503 Amsterdam Avenue (Closed in 2019)
This sandwich was the perfect food item for my walk as I needed the protein. The sandwich was two large chicken breasts marinated in buttermilk and then dredged in a cornmeal crust and then fried golden crisp. It was crunchy and savory in every bite. It was one of the best chicken sandwiches I had ever eaten. The fries were good as well as they were cooked to a golden crisp as well. It was accompanied by a spicy remoulade sauce and sour pickles which added an extra kick to the sandwich. The service was really friendly and even though the place is a little dumpy, the food is no reflection of that. I have not eaten chicken this good since my tour of Harlem.
Harriet’s Kitchen Chicken Sandwich was delicious
Right next to Harriet’s Kitchen is West Side Kids at 498 Amsterdam Avenue, so I got a chance to tour the store again which was stocked to the gills with new toys. Across the street from Harriet’s Kitchen is the Urban Assembly Green Space Garden at 145 84th Street, that the students maintain on the corner of West 84th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
This garden is used by the students for the growing season and at the height of the season they sell their fruits and vegetables to the public. Take some time to walk around this urban oasis when it is in season.
Amsterdam Avenue is like Lexington Avenue in that it is a nice mix of stores and restaurants that are more affordable to the average New Yorker. This is beginning to change in the low 70’s but like most of the neighborhood is a state of flux. I am beginning to see the same number of empty storefronts on this Avenue as well.
Broadway in this part of the island is designed as a French Boulevard with landscaping down an strip of island down the middle of the road with benches at each island stopover. As I had mentioned in my observation further uptown, this part of Broadway was designed for upscale living with grand apartment buildings.
Looking downtown with the Ansonia to the right
The Ansonia Apartments at 2101-2119 Broadway was built in 1899 by architect Paul E.M. Duboy in the traditional Beaux Arts style in the Victorian Age was a residential hotel. The detail work on the outside is gorgeous with all sorts of statuary, carvings and iron work and topped with a mansard roof. The building has housed many famous people in the arts, music and politics. You can peek inside the courtyard to see where the carriages once let the residents off similar in design to The Dakota further west (Wiki).
You have to walk on the side streets to appreciate the beauty of this building
The Apthorp Apartments at 2201-2219 Broadway was built between 1906-1908 by architects Clinton & Russell for William Waldorf Astor and takes up the whole block between Broadway and West End Avenue. The building was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and when you peek inside the building you can see the courtyard where carriages once a upon a time used to drop the residents off. Over-sized limestone sculptures representing the Four Seasons stand above the ventral barrel-vaulted entrance with wrought iron gates feature a pair of gazelle heads (Wiki).
The Astor Apartments at 235 West 75th Street tops Broadway with the grand apartment buildings and is currently going under a major renovation and restoration. The building is currently under scaffolding (as seems the whole neighborhood) so it hides the beauty of the building. The stores below are changing as well as even Barney’s has moved out of the neighborhood.
The building was developed in 1909 for William Waldorf Astor II by architects Clinton & Russell for the two eight story wings and the firm of Peabody, Wilson & Brown did the taller tower. The beauty in this building is in the simplicity of its elegance and the detail work along the roof.
When walking up Broadway, note that this area was built at a time when the wealthy were scaling down their lives at the turn of the last century and this form of luxury was becoming the norm. By the 60’s and 70’s, these grand apartment buildings like the rest of the neighborhood got rundown but currently all are on the process of renovation, or their completion have led the apartments to be reconnected back to their four to five room layouts.
The stores along Broadway have given way to a commercial district of chain stores but still has lots of ‘gems’ lining Broadway. Rents have risen so much in the area that a lot of these stores and restaurants might face displacement in the future. Like the rest of the city, there is a cost of doing business in NYC.
Some of the most famous stores are the great purveyors of food the most well-known being Fairway at 2131 Broadway and Zabar’s at 2245 Broadway. These are more than just grocery stores; they are institutions in New York.
The Fairway supermarket at 2131 Broadway
Fairway supermarket, which now has branches outside the city, is stocked from ceiling to floor with everything you need to fill a kitchen. When I walked through it, it seemed more like a traditional grocery store, fancy but functional loaded with every brand imaginable. It is fun to to walk around the tight aisles and look at the merchandise. They also have a nice, prepared food section with everything you need for a picnic in the park.
The Fairway stocked for the weekend
Zabar’s though, is a true New York institution. I have been coming here since the 1970’s when my mother’s bible for food was both Gourmet and New York Magazines. Anytime we went into the city, Zabar’s was a place we visited especially if she saw it one of those two magazines.
Zabar’s is broken down into sections each with their own mouthwatering smells and like Fairway, lined from top to bottom with delicacies. Their cheese department has the most wonderful aroma when walking through it and the bakery section always smells of croissant and chocolate. The prepared foods section is still one of the best in the city. They have enough for a full meal that you might make at home but ‘don’t have the time’. Just walking around is an experience. They also have a small restaurant off to the side of the building complex and it has specials during lunch (See review on TripAdvisor).
Westsider Rare & Used Books at 2246 Broadway across from Zabar’s and a little further down by West 81st Street and Broadway is piled high with used, antique and out of print books. This worn looking bookstore is what out-of-towners would say a New York bookstore should look like down to the literary looking woman who works there much like her counterpart at Westsider Records down at 233 West 72nd Street.
The people the store has working there fit the stereotype of who would work there. These two stores are fun to wonder around in especially if you grew up in the late 60’s and the 70’s and early 80’s before the ‘Yuppie’ transformation of NYC. You never know lol what treasure you will find in the stacks of these stores.
Most of the rest of Upper Broadway is quite commercial but helpful in everyday needs of shopping and entertainment. The big AMC Theater attracts people from all over the neighborhood and this area is always busy.
During a break in the walking, I stopped by the West Side Cafe at 218 West 72nd Street for the noted Sausage, Egg and Cheese bagel ($3.95) that I ate in Riverside Park. I had seen someone eating it the other day and had to have it. It was well-worth the visit and the sandwich were big and warmed me up with every bite on this cool day.
West Side Cafe & Pizza at 218 West 72nd Street (Closed in 2020)
West End Avenue like the area’s uptown is lined with graceful apartment buildings and on the side streets elegant apartment buildings and brownstones. There are a lot of beautiful churches and schools in this area of the neighborhood.
When you walk down West 84th Street (named after Edgar Allen Poe), you walk into a residential area that time has not touched (except for the sandblasting of the buildings). Most of the apartment buildings are art themselves with all the stonework, carvings and ironwork decorating them. Really take time to look at the stonework of the apartments and the brownstones lining all the streets between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive.
The Mickey Mantle Elementary School P.S. M811 sits at the corner of West End Avenue and West 81st Street at 466 West End Avenue which was named after the famous Yankee Baseball Player. The school specializes in teaching children with learning disabilities and is one of the best of its kind in the City. The school was renamed after the famous player June 4th, 2002, and its academic excellence would have made Mr. Mantle proud.
You can see the back of the Antony Apartments between West 79th and 78th Streets and still you see the grandeur of this apartment building from all sides including the courtyard. The West End Collegiate Church at 245 West 77th Street can be seen for the entire block and it picturesque in its appearance.
West End Collegiate Church at 245 West 77th Street
Built in 1892 by architect Robert W. Gibson, this church was designed in the Gothic Dutch-Flemish Revival Renaissance design and is a noted landmark as headquarter to the church and the Collegiate School, one of the best prep schools in the City. Walk around the church to see the brick details and the Coats of Arms of past patrons lining their walls (Wiki/Church Website). The look of the church is different from all sides.
The church from the other side of the street
The windows have beautiful details around them
The historic plaque
There is a small plaque at 440 West End Avenue dedicated to Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican Governor and great State Reformer. He had championed the eight-hour day, forty-eight-hour week for workers (under 16) and set up a Trades Act to protect workers much of what we work with today. He also served as Secretary of State under President Harding among his many accomplishments.
I finished my walk at the Eleanor Roosevelt statue at the end of Riverside Park and walked around this side of the park which on a cool day was relaxing. I just sat by the benches and looked at all the interesting buildings.
Eleanor Roosevelt Statue at Riverside Square Park
A close up of the statue
The statue was done by sculptor Penelope Jencks and Michael Middleton Dwyer and the architects on the project were Bruce Kelly and David Varnell. Ms. Jencks is an American artist who studied at Boston University and graduated with BFA.
The monument lies at the threshold of the Riverside Park and is one of a sequence of civic monuments along Riverside Drive honoring people of historical significance (NYC Parks.org). It’s a nice place to just relax and watch the world go by. This is also the end of Riverside Park which ends at West 72nd Street.
Riverside Square Park in the Spring
Just to add more walking in, I walked to West Place Chinese Restaurant at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue for dinner that night. I had a craving for Chinese food and still had a lot of energy left in me from the sandwich earlier and it had started to clear up, so I made the trek up Amsterdam Avenue to above the Columbia campus near West 110th Street.
I had a Chicken with Green Beans and pork fried rice combination platter dinner ($8.75) that was excellent and could have feed two people. The chicken was packed with flavor from the spicy garlic sauce and the fried rice had a decent amount of pork in it. The egg roll was pretty decent as well, filled with pork and shredded cabbage.
The Chicken and String beans are so good here.
This local hole in the wall restaurant has now become a favorite not just of people living in the public and private housing complexes that line this part of the neighborhood above Columbia University but with the students as well. I have seen the place packed with Asian students on their lunch hour much to the surprise of everyone else.
After dinner, I walked from West 108th Street to West 42nd Street back to the Port Authority to go home. It had been a long day of walking but there is so much to see and if you really stop to look at everything closely in this neighborhood there is a lot of history packed into this part of the Upper West Side.
Please read my other Blogs on walking this part of the Upper West Side:
Day One Hundred and Five: Walking the Avenues of the Upper West Side from West 84th to West 72nd Streets:
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