INWOOD
Most visitors get their first glimpse of the
neighborhood when visiting the area’s best
known cultural attraction, The Cloisters in Fort
Tryon Park. This branch of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art is devoted to Medieval art
and culture, and is located in a medieval-style
building, portions of which were purchased
in Europe, brought to the United States, and
reassembled.
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
The largely Dominican sliver of northern
Manhattan probably claims more authenticity
than any Punta Cana all-inclusive. Street
vendors whip up delectable chimichurris,
a sort of Dominican hamburger. Broadway
houses a seemingly limitless number of
chicken-and-rice eateries. English almost
feels like a second language. As with all of
Manhattan, this swath of delis and pollerias
sees change in the future.
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HAMILTON HEIGHTS
Hamilton Heights doesn’t quite feel like
Manhattan. A stew of college students, neogothic architecture and vibrant Dominican
culture brings a foreign flavor to the upper,
upper west side of the island. Gently sloping parks, free museums
and striking brownstones anchor the
neighborhood. Street vendors dish out spicy
tacos and wrap juicy tamales. Winding
streets lined with row-houses tempt anyone
to stroll for hours. Sandwiched between the
Hudson and St. Nicholas Park, this section of
the country’s most chaotic city offers much
needed respite from the concrete and steel.
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MANHATTANVILLE
Hamilton Grange National Memorial is
now hanging out in St. Nicholas Park. The
Bailey House is one of the coolest houses in
Manhattan, and probably the only one built
on a circus fortune. It was the home of P.T.
Barnum’s partner James Bailey. For crazy
concrete church design, nothing beats the
whacked out Church of the Crucifixtion.
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CENTRAL HARLEM
Central and West Harlem were the focus of
the “Harlem Renaissance”, an outpouring
of artistic work without precedent in the
American black community.
Though Harlem musicians and writers are
particularly well remembered, the community
has also hosted numerous actors and theater
companies, including the New Heritage
Repertory Theater,[17] National Black Theater,
Lafayette Players, Harlem Suitcase Theater,
The Negro Playwrights, American Negro
Theater, and the Rose McClendon Players.
[18]
The Apollo Theater opened on 125th Street
on January 26, 1934, in a former burlesque
house. The Savoy Ballroom, on Lenox
Avenue, was a renowned venue for swing
dancing, and was immortalized in a popular
song of the era, “Stompin’ At The Savoy.”
EAST HARLEM
Head above 96th Street for some of the best
Mexican food on the planet, or head west to
Central Park, where you’ll find kids and adults
playing soccer, softball, and football. Get
some culture at the neighborhoods museums,
get some knowledge at a lecture at the 92nd
Street Y, but most importantly, get ready to
be somewhere where people can actually live,
work, and shop. Nothing hip or cool here,
this is just a good old-fashioned New York
neighborhood.
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MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS
Like many neighborhoods in other cities
dominated by an elite university, Morningside
Heights had been historically mischaracterized
as being a Gilbraltar of culture within a barren,
dangerous part of town. But the stereotypes
from the ‘70s and ‘80s couldn’t be further
from the truth. The Morningside Heights area
is one of the safer areas of New York City.
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UPPER WEST SIDE
Many of the buildings that line the streets
of the Upper West Side are landmarks. The
Ansonia (built between 1899 and 1904) was
originally a hotel and is now an exclusive
apartment building. It has had many famous
residents including Babe Ruth and Theodore
Dreiser. The Dakota (built from 1880-1884)
is best known for being the home of John
Lennon and Yoko Ono, and the place where
Lennon was killed at the entrance to the
building. The Dorilton (built in 1902), the
Majestic (built in 1894), and the San Remo
(completed in 1931) all attest to bygone days
of elaborate building construction.
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UPPER EAST SIDE
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St.
Nicholas was the site of a power struggle
between czarist and Soviet Russians after
its founding in 1902. Now, it’s undergoing
renovations and finally conflict-free, but still
an amazing sight to see. The Old Municipal
Asphalt Plant now houses sports fields but
was the source of much controversy: some
called it the ugliest thing they’d ever seen,
but the MOMA hailed it as a masterpiece of
functional design. Head over to 91st Street
and decide for yourself. The Museum of the
City of New York can not only help visitors
understand the history of the neighborhood,
but the whole city as well with 1.5 million
objects and images connected to the city’s
past.
The Jewish Museum features works by
Chagall, a video and film archive and traveling
exhibits that are always worth a peek.
Head up to 104th Street and down to the
Caribbean in the newly renovated Museo
del Barrio, where you can find an excelletion
collection of Latin American art. Another
name you’re sure to have heard of? The
Guggenheim, which not only houses Picasso,
Chagall, Mondrian, and Kandisky, but is also
a piece of art itself, with Frank Lloyd Wright’s
influence seen on the swirling staircase that
guide visitors through. One of the best ways
to see the Guggenheim is on the first Friday
of every month at Art After Dark, where
visitors can tour the museum and have some
cocktails and music along the way.
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YORKVILLE
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries,
Yorkville was a middle- to working-class
neighborhood, inhabited by many people
of Czech, Slovak, Irish, Polish, German,
Hungarian, Lebanese, and Jewish descent.
Yorkville includes Gracie Mansion, the official
home of the mayor of New York City, and
Carl Schurz Park. And Yorkville is also the
birthplace of the Manhattan Chamber of
Commerce, circa 1920, founded by 11 local
businessmen.
LENOX HILL
Lenox Hill is a neighborhood on Manhattan’s
Upper East Side. It forms the lower section
of the Upper East Side, closest to Midtown.
The neighborhood ranges from East 60th
Street to East 77th Street south to north, by
Lexington Avenue to the east, and by Fifth
Avenue to the west. A significant portion of
the neighborhood lies within the Upper East
Side Historic District designated by the New
York Landmarks Preservation Commission in
2013 and expanded in 2010.
525 E 72nd St
525 E 72nd St
LINCOLN SQUARE
Lincoln Square is the name of both a square
and the surrounding neighborhood within
the Upper West Side of the New York City
borough of Manhattan. Lincoln Square is
centered around the intersection of Broadway
and Columbus Avenue, between West 65th
and West 66th streets. The area is served
by the 66th Street – Lincoln Center subway
station (1 2 trains) and anchored by Lincoln
Center for the Performing Arts.
145 W 67th St
2 Lincoln Square
61 West 62nd St
This covered plaza, a two-story skylit atrium,
furnishes a required amenity unique among the
City’s privately owned public spaces: a “climbing wall,” near the entrance at the west side
of Broadway between West 62nd and West
63rd Streets. Dotted with variously shaped
stone foot- and hand-holds, the wall accommodates several climbers at a time, under the
supervision of a climbing club whose office is
several feet away. An audience of onlookers
customarily gathers at green plastic cafe tables
and chairs to enjoy the action and refreshments available from a coffee bar/food service
counter. At a recent site visit, the required food
service was not operating, and no record of
City approval for such a lapse has been found.
Completing the entertainment should be a onehour weekly musical or similar performance. A
sign of the times prohibits smoking, sleeping,
shopping carts, excessively large packages
or bundles, and sitting on the floors or heating
vents.
2 Lincoln Square
61 West 62nd St
David Rubenstein Atrium
CLINTON
Also known as Hell’s Kitchen.
Ninth Avenue is noted for its many ethnic
restaurants. The Ninth Avenue Association’s
International Food Festival, stretches through
the Kitchen from 37th to 57th Streets every
May, usually on the third weekend of the
month. It has been going on since 1974 and
is one of the oldest street fairs in the city. In
addition to the usual American[clarification
needed], Caribbean, Chinese,
650 W 42nd St
650 W 42nd St
825 8th Ave
650 W 42nd St
MIDTOWN
Topping our Midtown list is The Museum of
Modern Art (Free on Friday evenings).
the main branch of the New York Public
Library (guarded by the famous lion statues
Patience and Fortitude) is spectacular. Inside,
visit The Map Room and The Rose Main
Reading Room, one of the most beautiful
spaces in the world to get lost in a book.
Right outside, you can bask on the lawn of
beautiful Bryant Park.
Midtown is home to oodles of thrilling
architecture. Arguably, the most exciting is
the Hearst Tower, a stunning masterpiece
blending old and new, and the first “green”
skyscraper in New York.
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1633 Broadway
146 W 57th
725 5th Ave
745 7th Ave
1166 6th Ave
437 Madison Ave
1166 6th Ave
Of the three through-block passages linking West
56th and 57th Streets between Sixth and Seventh
Avenues, this indoor through block connection is the
most logical choice for pedestrians seeking to walk to
or from part or all of the mid-block chain running from
West 51 st to 57th Streets. From a location point of
view, this passageway is most closely aligned with the
through block connection at CitySpire directly south.
146 W 57th St
550 Madison Ave
725 5th Ave
TURTLE BAY
Numerous missions to the United Nations are in Turtle
Bay, close to the United Nations Headquarters.
The UN complex is also notable for its gardens and
outdoor sculptures. Iconic sculptures include the
“Knotted Gun,” called Non-Violence, a statue of a Colt
Python revolver with its barrel tied in a knot, which was
a gift from the Luxembourg government and “Let Us
Beat Swords into Plowshares”, a gift from the Soviet
Union. The latter sculpture is the only appearance of
the “swords into plowshares” quotation, from Isaiah
2:4, within the complex. Contrary to popular belief, the
quotation is not carved on any UN building. Rather,
it is carved on the “Isaiah Wall” of Ralph Bunche Park
across First Avenue. A piece of the Berlin Wall also
stands in the U.N. garden.
415 E 54th St
153 E 53rd St_Saint Peter’s Church
418 E 59th St
153 E 53rd St
415 E 54th St
425 Lexington Ave
CHELSEA
The architecture of the neighborhood is
some of New York’s most noteworthy. Frank
Gehry’s translucent, iceberg/schooner hybrid
InterActiveCorp Building is regrettably too
short to be seen from vantage points that
aren’t near its location at the intersection of
18th Street and the West Side Highway. But
it’s a leading candidate for coolest building in
Chelsea and one of the loveliest, most unique
buildings erected in Manhattan in recent
years. A few blocks away lies the gorgeous,
Neo-Gothic campus of The General
Theological Seminary, the oldest Episcopal
theological school. Just north of there, the
historic London Terrace luxury apartment
complex fills an entire city block. Up a few
blocks more, the Starrett-Lehigh Building is
an art deco freight warehouse and factory
that now houses several high-profile media
and fashion companies.
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230 West 27th St
230 West 27th St
STUYVESANT TOWN
A large private residential development on
the East Side of the borough of Manhattan
in New York City, and one of the most iconic
and successful post-World War II private
housing communities.
The complex is a sprawling collection of red
brick apartment buildings stretching from First
Avenue to Avenue C, between 14th and 23rd
Streets. It covers about 80 acres (320,000m2)
of land, a portion of which is utilized for
playgrounds and parkland.
WEST VILLAGE
This is the idyllic neighborhood of Jane
Jacobs, the district of odd-angled streets
designed to disorient grid-seasoned New
Yorkers.
The atmosphere of artistic creativity and nonconformity that permeated this neighborhood
in the early 20th century gave rise to the gay
rights movement, sparked by the 1969 riots
at the Stonewall Inn.
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99 Jane St
99 Jane St
EAST VILLAGE
A few historical sites are: Saint Brigid’s
Church (1848), which was built by Irish
immigrants. It’s currently undergoing
restoration after nearly being demolished.
The Russian and Turkish Baths (1892) still
offers old-world platza treatments. One more
significant marker from the neighborhood’s
past is the General Slocum Monument, which
commemorates one of the worst disasters in
the city’s history--the sinking of the General
Slocum steamship in 1904. Over 1,000
lives were lost, mainly German women and
children from the neighborhood.
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60 East 8th St
60 East 8th St
LOWER EAST SIDE
While the Lower East Side has the grittier
reputation, with its sprawl of housing projects
along the East River, and shared border with
Chinatown on the southern and western
edges, gentrification is quickly sweeping
across the landscape; one of the more
obvious signs is the incongruous Blue Condo
rising above Norfolk Street.
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TRIBECA_CIVIC CENTER
Triangle Below Canal Street (Canal Street
being the north side of the triangle, Broadway
being the east side of the triangle, and the
West Side Highway being the west side of
the triangle). On your walk, you’ll pass one
of the city’s oldest parks (Washington Market
Park), some ancient row houses (the Harrison
Street Row Houses) and our favorite TriBeCa
landmark, the Ghostbusters Firehouse (you’ll
know it when you see it, trust us). A great
starting point for seeing TriBeCa is its nexus,
lovely little Duane Park. It’s a quaint little
triangle surrounded on all sides by gorgeous
factory buildings converted into lofts you’d
give an arm and a leg to live in.
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388 Greenwich St
388 Greenwich St
LITTLE ITALY_CHINATOWN
There are some cool places to try and hide
away for a few moments, including the
Eastern States Buddhist Temple and Maya
Lin’s new Museum of Chinese in America.
Columbus Park serves as the northeast
border of the City Hall area. There are several
standout examples of civic architecture,
including City Hall itself, the Tweed
Courthouse, the US Courthouse, the condoized Woolworth Building, the sublime Hall
of Records/Surrogate Court building, and
McKim, Mead, & White’s masterful Municipal
Building, complete with a wedding-cake top
and the Brooklyn Bridge stop of the 4-5-6
trains underneath.
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8 Spruce St_Beekman Plaza
8 Spruce St
FINANCIAL DISTRICT_BATTERY PARK CITY
Site of the original Dutch settlement on Manhattan
Island, the Financial District contains more
historical markers than any other part of the city.
If you’re looking for a place to start, check out St.
Paul’s Chapel and Cemetery, which dates back to
1766, Trinity Church, whose spire was once the
tallest point in Manhattan, and Federal Hall, site
of the first capitol of the United States. You can
also head to Battery Park to take the ferry to the
Statue of Liberty and to Ellis Island where you can
explore the history of immigration in the United
States.
55 Church St
Zuccotti Park
59 Maiden Ln
10 Liberty St
40 Broad St
The Battery Maritime Building is the departure
point for the summer ferry to Governor’s Island.
Last but not least, the Charging Bull statue at
Bowling Green, Initially installed as a piece of
guerilla art, has become the ultimate symbol for
New York’s financial strength, and beloved by
photo-snapping tourists from all over the world.
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60 Wall St
55 Church St
100 William St
2 Gold St
60 Wall St
88 Pine St
100 William St
Zuccotti Park
2 Gold St