Full Description
New York, New York - a crazy quilt of evolving neighbourhoods, trends, and tastes, and home to natives and newcomers of every nationality, ethnicity, and outlook. New York City's history and grand ambitions live in every street, park, and hidden alleyway. This unusual guidebook invites the adventurous and curious to explore a wildly diverse selection of little-known places, including: a trapeze school, a giant Buddha in a former porno theatre, a Coney Island sideshow, Louis Armstrong's home, a Central Park croquet court, a Gatsby-era speakeasy, and a secret balcony where slaves worshiped 200 years ago. Play chess with the masters on a Midtown office-tower wall; have a pint at a legendary prizefighter's hangout in Soho; whisper messages across a crowded train station. Unexpected and quirky, most of these destinations are so under-the-radar they will astound even longtime New Yorkers who thought they knew it all!
Revised and updated edition.
Contents
The Afro Archives
Black gold on Malcolm X Boulevard | 10
The Algonquin Lounge
Legendary literary lair | 12
Alice Austen House
Photographic memory | 14
AsiaStore at Asia Society
Museum within a museum | 16
B&H Dairy Restaurant
Comfort food from the old country | 18
The Back Room
Tabooze in a teacup | 20
The Batman-Poe Connection
Partners in crime? | 22
Berlin Wall Fragments
Art of Freedom | 24
Bloomingdale's Retro Restroom
Powder your nose in a Deco ladies' lounge | 26
Bohemian National Hall
Reality Czech | 28
Bowne & Co., Stationers
Making a good impression | 30
Building 92
The Navy Yard goes green | 32
CBGB's Fashion Makeover
From punk hall to posh haberdashery | 34
Chaim Gross's Village Studio
The way to a man's art | 36
Championship Play
On the world's largest chessboard | 38
The Chelsea Hotel
If the walls could speak, the tales they'd tell | 40
Chess Forum
A place to check with a mate | 42
Chico Murals
Transformative street art | 44
The Chinese Immigrant Experience
MOCA, an American story | 46
Chrysler Building Lobby
A triangular gem | 48
City Reliquary
Persistence of memorabilia | 50
Coney Island Circus Sideshow
Weirdness and wonder | 52
Croquet in the Park
A wicket way to spend the day | 54
The Dakota
Storied stories | 56
The Dinner Party
A seat at the table | 58
The Drag Show at Lips
Boys will be girls | 60
The Dream House
Frequencies in sound and light | 62
Driving Along the Hudson
The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers | 64
Duke Ellington Stands Tall
Tribute to a jazz pioneer | 66
The Dyckman Farmhouse
Dutch treat | 68
Eddie's Shoeshine & Repair
Shoe love | 70
The Elevated Acre
Retreat from the street | 72
Elizabeth Street Garden
Offbeat urban oasis | 74
Enoteca Maria
Because nobody cooks like Nonna | 76
Essex Market
Snack yourself silly | 78
Fanelli Cafe
The real deal | 80
FDR Four Freedoms Park
A dream that wouldn't die | 82
Film Forum
Screen gems | 84
Fishing at Sheepshead Bay
Salty dogs and striped bass | 86
Float Your Boat
Waterways in the park | 88
Flying Lessons
With no wings attached | 90
Ford Foundation Atrium
A refuge from the urban jungle | 92
Fragrance Garden
Indulge in sense-sational delights | 94
Gertrude Stein Statue
Buddha in Bryant Park | 96
The Gospel Truth
Sunday services in Harlem | 98
Governors Island
Not that far from the madding crowd | 100
Grate Sound
Times Square humdinger | 102
Greenwich Locksmiths
Captivated by keys | 104
Green-Wood Cemetery
Heaven here on earth | 106
Hall of Fame for Great Americans
Big men and women on campus | 108
Hangman's Tree
Swinging in Washington Square | 110
Harriet Tubman's Skirt
Towering freedom fighter | 112
Henderson Place
A secret street | 114
The High Road to a Tibetan Retreat
Elevate your spirits | 116
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe & Bar
Settle in for a good read | 118
Hua Mei Birds
Sweetly tweeted symphonies | 120
Irish Hunger Memorial
The persistence of memory | 122
Jane's Carousel
A real survivor | 124
Jefferson Market Library
A castle with a clock tower | 126
Katharine Hepburn Garden
Tribute to a passionate gardener | 128
Keith Haring Mural
Whimsical swims | 130
Let There Be Neon
It's a gas! | 132
Library Way
Words of wisdom underfoot | 134
The Louis Armstrong House Museum
Satchmo's home sweet home | 136
Mahayana Buddha
Meditation amidst chaos | 138
Manhattan Art & Antiques Center
One of New York's better kept secrets | 140
Manhattan Night Court
A nice place to visit but ... | 142
Marjorie Eliot's Sunday Salon
Love, and all that jazz | 144
Merchant's House
The Tredwells at home | 146
Mmuseumm
A microcosm of the macrocosm | 148
Morris-Jumel Mansion
George Washington slept here | 150
The Mossman Collection
Lure of the lock | 152
Mount Vernon Hotel & Garden
A country escape, inside the city | 154
National Museum of Mathematics
A math playground | 156
Nevelson's Chapel of Tranquility
White Light | 158
The News Building
Superman worked here | 160
Nicholas Roerich Museum
Art and ancient wisdom | 162
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Breaking barriers | 164
The NY Earth Room
The complexity of simplicity | 166
The Old Synagogue
From Ellis Island to Eldridge Street | 168
Paley Center for Media
The shows must go on | 170
The Panorama of NYC
The not-so-big apple | 172
The Park Avenue Armory
Building excitement | 174
Pastrami Queen
Love at first bite | 176
PDT Speakeasy
Beyond the telephone booth | 178
Rats on the Ropes
Odd façade of the Graybar Building | 180
Red Hook Winery
Fermenting a great idea | 182
Romantic Viewpoint
Enchanting esplanade along the river | 184
The Russian-Turkish Baths
Rub-a-dub-dub | 186
Scandinavia House
From gravlax to Garbo | 188
SeaGlass Carousel
Swim with the fishes | 190
The Slave Galleries
A screaming silence | 192
Small Dog Run
Go to the dogs in Carl Schurz Park! | 194
Smorgasburg
Eat, drink, and be merry | 196
SoHo Sidewalk Surprise
Watch your step! | 198
St. John the Divine's Calamitous Columns
The End of New York | 200
Stone Street
A taste of the high life | 202
Sugar House Window
Relic of a notorious prison | 204
Sweet Pickle Books
A most dill-icious bookstore | 206
Transit System Art
Surprise - the subway's an art gallery! | 208
Tudor City
Utopia, ten minutes from Times Square | 210
Under the High Line
Top-level art from the ground up | 212
Urban Squats & Gardens
Otherwise occupied | 214
Visible Storage at the Met
Hidden riches | 216
Wave Hill
Tranquility on the Hudson | 218
The Wedding Garden
A photo op for the happy couple | 220
Weehawken Street
A shady lane with a shadowy past | 222
The Whispering Gallery
Cool acoustic oddity | 224
White Horse Tavern
Manhattan's most haunted pub | 226
Winnie-the-Pooh
Friends forever - even longer | 228
Yorkville's Glockenspiel
Where time stands still | 230
