City Walk #21 - Upper West Side 1: The Gold Coast

Card no. 30 - photos

Begin at Central Park West and 81st Street (B or C train to 81st Street).
The walk begins in front of the Beresford, the cream-colored Italianate apartment house at the corner of Central Park West and West 81st Street against which Mickey Mouse can be seen bobbing at the start of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade each year. The Beresford was compelted in 1929 and sold 11 years later, along with the San Remo (145 Central Park West), for $25,000. Across 77th Street is the Rose Planetarium, part of the American Museum of Natural History complex. No visitor to New York, especially those with children in tow, should fail to visit the Museum of Natural History. At the corner of West 77th Street is the New York Historical Society, the city's oldest museum (since 1804) and repository of many extraordinary collections, including watercolors from John James Audubon's Birds of America. Two blocks along is the San Remo, followed by yet a third variant on manhattan glamour. Compelted in 1884, and nicknamed for its remoteness from the center of town, the Dakota (1 W. 72nd St.) is one of the Upper West Side's great apartment buildings, as well as a shrine for fans of John Lennon, who was shot to death at its entrance on December 8, 1980. Directly across the street, at 115 Central Park West, is the Majestic, a striking example of the art deco style. Continue south to West 70th Street and the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, home to New York's oldest Jewish congregation, since 1897. A couple blocks south, the tawny facade of 55 Central Park West, is a landmark of a different sort - it's where Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis lived in Ghostbusters.

From City Walks: New York: 50 Adventures on Foot by Martha Fay

A Year Ago Today: Sex and the City in the Streets
Two Years Ago Today: Speed Chess on 42nd & Fifth

Photo Ops - City Walk #21

Today's Route: Upper West Side 1: The Gold Coast


In Central Park, near 81st St and Central Park West


A trail to Central Park West


Learning to kick a football in Central Park


Local entertainment


Diana Ross Playground


The Beresford


Rose Planetarium


Exiting from the planetarium


The American Museum of Natural History


A quick peek inside


New York Historical Society


The San Remo


The Dakota


John Lennon was shot and killed at this entrance


The Imagine Mosaic at Strawberry Fields


The Majestic Apartments


The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue


55 Central Park West ...


... where Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis lived in Ghostbusters.

AIDS Walk New York

In place of the usual Sunday City Walk, Terrence and I joined 45,000 people in raising money for the AIDS Walk New York, which began in Central Park today.

City Walk #20 - Harlem 2: Haute Harlem, Historic Harlem

Card no. 42 - photos
This walk combines a slice of New York history with a visit to one of Manhattan's least-known residential neighborhoods.

Begin at Edgecombe and 160th Street (M2 bus to Edgecombe and 160th Streets or C train to 163rd Street).
The oldest private house in New York, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, sits on the hill overlooking the Harlem River, a position that recommended it as temporary headquarters for George Washington in 1776. Handsomely restored, with grounds that are especially pretty in spring and summer, the house is well worth the trek uptown. The entrance is on cobblestoned Jumel Terrace, between West 160th and 152nd Streets, just east of St. Nicholas Avenue. Directly opposite is Sylvan Terrace, a charming row of painted wooden houses built in the early 20th century along the mansion's former carriageway. Turn right out of Sylvan Terrace to West 162nd Street, then right to the far side of Edgecombe Avenue for a glimpse of Yankee Stadium, just across the Harlem River. Walk south on Edgecombe to West 160th, turn right and walk to Broadway to visit the Hispanic Society, between West 155th and 156th Streets, a treasure house of Spanish and Portuguese art, and its neighbor, the American Academy of Arts and Letters (633 W. 155th). Continue south to Trinity Church's graveyard, the last cemetery in Manhattan to still accept tenants. Proceed farther south on Broadway to West 145h and turn left to Convent Avenue, then right into Hamilton Heights, a charming neighborhood of single-family houses that seem frozen in an earlier time. Return to Broadway along West 141st and pick up the 1 or 9 train to West 137th or 145th Street.

From City Walks: New York: 50 Adventures on Foot by Martha Fay

Photo Ops - City Walk #20

Today's Route: Harlem 2: Haute Harlem, Historic Harlem


Morris-Jumel Mansion








Sylvan Terrace






West 162nd Street


Overlooking Yankee Stadium from Edgecombe


The Hispanic Geographical Society




Classic Residences


Broadway and 156th


Trinity Church


Trinity Church's Graveyard




Shoes hanging on wire have meaning in some neighborhoods






Hamilton Heights












137th Street Station