Walking Manhattan: 30 Strolls Exploring Cultural Treasures, Entertainment Centers, and Historical Sites in the Heart of New York City
Copyright © 2015 by Ellen Levitt
Editor: Adrienne Onofri
Project editor: Ritchey Halphen
Cover and interior photos: Copyright © by Ellen Levitt, except where noted
Cartographer: Scott McGrew
Cover and interior design: Larry B. Van Dyke and Lisa Pletka
Proofreaders: Emily C. Beaumont, Rebecca Henderson
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-0-89997-763-8; eISBN: 978-0-89997-764-5
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Distributed by Publishers Group West
Cover photos: Front, clockwise from top left: statue of Washington and Lafayette, near Morningside Park; Empire State Building, Midtown; trinkets for sale, Chinatown; Apollo Theater and West 125th Street, Central Harlem; Little Red Lighthouse, Inwood; Trump Unisphere, Central Park West. Back, top to bottom: 455 Central Park West (former New York Cancer Hospital); 1 World Trade Center, Financial District; Low Memorial Library, Columbia University.
Frontispiece: 1 World Trade Center
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.
SAFETY NOTICE Although Wilderness Press and the author have made every attempt to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at press time, they are not responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or inconvenience that may occur to anyone while using this book. You are responsible for your own safety and health while following the walking trips described here. Always check local conditions, know your own limitations, and consult a map.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I INTERVIEWED AND SPOKE WITH a number of people while working on this book. Special thanks are extended to Howard Dankowitz, Jessica and Michelle Dankowitz, Janet Dankowitz, Ben Levitt, Willie DeVries, Mindy Braunstein Weinblatt, Mark Weinblatt, Georgette Asherman, Kenny Chin, Sherryl Feinblum Eluto, Jacqui and Barry Elkayam, Cheryl Mamiye Shayo, Leah Krakowski, Cindy Mazer, Nora Walsh-DeVries and Joan Walsh, Josh Sayer, Frank Jump, Charles Bowe, Elliot Schechter, Patrick Lam, Renee Limongelli Natoli, Julian Voloj, Mario Perez, Nico Collazo, Erik Lieber, Neil Abraham, Dan Evans, Ed Foxxe, Arthur Swerdloff, and Ron Schweiger.
Thanks also to staff members at the New York City Municipal Archives, the New-York Historical Society, the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Public Library, and the Brooklyn Public Library, as well as my former colleagues at Murry Bergtraum High School, Manhattan Comprehensive Night High School, and Abraham Lincoln High School.
If I neglected to acknowledge you, please let me know (nicely). A bibliography of my main print and online sources is at the back of the book.
—Ellen Levitt
AUTHOR’S NOTE
AT THE PROUD AGE OF 50, I have done many things in Manhattan, for I have lived my whole life in New York City. I am a native and resident of Brooklyn, but I’ve spent an enormous amount of my time in Manhattan (certainly more than in Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island, although I have enjoyed being in them as well).
Should anyone doubt my street cred, I proffer the following incomplete list of things I’ve done in Manhattan—many positive, some not:
1 Visited museums, the zoo, and national and local monuments.
2 Watched dance performances (ballet, modern, and so on).
3 Went to concerts (rock, jazz, classical, ethnic, and so on).
4 Attended services at synagogues and a few churches.
5 Conducted research for my books.
6 Gave walking tours.
7 Attended parades.
8 Marched in parades.
9 Went on dates.
10 Applied for and received a marriage license.
11 Ate at restaurants.
12 Stood on long lines to pick up license plates.
13 Paid, and fought, parking tickets.
14 Took the test for a city tour-guide license—and passed.
15 Visited family and friends.
16 Took boat rides.
17 Attended funeral services.
18 Watched Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway plays and musicals.
19 Participated in a charity bike ride (the Five Boro, once).
20 Cheered on teams at professional and school basketball and hockey games.
21 Went to the circus.
22 Shopped.
23 Attended professional-development sessions and workshops for teachers.
24 Taught at two high schools and worked as a teaching assistant for a Hunter College course.
25 Worked full-time jobs as a magazine associate editor and at a nonprofit group.
26 Worked part-time jobs as an office assistant, salesperson, and more.
27 Worked student internships at a cable TV station, a synagogue, and a public relations firm.
28 Went bowling, swimming, wall climbing, rowing, hiking, and ice skating.
29 Walked by someone who had a gun and was nabbed by cops … but didn’t realize it until my friend informed me.
30 Walked by or sat near celebrities—and spoke with a few of them: Andy Warhol, Keith Hernandez, Allen Ginsberg, Jerome Robbins, Quentin Crisp, Hilly Kristal (of CBGB fame), and others.
31 Exhibited photographs at the 4th Street Photo Gallery, CB’s 313, 14th Street Y, and other galleries.
32 Attended school as a college undergraduate and a doctoral student.
33 Snapped photographs by myself and with students.
34 Visited and read in libraries (circulating and research).
35 Strolled