Walk out of the memorial to see the New York Mercantile Exchange. Use either the path or the River Terrace sidewalk to enter Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, which has an innovative playground and well-thought-out landscaping. The outer edge is buffeted by waves. Walk for about two or three blocks and then double back.
Go left and pass the World Financial Center ferry terminal and then the North Cove Yacht Harbor, along with an inviting plaza area with seating and tables, some modernist sculptures, and animals scurrying about. Go right, up to the fence at the water’s edge of the promenade, and gaze upon the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. It can be quite peaceful here, in jarring contrast to the bustling streets and highway just a few minutes’ walk away.
A dazzling view of 1 World Trade Center
Admire the boats, then walk toward the large, glass-vaulted building. This is the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden Pavilion—go inside. Completed in 1988, this Cesar Pelli–designed structure was extensively damaged on 9/11 but has been restored with great care. It hosts art exhibits and concerts. The Winter Garden is a fun stroll, what with its excellent views and trees in the main area. You can walk into Brookfield Place, which has luxury shops (including Saks Fifth Avenue) and casual-to-high-end restaurants.
Within the World Financial Center, ask to be directed outside to the Hudson River Greenway. Take the greenway right (south) two blocks to Albany Street and cross to the east side of West Street. Turn left (north) on West.
Note the imposing mansard-roofed skyscraper at 90 West. Completed in 1907, the Gothic building was designed by Cass Gilbert, who also designed the Woolworth Building and the former Custom House in lower Manhattan. Continuing down West, past the two entrances for the 9/11 Memorial (see next walk), at Liberty Street and then Fulton Street, you’ll see the American Express Tower (formerly 3 World Financial Center) to your left; you also get another great view of 1 World Trade Center at the corner of West and Vesey.
Keep walking along West Street until you reach Chambers Street, and take the Tribeca Bridge, a pedestrian overpass that crosses West Street/NY 9A. On the other side of the highway is Stuyvesant High School, one of the most prestigious and selective public high schools in the United States. Since the 1992–93 school year, “Stuy” has occupied this 10-story building, featuring an elegant recessed entrance and many windows that afford a lot of natural light.
Take the Tribeca Bridge (for nice views) or carefully cross West Street (less physical effort) to walk on Chambers Street. Notice the murals painted in bright colors along the curbs of the sports courts—they were painted by children under the auspices of the organization CITYarts. To your left after the murals, a wide path with a checkerboard design leads to the main campus of BMCC.
Walk farther on Chambers to see Washington Market Park, which has a cute gazebo in its center as well as a colorful playground.
After crossing Greenwich Street, make a left on Hudson Street. Bogardus Garden is a small, pretty green space on the triangle between Hudson and West Broadway.
Cross Reade Street and make a left at Duane Street. There are some charming buildings here: #168 has a pretty roofline design that includes two circular windows; #172, an early-1870s building with semielliptical cast-iron arches in front, is unusually elaborate. Duane Park, an attractive triangle of benches and plantings, was the first open space that the City of New York acquired specifically for use as a public park, so it’s older than both Central Park and Union Square.
At the far west edge of the park, Duane Street splits to form a Y—make a hard right at the fork to walk on the upper part of Duane.
Make a left onto Staple Street, a narrow, two-block-long road with an overhead walkway connecting the buildings on either side. Years ago this was a hospital complex, but now it’s residential.
Walk north to Harrison Street, where Staple ends, and go right to Hudson Street. At #6 Harrison is the original New York Mercantile Exchange, from 1884. Made of brick and granite, this red building with white accents looks like a schoolhouse and bears its name over the main entrance.
Turn left on Hudson and walk one block to Franklin Street. Look at the building on the left that’s white for the two lowest floors and then tan, with columns and pilasters to spare. This 1892 creation is the Powell Building; one of its tenants is the pricey Japanese restaurant Nobu.
Make a right onto Franklin, a cobblestoned street that has several historic cast-iron buildings to ogle. At the corner of Varick Street, cast a side glance rightward to the New York Law School, a glass building one block over at Leonard Street.
From here you can take the 1 train at Franklin Street. The downtown entrance is on the corner at Varick and Franklin; the uptown entrance, an attractive glass kiosk of a vaguely retro design, is across the street on a small island bordered by Varick and West Broadway.
POINTS OF INTEREST
PS 234 ps234.org, 292 Greenwich St., 212-233-6034
Silverstein Family Park 7 World Trade Center, bounded by Greenwich Street, West Broadway, and Barclay Street
Irish Hunger Memorial bpcparks.org/whats-here/parks/irish-hunger-memorial, Vesey Street and North End Avenue, 212-267-9700
Nelson A. Rockefeller Park River Terrace between Vesey and Chambers Streets
World Financial Center/Brookfield Place brookfieldplaceny.com, 200 Vesey St., 212-417-7000
Stuyvesant High School stuy.edu, 345 Chambers St., 212-312-4800
Borough of Manhattan Community College bmcc.cuny.edu, 199 Chambers St., 212-220-8000
Washington Market Park washingtonmarketpark.org, Greenwich Street between Chambers and Duane Streets
Bogardus Garden bogardusgarden.org, bounded by Hudson Street, West Broadway, and Reade Street
Duane Park nycgovparks.org/parks/duane-park, between Duane and Hudson Streets
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Start at the Chambers Street subway station and walk west.
2 Make a left on Greenwich Street.
3 Go right on Barclay Street.
4 Turn left on West Street.
5 Go right on Vesey Street.
6 Cross North End Avenue into the Irish Hunger Memorial and Rockefeller Park.
7 Walk along river to the World Financial Center and enter the Winter Garden Pavilion.
8 Walk two blocks south of the World Financial Center on the Hudson River Greenway.
9 At Albany Street, cross to the east side of West Street and head left (north).
10 Cross the Tribeca Bridge to Stuyvesant High School, then double back and walk east on Chambers Street.
11 At Hudson Street, make a left.
12 Walk left at Duane Street, then make a hard right on Duane where it forks at the west end of Duane Park.
13 Turn left on Staple Street.
14 Turn right on Harrison Street.
15 Turn