111 Places in New York that you must not miss

111 Places in New York That You Must Not Miss

Jo-Anne Elikann

emons: Verlag

Imprint

© Emons Verlag GmbH // 2016

All rights reserved

German editor: Monika Elisa Schurr

All photos © Jo-Anne Elikann except:

p. 29 (top) courtesy Il Vagabondo;

p. 55 courtesy NY Federal Reserve Bank;

p. 83 (top) © Glen diCrocco;

p. 89 (top), p. 107, p. 113, p. 131 (top), p. 219 © Susan Lusk;

p. 95 (bottom) © Frank Cooper;

p. 97 © Yadi Guevara;

p. 217 © Jo-Anne Elikann with permission of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art, Luce Center Visible Storage, Gallery 774

Design: Emons Verlag

Maps based on data by Openstreetmap, © Openstreet Map-participants, ODbL

ISBN 978-3-96041-230-4

eBook of the original print edition published by Emons Verlag

Did you enjoy it? Do you want more? Join us in uncovering new places around the world on: www.111places.com

Table of contents

Foreword

1_The Afro Archives |

Black gold on Malcolm X Boulevard

2_The Algonquin Lounge |

Legendary literary lair

3_Alice Austen House |

Photographic memory

4_Artists of Color |

A treasure trove in the heart of Harlem

5_B&H Dairy Restaurant |

Comfort food from the old country

6_The Back Room |

Tabooze in a teacup

7_The Batman-Poe Connection |

Partners in crime?

8_Berlin Wall Remnants |

The art of freedom

9_Bloomingdale’s Retro Restroom |

Powder your nose in a Deco ladies’ lounge

10_Bocce at Il Vagabondo |

Dinner rolls

11_Bohemian National Hall |

Reality Czech

12_Brooklyn Boulders |

Have the climb of your life

13_Bubble Building |

Downtown’s newest ‘architecture row’

14_Building 92 |

The Navy Yard goes green

15_CBGB’s Fashion Makeover |

From punk hall to posh haberdashery

16_Chaim Gross’s Village Studio |

The way to a man’s art

17_Championship Play |

On the world’s largest chessboard

18_The Chelsea Hotel |

If the walls could speak, the tales they’d tell

19_Chico Murals |

Transformative street art

20_The Chinese Immigrant Experience |

MOCA, an American story

21_Chrysler Building Lobby |

A triangular gem

22_City Reliquary |

Persistence of memorabilia

23_The City’s Heart of Gold |

Gold vault at the NY Federal Reserve

24_Coney Island Circus Sideshow |

Weirdness and wonder

25_Croquet in the Park |

A wicket way to spend the day

26_Cupcake ATM |

Swipe here for sweetness

27_The Dakota |

Storied stories

28_The Dinner Party |

A seat at the table

29_The Drag Show at Lips |

Boys will be girls

30_The Dream House |

Frequencies in sound and light

31_Driving Along the Hudson |

The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers

32_Duke Ellington Stands Tall |

Tribute to a jazz pioneer

33_The Dyckman Farmhouse |

Dutch treat

34_Eddie’s Shoeshine & Repair |

Shoe love

35_The Elevated Acre |

Retreat from the street

36_Elizabeth Street Garden |

Offbeat urban oasis

37_Enoteca Maria |

Because nobody cooks like Nonna

38_Essex Street Market |

Taste tradition and nibble the new

39_Fanelli Cafe |

The real deal

40_FDR Four Freedoms Park |

A dream that wouldn’t die

41_Film Forum |

Screen gems

42_Fishing at Sheepshead Bay |

Salty dogs and striped bass

43_Float your boat |

Waterways in the park

44_Flying Lessons |

With no wings attached

45_Ford Foundation Atrium |

A refuge from the urban jungle

46_Fragrance Garden |

Indulge in sense-sational delights

47_Gertrude Stein Statue |

Buddha in Bryant Park

48_The Gospel Truth |

Sunday services in Harlem

49_Governors Island |

Not that far from the madding crowd

50_Grate sound |

Times Square humdinger

51_Greenwich Locksmiths |

Captivated by keys

52_Green-Wood Cemetery |

Heaven here on earth

53_Hall of Fame for Great Americans |

Big men and women on campus

54_Hangman’s Tree |

Swinging in Washington Square

55_Harriet Tubman’s Skirt |

Towering freedom fighter

56_Henderson Place |

A secret street

57_The High Road to a Tibetan Retreat |

Elevate your spirits

58_Hua Mei Birds |

Sweetly tweeted symphonies

59_Indoor Extreme Sports |

Be the game

60_Irish Hunger Memorial |

The persistence of memory

61_Jane’s Carousel |

A real survivor

62_Jefferson Market Library |

A castle with a clock tower

63_Katharine Hepburn Garden |

Tribute to a passionate gardener

64_Keith Haring Mural |

Whimsical swims

65_Library Way |

Words of wisdom underfoot

66_The Louis Armstrong House |

Satchmo’s home sweet home

67_Mahayana Buddha |

Meditation amidst chaos

68_Manhattan Night Court |

A nice place to visit but …

69_Marjorie Eliot’s Sunday Salon |

Love, and all that jazz

70_Math Playground |

Discovery is way cool

71_Merchant’s House |

The Tredwells at home

72_The Microcosm |

A roomful of ordinary oddities

73_Modern Pinball |

Flipping out in the city

74_Morbid Anatomy |

The dark mysteries of life

75_Morris-Jumel Mansion |

George Washington slept here

76_The Mossman Collection |

Lure of the lock

77_Mount Vernon Hotel & Garden |

A country escape, inside the city

78_Nevelson’s Chapel of Tranquility |

White Light

79_The News Building |

Superman worked here

80_Nuyorican Poets Cafe |

Breaking barriers

81_The NY Earth Room |

The complexity of simplicity

82_Oldest Manhole Cover |

Keeping a lid on it

83_The Old Synagogue |

From Ellis Island to Eldridge Street

84_Paley Center for Media |

The shows must go on

85_The Panorama of NYC |

The not-so-big apple

86_The Park Avenue Armory |

Building excitement

87_Pastrami Queen |

Love at first bite

88_PDT Speakeasy |

Beyond the telephone booth

89_Rats on the Ropes |

Odd facade of the Graybar Building

90_Red Hook Winery |

Fermenting a great idea

91_Romantic Viewpoint |

Enchanting esplanade along the river

92_The Russian-Turkish Baths |

Rub-a-dub-dub

93_Scandinavia House |

From gravlax to Garbo

94_The Slave Galleries |

A screaming silence

95_Small Dog Run |

Go to the dogs in Carl Schurz Park!

96_Smorgasburg |

Eat, drink, and be merry

97_SoHo Sidewalk Surprise |

Watch your step!

98_Stone Street |

A taste of the high life

99_Sugar House Window |

Relic of a notorious prison

100_Transit System Art |

Surprise – the subway’s an art gallery!

101_Tudor City |

Utopia, ten minutes from Times Square

102_Under the High Line |

Top-level art from the ground up

103_Urban Squats and Gardens |

Otherwise occupied

104_Visible Storage at the Met |

Hidden riches

105_Wave Hill |

Tranquility on the Hudson

106_The Wedding Garden |

A photo op for the happy couple

107_Weehawken Street |

A shady lane with a shadowy past

108_The Whispering Gallery |

Cool acoustic oddity

109_White Horse Tavern |

Manhattan’s most haunted pub

110_Winnie-the-Pooh |

Friends forever – even longer

111_Yorkville’s Glockenspiel |

Where time stands still

Gallery

Maps

Foreword

For over twenty years, I played a fascinating game with New York and myself. On Saturdays and Sundays I ventured into neighborhoods I didn’t know and became an adventurous tourist eager to explore parts of a city I’d never visited before.

I rode there by subway or bus, strolled through streets and parks, poked my head into shops, galleries, houses of worship, and little cafes. Stopping for coffee and a sandwich at a busy diner or a burger and beer in a tavern, I’d strike up a conversation with locals to learn as much as I could about the area. When someone mentioned a special place known mostly to neighborhood folks, I made a beeline there. Back home, along with tired feet, I’d have a whole bunch of photos and a headful of new experiences and stories to share with friends and family.

I never imagined I’d have an opportunity to author a book on these out-of-the-way places, little-known aspects of well-known landmarks, and assorted unusual spots I had discovered on my weekend explorations. But true to the city’s reputation as a place of infinite possibility, I was asked (quite unexpectedly!) to create this book and introduce a world of visitors – as well as my fellow New Yorkers – to 111 not-to-be-missed places that you just don’t find in other travel guides.

I accepted the challenge with great enthusiasm and spent more than a year revisiting some old gems and uncovering many new ones – and photographing a thrilling assortment of truly remarkable must-see destinations. Throughout this process, I’ve had the great good fortune to get acquainted with artists, historians, proprietors, tradespeople, curators, journalists, and adventurous New Yorkers of every description – exceptional women and men who’ve welcomed and enlightened me, often providing valuable insights and inside stories to enrich my experience and add juice to my text.

With reverence and delight, I happily present this, my love letter to New York City.

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1_The Afro Archives

Black gold on Malcolm X Boulevard

It’s the most prestigious research library in the United States that focuses on African Americans, the African Diaspora, and the African experience, with about ten million items in its several collections. If you expect this venerable institution to be intimidating or stuffy, you’re in for a surprise.

Doors to The Schomburg Center open on a contemporary space. A genial staff is eager to assist – whether you’re a scholar of Harlem Renaissance art, a student writing an essay on Marcus Garvey, a Motown enthusiast, or a curious visitor. Galleries, reading rooms, and research resources are open to all. The more you explore, the more astonished you’ll be at the treasures you have access to.

Info

Address 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (between West 135th and 136th Street), New York 10037, Phone +1 212.491.2200, www.schomburgcenter.org | Public Transport Subway: 135 St (2, 3), Bus: M 1, M 2, M 7, M 102 | Hours Mon 10am‒6pm, Tue‒Thu 10am‒8pm, Fri‒Sat 10am‒6pm, closed Sun| Tip Across the street, Harlem Hospital’s Mural Pavilion displays restored murals historically depicting the life and work of black people. Painted in 1936, they were the first Works Progress Administration (WPA) commission for black artists in the US.

In 1926, the collection of African-American material belonging to black Puerto Rican scholar Arturo Schomburg was donated to a Harlem branch library, and named the Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints. As its research reputation grew, other significant local, national, and international African-American collections were added. It was designated one of the NY Public Library’s four main research libraries in 1972, renamed to honor its original donor, and moved to its present site in 1980.

Five remarkable sub-collections – Research & Reference; Manuscript, Archives & Rare Books; Art & Artifacts; Photographs & Prints; and Moving Image & Recorded Sound – enable you to read the original manuscript of Richard Wright’s Native Son, preserved slave diaries, and congressional records. You can view art from Benin to Brooklyn, hear the voice of Malcolm X or Etta James, or read a Kenyan newspaper from your ergonomically-designed reading room chair.

It’s also a vibrant community center. With museum-worthy changing exhibits on thought-provoking (and fun) themes and talks, workshops, performances, screenings, and social gatherings for young and old, Schomburg’s is an uptown goldmine.

Nearby

Artists of Color (0.572 mi)

The Gospel Truth (0.727 mi)

Harriet Tubman’s Skirt (0.814 mi)

Marjorie Eliot’s Sunday Salon (1.324 mi)

To the online map

To the beginning of the chapter

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2_The Algonquin Lounge

Legendary literary lair

Back

For years the lobby lounge of the Algonquin Hotel has been the quintessential spot for a soigné midtown rendezvous. Whatever the hour, lights are low and it’s cocktail time. Despite its spaciousness, the elegant room’s tasteful placement of upholstered settees, armchairs, and softly shaded lamps encourages comfortable, even intimate, conversation. Beneath potted palms and tall mahogany columns, tucked-away corners offer privacy for discreet tête-à-têtes.

Conversation is what the Algonquin is most famous for. In the 1920s it’s where that infamous group of about a dozen sharp-tongued, witty writers and theater people met for lunch every day for nearly a decade to trade ideas, banter, gossip, and generally outdo one another’s clever quips. They called themselves the Vicious Circle. But when a Brooklyn Eagle editorial cartoonist caricatured them clad in suits of armor and redubbed them the Round Table, it stuck. This mutual admiration society was the cream of New York’s literati: critics, columnists, playwrights, and authors, whose charter members included Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman, Alexander Woollcott, and New Yorker magazine founder Harold Ross. A colorful mural in the lobby immortalizes the group, and these celebrated ghosts remain in residence to this day.

Info

Address 59 West 44th Street (between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas), New York 10036, Phone +1 212.840.6800, www.algonquinhotel.com | Public Transport Subway: 42 St-Bryant Pk (B, D, F, M); Grand Central-42 St (4, 5, 6, S); Times Sq-42 St (1, 2, 3, N, Q, R), Bus: M 1, M 2, M 3, M 4, M 5, M 7, M 20, M 42 | Tip Nearby, same-day discount theater tickets (up to 50% off) for many shows are available at the Times Square TKTS booth.

Though major renovations and updates have been made by various owners since the hotel opened its doors in 1902, the lounge’s unique character endures. Wifi throughout encourages the bon mots of bloggers and tweeters, today’s online quipsters. The location, steps away from Broadway theaters, is a perfect place to meet a companion before a show or nurse a nightcap after. Immerse yourselves in old-world ambiance and sip the signature Algonquin Cocktail: rye whiskey, dry vermouth, and pineapple juice. Order a Dorothy Parker mini-burger from the bar menu — she surely would have had a good laugh at that.

Nearby

The Mossman Collection (0.075 mi)

Gertrude Stein Statue (0.174 mi)

Winnie-the-Pooh (0.193 mi)

Library Way (0.199 mi)

To the online map

To the beginning of the chapter

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3_Alice Austen House

Photographic memory

Back

Wealthy nineteenth-century New Yorkers made their summer homes on Staten Island’s shore. Alice Austen’s house, Clear Comfort, overlooked NY Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, and lower Manhattan. She was one of the earliest and most prolific female photographers in the US.

Alice was two in 1868 when her father left and she and her mother moved to this, her grandparents’ home. When she was ten, a sea-captain uncle let her tinker with a camera acquired on his travels. It was a large intricate device with heavy glass plates, but she learned to master it. She took 8,000 pictures in her lifetime. Some were staged, depicting family and friends at play (sailing, yachting, riding) with Alice herself in the frame, shutter-release in hand. Or she’d haul the cumbersome camera onto the ferry to explore Manhattan’s dim corners, documenting lives of the poor, displaced, and diseased.

Info

Address 2 Hylan Boulevard (at Edgewater Street), Staten Island, New York 10305, Phone +1 718.816.4506, www.aliceausten.org, info@aliceausten.org | Public Transport to Staten Island Ferry: Subway: South Ferry (1); Bowling Green (4, 5); Whitehall St-South Ferry (R), Bus: M 5, M 15, M 20; from ferry terminal in Staten Island: Bus: S 51 (to Hylan Boulevard) | Hours Mar.‒Dec. Tue‒Sun 11am–5pm; Jan., Feb. by appointment| Tip Visit a quirky gallery behind the counter at DeLuca General Store on Bay Street, where folk-art lovers go wild over robots, battleships, planes, and rockets Mr. DeLuca made from found objects.

An ace tennis player, cyclist, and the first Staten Island woman to own a car, Alice bucked convention, spent her days in the company of women, and for fifty years lived with her friend Gertrude Tate. When the 1929 stock market crash left her a pauper, she mortgaged the house, sold its contents, and eventually ended up in a county poorhouse. In 1951, 3,000 of her photo plates were found in a storage area of the Staten Island Historical Society, and Alice’s artistry was celebrated. She was transferred