New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [79]
Surrounding the memorial are the so-called “rolling benches,” which are swoopy and covered with colorful mosaic tiles that bring to mind the works of architect Antonio Gaudí’s Parque Güell, in Barcelona. Made in the 1970s as a public art project, they are now as beloved as they are incongruous with the grand memorial they surround. | Riverside Dr. at W. 122nd St., Morningside Heights | 10027 | 212/666–1640 | www.nps.gov/gegr | Free | Daily 9–5; 20-min tours at 10, noon, 2, and 4 | Subway: 1 to 116th St. St.
Riverside Church.
This enormous, 21-story church, built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1930, has stained-glass windows and other Gothic touches that were modeled on those on the cathedral at Chartres, France. Its nearly 400-foot tower, which is primarily given over to office space, is a local landmark. | Main entrance at 91 Claremont Ave.,490 Riverside Dr., between W. 120th and W. 122nd Sts., Morningside Heights | 212/870–6700 | www.theriversidechurchny.org | Free | Daily 7 am to 10 pm | Subway: 1 to 116th St.
Riverside Park.
Walking around concrete and skyscrapers all day, you can easily miss the expansive waterfront park just blocks away. Riverside Park—which along with the Riverside Park South extension runs along the Hudson from 58th to 156th streets—dishes out a dose of tranquillity.
Its original sections, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux of Central Park fame and laid out between 1873 and 1888, are outshone by Olmsted’s “other” park. But with its waterfront bike and walking paths and lighter crowds, Riverside Park holds its own.
One of the park’s loveliest attributes is a half-mile path along the waterfront, a rare spot in Manhattan where you can walk right along the river’s edge. Reach it entering the park at West 72nd Street and Riverside Drive (look for the statue of Eleanor Roosevelt) and then heading through an underpass beneath the West Side Highway.
Head north along the Hudson River, past the 79th Street Boat Basin, where you can watch a flotilla of houseboats bobbing in the water. Above it, a ramp leads to the Rotunda, home in summer to the Boat Basin Café, an open-air, dog-friendly spot for a burger, a beer, and river views.
Leave the riverside path near 92nd Street by taking another underpass and then heading up the path on the right. The 91st Street Garden, planted by community gardeners, explodes with flowers in most seasons. To the south, cresting a hill along Riverside Drive at West 89th Street, stands the Civil War Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument (1902), an imposing 96-foot-high circle of white-marble columns designed by Paul M. Duboy, who also designed the Ansonia Hotel. | W. 72nd to W. 156th Sts. between Riverside Dr. and Hudson River, Upper West Side | 10024 |www.nycgovparks.org | Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 72nd St.
The San Remo.
You’re likely to notice its twin towers rising above the trees in Central Park, looking like the fairy-tale spires of some urban palace, which it more or less is. Rita Hayworth, Paul Simon, Tiger Woods, and Steven Spielberg are among the celebrities who’ve resided in the 1930 building’s giant apartments.
At their peaks, the towers recede into circular columned Greek temples (modeled after the cathedral in Seville, Spain). They make a useful “compass” if you get disoriented in Central Park and want to know which way is west. | 145 Central Park W, between W. 74th and W. 75th Sts., Upper West Side | 10023 | Subway: B, C to 72nd St.
Previous Chapter | Beginning of Chapter | Next Chapter | Table of Contents
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Table of Contents
Planning | Top Touring Experiences | Top Attractions | Worth Noting
Updated by John Rambow
Harlem is known throughout the world as a center of African-American culture, music, and life. Today many renovated and new buildings join such historic jewels as the Apollo Theatre, architecturally splendid churches, and cultural magnets like the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
As overcrowded apartments and expensive rents downtown