About This Blog

So, my friend and I have a minor disagreement involving you/your site: are you a native New Yorker?

Thank you for sharing. You might like this http://www.vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/
It’s where I learned about your blog.

Hi. Ever find an antique freight elevator (c. 1901) during your travels in NYC. I’ve been looking for one for a doc I’m working on and it’s like finding a needle in the hay stack. Let me know if you have any leads. Not much money to hire a professional scout, but maybe I can find some sort of finders fee in the budget. I’m just at a loss as to how to start looking for this. Thanks!

Dear Scout

My name is Alice Moura, I am luso-brazilian journalist who I run Rent a Local Friend.com project: http://www.rentalocalfriend.com
The concept is to put in contact local freelance professionals (writers, journalists, designers..) to show visitors their favorite places in the city.
See our video from NY at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hFAk07C_AI

The project has been considered as n1″The 10 best new travel websites” by Times online 2009.

We are quite satisfyed with it and are confident that many people might be willing to hire such sort of alternative service during their stay in NY.

We have been browsing the internet to find a few specialized blogs for NY visitors and came across yours.
I would like to present and suggest our service to be listed or featured on your blog.

Also, we would be happy to do any sort of cross promotion or link exchange.

Let me hear from you

Best regards

Alice

The tourist guide was excellent! I’m glad it led me to browse the rest of your site. I am very happy to find out about the Marisol monument.

If you are interested, Washington Heights has many, many cool buildings and hidden and/or overlooked places. I will put a short list here–in case you want to do some weekend exploring.

1. 168th Street stop on the 1 line. It’s been in the news since the 181rst street ceiling fell in, but it is really worth a visit. There are old tiles and old street lamps about 8 stories underground. It feels like a post-apocalyptic world–if the apocalypse had happened ca. 1910.

2. The Jumel mansion (1 train at 157th). George Washington and Aaron Burr lived there for a while. The little street of servants’ quarters next to the mansion are real architectural anomalies. It looks a little like the French Quarter in New Orleans. Some rich basketball player lives in one now—they are selling for millions.

3. The oft-photographed Reynolds bar at 180th and Broadway. People who wander up here to cross the bridge or go to the bus station stumble across it as a real remnant of old New York. Too bad most of the regulars don’t have teeth.

4. High Bridge. A recognized landmark hidden from view. If you’re willing to go through the hole in the fence and risk the homeless encampments hidden inside, it’s pretty amazing. Old, early 20th century street lamps in varying states of decrepitude, rotting metal staircases. A great view of a bridge for carriages and pedestrians before it fell into disrepair.

5. I haven’t seen them yet myself, but there are Indian caves in Inwood park. We truly have some wilderness up here.

6. Another attraction–the Hispanic Society at 156th and Broadway. It now shares its building with the Academy of Arts and Letters and Boricua college–but the sculptural set in the plaza is pretty interesting (not to mention the world-class Goya and Velazquez hidden in plain sight inside the museum).

7. Oh, and one more. Duke Ellington’s (I have this info from old neighborhood gossip) old place at 158th and Riverside. It’s the building with the stripped columns. The times did a little piece on the buildings that go down the street to the highway as a bit of old New York.

Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this blog- it’s very inspiring! I just moved to New York and you’ve given me lots of things to add to my ‘to do’ and ‘must see’ lists.
I’m looking forward to keeping up with your new discoveries in the future.

Thanks again!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nycbyfoot

Our Sunday walks about NYC

What make/model camera do you use?

I made it. At long last, working backward day by day through the archive, I have arrived at the first post, and have now read the whole blog. Great work, Nick, and it gets better as you’ve fine-tuned your style. Keep it up because your readers admire your appreciation of the little things in this wonderful city.

Everything is very open with a precise explanation of the
challenges. It was definitely informative.
Your website is very helpful. Thanks for sharing!