People say the city is all streets and sidewalks — all cement, void of what is natural. While it is certainly not farmland and gardens galore, there are places to enjoy nature right here in Lower Manhattan. Do you know where these places are? We’ll announce the winners tomorrow and link to your Web site (or any social media account you prefer), but you have to identify each picture’s location by commenting or e-mailing us. Good luck!
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I was out walking today and thought I had found a new statue at Bowling Green!
Only to realize someone was having a little fun with me!
Check out all of the photos of the “new statue” on Flickr.
Continuing our Lower Manhattan Summer Anticipation Series, here is an image of the line for Picnick’s BBQ Kiosk in Wall Street Park. MMMMMMMMMM.
I call this piece, “Lush Lower Manhattan” and is it ever. Just a reminder of how nice it is down here when we aren’t wading through February slush.
Jumping ahead 100 years from our last Picture Downtown, here’s a shot from 1900 of St. Paul’s Church and Broadway replete with trolleys, horse drawn carriages, men wearing hats and lots and lots of snow.
Got a favorite picture of Downtown? Send it to content@downtownny.com!
A colleague recently was asking around trying to figure out how much of what we consider Lower Manhattan (below Chambers Street) is built on landfill. Out best guess was somewhere around 300 acres or so (including the 92 acres of Battery Park City). This map, which I think is from the very early 19th century, really drives the point home.
What I find most interesting about the map, however, are the wards. It may be hard to make them out, but this map divides Downtown into a series of strips that run south to north. What’s interesting about it to me is that they recognize the Hudson as the west side of the city and the East River as the east side. This makes a lot of sense to us now, but when New Amsterdam was founded, the Hudson was thought of as the north side of town and the East River as the south. I never knew when this shift in orientation occurred, but the way the wards are assigned here makes me think it was right around the time this map was drawn.
Also, I think we’re done naming new neighborhoods in this city, but I’d get behind bringing “DockWard” back for the southeast corner of Downtown. I’d even support the inevitable DoWa.
Got a favorite picture of Downtown? Send it to content@downtownny.com!
Check out this shot of the Brooklyn Bridge circa 1888. Trains went over the bridge from its opening until 1948. Incidentally, the bridge shares a birthday with two of my favorite people in the world, one is my sister, can you guess the other???
Got a favorite picture of Downtown? Send it to content@downtownny.com!
Greenwich South graces the cover of Architect Magazine (apologies for the fuzziness). We already posted about this, but Greenwich South is near and dear to my heart. Spending 18 months with someone or something will do that to you. The featured design is by WORKac and asks, “What if you could live, work and raise sheep in the same building?” It’s an important question we must all ask ourselves.
Got a favorite picture of Downtown? Send it to content@downtownny.com!
Looking for a “sign” of progress? Oh, that’s rich. The W Hotel at 123 Washington Street just put up the signage for the restaurant that will occupy the first floor of its building. Called BLT Bar & Grill, by my count it will be the 7th restaurant in the BLT Empire. Look for a Fall 2010 opening.
Got a favorite picture of Downtown? Send it to content@downtownny.com!
Temple Street? Dan A. sends along this puzzle ensconced within an enigma folded into a conundrum. Anyone know where Temple Street is/was?
Got a favorite picture of Downtown? Send it to content@downtownny.com!
