Introduction. On 14 August 2019 Carol and I completed a urban hike from the Financial District to the West Village and back. We started at Battery Park on the southern tip of Manhattan and proceeded to Washington Square Park in the heart of the West Village. As long as we were there, we decided to take a look at the “Friends’ Apartment.” Our route took us along Broad Street, Wall Street, Broadway, across Houston, to the park and beyond. We returned mostly the same way.
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
I did not anticipate how insignificant I would feel in the face of this temple. I can still feel that same wonder just by looking at this photo.
The Address of the New York Stock Exchange
The northeast corner of the temple.
Broad Street
Looking south along Broad Street as it gently curves its way to South Street and the lower tip of Manhattan. The flags mark the NYSE. Lower Manhattan charms with the feel of a prenineteenth century European city with narrow, curving streets and is completely different from the grid one finds north of Houston Street. Compare this European characteristic to the “City of London,” the Rive Gauche of Paris, and to Amsterdam (I know this is New Amsterdam!). I have been a regular visitor to New York City since 1965, and I fell in love with the place all over again with this visit.
One Half of Wall Street
Looking from Broad Street to the northwest end of Wall Street where Trinity Church marks the intersection with Broadway. I later learned that Equinox is a luxury health club.
The Other Half of Wall Street
Looking from Broad Street to the southeast end of Wall Street where it meets the East River. As you can see Wall Street is short. The building with the pillars on the left is Federal Hall and now serves as a memorial run by the National Park Service. The building which dates from 1842 marks the site where a half century earlier George Washington was sworn in as the first president and the Bill of Rights was written. The original building is obviously long gone. If you look carefully, you can spot Carol with her white shoes standing on the corner.
Federal Hall
The 1842 neoclassical building among the skyscrapers of the Financial District. This is the south end of Nassau Street whose north end is about 10 of those short north-south New York blocks away. Nassau ends close to City Hall Park and the Manhattan end of the Brooklyn Bridge. Don’t walk it, however, because I doubt anybody could make it under the spaghetti bowl at the end of the bridge. Take Broadway instead.
Carol Gives Me a Wave
Carol is on the east side of the intersection of Broad Street and Wall Street while I was on the west side.
Please notice that, in this exact center of the Financial District, there are no automobiles. Only people. The silence was surreal and joyful!
Carol
Even after 28 years of marriage, I could not resist this photo of Carol while she was absorbed in viewing the NYSE. I would expect no less of a person who graduated from the University of Utah Business School and devoted her professional life to management. She did retire in 2014 after capping her career as the associate director of the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City.
New York Stock Exchange
Here is the NYSE from the angle at which Carol was admiring in the previous photo. I like the contrast of the classic marble with the skyscraper on the left and the utility pole on the right. The understated gray marble is especially attractive.
Statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi
As soon as we entered Washington Square Park, this statue greeted us. Actually, I found the statue jarring, and I was surprised by my strong reaction to it. Although I usually say that I am of Italian heritage, my heritage is actually Calabrian. Calabria occupies the toe of Italian boot and is historically, politically, genetically, and culturally distinct from the rest of Italy including Sicily. To this day the 1860 march of Garibaldi and his army across Calabria on his way to the unification of Italy leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of many Calabrians. To the dismay of my cousins, my opinion is that the Calabria of today is better off due to the unification, but admittedly the improvement waited until the conclusion of WWII to manifest itself.
The Arch in Washington Square Park
The arch is the iconic symbol of the West Village. It marks the southern end of Fifth Avenue which continues north alongside the Empire State Building at East 33rd Street, then the entire eastern side of Central Park, and finally ending in Harlem.
Looking through the Washington Square Arch to the Empire State Building
The distance between the Arch and Empire State Building is 1.3 mi/2.1 km.
One Block South of Washington Square Park
A welcome break for an espresso and a pastry after our hike from Battery Park. This establishment is just south of Washington Square Park on LaGuardia Place. Just one block to the west is Thompson Street which lines up with 5th Avenue on the north side of the park. Thompson is featured on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a current hit on Netflix. In one scene of a fist fight filmed at night in the middle of Thompson Street, the arch of Washington Square Park in the distance frames the illuminated Empire State Building. A New York moment!
Washington Square Park
Fortified by our snack it was back to the park. This peaceful scene in in the southwest corner of the park. (BTW you will find public restrooms here.)
Statue of George Washington on the Facade of the Arch
The stories of George Washington and of New York City, which was just lower Manhattan in his day, are inextricably intertwined.
The Friends Apartment (#1)
Just a 10-minute walk from Washington Square Park. Friends just observed the twentieth anniversary of its premier last month. Fun fact: Friends is currently the second most popular show on Netflix! As fans know the show was filmed entirely at Warner Brothers in southern California, not here. Alas, no Central Perk on the first floor. Further, Central Park is about 50 blocks to the north.
Carol Poses Kitty-corner to the Friends Apartment
We own the complete DVD set of Friends and we are on our sixth time through the series if you count when it was new on NBC. I laugh harder now that I did at the beginning, and I do treasure anything that makes me laugh. The artistry of the writers, actors, and support personnel was and is monumental.
The Friends Apartment (#2)
I walked a few steps west on Grove St. to get a more serene view.
Friends‘ Fans Kitty-corner to the Apartment
I walked a few doors south on Bedford St. to get this shot of the fans on pilgrimage. The steady stream of the extended Friends family is further testament to the show. The stylist who does my hair is a 22-year-old woman. She and I, a 72-year-old man, chatted happily about the show for close to an hour at my last appointment. I had been telling her about this recent trip, and, as soon as I said “Friends,” she and I were going! She made my sixth time watching the series seem a paltry number. She was two years old when the series premiered.
End Note. So this urban trek was admittedly not time in nature, but it was an extremely satisfying activity that I will never forget. Nations can often leave bad tastes in our mouths, but large cities and small towns can offer special rewards for those willing to experience them in the open air on sidewalks and roadsides whether with shoes, wheelchairs, etc. Oh yes, don’t forget the coffee and pastry shops!
The photos in this post document the hike near its beginning and end. Neglected is the long, hard slog up and down Broadway. We walked up the east side and down the west side. The walk among the fast paced crowds can only be experienced first hand. Any attempt to stop and take even one photo would have violated the ethic of New York and rightly annoyed hundreds of people. My ultimate intent was to be part of the pedestrian migration.
Thank you , Dr. Mike
Addendum-19 Mar 2020 I ran across the following article in the New York Times this morning: https://nyti.ms/2U6xVKV. Although the article was occasioned by the current COVID-19 pandemic, its underlying text is about walking in New York. I love to walk in all cities and towns where I visit, but the sheer numbers of people and their nonverbal intensity make New York urban hikes unique. I am gratified to learn that walking in New York is a thing among New Yorkers and has been since the 19th century.