Stories
New York City stories for walks, landmarks, and local context
Short, source-backed reads that explain what you are seeing while you move through the city.
City story
A Sanctuary of Silence
In the southeastern corner of Central Park, there's a four-acre woodland that feels like a secret. For over eighty years, the Hallett…
City story
A Sanctuary's Secret
Deep in the southeastern corner of Central Park is a four-acre woodland that spent nearly a century as a secret. Originally called The…
City story
A Secluded Escape
In the heart of the bustling city, there's a four-acre woodland that feels like a secret. Hallett Nature Sanctuary, located in the sou…
City story
A Secret Beat in the Lower East Side
Hidden in plain sight on Norfolk Street is a door marked The Lower East Side Toy Company. But if you pass through the gate and climb t…
City story
A Secret Bird Sanctuary
Deep in the southeastern corner of Central Park lies a four-acre woodland that was a total secret for decades. From 1934 until the mod…
City story
A Secret in the Lower East Side
To find the real party during the 1920s, you had to know where to look. On Norfolk Street, you might see a sign for the Lower East Sid…
City story
A Secret in the Open
For over a century, the corner of 42nd Street and Park Avenue has been a whirlwind of commuters. But Grand Central Terminal is more th…
City story
A Secret Lower East Side Beat
To find The Back Room, you have to look for a sign that says 'The Lower East Side Toy Company.' Once you pass the gate and walk down a…
City story
A Slice of the Wild
In the southeastern corner of Central Park lies a four-acre woodland that feels like a glitch in the city's map. The Hallett Nature Sa…
City story
A Steel Skeleton
In 1903, Andrew Carnegie built his mansion at 2 East 91st Street, and while it looked like a classic estate, its bones were cutting-ed…
City story
A Symbol of Aspiration
On the Lower East Side, there's a building that stands as a testament to the hopes of immigrants. The Museum at Eldridge Street is hou…
City story
A Symphony on the Water
For a truly atmospheric evening, imagine a floating stage with the Manhattan skyline glittering across the East River. That's the magi…
City story
A Temple of Aspirations
On Eldridge Street, there's a building that looks like a piece of old-world Europe dropped into the Lower East Side. Built in 1887, th…
City story
A Trail Through Time
Underneath the cobblestones and gated entries of Washington Mews lies a ghost of the island's earliest geography. Long before this was…
City story
A Vision for Chinatown
In the heart of Chinatown, a 44-story brown brick tower stands as a testament to community organizing. Completed in 1975, Confucius Pl…
City story
A Vision in Cast Iron
At the corner of Broome Street and Broadway stands the Haughwout Building, a five-story masterpiece of cast iron built in 1857. Origin…
City story
A Vision in Images
Music and art often share the same goal: to educate and change the world. That was the driving force behind Cornell Capa, who founded…
City story
A Wall of Stories
At the corner of Houston and Bowery, there's a wall that never stays the same. It first became legendary in 1982 when Keith Haring pai…
City story
A Waterfront Legacy
Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1 is the largest of the park's piers, but its beauty comes from a bit of urban recycling. Take a look at the…
City story
A Wedding Present in Stone
Imagine a gift so grand it requires a limestone façade and a slate-and-copper roof. That's exactly what James Buchanan Duke gave his s…
City story
A Wedding Present in Stone
At 1 East 78th Street stands a mansion that looks like it was plucked straight from the French countryside. Completed in 1912, the Jam…
City story
Bridging the Gap
Look up at the massive supports of the Manhattan Bridge in Dumbo, and you're looking at a piece of history from 1906. The Dumbo Archwa…
City story
Broadway's Beat
Standing in the heart of Times Square, Duffy Square is more than just a place to snag discount Broadway tickets at the TKTS booth. It'…
City story
Broadway's Front Door
If you've ever hunted for a last-minute theater ticket, you've likely stood in Duffy Square. This small plaza, bounded by Broadway and…