Chelsea, Flatiron/NoMad and Kips Bay

Today's walk was 29th St. through 24th St.; the 6 blocks to the north of my April 18th walk.  After a weekend of birthday debauchery, I needed to stretch my legs and this took me about 12 miles through north Chelsea, the Flatiron and NoMad ("North of Madison Square Park") and Kips Bay.

Today's walk

Today's walk

I started in northern Chelsea at 12th Ave. and 29th St.  and made my way back and forth down to 24th St.  I would classify it as a transitional area, not quite the modern feel of Midtown to the north and not quite the turn of the century feel of Flatiron to the south.  You get a lot of mini districts, like the block where every other store is cell phone case wholesaler, or the street lined with all manner of large plants and trees for sale.  Although it isn't technically in the Garment District, you get a bit of a lower rent version of that with a bunch of cheap fabric/clothing wholesalers in the area roughly between about 8th Ave. and 6th. Ave.  That being said, the NoMad area surrounding Madison Square Park does have quite a few neat older skyscrapers like the gold-capped New York Life Building (built 1928).

A quick aside, the "Squares" you always hear about in Manhattan are the areas between 7th Ave. and Park Ave. where Broadway crosses an Avenue, starting in the north with Times Square at 7th Ave. and 42nd St. and ending in the south with Union Square at Park Ave. and 14th St.  Madison Square Park is where Broadway crosses Madison Ave.

Finally, to the east, north of Gramercy, is Kips Bay, named for a Dutch settler who owned a farm in the area.  It used to be an inlet of the East River, but was filled in at some point and today is largely residential.  It contains the NYU/Bellevue hospital complex, which occupies several blocks east of 1st Ave.

 

East Village (North)

I took a smaller walk later this weekend through the north half of the East Village.  The East Village is generally defined as the area east of 3rd Ave. / Bowery between 14th. St. and Houston.  The beatniks moved here beginning in the 1950's and in the 1960's it became a major hub of the counterculture scene.  Today it's home to a lot of trendy bars/restaurants, shops, and (on 8th St. at least) tattoo parlors.  I did the northern half of the neighborhood (13th St. - 8th St.), about 6 miles.

Today's walk.

Today's walk.

Of historical interest, I passed by St. Marks Church in the Bowery, which is the second oldest church in Manhattan and the oldest site of continuous religious practice in the city.  The first building there was the family chapel of Peter Stuyvesant, the peg-legged Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam who prudently surrendered the settlement to the British in 1664.  He died in 1672 and is buried under the current church building, which was built in 1795-1799.

I also passed through Tompkins Square park.  It's pretty, but has a fairly violent past.  Over the years it has hosted immigrant riots in 1857, Civil War draft riots in 1863,  labor riots in 1874, and homeless riots in 1988.  However, they saved the worst for last; Google Daniel Rakowitz.  Also, it was the site of the founding of the Hare Krishna religion in the US.  Sweet!

Chelsea, Flatiron, Gramercy, Stuy-Town and Union Square

After a seasonal hiatus, I decided to make up for lost time with a long one.  I had Good Friday off of work and decided to walk the entirety of 23rd street through 14th street, taking me through the neighborhoods of Chelsea on the west side, Flatiron and Union Square in the middle, and Peter Stuyvesant Town/Cooper Village on the east side.  In total it was just a little over 20 miles.

Today's walk

Today's walk

I started at 23rd St. and 11th Ave. in Chelsea, named for the estate of Thomas Clark, a British Officer, who purchased the land in 1750.  His grandson, Clement C. Moore (writer of the poem, "The Night Before Christmas"), was born there and later sold most of the land for development.  Today it's a trendy neighborhood, full of art galleries and boutique shops and expensive apartments.  One of Chelsea's main features is the old elevated railroad running along 10th Ave. from 30th St. down to about 13th St.  It fell into disuse by the 1970s but was repurposed as a pedestrian park in the early 2000's.  Today it's one of the largest tourist attractions in the city.

Next I passed through the Flatiron District, named for the distinctive Flatiron Building (b. 1902), and then Gramercy Park.  Gramercy Park is a high-rent residential neighborhood surrounding Gramercy Park (the only privately owned park in New York).   If you don't live in the buildings surrounding it, you can't get in.  

East of Gramercy Park is Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, two residential developments originally meant to attract middle-class families.  Today they're as expensive as anything else in the city, but pretty much devoid of charm (architecturally, at least).

East Harlem (El Barrio)

I moved a little uptown for my second walk into East Harlem, also called Spanish Harlem or "El Barrio."  The neighborhood is largely Latino (Puerto Rican especially).  I had never been to this part of the island, and since my first walk was in familiar territory, I decided to try something new.

I started at W. 116th and Lenox Ave. and walked between there and the East River down to W. 111th (approx. 4.5 miles).  This didn't end up being a long a walk as I had originally envisioned.  I didn't realize it going in, but a group of large housing projects lie along what would have otherwise been W. 114th and W. 113th (so those streets weren't there to walk).  Also, it got cold and started to rain, so I bagged it when I got to back to the subway at W 111th.

Today's Walk (Updated 05/07/2014

Today's Walk (Updated 05/07/2014

I didn't try for any themes on the walk, and since it wasn't very long there weren't many pictures.  It was interesting though.

05/07/2014 UPDATE: So today after work I planned on doing a walk of 116th - 110th west of Lenox Ave.  However, I forgot to put a memory card back in the camera, so I just did the rest of 110th and called it a night.