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(Texte en français ci-dessous) When you’re in Midtown on the East River side, you can’t miss seeing the Pepsi-Cola sign in front of you at Long Island City. Originally it was further north in front of a bottling plant for the drink of the same name but when it closed in 1999, its fate remained uncertain until it was moved to its present location in 2009. What you don’t see, though, is the boardwalk that runs past it and goes from the Long Island City ferry stop to the one at Hunters Point South. In addition to being superbly developped with several unusual photo opportunities, games for children and a baseball area, it offers unique views of Manhattan. That makes it an interesting outing project. If you are coming from Manhattan, the best way to reach the Coca-Cola sign and walk along the boardwalk is to take a ferry from the stops along the East River, the closest being at East 34th Street. For the price of a metro ride, you will have the pleasure of being in the open air and on the r...

(texte en français ci-dessous) In this free Upper West Side museum, you’ll find the luminous and spiritualistic paintings of Nicholas Roerich, an early 20th century Russian painter, writer, philosopher, archaeologist and adventurer. In fact, you’ll even find much more because he has had an extraordinary life as evidenced by his astonishing biography: statues from the Middle East brought back after his expeditions to India, Tibet, Mongolia and China, black and white photos showing him in the company of all the great of his time, documents relating to the many associations he created with his wife to promote spirituality and art. Born in St Petersburg in 1874, he died in India in 1947. In between, he lived in Finland, England and the USA. Nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, he also received the Legion of Honor if you believe one of the documents exhibited in one of the rooms of the museum. He has been recognized as the 5th incarnation of the Dalai Lama. He was also the for...

(texte en français ci-dessous) The 16 intricate floors of The Vessel, Hudson Yards, NYC The Vessel at Hudson Yards in New York City is located at the start of  Walk in NYC # 4, the High Line Hudson River stroll. Open to the public in March 2019, it is made of interconnected stairs on 16 floors; its platforms overlook the skyscrapers that have also emerged in this place at about the same time, and on the Hudson River in the distance, behind the subway depot that gives its name to the place. Its particular shape has also made it compared to a M. C. Escher drawing and it's the creation of British designer Thomas Heatherwick. Its metal pieces have been built in Italy. At the beginning, entry was free as long as you had a reserved time slot, then it was closed following some suicides, and then it reopened with new rules that didn't prevent another suicide. It is now open again with safety barriers and an entry fee with mandatory advanced reservation...

(texte en français ci-dessous) Hindu Temple & more places of worship, Flushing, Queens, NYC You know you're near the Hindu Temple Society of North America when you start seeing women in saris or men in turbans on the sidewalk in front of you. They weren't there when you got out of the subway station in Flushing but suddenly, they appear. This Hindu temple, made of granite and completed in 1977, is the second oldest in the USA and it attracts many worshipers. Dedicated to Ganesha whose representations you can see on the facade, it is in fact just one of the many places of worship in Flushing. Before it, and if you follow Walk in NYC # 18, the best of Flushing and Corona, a self-guided tour that explores this part of NYC, you will have visited a synagogue and then there will be two Buddhist temples, not to mention other places that you will pass by without stopping. Why this abundance in Flushing? Simply because the city was founded on the pr...

(texte en français ci-dessous) Take a cable car in NYC As unbelievable as it seems, you can really take a cable car in New York! You just have to go to 59th Street on 2nd Ave and you will find the station where you can take one of the two trams that go from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. Built in 1973 to compensate for the delay in the construction of the metro that was supposed to go to the island, they remained in operation after that with more or less long interruptions and changes of cabins over the years. To take one, it will only cost you the price of a metro ticket and as they operate very regularly and can carry 110 people each, the wait should not be too long. You'll go over the East River and see the mighty Roosevelt Bridge that goes to Queens. You'll also have great views of Manhattan and then you'll arrive to a haven of peacefulness compared to where you started. If you are looking for a quiet spot to picnic, the parks along the river could well answer your ques...

  (texte en français ci-dessous) NYC: 17,000 water tanks If you go to New York, it's obviously not for the water tanks that adorn the roofs of the city. You will however only need to spend a day there to see them everywhere. You may even get attached to them and start looking for them when you are in places where the buildings are more than 6 floors high. Despite their sometimes decrepit air and their astonishing wooden structure, they are still in activity. Three family-owned companies have shared the market for about a century and continue to install or maintain them. There are even some in the skyscrapers - although more modern and made of steel, but you don't see them because they are hidden in the structure. The One World Center has sixteen, for example, located at different heights of the tower to allow their filling in stages. Like all the others, they ensure that the floors above the sixth have running water. Below, the water coming from reservoirs to the north of the...

  The Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest house still standing in Manhattan, but it is also one of the most difficult to reach, tucked away in a corner of Washington Heights and overlooking the East River. This makes its visit all the more interesting because you can be sure that you will not be lost in a crowd of tourists. To get there after a long journey in this part of Manhattan far from the beaten path but full of surprising discoveries, you can follow Walk in NYC # 15, in Hudson Heights and Washington Heights. Once you arrive at the edge of the manor, you will be in the beautiful Jumel Terrace Historic District with its rows of brownstones houses in the Queen Anne, Renaissance or Neo-Romanesque style; in front of the manor, there will be Sylvan Terrace which is the subject of another article on this blog. The visit of the manor will take you about an hour if you do it yourself (there are also guided tours if you prefer) and will probably be preceded by a quick introduction o...

(texte en français ci-dessous) Welling Court 150 murals To see the Welling Court 150 murals, the largest public space dedicated to this art in NYC if not in the USA, you will need to go to Astoria in Queens. If you like walking, you just have to follow Walk in NYC # 6, along the East River, part 3 . It starts on Roosevelt Island and explores this part of the city. The murals will be about halfway through the walk, just past Socrates Park which houses contemporary sculptures. Both locations are free to visit. The Welling Court murals project began in 2009 when locals gathered at Ad Hoc Art, a street art gallery in Bushwick. They wanted to ask artists to come up with ideas to make their neighborhood more pleasant. It only took a few months for the first murals to appear, about forty in all. Since then, in June and annually, they are covered by others and gradually colonize all the walls of the district. This means that from one year to the next, you will...

  (texte en français ci-dessous) Hispanic Society Museum & Library The Hispanic Museum and its library are located quite far off the beaten path in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan. Follow Walk in NYC # 15 and this is where you will end your route; it is also a place not to be missed if you are in the area. It will take you about an hour to see everything and to get there, you will first have to cross the Audubon Terrace flanked by superb statues and lined with 8 American Renaissance Beaux-Arts style buildings. You will then be able to thank Archer Milton Huntington, an heir to the Southern Pacific railroad company, for creating there this imposing ensemble at the beginning of the 20th century, on land previously owned by James Aububon. His architect cousin drew the plans and his sculptor wife decorated the terrace. He also brought in other cultural institutions to occupy the adjacent buildings. He actually envisioned this as a new cultural enclave in this still rural but...

  Only in NYC - Seulement à NYC 12 photos taken in Manhattan or beyond with no explanation for the pure pleasure of their graphism - 12 photos prises à Manhattan ou au-delà, sans explications pour le plaisir pur de leur graphisme. More photos and some ideas for unusual self-guided walks on the Walk in NYC site - Plus de photos et des idées de promenades insolites auto-guidées sur le site de Promenades à New york.

(texte en français ci-dessous) Sylvan Terrace, Washington Heights, Manhattan It is in Washington Heights towards the northern tip of Manhattan that you will find Sylvan Terrace, a street of 3-storey wooden houses built in the 19th century when this part of the island was still mainly covered with fields. After several changes of facades over the years to adapt to evolving architectural fashions, the place finally regained its original character and uniformity in the 1980s. It's when the whole area was designated a historic district, and funds were unlocked to allow its restoration. Today, filmmakers looking for a typical street of the time will often set up their cameras there with some actors in costume. Originally however, the cobbled street leading to a flight of stairs onto St Nicholas Avenue (named Kingsbridge Street at the time) provided only access to the 1765 Morris-Jumel Mansion which is at the other end. It is only in 1882 that Sylvan Terrace houses sprang up along this p...

(texte en français ci-dessous ) You go to the Rockefeller Center for the Tower, the ice-rink, the shops, the ambiance, but have you ever noticed the art? Even though it’s everywhere, it’s not obvious at first; except the enormous statues of Atlas and Prometheus as they are difficult to miss, the 1st one in front of 5th Ave and the other facing the ice-rink at the lower level. However, start to look above the entrance of all the buildings surrounding the plaza and go in the lobbies. Everywhere you’ll see sculptures, murals, mosaics. Most of them depict “The March of Civilization”. Most of them are in the art deco style like the buildings themselves. It means that you are like in a free museum with signs next to the artworks telling you who created them, when, and how they are titled. It was the wish of John D. Rockefeller to inspire the viewer with ideas of hard work, religion and faith in humanity. A great collector of art, he was also a co-founder of the MOMA. Since then, more art ha...