New York in Three Days

Description:

The New York Public Library, adjacent to Bryant Park and designed by Carrère & Hastings (1911), is one of the country's finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture, a majestic structure of white Vermont marble with Corinthian columns and allegorical statues. Before climbing the broad flight of steps to the Fifth Avenue entrance, note the famous lion sculptures -- Fortitude on the right, and Patience on the left -- so dubbed by whip-smart former mayor Fiorello La Guardia. At Christmastime they don natty wreaths to keep warm.

This library is actually the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, only one of the research libraries in the New York Public Library system. The interior is one of the finest in the city and features Astor Hall, with high arched marble ceilings and grand staircases. Thanks to restoration and modernization, the Main Reading Rooms on the third floor have been returned to their stately glory and moved into the computer age (goodbye, card catalogs!). They are a must-see. Note: For those who just have to stay in touch, the library now provides Wi-Fi service for free in the reading rooms. After a $5-million restoration, what was once known only as Room 117, a Beaux Arts masterpiece with incredible views of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, is now known as the Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division. Here you will find possibly the finest and most extensive collection of maps in the world. In 2008, the Library's facade began a 3-year restoration, to be completed for the building's centennial in 2011.

Even if you don't stop in to peruse the periodicals, you may want to check out one of the excellent rotating exhibitions. Call or check the website to see what's on while you're in town. There's also a full calendar of lecture programs, with past speakers ranging from Tom Stoppard to Pico Iyer; popular speakers often sell out, so it's a good idea to purchase tickets in advance.

Description:

This pretty restaurant is located behind the New York Public Library and overlooks Bryant Park. There is also a rooftop dining area that feels like a European sidewalk cafe. Unfortunately, the food is not quite as stellar as the atmosphere, although the chef does make good use of fresh seasonal ingredients. Try the raw oysters or the Seafood Scatter Tempura. The New York strip steak is a crowd-pleaser and desserts are especially good. Service is efficent and customer's attire varies from casual to upscale.

Our Local Expert Says:

For views that rival the Empire State Building's famous 86th-floor observatory, head to Top of the Rock, which boasts a more spacious observation deck and equally stunning views (from a slightly lower height).

Description:

A major commercial center covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st Streets and 5th and 7th Avenues in Midtown Manhattan, Rockefeller Center is one of the city's foremost shopping and entertainment destinations. Oil billionaire and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. leased the site from Columbia University in 1929 with plans to build a new home for the Metropolitan Opera. After the stock market crash of that year, plans were changed. Now, 19 buildings constructed in the Art Deco style house shops, restaurants, and offices, along with Radio City Music Hall.

The centerpiece of Rockefeller Center is the 70-floor, 872-foot GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (aka "30 Rock") - formerly known as the RCA Building - centered behind the complex's sunken plaza. The building is the headquarters of NBC and houses most of the network's New York studios, including the legendary Studio 8H, home of Saturday Night Live. The windows of the studio where NBC's Today Show is filmed are usually mobbed by crowd jostling for a look of the show's hosts and guests. Tours of the NBC studios are also available, and many visitors choose to wait in line for tickets to one of the many shows taped in the building.

Description:

This massive cathedral, located at the corner of 50th Street and Fifth Avenue, is the largest decorated Neo-Gothic cathedral in North America, the seat of the Archdiocese of New York, and one of the city's most visited landmarks. Construction of the cathedral began in 1858, was halted for the duration of the American Civil War, and was finally completed in 1878. Its elaborate marble façade and 330-foot spires dwarfed the Midtown Manhattan of that time, and they still stand out today, even in a district packed with office buildings, shops, and tourist attractions, such as MoMA, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall.

Stand-out features of the cathedral's interior include the St. Michael and St. Louis altar, designed by Tiffany & Co., the St. Elizabeth altar, designed by Paolo Medici of Rome, and the stained glass windows. The spectacular rose window is acknowledged to be the finest work designed by Charles Connick, the 20th century genius in stained glass window design. The Archbishops of New York are buried in a crypt under the high altar, and their honorary hats, called galeros, hang from the ceiling over their tombs. St. Patrick's seats about 2,200 people, and every year more than three million visitors step inside its doors.

Our Local Expert Says:

South Street Seaport (11 Fulton Street, to be exact) is home to the acclaimed Bodies: The Exhibition, an up-close-and-personal tour through the intricate and seemingly miraculous workings of the human body.

Description:

This historic trading port, which dates back to the 1600s, is located on the edge of the Financial District, where Fulton Street meets the East River. It was restored and revitalized for tourist use in the late 1960s, and now boasts more than 120 shops, restaurants, and bars, as well as the South Street Seaport Museum, the Pier 17 Pavilion, and the New York City Police Museum. Visitors to the Seaport will also find some of the oldest architecture in downtown Manhattan, including renovated original mercantile buildings from the early 19th century, renovated sailing ships, and the former Fulton Fish Market.

With its cobblestone streets and broad piers, South Street Seaport offers a welcome escape from the congested, skyscraper-lined streets of downtown. There are usually free outdoor performances going on - check out a number of prominent and up-and-coming acts at the outdoor stage set up in the summertime - and the cool breezes, fun people-watching, and beautiful views of the Brooklyn Bridge can all be enjoyed for free.

Our Local Expert Says:

If you're in the mood for a little exercise, walk or ride your bike across this famous bridge for some of the best views of the city.

Description:

Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. It stretches 5,989 feet (1825 meters) across the East River and connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. At the time of its construction, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. The bridge was designed by the New Jersey architect John Augustus Roebling, who died before construction began after he contracted tetanus from a wound sustained in a ferry accident during surveys for the bridge project. Built from limestone, granite, and cement, the Brooklyn Bridge is an example of Gothic-style architecture, with its characteristic pointed arches topping twin passageways through huge stone towers. Because Roebling designed a bridge and truss system six times stronger than he thought it needed to be, the Brooklyn Bridge is still standing, while many other bridges built around the same time have had to be replaced.

In the past, the inside lanes of traffic on the bridge carried the elevated trains of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transport (BMT) Corporation from stations in Brooklyn to a terminal at Manhattan's Park Row. Streetcars shared the other lanes with other traffic until the elevated trains stopped using the bridge in 1944 and the streetcars moved to the center lanes. Six years later, the streetcars also stopped running, and the bridge was rebuilt to its present configuration, with six lanes of automobile traffic. A separate walkway runs along the centerline for pedestrians and bicyclists, and boasts some of the best views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines.

Our Local Expert Says:

The Promenade is one of the best spots in the city to view the 4th of July fireworks - it gets extremely crowded, so be sure to arrive early. There are three nearby playgrounds for kids to enjoy.

Description:

Hop in your car, take a pleasant drive, park it on the street and take a walk while embracing the awesome sight. Tagged by many citizens as one of the best views of the city, the promenade on Brooklyn Heights is known for exactly this reason. A stroll in the early morning or late evening can end up being very romantic.

Our Local Expert Says:

Natives may avoid Times Square whenever possible, but its neon lights and cast of weird characters (including the Naked Cowboy) make it a must-see for the first-time visitor.

Description:

Located at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Street, its glittering lights and neon signs make Times Square one of the most iconic sights of New York City. Formerly the property of fur trading and real estate tycoon John Jacob Astor, the square got its name in the early 1900s when the New York Times moved into a new skyscraper on 42nd Street. After new subways brought thousands of commuters to 42nd Street, the city's theaters moved up from the Bowery and lower Broadway, and the area is now the center of New York's bustling theater district.

In the decades after the Great Depression, Times Square became known as a dangerous neighborhood and a symbol of the city's decline and corruption from the 1960s to the 1990s. After a long-term development plan and a comprehensive crackdown on crime by the city government, the infamous center of pickpockets and porno theaters has been thoroughly reinvented and filled with more upscale and tourist-friendly attractions, hotels, vendors, and street performers.

Description:

The Chanin 46th theater was renamed Richard Rodgers Theater in 1990 to honour the great composer. The theater is unique in that,it has stadium style seating and has no separate entrances to the orchestra or the balcony. Many famous Broadway musicals have been staged at this venue and it continues to regale audiences to this day with a stage adaptation of Disney's Tarzan.

Our Local Expert Says:

The Costume Institute, a curatorial department of the Met, does not have a permanent installation but hosts two special exhibitions each year featuring items from its vast collection. Past events dedicated to star designers like Chanel and Versace have drawn huge crowds.

Description:

Don't expect to fully take in all that this enormous museum has to offer in one visit. With the finest collection of American art in the world, a collection of more than 3,000 European paintings, an expansive array of art from ancient Egypt, and recently renovated halls of Greek, Roman, Cypriot, and Asian art, there is a reason the Metropolitan Museum is considered the foremost symbol of arts and culture in a city chock-full of arts and culture. Often referred to simply as "The Met", the museum is located on Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, on the eastern edge of Central Park and at the center of the so-called "Museum Mile".

First opened in 1872, the Met has been significantly expanded over the years, and its permanent collection now contains more than two million works of art, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. In addition to its giant holdings of American, European, Egyptian, African, Asian, Oceanic, Byzantine, and Islamic art, the museum is also home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from around the world. A number of notable interiors, ranging from 1st century Rome through modern American design, are permanently installed in the Met's galleries. The Met also organizes and hosts a continually changing series of special exhibitions each year.

Our Local Expert Says:

For just a few of the many diversions available in the park, check out some advanced roller blading skills at "The Hill" west of Sheep's Meadow, or have a drink/meal at the Boathouse, near 74th Street on the east side of Rowboat Lake and open all summer.

Description:

The idea for Central Park was born in 1858, which a competition was held to choose a design for what would be the first public park built in America. The winners were Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, whose Greensward plan proposed an entirely man-made park that would be intended only for public use, as a refuge from the relentless rhythms of New York City's already overcrowded streets. It took more than 15 years and $14 million (the equivalent of about $200 million today) to build the Park, with its 843 acres and six-mile perimeter extending from Central Park West to Fifth Avenue and from 59th Street to 110th Street. Those 843 acres include 136 acres of woodlands, 250 acres of lawns, and 7 different bodies of water totaling some 150 acres.

Starting in 1980, a public-private partnership between New York City and the Central Park Conservancy restored and preserved Central Park, and attendance has only been rising in recent years. Now, more than 25 million visitors per year stroll its 58 miles of pedestrian paths, go horseback riding on 4.5 miles of bridle paths, bike or jog on its 6.5 miles of winding roads, or simply relax on the grass or on the nearly 9,000 benches provided. The famous Tavern on the Green restaurant - the location of the finish line for the New York City Marathon - was originally a sheepfold, housing the shepherd and the flock that grazed Sheeps Meadow until 1934. In nice weather, the still lush meadow now welcomes hordes of sunbathers, picnickers, and people-watchers, all of whom enjoy lounging underneath some of the only sky in Manhattan unmarked by tall buildings. Other special features of the park include the Central Park Carousel, the Marionette Theater, the Central Park Wildlife Center, the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, the Delacorte Theater, the Great Lawn, the Central Park Zoo, the Henry Luce Nature Observatory, Wollman Rink, Lasker Rink, the Loeb Boathouse, and the North Meadow.

Description:

The new $1.5 billion home for the New York Yankees baseball team opened in April 2009 on the former site of Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx, across the street from the previous Yankee Stadium (built in 1923). In an effort to preserve a sense of the Yankees' storied history and its star players--who included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio--many aspects of the new stadium reflect those of the previous one, including the design of its exterior and the actual playing field.

Inside, visitors will find hundreds of photographs from throughout the team's history, taken from the archives of the New York Daily News and other sources. Seats are wider and have more legroom than in the previous stadium, and there are hundreds of thousands more square feet of space for food concessions and other amenities. Soon after it opened, the new Yankee Stadium became known for the high number of home runs hit there, earning the derision of some sports commentators, but the number of homers significantly slowed over the course of the 2009 season.

Description:

For down-home food in uptown Harlem, Sylvia's is the place to go. Dishes are homey and old-fashioned, with more than a little soul. Entrees are hardy, low-priced and include such delectable sides as collared greens and mashed potatoes. The best deal in the house is the barbecue ribs special, but the southern fried chicken is also outstanding. The atmosphere is friendly, and owner Sylvia is an institution in Harlem with her own labeled food sold in area stores. Tourists are frequent visitors to the restaurant.