I lived in Manhattan in my early 20′s and spent a great deal of time walking all over the island exploring different neighborhoods. It continues to fascinate me how many distinctly different street scenes can be in such close proximity, and how easy it is to escape the city feel in Central Park or along the rivers.
The New York Times just ran a feature about walking for a full 12 hours, and 31 miles, around the perimeter of the city. The story brought back some memories as I lived for a short while at the 79th Street boat basin that’s mentioned here. There’s a rotunda there that was a homeless crack den for a while in the late 80s when I lived there, it now apparently houses a “charming open air cafe.”
I used to walk from 79th to 106th (Duke Ellington Blvd.) on a regular basis to visit a friend, all along the Hudson River Greenway. I’d often walk from there into the northern tip of Central Park and down through it to another friend’s place on Central Park West. It was fun to relive those times through this story, and it serves as a reminder that there are outdoor adventures anywhere.
The beauty of such a ramble with today’s technology is that you’re able to access a wealth of details about your surroundings, and tease out an experience that’s rich with history. The full circumference in one day seems extreme though to take anything in, but it’s definitely something you can share that not many have done or even thought of doing.
Be sure to read the story if you want a perimeter picture of this city.
