Skip to main content

American Cultural History on Walking Off the Big Apple: A Chronological Guide to a Selection of Posts

Over the course of the last two years writing Walking Off the Big Apple, and it's been two years this week, I realize that many posts situate themselves in a category that would best be described as American cultural history. While I spend most of my time on contemporary issues and urban matters, I often explore topics in the history of visual and performing arts, literary history, and architecture.

When I'm out looking for the past, I often find that historical walks find their way into current preoccupations. For example, last fall when I was trying to recreate the fictional world of Lily Bart and her creator, writer Edith Wharton, the Wall Street collapse drew immediate parallels with the writer's time. Even seeing an art exhibit on Babar drew parallels with the Gilded Age.

To better understand the city involves being able to perceive the layers of its history, so when I'm out walking I often chase the furtive shadows of the past. I've put together a chronological guide to a selection of posts, approximately 42 of the 700 on this site, thinking it would be useful to share with student types and with readers who may see old posts that they haven't yet read.

(Ed. note - This list will be updated, as needed. - Teri)

1600s
• The "fresh, green breast of the New World- Mannahatta/Manhattan
• Towards a New Amsterdam: Celebrations of Henry Hudson
• In New Amsterdam, the Half Moon Drops Anchor at the Battery

1810s
• Washington Irving's Solitary Walk through Christmas

1850s
• Before the Whale: Ishmael Takes a Walk in Manhattan
• Art and Spectacle in Nineteenth-Century New York

1860s
• Walking Broadway With Abraham Lincoln: The Visit to New York for the Cooper Union Speech
• Living Now in the New York of the Gilded Age: Inheriting the Built Environment of the Nineteenth Century

1890s
• Reservoir Dog: New York's Demon-Cur of the Winter of 1893
• Charles Hemstreet's Nooks and Corners of Old New York: Lessons in Mortality
• Tribeca Living: A Building for Chocolate and One for the Wool Trade
• The Making of the Monumental Metropolis: New York and the Ecole des Beaux Arts

1900s
• New York 1900: Edith Wharton and The House of Mirth
• A Walk for a New York Christmas: O. Henry and "The Gift of the Magi"
• Henry James' Uneasy Homecoming to Washington Square
• A Visit to Audubon Terrace and Environs

1910s
• Fifth Avenue and the High Road to Taos: Mabel Dodge and Flannery O'Connor
• Harvey Wiley Corbett and the E. 8th Street Apartments
• The Woolworth Building
• 1917: Trotsky's Flâneur Boy Wanders Downtown
• Focus on POTUS: The Two Washingtons of the Washington Square Arch

1920s
• A Visit to Astoria, Then & Now: The Marx Brothers at Paramount Pictures and Notes on Contemporary Attractions
• Making My Own Manhatta (on Paul Strand)
• New York's Theater District: The Legacy of the Golden Age, A Walk and a Map
• The Marx Brothers on Broadway, & Notes on New York Theatres in the 1920s
• From The Great Gatsby: Nick Carraway's Walk
• Walking New York: Theodore Dreiser on St. Luke's Place
• James Weldon Johnson's New York and Four Stops in Central Harlem

1930s
• Lessons from the Days of the "Empty State Building"
• The New York of Raymond Hood, Architect: The Daily News Building
• Walker Evans, a Block on E. 61st Street in 1938
• The Light in Edward Hopper: The Sunny Side of the Great Depression

1940s
• Flannery O'Connor's Six Months in New York City
• E.B. White and the New York of Stuart Little

1950s
• Mapping Holly Golightly: Walking Off Breakfast at Tiffany's
• Places From The Bell Jar: Sylvia Plath's New York
• The Classic New York of Mame Dennis
• Garbo Walks: Into the Modern

1960s
• JFK: The Presidential Candidate From the Bronx
• The New York Hotel That Looks Like It's in Miami
• Freewheelin' Jones Street
• Bye Bye Penn Station: Mad Men Takes on an Epic Battle

1970s
• After Walking, A Place to Sit: Greenacre Park, E. 51st

2000s
• Walking Off the Wall Street Bears: A Subprimer (November 2007)
• After the Closing Bell, A Protest Against the Wall Street Bailout (September 2008)
• A Timely Visit to The Museum of American Finance
• Follow Your Money: The New York Financial Crisis and Walk
• A Stroll Down Pennsylvania Avenue
• J.P. Elephant: Drawing Babar at The Morgan

Images by Walking Off the Big Apple.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Bruce Oksol11:22 PM

    Yours is one of the best blogs I've seen on contemporary New York City. It combines two of my greatest joys: reading and walking.

    I just finished The Great Gatsby and was curious if any blogger had talked about this book. What a great surprise to find your blog. Thank you. I have added it to my list of favorite blogs that I follow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous6:03 AM

    Happy WOTBA Birthday from London.
    I love your site and I am going to be very busy on my next trip to NY with all the great ideas you have given me for walks and explorations. This chronological guide is great.Do you have any info on the now gone restaurant chain of Schrafts? I had a student job as a waitress in summer 1971 in the branch at Madison and 77th St.The corner premises is an art gallery now. I was a realy bad waitress !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Teri Tynes7:05 AM

    Thanks, Bruce.
    Bruce- Many thanks for appreciating my work here.

    And thank you, too Anon, for the WOTBA birthday wishes -
    Wow, Schrafts. I found this book online - "When Everybody Ate at Schrafft's: Memories, Pictures, and Recipes from a Very Special Restaurant Empire." In the comment section, one reviewer mentioned she went to your Schrafts after going to the dentist.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

25 Things To Do Near the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

(updated 2016) The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) at 11 W. 53rd Street is near many other New York City attractions, so before or after a trip to the museum, a short walk in any direction could easily take in additional experiences. Drawing a square on a map with the museum at the center, a shape bounded by 58th Street to the north and 48th Street to the south, with 7th Avenue to the west and Park Avenue to the east, proves the point of the area's cultural richness. (A map follows the list below.) While well-known sightseeing stops fall with these boundaries, most notably Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the great swath of famous Fifth Avenue stores, cultural visitors may also want to check out places such as the Austrian Cultural Forum, the 57th Street galleries, the Onassis Cultural Center, and the Municipal Art Society. The image above shows an intriguing glimpse of the tops of two Beaux-Arts buildings through an opening of the wall inside MoMA's scu
Read more

25 Things to Do Near the American Museum of Natural History

After visiting the American Museum of Natural History, explore attractions on the Upper West Side or in Central Park. Visitors to New York often run around from one major tourist site to the next, sometimes from one side of the city to the other, and in the process, exhaust themselves thoroughly. Ambitious itineraries often include something like coffee in the Village in the morning, lunch near MoMA, a couple of hours in the museum, a ride on the Staten Island Ferry in the afternoon, cocktails at the midtown hotel, a quick dinner, and then a Broadway show. It's a wonder people don't pass out at the theater. While sitting on the steps of the American Museum of History, consider exploring the Upper West Side and nearby sites of interest in Central Park. There's a better way to plan a New York trip. Consider grouping attractions together geographically. Several posts on this site address this recommended approach. The Wild West of the Tecumseh Playground Groupin
Read more

25 Things to Do Near the Metropolitan Museum of Art

(updated) Sitting on the steps in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of those iconic things to do in New York City. On a sunny day, the wide steps can become crowded with the young and old, the tourist and the resident. It's tempting to stay awhile and soak in the sun and the sights. Everyone has reasons for lingering there, with one being the shared pleasure of people watching along this expansive stretch of Fifth Avenue, a painting come to life. Certainly, just getting off one's feet for a moment is welcome, especially if the previous hours involved walking through the entirety of art history from prehistoric to the contemporary. The entrance to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue The Metropolitan Museum of Art should be a singular pilgrimage, uninterrupted by feeble attempts to take in more exhibitions along Museum Mile. Pity the poor visitor who tries "to do" multiple museum exhibitions in one day, albeit ambitious, noble, and uplift
Read more

Museums in New York Open on Mondays

Please see this post for current announcements of reopenings . Please consult the museum websites for changes in days and hours. UPDATED September 23, 2020 Advance tickets required for many museum reopenings. Please check museum websites for details. • The  Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)  reopened to the public on  August 27 , with new hours for the first month, through September 27: from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday to the public; and from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.  on Mondays for MoMA members on ly. Admission will be free to all visitors Tuesday through Sunday, through September 27, made possible by UNIQLO. See this  new post on WOTBA for a sense of the experience attending the museum . •  New-York Historical Society  reopened on  August 14  with an outdoor exhibition, "Hope Wanted: New York City Under Quarantine,” in the rear courtyard. The exhibit by activist Kevin Powell and photographer Kay Hickman will highlight how New Yorkers weathered the quarantine
Read more

10 Short Walks from Grand Central Terminal

(updated March 2017) Famously crowded Grand Central Terminal functions as a major crossroads for the city, hosting busy commuters as they come and go from the suburbs via the Metro-North Railroad or within the city via a few subway lines, but the terminal also happens to be a good place to launch short walks. With its south side fronting E. 42nd Street and its massive structure interrupting Park Avenue, Grand Central provides quick access to many of the city's most well-known attractions. The New York Public Library and Bryant Park are only a couple of blocks away from the terminal, a quick jaunt on 42nd Street. And from there, Times Square is just another block or two farther west of the library, its neon shimmering in the distance. One wonders, standing near the intersection of 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, how many souls have been lured away from their well-meaning library studies by the beckoning lights of the Theater District. Grand Central Terminal : Before setting
Read more

The High Line and Chelsea Market: A Good Pairing for a Walk

(revised 2017) The advent of spring, with its signs of growth and rebirth, is apparent both on the High Line , where volunteers are cutting away the old growth to reveal fresh blooms, and inside the Chelsea Market, where new tenants are revitalizing the space. A walk to take in both can become an exploration of bounty and surprise, a sensual walk of adventure and sustenance. A good pairing for a walk: The High Line and Chelsea Market Walking the High Line for a round trip from Gansevoort to W. 30th and then back again adds up to a healthy 2-mile walk. Regular walkers of the elevated park look for an excuse to go there. Especially delightful is showing off the park, a model of its kind, to visitors from out of town. A stroll through Chelsea Market. Time check. If you haven't stopped into Chelsea Market lately, you may want to take a detour from the High Line at the stairs on W. 16th St. and walk through the market for a quick assessment or a sampling. Among the sampli
Read more

14 Useful Mobile Apps for Walking New York City

Texting and walking at the same time is wrong. Talking on the phone while strolling down the street is wrong. Leaving the sidewalk to stop and consult the information on a cellphone, preferably while alone, is OK. What's on Walking Off the Big Apple's iPhone: A List Walkmeter GPS Walking Stopwatch for Fitness and Weight Loss . While out walking, Walkmeter tracks routes, time, speed, and elevation. This is an excellent app for recording improvised or impromptu strolls, especially with many unplanned detours. The GPS function maps out the actual route. The app keeps a running tally of calories burned while walking, useful for weight loss goals. Another welcome feature is the ability to switch over to other modes of activity, including cycling. An indispensable app for city walkers. $4.99  New York City Compass , designed by Francesco Bertelli, is an elegant compass calibrated for Manhattan, with indications for Uptown, East Side, Downtown, and West Side. While facing a cert
2 comments
Read more

Taking a Constitutional Walk

A long time ago individuals going out for a walk, especially to get fresh air and exercise, often referred to the activity as "taking a constitutional walk." The word "constitutional" refers to one's constitution or physical makeup, so a constitutional walk was considered beneficial to one's overall wellbeing. (Or, as some would prefer to call it, "wellness.") The phrase is more common in British literature than in American letters. As early as the mid-nineteenth century, many American commentators expressed concern that their countrymen were falling into lazy and unhealthy habits. Newspaper columnists and editorial writers urged their readers to take up the practice of the "constitutional" walk. One such essay, " Walking as an Exercise," originally printed in the Philadelphia Gazette and reprinted in New England Farmer , Volume 11, 1859, urges the people of farm areas to take up walking. City dwellers seemed to have the
5 comments
Read more

From Manhattan to the Bronx: A Walk Over the Henry Hudson Bridge to Henry Hudson Park

At the tiptop of Manhattan Island, Inwood Hill Park offers picturesque views of the Hudson River. For one of the best views, follow the marker at Shorakkopoch Rock (see map at the end of the post), the legendary place where Peter Minuit was said to have bought the island for 60 guilders, and follow the ridge up the slope. The path leads gently higher and higher, with views of the Salt Marsh down below and then the underside of the Henry Hudson Bridg e above. This spot along the ridge is well known among birders, as the height and the proximity to the Hudson River allow access to treetops and places where birds like to go.  View of Henry Hudson Bridge from Muscota Marsh in Inwood Hill Park. Look for the path on the left that leads up and under the bridge. This post will explain how to cross the bridge on foot. Keep going around the bend and past the bridge. A few spots of open pavement at the edge of the hill provide good views of the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, a swing bridge
Read more

Visiting New York on a Monday

Mondays are OK. Let's have a look at some of the museums open Mondays - • American Museum of Natural History • Jewish Museum • Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) • National Museum of the American Indian • Neue Galerie • Guggenheim Museum • South Street Seaport Museum Any of these museums could be paired with a nearby restaurant or bar, making a complete full afternoon or day in New York. Monday is especially good for a museum visit, because the crowds tend to be thinner, and restaurants, too, tend to be less busy than on a weekend. A fun museum and bistro walk on the Upper West Side would be a combination of the American Museum of Natural History and the nearby Cafe Lalo on W. 83rd St. I also would suggest a pairing of the Neue Galerie with a nearby cafe, but the two cafes inside the musuem are so good, why go anywhere else? Image above: The Guggenheim on left and Beaux-Arts townhouse on right. View from E. 88th St. by Walking Off the Big Apple.
Post a Comment
Read more