Tuesday, June 05, 2012

The Bronx Is Up And The Battery's Down

While walking around New York City with my friend Marlaina this past weekend, she gave me a little tip she learned when she first moved to New York fourteen years ago.

She said one of the best things she learned was to stand so you can see between the buildings and down the street. If you saw the Empire State Building, you were looking uptown (it's located at 34th Street and 5th Avenue). In this photo, you can see the very tip of the spire rising behind the buildings.
Conversely, if you saw the Twin Towers, you were looking downtown (they were located at Liberty and Church Streets). Of course, after September 11th, they were no longer able to be used for reference, but now they're rebuilding. In this photo, you can see the new tower, One World Trade Center, in the distance.
Here is a closer look. It's expected to open in late 2013.
These photos were taken at the corner of 6th Avenue and 21st Street, so generally in the center of the lower midtown section, near the Fashion District where Marlaina's hotel was. We had a pretty good view uptown and downtown.

It's very easy to lose your bearings between the tall buildings. Coming up out of a subway seems to wreak the most havoc because if you're a newbie, you can become disoriented once you hit street level. Even if you know which street you're on, you don't always know which direction you need to go, although it helps to remember that avenues run north and south and streets run east and west.

Well, until you get to lower Manhattan where it all gets funky. Although this is a great tip, if you're new to the city, it's probably a good idea to still carry a map.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2011: Where You Go When You Need To Buy Flowers For Your Ho
2010: Photo Ops Amid The Goat Poo
2009: Even The Goats Aren’t Up Early Enough To Beat The Buggy Rush
2008: Before The Locusts Come
2007: Venomous
2006: Sixty Percent Lesbian
2005: Sorry, no post for this day.

2 comments:

colorbond garages said...

Quite experience you have there. Nice page indeed.

dg said...

And a compass?