Manhattan is rightly called the heart of New York. This relatively small area contains the main financial, cultural, commercial institutions of the city. It is here that the famous Broadway Street is located, which is an attraction in itself.
Manhattan heart of New York - Area, neighborhoods and street guide
Manhattan Map:
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| Location of Manhattan's major boroughs image source Wikimedia |
The even division of Manhattan streets is broken at 59th Street by Central Park, which stretches to 110th Street in length and from 5th to 8th Avenues in width. Also, the ideal grid of neighborhoods in Manhattan is violated by Broadway Avenue, which stretches diagonally from the south of the island to the northeast, crossing the Bronx and turning into the highway to the city of Albany, the capital of the state of New York.
Read also: Boroughs of New York | How many boroughs in new york?
The quarters of Manhattan are formed into districts, the origin of the names of which is different. For example, Greenwich Village and Harlem got their names from the old villages where they appeared. The names Upper East Side and Washington Heights are historical, with the names Chinatown, Little Italy, and Financial District reflecting the ethnicity and occupation of the locals. Some neighborhood names in Manhattan were invented by real estate brokers for their own convenience: Soho is short for “south of Houston Street” (South of Houston), and Tribeca is short for “triangle under Canal Street” (Triangle below Canal).
In addition to the division of Manhattan into neighborhoods and districts, there is also its approximate division into Lower, Middle and Upper City (Downtown, Midtown and Uptown).
DOWNTOWN
Downtown is located in the southern part of Manhattan, while in importance it outweighs the rest of New York as a whole, being the concentration of large financial corporations and a huge part of New York skyscrapers. In the north of Downtown are areas called the Villages. The villages are architecturally very similar to the quarters of old Europe, and are built up with small, 5-6-storey houses, provincial cottages, and are also cut up by narrow and crooked streets that are not New York at all.
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| Downtown Manhattan, NY |
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown - part of Manhattan from 34th Street to the beginning of Central Park - is a real symbol of the whole of New York with its main iconic objects: the Empire State Building, Times Square and Rockefeller Center.
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| Midtown Manhattan, NY |
Uptown manhattan
Northern Manhattan (Uptown) - is an area located above the Central Park. To the left and right of the park are the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, and beyond Harlem, where the island of Manhattan becomes quite narrow, are the u presentable immigrant districts.
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| Uptown Manhattan, NY |
Read also: Manhattan attractions | 17 Best place to visit in Manhattan
List of Manhattan neighborhoods
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| Manhattan, NY |
LOWER MANHATTAN
Not so long ago, at the beginning of the last century, the main gate of New York was not one of its international airports, but a sea harbor in Manhattan Bay, the sharp headland of Lower Manhattan separating the East River and the Hudson. It was here in 1624 that the first colonists founded a small settlement of the East India Company, where later the New York port was formed, into which the legendary Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth entered, and here the Titanic was expected to arrive. Therefore, it is most logical to start acquaintance with Manhattan from this place.
On the site of the houses of the settlement of New Amsterdam, which once stood here, today is the Financial District, the economic heart of New York, rhythmically beating in the premises of the New York Stock Exchange. It is best to see the panorama of the Financial District from the water, since from the ground, between the skyscrapers that are closely spaced to each other, at best, you can see only narrow strips of the sky. To see the entire cape at once, you can take a ferry to Staten Island, or a water bus to Ellis Island.
Small Italy:
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Italian district was located along the entire Mulberry Street, however, pushed back in the late 60s by the rapidly growing Chinatown, it stopped within today's borders. Italian families moved to Bay Ridge and the Tenements of Near Long Island, where little Italy was left with little restaurants and food stalls selling ham, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and Italian sausages. Connoisseurs of Italian cuisine from all over the city like to come here for shopping.
However, Little Italy still attracts tourists: every Friday and Saturday, Mulberry and Hester streets are closed to cars and they become pedestrian only. Mobile trays with Italian ice cream and sweets are installed right on the pavement, the trees are picturesquely decorated with garlands glowing at dusk. Restaurant owners also take tables out onto the street, and they are rarely empty. In general, the color of this quarter is reminiscent of scenes from The Godfather, and this is especially noticeable in the Mulberry Street bar - the former Mare Chiari, where some episodes of the Don Corleone movie were actually filmed.
Also in Little Italy, every September, the festival of St. Januarius is held, arranged in honor of the saint especially revered in Italy. The statue of Saint Januarius is carried with honors along the main streets of the district, and for ten days of the festival, Little Italy turns into a general raging carnival sea. It is also interesting that the Church of St. Januarius, located on Mulberry Street near Canal Street, does not participate in the festival - such is the punishment for her old connections with the mafia. By the way, a lot is connected with the mafia in Little Italy. Today, the mafia past of this corner of Manhattan has gone down in history. However, almost every house, restaurant or street is marked by terrible events - mafia showdowns, bloody murders and shootouts. Certainly, life in Little Italy was once "both dangerous and difficult"!
Chinatown:
Chinatown, or Chinatown, in New York occupies the area between Broadway, Allen Street, Worth Street and Kenmer Street. This restriction is very conditional, as Chinatown is constantly growing and begins to "swallow" Little Italy. Manhattan's large Chinese community of about 150,000 is not the only one in New York, but one of the largest in the world. Today's Chinatown is one of the most popular quarters of Manhattan among tourists. In Chinatown, you can see real Asian exoticism, taste Chinese cuisine and buy inexpensive and colorful souvenirs.
It is best to start your acquaintance with Chinatown from the former legendary "Five Corners", which were formed by the intersection of Baxter, Mulberry, Worth, Mosco and Little Water streets, which no longer exists today. Historically and geographically, this place attracted a lot of criminal personalities to the numerous brothels and gambling houses that existed here. It was here that scenes from Scorsese's Gangs of New York were filmed. Today, the Five Corners no longer exist. On the site of converging streets is Columbus Park - a large square with playgrounds.
Another iconic place in Chinatown is the Mahayana Buddhist Temple in the area of Grand Street and Canal Street, upon reaching which city guests plunge into an endless series of Chinese and Vietnamese shops with jewelry and souvenirs. Opposite the Mahayana Temple is the pretentious entrance to the Manhattan Bridge. Bowery Street, which leaves this place to the north, was once a theater mecca that preceded Broadway. Today's Bowery is an ordinary shopping street filled with hardware stores. Being in Manhattan, it is worth going to the Bowery at least to see what the rest of New York looks like for the most part.
To experience the true spirit of Chinatown, turn off the main streets and walk along Baxter Street, Elizabeth Street, Mott Street. Many Manhattan residents come here to buy green tea, Chinese delicacies or traditional sauces. However, the most spectacular sight can be seen in the fish shops on Broome Street. The fish offered to customers is still alive, and hustling between the counters, you can buy the freshest mackerel, salmon, or trout. And you can see, and even try, completely exotic creatures, such as white snakes, huge mollusks, turtles and frogs, which cost a penny here, and will be cleaned for you completely free of charge. If you have nowhere to cook seafood, wrap up in a sea food restaurant, of which there are many in Chinatown.
Traditional Asian catering places here are represented not only by Chinese, but also by Vietnamese, Thai and Malaysian eateries. At the Peking Duck House, you will be lucky enough to taste the most delicious Peking Duck in New York. The best time to visit Chinatown is undoubtedly the end of winter. After all, after January 25, the Chinese celebrate the New Year according to the eastern calendar. Lush celebrations and festivities last 15 days, and end with a colorful Festival of Lights.
Nolita:
Bohemian Nolita, named after New York realtors short for North of Little Italy, occupies the area from Broome Street to Houston. This area was made famous by David Bowie and Björk, who bought housing here. Property prices soared next, and Nolita filled with high-end clubs, trendy restaurants, designer furniture galleries and a bohemian crowd. The main attraction of Nolita is considered to be the Old Cathedral of St. Patrick on Mulberry Street. This monumental building, surrounded by the greenery of the park, was erected in 1815 and became the first cathedral in New York and the second Catholic church in all of America.
Greenwich Village:
Greenwich Village is located west of Washington Square and is famous for its clubs, coffee houses, pretentious shops and address boards on houses in which a lot of famous figures of literature and art lived in the 20th century. Actually, there are few attractions in Greenwich Village: this is an area of beautiful houses, apartments in which are available only to very rich people. For example, movie stars such as Uma Thurman, Demi Moore and Sarah Jessica Parker live in Greenwich Village.
Historic Greenwich Village is located west of Broadway, all the way to the Hudson River, north of Houston Street and south of 14th Street, and today is called the West Village. In the 60s of the XX century, it was here that the American underground was born. Cafes and clubs where Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Allen Ginsberg performed have survived to this day in the West Village. On the corner of 8th Street there is one of the iconic American establishments - the Gray's Papaya diner, where no American of any income will deny himself the pleasure of buying a hot dog.
One of the famous streets of the West Village, Christopher Street, stretches towards the Hudson. It is famous for the fact that on June 27, 1969, the police carried out general arrests in the Stonewall Inn gay bar, after which the street turned into a venue for fighting between gays and lesbians on the one hand, and the police on the other. Since then, in many cities around the world, the Christopher Street Parade, or Gay Pride, is held annually on the last Sunday of June. The sculpture of George Segal "Gay Liberation" in Sheridan Square, depicting same-sex couples of men and women, has become a symbol of the struggle of people of non-traditional orientation for their rights.
Another cult place in the Village is the underground bar "Chumley's", located on Bedford Street, perhaps the oldest street in the Village. The bar was opened in 1922 and still retains the atmosphere of the movie Only Girls in Jazz. Villagers like to remind tourists that both Fitzgerald and Kerouac have stopped by Chumley's.
soho:
South of Greenwich Village, just beyond Houston Street, begins the Soho district of Manhattan. Soho (SoHo) - also an abbreviation coined by New York realtors, from South of Houston ("south of Houston"). In the east, this part of Manhattan is bordered by Lafayette Street, in the west by 6th Avenue, in the south by Canal Street, which separates Soho and Chinatown.
By the end of the last century, thanks to the fact that many of the area's buildings were recognised as architectural monuments, Soho became a popular area for art galleries, along with which expensive fashion stores began to appear here. The boutiques of Mark Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, La Perla, Yohji Yamamoto were the first to open, followed by the branches of the well-known New York department stores Barneys and Bloomingdale's, and the chain stores J. Crew and H&M did not lag behind. The opening of a huge Prada store on the corner of Broadway and Prince Street, whose interior design was created by one of the world's most famous architects Rem Koolhaas, finally turned Soho from an art gallery district into a shopaholic's paradise.
Before plunging into Soho's network of narrow pavements, it's worth walking down Broadway. If you are more interested in architecture than shopping, then Broadway will provide a great opportunity to admire its cast-iron “openwork”. Surely a tourist will like the Hogvote Building at the intersection of Broadway with Broome Street - a classic example of a Venetian palazzo decorated with cast iron. This building is famous for the fact that it was in it that Elisha Otis installed steam-powered passenger elevators for the first time in the United States.
On the corner of Prince Street and Mercer Street, where in 1998 one of the first club hotels in Manhattan - The Mercer - with a chic restaurant, The Mercer Kitchen, still stands one of the ten oldest bars in New York Fanelli's Cafe, opened back in 1847. Today in this place there is a real pilgrimage of tourists from all over the world. Moving further along Prince Street, you can see the "Apple Store" - a place where in New York they buy all kinds of Apple electronics. Any tourist should look into this electronic paradise, as the computers for sale are connected to the Internet, which means that everyone has the opportunity to check their email for free.
Soho has many iconic restaurants and cafes. The French bistro “Balthazar” on Spring Street deserves special attention with a chic pastry shop, in which every Manhattan guest who stays in Soho considers it an honor to have breakfast. The second culinary Mecca of Soho is the cozy Savoy Restaurant at the intersection of Prince Street and Crosby Street, serving American and Mediterranean cuisine. In a word, Soho is a district of shops and confectioneries in the architectural surroundings of the beginning of the last century. And while many of the area's iconic spots are closed today, Soho hasn't lost its charm, and attracts tourists with completely different pleasures - great sushi bars like Blue Ribbon, and a chance meeting with a movie star like Julia Roberts.
Meat cutting area (Meatpacking District):
The area between 12th and 14th streets in the north of the West Village is occupied by the so-called Meatpacking District. Previously, this corner of Manhattan was famous for butcher shops and a dense settlement of transvestites. Today's Butchery District still retains a grim house-like butcher shop wall, but drag queens are gone, and the paved pavements between the Soho House Club Hotel, Jeffrey New York, and Alexander McQueen boutiques are fit for a Sex and a Ball extra. city". The favorable location of the Maso-Cutting District, surrounded by centers of literature and art, galleries and fashionable clubs, has made it attractive for fashion culture people who hold glossy photo shoots and mini-fashion shows here.
Tribeca:
Like "Nolita" and "Soho", the word Tribeca (TriBeCa) is an abbreviation for Triangle Below Canal, "a triangle under Canal Street", introduced by real estate agents at the end of the last century, and denoting the territory bounded from the north by Canal Street , from the east by Broadway and to the south by Chambers Street.
Tribeca was more affected than any other area in Manhattan by the September 11, 2001 attacks. The collapsed towers of the World Trade Center not only covered the quarter with dust and stench, but also completely demoralised the residents, who hurried for the most part to move to other areas of the Big Apple. As a result, house prices fell to record levels for New York.
However, through the combined efforts of the municipal authorities and individual enthusiasts, Tribeca was revived. It is worth mentioning the name of Robert De Niro, who opened the Tribeca Film Center here in 2002, built the new Tribeca Cinemas, and oversees the Tribeca Film Festival, which brings independent filmmakers and film people from all over the world to Manhattan every year.
The undoubted heart of Tribeca is Duane Park, the triangular area of which was purchased by the municipality from Trinity Church for just five dollars at the end of the 18th century. Moving further along Hudson Street, the tourist will stumble upon one of the most popular establishments in New York - the Japanese restaurant "Nobu", owned by Robert De Niro and chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The queue of those wishing to dine at Nobu stretches for several weeks, but if you don’t have time to wait, you should look into the door next to Nobu: there is a less expensive, but no less tasty and famous Next Door Nobu, in which has no pre-registration.
Walking one block west from Collister Street, you can get to Greenwich Street. This street has gained popularity due to the fact that the best restaurants in Manhattan have settled on it - Dylan Prime, The Harrison, Roc. LaGuardia Place is at the beginning of Washington Square. It was there that one of the prettiest and most organic sculptures of the city found its place. On a low pedestal, a stout, short-legged man in a wrinkled jacket froze in motion. It can be seen that his step is impetuous, his hands are applauding someone, and his mouth is open in a cry. This is Fiorello LaGuardia, a native of a family of Italian immigrants, an American senator and one of New Yorkers' favorite mayors. LaGuardia held the post of head of the "unofficial" US capital for 10 very difficult years, from 1934 to 1945. The sculpture is very realistic, and to an inexperienced eye it might well seem like a caricature, if not for the clearly visible sympathy for the character. New Yorkers remembered LaGuardia as a fair master of the city, who did a lot for its inhabitants.
East Village:
East Side
Chelsea:
WEST MIDTOWN
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| Times square, Manhattan, NY |
EAST MIDTOWN
Broadway:
Broadway diagonally crosses Manhattan from Columbus Circle upwards, and starting from 86th Street becomes parallel to all other avenues. This is the heart of the Upper West Side, the chic, affluent area where all the social life of the city unfolds. At the intersection of Broadway and 81st Street stands New York's premier grocery store, Zabar's. In the main hall of the store there is everything that a gourmet's heart desires - from olives and coffee from all over the world, to smoked fish and meat. In addition, before buying, the seller can offer to try the food they like.
The most fascinating part of the Upper East Side is located on 5th Avenue from 82nd Street to 104th. It is called the Museum Mile and concentrates in its small area the best museums in New York, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art - the largest collection of art treasures in the Western Hemisphere, to a whole galaxy of smaller museums. Among the latest are the Barrio Museum at 104th Street, the Museum of the City of New York at 103 Street, the Jewish Museum at 92nd, the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum at 91st, the Academy of Painting at 89th, the Guggenheim Museum at 88th oh and the New Gallery on 86th Street.
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| Broadway Street |
Just south of the Museum Mile are the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Frick Collection on 70th Street, undoubtedly worthy of note for its ingenious collection of works by European artists. Every year on the second Tuesday of June, Manhattan celebrates Museum Mile Day. 5th Avenue is closed to cars and the street is filled with citizens, amateur groups, food stalls. The main gift of the city to residents and guests on this day is free admission to all museums.
Moving along Broadway, you will soon find yourself next to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, or simply Lincoln Center, which occupies a separate block between 9th Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue. Lincoln Center houses several monsters of the theatrical life of America at once. The first is the New York State Theatre, where the New York City Opera and the New York City Ballet thrive. The second is Avery Fisher Hall, which houses the New York Philharmonic and its own orchestra. And finally, the Metropolitan Opera. Nearby, two more drama theaters found their place: the Vivien Beaumont Theater and the Mitzi Newhouse Theater. The undoubted pearl of Lincoln Center is the Library for the Performing Arts, one of the branches of the New York Public Library, which houses a unique collection of audio and video recordings of all musical genres and times.
All of the above attractions are located in the vicinity of the main pride of New York - Central Park . No city in the world could afford anything like Central Park. This is a huge green area in the form of a rectangle in the very center of Manhattan, which is an unprecedented luxury that New York has acquired only thanks to the active resistance of the townspeople to its development. The man-made park has absolutely everything for recreation: lakes, cool alleys, green lawns in summer; in winter - ice skating rinks. There are many cafes and restaurants, a concert stage, a zoo, sports grounds. And the flora and fauna of Central Park is so diverse that it is described in specially issued guidebooks.
Walking in Central Park is recommended on foot, as pleasant views open up around the paths, and full squirrels frolic on the branches of large trees. It is impossible to get lost in the park - each lamppost has a sign with landmarks. Recently, it has become fashionable to explore the park on bicycles, the rental points of which are located at all entrances to the park.
From an architectural point of view, the southern environs of Central Park are considered the most interesting. At two corners of the park, southeast and southwest, two famous Manhattan squares settled: Grand Army and Columbus Circle. Grand Army Square got its name in honor of the troops of General William Sherman, who distinguished himself in the war with the southerners. The square is famous for the old-fashioned silhouette of the respectable Plaza Hotel and the General Motors skyscraper.
The round square Columbus Circle was named after the column topped with a statue of Columbus, which was installed in the center. This event was timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. In the vicinity of Central Park, there is also another symbolic place for New York, Carnegie Hall - America's main philharmonic, built in 1889-1891 by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie for the city.
In the area of Morningside Heights, which is located northwest of Central Park, stands the main local attraction - the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist at the intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and 110th Street. This temple is perhaps the largest Gothic temple in the world: the length of its central nave is about 200 meters. According to the laws of the genre, "John" has been standing in the forests for more than 100 years, for which he was nicknamed "John the Unfinished" among the people. And yet, in spite of everything, the New York Episcopal Church considers "John the Evangelist" to be its dominant church. The interior and the fullness of the cathedral with artistic treasures is amazing.
Just as striking is the tolerant attitude of the church itself towards the events held in the cathedral, such as the celebration of the summer solstice by the Tunisian and Zimbabwean communities, or the erection of monuments to the victims of the Holocaust or the Armenian massacre of 1915 in the walls of the cathedral ...
Indigenous Manhattans consider only their native island to be the real New York, and in some ways they are right. After all, once in New York and having only a few days, you should not look for sights throughout the city - all the symbols of the "capital of the world", as in a piggy bank, are collected in Manhattan. In addition, the saturation of New York is such that it will not be possible to explore it all in a week. And given that the “Big Apple” changes every second, then it will not work out in a lifetime. But this is exactly what New York conquers its guests.
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