more along Fulton and check out stores, eats, and such. At Gold Street is John J. Delury Sr. Plaza, a small park named for (wait for it) a city sanitation worker. Past Cliff Street, a one-block-long path on your left, is St. Margaret’s House, a senior facility at 49 Fulton. The outside exemplifies cloddish postwar construction, but inside the lobbies are brightened with amateur artworks. When I taught at Bergtraum High, I sometimes ate tasty and low-priced lunches at St. Margaret’s cafeteria.
A block up, at Pearl Street, is the cheery Pearl Street Playground, which my daughters used to romp around when they were younger. Across the street is a tall office building with a quirky plaza area. There are seats in primary colors and a setup that resembles convoluted giant monkey bars.
Turn right onto Water Street to see the large outdoor digital clock on the building at the corner of Water and John Street. It’s fun to watch in action. Return to Fulton Street to see Titanic Memorial Park. History buffs and fans of the film will appreciate this pensive patch, with its white lighthouse and rock-filled garden plot.
Water Street continues on the park’s south side, split from the part you just passed by. Here, it’s a cobblestone street with old buildings, enhanced to look more like a throwback. The South Street Seaport Museum is located here, along with pieces such as an anchor and tie-posts on the street.
As you resume walking toward the river on Fulton Street, it too becomes a cobblestoned walkway. (Hopefully you aren’t wearing stilettos.) Along the way, you’ll see shops and restaurants housed in redbrick Federal-style buildings.
Cross carefully at South Street to the fabled South Street Seaport’s piers. This is a relaxing, picturesque place to roam. Admire the elevated highway over your shoulder, as well as skyscrapers not far away. A walking and biking path runs under the highway and along the river.
Walk toward the water side of Pier 15 to enjoy the East River views and admire the bridges: Brooklyn (closest), Manhattan (middle), and Williamsburg (farthest north). You can also see the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights (including the Promenade) and Dumbo, some of Brooklyn’s piers, boats upon the water, and more. Next to Pier 17 are a few old-style ships to gaze at and, possibly, go aboard. Check out the 1885 iron sailing ship Wavetree, the lightship Ambrose from 1908, and others. A new Pier 17 is slated to open in 2016.
When you finally pull yourself away from this scene, go back across South Street and walk northwest on John Street, passing the Imagination Playground, an interactive play space created by celebrated architect David Rockwell, on your right. John Street follows a mildly wiggly path, and it has many shops to peer into. At #44 is the John Street Church, the oldest Methodist congregation in North America, founded in 1766. The 1846 church house is dark and grim-looking from the outside, but inside it has a homey simplicity: white walls and pews, with plaques on the walls and modestly decorated stained-glass windows. A bit past the church is an entrance to the Fulton Street subway station.
POINTS OF INTEREST
St. Paul’s Chapel trinitywallstreet.org/content/st-pauls-chapel, 209 Broadway, 212-602-0800
9/11 Memorial Museum Store tinyurl.com/911museumstore, 20 Vesey St., 212-267-2047
St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church stpetersnyc.org, 22 Barclay St., 212-233-8355
Woolworth Building woolworthtours.com, 233 Broadway, 203-966-9663
City Hall Park and City Hall nycgovparks.org/parks/city-hall-park, Broadway and Park Row at Barclay Street, 212-639-9675
John J. Delury Sr. Plaza Fulton Street between Gold Street and Ryders Alley
Pearl Street Playground Fulton and Pearl Streets
Titanic Memorial Park Fulton Street between Pearl and Water Streets
South Street Seaport Museum southstreetseaportmuseum.org, 12 Fulton St., 212-748-8600
South Street Seaport southstreetseaport.com, Fulton Street and South Street, 212-732-8257
Imagination Playground Bounded by John Street, Front Street, and South Street
John Street Church johnstreetchurch.org, 44 John St., 212-269-0014
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Commence at Fulton St. and Broadway, and go into St. Paul’s Chapel.
2 Walk right on Broadway.
3 Go right on Fulton Street.
4 Walk right on Church Street.
5 Walk right on Vesey Street.
6 Walk back to Church Street and turn right.
7 Walk right on Barclay Street.
8 At Park Row, enter City Hall Park.
9 Exit the park and make a right on Park Row.
10 Merge onto Broadway.
11 Go left onto Fulton Street, dipping in and out of Water Street to the right.
12 Cross South Street from Fulton to the piers.
13 Make a right across South Street onto John Street.
14 Take the train from the entrance just past John Street Church, or continue up John Street to the subway station on Broadway.
CONNECTING THE WALKS
The previous walk (Wall Street/Financial District) can be done in reverse from the start of this one. For the next walk (Civic Center and Chinatown), go north on Broadway almost seven blocks until you reach the City Hall R train station, just past Murray Street on your right.
A somber Native American peers out from the Woolworth Building.
5 CIVIC CENTER AND CHINATOWN: CULTURE CRAWL
BOUNDARIES: Broadway, Grand St., Mott St., Murray St.
DISTANCE: 3.4 miles
SUBWAY: R to City Hall
Manhattan has places that are busy and frenetic interspersed with relatively relaxed and even quiet spots. The Civic Center and Chinatown are two such places, neighboring precincts where people are constantly on the go—walk through either district, and you’ll hear dialects of legalese and Chinese spoken loudly—but even in these neighborhoods you can find mellower outposts.
