Come walk with me from Battery Park, across the Brooklyn Bridge and down to Japan Village!
The Battery
As most folks who follow me know, I generally start my walks at the Battery. It’s the most beautiful place on the island and I always want to check in and see how the seasons are changing it.
The view of the Seaglass Carousel has changed dramatically, but it’s just as lovely as when it was summer.
November is beautiful in NYC. It’s the growing season’s last hurrah. The gold tones in the leaves are a gorgeous contrast with the blue sky.
Just a month ago folks were happy to get a little spray on them from the Bosque Fountains. No longer! In a few more weeks the fountain will be shut down until the spring thaw.
I always stop by the hyacinth bean vines growing on the gate to the Battery Urban Farm. I’m happy to see there are still some flowers popping out.
Elevated Acre
A few blocks from Battery Park is the Elevated Acre, a lesser-known spot where locals take breakfast and lunch. The view of the lower East River is fantastic.
Looking south towards the incredible Battery Maritime Building (1909), 10 South Street. The Battery Maritime Building is the only surviving building of what was once dozens of ferry terminals. Long after the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, fourteen different ferry lines still connected lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Several of them used this elegant terminal. Since 1956 It’s been used as the ferry terminal to Governors Island.
You can reach the Elevated Acre by accessing either the stairs or escalator at 55 Water Street. You can’t see the park from the street. Once upstairs, it opens up into plantings, benches, and a faux grass area used by many exercisers.
Financial District
Staying along the water, I made a quick stop at Shinjuku Japanese Deli. On John Street by the Seaport, it’s a great place to grab a quick meal or snack. It has a large cat sculpture at the entry, and lots of cute cat art throughout.
FDNY Engine Co. 6 was just heading out on a call as I passed by. The wonderful building at 49 Beekman Street was built in 1920.
Engine No. 6 was popularly known as “Tiger” due to a tiger’s head painted as part of the decoration on the back of the engine. Thomas Nast later used the tiger in his political cartoons as a symbol for Tammany Hall.
It was a treat to walk by the Potter Building and see the Christmas tree being put up. The Potter Building (1886), at 38 Park Row, originally served as an office building with many tenants from the media and legal professions. It was converted into apartments from 1979 to 1981 and designated a New York City landmark in 1996.
Brooklyn Bridge
I’d planned to head to Brooklyn today but took the Bridge on a whim. It was just too gorgeous of a day not to!
How can you beat this view – you can see all the iconic buildings at once: H&M Building, the Empire State Building, One Vanderbilt, the MetLife Building, 432 Park Ave, the Chrysler…you can even see the supertalls of billionaires row! Yes, I’m a NYC building nerd and proud of it.
POV: I feel like a fish caught in a net. I could hang here a while!
One of the many photo turntables that all blast “Empire State of Mind” along the bridge. This one was blessedly silent at the moment. The view from this Manhattan anchorage of the bridge looks south to the Seaport and the Battery Maritime building at the bottom of the island.
From the Brooklyn Bridge I headed to Pebble Beach to sit for a bit. OK, really just to take more photos. But I do love the beach, with the waves from all the boats lapping at the rocky shore.
My favorite bridge in the City – the Manhattan Bridge. You can see the Empire State Building beyond the buildings of the Lower East Side.
See what it looks like to walk across the Manhattan Bridge: Exploring the Manhattan Bridge
Dumbo: Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, has New York City’s highest concentration of technology firms by neighborhood. Within a 10-block radius are 500 tech and creative firms that employ over 10,000 people. It also contains the corporate headquarters for e-commerce retailer Etsy.
One of these days I’m going to take a walk focused on all the old factories in DUMBO. This one at 127 Front Street, built in 1900, gets me excited. The factories in this historic district once produced machinery, paint, sugar, coffee, packaged groceries, paper boxes and shoes.
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Japan Village
After a short ride on the train I arrived at Japan Village. Due to the earlier sunsets I was able to enjoy the charm of the lanterns more than when I’d visited in the summer.
I can’t recommend this place enough. It’s just the right mix of shops and fantastic food. Japan Village is in Industry City, at 934 3rd Ave, Brooklyn. From the Jay Street station in DUMBO I took the R train for a 23 minute ride to 36th Street. From there it’s just a 3 minute walk.
Visiting the Loft upstairs I was happy to see that it’s grown even more in the month or so since I’d last been! There’s a new shop upstairs called Yamada-Japanese Bites Stand that has the most FABULOUS strawberry shaved ice!
You can see lots more photos of Japan Village here: Great food, shopping and culture at Japan Village in Brooklyn, NYC
You really don’t have to spend much money to enjoy this place. It’s the art, the mood, the flavor.
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2 responses to “From the Battery to Brooklyn and Beyond!”
I really enjoyed this walk. I often do something similar on my FB posts but your photos are better and you know more about the buildings and history than I do. I started during pandemic lockdown when there was nothing else to do.
Phil, thank you for your kind words. When I used to post on FB I would center them around my walk. Maybe I’ll get back to that idea, it lets me share a wide range of spots in one post. Do you think that’s more interesting than a single topic post?