NEW YORK CITY: ARCHITECTURE BOAT TOUR AND CENTRAL PARK BIRDING

 May 2023

There are two things we did in New York City that we were not familiar with before this trip: an architecture boat tour and a birding tour of Central Park.

1.   MANHATTAN ARCHITECTURE BOAT TOUR

Andrew and Michaela had recently taken a boat tour around Manhattan Island with a focus on the city's architecture. They loved it and encouraged us to take a similar tour while they were at work the day we arrived in NYC. We thought it might be a good way to work through our jet lag after our red-eye flight, so we booked tickets. 

It's been hard for me to envision Manhattan as an island, so this trip really helped me get my geographical bearings. Separation between the island and the mainland isn't very wide at the top, but the Harlem River definitely separates Manhattan from the mainland. 

There were about 50 passengers, each group seated at their own table. At some point during the cruise, we were served a soft drink and a snack, part of the tour price.

We had a guide who I believe was an architect himself who narrated our "cruise" around the island with details about architecture and engineering landmarks from all eras of the city's history. He was well-amplified, very knowledgeable, and had a great delivery.

We started our tour at Chelsea Pier (horizontal arrow about 1/3 the way up from the bottom, west side) and traveled clockwise around Manhattan.

It was fascinating to see the variety of structures from different centuries and decades as we putt-putted along. It's a totally different perspective to see everything from offshore.

Via 57 West, a residential building, completed 2016

Normandy Apartments, 1939

Riverside Church, undergoing renovation, 1930

Ulysses S. Grant's Tomb, 1897

We went under quite a few bridges

The Cloisters, 1938

This bridge near the top of Manhattan
actually had to part to let us through.

The 60-foot-tall Columbia "C" painted on the cliff in 1952.

One South First, a one-of-a-kind apartment building, 2010

Domino Sugar Refinery, 1882

10 Jay Street Offices, 2019

The Manhattan Bridge, which ends near
our son's apartment, 1901

The Staten Island Ferry, dating to 1817 (a different boat)

Lady Liberty off in the distance, dedicated 1886

We still haven't disembarked on Liberty Island or Ellis Island. Maybe on our next trip.

It was fun to be this close, however.

I love the view looking back at Manhattan from beyond the Statue of Liberty.

The tallest building with the spike is One World Trade Center.

Coming back up the west side of Manhattan on the Hudson River:

The Standard, High Line, a luxury hotel, 2009

Little Island, a whimsical new park on the Hudson River, has 132
concrete "pots"set on pilings of different heights. Opened 2021.

2. BIRDING TOUR OF CENTAL PARK

It's hard to believe that a park in the middle of the most densely populated city in the United States is a haven for birders, but Central Park is just that. The NYC Audubon Society claims it is "one of the finest birding spots in the United States." We decided to try it out. Bob booked a tour with "Birding Bob" bird walks.

We entered the northeastern sector of the park on a fine June morning with virtually no smog. Because the park is 843 acres, it never feels very crowded. The Harlem Meer was a sea of glass that reflected both the trees and the buildings around it.

We met the tour near the Conservatory Garden and could see that we would have a lot of company.

We didn't have the eponymous "Bob" as our guide, but instead our guide was a woman who was not very loud and not in very good control of the overly large group. It made it hard to get much out of the tour.

However, we spent most of our time in the North Woods, and what we missed in bird sightings was more than made up for (at least for me) by the spectacular scenery. I don't think we had been to this part of the park before, and it just reinforced my incredulity that 1) the park exists at all, and 2) the city planners had the foresight to create it.

Does this look like the heart of a city of 8.5 million people?

There were so many people in our group, and it was hard to get very close to any birds. In addition, Bob was  struggling with some eye issues that made it difficult for him to see well.

We started to hang back a bit from the main body of the birdwatchers.

I think Bob got more from other members of the tour who pointed things out to him than he got from the guide. 

For me, the best sighting of the morning was this mama robin on her nest.

And of course, the flowers were beautiful.

Verdict for our two activities:

1. Definitely take the architecture cruise around Manhattan. 

2. Find a birding tour that caters to much smaller groups. (Of course, you'll pay a lot more money. The advantage of the tour we took is that it was cheap.)