The Great Saunter 2014 - West Side

Last May 3 I joined the Shorewalkers group for The Great Saunter, a day long hike that explores Manhattan’s 32-mile shoreline, visiting more than 20 parks and promenades of Manhattan Island.

We walked along the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, a foreshoreway for walking or cycling around the island of Manhattan. It is separated from motor traffic, and many sections also separate pedestrians from cyclists. There are three principal parts - the East, Harlem and Hudson River Greenways. This post features walking along the Hudson River Greenway, which covers the west side of the greenway.

The Great Saunter started with a registration at the Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan but I was late as there were a lot of changes to my train schedule due to the train derailment the day before. I got off at the City Hall Station and had this great view of the new and the old New York on a beautiful spring day.

I hurried to Battery Park City so I could join the group and passed by Tom Otterness' The Real World at the Nelson Rockefeller Park.

I joined the group as they turned north on the pedestrian path of the Hudson River Park. New Jersey was shining across the river that morning.

Near the Meatpacking District we passed by the New Whitney Museum which is still under construction. It is slated to open in spring of 2015.

For the 2014 Whitney Biennial, it's only offsite piece was The Artists Monument by Tony Tasset, which can be found just a little further from the museum's future home.

The multicolored acrylic panels that adorn Tasset’s Artists Monument are etched with the names of 392,486 modern and contemporary artists, ranging from Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol to emerging artists with a single exhibition to their credit. By building this pointedly horizontal monument in public space, with the artists’ names listed alphabetically and the colors arranged randomly, Tasset symbolically flattens the hierarchies that exist between lauded and unknown artists and instead celebrates the entire community.

We also passed by a ghost bike, a project of the New York City Street Memorial Project. Last April 6 was the 9th Annual Memorial Ride to honor the memories of those who died on the city's streets. 

I stopped near Pier 83 for a late registration for the walk. Pier 83 is home to Circle Line offering sight-seeing cruises and charters. I also featured Pier 83 in a previous post featuring my walk along the West Side Highway.

After the registration I got my participant number, a map, a cap and water .. all I need to continue with the Great Saunter. We were walking northbound and on our left running parallel to the West Side Highway is Hudson River Park, which was looking lovely that spring morning.

According to the park website an expansion of its northern end is currently underway which will help create an improved physical and visual connection with Riverside Park South on the Upper West Side. That is something to look forward to! 

Across the West Side Highway is the future Space New York —megaclub Space Ibiza‘s first U.S. outpost, the current structure features a huge mural by Spanish graffiti-artist Belin.

By the mid-morning we were at the southern end of Riverside Park South. Spring really brings out the best in the city's parks.

Our walk also caught the tail end of this year’s Model 2 Monument public art exhibit at the park, which was on view only until May 15. The exhibit is the third in a five-part partnership between the Art Students League and the New York Parks Department. Here's one of them Preservation: High and Dry by Anna Kuchel Rabinowitz.

The crabapple trees lining the Riverwalk path along Riverside Park were blooming, and I could see the George Washington Bridge in the distance.

The end of the Riverwalk marks the start of Cherry Walk, which is the northernmost part of the park.

The Cherry Walk extends along the river from 100th to 125th Street. In 1909 the Committee of Japanese Residents of New York presented 2,000 cherry trees as a gift to the City. Some surviving trees of the original planting of 700, part of the same batch of trees planted in Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin, can be found along this stretch of Riverside Park.

I have written about walking in spring along the Cherry Walk in two previous blog posts, it's always a lovely experience being surrounded by the pink and white blossoms as you walk along the greenway.

As we exited Cherry Walk, the pathway led to the West Harlem Piers Park. The public art installations in the park are by New York artist Nari Ward, the stainless steel mosaic sculptures reference the eyelet guide found on fishing poles.

Still going forward north, we walked along the street level of Riverbank State Park. I remember when I was here last year, at the upper level of the park, looking for the Sing For Hope piano. The upper level of the park has great views of the New Jersey Palisades and the George Washington Bridge.

North of the Riverbank State Park is Fort Washington Park which has a newly renovated playground. The park has one of the best views of the George Washington Bridge.

Under the George Washington Bridge is the Little Red Lighthouse. It is open only five times a year, every second Saturday of June to October. Here is a previous post about my visit to the lighthouse two years ago.

As we followed the greenway from back to where it runs parallel to the Henry Hudson Parkway, I could see the retaining wall of Castle Village. It looked like it was recently tagged, although it boggles the mind where these street artists perched just so they can create their brand of art.

We also passed by the Pumpkin House, it got its name from the shape of its lighted windows and the orange glow of sunset so that it resembles a jack-o'-lantern especially at dusk.

A few yards later, we reached the Inspiration Point Shelter, looking pretty in white. I first saw it a couple of years ago after some research on the Fort Tryon arches. It has great views, too, of the palisades and the George Washington Bridge. For more photos of the shelter, check out my previous post about my walk to the structure.

A little further across the Inspiration Point Shelter, the arches of Fort Tryon Park stand out. If ever you're in the area, I am definitely recommending a visit to the park.

From the greenway, I could see the park at street level but there is so much more to see at the upper level. The gardens are beautiful, and aside from the arches, the park also houses The Cloisters, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe.

We're now on the last leg of our walk along the Hudson River Greenway, I could see the road stretch out all the way to Inwood Hill Park where we had a break for lunch and a little rest.

From the parkway level, we had to go down to the local street level to access the park's southern section.

This was the scene I saw as we entered Inwood Hill Park, a great spring day should include kite flying.

I was busy looking at the pretty leaves of the trees and looking forward to resting my tired feet so I forgot to look for and take a picture of Shorakkopoch Rock in the park.  Good thing I wrote about it in a previous post.

Took this pic just before we reached our rest area in the park. Inwood Hill Park, like the other parks we passed earlier that day, was blooming in spring colors.

After lunch and rest, we resumed our walk this time along the east side of Manhattan. That walk is covered on Part 2 of this blog.

Did you enjoy walking along the Hudson River Greenway with me?

For the rest of my photos during the Great Saunter, here's the album on Flickr - The Great Saunter, 05.03.14 

Cherry Walk in 2013

I was away on vacation for almost a month and when I arrived back at the US on the second week of April, I knew that the spring flowers will now be in full bloom. I didn't want to miss seeing these so the first weekend after I arrived, I went to Riverside Park to walk along the Cherry Walk.

Cherry Walk is part of Riverside Walk, a continuous four-mile-long path along the Hudson River from 72nd to 158th Street. Named for the cherry trees (Prunus) along the path between 100th and 125th Streets, this part of Riverside Park was added in the 1930s when the park was expanded by filling in the river as part of the construction of the West Side Highway.

The cherry trees that line the Cherry Walk were presented as a gift to the city by the Japanese residents of New York in 1909 during the naval parade to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Robert Fulton’s demonstration of steam-power on the Hudson River, and the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery and exploration of the river.

During my walk along the Cherry Walk last year, I started at the 125th Street end of the walk and made my way south. This year, I walked the opposite way, starting at the 100th Street end going north. This was the view at the south end of the Cherry Walk last week.

I took the 1 train and got off at the 86th Street stop as I wanted to drop by the Sailors and Soldiers Monument first. On my way to the park, along 87th Street, I saw this creature peeking from the top of the entrance of one of the buildings, looks like an owl to me. What do you think?

A lot of people were enjoying the day at the park when I had my first view of the Sailors and Soldiers Monument that day. The monument is along Riverside Drive and can easily be seen from the street.

I then walked further into the park and came across the Garden People's Garden. Daffodils and other early spring flowers were already blooming in the garden. I love the color of this hyacinth.

I left the promenade to go down to the Hudson River Greenway and made my way to the Cherry Walk. The nearest exit leading to the walk is on 96th Street, I passed under this bridge/arch to reach the southern end of the walk.

Between 96th Street and 100th Street, the walkway facing the Hudson River is lined with pine trees.

At both ends of the Cherry Walk, at 100th and 125th Streets are signs indicating the walkway. The pic below is from the 100th Street end.

Near the beginning of the Cherry Walk is this big and beautiful cherry tree in full bloom. Don't you just love its color?

Across the Hudson River is the shoreline of New Jersey.

Cherry Walk is part of the Hudson River Greenway, which is accessible only to pedestrians and bikers. The greenway is besides the Henry Hudson Parkway and you can see the cars whiz past as you walk along. The cars don't bother me at all, since I keep on looking at my view of the cherry trees in bloom, and the Hudson River.

When I walked here in March last year, most of the cherry trees were already in full bloom but this year, spring seemed to have lagged a little bit. The temps have been below the normal average and at the Cherry Walk, most of the trees were still budding. 

But some of the trees were already showing off their flowers and it was great to see the trees in full bloom while walking along the walkway.

At the middle of the Cherry Walk is a part where there are a lot of cherry trees meeting near where the walkway curves.

There are more cherry trees as the pathway curves. You can also see the George Washington Bridge at the distance, peeking out from between the cherry blossoms.

Looking at the right side from where I was walking, I could see the bell tower of the Riverside Church rising straight and tall.

Walking a little bit further, this time it's the top part of the General Grant Memorial that's visible among the vegetation and the cherry trees.

Upon seeing the two buildings above, I now knew that the end of the Cherry Walk is near since these two are near the 125th Street end of the walkway.

The part of the walkway near 125th Street have bird designs on one part, which stretches out for several feet.

Near the very end of Cherry Walk is this small but beautiful cherry tree. You can also see some structures, I think its part of the West Harlem Piers. At the far end is George Washington Bridge.

Going back up to the Riverside Drive promenade from the Henry Hudson Greenway, I passed by this door along St. Clair Place. Someone drew a cute knocker at its center.

Did that make you smile, too?

I then followed the road uphill to Riverside Drive. I had to climb these steps so I can get back to the Promenade.

Once I was back at Riverside Drive, I found out there was still time for me to visit the General Grant Memorial. I will write about that visit in a future blog, but before reaching the memorial, I came across the Amiable Child Monument near 123rd Street.

This unique New York City monument marks the site of one of the few private graves on public land within the five boroughs. It belongs to St. Claire Pollock (the namesake of nearby St. Clair Place), a child who died on July 15, 1797 in the fifth year of his life, probably from a fall from the cliffs of the parkland onto the rocks near the Hudson River.

Here is a closer look at the inscription of the monument.

For the rest of my pics along the Cherry Walk taken this year, here's the album on Flickr - Cherry Walk 2013

Pics during last year's walk - Cherry Walk