2nd Avenue

Our loose end tour of Manhattan harkens back to our walk of Midtown, where we marched up and down the gridded streets to cover every scrap of territory. This time we're on the Upper East Side, where we somehow missed many of the avenues that parallel Central Park. We'll go from 1st to Madison, then head down to the mid-forties to hit some of the cross streets we missed earlier in the year.

New York City is known for its rich literary history, and this week we'll visit the neighborhoods and locations that harbored the greats. Starting in in Williamsburg to visit Betty Smith's 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,' we'll hop the bridge for the remainder of our walk, visiting the birthplace of downtown birthplace of Herman Melville, the poetry scene of the East Village, the home of Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance, and the infamous Chelsea Hotel among many others.

Back in 2015, Heather Quinlan at Brooklyn Heights Blog stumbled upon a rather exciting map at the Brooklyn Historical society. Published in 1946 by historian James A. Kelly, it details all the Native America trails that cover the borough and their contemporary counterparts. This week we'll walk those existing routes, with a trip down Kings Highway, a walk along Shore Road, and up Division Avenue, among other paths. We'll also visit the peculiar Gravesend Square and the city's oldest cemetery.

This walk takes a look at the natural side of Manhattan, with long walks along both river shores, a slice through the lower half of Central Park and a halfway point touching the tip of Inwood Park. Descending along Riverbank State park and the Hudson Piers, we conclude by traversing the entirety of the High Line.

Our first look at Midtown pays homage to the grid that defines it. From 23rd to 59th Street, we walk up and down 1st to 11th Avenue until we reach our marathon limit. This includes too many sites to mention, from the Chrysler and Empire State buildings; the Theatre District and Times Square; Grand Central Station; Rockefeller Center and so much more.

This high-level sweep of North Brooklyn takes us around the edges of Bushwick, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights and Red Hook. We do an about face in Sunset Park and head up 5th Avenue through Park Slope. After briefly touching the tip of Fort Greene, we meander through Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights before heading home.