New York City Scavenger Hunt: On a budget

Overview

Currently the Cow Parade is the coolest thing to do in New York without having to pay an admission fee.

Quick Tips:

Thanks to Mayor Rudy Guiliani, New York City is safer than ever. It still, however, is a big city, so make sure to be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking around is the best way to see all of New York but the distances between the Upper West Side and Wall Street can be too hard to walk. I recommend buying a MetroCard and using either the subway or the bus.

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Luna Park

Restaurant

When the weather gets warm Luna Park, the outside restaurant in the center of Union Square, opens and immediately becomes a hot spot in New York City. It is standing room only when the after work crows hits – especially on Thursday nights. There is usually a line to get in but it moves quickly and happy hour goers must always remember to bring photo ID because the burly bouncer at the entrance pretty much checks everyone. The Luna Park is open for Lunch and Dinner but the food is pretty mediocre (think about it – this open aired restaurant doesn’t really have a major kitchen). Salads, sandwiches and a pizza can cost between $10 - $12. Bland pasta dishes are also about the same. Most people stick to the drink menu, which includes a full bar, bottled beer and delicious sangria. The only bathroom at Luna Park is the public restroom and it isn’t the cleanest so bring your hand-sanitizer.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Luna Park
50 East 17th Street New York, New York 10003
(212) 475-8464

Tom's Restaurant

Restaurant

Every New York tourist comes to New York dreaming for a Seinfeld moment. If you are a Seinfeld fan, you will surely recognize the side façade of Tom’s Diner as it is featured on the show. Tom’s is a popular hangout for the college and graduate students in the area. The interior of the restaurant does not resemble the Hollywood set. This greasy spoon serves standard diner food and the cheese fries are excellent.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Tom's Restaurant
2880 Broadway New York, New York 10025
+1 212 864 6137

Columbia Hot Bagels

Restaurant

Let the Bagel wars begin. Every New Yorker has their opinion as to where the best New York bagels are sold. H&H Bagels, which are sold throughout the city, are a favorite with the masses but that is because the majority of the city hasn’t ventured up to Columbia Hot Bagels located on the east side of Broadway between W110th and W111th. The flavored cream cheeses are fresh and in my opinion the sun dried tomato is top notch. Delicious muffins are available as well. This shop is open 24 hours a day. Columbia Hot is bright and clean but you have to take your bagels to go because there is no where to sit.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Columbia Hot Bagels
2836 Broadway New York, New York
(212) 222-3200

Koronet Pizzeria

Restaurant | "Koronet"

A big hit with the college crowd, Koronet Pizza is open 7 days a week. This pizza parlor is known for its huge Jumbo slices, which cost $2.25. I tell those on my scavenger hunt to look for the largest slices of pizza in the city, which can be found here and are impossible to resist. Seating, however, is a problem because there are only 2 round tables in the corner of Koronet and each one seats about 4 customers. There are also limited stools if you can find space to sit at the counter. There is a bathroom in the back of the restaurant but it isn’t the cleanest. I’d recommend a soft drink to wash down your jumbo slice. If you want to drink a beer, there are plenty of bars in the neighborhood including Cannon’s on 108th and Broadway and West End Gate on 112th and Broadway.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Koronet Pizzeria
2848 Broadway New York, New York 10025
(212) 222-1566

Parades

Attraction | "The Cowparade"

It is impossible to walk through New York City without encountering one of the 500 fiberglass sculptures that are a part of the cow parade. These cows were created and are on display as part of cow parade, a charitable project dedicated to raising money for various area charities. The cows, which cost $7,500 to sponsor, will be auctioned in the fall to raise additional money for charity. They are on display on the streets of New York City from mid June through Labor Day weekend. The word document on the website, www.cowparadenewyork.com, can guide you to the general whereabouts of the cows. Since there is no map detailing their exact locations, I encourage my visitors to go out looking for the cows and take pictures of them as part of the scavenger hunt. My personal favorites include Cow Edna located in Union Square and sponsored by Con Edison and Fake for the Animal’s Sake located in Washington Square park and sponsored by PETA.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Parades
various locations New York, New York

Mohandas K Gandhi Statue

Attraction

Finding the location of the statue of Mohandas K Gandhi is the answer to the question: Where is Gandhi located? This tribute to Gandhi is in a beautiful garden located on the south end of Union Square. Visitors often decorate the statue with flowers. Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869 in India and was murdered in 1948 by the fanatic Hindu Nathuram Godsey. He was determined to prove that it is possible to fight very successfully without violence. "Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Mohandas K Gandhi Statue
Union Square New York, New York

Union Square Greenmarket

Attraction

This market is open year round from 7 am to 6 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Farmers from the New York State area sell their fresh fruits, vegetables and farm produce at make shift stands, which they take with them when the market is closed. Fresh flowers and plants are also sold as is honey and organic wine. Refreshing Ice Cold Apple Cider is available at many stands for $1. A personal favorite is the Hudson Valley Organic Tomato stand, which sells organic tomatoes grown in Ulster County for $4 a pound. From around Thanksgiving through the Christmas Season, crafts and unique gifts are sold in stalls at the south side of the Square everyday.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Union Square Greenmarket
Union Square New York, New York 10011
+1(212) 633-2026

Forbes Magazine Gallery

Attraction

The admission to this gallery/museum is free and it is the location where my guests find the answer to the question “Where can you find 10,000 soldiers in New York City?” The galleries are located on the ground floor of the Forbes building on the corner of 12th Street and Fifth Avenue. The gallery is open on Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm and is closed on Sundays and Mondays and all legal holidays. In 1960 Malcolm Forbes purchased a set of “worse for wear” US World War I dough-boys at auction and started the collection of toy soldiers that currently includes over 10,000 soldiers. A lot of the soldiers are displayed in cases that are hard for children to see but the museum provides a few step stools that are available for the kid’s use. There are some other exciting exhibits including an exhibit called “The Mortality of Immortality” which features more than 175 trophies. The first exhibit in the gallery is dedicated to toy boats made from 1870s through the 1950s and includes model submarines, riverboats, warships and ocean liners. There are also 4,000 original American historical documents on display including the original survey of the Mason Dixon line and Andrew Jackson’s last Will & Testament. There are also 12 Faberge eggs on display.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Forbes Magazine Gallery
62 Fifth Ave New York, New York 10011
+1 212 206 5549

Arnold & Sheila Aronson Galleries

Attraction | "The Arnold & Sheila Aronson Galleries at The Parso"

The Arnold & Sheila Aronson Gallery located in the lobby of the Parsons School of Design on Fifth Avenue at 12th street, which is next to the Forbes Magazine Gallery, is open from 9 am to 9 pm Monday through Fridays and 10 am to 6 pm on Saturdays. The gallery is closed on Sundays. Access to this exhibition space is free and is open to the general public. Right now the exhibit is titled “Type Directors Club” and features different types of catalogues, menus and stationary with interesting logos. It also features the winning entries from the Club Type Design competition. The current exhibit runs from June 21st through September 8th.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Arnold & Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Avenue New York, New York

Washington Square Park

Attraction

Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park is the home of New York’s version of the Arch D’Triomphe. (This is the answer to the scavenger hunt question that asks participants to find Paris in New York) From the top of the park you can see the Empire State Building and from the bottom you can see the Twin Towers. Although there are some statues, the real entertainment in this park is the street performers. Musicians and magicians as well as poetry readers gather daily to entertain the crowd. It also appears to be a hang out for NYU students whose dorms, classroom buildings and student centers surround the park. Together the police and the New York City Parks Department have done an exceptional job cleaning up the park, which was once a popular hangout for drug dealers. The fountains, which aren’t always on, offer cool relief on hot New York summer days. I am always appreciative of the police presence. The park allegedly closes at dusk.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Washington Square Park
West 4th Street New York, New York 10003
(212) 431-1080

West 4th Street Courts

Attraction

The men who play at the caged in West 4th Street Courts are so talented, you would think that you were watching NBA players. A crowd is always leaning up on the chain-link fence to watch either the two-on-two tournaments or traditional games that take place daily. The players seldom seem to miss the dunk or the lay-up make the game of basketball look easy. There is one full court and one half court at 4th street. The level of competition is noted as being fierce. Don’t go to play unless you are awesome. Even expert players will learn by watching these games. During the week, games start at 1 pm and continue to dusk from June until August. League play starts at 6 pm. On the weekends, the fun gets started around 10 am and the league tournaments start at about noon.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

West 4th Street Courts
West 4th Street and 6th Avenue New York, New York

Columbia University

Attraction

I send tourists on my scavenger hunt up to the campus at Columbia University to find famous statues. Alma Mater is located on the steps in front of Low Library in the center of campus. The central axis of the campus is emphasized by the statue of Alma Mater seated at the center of a grand flight of stairs. During the school year, students often sit on the steps to study and to socialize and Alma Mater is often the target of fraternity pranks. Around the corner from Alma Mater is a cast of Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker, which was purchased in 1930. The second largest statue in New York City (the first is the Statue of Liberty) is located on the campus on top of the law school. This work of at is titled Pegasus and Bellerophon and was created by Sculptor Jacques Lipchitz. When he accepted the commission to do a sculpture for the front of the Columbia Law School building, he said that he wasn't going to create some traditional piece for lawyers like a blinded lady with scales in her hand. He decided on the theme of Bellerophon taming the wild horse Pegasus and this piece of work can be seen across the campus.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Columbia University
116th Street New York, New York 10027
+1 212 854 1754

Soho Galleries

Attraction

Why go to museums and pay an entrance fee when you can view the best emerging artists New York City has to offer in the plethora of galleries located in and around SOHO. On the weekends, the streets of SOHO are packed with dozens of artists selling their photographs, paintings, crafts and jewelry on the sidewalk. Specifically artists line the streets on the south side of West Houston between West Broadway and Thompson Street. They can also be found along West Broadway from Prince Street down to Broome Street. If you are interested in more organized exhibitions there are plenty of galleries to visit. As a question for my scavenger hunt I tell my guests to find the gallery that plays home to the statue that would have no problem breast-feeding quintuplets. The answer to that question is the Mimi Ferzt Gallery located at 114 Prince Street. The Mimi Ferzt gallery specializes in Russion non-conformist art. The exhibition space has high ceilings and cast iron pillars. Another personal favorite is pop international galleries, inc. located at 473 West Broadway. They feature paintings and sculptures in the pop-art style and also have some interesting photographs of celebrities for sale. Some of the artists on display here include Keith Haring, Clemens Briels and Romero Britto.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Soho Galleries
Soho New York, New York

Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Attraction | "The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine"

Not far from the Columbia University campus, The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine is an architectural wonder. This site answers the scavenger hunt question: If the Statue of Liberty needed shelter, where would she fit? She’d fit comfortably under the central dome of St. John the Divine, which happens to be the largest Cathedral in the world. In 1888, Messrs. Heins and LaFarge won an international competition for their Byzantine-Romanesque design. The cornerstone was laid on December 27, 1892, St. John’s Day. There are approximately 150 stained glass windows in this cathedral including the rose window in the West Façade, which has more than 10,000 pieces of glass. Other magnificent details include the eight granite columns in the sanctuary; each column weighs about 130 tons. The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine has received gifts over the years, which are on display throughout the building. Adolph Ochs, the Founder of the New York Times, donated twin Menorahs to the Cathedral. Each Menorah stands 12 feet tall. There are Barberini Tapestries on display in the Cathedral as well. These 17th century tapestries were woven on the Papal Looms during the first half of the 17th century. The Cathedral has been an integral part of the lives of many famous New Yorkers. The legendary jazz composer, Duke Ellington, enjoyed the Cathedral’s impressive acoustics and held many concerts in the Cathedral. His funeral was held there in 1974. Until recently, Duke Ellington’s white Steinway Grand piano had been on display in St. Ansgar’s Chapel. (The piano is on loan to the Smithsonian until March 2001.) Public tours are given on Tuesday through Saturdays at 11 am and on Sunday at 1 pm.

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by Lilly on July 9, 2000

Cathedral of St. John the Divine
1047 Amersterdam Ave. New York, New York 10025
(212) 316-7540

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New York City Scavenger Hunt: On a budget