About a year ago, I got a letter from a reader about an underground river hidden somewhere in Morningside Heights: Years ago, I lived at [removed]. My father swore there was a stream running under a lot of the buildings there. I’m endlessly fascinated by Manhattan’s underground rivers. Once an island covered in streams, brooks,…
I was up scouting the Columbia University campus last week… …and in the spirit of Halloween, I decided to swing by the building nestled just beside Low Library. If you take a moment to stare at it, you’ll realize this little brick building doesn’t really match the surrounding Beaux Arts architecture. In fact, the longer…
If you believe Hollywood, every single college lecture hall in New York City looks like the one below: Rows of individual wooden desks and tiered seating… …an enormous wood-framed green chalkboard with sliding panels for additional writing space… …a wood-paneled front desk for the lecturer… …and even one of those little doors that swings back…
One of my favorite buildings in Morningside Heights is the Britannia at 527 West 110th Street. The building, built in 1909, is divided into two wings and features two rows of fantastic gargoyles below the second floor balconies: What makes this building particularly great is how low the gargoyles are to the ground. At only…
One of the most beautiful and pleasant places in the city is the campus of Columbia University. It is simply incredible that such a place exists in the tightly packed metropolis that is Manhattan, and I never pass up a chance to visit. Located in the center of campus is the statue of Alma Mater…
Quick one for today: I was eating lunch in my car at 113th & Riverside when I noticed an interesting sign on this beautiful apartment building: Next to the gate on the right side of the building is this sign: “Servants & Tradesmens Entrance,” complete with one of those great old-fashioned directional hand illustrations. Servants?…