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Tag / Financial District

February 2, 2015

…found the Berlin Wall in NYC (Part II)

There are four sections of the Berlin Wall in New York City. The only section I’ve visited before is on 53rd Street, but it was removed at the end of last year for renovation work – so now I’m on a mission to track down the remaining pieces (before I’m 30!). On Saturday, I made the most of the …

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December 3, 2014

…visited the 9/11 Museum

I was in a year-nine drama class in England when the Twin Towers fell. I remember Mr Caldicott sitting us in a circle and trying to explain what had happened 4,000 miles away. But I didn’t understand. I didn’t even know what the words ‘World Trade Center’ meant. Today, my reaction is very different. Having lived here for …

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June 17, 2014

…toured inside the Woolworth Building

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a reader suggesting I check out the Woolworth Building. To be honest, I didn’t even know it was possible, thanks to the ‘No Tourists Beyond This Point’ sign outside. But as I discovered, the Woolworth does open its doors to small groups – a new development over the past …

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November 18, 2013

…took a walk at the Irish Hunger Memorial

Down in the Financial District, there’s a bit of an anomaly between the office blocks, neon lights and suits scuttling home: a large sloped patch of grass dotted with rocks and shrubs. This is the Irish Hunger Memorial – a half-acre site at the end of Vesey Street dedicated to the memory of the Great …

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October 10, 2013

…ate Carvel

Every now and then I get a reminder that my American friends and I did childhood very differently. Few know who Count Duckula is or the honor that comes with owning a Blue Peter badge, and none understand the joys of a Caramac bar. And it seems I missed out on traditions too; after they …

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September 3, 2013

…chilled out at the Elevated Acre

I’ve always loved how New Yorkers appreciate their parks – but it does mean they’re crammed full. Tonight, I visited a park that’s a little more secret and a lot less crowded: The Elevated Acre. After work, I wandered downtown to 55 Water Street, an office block right at the tip of Manhattan in the Financial District. There, you …

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August 22, 2013

…read the time from the sidewalk

I spent my first year in New York looking down at the pavement – either trying to figure out where I was going or avoiding making eye contact with the letches. Now I spend half my time looking up, marvelling at New York’s beautiful buildings. But down in the financial district, they don’t have this …

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May 10, 2013

…saw the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere

Today One World Trade Center was fitted with its spire, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at a ridiculous 1,776 feet – an allusion to the year the US signed the Declaration of Independence. I was looking through pictures at work this morning and felt inspired to go and have a peek myself. …

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March 29, 2013

…skipped over the Manhattan Bridge

Spring has finally shown its face and tonight I wanted to make the most of it. I’ve already been to the Brooklyn Bridge, so I decided to shake it up by heading over the Manhattan Bridge instead. And whereas I ran the previous time, tonight I opted for a different mode – a skipping rope. …

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February 19, 2013

…visited a nighttime art installation at FIT

New York cares about us city dwellers who only emerge from our offices when it’s dark and rarely catch exhibits before they close. For us, they’ve provided Light Cycles in the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center. The three-month installation (should that be outstallation?) by Anne Militello is comprised of different-sized disks of colour that glow hypnotically …

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