apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well since you're no strangers to the event, make it burnerific and dress up in costumes a la santacon, zombiecon, leprecon or any of the zany costume walking/drinking events the nyc burner community puts on. This one with a twist: people can dress as their fave eames chair, noguchi lamp, bad design concept, ill-conceived trend, badly-executed remodel. Just think, when you're tired you can recline on your walking buddy, the louis xv chaise longe, or sorry, with this crowd, the modern kevlar version.

seriously, sounds fun, I love walking.

--- O.

Isn't Broadway over 100 miles long?

VERY COOL. I know you will have a lot of fun. I did a 12 mile UES to W Village loop on Labor Day weekend and it was spectacular.

Katie, it's closer to 13 miles.

Not that I need another reason, but this too makes me wish I lived in NYC...I'd totally come. Maybe I'll walk Connecticut Avenue and pretend.

Broadway goes all the way to Albany (although it gets a name change to "New York-Albany Post Road"), so maybe that's where the confusion over the length comes in.

Totally cool -- however, I'm walking in the DDDB walkathon that day. http://dddb.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=139773&lis=0&kntae139773=602507357A504769AA5B2192FD8640B9

Maybe next year. I actually know someone who did this in 1980 -- it was a lot scarier in parts then!

Isn't Broadway one of those old roads (like several in this country) that evolved from an old Native American or deer hunting trail?

Sounds great - count me in! It's a chance to try out my new camera, not to mention get in a much-needed walk. Working in comics will kill ya... so sedentary this month. Yay! Looking forward to it...

Of course, you realize that starting at Christopher St., you're eliminating a couple of miles. But I will probably be there. Can we walk as far as we can and then stop for brunch?

Anne,

We're meeting at the Christopher Street train station, training it up to the top, and walking all the way down to Battery Park. For those who don't live near the 1/9 downtown, that's fine - just meet us up at Bway/220th at 9:30. So from 220th to Battery Park is the whole thing. And yes, we'll have something to eat somewhere along the way. We usually get hungry by the Upper West Side.

Join us!

I want to do this; it sounds like a huge giggle.

I've never walked that far before. I'm gonna feel like a real weenie if I crap out by 150th St.

Are there any architectural / historical stops that you make along the way or is it purely a social walk?

My Dad would love to walk Broadway sometime when he visits NYC, but was wanting to learn about significant buildings or historical events along the way....and I'm certainly not up to the task of being his tour guide.

It will be great to see your pictures!

Thanks.

carrie, if it's available on dvd, your dad could watch a channel 13 special that david hartman was in called a walk down broadway, several years ago. a lot of history was discussed as well as pointing out important landmarks. i wish i could go on that walk but i work on weekends.

Ahh, epic ciy walks. On of my favorite pleasures in the world. I lve in Portland, OR and usualy do one a few times of year, but there's no comparison to NYC and Philly for these, although in NY the longest I've gone is from midtown to the Battery. The whole thing is like 7 miles!!

It would be fun to hear other people's favorite epic city walks!

Aside from NY, mine is from my house in NE Portland through the many neighborhoods to downtown checking out people's crazy gardens - across the Broadway Bridge through the Pearl District to this Jameson Sq. with the most amazing fountain that is like an urban beach.

kbc

This sounds like a blast. I've walked Broadway from 116th to Battery Park in high school but have never explored from 220th Street. There is a chance that I will be able to make it. Is there a specific place you will be meeting at 220th Street?

mk

Robert Moses used to make about half this walk most work days. He lived near Columbia, if I remember correctly, and walked to his office near City Hall (before creating his Triborough Kingdom on Randall's Island).

Your walk sounds great.

Sounds like fun - see you on Sunday...

Christine, Mass Avenue is a great walk, all the way up to the cathedral. Take a detour and visit Tracy Place!

About how long does it take? I used to walk 125th to the Battery most weekends just for fun, so I sort of know the timing, but I have something important at 8:00.

Ooh! How fun! I might have to drag myself out of bed for at least half of this.

One afternoon during my days at NYU my friend and I walked most of the island. It sure felt like 100 miles. ;)

Hope to make it, sounds like fun

Design*Sponge

you should read colson whitehead's brilliant essay on walking the entire length of broadway - in 'colossus of new york'. wow.

I was wondering how long it took to cover the entire lenght of Br-way?

Sasha

OK, well let me say that if anyone is thinking about doing this, but is a tiny bit scared that they might not hold out, just consider the fact that it will be broad daylight AND that since there are subways stops all along Broadway, approximately every 9 blocks or so, you're almost never more than about 5 blocks from a subway stop if you get just plumb worn out.

So, bravely err on the side of yes for this.

I'm so envious of you New Yorkers... when we lived back East, I spent an Easter vacation week walking Manhattan all day for four days. A long walk in NYC is less tiring than it sounds because there's always something interesting to look at in the distance (plus you don't have hills).

Market Street from the Ferry Building to Castro Street does *not* compare! I suppose Geary from Market to the ocean would be our local "epic walk," but that's still less than 7 miles.

I'll come along. Sounds fun. 2006 is my 14th year in NYC so it's about time I walked this dang island.

rr-
Now I wouldn't miss it if I had to! What a giggle it truly will be, no kiddin'. This coming July will make 20 years for me, by the way.

I moved here in 1976, moved to Sausalito in 1991, moved back here in 1995, moved to San Francisco proper in 2000, moved back here in 2001. Kept my apt. here the whole time. If I had the money I'd get a place in Sausalito but am quite content to live here forever. And everytime I walk down a new block I'm amazed at how wonderful and diverse this city is. Plus, I'm a real NYC history buff. I so want to go on this walk on Sunday. I have a pinched nerve in my lower back but if it's not bothering me on Sunday I'll go.

Due to a back injury I cannot join you... Walking is good but there are limits... Who knows, maybe I could go part way... Soinds like loads of fun.

If I'm not there, I'll just wish you the best of weather.

I think I'll join you. I once spent a sequence of saturdays completing a "circumnavigation" of manhattan, staying as close to the water as I could. Amazing. Since I'll be in Washington Heights, I'll meet you at the top.

I'm asking the same question as Sasha - how long will it take to go the distance? And how fast/slow is the progress - in other words, how long would it take to cover from 220th to say, 125th? I'm just wondering if I can meet up along the way if I don't make it for the very beginning.

Wende, here is your SF epic walk. Start at the ferry terminal. Head down the embarcadero, past the aquatic park, the marina green, crissy fields, all the way to Fort Point. then cross the Golden Gate bridge, head down to the fort on that side (is it Funston?) and through it on the old road to Sausalito. end of walk. I think it is about 13 miles? Then take the ferry back in the dark, coming into the beautiful lights of the ferry terminal on your return. this is a sweet trip! And an Epic one.

Wow, what a walk! Can you say SCENIC?! I'll do that one the next time I'm there. I never walked across the GGB but I've driven across it a million times.

I did the March of Dimes walk every year in junior high and high school. We usually did it in dreary, all-the-same narrow-sidewalk close-to-traffic NJ suburbs, but one year my dad and I, just the two of us, walked in Manhattan instead. Eighteen miles, all over the place. Thousands of people. Paul Simon on my Walkman. I haven't thought about it in years, but it was a wonderful day. Your Broadway walk just reminds me of it and made me really want to spend another day walking with my father.

Sounds really cool and it's suppossed to be a nice fall day on sunday. Will try to join you at 220st.

Great idea! Too bad I'm out of town currently... Maybe next year. Looking forward to the photos.

at 3:17 i saw that your group was at 20th and broadway and i waited and waited like a puppy dog in my window at 8th street and broadway for you to pass by, thinking of what i would shout out to all of you as you walked by. yes, i was being an AT groupie.

but i never saw you walk by. i realized, wow, there are A LOT of people walking down Broadway at any given moment, with many of them looking like they were also enjoying a Sunday stroll.

hope that you had a wonderful day!

This one's for Wende.

When I originally moved to SF, I lived atop that, ahem, hill just behind the Castro. Y'know, the one with the giant radio towers whose name I can never remember. At the time I was working on Union Square, and I'd walk from my place on Marview Way down 17th to Market and then to Powell where I'd cut up and cross the square to get to work; and alot of nights, I would take the same route home.

Anyway, my "epic walk" consisted of Marview to 17th to Market, and then all the way down to the Ferry Building. Once there, take a left and head towards Pier 39; pass the pier, and head for the Fudruckers where the trolley turn-around is. Then up that street, and back down Stockon(?) to Union Square before heading back up Market. I think that came to 'round ten miles. Of course, it is rather hard to get anything truly epic in a city that's seven miles across!

So how's that for a first post?

Hey everybody -
I was on this little trip and it was such a VERY VERY fun thing. The idea was very simple; the goal was clear; I was sure that I COULD do it, but it was surprisingly easy because the company was very fun and interesting -- the whole lot of them. Fascinating to meet and talk to people in person who you've only seen post their brief takes on things. It took almost exactly 7 hours from start to finish and that included the brief little necessary stops along the way.

If this thing is happening next year, I am SOOO there -- no kidding.

Sounds like a wonderful walk. I did something similar back in 1970, from the railroad bridge over Spuyten Duyvel (or however it's spelled) down to the Battery. It was a lot of fun. We stayed on the Hudson, following walking paths parallel to the railroad before cutting inland south of the George Washington Bridge. Of course, Broadway offers more cultural and culinary possibilities.

Our big San Francisco walk starts at the Ferry Building and follows the water, under the Golden Gate and south to Golden Gate Park. Then we head back and complete the loop. We vary the route a bit, depending on where we want to get dinner.

I am so sad I missed this! I was in Africa this past week and am just reading about the walk now.

I'm jealous! It was so much fun looking at the flickr photos.
I'm sure it was a good time...I lived in Manhattan years ago (now Chicago) and my husband (then my boyfriend) and I used to take long walks on Sunday.

To jimkk, I believe the answer may be yes regarding Broadway having evolved from a Native American trail. I think it bisected Madison Square Park at one point but obviously no longer.

There is a very old black and white film which I saw some years ago - maybe one of the other readers here knows its name - that documented Broadway from beginning to end. I think it was filmed from a streetcar or some other moving vehicle. Fascinating.