Meditation: On Walking New York

 The mechanics of the city, the masters, well-form'd, 
     beautiful-faced, looking you straight in the eyes,
 Trottoirs throng'd, vehicles, Broadway, the women, the 
     shops and shows,
 A million people--manners free and superb--open voices--
     hospitality--the most courageous and friendly young 
     men,
 City of hurried and sparkling waters! city of spires and masts! 
 City nested in bays! my city!
		                    --from "Mannahatta" by Walt Whitman

As a consolation prize since the AT walk's been postponed to December 3rd, the walking tour of Walt Whitman's SoHo put together by the Academy of American Poets is a pretty fascinating read.

Photo: Ben Lawson

Comments (2)

I live and work in New York for 7 years now. My boyfriend and I walk around the downtown area a lot and discover something new every time. A plaque on a historic building that you pass by a thousand times or a piece of art that is just thrown on the street right next to a pile of garbage. A homeless person next to a Fashionista and a messenger guy on a beat-up bike waiting on a red light next to a Ferrari. Only in New York - Beauty and the Beast together in its reality!

Hope this website can help reduce the random running around for some future Fashion Designers:
http://www.fashionstudentsource.com/ny/

posted by Aneta on 2006-11-12 18:26:09

It's the contrasts you've noticed that in part make the city what it is. The rich seem richer next to the poor who of course seem poorer. Garbage and art. Sometimes the contrasts are as simple and beguiling as a flower growing through the pavement. Sometimes stark, a limo stopped in traffic next to a homeless person bundled in plastic on a hard January night.

Walking is what differentiates NY from say Washington, DC or other great cities. The sights and especially the smells bring you into different neighborhoods.

Try Queens sometime. Walk from 108th Street in Forest Hills under the LIE through Corona to Roosevelt Ave. See how almost every sensory experience is unique.

posted by Carl on 2006-11-22 01:09:09