Tag: Scenery

An Evening Walk Down Riverside Drive in Manhattan

Bradley FarlessLeave a comment
View of the Hudson River from Riverbank State Park
View of the Hudson River from Riverbank State Park

I sort of let myself fall off the exercise wagon while struggling with other commitments, so now that Summer session classes are over, I’m taking August to try to get myself together. That involves a lot of sorting, organizing, shopping, bill paying, appointment scheduling, and, of course, getting myself back into shape. I’m not going to be a hero and try to go from barely being active for two and a half months to dropping 5ks like they’re nothing, so I’m starting out with long walks first. This is definitely a great neighborhood for it, both in terms of scenery and because the area is hilly, rather than flat, making walks more physically challenging.

We walked down Riverside Drive from about 168th Street, where Columbia University Medical Center is and eventually wound up in Riverbank State Park, which is the nicest park I’ve seen in New York City, other than Central Park. The facilities are probably better than those at Central Park, though, since they’re newer. We saw an Olympic-sized running oval, a skating rink, and somewhere in that park there’s also a pool. We’re looking forward to going back and spending some time there. I bet that oval makes for good running, that’s easy on the knees.

A view of New Jersey from Riverside Drive
George Washington Bridge
A set of train tracks that run along the river.
Riverside Drive
Creepy looking stairs off Riverside Drive. Not sure where they go.
Interesting building on Riverside Drive.
No idea what these are. They’re just inside the park at the 145th Street entrance.
George Washington Bridge as seen from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
View of New Jersey from Riverside Drive

Classes start again at the end of the month, so hopefully I can make the most out of my time!

East River Scenery from East River Plaza 3rd Landing

Bradley FarlessLeave a comment
East River Plaza shopping center in Manhattan on 116th and 117th street.
East River Plaza shopping center in Manhattan on 116th and 117th street.

Sitting right at the end of East 116th and 117th streets in Manhattan, flush against East River Drive, is East River Plaza.  It’s a recently built, multi-level shopping complex with stores like, among others, a Target, Best Buy and Petsmart.  The Target up there usually puts cat litter and cat food on sale.  After you consider how much you spend on the fare to get there and back, and the amount of time it takes to travel, you probably aren’t saving anything at all when you’re going there from 14th Street on public transit, but it is nice to get out of the neighborhood sometimes, if for no other reason than a change of pace and a change of scenery.

Scenery is something this place does well too, though unintentionally.  It’s not enclosed, like a mall.  To get between stores you have to go to outdoor platforms and use outdoor escalators.  The very ends of these platforms overlook the East River and if you lean out a bit you can get a good downtown facing view of Manhattan and even a bit of Queens.

Here are some of the better photos I took:

An old pier in the East River, directly opposite East River Plaza, on the other side of East River Drive.
An old pier in the East River, directly opposite East River Plaza, on the other side of East River Drive.

I imagine this is an old pier that is no longer used due to the construction of the East River Drive.

Icahn Stadium, as seen from East River Plaza.
Icahn Stadium, as seen from East River Plaza.

That’s Icahn Stadium.  When I first glanced across and was trying to make out the name, I thought it said ‘I Can Haz Stadium’.  I think I’ve been looking at too many lolcats.

A portion of the Triborough Bridge and Hell Gate Bridge.
A portion of the Triborough Bridge and Hell Gate Bridge.

In the foreground, the lower bridge you can see traffic on is the Triborough Bridge, also known as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.  The larger looking, raised bridge in the back is the Hell Gate Bridge, named after the stretch of water it covers, and is used for trains.  When it was opened in 1919, it was originally painted a reddish color, with seems more fitting, given the name.  It was also the longest steel arch bridge in the world at the time.  You can read more about it by clicking here.

The East River and Ward's Island Bridge in New York City, seen from 116th Street.
The East River and Ward’s Island Bridge in New York City, seen from 116th Street.

That’s a long shot of the East River, facing downtown.  On the right is Manhattan and that’s Astoria in Queens on the left.  The bridge in the middle is the Ward’s Island Bridge.  The previous two photos are shots of stuff on Ward’s Island.

And that’s about it, for things to see from that vantage point.  There’s always something interesting to see, everywhere you go in New York City.