Visual Guided Tours of New York City

Overlook Drive, 189th or 190th Street, a block east of Ft. Washington Ave. Next, it's on Ft. Washington Avenue and 187th Street.

Private drive cross the street from Bennett Park, which lies between Ft. Washington Ave. and Pinehurst at 185th, and extends for two blocks north-south. (Pinehurst and Cabrini nearly meet; one ends at about the spot where the other begins.) The buildings to the right and left here are also in Tudor style, but the sun wasn't right to capture them.

I have photos of Bennett Park, but I didn't know they were significant! I learned tonight that Bennett Park was the last stronghold of George Washington in 1776, and that it has the highest elevation in Manhattan: 265.5 feet. I'll have to locate the photographs. James G. Bennett, Sr. (1795-1872) purchased the land on which Bennett Park stands in 1871. Bennett, a prominent newspaper publisher and editor, launched the New York Herald in 1835 and made it one of the most successful daily newspapers in the U.S. It merged with its rival in 1924, becoming the New York Herald Tribune, which ceased operations in 1966, but the International Herald Tribune, now owned by the New York Times Comapny, continues to this day. Herald Square, where Macy's is located, is named after the New York Herald.

This photo and the next next three were taken from Chittendon Street, just two blocks long and easy to miss. It's on or near 187th Street. Look for Alex Rose Place off Pinehurst and head for the river.

To get here from the Greenway tour, make this "detour" above the GWB (George Washington Bridge): Go across the footbridge when you see it, turn right as you get off the bridge (up the hill), make the first left, then another left (uptown). Then look for a left that takes you towards the river (possibly 187th or Alex Rose Place).

Let's go back to Heather Garden. However, if you are taking the tour physically, you might want to skip going to the eastern ridge (remaining photographs on this page) and go directly to High Bridge and Croton Tower, part of the Washington Heights tour. If so, you can first go downtown on Pinehurst or Ft. Washington Avenue. (This photo on Pinehurst is probably 180th Street.). Then go crosstown (east) to Amsterdam Ave. and down to 175th Street. Look for the water tower to get to High Bridge and Croton Tower. After that, you can meet us at Dyckman and Nagel and join us on the next page of this tour.

If you turn left from Heather Garden's exit and make a left before you get to the subway, you will find a steep hill down to Broadway, where there are some restaurants at Broadway and Dyckman. The path diverges into several downhill routes. This is looking back at one of them.

The far side is Fort George's eastern ridge. The rest of this page's photographs are taken there.

194th Street and Ft. George Avenue. The Cloisters' tower can be seen from here. DIRECTIONS: To get to the greenway from here, you'll want to get to Dyckman St. and Nagle Ave. You'll need to get to the Harlem River Drive from Dyckman Street, which BECOMES the Harlem River Drive. Take Fairway at the end of Audubon (downhill) or take Fort George HILL (not Ft. Geo. Avenue, shown here). You'll end up on Nagle or Broadway, depending on your route. Nagle is the street from whence the subway emerges, becoming an elevated train, so that is a visual guide. If you get to Broadway, make a right and go to Nagle where the train emerges, which is at Dyckman Street-Harlem River Drive.

VIew from Fort George Hill on the eastern ridge. Downhill is one route to Nagle and Dyckman.