Flowers, park benches and a farmer’s market have made spruced-up Union Square a popular spot for lunchers, strollers and dog lovers, students, breakdancers and peace protesters, who consider this the gateway to Downtown. From the square, Broadway leads north through the Flatiron District, home to interior designers and the advertising set. The area takes its name from the landmark Flatiron Building, whose distinctive, 20-storey, triangular form was once the tallest building in New York. This area was nicknamed Silicon Alley in the late 1990s but these days the dotcom businesses have given way to more traditional forms of media and print and left room for photo labs and designer shops to move in. Also here is Madison Square Park, a lovely revived square flanked to the east by banks and restaurants. Ladies’ Mile, where beautiful old department stores lined Fifth and Sixth Avenues in the 1800s, is today characterized by retail chains of all sorts. Heading north from the east side of Union Square is Park Avenue South, which has been transformed from a shambles a few years ago to a hotbed of trendy sushi bars and happy-hour spots. World’s away, tucked just off Park Avenue at the end of Lexington Avenue, is stately Gramercy Square, built in the 1830s as New York’s answer to London’s private parks. Only those living in the posh townhouses and apartments on the square may enter but visitors can walk by for a peek. SightsUnion Square 14th St to 17th St between Broadway and Park Av South. Subway L, N, R, Q, W, 4, 5, 6 to 14th St-Union Sq. Union Square has attracted all sorts of opinionated folk, activists, workers’ rallies, unions and political protests over the years. The area became home to the Communist and Socialist parties in the 1920s and continued to develop as a place of civil unrest in the following decades. By the 1960s and 1970s, it was grungy, dangerous and drug-infested. However, following a injection of funding in the 1980s, it has regained its status as a pivotal point in this part of Manhattan. Bars, restaurants, shops, cinemas and a bowling alley are all within easy reach of the Square, which hosts the Greenmarket Farmers’ Market four days a week. Inspired, perhaps, by the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the southwest corner, peace vigils took place in Union Square after September 11th, followed by protests against the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Until the 1960s, the stretch of Broadway south of the square down to Astor Place was called Booksellers Row, due to the number of bookshops along its length. One of the few survivors is The Strand, an independent store, whose slogan promises ‘Eight Miles of Books’. Flatiron Building 23rd St between 5th Av and Broadway. Subway N, R to 23rd St. When this famous, much-photographed, 20-storey building was first constructed in 1902, it was the tallest in the city. Now, as well as striking a distinctively narrow, triangular pose, the limestone building marks the entrance to the Flatiron District. Designed by the architect Daniel Burnham to fit into the awkward space where Broadway and Fifth Avenue diverge, it has angled corners that give it dramatic flair. The best place to view it is a block or two north, from where it’s said to resemble a ship sailing up the avenue. Gramercy Park 20th St to 21st St between Park Av and 3rd Av. Subway 6 to 23rd St. Only a few are lucky enough to hold a key to the city’s only private park. Built in the 1830s to mimic the leafy squares in London, it is worth a glance for its dignified setting and for the well-to-do dogs cruising the perimeter. Some famous members’ clubs line the square, too. The Players, at No16, was a theatre club owned by the actor Edwin Booth and frequented by the likes of Mark Twain, Frank Sinatra and Winston Churchill. Booth is commemorated with a statue in the middle of the square, which can be seen through the gate. Next door at number 15 is the stately National Arts Club (http://www.nationalartsclub.org), where members still sip drinks under an original Tiffany stained-glass ceiling. Irving Place just south of the square has a smattering of restaurants, cafés and Irving Plaza, a popular venue for rock bands. Madison Square Park 23rd St to 26th St, 5th to Madison Av. Subway N, R, 6 to 23rd St. This dusty square had a facelift a few years ago but still remains one of the most overlooked parks in the city. Located at the border of Downtown and Midtown, with views of the Flatiron and the Empire State buildings, it’s a pleasant place to rest in the sunshine, with free concerts in the summer. The Metropolitan Life Tower sits just to the east of the park, lit up in lovely hues at night. Church of the Transfiguration 1 E 29th St between 5th and Madison Av,T1-212 684 6770, http://www.littlechurch.org Subway N, R to 28th St. Known as the Little Church around the Corner, this tiny, immaculate Gothic structure with a charming garden is an anomaly in the otherwise busy rug district of Lower Midtown. Built in 1849, the church is noteworthy for its close association with the theatre. The Episcopalian Actors’ Guild was established here in 1923 and, in 1973, the church was made a US landmark because of its work with the dramatic community. The St Faith stained-glass window is from a 14th-century Belgian church destoyed during the Napoleonic Wars. Museum of Sex 233 Fifth Avenue at 27th St,T1-212 689 6337, http://www.museumofsex.com Sun-Fri 1100-1830, Sat 1100-2000. $14.50. Subway N, R, 6 to 28th St. Less risqué than the name suggests, this museum explores New York’s sexual past from the mid-1800s to the present. From illegal abortion clinics and the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village to prostitution and cross-dressing, the museum provides cursory coverage of the city’s sex life.
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