Offbeat New York: Ambling Around Downtown

You've been rocking the poor college student's status for a while and then your friends tell you they're coming to visit. If only you could show them the city that never sleeps without taking out another college loan.

Whoever said that Boston was a walking city obviously never visited New York. So far the subways have transported you from Pace to whichever uptown destination your heart could desire but it's time for you to put away that trusty MetroCard and double knot the laces on your walking shoes.

Start off at the Brooklyn Bridge because it's the landmark that people most closely associate with Pace University. The walk over the bridge is not only historically relevant but picturesque as well. Work began on the bridge in 1870 with the Brooklyn tower going up first. Thirteen years later, the completed bridge was open to the public. Pedestrians were charged a nickel to cross the bridge. A hundred years later, you guys get to do it for free.

Walking into Manhattan, you'll run right into historic City Hall, which has been repeatedly rebuilt and restored. A new copper roof was put on after a fire in 1858. City Hall Plaza, near the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Metro stop, commonly serves as the set location for various television shows like Spin City and Law & Order and films such as Newsies and the recent blockbuster, Spiderman 2. It is also the site of the first modern subway station, which used to have the opulence of chandeliers and piano accompaniment.

Across City Hall, on the left, is Park Row, whose buildings formerly housed the likes of the New York Times and the Associated Press wire service. During the heyday of journalism, from the 1860s to the 1920s, Park Row, commonly referred to as Newspaper Row, was littered with papers, productions, and newsboys.

Walking along Broadway, take a moment to look upward to admire the Neo-Gothic architecture of the Woolworth building, located on the corner of Park Place and Broadway. Completed in 1913, the Woolworth building stands 792 feet tall - the tallest skyscraper in the world until 1930. Although Frank Woolworth no longer owns the building (it was sold for $126.5 million in 1998), Woolworth originally paid the $13.5 million it cost to construct in cash. Inside the building, there are many interesting caricatures of Woolworth counting his money and of architect Cass Gilbert poring over his designs. The only drawback: the building is closed to the general public following the events of 9/11.

The next stop on the tour is Saint Paul's Chapel, once the most northern point in New Amsterdam. Completed in 1776, former president George Washington has a pew dedicated in his honor inside. Continuing down Broadway, you'll run into Trinity Church, which is the oldest public building in continuous use in Manhattan and the only remaining colonial church. The Trinity churchyard is also the grave site for Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton.

Right across from Trinity Church lies famous Wall Street. This historically rich area is home to the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Hall National Memorial (where Washington delivered his inaugural address), and the Federal Reserve Bank.

Further along Broadway, just past Wall Street, you'll run into a 7,000 pound bronze bull. The bull first appeared in Bowling Green in 1989; traders on Wall Street took it as a sign of good luck because its appearance revived the market. However, because of its bizarre appearance, the bull was penned in the public impound by city police. Public outcries forced the city to return the bull, which is now known as the "Charging Bull."

The trip draws its end at Battery Park, where one can take a delightful walk on the Esplanade, which provides delightful views of the Hudson, neighboring New Jersey and the Statue of Liberty. One can also catch ferries to Ellis, Liberty, and Staten Islands. A highly recommended spot in Battery Park City is the Irish Potato Famine structure located almost directly across from Ground Zero.

Wrap up your tour at the World Trade Center site. Although it is no tourist attraction it still draws a fair share people, who want to pay their respects to the fallen.

Your tour does not have to end here. If your feet can handle it, walk east on Vesey Street to Fulton Street, where you will run into the smell of fish before you can spot the Fulton Fish Market itself. Just across the street are Pier 17 and the South Street Seaport, where one can enjoy delightful margaritas ($3.75) during Happy Hour at the pier. But if you've got the money for it, stop by Fraunces Tavern at Broad Street and Pearl Street instead for a pint of ale as you toast a toast to George Washington and other colonial Americans.

If this historical walking tour wasn't enough to sate your appetite, feel free to check out the many museums sprinkled throughout downtown from the African Burial Ground, Museum of the American Indian and the Museum of Financial History to the Skyscraper Museum and New York City Police Museum.