Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This graceful six-block stretch was named after author Washington Irving, though the
claims that he lived at no. 49 are spurious; he did, at the least, frequently visit a nephew who
lived in the area. Regardless, it's a lovely walk from the Con Ed building at the south end up
to Gramercy Park; the intersection with 19th Street - and that sidestreet itself - is especially
evocative.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT BIRTHPLACE
28 E 20th St between Park Ave S and Broadway. Subway N, R, #6 to 23rd St.
212 260 1616. Tues-Sat
9am-5pm, tours on the hour 10am-4pm (except noon). Free.
MAP
Theodore Roosevelt's birthplace was restored in 1923 to the way it would have been when
he was born there in 1858; the family moved uptown when he was fourteen. The rather
sombre mansion contains mostly original furnishings - a brilliant chandelier in the parlour
and “Teedie's” crib - viewable on an obligatory guided tour; it doesn't take more than fif-
teen minutes to see it all. You might spend as much time in the attached galleries looking at
hunting trophies and documents from Roosevelt's life.
GRAMERCY PARK
Irving Place between 20th and 21st sts. Subway #6 to 23rd St.
MAP
A former “little crooked swamp”,
Gramercy Park
is one of the city's prettiest squares. The
city's last private park, it is accessible only to those rich or fortunate enough to live here - or
those staying at the nearby
Gramercy Park Hotel
.
Inside the gates stands a statue of the act-
or Edwin Booth, brother of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. The private
Players
Club
, at 15 Gramercy Park, was founded by Booth and sits next door to the prestigious
Na-
tional Arts Club
at no. 16, another members-oriented place, though you can sneak inside in
the afternoons for the free art exhibits. The brick-red structure at no. 34 was one of the city's
very first building cooperatives.
THE FLATIRON BUILDING
At Broadway, Fifth Ave and 23rd St. Subway N, R to 23rd St.
MAP
Set on a triangular, or iron-shaped, plot of land, the lofty, elegant 1902
Flatiron Building
is
covered with terracotta Medusa heads and other striking ornamentation. The uncommonly
thin, tapered shape of this Daniel Burnham-designed skyscraper (tall for the time, at 307ft)
caused consternation regarding its stability and wind-tunnel like effects, but it has more than
survived the years - it's become a New York symbol.
