Landmarks in New York City
43 landmarks to discover with Bad Historian in New York City.
Empire State Building
Built during the Great Depression as a flex, this building was so empty for years that New Yorkers called it the 'Empty State Building.' Now it's just empty of affordable rent.
Statue of Liberty
She's been standing there since 1886, but did you know she was almost sent to Egypt? And that her original color was brown, not green? The French really knew how to regift.
Bedford Street
Bedford Street.
Belvedere Castle
Belvedere Castle looks like a medieval fortress, but it was built in 1869 and has never defended anything except bird watchers.
Bethesda Fountain & Terrace
Bethesda Terrace.
Bow Bridge
Bow Bridge, one of the most romantic spots in the park, and scene of at least 47 movie proposals.
Bow Bridge & The Lake
Bow Bridge.
Brooklyn Bridge
This bridge took 14 years to build and claimed at least 27 lives - including the original architect. It's been sold to gullible tourists more times than we can count.
Brooklyn Bridge Exit
You've crossed.
Brooklyn Heights
If you're on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade — or anywhere along Columbia Heights — turn around.
Bryant Park
Bryant Park.
City Hall Park
Look at that entrance.
DUMBO
Stop.
Father Demo Square
You're standing in a triangle.
Grand Central Terminal
This 'terminal' isn't just a train station - it has a secret platform, a tennis court on the roof, and a hidden bar that was speakeasy during Prohibition.
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal.
Jane's Carousel
You should be looking at a glass box on the waterfront.
Jefferson Market Library
Look at that building.
MacDougal Street
You're standing on the most important block in American counterculture, and it looks like a pizza place next to a souvenir shop.
Manhattan Tower
Look up.
Merchants' Gate
So.
Mid-Bridge
You're in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Minetta Lane
See this little curved alley? Minetta Lane.
Seneca Village
Look around.
Sheep Meadow
Sheep Meadow.
Stonewall Inn
That's the Stonewall Inn.
Summit Rock & Shakespeare Garden
Summit Rock.
The Accidental Garden
The Chelsea Grasslands — one of the wildest stretches of the High Line.
The Brown Building (Triangle Fire)
Look at the building on the northwest corner of the park.
The Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building.
The Cookie Factory
Chelsea Market.
The Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building.
The Gansevoort Cobblestones
Gansevoort Street.
The Great Lawn
The Great Lawn.
The Morgan Library & Museum
The Morgan Library.
The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library.
The Ramble
You are now entering The Ramble, 36 acres of wild forest where anything can happen.
The Tracks That Killed
You're up on the High Line now — thirty feet above the street, walking on the old freight railroad.
The Twenty-Five Billion Dollar Punchline
The Spur — the very end of the High Line.
The Waldorf Astoria
The Waldorf Astoria.
The Window Seat
The Tenth Avenue Square.
Two Guys and a Railroad
West Twenty-sixth Street.
Washington Square Park
That arch.
New York City Audio Experiences
Visit these landmarks and more on a self-guided audio experience.
Bodies, Bohemians & Basement Bars
Eight stops through Greenwich Village — where twenty thousand bodies lie under a dog park, a nineteen-year-old kid rewrote American music in a horse stable, and a drag queen kicked a cop and changed the world. Walk the crooked streets the grid forgot and figure out which stories are real.
Central Park Is a Lie
Every blade of grass was faked, and there are twenty thousand bodies underneath it. Walk south-to-north through eight of the most photographed spots in Central Park and discover the obsessive who designed it, the community that was erased to build it, and the loaded cannon that sat on display for a hundred and thirty years before anyone checked.
Death Avenue to the High Line
How a railroad that killed five hundred people became a park that grows wildflowers. Walk the High Line from the Meatpacking District to Hudson Yards and discover the cowboys who rode through Manhattan for ninety years, the cookie factory that became a tech campus, and the twenty-five-billion-dollar development that qualified for poverty-area tax breaks by drawing a map through Central Park.
Secrets, Lies & Grand Designs
The buildings that lied to your face. Walk two and a half miles from the Flatiron to the Waldorf and discover the unhinged decisions behind New York's most iconic stretch of real estate — a secret spire raised in ninety minutes, a librarian who burned her own diaries, and a hotel built entirely out of spite.
The Family Business
How three Roeblings gave their bodies to a bridge. Walk two miles from City Hall to Brooklyn Heights and hear the story of the father who died, the son who was paralyzed, and the wife who finished the job — with no degree, no title, and no recognition for over a century.
Hear the stories behind these places
Download the app for audio-guided experiences of New York City's landmarks.
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