Finding Your Turf

Three NYC neighborhoods, with three very distinct personalities.

- Karen Tina Harrison

WHATEVER YOUR PASSION, you can indulge it in New York, especially if you know where to look. These three neighborhoods understand your obsession.

LOWER MANHATTAN 

In New York, the emphasis is on the new. But history surrounds you in the city’s birthplace, Manhattan Island’s southern tip. To see it all, look for the free, red Downtown Connection bus, with 38 stops. One must: the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, at the bottom of the island. Inside is the admission-free George Gustav Heye Center, part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian—a fitting tribute to New York’s original residents, the Lenape people, who lived on the other side of the Dutch built wall that became Wall Street.

The Stone Street Historic District, a time capsule one block long and two wide, preserves the scale of the 17th century. The pedestrian-only area is lined with cafés like Stone Street Tavern. St. Paul’s Chapel, built in 1766, survived the Great Fire of 1776— and in 2001 withstood the destruction of the World Trade Center, one block away. Still a community hub, St. Paul’s often offers free classical concerts at lunchtime.