Trumped, on the Upper West Side

Photo by myself in Riverside Park, on the Upper West Side, around 68th Street.

Trump Place is not one building, but a series of 16 very similar-looking apartment buildings on the West Side.

The raised highway running in front of the buildings is the West Side Highway. The highway eventually touches ground and runs along the edge of Manhattan.

If you have the chance, take a cab ride up the West Side Highway. Zipping across these buildings is a dramatic view, as well as seeing the whole back side of Midtown.

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Happy Monday, everyone!

Related posts: Sunset Along the West Side Highway, The Towers Near Riverside Park and Life on the Water, in Riverside Park.

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A Historic Corner, on West Street

Photo by myself around West and Vestry Streets, on the West Side.

You can just imagine this scene in older times, when the streets were paved with cobblestone, and New York was a thriving port city.

West Street is part of the West Side Highway, which runs along the western edge of Manhattan. If you're driving on this road, pay attention. The exits come fast and furious. Before you know it, you've whipped around the island and you're on the East Side.

The above warehouse building was probably renovated into very nice apartments. The original shutters are made of iron.

This building has a moat around it, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps after it was built, the level of the ground around it was raised? Many areas of Lower Manhattan, such as Battery Park City, was added as landfill in the 1980s.

Related posts: Duane Street, Tribeca, Details, Details and Going Postal in Midtown.

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Sunset, Outside Battery Park City

Photo by myself on the West Side Highway, outside Battery Park City.

Here's a photo I took while we were driving on the West Side Highway. The day was ending and we were heading back home to Brooklyn. The buildings to the far right are across the Hudson River, in New Jersey.

Unfortunately all the buildings in Battery Park City were built at once and look very similar to each other. Individually they aren't so interesting and as a group they form an imposing mass of towers.

Perhaps the best part of this area is Battery Park, along the water's edge. The grounds are extremely well kept, and you can walk (or jog or bike or rollerblade) quite a distance, with great views out to New Jersey and the Statue of Liberty.

If you want to have a serious driving experience, take the West Side Highway or FDR Drive along the East River. These are fast, twisty-turny roads, teeming with aggressive drivers and cabbies. Not for the faint of heart!

Related posts: All Abloom, in Battery Park City, Running Along the Edge of Manhattan and On the West Side Highway.

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Sunset Along the West Side Highway

Photo by myself from a car, along the West Side Highway around Pier 54.

There are all sorts of things along the West Side Highway.

Piers and old boats jut into the water. There is also an enormous sports complex, Chelsea Piers, which contains a running track, bowling alley, golf driving range, and courts for soccer, basketball and handball.

In the daytime, a paved walkway running along the water is visible. Runners, rollerbladers and strollers use the parks that runs along the west side, spanning from Riverside Park in the Upper West Side, all the way down to Battery Park City.

Related posts: Subway Sunset, on the Ride Home, Sunrise, Sunset and Strange Skies, Above Sunset Park.

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