Just recently I discovered a hidden plaza in lower Manhattan with a beautiful view of the East River and no crowds to speak of. If you're interested, I'd be happy to share its location with you... for just 3 easy payments of $19.95. Here's an idea of the views you can expect to enjoy:
On second thought, I guess I'll just tell you for free, since I gave away the name in the post's title anyway. And because I'm a nice guy, of course.
This place is called Elevated Acre and its entrance is on Water Street between Old Slip and Broad Street. When facing the East River, it is near the South Street Seaport to the left and the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal to the right.
Arriving to the area from the north, at the corner of Old Slip and Water Street is a small park where you can see one of the edges of Elevated Acre. It is at the shorter part of the Emblem Health building and with an aqua-colored glass structure connected to it:
Here is a view from that edge of Elevated Acre, looking back to this street area:
I like the look of that gold-flecked building in the distance.
There is a sign at the Old Slip and Water corner that has some interesting history about the area:
After damage from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the Police Museum moved to a new location. It is now closed altogether, though.
The First Precinct Building is next to the park area on Old Slip, closer to the water. Here are some looks from Elevated Acre:
And here's a street view of the park, the First Precinct Building, and the edge of Elevated Acre:
Walking past the corner and continuing on Water Street, there is the previously mentioned Emblem Health building, then a building that is home to Standard & Poor's.
But hold on. Easy, there. There's something in between those two buildings.
It appears to be some stairs and a bit of daylight, without much fanfare to speak of.
The escalators are covered, at least for now, so it's stairs or bust. You've gotta want it, folks.
I made it up the stairs and caught some first glimpses:
I also looked back, because it's important to remember where you came from.
You may have noticed part of a slanted side of a building. That's one of the tall sides of the Emblem Health building.
The reddish roof across the street is the First Precinct Building.
The field is artificial turf but still very nice.
Approaching the edge in front of the water does reveal some terrific views, including those shown earlier. Here's a panorama shot I took:
Along with the panorama effect giving a broader view, it also makes the moving cars in the middle on the FDR Drive look funny, which I enjoyed.
To the left is the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge behind it, and some of Brooklyn.
To the right, along with the Staten Island Ferry, is Governors Island.
And in the distance you can see part of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn.
In the above photo you might have noticed some helicopters, which brings us to Elevated Acre's downside. A dark, ugly side. Unfortunately there is a heliport very nearby, the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, and when helicopters are taking off and landing there, which is pretty often, it gets very loud. There are lulls in between, but overall the helicopter noise does take away from the park's possibilities for relaxation.
I looked into the hours of operation for the heliport and park, and there is a lot of overlap. There are mostly only a few evening hours here and there when the park is open but not the heliport. By the way, Elevated Acre's hours are 8AM to 1AM during the week and 8AM to 6PM on the weekend.
It's interesting how the noise issue doesn't come from the highway right in front of Elevated Acre, which is actually pretty quiet since there aren't many honking horns like on normal Manhattan streets.
Even with the bursts of loud helicopter noise, this park is still very enjoyable to visit. I went on one of the first truly warm days in March. The temperature was in the 70's and when I sat on a bench a bird was busily chirping away nearby, perhaps as happy as me about the early spring weather. Eventually the bird hopped onto the bench for a moment:
Here's another shot that includes that big aqua glass structure:
It seems like a bit of an out-of-place obstruction, but when I walked closer to it I saw many light bulbs on its inside, so perhaps it lights up at night and looks very nice.
By the way, if you already knew about Elevated Acre then I apologize for going on about how secret it is, but I've never heard of it and it doesn't generally seem well known, especially since there were only one or two dozen people there on an early warm day in March. Or maybe more people know about it and are driven away by the helicopter noise. That seems unlikely, though, since it's still a very nice place.
I did discover a second access point to the park, which is perhaps even more random than the Water Street entrance and therefore doesn't really detract from its hidden nature. When facing the water, the right edge leads to stairs that eventually go down to South Street.
Here's a view from this general area, looking to the Water Street entrance:
Another look at some of the park:
It'll probably be even nicer in a couple of months when everything is in bloom.
After my very enjoyable visit to Elevated Acre, I looked around back on Water Street to see what else was nearby, but it was hard to get too excited for anything else after such a cool discovery.
There is a barbershop, a Hallmark store, a pizza place, and a deli. No offense to any of them, but I think that Elevated Acre is the star of this block. Here are some photos, though:
Near the barbershop area is a big clock that is sort of built into part of one of the buildings. I assumed it didn't work but it actually kept correct time, which was exciting. Not as exciting as discovering a hidden park, but still.
Well, I think that's all for now. Here's one more panoramic photo. Check out Elevated Acre if you're in the area.
This site just recently opened to the public, on March 3, 2016. Parts of it are still under construction, but I thought I would check out the Oculus and hub, which has caused some controversy for its final price of nearly $4 billion.
Here are some looks from Dey Street just off of Church Street:
And here's the other side of it from the park between the Oculus and the North Pool at the 9/11 Memorial:
The architect's name is Santiago Calatrava. Although his design was altered over time because of security, money, and space issues, his idea was for the Oculus to evoke a dove being let go by a child into the air.
While it is hard to separate the structure from the money it cost, I found the Oculus interesting and unique. I appreciate its ambition to have its own shape and form and be uplifting, instead of trying to be overpowering in height or bulk. I understand the price issues, but at least it wasn't expensive and also uninteresting.
I admit that I had not heard of the word 'oculus.' Its architectural definition on dictionary.com is "a circular opening, especially one at the apex of a dome."
Here's more evidence that it is a work in progress:
Because of all the ongoing construction in the area, I found it a bit disorienting to figure out where I could enter the hub to get a look inside.
I eventually learned that there is public access to the inside of the Oculus through 4 World Trade Center, which is just south of the structure.
After an escalator ride and a couple of hallways, it opens up to a pretty remarkable space:
I tried to use the panorama option on my phone:
I really like how open the space is, and that it lets in lots of natural light. I was definitely impressed overall.
It looked like there would eventually be escalators leading to the balcony on one end:
Going up to that balcony would give a nice overview.
And when I left and took an escalator up one level, I saw this area under construction that might also eventually be a good viewing area:
One end of the open space leads to the PATH train:
Here are some more looks inside:
It is such a big, open area that I even noticed a pigeon flying around a couple of times. I couldn't get a photo of it, though.
Another entrance to the hub is just north of the Oculus, near the intersection of Vesey and Greenwich Street.
To the left of the escalators is the entrance to the PATH train, which seemed to be the only access here for eventually reaching the inside of the Oculus. Since I wasn't interested in buying a PATH ticket, I walked through that opening straight ahead in the above photo to see what that led to.
At first it led to a rather dreary walkway:
There was also a very loud noise that sounded like roaring water, which I figured was because it was close to where the North Pool was, including its waterfalls and open middle:
After the brief walk through the dreary hallway, the doors opened to a rather stunning contrast:
While this space was not as open and vast as the inside of the Oculus, I still appreciated it very much. It is called the West Concourse and it opened in October 2013.
There's a cool little bridge on the second level:
Here's a closeup of the plaque on the left of the above photo:
There are suggestions of future stores along the second-level walkway:
Along this passageway is also the entrance to the observatory at One World Trade Center. An escalator ride past the observatory entrance area leads to an exit. I looked straight up when I got outside:
It's a tall building, in case you were wondering. Wikipedia says it is the tallest in the West and the sixth-tallest overall, at 1,776 feet.
The West Concourse also connects to Brookfield Place, which is west of the West Side Highway and has office buildings and some high-end stores, along with places to eat and several tall indoor trees.
One side of it faces the marina along the Hudson River. Here is a photo across the West Side Highway, from just outside the opposite end of the building:
Between the Oculus and the highway is the North Pool, mentioned earlier. Here's one more look at it:
Nearby is the 9/11 Memorial Museum:
And the South Pool, which I also took a panorama of:
Also near the Oculus, on Church Street, is St. Paul's Chapel:
Here was a small structure also on the Chapel grounds:
I think that wraps up this post. It was a photo-heavy post but I hope it was worthwhile for discovering the Oculus and some of the area around it. Thanks for reading.
