African Burial Ground National Monument

In 1991, a $275 million project began for the construction of a federal office building at 290 Broadway in the Civic Center section of Lower Manhattan. In October of that year, the General Services Administration announced that intact burials from the largest colonial-era cemetery for freed and enslaved Africans had been discovered during excavations. Though an Environmental Impact Statement was commissioned upon purchase of the site, archaeological surveys predicted no remains would be found, due to the long history of development in the area.
As the GSA attempted construction and excavation at the same time, the African-American community felt the graves were not receiving proper respect, and the area required a more thorough archaeological study, as well as a plan to protect the remains.
In 1992, they halted construction, and a fund was set up to handle further excavations. In total, 420 burials were found, but historians estimate 15,000 to 20,000 were buried during the 1700s, in what was called the "Negroes Burial Ground", which is New York's earliest known African-American cemetery.
While the site became a National Historic Landmark in 1993, and the Ted Weiss Federal Building was soon finished, an area was set aside to rebury the remains. Congress approved the funds for a memorial in 2003, and it was made a National Monument in 2006, though the monument was not completed until 2007.

Made of granite, from South Africa and the United States to symbolize both coming together, the 25 ft (8 m) shrine holds, within an area named the "Circle of Diaspora", a map of the Atlantic ocean known as the Middle Passage, where slaves were transported from Africa to North America. One may enter the circle via the Ancestral Libation Chamber, through "The Door of Return", which is in reference to "The Door of No Return" (a name given to West African ports involved in the slave trade). The mounds located before the monument's door are where the remains were reinterred .

In 2010, a museum was opened inside the Ted Weiss Federal Building, to give visitors a history of the finds, as well as of the site. Within the permanent exhibit, "Reclaiming Our History", Amaze Design and Studio EIS created a life-size depiction of African immigrants performing a funeral for an adult and child. There is also a wall with all 420 photos of the remains found...

...as well as artifacts of those inhumed, including money, jewelry, clothing and tools, plus a replica of the wooden Ghana reburial coffins where the deceased were re-entombed.

Once done with your visit there, you can walk a few blocks over, just behind 1 Police Plaza, to also see the last remnant of the Rhinelader Sugar House that was believed to have once been used as a prison by British forces during the American Revolutionary War.

Just off Duane Street, the window is embedded into a wall of a small utility building behind the New York Police Department Headquarters, and dates to 1763. The sugar shack / sap house was replaced by an eleven-storey loft building called Rhinelander Building in 1892. That multi-unit home was demolished in 1968 to make way for the NYPD HQ.
If you'd like to see more of the old Rhinelader Sugar House you'll have to visit Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, which holds a large section of the building, but I'm saving more on that stop for another post.

The Rarely Seen of Central Park

I don't often cover highly trafficked spots here, but if you're stuck with a group who wants to go to Central Park, why not show them to what often goes unnoticed in Manhattan's largest natural ground?
With over 40 million visitors per year, there are a few areas often not trampled by tourists, though sites like the Alice In Wonderland statue are definitely a sight to see.

Commissioned by philanthropist George Delacorte, created by Spanish sculptor José de Creeft, and cast by Modern Art Foundry of Long Island City, the bronze statue was dedicated in 1959, and contains seven bronze plaques with the lines from the poem The Jabberwocky.
Otherwise, we'll begin in the northwestern section of the grounds, and work our way around, starting with Blockhouse No. 1, which is the second oldest structure in Central Park.

While the foundation dates back to the time of British occupation, the fort that now stands there was finished in 1814, for the War of 1812, two days before the Treaty of Ghent was signed.

Assembled by volunteers out of red sandstone blocks carved from the Manhattan bedrock, under the direction of General Joseph Gardner Swift, the station was built awaiting a British invasion that never came. It was later used for storing ammunition, and then as a location to celebrate patriotic holidays.
While continuing south, one can stroll through the North Woods for some bird-watching, and find themselves in The Ravine, which holds many wonderful man-made waterfalls that flow from the stream known as The Loch. Created by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the area was planned as an escape from the urban environment, and is one of the few spots in the park where you cannot see the city.

The area also has Huddlestone Arch...

...and Glen Span Arch.

Walking the  west side of the park, the next stop stems from 89th to 81st Street, and is called Seneca Village.
Nearly 200 years ago, it was the largest community of free African-American property owners in New York City, after Andrew Williams and Epiphany Davis purchased land there in 1825. By 1855 the area had 250 residents, and held 70 houses, but public acquisition of the land began the following year. The New York State legislature authorized the use of eminent domain, and moved out the close to 1,600 people who lived within the range zoned for the creation of Central Park.
After public interest grew, archaeologists and scholars began excavation of the site in the late 90s, with the founding of The Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History in 1998. One of the foundations of the homes can be seen just south of Mariner's Gate Playground, near West 84th Street.

Now going into a section of the park known as The Ramble (also part of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's 1857 "Greensward" plan), it is another section of the park meant to be a getaway from the bustle of city life. There you can find the Ramble Cave.

Originally discovered filled with fertile soil, the cave was soon emptied. Though opened as a popular attraction near the Ramble Arch, the entrance was sealed off in the 1930s. Along the public path, one can still see the steps leading to the cave's opening.

Throughout The Ramble (as well as much of the park), you can also see many of the 450 million-year-old boulders pushed here by the Wisconsin glacier about 12,000 years ago.

The next location is normally kept secret, so it's for serious hunters only: the Central Park Bolt.

Found north of 65th Street, in line with The Dairy, the survey bolt is believed to be one of the only left from John Randel's city grid, known as The Commissioners’ Plan of 1811.
Heading back north, and on the eastern side of the park, we come across the King Jagiello Monument.

This statue is of of king of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Władysław II Jagiełło. Built for the 1939 New York World's Fair, by Polish sculptor Stanisław K. Ostrowski (commemorating the Battle of Grunwald in 1410), it originally stood at the Fair's entrance. The bronze monument was a replica of a memorial in Warsaw, but that one was converted into bullets by Germans after the occupation of their capital during World War II. The replica was moved to Central Park in July of 1945, and unveiled by Polish Count Józef Kazimierz Krasicki.
Just a few steps north, and behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art is an obelisk from Heliopolis, Egypt. It dates to the time of the 18th Dynasty of Thutmose III (1479 - 1425 BCE), and actually has nothing to do with the reign of Cleopatra.

You can read more about the oldest, man-made object, found outdoors in New York City, as well as see other photos, in an earlier This Hidden City post here.
Keep walking north on the park's east side, and you will come to the Conservatory Garden, designed by Gilmore D. Clarke, landscape architect for Robert Moses. The entrance is the old Vanderbilt Gate, that previously allowed access to the courtyard of Cornelius Vanderbilt II's chateau on 58th Street and 5th Avenue. While this is a nice break on this walk, I'm more interested in letting you know about the remains of the 1842 Academy of Mount St. Vincent, now known as McGowan’s Pass.

The Academy closed in 1850, and was replace by a hotel, as well as a museum, and a tavern. The first tavern burned down in 1881, and another (McGown’s Pass Tavern) was built in its place. While torn down in 1917, the original foundations are still there, but Central Park Conservancy uses much of the field for the production of mulch and compost.
Right nearby is Fort Clinton, and its two cannons - one of which is 230 years old, and was recently (2013) found to be fully loaded.

The once-armed weapon was from a sunken British ship in the East River. It was donated to the park in 1865, and moved around, until finally installed at Fort Clinton in 1905. Removed in 1996 by the Central Park Conservancy to protect it from vandalism, workers cleaning it found it was still loaded. The gunpowder has since been removed, but the cannonball is still within the chamber.
For jazz fans, the last item of note is for you, and while it may seem outside the boundaries of Central Park, it is considered part of it. It's a small circle plot on the very northeast corner, known as Duke Ellington Circle (formerly named Frawley Circle), at 110th Street and Fifth Avenue, and it holds a 25 ft (7.6 m) tall, bronze statute of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, and his piano, held up by nine nude caryatids.

The memorial was created by Mexican sculptor Robert Graham, and erected in 1997, thanks to the Duke Ellington Memorial Fund.

New York City Hall

The oldest city hall in the United States stands in Manhattan's Civic Center district, between Broadway, Chambers Street, and Park Way. While it is the nations longest continuously-operating government building, it is actually the city's third city hall.

The architects who won the 1802 design competition, are a true testament to New York City's multiculturalism: U.S. architect John McComb, Jr., and freed slave Joseph-François Mangin (some accounts say he was born in Haiti, others France). Mangin, who designed St. Patrick's Old Cathedral on Mulberry Street, and McComb, who designed Castle Clinton, were jointly awarded a prize of $350.
Under construction from 1803 to 1812 (delayed due to City Council's objection that the design was excessive), it was built in a Federalist style, emulating much of what was being built in Paris at that time.
New York City Hall is listed as a National Historic Landmark, and is on the National Register of Historic Places, with landmark designation in 1966 for its exterior, and again in 1976 for the interior.
Before ascending the steps to enter, there is a large plaque on the ground, which commemorates the first excavations for the city's subway system.

After entering, one will notice the amazing American-Georgian interior design of marble, sandstone, limestone, and painted wood...

...which leads to one of the United States' largest floating marble stairways.

Before heading up the stairs to the second floor, take a look up to see the rotunda's dome.

Sadly, it is the second dome, as the first burned down during a 1858 firework show for the celebration of the laying of the Transatlantic cable. The copper statue of Justice, atop the outside of the dome, is also a replica of the first that came crashing down with the dome, and, strangely, is one of the few in the U.S. to not be blindfolded.
Most rooms within the Hall are not locked, except for one, the Governor's Room, which is normally opened only for tours, or special guests.

The room holds a large portion of the of the building's oil portrait collection (which is estimated to be worth a total of $100 million), as well as George Washington's desk (seen below at the center of the room).

Also, if one feels politically motivated, you may take part in Council meetings in the Hall's Council Chambers.

One may attend Committee, and Stated Meetings to voice your opinion on public matters, which are held twice a month, and are a proud distinction to our admirable democracy. A full listing of public meetings is available at this link.
On a morbid side note, this room's balcony was also the scene of a murder.

While New York City Hall briefly held the bodies of Abraham Lincoln, as well as Ulysses S. Grant, and Colonel Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth (the first Union officer killed in the Civil War), the first to lay in state, due to political assassination within the grounds, was Brooklyn Councilman James E. Davis. In 2003, Othniel B. Askew shot and killed Davis on the balcony of the Council Chamber. A plainclothes policeman, Richard Burt, then shot Askew from the ground floor, hitting him five times, and he later died at Beekman Downtown Hospital.
Anyhow, whether you visit to let your civic voice be heard, or just to see a piece if this city's history, I highly recommend it, and there are groups (such as New York Adventure Club - link here), that hold after-hours tours of the building.

Moore-Jackson Cemetery + Athens Square Park

One of the older cemeteries in New York City sits in a crowded section of Woodside, Queens.
The Moore-Jackson Cemetery was first established a little before 1733 on the farmland of Samuel Moore. Samuel was the son of the first reverend of Newtown, Long Island, John Moore, whose family settled the area in 1652. It is thought that Newtown Pippen apples originated from this farm.
While the cemetery's address is "officially" between 31-30 to 31-36 on 54th Street (as the grave markers are visible from there), the entrance is on 51st Street.
One can walk through the graveyard, to view - up close - some of the memorials, such as the well-preserved tombstone of  Augustine Moore...

...as well as other headstones that haven't stood the test of time very well.

The vacant farmhouse was dismantled in 1901, and during excavations in 1919, it was discovered that the grave site held a total of 42 burials, with surnames including: Jackson, Hallet, Rapelye, Fish, Berrian, and Mecke.
The Works Progress Administration reburied the remains, along with arranging the remaining gravestones in 1936. The area was finally acknowledged as a New York City landmark in 1997, and is now managed by the Queens Historical Society.
If you are still looking for something somewhat nearby, check out Athens Square Park, which is on 30th Avenue, between 29th and 30th Street. The 30-minute walk will certainly let one take in the breadth and compass of Queens.
Named for the modern capitol of Greece, due to the sizable Greek-American population in Astoria, the park first opened as a simple playground in 1967, after it was acquired as public land in 1963. Reconstruction began in 1990, thanks to a one-million dollar restoration project; adding a central court, an small amphitheater, recreational space, plus seating areas along the perimeter, and sculptures throughout the park. In 1993, the first of many bronze statues was unveiled (of philosopher Socrates, and designed by artist Anthony Frudakis). Many of the following icons were donated by mayors of Athens, as well as other cities throughout Greece.

In 1996, three fluted Doric columns of granite, as well as a curved entablature atop, were built to echo the Tholos of Athena Pronaia in Delphi.
Every summer, the park holds a number of Hellenic-themed festivals, not to mention concerts of Greek music, old and new.

The Toynbee Tiles of NYC

First some history for those not familiar with what a Toynbee Tile is.
Though no one really knows who created, or exactly why this strange form of street art exists, many believe the mystery has been solved by Justin Duerr, and his amazing documentary Ressurect Dead.
The story goes that, for over 30 years, one Philadelphia man has used linoleum tiles, and an asphalt compound, to spread his near-schizophrenic message of life-after-death, through a hole in the floor of his car. By placing the tiles onto the street to be constantly run over, the tiles would be pushed into the road to create an almost permanent display of his ideas.
Staring in Philadelphia in the early 1980s, and spreading throughout the Northeast in the 90s (as far south as Washington D.C., and as north as Boston, MA), a few have also been spotted in the Midwest (such as Missouri), and even one in South America - with New York having the largest collection outside of Pennsylvania.
The messages, though brief, are thought to originally stem from the book, Experiences, by British philosopher Arnold J. Toynbee, and mixed with some sci-fi from the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was written by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. Nevertheless, the information contained in the tiles has been known to change from time to time, and some even include stories of secret government attacks on the "artist".
It is now accepted that whoever placed the tiles thinks we can colonize the planet Jupiter with the souls of all human life that have died so far.
There is a wonderful interactive map of all the so-far-discovered pieces (link here), which I used to catalog those in New York City.
While there are many spread throughout Manhattan, like the one on the corner of Church and Warren Streets in Downtown...

...most can be found in the Midtown area.
By taking a walk south on Broadway, starting at 42nd Street, then a left on 35th, heading south again on 6th Avenue to 27th Street, and then north on 5th Avenue from 31st to 38th Street, one can find all those pictured below.

Try seeing how many you can spot along your way.
Since the tile work has garnered a bit of infamy, there are quite a few fakes, with varying degrees of competence in the original method.

Happy hunting, and I look forward to someone turning this into some kind of scavenger hunt.