Columbus Circle

Even on a rainy, cloudy day, it's worth making a trip to visit Columbus Circle in Manhattan.

The statue in the center of the Columbus Circle roundabout, is, not surprisingly, a statue of Christopher Columbus. It stands 21 m high, and includes a depiction of the three ships he commanded: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
Across from the southwest corner of Central Park is the recently built Time Warner Center:
And of course one of Donald Trump's monstrosities overlooks Columbus Circle too:

The Bull on Broadway

At least once a month a tourist will stop me and ask some variant of the question, "do you know where the bull is?"

Yep, I do.

It's on Broadway, almost at the bottom of the avenue, right smack in the middle of the road. You can take the subway to Bowling Green Station and walk a block or so north, or take it to Wall Street (which lets you off on the corner of Wall and Broadway), and walk south about two blocks or so from there.

You won't be alone. There's pretty much always several tourists taking pictures there. But be careful: Broadway can be a busy street. There are cars, cabs and buses zipping by on both sides of the bull. Don't be so much in "tourist mode" that you forget to look both ways before you cross:

Free Wireless Internet in Lower Manhattan

For tourists or locals wandering around lower Manhattan, you should know that there is free wireless internet in the 60 Wall Street atrium:

60 Wall is open to the public and is just a couple of short blocks away from the New York Stock Exchange. But unless you know the neighborhood, it's unlikely you'd find your way here since you can't see this atrium from the Exchange itself. And it's something you won't find in a guidebook.

There are on occasion some rousing backgammon or speed-chess matches in here too. Heated nicely in the winter and mercifully air-conditioned in the summer, with security provided by Deutsche Bank security guards.

A Great Meeting Place in Lower Manhattan: The Hideous Sculpture at Chase Manhattan Plaza

There's a preposterously ugly outdoor sculpture in front of the Chase Manhattan Plaza that, despite its lack of aesthetic appeal, makes for a perfect lower Manhattan meeting place.


It's just above the 2/3 line Wall Street Station stop, and only a couple of blocks away from the Trade Center Site. You can even stand under it and get protection from the rain too... although not the wind.

If you arrive via subway, take the 2/3 line to Wall Street, then follow the signs in the subway to exit via Cedar/William Street. Go through the doors, take a quick right and head up the stairs to the outdoor plaza level and you're right there.

If you're arriving on foot, this plaza is basically a one block long segment of Cedar Street between William and Nassau Streets.

Night view from the corner of Cedar and William Streets:

View from above: