CitySights NY

CitySights NYThe “real” New York is difficult to find, if it exists at all. Even so, and perhaps as a result, New York has a draw, a magnetism that brings you there and once you get there, makes it hard to leave. Before I came here for school, I had never really experienced New York as a tourist. Now, settled in to my own pattern, I am comfortable here. I feel like I know New York. I know the monuments—some better than others—though my New York is not the one sold in Times Square, or advertised in brochures. I have learned to love New York, but I don’t necessarily “♥NY.”

I thought it was time, then, for me to better understand the popular New York, the one that is bought by the average tourist. What places are you supposed to go—or are you brought to—when you come to New York? In order to find out, I decided to go on a double-decker bus tour.

Being “the recognized leader in NYC’s sightseeing” (though it is unclear who is doing the recognizing), I chose CitySights NY. CitySights NY offers a variety of bus, boat, and helicopter tours throughout the city, with multiple routes and themes. In a sense, the tourist is first acclimated to New York’s daunting range of choices through the barrage of tour options. How do you choose between the “Downtown Tour” and the “Uptown Treasures & Harlem Tour,” and the “Brooklyn Tour”? If you can’t decide between those, the “All Around Town Tour” or the “Super New York Tour” might be for you. These tours package multiple tours in one ticket, with museum tickets thrown in as an added bonus. Or you can go on one of the “On Locations Tours,” where you can take your bachelorette party on a “Sex and the City Hotspots” tour or go on a “Sopranos Guys Getaway.” And once you get tired of New York, you can take a day trip to Boston, Philadelphia, or Washington D.C.

Because my schedule prevented the typical tourist freedom, the only tour I could go on was the “Night Tour.” What follows is an annotated photo essay documenting the two and a half hours I spent with CitySights NY, highlighting the route, the important buildings, and corresponding facts. Because my interest here is what tourists are told, I have not checked facts for accuracy, and have not included anything besides what I learned on the tour.

Covered BusThe Bus: According to their brochure, CitySights NY buses are “the first, American-made, top-deck-seating-only buses” on the street. “Double-decker” then is not particularly accurate, as there are no seats on the bottom level. There were approximately 37 people on my tour, with all but one seat taken, all as part of a family or group. A more important feature of the buses, however, is the “see-through plexiglass canopies” that are installed “to protect you from the elements” during winter months. Unfortunately, even on a beautiful night, my bus still has this false roof, which was considerably scratched and dinged up. I had planned to document my tour with pictures, though the canopy made all of my pictures blurry. As such, the pictures used in this essay are not ones that I took.

Times SquareTimes Square: I usually make a point to avoid Times Square at all costs, though I embraced the Broadway lights for the start of the tour. Though CitySights NY sells their tickets in the lobby of Madame Tussauds, the Night Tour begins four blocks north, in Duffy Square. The landmarks of note here include the ball dropped at New Year’s Eve (which looks rather unimpressive in person), the Marriot Marquis Hotel, MTV Studios, and Toys R Us.

The Police DepartmentThe Police Department: Leaving Times Square, the Police Department headquarters is on your left. If it were a country, the NYPD would be the sixth largest army in the world. I am not sure if that fact is supposed to be terrifying or comforting. As the blogger who took this picture notes, the building “looks like a little diner.”

The New York Times BuildingThe New York Times Building: In 1904, the New York Times moved into what was then known as Long Acre Square, lending its name to the famous square thereafter. The newspaper moved to a new location a few blocks away in 1913, but the name stuck. Recently, a man decided to climb the building. He was met at the top by the world’s sixth largest army, and taken to Bellvue Hospital for “the famous check-up from the neck-up.”

Chrysler BuildingChrysler Building: The beginning of “Skyscraper National Park.” Completed in 1929, the Chrysler Building was in fierce competition with the Bank of Manhattan Tower for the title of “World’s Tallest Building,” which it held for a few months before the Empire State Building took the prize. The Chrysler Building won by adding the spire on top, unannounced, in the middle of the night before opening. It sent the first color TV transmission, and has the most bricks of any building on the planet (3,820,000).

The New York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library: With 18 million volumes, it is the second largest research library in the United States behind only the Library of Congress.

Empire State BuildingEmpire State Building: At 102 floors, the Empire State Building is the tallest building in New York, and the second tallest in the country behind the Sears Tower. Since its opening, it has accepted over 125 million visitors “and one gigantic ape.” New York was coined “The Empire State” by George Washington. In 1945, a B25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor. An elevator operator working that day set a world record after she survived a drop of 79 floors after plane cut the cable on her elevator.

Washington Square ArchWashington Square Arch: It is the gateway to Greenwich Village. Just like in “The Cruise,” the tour guide listed famous authors who lived in the area.

Cantor Film CenterThe Cantor Film Center: New York University is the largest private university in the United States, and one of the largest landowners in the city. The Tisch School of the Arts has produced many famous filmmakers and actors.

Broad StreetBroad Street: “If Canal Street is named after a canal, Wall Street after a wall, Water Street after the water, and Pearl Street after mounds of pearls, what is Broad Street named after?” A canal.

DUMBODUMBO: One of New York’s many neighborhoods named with an acronym, DUMBO stands for “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.” See also: RAMBO (“Right After the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”).

BrooklynBrooklyn: Brooklyn was the home of the first battle of the American Revolution, which took place in Prospect Park. The only reason George Washington escaped alive was because the British general in charge stopped to take his afternoon tea. For 7 of the 8 years of the war, the British occupied the city.

Verazzano-Narrows BridgeVerazzano-Narrows Bridge: Italian immigrants fought for to name the bridge after the explorer who came to the region a decade before Henry Hudson. Robert Moses thinks this is a bad idea. It is likely that it will be named the “John F. Kennedy Bridge,” but Robert Kennedy takes sides with the Italians, and their petition is accepted.

Jay-Z BillboardJay-Z Billboard: Brooklyn has born more celebrities than any town in the country, including rapper Jay-Z. Jay-Z grew up in the neighborhood Bedford-Stuyvesant and took his name from the local J and Z subway lines.

Bowery Savings BankBowery Savings Bank: Located on the Bowery, the “most interesting street in New York.”

Union Square ClockUnion Square Clock: The clock tells the current time of day on the left and the hours remaining in the day on the right. At midnight, all the numbers are “0.”

Macy'sMacy’s: The famous department store located on the Ladies’ Mile in the heart of Fashion Avenue.

Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson: The founding father called New York “a sewer of all depravities of human nature.”