Sunday Walks: SoHo, Gotham, and the New York City Marathon

The arrival of Daylight Saving Times frequently shocks the system, whether on a personal level or for the larger urban fabric. It takes some time to adjust to the change. Of the two seasonal adjustments, I prefer Fall Back over Spring Forward. Aside from gaining an extra hour, I like to think that this time of year is made for those of us in the city who get up at an unreasonably early hour to walk our dogs.

Broome Street, SoHo. 7:13 a.m.

SoHo

I walked an extra hour yesterday, no doubt about it. The first morning walk was through SoHo, always unreal and pretty when few people are out on the Belgian block streets. The frivolous cast iron buildings catch the morning sunrise in just the right way, and if you venture out on a Sunday morning at first light, it can be a surreal personal landscape for one.

Greene Street, SoHo. 7:03 a.m.

Greene Street near Broome Street, SoHo. 7:08 a.m.

The Gunther Building, Greene Street and Broome Street. SoHo. 7:09 a.m.

Gotham

The morning is not often a good time for surprises, and confronting an unfamiliar scene can be extra challenging. Later in the morning, I was on lower Broadway at the entrance of Wall Street and was startled to see an enormous crowd assembled on the east end of the street. Squinting my eyes, I saw what look to be explosions. Flags on buildings were in tatters. Given the current Wall Street-centered uprising, you can imagine my alarm. Fortunately, the scene turned out to be a location shoot for the forthcoming movie, The Dark Knight Rises (Summer 2012). At any rate, I'm hoping Bruce Wayne will be able to finally bring the evil-doers to justice since no one else has bothered.

Wall Street under siege. It's only a movie. 8:49 a.m.

Wall Street behind the barricades. Batman, help us. 9:51 a.m.

NYC Marathon

I'll never complain about walking far again, because for a couple of hours yesterday I stood in awe watching a few thousand runners, of the 47,000 or so total, as they raced to finish the New York City Marathon. I wandered around near the finish line in Central Park. The day turned out brilliantly, weatherize, and the park shimmered in natural greens and golds, a great backdrop to the many colorful runners.

Marathon runners enter the park for the final stretch. Near southwest corner of Central Park. 

Running the NYC Marathon

Autumn in New York + NYC Marathon = good visuals

Finishing and finding the way home

Finishers

Images by Walking Off the Big Apple from Sunday, November 6, 2011.