The Upper West Side covers a large area in upper Manhattan bounded by 59th Street on the south, 125th Street on the north, the Hudson River on the west, and Central Park & Morningside Park on the east. Though home to Columbia University and key cultural institutions such as the Natural History Museum and Lincoln Center, the area is primarily residential, and is teeming with quaint cafes worth exploring. The neighborhood is at its best on the weekends when residents flock to brunches on Columbus Avenue, stock up on gourmet food at Zabar’s, pick up their bagels and lox at Barney Greengrass, and make their way into Central Park at the 72nd Street entrance across the street from the famed Dakota.
Here’s just a sampling of the sights of the Upper West Side:
- The Dakota apartment building has been (and is!) home to many celebrities. Probably best known was the former Beatle John Lennon, who was gunned down outside the building December 8th, 1980 by a crazed fan. Lennon had been living at the Dakota with his second wife, Yoko Ono, who still resides in the building. A memorial to the former Beatle exists nearby in Central Park.
- Established in 1869, The American Museum of Natural History covers four blocks between West 77th and 81st Streets and—with its enormous galleries of dinosaurs, aquatic life, fossils, and meteorites—is one of the cities most appealing museums.
- Grant’s Tomb is the interring place of General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife. This imposing mausoleum is the largest tomb in North America.
- One of New York’s most iconic cultural institutions, the Lincoln Center is the largest performing arts mecca in the world. The 16.3 acre complex houses 11 resident organizations that deliver a veritable cornucopia of performance in multiple disciplines—symphony, opera, chamber music, theatre, dance, film, and arts education—to the masses.
- Stretching from Midtown to Harlem, Central Park’s green hills, rocky bluffs, and dense woodlands annually host countless free diversions, from concerts and protests to tai chi and tennis. In its renewed state, 58 miles of pedestrian pathways lead 25 million visitors around such cinematic scenes as the placid reservoir, perpetually fringed by joggers; as well as youngsters tossing Frisbees and soaking up rays in Sheep Meadow. Without such splendor, New Yorkers would hardly be able to tolerate the rest of Manhattan’s concrete grip.
The beauty of the Upper West Side is how accessible it is. You can get there by taking the 1 TRAIN to 59th, 66th, 72nd, 79th, 86th, 96th, 103rd, 110th, or 116th Streets; the 2/3 TRAIN to 72nd or 96th Streets; the A/D TRAIN to 59th Street –Columbus Circle; or the B/C TRAIN to 59th, 72nd, 79th, 86th, 96th, 103rd, 110th, or 116th Streets.
