This is the oldest part of Manhattan, where Dutch settlers turned marshland into farmland after buying the place for about $24, dug a canal along present-day Canal Street, and created the city once known as New Amsterdam. Broadway begins here, along the route of a path first created by the native Indian tribes, and, fittingly, the National Museum of the American Indian is located just nearby (1 Bowling Green; 301-238-6624). Here, old buildings--like Fraunces Tavern Museum (54 Pearl Street; 212-425-1778), where Washington bade a tearful good-bye to his officers--lie in the shadow of twentieth-century monuments and the financial fortresses of Wall Street. You'll also find here the greatest bargain in the free world: the Staten Island Ferry (718-727-2508), which leaves from Battery Park and nearly grazes the Statue of Liberty en route to the island--and costs absolutely nothing.
Our favorite destination is South Street Seaport (main office number: 212-732-8257), eight blocks of former trade buildings now turned into harborside shops, restaurants and a museum. To experience the area's maritime past, climb aboard the museum's Peking (docked in the East River off Fulton Street), a century-old sailing ship in full rigging, then poke around next door at Pier 17, a sort of souvenir shopping mall. Nearby is the gloriously intricate City Hall, where New York's famously noisy mayors, from Fiorello La Guardia and Ed Koch to the current Michael Bloomberg, hold court. While an attraction in itself (George Washington ordered the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in the park right out front), the building also marks the entrance of an even better destination for kids: the Brooklyn Bridge. The longest bridge in America when it opened in 1883, the structure boasts a wood-planked pedestrian walkway with a bird's-eye view of the Lower Manhattan skyline (the entrance is right across the street from City Hall).
About five blocks north of the bridge lies Chinatown, a maze of streets and exotic sights that's a world removed from the right-angled predictability of most of the city. A new favorite of ours is N.Y. Noodle Town (28H Bowery; 212-349-0923), rated by Frommer's as one of the 10 best bargain restaurants in the world. "Make that 'in the observable universe,'" corrected planetarium-schooled Edwin. One corner of the restaurant is hung with slabs of grilled meat and a veritable barnyard of roasted ducks and geese, some with their heads still on. A platter of grilled chicken with noodles cost about $4.75; a bowl of delicious, kid-pleasing shrimp-dumpling soup is $3.75. We tried the house specialty, a plate of succulent salt-baked softshell crabs, then ordered a second plateful after those disappeared. "Hey, Dad," said Anton, pointing at the menu, "next time you should order the frog porridge."
In Chinatown (and, indeed, in much of Manhattan), just walking is an adventure, since the sidewalks are jammed with people. The joyous chaos is made all the more transporting by the throngs of street vendors selling everything from flowers and incense to plastic tubs loaded with squid. At the Pearl River Emporium (200 Grand Street; main office: 800-878-2446), Edwin and Anton picked up an authentic set of Chinese checkers and a pair of paper dragon hand puppets. Anton tried on wooden flip-flops painted with a tiger but settled for a magical string of brass bells tied to a red satin ribbon.
So that's our New York world, dizzyingly varied, always enticing. Of course, there's much more--Harlem farther uptown, then the outer boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, all united to create the city we love. We never tire of exploring it all. We even get excited when we see groups of tourists on the street and imagine the adventures that await them. And like true New Yorkers, we can't resist butting in now and then to suggest how they should spend their time. "Dad," Anton whispered to me with a nudge when someone with a camera stopped us recently to ask directions, "Tell them about the frog porridge!"
Curtis Rist is a FAMILYFUN contributing editor.
Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Originally published in January 2001. Updated November 2004.
