LITMIR.BIZ

       Exit the park to the right when facing City Hall, and you should see the Brooklyn Bridge. Walk right on Park Row for two impressive-looking structures with notable histories. Now part of Pace University, 41 Park Row was built in 1889 to house The New York Times. The red-and-black edifice at #38 is the Potter Building, built just a few years earlier. It had very advanced fireproofing for its time and is a masterwork of terra-cotta detail.

       Continue along Park Row, which merges into Broadway. Make a left onto Fulton Street. Among the many stores in this stretch are some with unusual architectural details. Notice the accessories shop at #144, which despite its uninteresting contemporary veneer at street level has intriguing turn-of-the-century decorations (a small, elegant pediment flanked by octagonal-shaped lamps) near its curving roofline. At the southwest corner of Nassau Street, 130 Fulton is a lovely Renaissance Revival building from 1893 that’s now largely residential. Amid the terra-cotta flourishes, busts of a handsome youth peek out of the colonnade along what was once the highest floor. Unfortunately, a 2005 addition to the top of the building looks tacked on.

       Walk more along Fulton and check out stores, eats, and such. At Gold Street is John J. Delury Sr. Plaza, a small park named for (wait for it) a city sanitation worker. Past Cliff Street, a one-block-long path on your left, is St. Margaret’s House, a senior facility at 49 Fulton. The outside exemplifies cloddish postwar construction, but inside the lobbies are brightened with amateur artworks. When I taught at Bergtraum High, I sometimes ate tasty and low-priced lunches at St. Margaret’s cafeteria.

       A block up, at Pearl Street, is the cheery Pearl Street Playground, which my daughters used to romp around when they were younger. Across the street is a tall office building with a quirky plaza area. There are seats in primary colors and a setup that resembles convoluted giant monkey bars.

       Turn right onto Water Street to see the large outdoor digital clock on the building at the corner of Water and John Street. It’s fun to watch in action. Return to Fulton Street to see Titanic Memorial Park. History buffs and fans of the film will appreciate this pensive patch, with its white lighthouse and rock-filled garden plot.

       Water Street continues on the park’s south side, split from the part you just passed by. Here, it’s a cobblestone street with old buildings, enhanced to look more like a throwback. The South Street Seaport Museum is located here, along with pieces such as an anchor and tie-posts on the street.

       As you resume walking toward the river on Fulton Street, it too becomes a cobblestoned walkway. (Hopefully you aren’t wearing stilettos.) Along the way, you’ll see shops and restaurants housed in redbrick Federal-style buildings.

       Cross carefully at South Street to the fabled South Street Seaport’s piers. This is a relaxing, picturesque place to roam. Admire the elevated highway over your shoulder, as well as skyscrapers not far away. A walking and biking path runs under the highway and along the river.

       Walk toward the water side of Pier 15 to enjoy the East River views and admire the bridges: Brooklyn (closest), Manhattan (middle), and Williamsburg (farthest north). You can also see the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights (including the Promenade) and Dumbo, some of Brooklyn’s piers, boats upon the water, and more. Next to Pier 17 are a few old-style ships to gaze at and, possibly, go aboard. Check out the 1885 iron sailing ship Wavetree, the lightship Ambrose from 1908, and others. A new Pier 17 is slated to open in 2016.

       When you finally pull yourself away from this scene, go back across South Street and walk northwest on John Street, passing the Imagination Playground, an interactive play space created by celebrated architect David Rockwell, on your right. John Street follows a mildly wiggly path, and it has many shops to peer into. At #44 is the John Street Church, the oldest Methodist congregation in North America, founded in 1766. The 1846 church house is dark and grim-looking from the outside, but inside it has a homey simplicity: white walls and pews, with plaques on the walls and modestly decorated stained-glass windows. A bit past the church is an entrance to the Fulton Street subway station.

      1 Commence at Fulton St. and Broadway, and go into St. Paul’s Chapel.

      2 Walk right on Broadway.

      3 Go

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