During our last trip around New York City, we hit all of the highlights. From having a moment of reflection at the 9/11 Memorial, trying the USA's first pizza, visiting the major museums, strolling through Central Park, and generally eating our way around the city, we did nearly everything that the guidebooks would tell you to do. For our next visit, I want to get out of the guidebooks and go to some of the more unusual attractions the city has to offer. So after checking in to our holiday apartments in New York City, we have put together a quest to explore the city's most unique attractions that not every traveler gets to visit. In today's post, we're sharing the top 5 on our must see list.
The "Tropical Beach" on Governor's Island
First off, a beach in New York City? Sign me up. Throw in a nice view and you know I'll be there with my camera in hand. Unfortunately this unique setting is only available to visit from May to September each year, so your time to enjoy this attraction is limited. Prior to visiting, be sure to check the event schedule to see if any concerts or other festivals are going on to make your stay even more rewarding!
To reach Governor's Island and the Beach Club, you must take a ferry from the Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 or from the Battery Maritime Building in Manhattan. (Photo "Governor's Island" by Nestor Rivera Jr)
Film Biz Recycling
What happens to all the props after movie filming is finished? Unfortunately, a lot of it makes its way into the trash to be lost forever. Enter Film Biz Recycling, a non-profit that is trying to help reduce the amount of waste from the leftovers of the movie business. As my life before college (so two lives before travel writing) was all about movies, this one has my name all over it.
With over 11,000 square feet of floor space for their retail store, prop center, and other endeavors, there is a lot of stuff movie addicts like me can find interesting and take home with them!
New York Sanitation Department Garage
A sanitation department's garage, really? Yes, really! This interesting place started as one employee's small collection of unique items and grew to overtake the entire second floor of his department! From tiny curios to large pieces of furniture and artwork, the museum has just about everything imaginable arranged with great care.
The one downside? The museum is not open to the public as it is housed in an active sanitation building for the city of New York. If you can make friends with the employees, or go in one of the rare open house nights that are rumored to take place, you may be lucky enough to get a peek at the unusual collection!
The Secret Subways in the City
Okay, maybe "secret subways" is not the best term to describe these relics of the past. The subways in New York that I want to see on my next trip are the ones that have been lost to the ages after being shut down decades ago. The most famous of which is the subway station below City Hall, which only those on special tours from the MTA or those who stay on the 6 train longer than they're supposed to can see. There are many other lost subway stations in New York, including a stop built below Grand Central Terminal just for FDR (and the train car is still there, too!), so those looking for a unique quest have a lot to potentially see.
Be warned; however, that trying to visit these without approval is illegal, so go through the proper channels if you want to see these historical spots!
The Frick Collection
There must still be some Pittsburgh left in me, because I still have an odd fascination with the steel magnates of the late-1800s. The Frick Collection is located in Henry Clay Frick's Fifth Avenue house, and is a curated gallery of some of the most acclaimed artists in the past few centuries. These works are on display in the rooms that the Frick family lived and feels like you are stepping into the pages of history as you walk through the halls and ornate rooms. Having visited several similar buildings like this one during our stay in Pittsburgh, visiting the Frick Collection in New York City takes a high spot on our must-see list for our next visit.
As you can imagine, our next visit to New York is going to be an unusual one. From hitting a lesser visited museum and movie prop store to hopefully getting permission to visit the subway stations of yesteryear, we really want to get into a side of New York most visitors never see- and you should too! Next time you're in the city be sure to put the guidebook down and go off the grid to explore these awesome places. Who knows, you may even end up finding something to recommend for us to do when we visit, too!
