On this day: Lower Manhattan, New York City

See more from my On This Day series here, where I celebrate travel memories on their trip anniversaries.

On December 6, 2017, I was in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

As we approached the end of our week in New York City, we ventured back to the south end of Manhattan Island to explore further. In the morning, we headed out early to Russ & Daughters in the Lower East Side for their famous cream cheese and lox bagels. Yummy.

Afterward, we took a walk through Chinatown. Bordering the Lower East Side, New York City’s Manhattan Chinatown is home to the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere and is one of the oldest ethnic Chinese enclaves in North America. Historically, the neighbourhood was primarily populated by Cantonese speakers, but in the 1980s and 1990s, a large number of Fuzhounese speaking immigrants arrived and formed a sub-neighbourhood in the eastern portion now known as Little Fuzhou. In the following decades, Flushing Chinatown in the borough of Queens has since overtaken Manhattan Chinatown in size, although it remains a dominant cultural force for the Chinese diaspora.

Heading further south, we moved onto the Two Bridges neighbourhood. This is where we would find one of the city’s most famous landmarks — the Brooklyn Bridge. This hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge extending 1,595 feet (486 metres) spans the East River, connecting the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It opened in 1883, serving as the first fixed crossing of the East River, and was notable as the longest suspension bridge in the world at that time. Today, it remains an iconic symbol of New York City, used as the location of various stunts and performances. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark, a New York City landmark, and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

11 responses to “On this day: Lower Manhattan, New York City”

  1. […] a morning exploring Lower Manhattan and crossing part of the Brooklyn Bridge, we headed back up island to visit the Museum of Modern […]

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  2. Love the pun on lox/locks! That bagel looks superb (and well-worth an Instagram photo; such generous layers of cream cheese and salmon)! Hope you weren’t freezing during your trip!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It was pretty mild that entire week! I got a kick out of finding that “lox/locks” sign right after we had eaten a lox bagel. 😛

      Liked by 1 person

  3. It is quite surprising that walking over polluting traffic routes, with the permanent risk of rushing bikes, has become a tourist attraction. But I believe there are plans to improve the experience.

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  4. It is a great city to spend time and roam around.so much to see and do.

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    1. Definitely! It’s my favourite American city.

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  5. Bagel and lox… that’s good. I’m still waiting to read about a big slice of NY-style pizza… 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh man, I miss those NY slices!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. New York is such a thrilling city! One of my favorite no-nonsense eateries was the Tick Tock diner and there was a bakery chain called Zaro’s where I use to get bagels. Your article brought back some memories. Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. NYC is my favourite American city. I looked up that Tick Tock diner; I guess the reviews aren’t great but the place looks cool! The bakery looks very promising though, will have to keep it in mind for my next visit.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I also noticed the patchy reviews. My last visit there was 2014 so I guess things may have gone a bit downhill.

        Liked by 1 person

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