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In 1924, a warehouse was converted into one of the first Off-Broadway theaters and showcased plays by the likes of Edward Albee, Eugene Ionesco, David Mamet, and Harold Pinter. Today, the “Cherry Lane Alternative” uses established playwrights to mentor talented newcomers.

Founded in 1973, in a former school building, this is a museum dedicated to the principal that children learn best through self-discovery. It uses a variety of participatory activities and fantasy world environments to engage its young visitors in learning that is fun. The Tisch Building, as the museum is known, has been renovated in a $6.5 million expansion headed by the museum chairman, Laurie Tisch Sussman. The museum’s many activities include exhibits to intrigue older children, while Word Play is an enticing environment for newborns to four year olds.

Five floors of educational hands-on fun with exhibits like Body Odyssey, exploring a giant crawl-through body; Inventor Center, using scanners and digital images; and a TV studio where kids produce their own shows. Under-fours have their own play area.

When little ones get fed up with sightseeing, bring them to this SoHo stop where children can enjoy interactive exhibits. Those under the age of ten can create their own works of art using paint, collage, chalk, or you name it, and work off energy in the play areas. Under-fives have their own WEE (wondrous experimenting and exploring) Artists Drop-In section. Children’s art from other nations is on show.

The unmistakable shimmering spire of the Chrysler Building is one of New York’s great landmarks. The grand Art Deco lobby, once used as a showroom for Chrysler cars, has been restored to show off its lavish marbles and granite, and a vast painted ceiling depicts transportation scenes of the late 1920s.

The seat of city government since 1812, City Hall is considered one of the most beautiful early 19th-century public buildings in the U.S. The design, by architects Mangin and McComb, Jr., won a competition held in 1802. A statue of Justice, dating from 1887, crowns the top of the structure. The rear of the building, facing north, was not clad in marble until 1954, since the architects never expected the city to develop further north.

This tiny Bronx outpost on Long Island Sound was founded in 1685. The boatyards are a forest of masts, and the main street is lined with seafood restaurants and nautical bars. The North Wind Institute Museum is full of nautical lore.

One of America’s oldest universities, noted for its law, medicine, and journalism schools, Columbia was founded in 1754 as King’s College. It moved in 1897 to its present campus, designed by Charles McKim with lawns and plazas on a serene terrace set apart from the street. Notable buildings include McKim’s 1898 Low Library, and St. Paul’s Chapel with three windows by La Farge.