DK Travel : New York : Places of interest

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Marcus Garvey Park

A black nationalist who encouraged emigration to Africa, Garvey became a hero of the Black Pride movement, and the park’s name was changed from Mount Morris in 1973 to honor him. It adjoins the Mount Morris Historical District of handsome houses and churches from an earlier, affluent, German-Jewish era. In the 1920s, as Harlem became mostly African-American, the synagogues became churches, and the houses were divided up.
Maritime Crafts Center

Marvel at the skill of woodcarvers at work, creating model ships and figureheads.
Metropolitan Life Tower

This 54-story tower, built along the east side of Madison Square in 1909, was the world’s tallest building at that time, an appropriate corporate symbol for the world’s largest insurance company. Designed by Napoleon Le Brun and Sons, the tower follows the form of the campanile in the Piazza San Marco in Venice. Although it was altered in the 1960s, when the entire structure was renovated, the ornate four-faced clock and crowning cupola remain, a familiar landmark on the New York skyline.
Metropolitan Museum of Art

More a collection of museums, spanning 5,000 years of global culture.
Mott Street General Store

Originally known as Quong Yeun Shing & Company, this is the oldest store in Chinatown, established in 1891. The store was a social hub for Chinese men, who were not allowed to bring their wives to the U.S. under old immigration laws.
Mott Street Shopping

Clustered on this block are shops with a wonderful selection of Chinese goods. China Silk and Handicrafts has vases, figurines, bowls, tea sets, and Buddhas by the dozen. Lamps made from attractive Oriental vases are the specialty of Pearl of the Orient Gallery, while New Age Designer makes clothing to order in your choice of jewel-hued silks. Serious antiques collectors should head to the Sinotique Gallery.
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Gardens

A rare bit of old New York, this was the stone carriage house of a 1799 estate. When the house burned in 1826, the carriage house was converted into an inn and became a fashionable resort for New Yorkers who wanted to escape to what was then still countryside. The building and garden have been restored by the Colonial Dames of America and furnished with historic objects. Guides are on hand to explain the unique history of the attraction.
Mulberry Street

There are many trendy shops on Mulberry Street from Houston down to Spring Street and though Chinatown is overrunning much of Little Italy, the block between Broome and Canal remains strictly Italian. It is filled with restaurants, coffee shops with tempting Italian pastries, and stores selling pasta implements, statues of saints, and T-shirts saying “Kiss Me, I’m Italian.” The Feast of San Gennaro packs the street each September.
Municipal Building

This building dominating the Civic Center area, straddling Chambers Street, was the first “skyscraper” by McKim, Mead, and White, a 25-story structure completed in 1914. The top is a vertitable wedding-cake fantasy of towers and spires topped by Adulph Wienman’s famous statue, Civic Fame. The intricate terra-cotta vaulting above the street is modeled on the entrance of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, and the subway entrance at the south end, an arcaded plaza, is a dramatic vault of Guastavino tiles.
Museum Mile

Nine museums are situated within one convenient mile. They unite for a free open house day in June. Participants include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Academy of Fine Arts, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum, Jewish Museum, Neue Gallery for German and Austrian Art, Museum of the City of New York, and El Museo del Barrio.