01 130 Liberty St., fire engine No. 10

40.709875, -74.012645 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Bas relief on the western facade
Number of people
46
Historical background Checkpoint picture 01
The first firefighters appeared in New York (called New Amsterdam back then) in 1648. That was also when homeowners started to get fined if chimneys of their houses were not properly swept. The money collected was used for purchase of equipment: hooks, ladders, and buckets. Later patrols were organized, and from 9 pm till dawn firefighter brigades equipped with leather buckets walked the streets. The first “fire trucks”, hand pumps on wheels, were brought to New York from London in 1731. Five years later the first fire station was built, and in a year from then an act was adopted according to which any tea-totaling able-bodied man under the age of 42 and ready to work at night could become a firefighter. The New York Fire Department was established in 1865, and in 1898 unification of all city’s separate firefighting services took place. A professional fire protection service started to develop. However, even today quite a few firefighters in the US are volunteers. They come on duty in their free time and are not paid for their work, but the requirements applicable to them are the same as those established for professional firefighters. 11 September 2001 is a tragic date in the history of New York. 343 firefighters died during the rescue operation. All of the 11 thousand New York firefighters at one time or another worked on the ruins of the World Trade Center. Thousands of people were rescued thanks to their efforts.
02 7 State St.

40.702463, -74.013643 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, cross between basement and first floor windows
Letters on the cross
IHS
Historical background Checkpoint picture 02
Battery Park is the oldest place in New York, this is where the city started from. The park got its name for the artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years to protect the settlement behind them. Since the 17th century this was the location of Fort Amsterdam built by the Dutch. Under protection of its walls in 1625 the whites bought Manhattan Island from the Indians for 60 guilders (around 24 modern-day US dollars). The island’s name of Manhattan originates from “manna-hata”, which means “hilly island” or “small island” in one of the Algonquin languages. A reminder of that event is the flagpole rising above the granite pedestal with an Indian chief in feathers and a European in a camisole making a deal carved in it. Castle Clinton built in 1811 just prior to the American-British war became the fort’s heir. The new fort got its name after DeWitt Clinton, the 6th mayor of New York. Since the time of mass European immigration Castle Clinton served as a processing point for people coming to the New World. Millions of migrants passed through it until the immigration terminal was moved to Ellis Island. A pier for free ferry regularly departing for Staten Island is adjacent to the park. From the park, also by ferry, you can get to Liberty Island with the famous Statue of Liberty towering over it.
05 1 W 72nd St.

40.776431, -73.976205 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

M72 bus stop, text about filing a Title VI complaint in Creole
4th line from the top, 3rd word from the right
diskriminasyon / pa / pwoteje
Historical background Checkpoint picture 05
The Dakota, an apartment building located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West, is famous as the home of Rudolf Nureyev, Judy Garland and John Lennon. The latter has left quite a prominent mark in the history of New York. The secret of The Beatles’ fantastic success can be formulated as follows: ordinary boys from Merseyside did not just believe that they will break through and become number one, but also worked for that goal without compromise, giving it one hundred percent. When traveling on their non-stop tour, they remained “the guys next door”, and at the same time were perceived as a new exciting force which revolutionized the British pop culture. Influence of the Liverpool Four on America was no less amazing. You can think whatever you like of them, but their simple words became slogans of the generation. After the band’s break-up John Lennon settled in New York. Here he also became a person reigning over the people’s hearts and minds. There is a spot with a very special atmosphere right next to the place where he lived and was killed in 1980, Strawberry Fields in Central Park. The fans come there and sing their favorite songs. They say it is a sad place, but at the same time you start feeling good and light at heart any time of year when you visit it.
08 Section of 5th Ave. between buildings 610 and 620

40.758308, -73.977626 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Plaque at the beginning of the promenade
Last line
Tiffany & Co.
Historical background Checkpoint picture 08
Rockefeller Center is a complex of buildings in New York City located in Midtown Manhattan between the 48th and 51st Streets and between the Sixth and Fifth Avenues. In 1928 John Rockefeller Jr. leased a huge plot of land from Columbia University. Building of the complex started in 1930 and went on for nine years. The project cost was estimated at quarter of a billion dollars in 1930 prices. Since 1987 the Center has the status of a National Historic Landmark. The complex represents a set of high rise Art Deco buildings. The centerpiece of the complex is a 70-floor 266-meter-tall skyscraper. In 1989 the entire complex was sold by the Rockefeller family to the business unit of Japanese automotive corporation Mitsubishi. In 2000 the complex was sold for 1.85 billion dollars to a group of US investors led by Jerry Speyer, a close friend of David Rockefeller. Rockefeller Center may be visited as a museum, throughout the time of its existence many details (bass-reliefs, sculptures, frescoes) were added by famous sculptors and artists, and now adorn its buildings. During New Year and Christmas holidays it is possible to skate on a rink by Rockefeller Center and see one of the country’s main Christmas trees, an unforgettable fairy-tale sight!
09 Columbia University, Alma Mater statue in front of Low Memorial Library

40.807907, -73.96259 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Flagpole with a US flag to the west of the statue
Inscription inside a laurel wreath
LOVE CHERISH DEFEND IT
Historical background Checkpoint picture 09
Ivy covering the facades of America’s oldest educational establishments gave the name to the country’s eight most prestigious universities, one of which is Columbia University. Founded by George II back in 1754, today the university is the training base of America’s political elite, from the Founding Fathers to Barack Obama. Besides, among its graduates there are quite a few heads of foreign states, Nobel and Pulitzer prize as well as Academy Award winners. The Ivy League guarantees high quality of education, all universities possess sufficient resources, including large territories, in a sense forming a town within a town. Columbia University’s main campus occupies six quarters of Manhattan, or about 13 hectares. While walking on the university's territory between academic buildings and student dormitories (by the way, the buildings here are connected by a system of tunnels some of which are open to the public), don’t miss the Low Memorial Library. And perhaps you will be lucky to find the owl in the folds of Alma Mater’s skirt!
11 319 W 107th St.

40.802916, -73.969038 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Balustrade of the second floor
Number of balusters
20
Historical background Checkpoint picture 11
A graduate of Karl May Gymnasium, student of St. Petersburg University and Imperial Academy of Arts, philosopher, traveler, and artist, Nicholas Roerich is a significant figure in the history of world culture. After the revolution Roerich finds himself cut off from Russia, and in 1920 he goes to America. His three-year tour of US cities, exhibitions, establishing of a museum in New York, numerous lectures and publications did not only introduce Russian art to the western world, but also influenced the American culture. After one year of living in America Roerich founded the Master Institute of United Arts, declaring art as the power capable of uniting the mankind. The Roerich Pact signed in 1935 in the presence of President Roosevelt by representatives of the Pan-American Union was a declaration of mankind’s responsibility for preservation of culture regardless of borders and political sentiments. “Peace through culture” was the idea of the author’s spiritual and cultural efforts which until today continue to be preserved and promoted by the New York Nicholas Roerich Museum.
13 265 W 94th St.

40.793779, -73.973507 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Signs on the entrance
Address
268 WEST 95th ST. / 268 WEST 95th STREET
Historical background Checkpoint picture 13
Pomander Walk is a small residential complex in Manhattan on the Upper West Side. There are a total of 27 two-floor cottages on that “street”. Facades of eight cottages face each other forming a narrow courtyard. Each building originally had one apartment on each floor. In recent years, some buildings have been reconfigured to serve as single-family homes. In 1920 nightclub impresario Thomas Healy acquired the rights for a 200-year rent of the area where Pomander Walk is presently located. He planned to build a 16-floor hotel on the site. However instead of that in 1921 he financed construction of two-floor cottages which were to perform the function of rental houses on a temporary basis. The buildings were designed by the New York architecture firm King and Campbell. The residential complex was named for a homonymous play by Louis Parker popular at that time and staged in New York in 1910. In 1966 the residents filed a request for inclusion of Pomander Walk in the US Register of National Historic Landmarks, but it was declined. However, in 1982 the area got a New York City landmark status, and in 1983 it was included in the National Historic Landmarks Register. Past residents of Pomander Walk include such actors as Dorothy and Lillian Gish, Mary Martin, Humphrey Bogart and Rosalind Russell.
17 2109 Broadway

40.780024, -73.981811 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Parking meter on Broadway
Zone number
111701
Historical background Checkpoint picture 17
The former luxurious Ansonia Hotel at intersection of Broadway and West 73rd Street in New York City after a hundred years still remains the place where luxury and style reign supreme. Architect Emile Paul Duboy designed and built the Ansonia in New York in 1904 in the Beaux-Art style as a luxury hotel for long-term tenants. In total its 17 floors host 2,500 rooms and 17 luxury apartments. Besides, the building originally had a large ballroom, several cafes, a palm orchard, Turkish baths and the world’s largest indoor swimming pool (largest at the time of the building construction). Thanks to the hotel’s extra solid structure, its apartments turned out to be virtually soundproof — a feature which was especially appreciated by musicians. This explains the fact that the Ansonia became a long-time home for the world’s top stars, such as Igor Stravinsky, Arturo Toscanini or Enrico Caruso. In 1972 the building was given the status of a Historic Landmark, and in 1992 it was rebuilt into a luxurious apartment hotel which now has 430 apartments. But even in the present days the Ansonia continues to radiate romance and luxury around itself, remaining a symbol of prestige and wealth — a true image of the old times elegance.
21 101 Park Ave.

40.750993, -73.978168 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Plaque with PanAm building on the pavement
Time on the clock
17:15 / 5:15 pm
Historical background Checkpoint picture 21
New York’s main railroad station, Grand Central Terminal, was built in 1871 and since then has undergone reconstruction more than once. The Terminal is huge, more than forty tracks connect the city with neighboring districts and simultaneously attract tourists from all over the world. An exquisite Terminal building constructed in the likeness of a vaulted temple keeps a multitude of secrets. For example, the celestial map on the ceiling is a reversed image, and the opal clock telling the time to the visitors really costs a fortune. There is a concealed spiral staircase behind the main information board, and the clock panel is always one minute forward so the passengers don’t get late for the train. A dark spot near the lobster’s claw is in fact an unwashed piece of ceiling reminding of hazard associated with smoking. You can also notice people enthusiastically whispering something to the wall in a corner of the passageway to the platforms. Don’t be surprised: the Terminal has an unusual structure of walls, the sound goes unobstructed over them, so at a noisy railroad terminal you can hear what a friend whispers to you at the other end of the underground passage.
27 807 5th Ave.

40.765953, -73.971549 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Plaque on the corner of the building
Sum of digits

Detailed answer

187119151962

Answer: 51 / CP removed from Griffin route, any answers proving that CP was reached will be accepted in Lion category

51 / CP removed from Griffin route, any answers proving that CP was reached will be accepted in Lion category
Historical background Checkpoint picture 27
Manhattan Island saw various settlers following each other, mixing and creating a new cultural pattern. In 1625 the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam appeared on the island’s southern tip. Almost forty years later the town was taken over by the British and renamed as New York. Taking their roots from the native residents of New Amsterdam, native New Yorkers started to be called the knickerbockers for favoring a certain type of garment: baggy breeches gathered under the knees. The notion of a “Knickerbocker” was established thanks to the American writer Washington Irving. In 1809 Irving published his “History of New York” under the penname of Diedrich Knickerbocker. Cartoonist George Cruikshank in his illustrations depicted Dutch colonists wearing short baggy pants, or knickerbockers. One more important fact adding popularity to knickerbockers originates from the history of baseball. In 1845 a resident of New York Alexander Cartwright developed the rules of baseball which soon became commonly accepted. The team created by him was called “The New York Knickerbocker” and it was the first one to introduce a full club outfit. In 1849 they appeared in the field wearing dark blue breeches, white shirts and straw hats! Since then the baseball players’ outfit kept changing, the “knickerbocker” breeches were gradually reduced to “knickers”, but the Knickerbockers remain an important name in the history of New York.
28 100 E 66th St.

40.767055, -73.966303 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Plaques to the right of the entrance
Copy the text on the second plaque
RICHARD N. PALU M.D.
Historical background Checkpoint picture 28
The building was designed by architect Charles Clinton in the Gothic Revival style and dedicated in 1880. It is one of the two remaining armories in the United States to be built and furnished with private funds. It originally served as the headquarters and administrative building for the 7th New York Militia Regiment. The building is known for detailed interior rooms that are furnished with ornamental woodwork, marble and stained glass depictions of moderately disapproved behavior. Noted architects and interior designers of the American Aesthetic Movement were commissioned to furnish the rooms and company quarters. The masterpiece of the armory building is the Veterans Room, with hand carved wood paneling and coffered ceiling in the Viking Revival style. The building was used for the historic live broadcast of the radio play The Fall of the City by Archibald MacLeish in 1937, because of its acoustic properties. The building was made a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
29 100 Bedford St.

40.732662, -74.005521 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Hydrant in front of the building
Six-digit number on the cover
665620
Historical background Checkpoint picture 29
New York is one of the most cinematographic cities in the world, it serves as a decoration for a multitude of famous films. However only a few are aware of the fact that behind Central Park, Washington Square or Wall Street location shootings hide thousands of hours of indoor shooting at studios located in... California. So, according to the script, the main events of the Friends sitcom take place in New York City at 90 Bedford Street. But the apartment in which the legendary comedy series characters dwelt was not in New York at all, it was located at Warner Brothers studios in Los Angeles. The apartment windows and fire escape ladder appeared in almost every episode of the series, although the actors did not even come close to that building. By the way, the famous fountain from the Friends caption was also located on the territory of the studio. A 200 square meter studio hosted not only the main characters’ apartments, but also the famous coffee house.
31 The HighLine at W 20th St.

40.746128, -74.006042 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Installation. Sign
Dimensions of rings
31.5 x 4 in / variable
Historical background Checkpoint picture 31
Railroad transport started to develop rapidly in the western part of New York during the city’s industrialization. The first railroad tracks were laid along the Tenth Avenue, but due to numerous casualties among pedestrians caught under the train wheels, which even got the Tenth Avenue the name of “Death Avenue”, the municipal authorities decided to lay the next line on metal pillars at a 10-meter height above the city streets. In 1929 the High Line railroad project was approved. The first train ran along the High Line in 1934, however development of road transportation in the 50’s had led to decline of the railroad line profitability, and in the 70’s the need for it almost disappeared. The last train was withdrawn from the route in 1980. A group of residents of the adjacent district approached the mayor’s office with a proposal to reconstruct the railroad line and arrange a pedestrian walking zone. Promenade plantée located in Paris and implemented in 1993 served as a prototype for the project. In 2004 it was approved by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the city authorities allocated 50 million dollars toward its implementation. Building of the park started in 2006. At present High Line Park goes from Gansevoort Street through the whole Chelsea District to the 30th Street. The park is 1 mile long. The project implemented by the New York architects and designers looks unusual: the railroad tracks have been partially preserved, over two hundred tree and shrub species have been planted along the tracks, and a large number of benches, deckchairs and drinking fountains has been installed.
33 618 W 52nd St.

40.767525, -73.994708333333 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Sign with the association logo
Number of spokes on the wheels
22
Historical background Checkpoint picture 33
An accurate rectangle of Central Park (0.8 x 4 km) is visited by 25 million people every year. For comparison, approximately the same number of tourists come to visit Mexico. The park is fully man-made, however not only technical structures stand out among its attractions. Separation of pedestrian and traffic flows was a wonderful engineering solution for a mid-19th century park. It was extremely relevant in a city filled with horse-drawn carriages in absence of regulated crossings and traffic lights. The first cabs appeared in the park in 1863, since then a one-horse cart became its indispensable attribute. Currently there are around two hundred horses working in Central Park. Each horse, unlike the Saint Petersburg Hermitage cats, earns from 150 dollars an hour. It is worth mentioning that the solid-hoofed employees have an officially established eight-hour working day with breaks, and it is prohibited to send them to work if the outside temperature is below -8 degrees or above + 32 degrees Celsius. Since 2010 the horses also have a compulsory five-week vacation!
35 561 10th Ave.

40.759147, -73.996139 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Service entrance
Hours of operation Monday through Saturday
8.00am-5.30pm
Historical background Checkpoint picture 35
Perhaps there is no “spiffier” district in New York than the Garment District (the name of which speaks for itself). It is spangled with signs of salons and showrooms, and among the names displayed you can recognize both aspiring and well-known fashion designers. So if you decided to dress yourself up in New York, the Garment District fully justifies its name, although its primary focus is on wholesale. New York in a sense was a center of garment industry back in the times of high demand on clothing for slaves and sailors, and the majority of Americans were no strangers to hand-stitching. In the 19th century America’s off-the-rack clothing market took a more familiar shape. Mass manufacture of military uniform during the Civil War, influx of skilled workforce from Europe and invention of sewing machine: all this had led to a substantial increase of production. By start of the following century sewing industry held the second place after production of sugar, and New York had become the trendsetter. And although it is not so easy for the city to compete with Milan or Paris anymore, the initiatives to preserve the Garment District as the fashion center do not cease even at the highest levels.
38 Columbus Park

40.71568, -73.999948 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Tables with game boards
Number of tables with chess boards
5 / 6 as well as those covered by tablecloth
Historical background Checkpoint picture 38
Before the first immigration checkpoint appeared in New York City the newcomers to America found shelter in the port area slums notorious for crime and poverty. Now it is the territory of Chinatown, but a couple of centuries ago it was a place where national communities were formed one after another in a perpetual human whirlwind. The Germans and Jews were replaced by the Irish, then by the Italians, and by the middle of the 20th century the area was largely dominated by people of the Chinese descent. If you want to feel the atmosphere of old émigré quarters you can go to the “Five Points”. This place, which used to be a pond dewatered and filled up in early 19th century, got its name from the intersection of five streets: Anthony, Orange, Mulberry, Cross and Little Water. Swampy ground, fog and mosquitoes made this place hazardous for health, wealthy families left the area, and the Five Points in just a couple of decades became not only the sleaziest place of America but also the city’s most crime-ridden district. Martin Scorsese in his screen version of “The Gangs of New York” recaptured the character and the colors of these times, and the motion picture’s set dressers reproduced the buildings and the street of the district from mid-19th century prints in exquisite detail.
47 The HighLine в районе W 23th St.

40.747899, -74.004636 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Art object — a car
VIN
WMEEJ31X18K133397 / Change of task, installation with 5 figures
Historical background
The HighLine
53 221 W 26th St.

40.740376, -73.980679 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

West stairwell
Number of letters "C" in the stairs decoration
3
Historical background
Кино в НЙ, Мэри Пикфорд