Category 

Routes start

00 Central Park, Great Hill North, Manhattan

40.797437, -73.958759 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Stage 1

04 Central Park, section between E 72nd St. and E 79th St.

40.775009, -73.966528 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Alice in Wonderland monument, plaques around the monuments with poems from the book
Number of letters "W" ("w")

Detailed answer

One of the plaques is a memorial one (MARGARITA DELACORTE MEMORIAL), if you count it, you will get 23 letters.

Answer: 20


20
06 Central Park, The Mall

40.769892, -73.972766 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Monument to Columbus
Number of letters "U" ("u")

Detailed answer

FOUR, HUNDRED, COLUMBUS, SUNOL, FUNDIDOR

Answer: 6


6
07 12 E 53rd St.

40.759925, -73.974971 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Sprinkler to the right of the entrance and signs around it
Ways of shortening the word SPLINKLER
SPRKLR, SPKR
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!
23 Corner Lexington Ave. and E 50th St.

40.756543, -73.972112 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

The Benjamin Hotel
Number of decorative birds on the 1st and 2nd floor level overlooking Lexington Ave. and E 50th St.
17
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.
54 Corner Lexington Ave. and E 96th St.

40.785491, -73.950763 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Samuel Seabury Playground. Bridges with river names on them
The only European river mentioned
Danube
55 50 E 87th St.

40.7812, -73.957842 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Synagogue. Inscriptions on the facades
Whose gift are the facade sculptures of?
Two survivors of the Holocaust
10 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza between E 47th St., 2nd Ave. and United Nations Plaza

40.752135, -73.96831 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Bench in the plaza
Signature of an official

Stage 2

19 Bryant Park

40.754048, -73.983104 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Monument to William Dodge
Number of floodlights around the monument
2
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.
22 Tudor City Greens between E 41st St. and E 42nd St.

40.748806, -73.971039 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Park
Sculpture of which animal is hidden in the park?
Toad / frog
34 555 12th Ave.

40.763527, -74.00043 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Dog run at Pier 84. Sign
Cleaning times
10am-11am and 8.30pm-9.30pm
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.
36 308 W 46th St.

40.759968, -73.988585 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Gates to the theater
Year on the stone behind the gates
44 Greely Square

40.748688, -73.988318 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Drinking fountain
Who is the fountain been installed in memory of?
JERRY McAULEY
49 151 W 34th St.

40.750557, -73.988886 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Main entrance to the store (open 9am–9 pm). Memorial plaque by the left stairs
Date of death
April 15, 1912
20 825 8th Ave.

40.762444444444, -73.987730555556 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Worldwide Plaza, bench
Signature of an official

Stage 3

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.
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.
14 Riverside Park, Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial at W 89th St.

40.792073, -73.978931 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Pedestals to the south of the memorial, pedestal wall with the last name PORTER
Second line from the bottom
PETERSBURG
15 225 W 79th St.

40.783743, -73.979386 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Graffiti on the wall to the left of the building
Tool
Hamer / sledgehammer
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.
18 Hearst Plaza at Lincoln Center between W 64th St. and W 65th St.

40.77297, -73.983769 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Barclays Capital Grove
Number of trees
30
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!
37 1675 Broadway

40.762877, -73.983253 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Owners' names
Jack and Lewis Rudin

Routes finish

99 Central Park, Great Hill North

40.797413, -73.958952 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)