{"id":382583,"date":"2025-11-16T08:24:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T08:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/382583\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T08:24:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T08:24:22","slug":"the-morgan-library-an-abandoned-subway-station-and-other-new-york-city-secrets-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/382583\/","title":{"rendered":"The Morgan Library, an abandoned subway station and other New York City secrets\u00a0 | Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York is a spectacular city. Cosmopolitan par excellence, here you\u2019ll find a mosaic of cultures, histories and surprising corners that go far beyond the Statue of Liberty, Central Park<\/a>, or the Empire State Building. The Big Apple hides secrets far beyond the must-see sights in Manhattan \u2014 secrets that even many New Yorkers are unaware of.<\/p>\n

So, to avoid the same touristy fate, we\u2019re going to tell you about 10 secrets of New York that you won\u2019t want to miss on your next visit.<\/p>\n

1. The Morgan Library: A hidden treasure in Midtown<\/p>\n

One of the places least-visited by tourists is the Morgan Library & Museum. Located in the heart of Midtown, just steps from the bustle of Fifth Avenue, it\u2019s an architectural and cultural gem. Founded by banker J.P. Morgan in the early-1900s, it houses books and documents of all kinds. There are original manuscripts by authors like Charles Dickens<\/a>, Mozart\u2019s scores, as well as letters from kings and popes. <\/p>\n

If the contents weren\u2019t brilliant enough, the building is equally impressive. Built between 1902 and 1906 adjacent to his residence, it was designed by architect Charles McKim in the Italian Renaissance palazzo style. Its main room \u2014 with painted ceilings and fine wood bookshelves \u2014 looks like something out of a movie. In fact, some people say that the famous library featured in the 1999 film Beauty and the Beast was inspired by the one belonging to J.P. Morgan (although this is an unconfirmed rumor).<\/p>\n

\"MorganThe Morgan Library & Museum, originally J. P. Morgan’s private library, was built between 1902 and 1906.Liao Pan ( China News Service \/ VCG \/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

You can buy tickets from the museum\u2019s official website ($25 per adult). And, if you find it a bit expensive, you can opt to enter for free on Fridays from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., provided that you make a reservation. <\/p>\n

2. The Cloisters: A medieval monastery in Manhattan<\/p>\n

It sounds unbelievable, but a half-hour drive can take you from the heart of Times Square to the interior of a monastic European building, with views of the Hudson River. We\u2019re talking about The Cloisters, a museum that\u2019s part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a> (Met). Containing a complex made up of cloisters and gardens, the stones were brought from Europe and reassembled. Romanesque columns, Flemish tapestries and many other notable works were also shipped from the Old World and installed. Europeans are perhaps more accustomed to them, but they\u2019re usually harder for Americans to see. <\/p>\n

\"LandscapeThe Cloisters is located in Fort Tryon Park in New York City.Brian Logan ( Alamy \/CORDON PRESS )<\/p>\n

Admission to The Cloisters ($30) is included with your Met ticket. So, if you decide to visit one of the locations, you can also visit the other on the same day, without paying anything extra. Just be sure to keep an eye on the time, as The Cloisters isn\u2019t exactly centrally located and closes at 4:30 p.m. <\/p>\n

3. The haunted subway of Old City Hall<\/p>\n

The Manhattan subway system is somewhat peculiar: its stations host everything from an \u201cimpromptu\u201d Jimmy Fallon show with a guest artist, to the most common underground residents (rats<\/a>). However, something that not many people know is that it hides a subway stop worthy of a period film: Old City Hall.<\/p>\n

\"CityOld City Hall subway station platform.demerzel21 ( GETTY IMAGES )<\/p>\n

The station was inaugurated in 1904 and closed in 1945, but it still retains its original tiles, bronze lamps and a stunning glass dome. Unfortunately, it\u2019s no longer open to the public, but there are still ways to visit it. The easiest option is through a tour organized by the New York Transit Museum. But if you can\u2019t get a spot on a tour, you can also view it from the window of the 6 Train: instead of getting off at the last stop, you can wait for the train to do a loop. Then, you\u2019ll see the historic station as you head in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

4. Hess\u2019s Triangle: A family\u2019s resistance to eminent domain \"TheThe Hess Triangle, on the sidewalk in front of Village Cigars, in the West Village.Stacy Walsh Rosenstock ( Alamy \/CORDON PRSS )<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll need to keep an eye on the ground if you\u2019re walking around the corner of Christopher Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan\u2019s West Village, as that\u2019s where the Hess Triangle is located. <\/p>\n

This piece of New York City has a rich history. Back in 1910, the city expropriated a number of properties to widen 7th Avenue and build a subway line. The Hess family lost many of their properties \u2014 but due to an oversight, they managed to retain this tiny triangle, measuring a mere 500 square inches. To leave no doubt about it, in 1922, the family installed a granite plaque that reads: \u201cProperty of the Hess Estate, which has never been dedicated for public purposes.\u201d <\/p>\n

5. The survey bolt of Central Park\"ElThe survey bolt of Central Park.Adri\u00e1n Rodr\u00edguez<\/p>\n

Manhattan\u2019s urban layout is no accident. It\u2019s the result of the famous Commissioners\u2019 Plan of 1811, which divided the island into a grid. But to implement it, Manhattan needed to be dotted with a series of survey bolts to guide the layout.<\/p>\n

Most of those bolts have disappeared, but one can still be seen in Central Park. Its exact location is kept secret, for fear that it\u2019ll be stolen or destroyed. However, after an intensive search \u2014 both online and in the park \u2014 you might be able to find it. We can tell you that it was the one used to mark the intersection of Sixth Avenue and one of the streets between 60th and 70th. <\/p>\n

6. Grand Central, almost completely full\"TheThe Campbell Bar, inside Grand Central Terminal.Jefferson Siegel ( NY Daily News \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

While many people call it a station, Grand Central is technically a terminal, so don\u2019t be surprised if a New Yorker corrects you if you use the wrong name. <\/p>\n

This terminal is brimming with secrets: from a whispering gallery \u2014 where two people standing in opposite corners under the vaulted ceilings can hear each other \u2014 to a food market that looks spectacular. There are tennis courts, constellations painted on the station\u2019s ceiling and enormous windows through which \u2014 if you look closely \u2014 you can see the terminal staff walking by. And, of course, there\u2019s The Campbell Bar<\/a>, where you can grab a bite to eat. Clearly, Grand Central is a bottomless well of curiosities.<\/p>\n

7. Roosevelt Island and its cable car<\/p>\n

On a first visit to New York, few people know that Roosevelt Island<\/a> \u2014 a residential island with a rich history \u2014 lies between Manhattan and Queens. What\u2019s more, the route to visit it is quite original: you can arrive by cable car<\/a> and return by boat for almost the same price as the subway, but the experience is completely different. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Roosevelt Island cable car.Roy Rochlin ( Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Roosevelt Island Tramway offers spectacular views of the East River and the Manhattan skyline. It\u2019s one of the few urban cable cars in the world that\u2019s been integrated into a public transportation system. <\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re on the island, you can visit the ruins of Smallpox Memorial Hospital, or grab a drink at the rooftop Panorama Room. And, on the way back to Manhattan, the NYC Ferry offers completely different views. All in all, it\u2019s a truly unique route.<\/p>\n

8. The resurgence of the speakeasies<\/p>\n

During Prohibition, in the 1920s and 30s, speakeasies proliferated. Some have survived to this day, like the legendary Please Don\u2019t Tell<\/a> (PDT), which is accessed through a phone booth in a hot dog shop. But the oldest is The Back Room, on the Lower East Side, which began operating as a secret bar in 1920. The bartenders still serve cocktails in teacups, just as their predecessors did many years ago, to throw the police off the scent. Stepping inside is like traveling back in time. <\/p>\n

The best part is that these bars have become fashionable again. There are new speakeasies constantly popping up, each one more fun to find than the last.<\/p>\n

9. The Union Square Metronome and its significance<\/p>\n

The Metronome is a piece of public art located in Union Square, which all tourists look at with curiosity. Created by artists Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel, it was unveiled in 1999 and consists of several elements. The most striking one is a large digital clock that doesn\u2019t display the traditional time, but rather a countdown of the seconds in a day. The numbers on the left show the hours, minutes and seconds remaining in the day, while those on the right show the hours, minutes and seconds that have passed. In the center, a smaller number indicates hundredths of a second. <\/p>\n

The purpose of this work is to invite reflection on the passage of time, the fleeting nature of life and the constant rhythm of the city\u2026 and it certainly succeeds! It\u2019s a powerful visual reminder of the relentless march of time.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe facade of Duane Reade, with the Union Square metronome.Ben Hider ( GETTY IMAGES )10. The secret to restaurants: health ratings<\/p>\n

Before choosing where to eat, you should know this: while New York is famous for its wide range of culinary offerings, few people know that all the restaurants are subject to a strict health rating system. This is indicated by a letter grade displayed at the entrance of each establishment: A, B, or C. <\/p>\n

Our personal summary is: if it has an A, go in without hesitation. If the place got a B, isn\u2019t there one nearby with an A? And, if there\u2019s a C, you\u2019re probably not that hungry!<\/p>\n

As you can see, New York is much more than its world-famous icons. It\u2019s full of unusual corners, fascinating stories and well-kept secrets. And while we\u2019ve just listed 10, there are countless more.<\/p>\n

Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> to get more English-language news coverage from EL PA\u00cdS USA Edition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York is a spectacular city. Cosmopolitan par excellence, here you\u2019ll find a mosaic of cultures, histories and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":382584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,34123,131574,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-382583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-charles-dickens","10":"tag-jp-morgan","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115558421172251901","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}