New York, New York.

Though we like to think we visited New York City, we only visited the Borough of Manhattan and cruised on the Hudson River. New York City is comprised of five boroughs that surround the Manhattan Island. Given our limited time in the city for a day’s worth of sightseeing, we focused on Manhattan.

We walked from Times Square and along Fifth Avenue to the Pulitzer Fountain. The fountain is in Grand Army Plaza at the southeastern entrance to Central Park. It was commissioned by the famous newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who bequeathed funds for its creation upon his death in 1911. The fountain features a series of tiered basins topped by a bronze statue of Pomona, the Roman goddess of abundance.

The Grand Army Plaza also has a monument to General William Tecumseh Sherman, sculpted on horseback and accompanied by the allegorical figure of Victory. This monument is one of 141 statues and monuments in the park.

We walked north from the General Sherman Monument, noticing an unusual sculpture across the road. Created by contemporary artist Bharti Kher and unveiled in 2022, the statue depicts a powerful and universal mother figure, representing generations past and future.

The multiple faces emerging from the mother’s body represent the diversity of human experience. Unlike traditional monuments that glorify historical figures, “Ancestor” celebrates the enduring power of motherhood and the collective human experience.

On a pleasant Sunday afternoon, the park has no shortage of buskers. When we walked by, this gentleman had an audience of one, obviously a fan.

I believe the above photo is part of an outcropping known as Umpire Rock, also called Rat Rock. If you’re a New Yorker and I am incorrect, please correct me in the comments.

I always considered Central Park a giant lawn space, but it also has its share of hills and rock outcroppings that reflect the landscapes of earlier times. I couldn’t specifically identify this outcropping, though Google’s images suggested it is either the Great Hill or Umpire Rock. As we were at the southern end of the park, this photo was not of the Great Hill, which is in the northwest.

When we walked by the statue of Balto, there was a steady stream of people wanting to pose with the monument honoring Alaska sled dogs. Balto was one of the lead dogs in the 1925 serum run to Nome, a heroic effort to transport diphtheria antitoxin to the remote Alaskan town during a deadly epidemic.

I learned about Balto and the teams of dogs that participated in the life-saving run when Disney released a movie in 2019 called “Togo.” That movie tells the true story of the 1925 serum run to Nome. While Balto is often credited with completing the final leg of the journey, the film highlights the crucial role of Togo and his musher, Leonhard Seppala, who covered most of the treacherous distance.

We could have seen more of the park had we hired a pedicab or a horse-drawn carriage, both of which are available for hire in the park. Instead, we opted to cover a winding path through the south end of Central Park, ending at Central Park West and 72nd Street.

We ended our Central Park walk on a sad note. The building at 1 West 72 Street is an apartment building called The Dakota. In 1973, John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to the Dakota Apartments, and the former Beatle lived there until December 8, 1980, when he was murdered outside of this building as he and Yoko were returning home.

Just across the street, in Central Park, a memorial in his honor called Strawberry Fields. The peaceful oasis was dedicated to Lennon’s memory and features a circular mosaic inscribed with the word “Imagine,” a tribute to his iconic song. Unfortunately, we walked across Central Park West just south of the monument and didn’t realize it was there. A stand of trees blocked the view of the monument as we walked by, and we didn’t notice it. We must save that stop to visit the park’s north end on our next trip to “The Big Apple.”

These photos and a few more are available for pixel peepers in 2K HD on my Flickr gallery here.

John Steiner