Map: Tracing the Path of 19th-Century NYC Guidebooks

Follow the path of 19th-century guidebook writers who explored Lower Manhattan

Writer James Nevius recently traced a path through Lower Manhattan — roughly from Battery Park to Madison Square Park — following the instructions of three different 19th-century guidebooks that point out hotels, parks, and other points that may have been of interest to 19th-century New Yorkers. "Whether it’s something as mundane as addresses of railway depots—did you know there was once one facing City Hall Park?—or as interesting as finding out that Benjamin Franklin conducted electrical experiments from the steeple of the old Dutch Church (which was, fittingly, later converted into the main post office), guidebooks often contain nuggets of information left out of more conventional histories," Nevius writes. To retrace those steps along with him, follow the path outlined in this map.

• A Walking Tour of 1866 New York [Curbed]

from
http://ny.curbed.com/maps/new-york-city-historic-guidebooks-map