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Photo: David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Not much to see, but a nice park nonetheless and historically significant for its long reputation of political demonstrations and radical thought. The Grateful Dead played their first East Coast show here in 1967, and the first Hare Krishna gathering outside of India took place here in 1965. The park has a curfew — it closes at 1 AM.
Tompkins Square Park is a 10.5-acre (4.2 ha) public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on the west by Avenue A, is abutted by St. Marks Place to the west. The park opened in 1834 and is named for Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice President of the United States.
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Enjoy a day of self-indulgence with a very authentic Russian feel. Then nosh on bagels and cream cheese, or an authentic Russian meal in the restaurant. Maybe after all that shvitzing (that's Yiddish/New Yorkese for "sweating"): a huge bottle of seltzer, or fresh carrot juice is the thing you'll want most.
The eastward extension of 8th St./Astor Place past 3rd Ave. There are many bars, restaurants, and shops (many with a street vending presence) on the block between 2nd and 3rd Aves. There's always quite a mixture of folk walking up and down the street and within the area not to mention the slew of students from Cooper Union and NYU, which has plenty of dormitories and facilities nearby. Be warned that it can be unpleasantly crowded with slow-moving tipsy people at times, but it is a good place for people-watching.
The oldest continuously existing free lending library in New York, it was designed in 1884 as a "Freie Bibliothek u. Lesehalle" (free library and reading hall) when this neighborhood was part of Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) and now serves as a branch of the New York Public Library. Another part of this lovely red brick building, constructed as a "Deutsches Dispensary," features reliefs of heroes of German culture such as Goethe but stopped functioning as a clinic several years ago.
The only street in Manhattan that actually runs due east to the compass. There are several 18th- and early 19th-century buildings along this street, which runs from a bit south of 9th St. and 3rd Ave. to 10th St and 2nd Ave. At the corner of 10th St. and 2nd Ave. is St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, a historic landmark and a very active church today, with an old and lush graveyard to the north, on and near the corner of 11th St. and 2nd Ave. Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of the colony of New Netherland before the British took possession and renamed it New York, is buried in a crypt in the east wall of the church. On the other end of Stuyvesant St., at the triangle between 9th St., Stuyvesant St., and 3rd Ave., a small garden and a compass fountain were constructed a few years ago for beautification and in order to show that Stuyvesant St. does go due east to the compass.
A varied program of unique films, both repertory and new, most playing for only one or two screenings. Many of the films shown here can't be seen anywhere else (for better or worse). It also plays host to several film festivals yearly.
Until 2014, Cooper Union was the only private, full-scholarship college in the United States dedicated exclusively to preparing students for the professions of art, architecture and engineering. It now charges tuition for regular classes but still gives free extension courses. The college, established in 1859, occupies several buildings, but the most recognizable and famous is the Foundation Building, on the block to the south of Astor Place between the two branches of Cooper Square (one being the southward extension of 3rd Av. and the other, an avenue that connects the Bowery with 4th Av. at Astor Place). The college, the legacy of Peter Cooper, occupies a special place in the history of American education.