5 New York Easter Eggs That Will Blow Your Mind

New York has a lot of unique historical places, but there are many Easter eggs we bet you don’t know about. Allow us to show you 5 of them that we guarantee will blow you away!

1) Floating Subway Map

Embedded into the concrete of Greene Street in the heart of SoHo is a labyrinth of stainless steel bars that make up the Manhattan train system. These date back to 1985 when it was installed by Belgian artist Francoise Schein. Dotted along this 90-foot map, there are 156 LED lights embezzled in landmark glass rounds that represent the stops along each train route. So, go at night when they are aglow. Most people walk over the map without even knowing it’s there, which makes it truly a New York easter egg.

2) Rockefeller Gardens

Apart from being the best place to see a giant Christmas tree in December, Rockefeller Plaza also houses an absolutely breathtaking garden. 140 feet above the street lies a carefully laid out paradise complete with finely trimmed hedges, fountain pools, stone platters, as well as some cobble flooring. Unfortunately, the gardens are no longer open to the public, but as most New Yorkers would be surprised and confused at the mention of a rooftop garden atop the Rockefeller buildings, they still qualify as a New York secret.

3) Knickerbocker Hotel Subway Entrance

If you’ve ever taken the shuttle that runs between Grand Central and Time Square, then you’ve walked right by the door to the Knickerbocker Hotel. This New York Easter egg, known as The Knick, was first opened in 1912 by John Jacob Astor IV (who was actually on board the Titanic when it sank). Situated in the lower level was a martini bar for the bourgeois of New York. Though the hotel has been reopened, the lower level bar remains unused, and so say some, haunted. This entrance is shut leads to that bar. The door is fixed shut now, but maybe one day will be reopened as will the downstairs space.

4) Central Park Lamp Post Markers

There are 1600 lamp posts carefully laid throughout Central Park. Why do you imagine that is? Do they give you directions? Every post has a tiny plaque with four numbers on it. The first two numbers will be the street the lamp is closest to and the second two will indicate whether it is on the east or west side. Next time you get lost, put google maps on standby and follow this pioneer’s trick.

5) The Village Under Central Park

From 1825 to 1857 the area of Central Park between west 82^nd and 89^th st belonged to the first African American owned village in New York’s history. There were three churches, a school, five cemeteries, as well as roughly 24 lots of land in Seneca. In 1856, Seneca residents were evicted by the city. They at least were compensated for their quite devastating loss. However, within the year, the community was destroyed. This was to make way for Central Park, which came in 1857.

There Are No Easter Eggs Like New York Easter Eggs

Every major city has its fair share of Easter eggs, however, none can compare to New York Easter eggs.