Review in the July 2 New York Times of the Manahatta Project exhibit at The Museum of the City of New York. I first posted about it here.
From the museum’s site:
Mannahatta/Manhattan: A Natural History of New York City will reveal the island of Mannahatta at the time of Henry Hudson’s arrival—a fresh, green new world at the moment of discovery. Through cutting edge multi-media and historical artifacts and maps, Mannahatta/Manhattan will re-imagine the quiet, wooded island at the mouth of a great river that was destined to become one of the greatest cities on Earth. Moreover, Mannahatta/Manhattan will challenge visitors to view the city of today as a place where the relationship between nature and people is at its most important and to understand that the principles of diversity, interdependence, and interrelativity operate in a modern mega-city much as they do in nature. In doing so, the exhibition will contribute something new to the history of New York—a view of its ecological origin—and in that contribution, shape the future as well.
One of the themes of The Painting and the City concerns how New York City grew in opposition to its natural features, leveling hills, filling in bodies of water, etc., so the exhibit feels like a companion to my novel. I’ll be in New York next month for a reading (August 19th, KGB), and am very much looking forward to seeing the exhibit.
I am looking for info about the location of natural springs in Manhattan, particularly in Central Park. I remember reading, perhaps in The Times, of a gentleman who led tours of natural features here. Not sure he knows anything about the Upper West Side, however. Please get in touch if you have ideas about how to proceed. Thanks. April Wolff