This small New York museum examines Chinese history from its origins right up to its arrival in the city.

One of the few remaining American elm trees in New York’s Tompkins Square Park was the birthplace of a new religion.

Down a stairway in the East Village, you could once read a plaque describing an alternate history of a fictional version of Manhattan.

The highest point on the island known for buildings that touch the sky.

Where now stands a 42-story condominium tower of marble, glass and steel was once the central market of New York’s slave trade.

A dark patch of the ceiling at Grand Central Terminal which was not restored is still stained brown by tobacco.

The notorious headquarters of a corrupt political machine.

The site of the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

Commemorating the spot where the famous scientist fed his pigeons.

Check out the underground party scene at the "Burning Man of Brooklyn."

This otherwise innocuous bodega was once the headquarters of the most feared assassin's guild in American history.

This enormous Hindu temple in Queens serves incredible dosas in its basement canteen.

This innocent-looking townhome is actually a subway exit.

Blighted Irish field and the ruins of a 19th-century cottage on the edge of urban Manhattan.

The last slot car racing arcade in Brooklyn is keeping the dream of speedy little autos alive.

A living archive of urban activism and space reclaimed.

This semi-hidden Manhattan restaurant is based out of a loading dock.

Named the fifth most beautiful building in America in 1885, this former courthouse boasts the best view in the Village.

An uber-secure, windowless tower of doom in the center of Manhattan is an NSA spyscraper.

Love, knishes, and best wishes from this legendary Lower East Side bakery.

Great place to have a drink and a bite to eat in an atmosphere laden with New York's Bohemian past.

First a horse rendering plant, then a 19th century landfill, this beach is full of glass from thousands upon thousands of broken bottles.

For over 30 years the walls of this Harlem schoolyard have been a gallery of street art by "Kings and better."

Hidden in plain sight on a pair of Manhattan subway tunnels are a pair of public instruments that sing to each other.