LaGuardia’s Historic Marine Air Terminal

As of this writing, I'm not sure how visiting this place is since Spirit Airlines is gone. I went before they closed down. However, I understand the terminal is still open.

For transit enthusiasts and architecture onlookers visiting LaGuardia Airport, the complex features a distinct historical landmark. While the majority of passengers use the modernized glass concourses of Terminals B and C, Terminal A—known as the Marine Air Terminal—remains intact on the far western edge of the airport complex.

Opened in 1940, this Art Deco structure is the only active airport terminal remaining from the first generation of passenger air travel in the United States. It was originally engineered to handle Pan American Airways’ fleet of transatlantic "flying boats"—the Boeing 314 Clippers that landed directly on the waters of Bowery Bay. The terminal features a circular rotunda built with dark marble floors and period fixtures.

The centerpiece of the rotunda is Flight, a 237-foot-long, 12-foot-high mural painted by artist James Brooks under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This continuous painting rings the upper perimeter of the circular room, documenting the history of human flight from the myth of Icarus to the aircraft of the 1940s. It remains one of the largest public art projects of that era. The terminal provides a quiet space apart from the main airport concourses to view historical architecture and art.

Queens Unveiled: 5 Hidden Gems You Need to Explore

1. The Marine Air Terminal (LaGuardia Terminal A)

Overview: The only active U.S. airport terminal remaining from the first generation of passenger air travel.

History: Opened in 1940, this Art Deco structure originally served Pan American Airways’ transatlantic "flying boats" (Boeing 314 Clippers) landing in Bowery Bay.

Key Feature: The circular rotunda features immaculate marble floors and Flight, a 237-foot-long WPA mural by James Brooks documenting the history of human aviation.

2. Alley Pond Park High-Ropes Course

Overview: Located within Queens' second-largest park—a 657-acre nature preserve featuring glacial geology and the "Queens Giant" (the oldest living tree in NYC).

Key Feature: A public high-ropes adventure course built directly into the forest canopy.

Access: Operated by the Urban Park Rangers on Sundays from summer through fall. The course is free to the public and operates on a first-come, first-served basis.

3. Socrates Sculpture Park

Overview: A 5-acre waterfront park and open-air museum located in Long Island City, positioned directly along the East River facing Roosevelt Island.

History: Established in 1986 by sculptor Mark di Suvero and a coalition of local artists, the site was reclaimed from an abandoned illegal landfill and riverside dumpsite.

Key Feature: It operates as an active, rotating outdoor exhibition space for large-scale contemporary sculptures and multi-media installations, allowing the public to witness artists fabricating works directly on-site.

4. Under the K Bridge Park

Overview: An industrial-chic public park situated on the Maspeth-Greenpoint border, built directly beneath the Kosciuszko Bridge infrastructure.

Design & Use: The space utilizes elevated lawns, gravel pathways, and raw concrete structural elements to convert a highway underpass into a multi-use public venue.

Programming: The park regularly hosts community art exhibitions and live music performances.

5. Corona Plaza Market Stalls

Overview: A vibrant, open-air marketplace located directly beneath the elevated 7 train tracks at Corona Plaza.

Management: Spearheaded and managed by a local vendor association.

Key Feature: The plaza features rotating public stalls offering highly authentic regional Latin American street food, fresh juices, and artisanal merchandise, serving as a hub for community-driven commerce.

Manhattan's Secret Wall of Sound: Greenacre Park

A privately maintained, 6,000-square-foot (one-seventh of an acre) pocket park configured across a multi-tiered urban layout. Gifted to the city in 1971 by philanthropist Abby Rockefeller Mauzé and designed by landscape architect Hideo Sasaki, the space is engineered to mitigate surrounding urban street noise. The rear of the property features a 25-foot-tall granite waterfall that functions as an acoustic shield, generating a continuous volume of white noise designed to completely mask vehicular traffic sounds from nearby Third Avenue.

The site utilizes three distinct levels to maximize its small physical footprint. The street-level entrance directs visitors into a central plaza shaded by a dense canopy of mature honey locust trees and landscaped with seasonal azaleas. This main seating area features brick side walls, built-in stone benches, and moveable wire patio furniture. A structural steel overhead trellis spans this section and is equipped with functional radiant heating elements to maintain visitor comfort during colder spring and autumn temperatures.

A separate, sunken lower terrace is located directly at the base of the main waterfall, providing total physical and visual isolation from the street level. This lower section includes a small, trickling side brook, ivy-covered stone walls, and a viewing area subjected to the mist radiating off the waterfall's collection pool. The property is open to the public daily and is entirely funded, secured, and meticulously upkept under the direct care of the Greenacre Foundation.

Address: 217 E 51st St, New York, NY 10022 Normal Price: Free Hours: Open daily year-round

The Grand Dame of Herald Square: Experiencing Macy’s Flagship

A real look at old-school American retail, the massive Macy’s flagship at Herald Square is worth doing at least once. The place takes up an entire city block and has been a fixture in the city since 1902. While navigating the endless floors can be a bit overwhelming any time of year, there are two specific seasons when it's especially worth checking out.

The first is early spring during the annual Macy's Flower Show. For about two weeks, they completely transform the ground-floor cosmetics and accessories departments into a massive indoor garden. It is packed with thousands of live, exotic flowers, huge floral sculptures, and vertical plant walls that completely mask the usual department store smells.

The other major time to visit is during the holidays from November through December. The sidewalks along 34th Street get crowded, but the animated holiday window displays are always fun to look at. Inside, the upper levels turn into "Santaland," which is a massive, immersive indoor winter village that really captures that classic New York Christmas vibe.

My Personal Highlight: The Wooden Escalators Even if you visit during the off-season, my favorite part of the building is a piece of history hidden right in plain sight. When you are moving between the upper floors, skip the modern metal escalators and use n the historic wooden ones. They date back to the 1920s, are built from solid oak, and are among the very last operating wooden escalators left in the world. 

Manhattan’s Secret Sky-Meadow: The Elevated Acre

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The park was originally created in 1972 as part of an urban renewal plan and zoning incentive. In exchange for establishing public plaza spaces, the building developers, the Uris brothers, were permitted to add extra height to the 53-story main skyscraper. However, the original 1970s plaza was a barren, windswept brick deck. To remedy this, a complete redesign was completed in 2005 by the architectural firm Rogers Partners alongside Ken Smith Landscape Architect, transforming the space into the multi-use park seen today. Structurally, the park is built directly on top of a four-story parking garage that forms the eastern annex of the 55 Water Street commercial office complex, sitting roughly 30 to 40 feet above street level.

The center of the park features a 3,400-square-foot synthetic turf lawn, which was chosen over natural grass to remain resilient during freeze-thaw cycles and heavy public use without turning to mud. Another prominent feature is the Beacon Tower, a 50-foot geometric glass tower that serves multiple functions. It acts as a visual landmark visible from the FDR Drive and across the East River, contains programmable LED light arrays, and holds mechanical and support equipment for the park's operations. Additionally, a semi-circular concrete amphitheater faces the lawn and river, specifically designed to host public film screenings, lunchtime concert series, and private corporate events.

The 55 Water Street property occupies a 3.7-acre superblock bounded by Water Street to the west, Old Slip to the north, Coenties Slip to the south, and South Street and the FDR Drive to the east. The primary entrance is located on the Water Street side of the complex, marked by a large glass-and-steel canopy over an escalator bank positioned next to the main building facade. Because the platform is elevated and backed by the massive 53-story tower, the physical mass of the skyscraper acts as a natural sound barrier against the ambient traffic noise of Lower Manhattan, creating a sudden, noticeable drop in decibel levels once visitors reach the top.

Brooklyn Unveiled: 5 Free Hidden Gems to Explore

While many visitors stay along the waterfront pathways of DUMBO or the Brooklyn Bridge, the borough also contains several preserved natural areas, public parks, and neighborhood art sites.

The following five destinations are free and open to the public:

1. The Ravine (Prospect Park)

• Overview: A 150-acre woodland located in the center of Prospect Park, containing Brooklyn's only remaining old-growth forest.

• Design: Designed by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to resemble the Adirondack Mountains.

• Key Feature: The valley features unpaved dirt paths that run along a series of stone waterfalls, providing an environment with low ambient city noise.

2. Louis Valentino Jr. Park and Pier

• Overview: A waterfront park located at the end of Ferris Street in the industrial maritime neighborhood of Red Hook.

• Key Feature: The park features a long timber pier that extends into the Upper New York Bay shipping lanes.

• Vantage Point: The end of the pier provides a clear view of the Statue of Liberty, Governors Island, and the Manhattan skyline.

3. The Bushwick Collective Street Art Gallery

• Overview: An outdoor street art space located across several industrial blocks centered around Troutman Street in Bushwick.

• Management: A community-run initiative that utilizes brick warehouse buildings and factory walls for public display.

• Key Feature: The neighborhood blocks feature large-scale murals painted by a rotating selection of local and international artists.

4. WNYC Transmitter Park

• Overview: A public waterfront park in Greenpoint that previously served as the transmission tower site for WNYC radio.

• Design: The reclaimed industrial site features open lawns, a small wetland area, and a pedestrian bridge.

• Key Feature: A long pier extends into the East River, serving as a vantage point for viewing and photographing the Midtown Manhattan skyline and river traffic.

5. Old Glory Lookout (Bay Ridge Promenade)

• Overview: A stone-walled overlook located along the Shore Road Promenade on the southwestern edge of Brooklyn.

• Location: The site is named for the large American flag on the plaza and sits next to the foundations of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

• Key Feature: The railing provides a view of international cargo ships navigating the Narrows toward the Atlantic Ocean.

Brookfield Place

Brookfield Place is a commercial and retail complex located along the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan's Battery Park City. The central architectural feature of the property is the Winter Garden Atrium, a 10-story glass-vaulted pavilion containing sixteen 40-foot-tall Washingtonia robusta palm trees. The space serves as a public conservatory and operational venue for free art exhibitions, cultural events, and live musical performances. The atrium connects directly to an outdoor waterfront plaza and the North Cove Marina, providing open public access to the Battery Park City Esplanade with unobstructed views of New York Harbor.

A short distance south of the main complex along the esplanade, Kowsky Plaza contains a significant historical monument situated near St. Joseph’s Chapel. Positioned within a designated, low-fenced enclosure is an authentic, 12-foot-tall reinforced concrete segment of the Berlin Wall. The artifact was officially presented to Battery Park City in 2004 by the German Consulate to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the fall of the wall. This specific slab originally stood in downtown Berlin along the border sector between Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz.

Unlike the outer segments that faced West Berlin, this concrete piece was part of the "Hinterlandmauer," or inner wall, which was constructed to prevent East German citizens from entering the fortified security zone. The western-facing side of the slab features a brightly colored cartoon figure painted by Thierry Noir, a prominent French street artist who began illegally painting the western facade of the wall in 1984. The monument remains on permanent outdoor display, offering the public free, year-round access to an intact physical piece of Cold War history.