Leonard Street and West Broadway

I chose this point to begin because it is the scene that presented itself on January 26 when I began my new job in Tribeca as a systems librarian. We are in a temporary facility in a highrise on Worth St., but after May I will be working in the shiny glass building. This block includes a pricy but well-regarded restaurant named the Landmarc. There is also a pet boutique and an antiques shop.

This project will be carried out jointly on Google Maps and Google Earth. I had thought about doing this as a project for the days after retirement. Then, oddly enough, my retirement plans were torpedoed by me unexpectly landing a really exciting job in the city. This means that I can still carry out my mission of walking every block in Manhattan, but it will take me a long time. The rules of the project are that each day's entry will be on a block that borders the block before, so I will likely spiral outwards from here.

Lately, I've been reading the wonderful and highly recommended "The Lost Art of Walking," by Geoffrey Nicholson, who mentioned that a number of people have taken on the project of walking every street in Manhattan. That almost convinced me to put this one on the shelf next to my dream of recreating John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley route on its 50th anniversary. What could I do that hasn't been done before? For the answer, go to Google Earth. There are hundreds of pictures of Times Square and Rockefeller Center, but when you go to lower Manhattan, there are many, many streets that have no picture at all. If I keep this up and live long enough, that will change.