Meet 76th Street
In the early nineteenth century, the Upper East Side neighborhood between 66th and 76th Streets and from Third Avenue to the East River used to be 150 acres of forest called “Jones’s Wood.” The forest almost became the main park for Manhattanites, but instead the honor went to Central Park, and Jones’s Wood turned into a suburb of middle-class German immigrants. With this history in mind, it seemed appropriate that one of my first stops on 76th Street should be Jones Wood Foundry, a restaurant that embraces the history of the neighborhood while churning out exceptional English pub food. After sitting in their lovely garden and being satiated with amazing sticky toffee pudding, I visited Acanthus & Reed next door, a framing shop with a range of reproductions of historic designs as well as a plethora of stunning contemporary frames.
76th Street retained much of the family-based community feeling that I experienced on 75th. Monogram Cottage is a true mom and pop store where customers can select from an assortment of items and have them personally monogrammed by a husband and wife team. Three businesses across the street, The Men’s Lounge, Green Life Juice Bar, and Natanel’s Fine Jewelry, all owned by the same gentleman, create a neighborhood watering hole where locals can grab everything they need: a smoothie, a haircut, and a sparkling gift for the special person in their life.
I discovered two spectacular centers of worship during my wandering: Saint Jean Baptiste Catholic Church on the East Side, and the West Side Institutional Synagogue. Saint Jean is impressively large and ornate, with a girls’ school, community center, and theater within the church grounds. When I crossed Central Park and found the synagogue, I discovered a similarly open and welcoming group of people.
On the West Side, I spent a fascinating hour and a half at the Riverside Memorial Chapel. Having attended a fair number of funerals within its walls, I knew that it was an important and highly-regarded Jewish funeral home. I did not realize, however, the full extent of its influence and historic significance until I sat down with director Charles Salomon, who has been with the organization for over fifty years. I also learned that the Horological Society, a group dedicated to the study of and interest in time and watchmaking, meets inside the Chapel.
Continuing towards the Hudson River, I gazed up at the impressive rows of houses, many of which date back to the nineteenth century. I imagined the secrets those stones could tell and appreciated the quiet residential area of the West Side.
