Sights & Museums


transport of passengers, as well as a bustling fishery. Bridges connect to the suburbs, and ferries lead to the nearby coastal city of Metropolis. Old Gotham sits on the original


site of Gotham’s earliest permanent settlement, a trading center for fur trappers and, later, a military fort. Many of the buildings here, including City Hall (p33) and the Orchard Hotel (p57), have a trapped-in-time elegance that no other district can match. TheEast End is emerging from a 1970s crime wave that left it devoid of local businesses, with new housing projects and a can-do optimism from residents that has helped reverse decades of depopulation. The city’s Financial District


houses the Gotham City Stock Exchange (p34), which is also home to the International Museum of Financial History (both are open to the public). Notable landmarks include theBuford Building and theVon Gruenwald Tower. On Gotham’s west side, the tip of the city juts out into the ocean to form Tricorner Yards, named for the now-decommissioned Naval Yard established in the early 20th century and made famous as a launching point for sailors heading to the European theater in World War II. Head further north to theUpper


West Side to take in the lush expanse of Robinson Park (p35) and visit attractions such as the Globe Theater (p52) and the historic gas-lamp alleys of the Battergate neighborhood.Midtown is Gotham’s most visited district, popular with both locals and tourists. Here, you’ll findTheater Row (p53), theFashion District (p43) and the dazzling storefronts of the Diamond District (p43). The upper middle-class environs


of Gotham Heights (p34) encircle a number of residential conveniences including shops specialising in


organic food, and gated dog parks. Further out, the enclave of Little Odessa is a source of cultural pride for Russian and eastern European families, expressed in an annual celebration that packs boisterous crowds into Volczek Square. Chelsea is home to Gotham State University and the humming collegiate shops of Kingston Square (p44). Burnley Harbor (better known as


Little Bohemia) deserves credit for incubating a daring underground arts scene that has made its presence felt across Gotham, from electronic dance music to 50-foot high urban murals. Bleeding-edge artists such as Neil Richards and the multimedia sensation known only as Kim have set up unofficial residencies in the area, with many artists following in the footsteps of Robert Therrien and building oversized sculptures of dining sets and typewriters. The upscale residents of


Coventry have kept their neighborhood free from industrial operations, and its tree-lined streets are home to quaint restaurants, as well as theGotham City Zoo (p34). Little Italy on theUpper East Side is known for its delectable dining options and has historically been home to the city’s crime families, including the Falcones, the Galantes, the Sabatinos, and the Maronis. North Gotham also contains the


expansive blocks of Park Row (p35), which still bears the elegant hallmarks of its 1920s high period, which fell into disrepair during the ‘Crime Alley’ era that followed the murders of the Waynes. The adjacentBowery fared better, and is a lively area of bars, nightclubs, and slightly louche alleyways. Gotham jazz got its start inBurnley in the 1930s, but today this is an industrial area home to petrochemical behemoths such as Ace Chemicals and Bryant Chemical Works.


Time Out Shortlist | Gotham City 9


DON’T MISS

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