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Wallpaper*
City Guide: New York, by the editors of Wallpaper*
and New
York's 50 Best Places to Find Peace and Quiet
by Allan Ishac.
At first, these pocket books appear to be two incompatible
guides to New York City, the former looking at the stylish
and trendy side of the city and the latter finding those
out-of-the-way places devoid of crowds and noise. But in
a way these two books are complementary. The places in Peace
and Quiet are a perfect antidote to the crowd spots
in the Wallpaper* City Guide. After a long day
of shopping on Fifth Avenue, one can step over to Paley
Park and relax under the trees as the waterfall masks
the sounds of the city. Or one can change pace from the
gallery-hopping
in Chelsea on the General
Theological Seminary's landscaped grounds.
The Wallpaper* guide will be very familiar to
people who read the glossy love-it or hate-it (for me, depending
how much $$ is in my bank account) magazine. Both may push
a jet-setting, socialite, spendthrift lifestyle, but that
doesn't mean the appeal is limited to this albeit small
contingent. Style need not be limited to those with the
money to wear it or be seen in it. Many of the places in
the guide don't even require spending, like the listings
in Architour and Landmarks sections (each section is conveniently
accessible by tabs), among others. Perhaps the most valuable
insight into the Wallpaper* ... is the handy 24
Hours section which starts with some (window) shopping on
Bleeker Street and moves to Chelsea for brunch and some
aforementioned gallery-hopping, before making way to Midtown
for a visit to MoMA,
a movie, and a Japanese dinner. Sure, this 24 hour stroll
isn't cheap but it definitely isn't typical. It doesn't
push a visit to the top of the Empire State Building or
a stroll around the historicized commercialism of South
Street Seaport or other touristy itineraries that not only
drain time but also insulate the visitor from the real life
of the city. Wallpaper* gets one out on the streets
and in the right places.
But what's a person to do when they want to take a break,
preferably without spending ten dollars for a movie ticket
or twice that for what ends up being a tiring stroll around
a museum? Ishac's book presents not 50, but 65 places for
peace and quiet, helpfully indexed by neighborhood. It offers
some well-known spots like Paley Park mentioned above and
the Isamu
Noguchi Museum but primarily little known gems that
even natives might not be aware of, like the New
York Earth Room in Soho and the Lotus
Garden on the Upper West Side. Unlike the Wallpaper*
guide, Peace and Quiet is a personal account of
the city, an insider's glimpse into a side of the big city
that many people may never see otherwise.
. . or . . 
. . for Wallpaper*
. . or . .
. . for Peace and Quiet |
