A 5-Stop Route For the Curious New York City Runner
On the Run: NYC

This green, contemplative oasis in the West Village is the perfect spot to stretch, take a deep breath and begin an on-foot journey through New York. Blooming outside a church built in 1821, the lush six-part gardens offer a rare sanctuary from the noise and grit of the city that surrounds them. 

From the 200-year-old original Rectory Garden to the aptly named Gene Morin Contemplation Corner, the Gardens at St. Luke in the Fields are a place where anyone can extract themselves from the city, reconnect with nature, and be alone with themselves—or, in this case, get into the right pre-run headspace. Benches are seldom occupied, so once you’ve stopped to quite literally smell the roses, feel free to put a leg up and double-knot your shoelaces.

Pro tip: The Garden is open to all. Visit Monday - Friday, from 9am - 5pm. Last entry is at 4:30pm. On Saturdays and Sundays, the Garden is open from 12pm - 4pm. Last entry is at 3:30pm.   

The second stop on our running route is the easiest one to miss. Originally installed by jeweler William Barthman and his colleague Frank Homm in 1896, this fully-functional timepiece gets stepped on more than it gets noticed. Facing up from inside the sidewalk pavement, the clock at Broadway and Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan is slightly harder to miss at night when it’s illuminated. 

The clock is actually an upgrade from the original one installed by Barthman and Homm, a mechanical jump hour clock that fell into disrepair once its creators were no longer around to fix it. Over a century after the death of William Barthman, his namesake jewelry store is still in operation, as is the brass-ringed analog clock adorning the sidewalk outside.

Every block of New York City has countless stories to tell. Its bridges are no exception. Making your way across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn, you’d be remiss to breeze by the Brooklyn Bridge Love Locks without slowing your gait. Following a tradition started in Europe during the 1990s, New Yorkers have affixed a diverse collection of engraved padlocks to the Brooklyn Bridge for years. 

Decried by some as vandalism, the locks actually serve a somewhat heartwarming purpose. Most often, they’re engraved and locked to the bridge by couples as a semipermanent symbol of their love. Since their keys are all presumably resting at the bottom of the river below, the locks are periodically removed by lock pickers or city workers sent to clear the locks out.

Pro tip: The Love Locks are said to be best enjoyed during sunrise, so early bird runners will have the Instagram advantage.

If it weren’t for the blacked-out windows, you’d think it was just a regular Brooklyn Heights townhouse. And while it was originally built as a private residence in 1847, this building serves a far more unexpected purpose today. Nestled about halfway down the block on Joralemon Street, the building is actually home to a hidden ventilation plant and emergency exit for the New York City subway. The building was converted as part of a subway extension project in the early 1900s and has stood in disguise ever since. The NYPD has since bolstered security around the building, so don’t get any wild ideas about extending your run into the subterranean underworld of Brooklyn.

Even at full running speed, the Wyckoff Street Mosaic would be tricky to miss. Still, it’s worth slowing down to take it all in. Since 2001, Susan Gardner’s mosaic has slowly been taking over the front of her three-story Boerum Hill brownstone with an intricate layout of glass, beads, tiles, and all sorts of found objects—many of which have been given to Gardner by neighbors and passersby to create a sort of community-crafted work of public art. The eclectic mosaic now reaches up to the second-floor windows and covers the house’s front fence. Gaze at it long enough and you’ll notice shapes, faces, and other patterns you may have otherwise missed.