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The tour begins at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 5th Ave between 50th & 51st Streets. This tour is best experienced on a mobile phone.
3 East 53rd Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues
You are now standing in Paley Park, which was designed by the landscape architectural firm of Zion Breen Richardson Associates in 1967. This “vest pocket park” spans a mere one-tenth of an acre, and its focal point is a 20-foot high waterfall that spans the entire back wall, with an impressive capacity of 1,800 gallons per minute.
Paley Park was financed by the William S. Paley Foundation—Paley was the former Chairman of CBS—and was featured in the 1980 film “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces” by William H. Whyte. To this day, it serves as a model for successful privately owned public spaces in the city and beyond.
Privately owned public spaces are a very New York concept—private property owners create interior and exterior spaces for public use and enjoyment in exchange for waivers or bonus floor area—a win/win situation. There are nearly 600 such spaces in New York. They provide an important amenity in the form of green space and areas to sit, relax, eat, and, of course, people-watch.
Observe the contrast in materials and textures. The park’s side walls are covered in dense ivy, and the honey locust trees, planted in regular 12-foot intervals, form a canopy above. Lightweight wire mesh chairs flank circular marble tables, lending a light and airy feel against rough-hewn granite pavers.
The design is simple, but the acoustics are sophisticated. The fact that the park is slightly elevated above the street, combined with the sound-barrier qualities of the ivy and tree canopy and the gray noise produced by the water fountain, results in drowning out most city sounds. You might forget, if only for a minute, that you are in the middle of Midtown Manhattan.
Forest bathing (or shinrin-yoku) is a practice that emerged in Japan in the 1980s as a form of mobile meditation. The concept involves taking in—using all of your senses—the forest atmosphere. The key is to be conscious and contemplative as you immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, smells, and sometimes even tastes.
When forests aren’t available, we can look for other opportunities. Stand or sit near the wall of water and practice being conscious and mindful of how you feel, what you see, hear, and smell.
Let’s also reflect on this 1915 poem by Ellwood Colahan called The Waterfall:
O LITTLE misty waterfall,
Down from the sky-land blown, Why do the mountains loom so tall
And why do the fir-trees moan?
O little wistful waterfall
How still is the evening grown!
Thine eyes are dim, little waterfall,
Thy voice is a faint, faint sigh.
Ah, must I follow thee, after all,
Away from the Land of the Sky?
Feel free to sit and relax in Paley Park as long as you want. Resume, when you’re ready.
Now, let’s exit Paley Park and turn right, retracing your steps along 53rd Street. Cross Fifth Avenue, and you’ll see a church on the corner to your right. Let’s stop here and talk a moment about St. Thomas Church.
On your tour screen, select St. Thomas Church from the pull-down menu when you’re ready to begin reading about this location.
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