September 06, 2005
Walk through the Lincoln Tunnel on Sept. 18
UPDATE: This event has been postponed to October 15.
In what could be something of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Lincoln Tunnel will be open to pedestrian traffic on Sunday, September 18. One of the tunnels will be closed to all cars starting at 9:30 a.m. as part of the Campaign to End AIDS’ March to Washington DC.
The event is free and open to anyone who wants to show up and walk to New Jersey. You don’t even have to pretend you’re going to make the three-week trek to D.C; organizers just hope to see a lot of people at the kick-off, said Jason Shure, president of Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, which is helping plan the event.
Walkers should meet at Bryant Park at 8:30 a.m. The tunnel opens an hour later.
First built in the 1930s, the tunnel has Art Deco features and a pretty cool New Jersey/New York dividing line in the center. Now it's probably most famous for its placement in the opening credits of HBO's "The Sopranos." The Port Authority, which normally prohibits cameras at tunnel entrances, has said only event organizers can take pictures that day.
After completing the nearly 2-mile trip to New Jersey, walkers have a number of options for the return trip. Shure e-mailed the details: Just a bit past exiting the tunnel, the route passes Lincoln Harbor. There is an NJTransit Light Rail there (connecting to Path for Lower Manhattan) or the #158 commuter bus which goes straight over to Port Authority. If someone wants the fun of a ferry, they can walk north to Port Imperial, where there's a NY Waterway ferry to 38th St. For those who have walked enough, the #158 bus going the other way (towards Edgewater in NJ) can take you from Lincoln Harbor to Port Imperial in just one stop. As you exit the tunnel, you'll find yourself in the vicinity of Weekawken and Hoboken. NewYorkology contributor Jim Lowney recommends the Hoboken brunch spots along 14th Street.
And if you can bear an uphill walk, you'll be near the infamous dueling grounds where Vice President Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury. See the Village Voice for more detail, including htis bit:Between 1798 and 1895, 18 documented duels and numerous others occurred at the dueling grounds; at least 36 men were estimated to have been killed. Key event details at the Walk the Tunnel web site.
September 6, 2005 05:42 PM in Architecture, Out of Manhattan, Sightsology
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