10 Spots in New York City That Only Locals Know About

New York City is legendary. It’s called the city that never sleeps, and you can bet there is always something going on there. If you are going to visit NYC, of course, you will want to see the famous sites like the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. However, there is so much more to the Empire City, and you won’t want to miss any of it. Here are 10 spots in New York City that only locals know about, but you will definitely want to visit.

Subway Secrets

While the NYC subway is known worldwide, it does hold some secrets that most people don’t know about. When the city switched to newer, longer subway cars, the City Hall subway station couldn’t accommodate them. You can still see the tiled walls, brass chandeliers, and vaulted ceilings during some Transit Authority Museum tours. You can also sneak a peek from the Downtown 6 train when it leaves the Brooklyn station. Even less known is Track 61. It was a private railway once used by Presidents to navigate the city. There are no tours of the platform, so you won’t see it unless you find someone in the know.

NYC Magic

Grand Central Station is iconic. One of the busiest stations in the world, it sees three-quarters of a million people pass through each day. Can you imagine hearing a whisper in the midst of all the hustle and bustle going on there? Well, you actually can at a spot called the whispering wall or whispering gallery. On the lower level, four arched entryways make up a square formation. Here you can whisper into one archway and be heard clearly at the arch diagonal from yours. At 30 feet away, this still works even above the sounds of crowds at the station. There are scientific reasons why this works, but we’ll just call it NYC magic.

77 Water Street

In the land of skyscrapers, it might seem that a building of just 26 stories would be lost. Not so for 77 Water Street. To make sure the little building stood out, the designer decided to put something truly unique on the roof. Atop the building is a complete replica of a World War I airplane. If that doesn’t excite you, check out the penny candy for sale in the lobby. We’re not sure which is more impressive, a plane on the roof or anything that still costs just a penny, especially in NYC!

Superhero City

Spiderman, Batman, and Iron Man are all based in New York City. Have you ever wondered where it is that they all shop in the Big Apple? Well, rather obviously, it’s at the Super Hero Supply Company. The Super Hero Supply Co. sells everything you could possibly need for being a superhero including capes. The best part is that proceeds from the store support 826NYC. 826 NYC is a non-profit organization that helps school-aged children with their writing skills. That makes them real-life superheroes.