Broadway Between 10th St and 14th St

This anomalous section of Broadway is like a neighborhood unto itself. Marking the last stretch that runs perfectly north/south, the remainder turns south-west after 10th Street. Grace Church anchors the beginning of the block and is architecturally significant, and not just because it's pretty. . . Designed by James Renwick, Jr. – who is responsible for many treasured structures in NY and around the country – it was later updated slightly by the firm of Heins & LaFarge – who are well-known as the architects of the original IRT Subway stations and buildings. It's an interesting mashup of 19th Century architectural heavyweights.

Working one's way up to Union Square, you can feel the subway rumble under your feed as you pass a series of buildings and stores, including the ever-popular Strand Bookstore; one of the few remaining independent used bookshops in the city. Claiming 18 Miles of Books, it's a haven for anyone who considers themselves a bookworm (which, unfortunately, isn't me), and is certainly lightyears better than the Barnes & Nobel just a few blocks to the north.

Finally the influences of Union Square's relentless commercialism begins to be felt around 13th Street when you run across Regal Theaters, Cosi, Forbidden Planet, Max Brenner and a handful of other stores which are all impossibly crowded any night of the week. Street vendors and food trucks flock to this area thanks to the influx of people visiting the movie theater. By the way, if you regularly see movies at this theater you must have nothing but pure hatred for the art of film – what other reason could you give to seeing movies in such a terrible, terrible environment, with such terrible, terrible people.