Inwood, Broadway at Ninth Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2009 …………………xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx…………….. click to enlarge


Okay, everybody, we're at the tippy top of Manhattan Island! Pretty exciting, huh? Back there on the left, behind the man's shoulder, is the pedestrian entrance to the Broadway Bridge. We'll go there. Across the bridge is . . . Manhattan! That's why I keep saying Manhattan Island.

I've mentioned before there's a little piece of Manhattan, Marble Hill, which was originally part of the island of Manhattan, but is now part of the mainland. How can that be, you wonder?

1. A canal was dug, cutting Marble Hill off from Manhattan.
2. It lived a while as an island.
3. The other older river bed was filled in between Marble Hill and the Bronx. Easy!


But when I say I'm walking every street in Manhattan, I mean the Island of Manhattan. That's part of the appeal to me. The clear boundaries.

I hesitate to bring up another confusing issue, but it must be done. If you could read that street sign, you would see that it says Ninth Avenue. Ninth Avenue crossing Broadway. It doesn't sound right.

I did a little rant on Ninth Avenue about 3 years ago, and stated wrongly that it ended at 208th Street. It does look like it ends there if you're standing there, but all you have to do is look at your map to see that it jumps the subway yards and picks up again at 215th Street. Then it comes to the end of the island, turns sidewise, and stops at Broadway. How it can call itself an avenue is beyond me.


See map.