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New York · Mysteries & legends

New York Below the Surface: Crimes, Graves and Secrets

Under the pavement of Lower Manhattan lie a vanished pond, an African burial ground forgotten for two centuries and the well where a murdered young woman was found in 1800. This walk follows those hidden stories, always separating what the records say from what legend has added.

  • 6 stops
  • 3.2 km
  • 2 h
  • Free
Start with GPS Read about this stop 1
Old map of Collect Pond between Broadway and the streets of early Manhattan

The route

Stop by stop

  1. 1 Trinity ChurchyardA grave for a novel's heroine and a headstone written in secret code.
  2. 2 Tweed CourthouseThe courthouse that became New York's greatest monument to corruption.
  3. 3 African Burial GroundA burial ground for enslaved and free Africans, forgotten for two centuries beneath the city.
  4. 4 Collect Pond ParkA freshwater pond some 60 feet deep once lay here. The city buried it, and the ground took its revenge.
  5. 5 Five Points (Columbus Park)The most feared neighborhood of the 19th century, home to the gangs behind «Gangs of New York».
  6. 6 The Manhattan WellThe well where Elma Sands was found in 1800, the start of the young nation's first great murder trial.

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Start with GPS

Guide mode

Walk it with GPS.

Open guide mode on your phone: you’ll see your position and the distance to each stop, and we’ll let you know when you arrive. Then read or listen.

Start with GPS

  1. Turn on your location

  2. Walk to the spot

  3. Check the photo and listen

What you’ll discover

New York Below the Surface: Crimes, Graves and Secrets

Mysteries with a street address

The grave of a novel's heroine, a headstone in Masonic code and a well that still survives beneath a SoHo store.

Record and legend

Every stop separates what has been proven from what has been added over time.

The buried city

Discover what came before: a lake, the most feared slum of the 19th century and thousands of forgotten graves.

Keep exploring

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