AP Features, July 2nd, 2007
New sightseeing cruises are sailing the rivers around Manhattan, one focusing on history, one on architecture.
Both are offered by NY Waterway Tours.
The history cruise, developed in collaboration with the New-York Historical Society, takes a "then and now" approach to four centuries of New York's past, mentioning sites like Governors Island, which served until recently as a Coast Guard installation but was named Nut Island in the 1600s for the chestnut and walnut trees that grew there; Bowling Green, a park that played a role in Revolutionary War era events; and Chelsea Piers, an upscale recreation center on the Hudson, located near where the Titanic was expected to dock.
The architecture cruise, developed in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects, include The Solaire, a "green building" in Battery Park City, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Battery Maritime Building, the New York Life Insurance Building, known for its gilded roof, and several buildings in Brooklyn and New Jersey.
The 90-minute cruises depart from Pier 78 on West 38th Street and Twelfth Avenue, heading south toward the Statue of Liberty and across New York Harbor, then up the East River along Manhattan's East side to the United Nations before looping back to their starting point. The history cruise runs Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and Saturdays at noon through Oct. 26. The architecture cruise runs Thursdays and Sundays at noon. Tickets are $23 for adults, children $13, seniors $19. Details at http://www.nywaterway.com/tour/nyharbor-cruises or 800-533-3779.
NY Waterway Tours also offers a "Lady Liberty Harbor" cruise that goes past the Statue of Liberty, a sundown "City Lights" cruise and other special events tours.
The city's best-known boat ride is probably the Staten Island ferry, a free trip across New York harbor with a great view of Lady Liberty. The ride takes about an hour round-trip. But other worthwhile excursions include a ride on the vintage Pioneer, a 19th-century schooner that sails from South Street Seaport - http://www.nycharities.org/event/event.asp?CE_ID1403 - and the classic three-hour tour circumnavigating Manhattan on the Circle Line, http://www.circleline.com.
Circle Line also operates the ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, but starting in October those boats will be run by a different company, Hornblower Yachts, Inc., which also runs the ferry concession in San Francisco to the national park site at the famed Alcatraz Island prison.
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