WintersTaleTour

This page is for the discussion and creation of a WalkingTour of Manhattan for fans of Mark Helprin's book "Winter's Tale".

The book is primarily set in Manhattan at the turn of the 20th century, and then again at the turn of the 21st century.

General Locations and areas of interest (both real and fiction)...

• Williamsburg Bridge
  • This is the bridge Athansor crosses on the first page to come into Manhattan. It links Manhattan and Brooklyn.
• Hell Gate
  • Mentioned several times throughout the book (but never important to the plot?) Hell gate is the last section of the East River between Randalls Island and Queens.
• The Battery
  • Where Peter Lake is almost captures by the Short Tails before meeting Athansor. Battery Park is the very southern tip of Manhattan.
• Bowery
  • Peter rides Athansor along the Bowery to Washington Square Park in the opening pages. The Bowery today is between Little Italy and the Lower East Side. It is perhaps a little too far east to be part of a ride between the Battery and Washington Square Park?
• Washington Square Park
  • Peter rides Athansor through the arch. The park is in Grenwich Village between where 4th and 6th streets would be if they were consistently numbered that low. The southern end of 5th Avenue.
• Madison Square
  • Where Peter steals the policemans hat. On 23rd Street and 5th Ave.
• Grand Central Station
  • Peter Lake's hidden apartment in the roof. Grand Central Station is locataed on 42nd and Park Ave. Hard to miss.
• Five Points
  • Described as the center of vice and debauchery throughout the nineteenth century. It was on the intersection of Park, Worth, and Baxter streets (just north of the modern US court house). In the world of Winter's Tale, this area exists with the same reputation till the 21st century. In reality is ceased to exist in the early 20th century. The tail end of Park Street can still be seen as Mosco St.
  • http://r2.gsa.gov/fivept/fphome.htm - A good starting site for external information
  • http://www.recoveringthecityscape.com/fivepoints_layout.html - Brief history including map.
• The Penn mansion
  • The Penn family house where Peter breaks in and meets Beverly. Described as being on the 'Upper West Side' and 'overlooking the reservoir in Central Park. This places it roughly between 79 and 86th streets on 8th Avenue. Note that the reservoir mentioned was drained in 1929 to become The Great Lawn. The new reservoir spans roughly from 86th to 96th street. Note that Penn was a whaler, and the Central Park "Mariner's Gate" is on 85th street, while "Hunter's Gate" is on 81st street. Coincidence?
• Brooklyn Bridge
  • The location of Pearly Soames' last attempt to capture Peter Lake before Athansor flew, and Peter fell into the white wall. Brooklyn Bridge is hard to miss really. :)

Peter Lake's Youth

• Castle Garden
  • immigration point Peter Lake's parents were rejected at. Is this another name for Ellis Island?
• Bayonne Marshes
  • The Bayonne Marshes were where the baymen lived and Peter Lake was raised. Bayonne City is on the same peninsula as Jersey City, and seperates Newark Bay from Upper New York Bay. Was Bayonne City formerly marshland?
• South Street
  • Peter Lake, age 12, arrived on Manhattan at a Pier on South Street.
• Madison Square
  • Peter Lake and the spielers dance and steal $30,000 here. The'glass palace at Madison Square' housed the machines that enraptured young Peter untill he was captured by police and taken to Overweary's

Places the Short Tails met

• Piers of Brooklyn Bridge
• On top of Statue of Liberty
• Opium Den on Doyers Street (next to intersection of E. Broadway, Park Row, Water St and Bowery. Look for "Chatham Sq".
• Silt Chamber under the Harlem River Siphon

Locations not yet described or sorted:

• Palisades
• Chelsea