Bryant Park wasn’t always the manicured lawn you see today. In the 1970s it was so overrun that New Yorkers nicknamed it ‘Needle Park’ — the story of its transformation into Manhattan’s living room is one of the great urban comebacks in American history, and it’s where every one of our tours begins.

We meet right at the corner of the park — 1080 6th Ave, at 6th Avenue & 42nd Street, across from Whole Foods. Your guide will be at the orange & black umbrella with the Statue of Liberty from 9:45 AM. Take a moment before we set off: you’re standing on top of a hidden underground library storage system holding millions of books.

This is stop 01 of five on our free Midtown walking tour — about two hours, 1.5 easy miles, and completely free. You pay whatever you feel the experience was worth at the end.