As I write, I’ve just returned from New York City after a whirlwind weekend
of family memory-making and lengthy walks throughout the city. While near South Street Seaport, a historic waterfront district along the
East River in Lower Manhattan, I had a moment of clarity while considering
why this diehard Minnesota gal feels such a deep connection to New York
City—one of the country’s birthplaces of innovation and creative thinking.
But that’s not why I love the city. Apart from having family living in Manhattan, it’s the historic areas that draw me close.
Uneven stone and brick streets: Who once traveled these roads? What
purpose took them from here to there? Early homes: Who first lived within?
How did they make a living? What did a typical evening entail? Did my relatives once live in any of the waterfront homes? Historic bridges or buildings: Who designed and constructed them? While visiting an apartment building that once served as a large bank, my mind saw employees and customers of yesteryear, walking wi
