Bike Tour

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Christopher

Check out this bike route a Governors Island fan has created. This shows and excellent tour of the Island that is sure to be very fun. To add on to this blogger’s trail, you should also bike through Colonels Row and check out the beautiful brick houses that line Hay Road (map).

These houses were built after the Civil War on what was the original shoreline of Governors Island (everything south of Hay Road was landfill. The dirt came from the excavation for the 4, 5 and 6 subway line!). At that time in our history, citizens were reluctant to join the army, and these beautiful houses were a way of enticing people to enlist. And while you are here you should head into Building 408 (one of the Colonel’s Row houses) where eight painters exhibit their watercolor and oil paintings of Governors Island.

Building 408

Next, take Center Road south and head through the vaulted archway of Liggett Hall. In the future, this will be the gateway to the new park. Liggett Hall was designed by McKim Mead and White, the famous architecture firm, in 1929. It was designed to hold an entire regiment in the one, single building. Liggett Hall is as long as the Chrysler Building is tall, and was the largest government building until the Pentagon was built. In fact, when it was built the building was believed to be the longest building in the world.

Liggett Hall (North View, circa 1975)

Through a door in the archway is an installation by Guido van der Werve–part of Creative Time’s Plot/09 quadrennial. This particular piece in Liggett Hall was very well received by the New York Times.

Once through the archway you will have reached City of Dreams mini-golf course and sculpture garden produced by FIGMENT*. Here you can put down your bikes, pick up a club and work your way around the 18 hole artist-designed course!