When I first moved to New York City for a summer internship back in 2006, I don’t think I was quite prepared for all of the “firsts” that I would experience…. first time working a corporate job, first time seeing someone expose himself to me on the subway, first time getting tricked into taking a $25 black car service 10 blocks… That summer, it was also the first time I experienced Manhattanhenge, before I knew that this was even a "thing".
I remember walking downtown to my quaint apartment after work one hot & sticky evening - it was one of those nights where there was virtually no wind sweeping the streets and the heat radiating off the concrete masses that line the blocks of Manhattan sinks into your pores, making you feel like you can hardly breath - yep, one of those nights. I was crossing the street and when I looked to the West, I saw it. The sun was literally in the middle of the street - it was almost as if I could touch it. It stopped me right in my tracks & I could not look away. I don’t know why but something about seeing that, it made me so happy to be in New York City.
Manhattanhenge, also referred to as the Manhattan Solstice, is the phenomenon that occurs when the sun lines up with the East-West streets of the Manhattan grid. In the next few weeks, this will occur 4 times - late in May, and then also in the second week of June. This year, Manhattanhenge is set for Friday, May 29th at 8:12PM and also on Saturday evening around the same time. It will also occur on June 12th & 13th!
So, if you’re in the city this weekend and find yourself out and about around 8:12PM, take a minute to glance West. I can only speak for myself but it truly is a spectacle to be seen!
And by the way, if you’re going to take a photo, please make sure there aren’t a bunch of crazy cab drivers heading your way. I promise you, they don't care.
Photo Page URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AManhattanhenge2_rotated%2Bsharpened.jpg
Photo File URL: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Manhattanhenge2_rotated%2Bsharpened.jpg
Photo Attribution: By Manhattanhenge2.jpg:Americasroof at en.wikipedia derivative work: David Kernow (Manhattanhenge2.jpg) [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons
