12 HIDDEN SECRETS in Bryant Park | New York City

hey what's up guys it is a gorgeous day here in New York and I'm hanging out in midtown Manhattan today I'm gonna show you some of the hidden secrets here in Bryant Park [Music] now even though Brian Park is relatively small at just over six acres and busiest Park in the world it has more visitors per acre per year than any other Park in the world there's still quite a few hidden secrets like a trapdoor and underground escape hatch and even some ruins from the 1800s by the first secret is right here in the middle of the park right under our feet back in the 1600s this land was dedicated as a potter's field it is a nice way to say that was a graveyard for the poor but unlike Washington Square Park where there are still bodies under the park all the bodies here were dug up and moved to Ward's Island out in the East River that cool building behind me is the New York Public Library and most people think that the library is just that building but in fact it goes under the park replacing the bodies are 37 miles of bookshelves directly below the grass here the library section known as a stacks goes below us 30 feet and extends all the way out to here which leads us to secret number three this box over here which is cleverly disguised as a sign with all the major contributors for the restoration of the park is actually an escape hatch to the stacks below you can see there's a hinge here and this isn't even attempts because this whole thing can lift up when they built the stacks below the park then music need to put in an emergency exit in case of fire another calamity cut off access to the library they'd have this escape hatch so they can safely get out of the stacks into the park come the next secret we're going to cut over to the south side of the park I find a carousel not that you'd ever notice or really care to look at this but there's no wires going into the carousel it's because the power is actually underground from over here you'll notice that these pavers are unique because they have a cute little frame around them this is actually a trapdoor these sections lift up and underneath it is a giant power vault with enough power to run the carousel and the entire winter village we winter village by the way the only rink in the city that is free to the public in fact all the events in Bryant Park are free one of bryant parks philosophies so offers many events as possible for free to the public because the more people you have in the park the safer it is that's why none of the chairs of tables are even locked down you just walk off with it but you're not going to you got somebody's gonna see you they're gonna shame you so you don't we've done lots of the three things that the park is offered but the movies that everybody knows about on Monday night to yoga even Kraft tonight they're all fun and they're all for free one of the things that a lot of people don't know about though is that there's free Wi-Fi throughout the park there's Wi-Fi towers throughout the park so you can connect anywhere and it's really good internet not just like check your email good but stream movies from Netflix and upload giant files to YouTube kind of good and if you want to work here all day the next secret is that they have outlets there's 47 outlets throughout the park so you can just plug in and use the Wi-Fi and just hang out and work all day long I know it says 42 but it took one of those free tours which you should totally do so there's really informational and I really like that but I tour guide said there were 47 and I'm gonna trust her our next free seat great is over here on the 42nd Street side of the park sorry bathroom this is one of the most elegant bathrooms in the city completely decked out with marble on the inside and they play classical music while you're going I'm not gonna film inside that's weird the next secret is here at the fountain the fountain actually collects three to four thousand dollars a year from people throwing coins into the fountain which is about as much as the cost to maintain the fountain so I hope to keep the part three thanks throwing coins in there these really cool trees all throughout the park are called London plane trees plae the leaves of which are actually the symbol of the New York City Parks Department if there are Robert Moses's favorite tree our last two secrets aren't inside the library which is technically inside Bryan Park now back in the 1800s before the library was built this used to be a reservoir for the pros the rest should be coming through a circle as the main entrance and work your way over to the left come right through here and around the corner through the doors up and over this wall look down at the bottom there and that's the foundation for the reservoir it used to be the edge of the building of the library but just like the mat they built an extra building inside of it it's a free movie if you want to watch it my favorite place isn't the rosary [Music] we'll always have a special place in my heart it's hard to find places like that and that fits my list of hidden secrets here in Bryant Park you like some saw make sure you give this video a thumbs up subscribe so we got lots more that came from if you want to see more hidden secrets over in Central Park click this video up here you wanna see other adventures all throughout the city this video over here otherwise thanks for watching and I will see you around bye [Music]

Channel: Perfect Little Planet

Views: 102,046

Rating: 4.9526243 out of 5

Keywords: bryant park, park, hidden secrets, secret, new york, nyc, manhattan, urban parks, keep exploring, bryant park ice skating, new york city, exploring, new york public library, nypl, rose reading room, what to do in new york city, midtown, what to do in new york, things to do in new york, things to do in new york city, new york travel guide, new york city (city/town/village), nyc travel guide, nyc tips, nyc tips and tricks, nyc tourist tips, secrets of nyc, secrets of New York City

Id: tFuoWREu4QU

Length: 5min 45sec (345 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 13 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/lafayette0508]

I'll save you some video-watching time:

1. The main lawn used to be a "potter's field" (cemetery for the poor), but all the bodies have been moved.
   
2. That space under the park is now part of the library and filled with book shelves.
   
3. A low, rectangular sign with park donors listed on it is actually mounted on an "escape hatch" to the library stacks below.
4. Under the tables and chairs by the carousel is a power station that powers the carousel and the winter village. The paving stones there are actually "trap doors" to the power station.
5. All events in Bryant Park are free.
   
6. Free WiFi in the park.
7. There are power outlets throughout the park.
8. Free (pretty fancy) bathroom.
9. The fountain collects $3-4K per year from people throwing coins in it. That money is about enough to maintain the fountain.
10. The park is filled with London Plane Trees, whose leaves are the logo for the NYC Parks Department bc they were Robert Moses' favorite tree.
11. Inside the library you can see the ruins of the 1800s reservoir that was there before.
12. The Rose Reading Room is beautiful.

I'll admit that this actually turned out to be more interesting that I thought it would be. I'm pretty excited to learn about all the power outlets. I could just work from the park all day!

[u/Illiterate_Scholar]

I like that he mentions there being a bathroom. Truly the great hidden secrets of the city.

[u/jaov00]

That's a lot of secrets for such a small park. Thanks for sharing, OP!

[u/TapesNStuff]

The Rose Reading room is a hidden secret? Da Fuq?

[u/omiaguirre]

Wifi is shit tho

[u/lemskroob]

He skipped over it being 'Needle Park'