TO DO · 04/02/2014
To Do: Upper East Side Literary Map
“Which direction are you headed?” [the repairman] asked.
“North,” said Stuart.
“North is nice,” said the repairman. “I’ve always enjoyed going north. Of course, south-west is a fine direction, too.”
“Yes, I suppose it is,” said Stuart, thoughtfully.
“And there’s east,” continued the repairman. “I once had an interesting experience on an easterly course. Do you want me to tell you about it?”
“No thanks,” said Stuart.
E.B. White, Stuart Little
We’re pretty excited to be up north too. (Well, a bit more uptown than ever before.)
To get ourselves situated, we’ve made a literary guide to the neighborhood around our newest store. Everything on it is within a half hour’s walking distance.
Our recommendation? Start south and keep heading uptown.
The Plaza Hotel
Kay Thompson, Eloise
30 minutes
Central Park
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
29 minutes
Lexington Avenue and East 62nd Street
Joan Didion, Goodbye to All That
20 minutes
Lexington Avenue and East 63rd Street
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
19 minutes
Park Avenue and East 73rd Street
Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities
10 minutes
Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle
Ludwig Bemelmans, Madeline
9 minutes
A nice stroll along Madison Avenue
Maeve Brennan, The Long-Winded Lady
8 minutes (give or take)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
E.L. Konigsburg, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
7 minutes
Jackson Hole burgers (closed)
Jonathan Lethem, Chronic City
6 minutes
East 86th Street Cinemas
Ira Levin, Rosemary’s Baby
7 minutes
The Welchs’ apartment
Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy
18 minutes
The Primms’ apartment
Bernard Waber, The House on East 88th Street
9 minutes
Elaine’s (closed), 1703 Second Avenue
11 minutes