Tonight at 8:17pm I propped against the railing of the Pershing Square overpass on East 42nd Street under the looming face of Grand Central Terminal. With iPhone in hand I prepared to capture a stunning photo of Manhattanhenge – one of two days when the sunset falls in line with several streets of Manhattan, mimicking the precision of Stonehenge as it marks the passage of time.
After reading in various news outlets I decided to follow some friends’ advice and trek to the east side of 42nd Street and climb the bridge for an above-traffic view of the moment. I was, unfortunately, at the wrong bridge. Meg and Travis were farther east, on a bridge in Tudor City about four blocks beyond where I had stopped. My faithful friend Mike had joined me on our adventure to meet up with Meg and Travis and, upon realizing that we were on the wrong bridge but reluctant to try to cross it and continue through traffic to meet the others, we decided to stay put and catch this closer vantage point for superior photos.
But our dream of seeing, and capturing, this moment died when 8:17pm rolled around… then 8:19pm… then 8:25pm. No spectacular moment. The best we got was the glint of sunlight reflecting off of a glass high-rise somewhere near Seventh Avenue.
“Did you see it?” came a text from Meg.
“No, did you?”
“YES! A-MAZING!” came her reply. What? How?
We met up with Meg and Travis and headed off to dinner, drowning our sorrows in beer and pomme frites while I agonized over the incredulity of the scenario. How had I been between them and the sunset and not seen it. For proof they had dozens of photos on their cameras. Seriously? Disaster. So, Manhattanhenge did happen but I somehow missed it. I was directly in the line of sight and yet… nothing. This cosmic moment will apparently happen again on July 11 at 8:25pm. Maybe I’ll make it all the way east to Tudor City for round two.
Tommy Karr 