Manhattanhenge
What will future civilisations think of Manhattan Island when they dig it up and find a carefully laid out network of streets and avenues? Surely the grid would be presumed to have astronomical significance, just as we have found for the pre-historic circle of large vertical rocks known as Stonehenge. For Stonehenge the special day is the summer solstice, when the Sun rises in perfect alignment with several of the stones, signalling the change of season.
For Manhattan, a place where evening matters more than morning, that special day comes twice a year.
For 2014 they fall on May 29th, and July 12th, when the setting Sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a radiant glow of light across Manhattan’s brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough’s grid.
Not like you needed any more reason to travel to New York City…
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