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Archive for October 31st, 2004

The Riddle of the Buried Stream

Ars Subterranea is organizing a scavenger hunt titled The Riddle of the Buried Stream:

Manhattan is perforated by a number of streams, which once provided fresh water to the island’s residents. Although the streams have been forced underground during the last two centuries, they are still very much alive, bubbling up now and then to cause trouble for foundation engineers. In 1865, the engineer Egbert L. Viele created a topographical map of all subterranean rivers that is still in use today.

One of these rivers, however, was deliberately left off the map. Apparently it was carrying the purest water in all of New York and its course, marked by just a few cryptic indicators, was known only to the initiate. For reasons that will unfold during the event, it is imperative that this secret river is located. Charting its underground course will be the object of our scavenger hunt.

Sunday, November 7, 2004
Manhattan, approximately noon to 7:30 PM
$15 per person (includes beverages at the final location)


More information @ Ars Subterranea

via Satans Laundromat

Carfree Cities

Treehugger points to Carfree Cities, a new book by J.H. Crawford.

Carfree Cities offers a practical solution to the many urban problems caused by cars and trucks. The carfree city saves energy, preserves the environment, and improves the quality of our lives.

The carfree site is a companion to the book. It offers a peek at Crawford’s solutions for building livable, car free cities.

We are Happy to Serve You

Happy to Serve Coffee CupGet the all cachet of the ubiquitous New York City coffee cup (the 75 cent kind) without filling landfills. The Manhattan User’s Guide points out that 180,000,000 of these little cups are produced a year, that’s a lot of cups. They also point to www.wearehappytosearveyou.com where one can purchase a dishwasher safe, ceramic alternative. Yes, the little blue cup that provides so many New Yorker’s their first jolt of caffeine in the morning is now available in a less disposable material. Ready to add that “fresh from the bodega” touch to your home or office? A list of merchants (both online and off) is also available on the site.