Spots: Uptown Manhattan — Upper West Side
Update — Summer 2010: The entire front portion of the plaza has been completely boarded off for restoration work, and none of the plaza is currently skateable. It seems up in the air as to whether or not they are taking out the benches or simply re-doing some structural parts of the plaza. The sign on the front of the plaza says the plaza is expected to re-open in Fall 2011.
Spot: In the museum’s front plaza, you will find two sets of three marble benches, both on the north and south sides of the building. The ones at each respective end have a slight curve to them, but make it likely for you to crash into the wall after you come off the end due to their awkward positioning. The edges are a weird shape that takes a bit of getting used to, because it is a square edge nestled on top of a round edge. If you have big wheels (55mm or better), it may prove a bit difficult to do certain tricks on them, because your board will inevitably be crooked when grinding the top surface, and only half of your tail would get on for a tailslide. There are also several foot-high statue bases that are waxed and easy to learn tricks on. If you have nothing against approaching a set of stairs sideways, you could also skate the seven set that leads up to the entire plaza. The sculpture of Teddy Roosevelt that came to life in Ben Stiller’s masterwork, Night at the Museum, is also surrounded with a chain gap, that may look minuscule, but is fairly misleading in terms of overall size. The chain is only about a foot high, but runs over a flat gap of about three feet, down a five foot drop into Central Park West.
Bust — ♦♦♦♦ / Very Likely: The museum is a night spot due to the crowds that sit all over the benches during open hours. You might be able to show up at 6 P.M. on a summer weekend and get some time in before the sun sets, but use your better judgement to avoid the crowds, because they make it impossible to skate. Security usually takes about fifteen minutes to kick you out, but it is possible to get lucky.
Location: 81st Street and Central Park West. Take the B or C train to 81st Street–Museum of Natural History and walk outside.
Pictures (Click to Enlarge):
