Time Travel In The Big Apple

Ok so its 1809....No Wait it's 1609! A few years back I began keeping a diary journal of my day to day life in college but I would try and translate my writing style and transform some of the modern conveniences such as cars and bars, into horse drawn carriages and speakeasies. Clearly I was pulling from the 1920's with the last one, but the theme of time travel back into times almost lost in a day and age of social media, Tom Toms and monorails, have always captivated me.

Time travel was THE reason why I fell in love with London. There is a scene in the DaVinci Code, almost 2/3rds of the way in, as Robert Langdon and Sophie are running through the streets of London, as Robert tells a story of the tomb they are about to visit in search of the Holy Grail. The Scene captures them running across the street from a bird's eye view dodging red double decker buses and black cabs, as translucent ghosts from a large ornate funeral procession appear intertwined with modern day London.

The Dazzler and I used to walk through the streets and spend time and plow through many bottles of a fine tesco bottle of Pinot Grigio in parks thinking of how many people from the ages have spent time doing the same thing. Every nook and cranny of London is decorated with a past and imbued with a story.

WELL, to my discovery with the help of National Geographic, The Mannahatta Project by the Wildlife Conservation Society has successfully bent the laws of time and space with the help of the Internet after nearly a decade of research. They have uncovered the original ecology of one of the worlds largest and beloved cities. What now are towering high-rises and grid like landscape, used to be roaming hillsides, valleys, forests, fields, freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, beaches, springs, ponds and streams all supporting a rich wildlife and sustaining people for probably 5000 years before the Europeans first stepped foot on the land in 1609.

The site allows you to explore any street and neighborhood as it was in 1609, download and learn about the science behind the Big Apple, and most importantly discuss!

I've been diving in and learning about the Original New Yorkers, the Native American Lenape People. I've already put in a few addresses of friends and some offices where I used to work and although the landscape has changed, it is no doubt still a jungle out there!