Yorkville's Secret Place

My brother, Rory loved adventures. In 1966, He joined Freddy Muller and me on one. Not sure who first discovered it, but starting at 70th Street near the FDR Drive down by the East River, you could enter the New York Hospital complex down a flight of stairs into a sub-basement that had a series of walking tunnels that led through many areas of the hospital.  The hair on the back of our necks stood up when we passed through the pathology area where every conceivable human body part was floating in liquid in huge glass jars. At first we went down the eerie tunnels because we could, but eventually found they led to the sub-basement of Olin Hall at 69th Street and York Avenue where we found a regulation size wood floor basketball court.

This made Freddy and me very happy and made Rory indifferent. He liked getting spooked and had no interest in sports. Next time Freddy and I brought a basketball and Rory wandered around until it was time for us to leave or we got chased by doctors playing a pick-up game. Eventually, the whole neighborhood found out the secret of the buried court at Olin Hall. That blew it for everyone, security now kept an eye out for us. Looking back, this was one of Rory and my best times together.

Here's one of Rory's favorite songs,  "Baker Street," by Jerry Rafferty.


And when you wake up, it's a new morning
The sun is shining, it's a new morning
You're going, You're going home.

My first book of photos,  "River to River ~ New York Scenes from a Bicycle," is on sale for $12.95 @ Amazon.