It’s been an amazing year for “untapped,” quirky news and we thought we’d take a look back at our most popular articles for 2013 on Untapped Cities:
1. Then & Now: NYC’s Pneumatic Tube Network
Yes, NYC’s mail used to be transported underground by a series of pneumatic tubes! We’re on Team Bring Them Back USPS!
2. Top 10 Coffee Shops in Manhattan (for Design Buffs)
We got caffeined up and went in search for coffee shops with great coffee and great design.
3. 5Pointz Graffiti Haven Whitewashed Overnight by Building Owners
This event marked the end of an era, for New York City, and for its street art scene. One piece of positive news: Untapped Cities contributor Rachel Fawn Alban has adopted the 5Pointz graffiti cat, Baxter.
4. Surviving the Stairway to Heaven in Oahu, Hawaii
Up 3,922 crumbling steps is an abandoned U.S. Navy transmitter station, secret during WWII. The son of an officer once stationed there shared with Untapped Cities photographs and more information this year.
5. 7 of NYC’s Abandoned Subway Stations
We rounded up 7 of our favorite abandoned subway stations in NYC, and followed up with a piece on 9 abandoned and incomplete subway platforms and levels.
6. Top 10 Bookstores in Manhattan
Untapped Cities contributor Kelli Trapnell, an MFA candidate from Columbia University, shared her favorite bookstores in Manhattan, including Van Alen, Rizzoli, Brazenhead Books and Printed Matter.
7. Top 10 Secrets of Grand Central
Our resident Grand Central expert, Tamara Agins, of the NYC Department of City Planning, shares her favorite secrets of this landmark terminal, including a tennis court inside!
8. Top 10 Secrets of NYC’s Central Park
We’ve done a few in-depth articles about the secrets of Central Park, such as what’s there that wasn’t in the original plan and some of its more naturalistic secrets. This is our top 10 list of our favorite secrets in this famous park!
9. Abandoned Hart Island, NYC’s Mass Burial Ground
Hart Island is uninhabited today, but more than 800,000 dead has been buried there since 1869, making it the largest tax-funded cemetery in the world!
10. Modern Toilet, Taiwan’s Most Cherished Theme Restaurant
Before Magic Restroom opened in Los Angeles, we covered Modern Toilet in Taiwan, a poop and toilet themed restaurant so popular, it has a chain of 10 restaurants.
And here are the honorable mentions for 2013!
Covert Cocktails, Top 11 Hidden Bars in NYC
Gay Bars in Kuala Lumpur, Where Homosexuality is Illegal
Then & Now: Remnants of the Vanderbilt Mansion in New York City
