In 1971, the Greyhound station was located in what was at that time the seediest part of New York City, with beggars filling the streets, prostitutes and porn cinemas of all kind. 

It was both scary and terrible, and these conditions would linger well into the mid 1980s eight year after I had returned to make my home one hour north of that dirty downtown area. 

Of course, the impressive sights were the skyscrapers. Walking in the streets or “canyons” below and craning my neck to look above was actually a tiring exercise. 

I remember riding the elevators to get to the observation deck of tallest tower of all, at the time, the Empire State Building (the World Trade Center wouldn’t be completed until 1973 – see video). 

I Walked and walked and walked that day and was on my knees when it was time to rejoin the Greyhound Station and spend one last uncomfortable night in one of its buses headed for Montreal, Canada!