大台阶 West 215th Street, Manhattan, New York 10034

"Lao Tzu Steps (a playful sobriquet given to the place by me) This is not a "historical landmark" - there is no monument, statue, or building structure per se, but rather a long existent set of steps that bridge what should be West 215th Street between Broadway on the east (lower)end, and Park Terrace East on the west (higher) end. As with numerous locations on the upper end of of Manhattan, the almost mountainous terrain of the island on that end would lead to steep inclines and declines had streets continued through those areas, resulting in potential traffic hazards along those streets in adverse weather had they continued. Instead the City of New York built steps to help residents and pedestrians traverse the distance between the now two disconnected parts of the street. The source of my nickname for this step set is an inscription of a saying attributed to the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu on the Broadway end of the steps which reads (somewhat freewheelingly translated into English - the Chinese of that era never measured distance in miles) "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". In the context of this location, "The journey of one block consists of 110 steps" would be a more profound allegory. The steps here are a total of 110, separated in groups 11 each, 10 times, and marked as so including number of steps and elevation traveled. They are separated in the center by a series of planters and trees, giving both shade and an aesthetic boulevard effect when climbing or descending."