The West Village waterfront: the Hudson at sundown
Pier 45, the runners, the light off the river, and the long walk down to Tribeca. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Christopher Street pier (Pier 45)
Walk west from Sheridan Square and the city stops at the water. Pier 45 runs out into the Hudson — a long lawn-and-deck pier, sunbathers by day, a crowd for the sunset. Go to the very end; New Jersey is close enough to read the signs.

2. The lawns at Pier 46
Just south, more grass on the water — joggers, the bike path humming alongside, the light coming off the river in the early evening. You don't have to do anything here. Sit on the grass and let the runners pass.

3. The Holland Tunnel ventilation tower
The brick-and-stone tower standing in the river off the park — one of the shafts that pulls fresh air down into the Holland Tunnel below the Hudson. An odd, severe industrial object among the lawns. Now you'll see it every time.

4. Pier 40
The huge boxy pier at Houston Street — a courtyard of ballfields inside an old ocean-liner terminal, kids' football on a summer evening. Cut around its river side for the clearest run of the downtown skyline coming into view ahead.

5. Pier 26
The newest stretch — a tilted ecological pier of native grasses and a tidal marsh, with a get-down to the water's edge. The Lower Manhattan towers are stacked behind it now; this is where the West Side hands you over to Tribeca.

6. Chambers Street & Tribeca
Turn inland into Tribeca's cast-iron blocks as the light goes. Chambers Street and the 1/2/3 are a few minutes east. End with the river still in your eyes.

The West Village waterfront: the Hudson at sundown