When most people visit New York City

They look up at towering skyscrapers and iconic skylines

But New York was once a small farming community

Filled with brooks and streams

If you look closely

You can still find remnants of them

Hidden beneath the concrete jungle

Minetta Creek is one of the largest bodies of water in the city

It once flowed through colonial farmland in lower Manhattan

The creek flows through Greenwich village and Washington Square Park

It was once filled with trout and and was a popular Native American fishing spot

As New York became more urbanized Minetta creek was getting in the way of building

Developers filled the creek with landfill and built on top of it

But the water still had to go somewhere and today the Minetta creek still flows in a much diminished capacity

Just north of Washington Square park an apartment building has a glass fountain which goes down to Minetta creek

In the basement of the NYU law building there is a grate where the creek still flows

Many urban explorers claim to catch a glimpse of the creek in underground openings

Today the Minetta creek lives on. There is a Minetta lane and Street

There is Minetta Green Park and Minetta Triangle Park

In 1998 trout were carved into the parks to pay homage to the creek

After you spend a few hours creek hunting

Be sure to stop in to the Minetta Tavern and order the Black Label Burger

It is consistently rated as one of the best burgers in the country

A mix of Short rib, Skirt, Brisket and dry-aged ribeye.

Our cities are filled with history

Sometimes it’s in the most unexpected places

Appreciate the beauty of New York

For what it is now

And what it once was