Uncovering New York’s Hidden Gems, One Sketch at a Time
Jesse Richards takes readers into the unknown with his new book of illustrations, anecdotes, and history “Unknown New York: An Artist Uncovers the City’s Hidden Treasures.”
| 11 Dec 2024 | 06:41
Author/ Artist Jesse Richards with his tour guide notes on the Upper West Side. (
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The water color of the Isador and Ida Straus Monument, at Broadway and West 106th Street is one of nearly 100 illustrations inside Jess Richards new book, “Unknown New York.” Isador was an owner of R. H. Macy’s department store. He and his wife both died on the Titanic because she refused to get into a lifeboat without him. (
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Jesse Richards
The Shinran statue outside of the New York Buddhist Church, 331 Riverside Drive survived the atomic bomb dropped by the USA on Hiroshima during WWII. It sea-green bronze exterior is streaked with red created from radioactive atomic bomb drop burns. (
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Artist’s illustration of the Shinran statue outside of the New York Buddhist Church, 331 Riverside Drive once stood in Hiroshoma where it survived the atom bomb that USA dropped on the city during WWII. (
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Author/Artist Jesse Richards’ illustrated new book “Unknown New York” tells readers the behind-the-scenes stories on sites they may pass every day but know nothing about. (
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If you’re wandering along Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side, you might stumble across Mount Tom, the overgrown rock once frequented by Edgar Allan Poe, now shrouded in Riverside Park’s ankle-high grass. Walk a few blocks uptown to 105th Street, and you’ll be caught in the stare of the Shinran statue–a gift from Hiroshima–whose sea-green bronze exterior is streaked with radioactive red Atomic bomb drop burns.
Look closely at the buildings you pass along the way, and you may spot a hand-carved family portrait or a crown-wearing salamander hidden among their bricks. Continue strolling from 106th to 122nd Street, and you’ll come across monuments to fallen heroes, epic battles, and independence, each with their own power-posed metal statues; you may wonder who they were and what they did, or you might just keep walking.
This is the Upper West Side according to Jesse Richards, author and artist of a new guide to old obscurities, Unknown New York: An Artist Uncovers the City’s Hidden Treasures. Released this fall, the book blends his personal artwork and fascination with history to create a key to New York’s most unassuming landmarks, aiming to inspire artists and readers to appreciate the overlooked beauties of their own communities.
“A lot of New Yorkers don’t know their neighbors–let alone their neighborhoods,” said Richards, 47, resident of Stuyvesant Town. “But each one has a story to tell.” Raised in the suburbs of Hamilton, NJ, Richards grew up exploring forests and trails, where he developed a love for adventure along with a sense of loneliness that deepened with time. He said he moved to New York City in 2003, searching for excitement, inspiration– and maybe even a first date.
At the time, Richards was working remotely as a web designer for a company based in New Jersey. Though he graduated from Drew University with a fine art degree, he never planned on becoming a full time artist, instead opting for jobs on the technology side of design. As he began to explore beyond his East Village apartment, he discovered just how much the city had to offer. He had found his new muse.
In 2007, Richards started a group called Central Park Sketching Meetup on a website for connecting like-minded locals. They started as a casual art club for people of all ages and experience levels to build community and practice their craft, while capturing the landscapes of Central Park. Richards created the group in response to what he saw as a lack of diversity in available drawing classes, largely focused on the nude.
“There is more to being an artist than drawing naked people,” said Richards. “Besides, models are flaky.” In their early days, the group consisted of four to five artists, who focused on the gems that hid within the park’s borders, like the rushing waterfalls of The Ravine or the crisply cut hedges of the Italianate Garden. Today, the Central Park Sketching Meetup has over 8,500 members with an average attendance of 25-40, traveling cross-borough to discover and capture the nooks and crannies of NYC.
When the group began to rise in popularity, Richards found they were quickly outgrowing the scenes of Central Park. As the leader, Richards was faced with pressure to provide fresh and interesting subjects for his artists. He hit the guidebooks, articles, and online forums, searching for the most compelling and peculiar NYC monuments to share with his group. Not only did these efforts pay off for members, but his own artwork as well. He began to see a newly inspired spirit taking shape in his sketches of the unknown. As a result of those biweekly outings, Richards was left with over 100 illustrations of niche corners of the city–the collection that would become Unknown New York.
Unknown New York is Richards’ second title, but his first to be traditionally published, issued by Workman Publishing Company. It reads as a quirky guidebook, combining Richard’s own colorful visuals with vivid descriptions, history, and anecdotes. He also includes four walking routes on which readers can find many entries on their own, such as the original Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animal in midtown and the dream-like SeaGlass Carousel in lower Manhattan. The style of Unknown makes complete sense considering Richards’ second side-hustle hobby: a volunteer tour guide for non-profit organization, Big Apple Greeter.
Since 2019, Richards has led numerous groups of tourists around various NYC neighborhoods, from the East Village and SoHo to Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo. For each attendee, Richards aims to reveal the side of New York he knows and loves, deploying his knowledge of the unknown as a gateway for others.
“It’s like showing your friend a movie you really love,” said Richards, “you just want them to appreciate it like you do.” Every stop on his tours has been hand selected, with each route designed to spark a deeper appreciation for the city’s hidden layers. The Upper West Side edition is no different.
As we reach West 122nd Street, the end of Richards’ tour of Riverside Drive, we arrive at the tomb of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States. The building itself resembles a miniature Whitehouse, complete with dozens of Grecian columns and a tall domed ceiling. The bodies of Grant and his wife lie at rest inside. In a smaller town, a monument this grand might be the centerpiece; in New York City, it’s tucked behind the trees of Riverside Park at the edge of the Upper West Side, like a great wonder lost to time.
Roaming to the back of the building, you may note the abrupt shift in design. While the main monument is stark white, the 400-foot-long bench that surrounds it is covered in colorful glass and ceramic shards depicting portraits, animals, instruments, and landscapes. This is the Mosaic Rolling Bench, one of the largest single public art projects in the United States. Designed in 1972 by artist Pedro Silva, its distinctly 70s flare might seem an odd accent for the final resting place of a former president.
To Richards, it’s a choice that is distinctly New York.