Introduction:
Exploration of Broadway began on 157th Street as we walked through a tree lined cross-section park containing a large sculpture named Bantum Pair, which is a sculpture of two metal birds on a black pedestal. The placard near the sculpture revealed that the artist, Peter Woytuk, produced various other sculptures of animals and fruits that decorate Broadway from Columbus Circle, 59th street, all the way until 166th street. Besides learning the locations of specific businesses and the offerings of 157th to 163rd street, we ascertained interesting information about the ethnic Dominican dominance in the area, and the few Greek and Jewish owned businesses as well. From the barbershops, to the beauty salons, to the bodegas, examining the streets of a little part of Broadway that is often left unnoticed was undoubtedly an enriching experience.
Broadway from W157th Street to W159th Street:
Located on the corner of West 158th Street, Olympia Florist stuck out among the numerous 
barbershops, beauty salons and bodegas lining the streets from 157th to 159th. Walking into the store I was surrounded by a cozy atmosphere shaded by the abundant flowers and foliage. I found the manager and began some investigative work. Gus, the manager of Olympia Florist, has been working there for over 40 years. The place has been a family owned store for over 100 years. In addition to being in the neighborhood for so long, Olympia Florist is unique for it is a business run by Greeks among a mostly Dominican and Latino neighborhood.
–Zoya
Broadway from W159th Street to W161st Street:
The first impression given to a pedestrian on Broadway is that there are a lot of shops, and that most of these shops are Dominican owned. Becoming more of an inquirer than an observer revealed that, as far as these two blocks go, that impression is pretty accurate. There is, however, a small catch in that the shops lack variety; while there are a lot of stores, most of them are the 
same types of stores. Overlooking the store awnings that have each store’s name in both English and Spanish would cause someone to miss how many times “Beauty Salon”, “Barber Shop”, “Supermarket”, and “Food” are written on the awnings. Besides the occasional dollar store or travel agency (primarily promoting trips to Latin America), Broadway between 159th and 161st streets is primarily devoted to serving the everyday demands of Washington Heights’s inhabitants.
–Adonio
Broadway from W161st Street to W163rd Street:
No matter how much you hear from people or read in textbooks or online, exploration is the only effective way to truly learn about an area in NYC. I definitely learned more than I had expected from visiting these streets . Personally, I was struck by how different this neighborhood is from where I
live in Harlem; the dominant ethnic groups and businesses vary greatly. I had not realized how drastically neighborhoods not too far from one another could be quite so different ethnically and industrially.
–Thomas
