By Gus Saltonstall
The arrows are easy to miss among the leaves and dirt, but on the west side of Riverside Drive from around West 116th to 119th streets, there are some half-a-dozen metal arrows embedded in cobblestones between the trees and benches.
“What are they? How long have they been there? What are they meant to signify?” one Upper West Sider emailed to West Side Rag.
At first glance, there are no clear answers. Many of the arrows point west, but not all of them, and none of them seemingly point at any object or sign. The arrows also all sit on slightly smaller and differently colored cobblestones than those around them, but not in a way from which any purpose can be gleaned.
West Side Rag reached out to the New York City Parks Department and the Riverside Park Conservancy to see if they had information on the little metal arrows.
They did.
Both Parks and the Conservancy explained that these arrows point to wiring boxes for park lights that are buried along Riverside Drive. It is not clear exactly how far these utility boxes are from each arrow, but maintenance workers can use the arrows to locate where the wiring is stashed.
The Rag was only slightly disappointed at finding there was no connection to buried treasure.
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Good work, Nancy Drew!!
these arrows are all over the west side parks!
An extremely minor point, but one that comes up again and again in guided tours and historic walks of NYC – – Cobblestones and Belgian Block pavers are two very different things. The photo shows Belgian Blocks, which are shaped blocks of granite similar to bricks. Cobblestones are assemblages of round stones like those frequently found in stream beds.
Very different,
Granted – a minor point, but one worth noting.
Noted.
And yet, these arrows are set in neither.
Are they pointing to the Breadlines at the city owned grocery stores?
For the answer, see https://www.westsiderag.com/2025/09/24/what-are-the-mysterious-arrows-embedded-in-cobblestones-along-riverside-drive-pointing-to .
I find them in Central Park, too, but they are often covered by ground cover or litter.
How interesting! Thank you for the sleuthing! 🙂
💙
They point to where crazy ladies should throw breadcrumbs to attract hoards of rats.
These can also be found all over Ft. Tryon Park. I have many photos of them. And now – mystery solved!
To the workers intent upon repairing malfunctioning park lights, and to those of us who value the lighting, these are pointing to buried treasure!
Here’s another urban mystery for you: what are the poker chips embedded )seemingly at random) in the asphalt of our
streets? They are different colors. Any ideas?
they demarcate where various city agencies and utilities have done work in the street. certain colors represent certain entities like blue for con ed, red for verizon, etc.
Ask the U.S. Geological Survey.
Please tell me what this arrow means that I found in Central Park along the drive by the Swedish cottage (well I do have a recent photo). It’s copper embedded into a rock.
It was hoped your investigatories would reveal where the bodies are buried.