The Hagstrom Map & Travel Center<\/a> at 51 West 43rd<\/sup> St. (between Fifth and Sixth avenues) was, simply put, one of my favorite places in Manhattan. It was a map lover\u2019s delight, an entire store devoted to maps from publishers throughout the world as well as to globes, map implements, guides, and travel books. It\u2019s the kind of store where you just wouldn\u2019t know where your explorations would lead you. But now it is closed.<\/p>\n The reason I headed there recently will say much about the loss of this unusual place: I went looking for a map of Cleveland to give as a Christmas present to a family member who will be traveling to the Ohio city a few times over the next several months for training courses. Where else in New York City, I said to myself, would I be able to find a map of Cleveland? Of course I shop online, but often I try to support local brick-and-mortar merchants when I can.<\/p>\n What a dismaying sight I found upon arrival, however. I saw that the Hagstrom map store had closed. A \u201cStore For Rent\u201d sign hung on the window. Langenscheidt Publishers<\/a>, the company that owned Hagstrom Map Co., decided to sell off its map and atlas business. The map center closed last July after being open for a quarter-century, according to NBC NewYork<\/a>.\u00a0 A company executive told NBC New York that \u201cthe electronic world is putting an evil crunch on the map business.\u201d<\/p>\n In online reviews at Yelp.com<\/a>, customers lamented the end of the journey for the Hagstrom store and told why it was a well-loved destination. \u201cI know, I know, GPS gets me where I need to be…most of the time. But Hagstrom’s is the place to go for all things published on travel…all of the time. If you have a map fetish or a bit of wanderlust, like I do, then this is the place that will scratch that itch well,\u201d wrote Theresa H., a San Francisco woman. Another customer, New Yorker Andy T., told of his joy at finding a map of Hokkaido, Japan in the store\u2019s Asia section. He noted it was created by ITMB Publishing<\/a>, a British Columbia-based outfit \u201cthat makes some of the best maps on the planet,\u201d adding, \u201cSeriously, where can you find a map of Hokkaido in NYC?\u201d A Somerset, N.J., man, Jim. B., praised Hagstrom as the <\/em>source for local, national, and international maps: \u201cI have never seen another store which comes close. Only in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n Another store suddenly shuttered, another one-of-a-kind experience lost in New York. Thankfully, the West 40s between Fifth and Sixth avenues still retains other quirky merchants as well as glorious late 19th<\/sup> century and early 20th<\/sup> century buildings with sculptured architectural details and impressive design. The New York Yacht Club<\/a> building, at 37 West 44th<\/sup> St., and the Library of the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York<\/a>, at 20 West 44th<\/sup> St., are two such buildings.<\/p>\n When Midtown Manhattan bursts with people and traffic, such as during the recent Christmas holidays, West 44th<\/sup> and West 43th streets especially provide quieter street-crawling and Old New York experiences. One nifty escape was in the pass-through tunnel within the <\/a>Berkeley Building<\/a> at 19-25 West 44th<\/sup> St. <\/span>There, the lobby had one of those newsstands, with candy, gum, and newspapers, that feel like a bit of the 1940s in the 21st<\/sup> century. There, the owner, Kashyap Desai, greeted customers and wished each one who bought a lottery ticket, \u201cGood luck!\u201d<\/p>\n Found: The Mansfield Hotel\u2019s Club Room<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Not long after I was feeling mournful about the Hagstrom store being gone for good I found an unexpected pick-me-up. Walking down a New York City street, one can unearth some fabulous little place or detail you never knew was there, even after dozens or even hundreds of walks. This is what happened at the Club Room<\/a> of the Mansfield Hotel<\/a>, on a nearby block from the Hagstrom store. The Mansfield is a nearly 100-year-old boutique hotel at 12 West 44th<\/sup> St. James Renwick, Jr., whose architectural works include St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral and Old Main at Vassar College, designed the Mansfield, which opened in 1904. Its combination of Beaux Arts and Second Empire styles jibed well with the atmosphere of fancy, exclusive clubhouses in the neighborhood such as the Harvard Club and the New York Yacht Club.<\/p>\n As many times as I have walked up and down West 44th<\/sup> Street, I had never noticed \u2013 let alone walked into \u2013 the Club Room. One long-time rule this New Yorker abides by: You don\u2019t have to stay at a hotel to lounge in and take great pleasure in its lobby and main floor. The Club Room was a fortuitous find when I was looking for a place to warm up in the late winter afternoon\u2019s cold and decided to walk into the Mansfield. Located to the left, off the hotel\u2019s main lobby, it is a cozy library room with honey-color mahogany paneling, floor-to-ceiling shelves of books, soft leather chairs, and a black-iron chandelier. Truly, it\u2019s like walking into a cozy club.<\/p>\n At a time when many city hotel designers and owners seek to be cool, ultra-hip, and edgy, the Mansfield is refreshingly warm without being dowdy. When they became the new owners in 2004, Brad Reiss and John Yoon sought to restore the Mansfield, including the Club Room, to its earlier charm and historic atmosphere. One can instantly sense this upon walking into the Club Room, which has a working fireplace framed by a mahogany and marble mantel, period-style sconces, and an English-style phone booth room, where the door closes to create a nook with banquette seating.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5167\/5333785470_c0b4a6bc43.jpg\")
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\nThe site of the former Hagstrom Map & Travel Center<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5124\/5333204993_3f5e49bc13.jpg\")
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\nThe entrance to the clubhouse of the New York Yacht Club, featuring a huge sea snail, seashells, and the club’s initials<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Berkeley](\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5048\/5333224413_5e03a941ae.jpg\")
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\nThe hallway of the Berkeley Building in Manhattan<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Mansfield](\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5202\/5333238505_c7e6553507.jpg\")
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