Holden Caulfield's New York City

Whether you love him or think he’s a crumby phony, Holden Caulfield, protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, has been a crucial part of the American literary canon since his creation sixty years ago. Holden’s vocabulary may be outdated today, but many of the places he visits are still there.

 Holden keeps wondering what happens to the ducks in the Pond when the water freezes in the winter. For the answer, go to the southeast corner of Central Park and find out for yourself. Getting smashed and throwing your money in, as Holden does, is not advised.
 Holden stops by Grand Central Terminal for breakfast, where he talks with a pair of nuns. Grand Central is one of New York’s most magnificent spaces and—as anybody who has ever made the mistake of using the station as a meeting place knows—is usually chaotically crowded.
 Though he decides at the last minute not to enter the American Museum of Natural History, Holden does reminisce about the field trips he (and every child who has grown up in the New York metropolitan area) took there. The dioramas and enormous canoe he describes are still there.
 On his date with Sally, Holden goes ice-skating at Rockefeller Center. He gets quite upset at those who just stand on the side of the rink and make fun of the people who keep falling down. However, if you don’t feel like shelling out to rent skates or if you just need to experience a little schadenfreude, this can be as enjoyable a pastime as actually going on the ice.
 Holden goes home to his twelfth-floor apartment on E 71st St., near 5th Ave. The occupants probably won’t let you into their home, and the doormen probably won’t let you into the lobby, but you can freely walk the streets near Holden’s less-than-humble origins.
 Near the end of Catcher in the Rye, Holden goes to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Egyptian Wing he visits has since been completely redesigned, but the stone steps on 5th Ave. on which he meets his sister are as majestic and lofty as ever. The two of them head over to the Central Park Zoo, where you can still see the sea lions and polar bears, and then to the Carousel, where Holden ends his story.