"Castle Gardens" in IN THE HEIGHTS

I googled it once and found that it's a place where there are all sorts of immigration records.

But you may want to hear the answer from a NYC resident.

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Thanks, Spork. I think I found the same google link. But something tells me that's not really the kinda place two teenagers in love would want to go for a date. . . . I don't know.

And true confessions? I think the first time I saw ITH, I thought she was refering to a hamburger joint. (White Castle?) But I'm loco sometimes like that!

AWESOME! THANKS TOODARNHOT!

(Yeah, I know it's not in WaHi, but maybe that's where Nina and Benny got it on when they were in high school. We used to drive an hour+ to a makeout spot out in California when I was their age.)

I thought it was implied that Benny and Nina had not hooked up before? That she was shy and they ran in different circles.

Um- not that I think this "In the Heights scavenger hunt" is cool (...take a picture of you with a wise old Abuela? really??), but I thought 'Castle Garden' just meant the garden at Castle Village in Washington Heights?

Thanks for the answer! That makes much more sense.

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^You ****in' kidding me? Take a xanax.

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Hey BroadwayChica:

Thanks so much for your comments, and to all who have contributed to this thread.

And you're absolutely right. I totally agree with you. Washington Heights is not a tourist attraction. The people there are real, they are not Mickey Mouse characters, and shouldn't be treated as such.

But I'm not kidding about our scavenger hunt. We're doing it as a way of appreciating and celebrating what the neighborhood has to offer, not as a way of disrespecting it. And I trust that the group of people that are coming will see it that way. (In other words, there will be no childish running-down of little old ladies on the streets just to get a photo.)

My sincere apologies if you feel this is offensive and/or condescending.

Thanks, jordangirl. Your comments make perfect sense.

I just spoke with my co-organizer, and it's now official: any scavenger hunt items involving people have been stricken from the list. We're only doing objects (e.g., piragua) and places (e.g., "Castle Garden," which, thanks to all of you, has found its way back on the list!!!)

. . . Funny, though, when we did this with RENT a few years ago, there wasn't a drag queen in the East Village who objected to us taking pictures with them . . .

But I can totally see the difference here.

And thanks again, BroadwayChica, for bringing it to our attention. The respect you have for your own heritage and people is really admirable.

Updated On: 8/9/08 at 08:25 PM

I'm still not sure I see the point of a ITH scavenger hunt?

Thanks, FrontRow!

And TooDarnHot, my friends and I have been doing these scavenger hunts based on movies and Broadway shows since we were teenagers. The first one started almost 10 years ago. (But I must admit, I respectfully declined the latest "Sex in the City" hunt.)

So what's the point?

Well, off the top of my head, I'd say we do them for three reasons:

1) to pay homage/show respect to the movie/musical; to see that everything is real, actually exists, and has not just been created for the stage and screen

2) to make the experience of the movie/musical more meaningful and tactile . . . for instance, it's one thing hearing the piragua guy sing about having "mamey, but just for today," but actually tasting it is another thing altogether

3) to have fun exploring a place that you otherwise might have overlooked in passing

Today, I think we're going to accomplish all three. I'm also glad because 1) we're doing this during the summer (which, as you know, is the setting of ITH - too bad its not "the hottest day"), and 2) because it's Dominican Pride Day (which means most of the actual residents of WaHi are going to be at the parade in midtown - less foot traffic for us to deal with, but a whole lot of festivities/decorations around for us to enjoy!)

Peace, people.

Thanks again for all your help!