Manhattanhenge is back. The New York Times reported Wednesday, May 28, 2026, that the annual solar event — when the setting sun aligns with Manhattan’s east-west street grid and floods the canyon of crosstown blocks with orange light — has returned to kick off the city’s summer season.
The phenomenon gets its name from Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument in England whose stones frame the solstice sun. In Manhattan, the effect happens because the street grid runs about 29 degrees off true north; on certain evenings in late May and mid-July, the sun drops exactly along that axis, lighting up the avenues from river to river.
The best viewing spots are typically the wide crosstown streets with unobstructed sightlines to the west — 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th streets among them — though crowds along those corridors can get heavy fast. The Times did not specify exact viewing times or dates in its coverage.
No city agency had issued any traffic or crowd advisories as of the Times’ report.
Reported by The New York Times. Read the original report.
