Entry No. 28 — the New York City file — filed under: outdoor

The Sisyphus Stones

Albanian-born artist Uliks Gryka has been stacking shards of glittering Manhattan schist into precarious, human-shaped figures along the Hudson shoreline in Fort Washington Park since July 2017. At its peak the installation held around 300 standing figures, each a balanced stack of stones with a body, head, and "hat" — some individual rocks weighing up to 300 pounds. Gryka rebuilds them constantly after storms, tides, vandals, and riverbank repairs knock them down, an endless task that gives the project its Sisyphean name. Hand-lettered signs note the stones are neither glued nor cemented, held up by nothing but balance.

The move: Walk the greenway under the George Washington Bridge at golden hour and play the game of guessing which gravity-defying stack will still be standing next visit.

📍 Before you go These are constantly rebuilt and occasionally knocked down by weather or river work; the field's size and exact spot shifts. Best in dry, calm conditions.

• 📍 Washington Heights, Manhattan
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: Hudson River Greenway, Fort Washington Park, near W 165th St, New York, NY

Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.

⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-23