SCHEDULED PUBLIC WALKING TOURS NYC - SPRING/SUMMER 2023

May 18   THURSDAY   11 AM to 1 PM

BATTERY PARK CITY — DOWNSTATE HARBOR AND UPSTATE TRAILS

MEET: Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers St., 1 block west of West St.

Replacing deserted piers along Lower Manhattan's Hudson River shoreline, Battery Park City has emerged as a remarkable living space. Its 92 acres of landfill were developed by the Battery Park City Authority, an innovative group of public and private advocates.
 
The secret of Battery Park City's success is its integration of public amenities and private initiatives in artistically-designed natural landscapes, including hills, secret paths, and glorious panoramas.
 
Highlights include:
• Parks with playfields that include dramatic vistas, hilly woodlands, and delightful yet sinister sculpture
• Poetry House, the Irish Hunger Memorial, Winter Garden, and public bathrooms galore
• Politics of the public-benefit corporation
• Environmentally state-of-the-art private spaces
 

** NEW **

May 21   SUNDAY   1 to 3 PM

SUTTON PLACE — AVANT-GUARD WOMEN CREATE NEW ENCLAVE

MEET: E. 57th St. & Sutton Place, southeast corner.

Starting in the 1920s, creative and influential women of means saw an intriguing alternative to Fifth Avenue residences. Together, Anne Morgan, Elisabeth Marbury, and Anne Vanderbilt chose to totally renovate townhouses on one far Eastside block between 57th and 58th Sts. called Sutton Place. The area had a checkered past of middle-class residences pushed out by industry and the working poor. These 3 women thoroughly changed that block, beginning the creation of the beautiful, off-the-beaten-path neighborhood of today.
 
Highlights include:
• “Amazon Enclave”
• Society women who first enter professions
• Stories of actors, writers, musicians and other creative people who chose the neighborhood
• A private road east of Sutton Place
• Small public parks facing the East River
 

May 28   SUNDAY   1 to 3 PM

CRIMES OF THE FIFTH AVENUE GOLD COAST

MEET: Fifth Ave. & E. 70 St., northeast corner.

Fraud, procuring, and murders most foul, all on the New York avenue of wealth and privilege. The American Dream and its dark side reside even on Fifth Avenue. The creation of Central Park in the 1870s destined Fifth Avenue, the park's eastern border, to become one of New York's most elegant addresses. But as the wealth moved in, so did chicanery and violence. Great historic mansions housed both perpetrators and victims, sometimes both living together.
 
Highlights include
•  American tycoons with aristocratic yearnings
•  Grandiose homes and what happened in them
•  Landmarked district one mile long
•  Private armies, criminal intent, financial skullduggery  

Our summer schedule will begin with a brand new tour—Turtle Bay & Beekman Place

** NEW **

June 4   SUNDAY   1 to 3 PM

TURTLE BAY AND BEEKMAN PLACE — TOPOGRAPHY AND POWER

MEET: E. 52nd St. & First Avenue, southwest corner.

In the far East 40’s and 50’s, Turtle Bay and Beekman Place owe some of their caché to their geography. Perched on a high hill over the East River, the property afforded great views and healthful breezes. James Beekman built his country house at the top of the slope in 1763. By 1776, the British took over the house and used it as their headquarters until the end of the Revolutionary War. Nathan Hale was condemned to die here and was hanged nearby.
 
In the 1850’s, the coming of the grid plan of numbered streets and avenues upset the bucolic setting. The picturesque cove called Turtle Bay was filled in and the area’s brownstones were converted to tenements for the working class. But in the 1920’s creative people saw residential possibilities near the river, and soon impressive new homes started to appear.
 
In addition to creative and artistic people – like Bogart and Garbo - some residents of Turtle Bay were at the pinnacle of industry and government. The publisher of Time Magazine and Life Magazine Henry Luce, mogul and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wielded much power and influence. Did it get them what they wanted? When did it not?
 
Highlights include:
• River House
• Panhellenic, a hotel built for sorority alumnae
• Amster Yard
• Turtle Bay Gardens
 

June 7   WEDNESDAY   11 AM to 1 PM

ROSE HILL OF NOMAD — WHERE’S THAT?

MEET: Redbury Hotel, 29 E. 29th St.

Rose Hill once held homes of old moneyed New Yorkers, but also included a safe house of the Underground Railroad. It was once the site of a snooty church, but just around the corner frequent assignations and colorful goings-on were part of that 1890s scene. Today you can see whole streets of stately Beaux-Arts buildings and a structure once tallest in the world. The dense vegetation of its beautiful park shields quiet space for art installations, children’s play, and a popular outdoor eatery.
 
Highlights include:
• Winston Churchill’s Iroquois ancestor
• The Southerner who became a hero of the Yankee cause in the Civil War
• A noisy gravesite
• Where Madonna got her start
• The Crime of the Century
• The announcement at dawn, “You are now the President of the United States”
 

June 11   SUNDAY  1 to 3 PM

GANGS OF NEW YORK AND THE BLOODY FIVE POINTS

MEET: The Bowery & Bayard St. (1 block south of Canal St.) northwest corner at Bank of America.

Just east of today's City Hall and Municipal Building, this was once a foul-smelling, disease-ridden district. Brought to life in the movie "Gangs of New York", it was a place of violence, gang wars, poverty, and corruption. The district evokes such places of notoriety as Paradise Square, Cow Bay, Bottle Alley, and such gangs as the Roach Guards, Plug Uglies, Shirt Tails, and Dead Rabbits.
 
Highlights include:
•  Five Points visitors — Davy Crockett, Charles Dickens, and Abraham Lincoln
•  A Five Points success story - Al Smith - Tammany Hall protégé, state governor, presidential candidate
•  The oldest Jewish graveyard in North America
•  The Roman Catholic church with Anglican, Cuban, Irish, Italian, Chinese, and Buddhist history
 

June 17   SATURDAY   1 to 3 PM

GREENWICH VILLAGE GAY AND PROUD

MEET: Sheridan Sq., 7th Ave. South & W. 4th St., southeast corner.

Greenwich Village was long a mix of elite, immigrant, and artistic populations. It was a refuge of lesbians & gay men from all walks of life nearly century before the Stonewall riots. Gays prized the anonymity & freedom of its streets, tenements, boarding houses, the relative openness of its bohemian society. This tour discusses gay individuals, organizations, clubs, bars, & entertainments.
 
Where did men congregate with men and women with women?
 
Highlights include historic:
• Entertainment venues as Café Society, the Slide, Black Rabbit, Eve Addams’s Tea Room
• Gay bars including the Bagatelle, Julius’, the Dutchess
• Activists Bayard Rustin, Elisabeth Irwin
• Playwrights Lorraine Hansberry and Larry Kramer
• Literary figures Walt Whitman, James Baldwin, Willa Cather,
• The Harvey Milk School
• Activist organizations—DOB, GAA, GLF
• LGBT Community Services Center
 

** NEW **

June 20   TUESDAY   11 AM to 1 PM

ALPHABET CITY — GARDEN CAPITAL OF MANHATTAN

MEET: 227 E. 7th St., btw Avenues C & D. Bus: M14D to E. 6th St.

Before Alphabet City became synonymous with inner city decay, it prospered adjacent to the major shipyard enterprise of William Webb on the East River. Later, well-built brownstones and townhouses were residences for prominent politicians whose presence assured the well-being of the neighborhood.
 
But by the middle of the 20th century, far from the convenience of subway service, Avenues A, B, C, and D had the reputation of meaning Aware, Beware, Caution, and Death. The neighborhood got so bad that the empty lots filled with rubble became an opportunity for the community to take up their own cause. Residents joined together for decades to clear out these garbage-strewn lots and create a series of gardens that transformed the neighborhood.
 
Today dozens of community gardens—some nearly a quarter block in size—grace the neighborhood of ethnic groups and new arrivals. Each garden has a distinct character and name. The stories of how this transformation came about cover nearly 50 years right up to today.
 
Highlights include
• "Political Row"
• Tammany Hall
• Clipper Ships & the California Gold Rush
• Homes of Charlie “Bird” Parker and Allen Ginsberg
• Community gardens with purpose
 

June 24   SATURDAY   1 to 3 PM

SUTTON PLACE — AVANT-GUARD WOMEN CREATE NEW ENCLAVE

MEET: E. 57th St. & Sutton Place, southeast corner.

Starting in the 1920s, creative and influential women of means saw an intriguing alternative to Fifth Avenue residences. Together, Anne Morgan, Elisabeth Marbury, and Anne Vanderbilt chose to totally renovate townhouses on one far Eastside block between 57th and 58th Sts. called Sutton Place. The area had a checkered past of middle-class residences pushed out by industry and the working poor. These 3 women thoroughly changed that block, beginning the creation of the beautiful, off-the-beaten-path neighborhood of today.
 
Highlights include:
• “Amazon Enclave”
• Society women who first enter professions
• Stories of actors, writers, musicians and other creative people who chose the neighborhood
• A private road east of Sutton Place
• Small public parks facing the East River
 
 

** NEW **

June 28   WEDNESDAY   11 AM to 1 PM

TURTLE BAY AND BEEKMAN PLACE — TOPOGRAPHY AND POWER

MEET: E. 52nd St. & First Avenue, southwest corner.

In the far East 40’s and 50’s, Turtle Bay and Beekman Place owe some of their caché to their geography. Perched on a high hill over the East River, the property afforded great views and healthful breezes. James Beekman built his country house at the top of the slope in 1763. By 1776, the British took over the house and used it as their headquarters until the end of the Revolutionary War. Nathan Hale was condemned to die here and was hanged nearby.
 
In the 1850’s, the coming of the grid plan of numbered streets and avenues upset the bucolic setting. The picturesque cove called Turtle Bay was filled in and the area’s brownstones were converted to tenements for the working class. But in the 1920’s creative people saw residential possibilities near the river, and soon impressive new homes started to appear.
 
In addition to creative and artistic people – like Bogart and Garbo - some residents of Turtle Bay were at the pinnacle of industry and government. The publisher of Time Magazine and Life Magazine Henry Luce, mogul and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wielded much power and influence. Did it get them what they wanted? When did it not?
 
Highlights include:
• River House
• Panhellenic, a hotel built for sorority alumnae
• Amster Yard
• Turtle Bay Gardens
 

July 2   SUNDAY   1 to 3 PM

FLAMBOYANT AND BOHEMIAN — GREENWICH VILLAGE AND HOW IT BECAME FAMOUS

MEET: Washington Sq. Arch, Fifth Ave., 1 block south of 8th St.

In its earliest years Greenwich Village was a refuge from the yellow fever epidemic downtown. By the early 20th century, the Village had become home to artists, writers, and playwrights looking for an unconventional environment and creative freedom. Protesters came here in their struggles for the vote for women, better working conditions, opposition to war, and gay and feminist rights.
 
Highlights include:
•  The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the labor movement
•  Literary figures — Henry James, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Willa Cather, Eugene O'Neill
•  Mabel Dodge’s salon and her shocking guests
•  19th century residential architecture as a social document
•  The Minetta trout stream and street design
•  Landmarking and preservation controversies
 

** NEW **

July 9   SUNDAY   1 to 3 PM

ALPHABET CITY — GARDEN CAPITAL OF MANHATTAN

MEET: 227 E. 7th St., btw Avenues C & D. Bus: M14D to E. 6th St.

Before Alphabet City became synonymous with inner city decay, it prospered adjacent to the major shipyard enterprise of William Webb on the East River. Later, well-built brownstones and townhouses were residences for prominent politicians whose presence assured the well-being of the neighborhood.
 
But by the middle of the 20th century, far from the convenience of subway service, Avenues A, B, C, and D had the reputation of meaning Aware, Beware, Caution, and Death. The neighborhood got so bad that the empty lots filled with rubble became an opportunity for the community to take up their own cause. Residents joined together for decades to clear out these garbage-strewn lots and create a series of gardens that transformed the neighborhood.
 
Today dozens of community gardens—some nearly a quarter block in size—grace the neighborhood of ethnic groups and new arrivals. Each garden has a distinct character and name. The stories of how this transformation came about cover nearly 50 years right up to today.
 
Highlights include
• "Political Row"
• Tammany Hall
• Clipper Ships & the California Gold Rush
• Homes of Charlie “Bird” Parker and Allen Ginsberg
• Community gardens with purpose
 

** NEW **

July 16   SUNDAY   1 to 3:30 PM

HARLEM HISTORY WALK — MEDLEY OF ARCHITECTURE, SUGAR HILL ACHIEVERS, AND SCHOMBERG’S DREAM

MEET: City College, 138th St. & Amsterdam Ave. Subway: #1 train to 137th St. station; walk to 138th St., then 1 block up the 138th St. hill.

In the 1880s, the new elevated railroad converted Harlem from a rural district into tracts of beautiful homes for wealthy New Yorkers. By the 1920s, downtown development and the new subway changed the neighborhood into one of the nation's most famous African-American communities.
 
Highlights of the tour include:
• The birth of jazz and sites of the artistic and literary Harlem Renaissance
• Alexander Hamilton's last home
• Strivers Row, Sugar Hill, and Hamilton Heights
• Abyssinian Baptist Church
• One of world's greatest collections dedicated to the study of black culture
 

** NEW **

July 22   SATURDAY   1 to 3 PM

TURTLE BAY AND BEEKMAN PLACE — TOPOGRAPHY AND POWER

MEET: E 52nd St. & First Avenue, southwest corner.

In the far East 40’s and 50’s, Turtle Bay and Beekman Place owe some of their caché to their geography. Perched on a high hill over the East River, the property afforded great views and healthful breezes. James Beekman built his country house at the top of the slope in 1763. By 1776, the British took over the house and used it as their headquarters until the end of the Revolutionary War. Nathan Hale was condemned to die here and was hanged nearby.
 
In the 1850’s, the coming of the grid plan of numbered streets and avenues upset the bucolic setting. The picturesque cove called Turtle Bay was filled in and the area’s brownstones were converted to tenements for the working class. But in the 1920’s creative people saw residential possibilities near the river, and soon impressive new homes started to appear.
 
In addition to creative and artistic people – like Bogart and Garbo - some residents of Turtle Bay were at the pinnacle of industry and government. The publisher of Time Magazine and Life Magazine Henry Luce, mogul and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wielded much power and influence. Did it get them what they wanted? When did it not?
 
Highlights include:
• River House
• Panhellenic, a hotel built for sorority alumnae
• Amster Yard
• Turtle Bay Gardens
 

July 29   SATURDAY   1 to 3 PM

THE GILDED AGE — GRANDIOSE YEARNINGS FROM UNTAXED EARNINGS

MEET: 78th St. & Madison Ave., southwest corner.

Rivalry between "old money" & "new money" filled the gossip pages of the Gilded Age newspapers. Old money dated from Dutch & British colonial times; new money flowed from the industrialization beginning with the Civil War.
 
The HBO series "The Gilded Age" presents a "new money" family - the Russells - and their disruptive attacks on "old money" Society. Joining this tour you will learn whom the Russells portray.
 
Between 78th Street and 86th Street, Fifth Avenue still has a concentration of formidable Gilded Age mansions. The industrial age moguls who built these city chateaux were vying to outdo one another & flaunting their wealth & worthiness for all to see. Women of the new-monied class competed for social standing with clothing, parties, and aristocratic connections.
 
Highlights of the tour:
• Vanderbilts, Astors, and Guggenheims
• "Poor little rich girl"
• Architectural masterpieces by C.P.H.Gilbert, Stanford White and Richard Morris Hunt
• "Dollar princesses"
• The Age of Shoddy
• H.M.S. Titanic
 

August 6   SUNDAY   1 to 3 PM

SUTTON PLACE — AVANT-GUARD WOMEN CREATE NEW ENCLAVE

MEET: E. 57th St. & Sutton Place, southeast corner.

Starting in the 1920s, creative and influential women of means saw an intriguing alternative to Fifth Avenue residences. Together, Anne Morgan, Elisabeth Marbury, and Anne Vanderbilt chose to totally renovate townhouses on one far Eastside block between 57th and 58th Sts. called Sutton Place. The area had a checkered past of middle-class residences pushed out by industry and the working poor. These 3 women thoroughly changed that block, beginning the creation of the beautiful, off-the-beaten-path neighborhood of today.
 
Highlights include:
• “Amazon Enclave”
• Society women who first enter professions
• Stories of actors, writers, musicians and other creative people who chose the neighborhood
• A private road east of Sutton Place
• Small public parks facing the East River
 
 

August 12   SATURDAY   1 to 3 PM

ROSE HILL OF NOMAD — WHERE’S THAT?

MEET: Redbury Hotel, 29 E. 29th St.

Rose Hill once held homes of old moneyed New Yorkers, but also included a safe house of the Underground Railroad. It was once the site of a snooty church, but just around the corner frequent assignations and colorful goings-on were part of that 1890s scene. Today you can see whole streets of stately Beaux-Arts buildings and a structure once tallest in the world. The dense vegetation of its beautiful park shields quiet space for art installations, children’s play, and a popular outdoor eatery.
 
Highlights include:
• Winston Churchill’s Iroquois ancestor
• The Southerner who became a hero of the Yankee cause in the Civil War
• A noisy gravesite
• Where Madonna got her start
• The Crime of the Century
• The announcement at dawn, “You are now the President of the United States”