Photo by Michelle Young

In our new weekly column, we’ll be highlighting one of our 250+ Untapped Cities contributors worldwide. First up, managing editor Laura Itzkowitz

So Laura, besides Untapped Cities, what are you up to?

I’m currently completing my MFA in creative writing and translation at Columbia. I work at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies, and I’m assisting a writer who’s working on a book about Napoleon‘s plundering of Italian art.

Favorite piece you’ve written for Untapped:

The Players Club: An Exclusive Look Inside Gramercy’s Members-Only Theater Club. It’s full of rich New York City history. I’m very sad to hear that it might get shut down.

What’s your favorite Untapped place you’ve visited while traveling? Where do you want to visit next?

Last summer, I stumbled upon an art museum in La Paz, Bolivia that was designed by Gustave Eiffel. I would love to visit Thailand and Cambodia, but first I’m planning a trip to LA.

Best Celebrity Sighting:

I’m still waiting for the day when I will lock eyes with John Hamm across a crowded bar. (John Hamm, if you’re reading this, I’ll be waiting for you at the Campbell Apartment every Wednesday at 5:30pm!)

If you could be any animal what would it be?

Black cat. Don’t cross me.

What are some of your favorite websites?

NY Times & T Magazine, The New Yorker, Guernica, Narratively, Artsy, The Culture-ist, Curbed, Atlas Obscura.

Join our community of Untapped Cities contributors around the world by contacting us here. Get in touch with Laura @lauraitzkowitz.