This year’s Open House New York is coming up the weekend of October 11th and 12th–and we’re not the only ones getting excited for this year’s events at some of our favorite New York City locations. Every year, the country’s largest architecture and design event puts on an impressive number of great events to educate the public about architecture and design culture in NYC. Our favorite OHNY events are the tours of locations that are usually closed to the public and although not all have been announced quite yet, we’ve highlighted 16 locations so far that you should check out:
We know that some of our favorite locations are being reopened for OHNY tours this year. These include:
1. TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport
Tours of architect Eero Saarinen’s rarely open TWA Flight Center will be given on Saturday, October 11th. Check it out before it gets converted into a hotel. See our interior photographs here.
2. The Brooklyn Army Terminal
The Brooklyn Army Terminal, where Cass Gilbert’s iconic balconies and atrium can be seen during tours by Turnstile Tours of the country’s largest military supply base through World War II. Get tickets to our specially curated tour of the BAT here.
3. The Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard, the urban industrial park that has served as a model for the 21st Century.
4. The Four Seasons Restaurant
The Four Seasons Restaurant, the high end restaurant in the Seagram building will be open for tours, although the famous Picasso tapestry has already been moved out.
5. The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass
The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, with exclusive tours of Dr. Neustadt’s private collection of Tiffany lamps and windows.
6. The Woolworth Building
The Woolworth Building, with a tour of the wonderful lobby open with advance reservations. Get a confirmed tour by joining our exclusive Untapped Cities tours of the Woolworth Building this fall.
In addition to our favorites, OHNY has released a few locations and tours new this year:
7. The Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory
The Eberhard Faber pencil factory, where architect Ole Sondresen will give an informational tour of the design and construction process of the landmarked Greenpoint factory.
8. The Weeksville Heritage Center
The Weeksville Heritage Center, where Caples Jefferson architects will show the new Crown Heights Heritage Center and will discuss the symbolism of the building.
9. The East River Esplanade
East River Esplanade, where a walking tour by CIVITAS and Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects will be given out of doors.
10. Newtown Creek
Newtown Creek, where ExxonMobil will provide a tour of remediation efforts being implemented in the water between Brooklyn and Queens.
11. Sugar Hill, Harlem
Sugar Hill, where the Sugar Hill Project in Harlem will be explained by architect David Adjaye.
12. PS 109, Harlem
PS 109, where an abandoned Harlem public school has been converted into El Barrio’s Artspace.
13. United NationsR
United Nations Campus, where renovations are currently underway.
14. Great Hall at the New York Hall of Science
The Great Hall of the New York Hall of Science, built for the World’s Fair (1964-65) in Flushing-Meadows Corona Park where a curious space has been recently restored by Ennead Architects.
15. Solar Roofpod at Spitzer School of Architecture
The Solar Roofpod at Spitzer School of Architecture, where students have created a sustainable multi-purpose facility for the 2011 Solar Decathlon.
16. Empire Stores, DUMBO
Photo by Laura Itzkowitz for Untapped Cities
Empire Stores in DUMBO, where the abandoned stores are undergoing a makeover.
17. Barbarian Group Office
Barbarian Group office, where Barbarian Group now has 4,400 square feet of “superdesk” in quite the unique workspace.
18. NYC Micro-dwelling
NYC’s favorite micro-dwelling, where a tour will take you inside an impressive 425-square foot space.
19. Williamsburgh Savings Bank
Williamsburgh Savings bank, a tour of the beautifully remodeled bank space to become Weylin B. Seymour’s event space.
20. Battery Weed
Battery Weed, an incredibly preserved structure at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, from which the New York Harbor can be seen.
21. Sims Material Recovery Facility in Sunset Park
Sims Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility by Selldorf Architects is a new waterfront park where recycling of metal, glass, and plastic can be seen by the public.
22. Factories of the 5 Boroughs
Factory Friday, an event on October 10th touring 8 factories including the Organic Food Incubator (Long Island City), the Ferra Designs metal fabricators (Brooklyn Navy Yard), and M & S Schmalberg silk flower makers (Garment District).
OHNY is also giving night tours for the first time, showing how different ways of lighting cityscapes changes our experience. These tours will include the 9/11 Memorial and the High Line which are typically closed at night. The complete list of locations and tours for OHNY Weekend 2014 that will be available on September 30th!