1. New York Talking Statues

Mahatma Gandhi at 10 Union Square West

New York Talking Statues launched this past summer at the New York Historical Society’s West 77th street entrance. The project lets you hear the stories behind 35 famous statues around New York City honoring notable people from Shakespeare to Frederick Douglass.

Here’s how it works: You can scope out the locations of all 35 statues on this map. Next to each statue is a sign with a QR code, which you can then scan on your smartphone. You’ll need Internet access and a QR code scanning app to do this. (If you don’t have one, you can download an app for free.) As an alternative, you can also type the web address on the sign into your smartphone’s browser, which will also initiate the process. After scanning the code, you’ll get a “call” from the statue. You can then listen to pre-recorded speech right from your phone, lasting about 90 seconds. Each recording was written by a modern author and voiced by an actor.

Take your own Untapped adventure this month with an Insider Tour of the Members Only Players Club or go Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital. In closing, we would like to wish a Happy 50th Birthday to one of our favorite art installations, the Astor Place Cube “Alamo.” Get in touch with the author at AFineLyne.