Every week Untapped Cities offers exciting behind-the-scenes tours and access to events all over New York City! Whether exploring an iconic building you’ve passed through countless times, or visiting someplace new, you are sure to discover something surprising. Check out what experiences are happening  this week:

Monday, September 17th

Tour the Modernist Architecture of Four Freedoms Park

Photograph Courtesy of Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park

Explore the design philosophy and work of modernist architect Louis Kahn at a special tour of FDR Four Freedoms Park. This tour, led by Stephen Martin, a member of the original Four Freedoms construction team, will cover the 40-year history of FDR Four Freedoms State Park, from its original conception and design in 1973 to its construction and completion in 2012, Kahn’s posthumously completed design for the FDR memorial, and issues surrounding public memorialization.
If you are or become an Untapped Cities Insider, you can join this tour for free!
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Tuesday, September 18th

Madame Morbid’s “Death Becomes Her” Presented by Caveat

Photograph by Heather Schnell

Join Allison Huntington Chase, aka Madame Morbid, and a group of talented storytellers, writers and comedians for a night of story telling at Caveat. Be regaled with tales of the storytellers’ favorite deadly women. There will also be trivia with prizes that include two pairs of tickets for Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours and two copies of Tori Telfer’s book, Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History!
If you are or become an Untapped Cities Insider, you can attend this event for free!
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Thursday, September 20th

Why Your Train is F*cked: A Love/Hate Show About the History of the MTA Presented by Caveat

Photograph by Carly Hoogendyk, Courtesy of Caveat 

Hop aboard for a deep dive into the history of the MTA with the fourth installment of Why Your Train is F*cked, presented by Caveat. Hosts Meg Pierson (TEDx, Alchemy Comedy) and Justin Williams (City College, SirusXM), along with a mysterious anonymous ghostwriter (who is a city employee), will conduct the show through the twists and turns of history; revealing unbelievable stories, subway life-hacks, and truly upsetting details about our subway system. This month, Pierson and Williams will be joined by architect and graphic designer Candy Chan. Chan is the creator of Project Subway NYC, a home to her intricate 3D visualizations of the city’s subway stations (and trivia, sketches, and photographs).
If you are or become an Untapped Cities Insider, you can attend this event for free!
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Saturday, September 22nd

Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital Complex


TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Explore the over 100-year-old contagious disease hospital, which has been abandoned since 1954
  • See an exhibition by the world-renowned artist JR, who has placed life-sized historic photographs of Ellis Island immigrants on interior walls of the hospital buildings
  • Visit the Laundry Building, where 3000+ pieces of laundry were washed and sanitized daily
  • Discover the kitchen, autopsy room and other usually off-limits places
  • Get special access inside the original morgue and long abandoned FBI offices

Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital

Secrets of Grand Central Terminal


TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Learn about the secrets of one of NYC’s most iconic buildings
  • See Grand Central’s hidden tennis courts
  • Peek into the entrance of the glass walkways
  • Learn about the design flaw as large as Grand Central Terminal‘s main atrium
  • Discover a multi-million dollars jewel hidden in plain sight and more!

Discover what Grand Central Terminal was like in the booming age of the railroad, as a rundown embarrassment, and as a renovated jewel at the center of the city. Whether you pass through it every day on your morning commute or stroll through the Beaux Arts beauty for the first time, you are sure to leave having learned, seen, or experienced something new and extraordinary.
Tour of the Secrets of Grand Central Terminal

Sunday, September 23rd

Tour of The Remnants of Dutch New Amsterdam

Photograph by Untapped Cities

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Walk the city’s original coast line
  • See the remains of Manhattan’s first City Hall
  • Discover the original Dutch fort, wind mill and battery
  • Trace the streets of Manhattan in 1667 with Manhattan’s first map in hand
  • Physically touch history as we spend time finding out why Bowling Green has its name and why it’s been so important in our city’s history

At first glance, it might seem like there’s not much left of Dutch New Amsterdam, but there’s much more than meets the eye. This includes the massive one hidden in plain sight: the original street grid embedded in lower Manhattan grid today. Discover the many hidden Dutch relics south of Wall Street, as you trace the streets of Manhattan in 1667. You’ll hear about New York’s founding myths and facts while standing in the very spots they all happened.

Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital Complex


The abandoned Ellis Island Hospital complex—once the standard for United States medical care (and later transformed to the FBI headquarters when the island served as a detention center)—has been left to decay for nearly 60 years. Now, Untapped Cities is bringing you behind-the-scenes for a unique exploration of the abandoned facility; on this experience, you’ll visit the contagious disease wards, the autopsy rooms and have exclusive access to places usually closed to the public. Join us for our upcoming hard hat tour, guided by a Save Ellis Island docent, where we’ll uncover its many, buried secrets.
Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital
Check out our full lists of public tours and Insider events!