Every week Untapped Cities offers a variety of unique behind-the-scenes tours and events aimed to help you rediscover New York City! Whether you want to explore somewhere you have never been, get the inside scoop on a new museum exhibit, or discover the inside of historic building you may pass everyday, you can do it this week on an Untapped Cities adventure:
Monday, September 24th
MCNY Curator Walkthrough of “Germ City: Microbes and The Metropolis”
Join Untapped Cities Insiders for a curator led walkthrough of “Germ City: Microbes and The Metropolis,” the newest exhibition the Museum of the City of New York. Germ City explores the complex story of New York’s long battle against infectious disease—a fight involving government, urban planners, medical professionals, businesses, and activists. At this hybrid gallery and library visitors can view historical artifacts alongside contemporary artworks created for the exhibition, delve into the exhibition’s themes with a curated selection of books, and access a wide range of perspectives through digital tools.
You can join this tour if you are or become an Untapped Cities Insider!
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Tuesday, September 25th
Special Access Tour of the Woolworth Building
Go inside the historic Woolworth Building on our Special Access Tour! On this tour, guests will gain entry to the landmarked building – which is usually closed off to the general public – to learn its history, explore the cathedral-like lobby, see the intricate mosaic ceiling up-close on the mezzanine level, and peek inside the cellar-level bank vault.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
- Special Access inside the Woolworth Building, which is normally off-limits to the public
- Learn about the history of the building, how it was created and has been restored over the years
- Visit the spectacular “cathedral-esque” lobby and mezzanine of the building, nicknamed the “Cathedral of Commerce”
- Explore the cellar level where you will see an abandoned bank vault and entrances that once had direct access to the NYC subway
- Contemplate many Art Deco details including the gorgeous mailboxes and elevators
Insider Tour of the Woolworth Building
Saturday, September 29th
Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital
Underground Tour of the New York City Subway System
Take a ride through the living history of the world’s largest rapid transit system (in area) by weaving in and out of the past and present transit hubs of lower Manhattan. We’ll uncover information and learn about spaces even the most seasoned commuter might not know about. Using the 6 train as our own ten-car time machine, we will ride through and see three abandoned ghost stations that 4, 5, and 6 riders unknowingly pass through everyday: Worth Street and the famed City Hall Station. We will not stop inside these stations.
Underground Tour of the NYC Subway
Sunday, September 30th
Tour the Remnants of the World’s Fairs at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park has lived many lives from marshy tidal wetlands to an early 20th Century ash dump, to the site of not one, but two World’s Fairs. This tour explores the past, present, and future of this 900 acre park which was an obsession of the late “Master Builder,” Robert Moses. Join playwright, author, and Untapped Cities Tour guide, Justin Rivers as he leads you on a journey through Flushing Meadows’ many treasures including hidden time capsules, the Fountain of the Planets, the Unisphere, and the historic New York State Pavilion.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
- Discover the hidden-in-plain-sight remnants of the 1939/40 and 1964/65 World’s Fairs with playwright and Untapped Cities tour guide, Justin Rivers
- Visit the monument to a 5000-year time capsule
- View the original guidebooks from each of the World’s Fairs
- Get a comprehensive history of the past, present, and future of Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, with Insider information from our partners involved with the preservation of the New York State Pavilion
- Each guest will receive reproductions of World’s Fair Maps from both 1939 and 1964
Tour the Remnants of the World’s Fairs at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital
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
“Illegal Ink: The Bizarre Story of NYC’s Tattoo Ban” Presented by Caveat
Hear stories of New York City’s tattoo ban, which lasted from 1961-1997, as told by five New York historians and tattoo artists at Caveat’s “Illegal Ink: The bizarre story of NYC’s Tattoo Ban.” Speakers will include local tattoo shop owners like Mehai Bakaty, owner of Fineline Tattoo, and author Efrain John Gonzalez. “Illegal Ink” is part of Caveat’s ever changing line-up of “intelligent nightlife” presented at the Lower East Side speakeasy.
If you are or become an Untapped Cities Insider, you can attend this event for free!
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See our full lists of upcoming public tours and Untapped Cities Insider events!