Every week Untapped Cities offers a variety of unique behind-the-scenes tours and events aimed to help you rediscover New York City! This week, learn about the history of gargoyles in New York City architecture, uncover the remnants of the city’s colonial past, explore an abandoned hospital and more:

Monday, October 1st

Exhibit Opening of “Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture,” an Archtober Event at the Center for Architecture

Photograph Courtesy of the Center for Architecture

Attend the opening of the exhibition, Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture at the Center for Architecture. This event is part of Archtober, a month long celebration of architecture all over New York City. Close to the Edge is comprised of work from students, academics and practitioners at the center of the emerging hip-hop architectural revolution and is curated by Sekou Cooke of Syracuse University.

If you are or become an Untapped Cities Insider, you can attend this event for free!

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Tuesday, October 2nd

“New York’s Gargoyles: The Immigrants Who Made Them and the Hunters Who Saved Them,” an Illustrated Book Talk

The Gargoyle Hunters tells the mystery of a stunningly brazen architectural heist—the theft of an entire landmark building—through the story of Griffin Watts, a thirteen-year-old boy who falls into his estranged father’s illicit architectural salvage business in 1970s Manhattan. Join The Gargoyle Hunters author John Freeman Gill and moderator, journalist, documentary filmmaker, and Untapped Cities Contributor Laurie Gwen Shapiro for an illustrated book talk at the Brooklyn Historical Society where Gill will present his extensive research into the history of New York City gargoyles.

If you are or become an Untapped Cities Insider, you can attend this event for free!

Wednesday, October 3rd

Tour The Battery, The Birthplace of New York

Tour of the modern Battery with Hope Cohen, Chief Operating Officer of The Battery Conservancy. The Battery, the birthplace of New York, is a microcosm of the diversity of New York packed into 25 acres that juts into one of the world’s great natural harbors. Now a New York City public park, this southernmost point of Manhattan has welcomed Lenape fishermen, European explorers, settlers, immigrants, and tourists from all over the globe.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Learn the history of the site and its monuments including Castle Clinton
  • Discover the physical transformation the site has undergone since 2000 including its new gardens, lawns, bikeway, and farm
  • Visit the SeaGlass Carousel
  • Take in beautiful harbor views

If you are or become an Untapped Cities Insider, you can attend this event for free!

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Saturday, October 6th

Tour of The Remnants of Dutch New Amsterdam

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.

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

Tour of The Remnants of Dutch New Amsterdam

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

Explore Ellis Island’s abandoned hospital on our behind-the-scenes hard hat tour. Once the standard for United States medical care, the 22-building hospital compound has been left to decay for nearly 60 years. On this experience, guests will visit the contagious disease wards, the autopsy rooms and other spaces usually closed to the public.
Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital

Sunday, October 7th

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

See our full lists of upcoming public tours and Untapped Cities Insider events!