Explore some of New York City’s most iconic and little known locations on an expert led behind-the-scenes tour from Untapped Cities! Every week we offer exciting experiences designed to help you rediscover your city. From roaming the halls of an abandoned hospital to uncovering the secrets of the New York City subway system, check out everything going on this week:

Tuesday, January 29th

Drawing Codes Curator Walkthrough and Roundtable at The Cooper Union

John Szot, Large Format Drawing for the Purpose of Greater Understanding #2, Image Courtesy of The Cooper Union

Explore how emerging design and production technologies impact the ways in which architects engage with traditional practices of architectural drawing at a Gallery Roundtable for the The Cooper Union’s new exhibit Drawing Codes. If you are an Untapped Cities Insider, you can join the curators and the Dean of The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture on a guided walkthrough of the exhibit before the roundtable! The exhibit consists of 24 experimental drawings commissioned for the exhibition by firms such as Aranda\Lasch, Höweler + Yoon, and Outpost Office. This exhibit is the second volume in a series organized by the CCA Digital Craft Lab.

[mepr-show if=”rule: 518547″][uc_booking_button title=’Book Now’][/mepr-show][mepr-hide if=”rule: 518545″][uc_insider_button title=’BECOME A MEMBER TO JOIN THIS TOUR FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders/’][/mepr-hide][mepr-show if=”rule: 518546″][uc_insider_button title=’UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO JOIN THIS TOUR FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders’][/mepr-show]

Saturday, February 2nd

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

Underground Tour of the NYC Subway

Photograph Courtesy of Jochen Enderlin 

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Explore City Hall Park as the birthplace of the NYC subway system, including elements of the famed, decommissioned City Hall Station you can see right in the park
  • Learn about the comically short route of the mythical “Subway before the Subway,” Alfred Ely Beach’s Pneumatic Transit System
  • See the architectural ghosts of the now nearly forgotten, and partially abandoned, Chambers Street station then nicknamed the “Grand Central of Downtown”
  • Use the 6 train as your own time machine as you ride through abandoned subway stations
  • Discover the remnants of Union Station as you learn about a hidden art installation thousands of riders walk by everyday

Underground Tour of the NYC Subway

Sunday, February 3rd

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

See all upcoming Untapped Cities Public Tours and Insider Events!