Vintage 1970s Photos Show Lost Sites of NYC's Lower East Side
A quest to find his grandmother's birthplace led Richard Marc Sakols on a mission to capture his changing neighborhood on film.
Every month Untapped Cities Insiders get to explore New York City through exclusive behind-the-scenes tours and exciting events hosted by the city’s leading cultural institutions like our partners The Museum of the City of New York and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Recently, Insiders gained exclusive access inside the construction site of the long abandoned Times Square Theater (the last of the historic theaters on 42nd street to be renovated), were guided through an exhibition of antique maps at by antique map expert James Roy, and took a behind-the-scenes tour of Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park inside the historic Pavilion Theater with Nitehawk founder Matthew Viragh. You join us on our next adventure by becoming a member today! Check out all of the events taking place this coming April:
Tour the historic Federal Hall, a landmarked building that stands at the site of the nation’s first Congress and where George Washington was sworn in as America’s first president. On this Ranger guided tour, Insiders will learn about the site from before the current building’s construction through to the story of the museum and memorial that exist today. The current structure, a historic Customs House, later served as part of the US Sub-Treasury and is now a National Historic Site where people can learn about our first President and the beginnings of the United States of America.
BOOKED OUT – Get on the waitlist here!
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Courtesy of the Oddities Flea Market
Gain exclusive access to VIP tickets for the Oddities Flea Market Rites of Spring. Doors will open early only for VIP ticket holders so you can skip the lines, avoid the crowds, and get first dibs on all of the eclectic and unusual items for sale. Curated by Ryan and Regina Cohn, the market features a unique mix of vendors from all across the country, offering goods like medical history ephemera, anatomical curiosities, natural history items, osteological specimens, taxidermy, obscure home decor, jewelry, one of a kind dark art and more.
BOOKED OUT – Get on the waitlist here!
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Courtesy of the Oddities Flea Market
After a morning of shopping for peculiar wares at the Oddities Flea Market, continue celebrating all things odd and unusual with a curated night of music and dark performances at Atlas Obscura’s Official Oddities Flea Market After Party. The party will take place at a multi-floor former banquet hall in Brooklyn and feature performances by noise rock saboteurs A Place To Bury Strangers, horror score composer Mark Korven with an instrument of his own creation, The Apprehension Engine, and bewitching chantreuse SPELLLING. There will also be a spirit photography photo booth, dark dance DJs, and more to keep you entertained late into the night and a door-prize raffle with a chance to win weird and wonderful prizes by featured Oddities Flea Market vendors!
BOOKED OUT – Get on the waitlist here!
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Photograph by Jon Ortner, Courtesy of United Palace
United Palace of Spiritual Arts (UPSA) is celebrating 50 years inside the historic Loew’s 175th Street Theatre with a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s epic 1969 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the last movie to be shown at the theater in the year it was acquired by the UPSA. Untapped Cities Insiders are invited to take part in this special screening which will be preceded by a live theatre organ performance and followed by a Spiritual Artistry Celebration with UPSA Board Chair Jean Houston, Ph.D. and music by inspirational singer/songwriter Karen Drucker! One lucky Insider can also win a pair of tickets to the on-stage After-Party that will follow the ceremony. There will be hors d’oeuvres and drinks served at the after party.
Enter to win a pair of tickets to the film screening PLUS a post-screening After-Party that will take place on the stage of the theater at 5:30PM! ($69 for the general public)
Screening tickets are booked out – Get on the waitlist here!
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Join a conversation on artists taking action at the Brooklyn Historical Society. Hear how artists, often deemed harbingers of gentrification and neighborhood rebranding, are taking charge of their communities’ future by bringing attention to economic pressures and pushing for protections for long-term residents. Speakers include Arts East NY Founder and Executive Director Catherine Green, author of How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood Peter Moskowitz, and artist William Powhida.
REGISTRATION: Opens Tuesday, March 26th, 2019 at 12:00PM EST
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Michael Grimm for the Times Square Alliance
Join Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins for a tour through Times Square with a focus on the area’s design, architecture, history, and innovation of public space. From historic Broadway theaters to the flashy electronic billboards that light up this iconic district, tour participants will get an inside perspective on how the neighborhood has changed over the years and what the future may hold. The tour will begin in the Times Square Alliance offices and then take to the streets to explore Times Square in a whole new way.
REGISTRATION: Tuesday, March 26th at 12 PM EST
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Photograph by Carly Hoogendyk, Courtesy of Caveat
Can you tell the difference between a secret and a lie when it involves New York City history? This month, five talent storytellers are spinning tales about money. Corruption! Extortion! Bribery! Organized crime! Greed! As you are dazzled with secrets of our shining city’s past, there’s a catch: one of the storytellers has completely fabricated their story. Can you spot the lie that’s just too scandalous to be true? If so, there is a big, beautiful prize with your name on it from Untapped Cities.
REGISTRATION: Tuesday, March 26th at 12 PM EST [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 EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders/’][/mepr-hide][mepr-show if=”rule: 518546″][uc_insider_button title=’UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders’][/mepr-show]
Spend an evening with George Chauncey, author of the trailblazing book Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. Chauncey’s book shattered the myth that gay life existed only in the closet before the 1960s. In this presentation Chauncey, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, goes beyond the material covered in his book to examine New York City’s post-war gay culture and politics. This event is presented in connection with the the Brooklyn Historical Society’s current exhibition On the (Queer) Waterfront.
REGISTRATION: Opens Monday, April 1st, 2019 at 12:00PM EST
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Visit The Living Museum in Queens, an extensive exhibition of art created by patients of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center who are using art as therapy. The Living Museum contains an eclectic mix of work from over 60 artists inside what was once the cafeteria building of Creedmoor’s sprawling, over 100-year old campus. At the museum, Insiders will hear from Rachel Fawn Alban, a New York City photographer and arts educator with a background in art therapy, and Lois Stavsky of Street Art NYC and Art BreakOUT, who have been working together to document the art and getting to know the artists working within the museum.
REGISTRATION: Opens Thursday, April 4th at 12:00PM EST [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]
Join Untapped Cities founders Michelle Young and Augustin Pasquet to celebrate the launch of the second edition of their book Secret Brooklyn at the Montauk Club. Inside the exquisite Gilded Age club, the authors will give a presentation and sign copies of their new book which reveals even more unusual and hidden treasures to discover around the borough. Additional authors presenting at the launch to be announced.
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View of the Rose Reading Room from the catwalk
Join curator Carolyn Vega and Director of Special Collections Declan Kiely for an inside look at the extensive historical collections of the New York Public Library. Untapped Cities Insiders will step into The Berg Collection Room, a space usually only open to researchers, to view rare pieces from the library’s collections of 46 million items housed at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Some of the items seen will be on display in the library’s forthcoming Treasures exhibition. Insiders will go into the stunning Rose Reading Room where you will get to see the famous book train in action and walk atop the catwalk – an area that is off-limits to the public – for an amazing view of the space. This visit will be the first of many unique experiences to come as we kick off our partnership with the New York Public Library!
REGISTRATION: Opens Monday, April 15th at 12:00PM EST
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