This week, join Untapped New York for an adventure behind-the-scenes of New York City’s most iconic landmarks and off-the-beaten path locations. Our expert, licensed guides will show you the secrets of Grand Central Station, uncover the remnants of the World’s Fairs in Queens and more! Check out all of the Untapped New York tours and events happening over the next seven days:
Tuesday, November 12th
Tour of the 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!
Tour of the Secrets of Grand Central Terminal
Book Talk: Bricks & Brownstones: The New York Row HouseÂ
How did an unassuming sandstone inspire an iconic architectural movement? When originally published in 1972, Bricks & Brownstone sparked a revival and reappraisal of New York’s brownstone architecture, serving as a harbinger for both the preservation movement and demographic shifts that would redefine Brooklyn’s brownstone belt. At the Brooklyn Historical Society, join Patrick Ciccone, coauthor of the newly updated, re-released volume, as he illustrates how a brown Triassic-Jurassic sandstone captured the imagination of nineteenth century architects and masons, and continues to define the public streetscape for countless New Yorkers today. Ciccone’s presentation will be followed by a conversation contextualizing the last five decades of brownstone communities with architectural historian Fran Leadon. If you are an Untapped New York Insider, you can joint this event for free! Not an Insider yet? Become a member today to gain access to free behind-the-scenes tours and special events all year long!
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Wednesday, November 13th
Secrets from Below: Underground Tour of the NYC Subway!
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
Saturday, November 16th
Tour the Remnants of the World’s Fairs at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
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
Tour of the Secrets of Grand Central Terminal
The story of Grand Central Terminal is that of New York City itself: the structure embodies the social, cultural, economic and technological evolution around it. It is one of great men, feuding architects, ingenuity, rejuvenation, secrets and surprises.  On this tour, we will tell you these stories – about what once was, what could have been, and what can be; about the struggle to save and restore Grand Central as a preserved icon of the past, and of challenge to ensure that it serves New York’s future. We will show you what it was like in the booming age of the railroad, as a rundown embarrassment, and as a renovated jewel at the center of the city. Together, we will explore the interesting and unique spaces produced for and by it. 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
Secrets from Below: Underground Tour of the NYC Subway!Â
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. This unique tour is designed to give a comprehensive history of the NYC Subway system, from its groundbreaking in 1901 up through the creation of the three different proprietary lines which were unified into the system we know today. We’ll uncover information and learn about spaces even the most seasoned commuter might not know about.
This tour will stop in stations that are all open to the public. 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, November 17th
Secrets of Central Park Walking Tour
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
- Hear about the massive civic project that transformed a wasteland into an urban pleasure ground
- Learn about the curious origins of the Central Park Zoo and the corruption scandal that caused a riot
- Uncover the hidden meaning in Bethesda Terrace’s sculptures and the forbidden love that inspired the park’s most famous statue
- See the secret bolt left behind from the creation of Manhattan’s street grid
- Discover the secret navigational device that keeps pedestrians from getting lost on the park’s winding paths
