This week, Untapped New York is thrilled to host a Trivia Night with the Gotham Center for New York History where we’ll be giving away $1,000 in prizes that include Untapped New York gift cards, Insiders memberships, New York City-themed books, and GothamEd online courses! You can also explore New York City with us as we eat our way through the Lower East Side, use the subway as a time machine, meet an artist who makes mini NYC street scenes, and more.
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Wednesday, May 17th – Go Inside the Exclusive Clubhouse of The Players
Find out why there are human skulls inside this home of one of the oldest social clubs in New York City. Located on Gramercy Park in a building renovated by Standford White, The Players was founded by renowned Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth. Learn about the club’s famous roster of members and see Booth’s perfectly preserved rooms on this exclusive free tour for Untapped New York Insiders.
Thursday, May 18th – Making NYC Miniatures with Danny Cortes
In this live virtual talk with Brooklyn-based artist Daniel Cortes, viewers will virtually step inside his studio for a look behind-the-scenes at how he creates hyper-realistic miniature models that bring to life the urban landscape of the city. Cortes’ work is influenced by his childhood years as well as the 90s era in New York. Every gum stain, sticker, and rust-worn gate tells a story. This virtual event is free for Untapped New York Insiders.
Thursday, May 18th – @giselle Ballet Performance
Attend a performance of @giselle, a technology-driven, contemporary interpretation of the beloved romantic ballet classic at The Gerald W Lynch Theater in New York City. Directed and choreographed by Joshua Beamish/MOVE THE COMPANY, the modern reimagining of the romantic classic ballet @giselle explores the connections between the original ballet with modern relationships. Untapped New York Insiders can register for free tickets!
Friday, May 19th – Secrets of Rockefeller Center Tour
On this tour, you’ll uncover the hidden gems of one of NYC’s most popular landmarks. Walk through a lobby covered in gold, find out where there is a sterling silver model airplane made by the Cartier, and peer into a secret portal that ceremoniously marks the completion of Rockefeller Center’s construction (and is signed by John D. Rockefeller himself). These NYC walking tours are offered every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
Saturday, May 20th -Secrets of the Lower East Side Tasting Tour
Join long-time Lower East Side resident Richard Soden for a food-filled tour of the Lower East Side! On this tour, you’ll explore synagogues of the Lower East Side that have been repurposed into art galleries, churches, and event spaces as well as bathhouses, restaurants, movie theaters, and more. As you walk the streets of what was once one of the most densely populated districts in the world, you’ll nibble on traditional Jewish foods and treats from one of NYC’s oldest candy stores!
Saturday, May 20th – Ellis Island Hard Hat Tour
On this tour led by a Save Ellis Island docent, you’ll don a hard hat and enter the abandoned hospital complex on the island’s south side. Once the standard for United States medical care, the facility was later transformed into a US Coast Guard base and FBI detention center. This exclusive behind-the-scenes tour will take you into areas usually off limits to the public including the laundry building, contagious disease wards, autopsy room, and more! As you explore, you will see larger-than-life historical images of immigrants pasted on the walls, part of artist JR’s exhibition, “Unframed- Ellis Island.” This tour is offered every Saturday and select Sundays.
Saturday, May 20th – Underground Subway Tour
Use the NYC subway as your own personal time machine as you travel back to the early days of this subterranean transit system. We’ll go back all the way to opening days to uncover architectural ghosts of the nearly forgotten and partially abandoned stations, a hidden art installation, and fascinating stories such as that of the comically short route of the mythical “Subway before the Subway,” Alfred Ely Beach’s Pneumatic Transit System. These NYC walking tours are offered every Monday through Saturday!
Saturday, May 20th – Before Chinatown was Chinatown Walking Tour
Join Untapped New York Insider and tour guide Mark Satlof for a walk through Manhattan’s Chinatown in search of the remnants of Federal era and pre-Civil War New York. You’ll stand at the literal Five Points and learn about the notorious neighborhood’s surprising history while discovering that underneath the altered facades of numerous Chinatown buildings, there are the hidden bones of 18th and early 19th-century structures – and New York’s oldest tenement. This exclusive tour is free for Untapped New York Insiders.
Sunday, May 21st – Remnants of Gritty Old Times Square
Let us take you back to the halcyon days when 42nd Street was the Deuce, Eighth Avenue was the Minnesota Strip, the Great White Way was a red light district, and the Crossroads of the World was XXX-rated. We will see former peepshows, grindhouses, adult bookstores, dive bars, hotsheet hotels, sex clubs, porno theaters, and massage parlors–not to mention all three locations of the New York Times on this tour of gritty Times Square!
Sunday, May 21st – Fifth Avenue’s Gilded Age Mansions
Stroll along Fifth Avenue as it was during the Gilded Age when grand mansions lined the illustrious street. As you revisit Millionaire’s Row, discover works of architecture lost to time and some that remain today. This tour will resurrect mansions that no longer stand with stunning historical images and scintillating stories of the affairs that took place inside. See the footprint of the largest single residence ever built in Manhattan, learn secrets of the famous Frick Collection, discover a charming bookshop tucked into a Fifth Avenue mansion and more!
Sunday, May 21st – Billie Holiday’s Harlem
Take a walk through Central Harlem to see spots where the jazz age thrived and the Black music industry began after WW1, with a focus on Billie Holiday’s life in the area. Follow in Billie Holiday’s footsteps, from her first residence in New York City to the site of her first performances less than 10 blocks away. Stroll through the famous Strivers Row, and see buildings where jazz musicians lived and gathered in the 1920s. This exclusive free tour for Untapped New York Insiders.
Wednesday, May 24th – Trivia Night with the Gotham Center for New York City History
Join Untapped New York for our very first Trivia Night hosted in partnership with the Gotham Center for New York History! We’ll enjoy a drink at the Bronx Brewery East Village location as we engage in a night of friendly intellectual competition. Players will compete for exciting prizes from Untapped New York and the Gotham Center including tour tickets, books, and more!
Wednesday, May 24th – Secrets of Bryant Park
Uncover hidden trap doors, learn about the 37 miles of books buried under your feet, and rediscover hidden mosaic installations both around and under the park on this live-streamed tour of Bryan Park with Untapped New York’s Chief Experience Officer Justin Rivers! This virtual tour is free for Untapped New York Insiders.
Check out all of our NYC walking tours here and more Untapped New York events in our May calendar!