Hear from an author and map designer who has been creating maps of the NYC subway, officially and unofficially, for over forty years!
A new street art hotspot has some unconventional holiday decorations!
From giant menorah lightings to New Year's Day hikes, check out our picks for how to spend the holidays in NYC!
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge while learning about the allegedly used family of engineers who built it, climb man-made hills on Governors Island, find a surprising 1920s item crafted by the silversmiths of Cartier on display in the lobby of a building at Rockefeller Center, an explore more of NYC with Untapped New York this week! You can see what’s happening this week below. Don’t forget, Untapped New York Insiders get $5 off any Untapped New York public walking tours.
Hidden Gems of Governors Island
Get a preview of NYC events in the fall of 2023 and the year ahead with the editor of An Almanac of New York City for the Year 2024 Susan Gail Johnson! Discover quintessential and little-known New York happenings in all five boroughs like the NYC Winter Jazzfest and the Candlelight Ghost Tour, plus learn fascinating nuggets of NYC history
and hear about surprising discoveries Johnson made while researching the book. This virtual talk is free for Untapped New York Insider!
The location of the last known bolt from NYC’s original street grid survey is hidden within Central Park at a secret location, and we’ll take you there! This Untapped tour of Central Park is part of our new tour series designed specifically for local New Yorkers. Uncover a hidden navigational system using the park’s lampposts, visit the spot of a lost ladies-only ice rink, and more!
Tucked away inside a Standford White-deigned mansion on 5th Avenue, there is a hidden bookstore stocked with tomes written in French and English. Make a stop at this secret spot as you stroll past other opulent homes of NYC’s Gilded Age on 5th Ave.
Urban legend tells that this Japanese house in Flatbush-Ditmas Park was built especially for the Japanese Ambassador, and shipped over piece by piece from Japan. Though that’s not true, the home is stunning nonetheless. See this unique home and more Victorian Mansions of Flatbush!
Track down the remnants of NYC’s original Penn Station structure that was lost in the 1960s! You’ll uncover multiple remnants and visit the newest part of the station, Moynihan Train Hall, learn insider navigation tips, see never-before-seen old station photos, and receive a framable, reproduction ticket of the first commuter ride into Pennsylvania Station from 1910!
Peer into abandoned stations as you travel underground with your expert guide! As you ride through some of the oldest and original subway stations of the system’s earliest lines, you’ll learn about the design stations, see where Michael Jackson filmed the music video, Bad, and discover secrets of the country’s busiest commuter railroad (LIRR)!
Trave the evolution of Governors Island from a fishing spot for the Lenape Native Americans through its time as a Dutch settlement and military base to the present day. Now a recreational and cultural hotspot, the small island is packed with big history. Explore former military forts, man-made landscape features, and other structures with a former Park Ranger!
The Roebling family was plagued by misfortune as they took on the task of designing one of the country’s most magnificent modern marvels, the Brooklyn Bridge. As you cross the iconic span, you’ll learn what befell John, Washington, and Emily, hear stories of a Cold War shelter and hidden art space, and find out where the nation’s first White House was~
Get your hands on history as you walk the original street grid of Lower Manhattan as laid out by the Dutch in the 1600s. This street design is landmarked! As you walk the roadways, you’ll be in contact with a fence from the Revolutionary War, an 18th-century wall built now incorporated as art inside a subway station, a European canon and more relics of NYC’s colonial past!
Explore the 5th Ave of the Upper West Side! Riverside Drive is home to many fictional and real famous figures. You’ll stop by the apartment buildings of some of these characters as you trace the evolution of this scenic parkway and uncover secrets like the first monument in NYC to depict a female historical figures, and one of the narrowest buildings in NYC! Untapped New York Insiders can join this preview of our brand-new tour for just $5 (that’s $35 off!)
Everyone knows Cartier makes fine jewelry and watches, but model airplanes? French silversmiths craft this model, on display inside one of the buildings at Rockefeller Center, in the 1920s. Uncover more hidden gems of the Art Deco complex, like the last bolt sign by John. D. Rockefeller, a lobby clad in gold, and more!
Beneath the priceless clock lies a space only accessible to workers! Learn more about what’s below the clockface and more off-limits spaces like the glass walkways that traverse the giant windows, and the massive basement below the terminal. This tour runs every day of the week!
Do you have photos from an Untapped New York tour? Send them to us at contact@untappedcities.com and you may be featured on our website or social media channels! You can also tag us @untappedny on Instagram.
Check out all of our NYC walking tours here!
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