Celebrate Archtober 2024 with Untapped New York!

This fall, Untapped New York is excited to be part of Archtober, New York City’s month-long architecture and design festival, from Oct 1-31! During Archtober, participating organizations host hundreds of events—tours, lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and more—throughout the five boroughs. Untapped New York will host a variety of tours in conjunction with the festival including brand new experiences and updates to some of our signature experiences. Read on to find out what’s in store!

For its 14th year, Archtober’s theme is Tracing the Future. This theme will inspire events that delve into the evolving landscape of New York through lenses such as affordable housing, sustainable design, and infrastructure. Through learning our city’s history and exploring its present, Archtober 2024 casts a visionary gaze ahead, building a roadmap for how the spaces we inhabit will transform in years to come.

Upcoming Archtober events that explore this year’s theme include Indigeneity and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Spatial Practices, a discussion developed in collaboration with the Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning and Design (ISAPD); a panel discussion moderated by Metropolis magazine Editor-in-Chief Avinash Rajagopal at The Center for Architecture featuring a selection of award-winning affordable housing projects; and The Future of Public Space and Art, a conversation on social equity that is part of AIA New York’s 2024 presidential lecture series.

Every day during Archtober, you can gain access to a different New York City space on an architect-led Building of the Day tour. This year, the popular series will allow guests to explore the Bronx River Greenway/Starlight Park by NV5, The Refinery at Domino by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), Lever House, restored by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the Sunset Park Library and Apartments by Mitchell Giurgola, and more. These tours sell out fast, so be sure to book your spot early!

More highlights of the month-long festival include the opening of Built by New York at the Center for Architecture, an exhibition that celebrates the work of architects, designers, and affiliated professionals in the New York City design community, AIA-led boat tours with Classic Harbor Line, and the return of Pumpkitecture where teams of architects go gourd-to-gourd to compete for the Pritzkerpumpkin prize.

You can see all upcoming Archtober events at archtober.org. Untapped New York Insiders can grab one of the few free spots available exclusively to our members for Pumpkitecture on October 30th and the Arthur M. Rosenblatt Memorial Lecture on Museum Design on October 28.

Untapped New York’s expert guides will lead a variety of events about New York City architecture and history in conjunction with the festival. This October, we’re launching two new tours: Underground Art Deco Architecture and Powering NYC: East River Ferry Tour. On our new Art Deco tour, guests will uncover overlooked elements of Manhattan’s early 20th-century skyscrapers by going below them to learn about forgotten subway entrances, retail concourses, and even a hidden river. On our Powering NYC tour, we reveal what powers the city that never sleeps while sailing up the East River on an NYC Ferry.

In addition to those new experiences, Untapped New York will run many of our beloved signature tours including Remnants of NYC’s World’s Fairs, Fifth Avenue Gilded Age Mansions, Underground Subway Art, and Secrets of Grand Central Terminal. We’re excited to announce the re-launch of two favorite experiences, Remnants of Penn Station—now Secrets of Penn Station and Moynihan Train Hall—and Secrets of the Brooklyn Bridge, now Secrets of the Brooklyn Bridge and DUMBO. These two tours have been updated and expanded to cover even more fascinating New York City history and recent developments. Join us this October to celebrate the built world of New York City!

Check out the full list of Archtober events here and see more upcoming Untapped New York walking tours!