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Explore overlooked city sights on one of our expert-led NYC walking tours!
Join Untapped Cities this week to explore iconic locations in New York City like you never have before. Whether you’ve lived in New York your while life, or are just visiting, you are sure to discover something new.
The Woolworth Building is one of New York City’s most famous off-limits landmarks. Though its cathedral-like interior of glass and marble is landmarked, security concerns after 9/11 rendered it closed to the public unless you lived or worked in the skyscraper, once the tallest in the world. In addition to our VIP tour of the building with the building architect Cass Gilbert’s great grand daughter, we offer this one hour tour of the normally off-limits Woolworth Building which will feature not only a visit through the stunning lobby but also the mezzanine and the cellar level where the bank vault still stands. On this special access tour of the Woolworth Building, you’ll get a complete picture of the engineering feat and aesthetic masterpiece that the skyscraper is.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Insider Tour of the Woolworth Building
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
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
While Ellis Island has become one of New York City’s top tourist attractions, drawing over two million visitors per year, the 22-building South Side hospital complex is hidden in plain sight, just to the left of disembarking passengers headed towards the Great Hall. Looking at its desolate, skeletal frame now, it’s difficult to imagine its backstory as one of the largest public health undertakings in American history. Join us for our upcoming hard hat tour, guided by a Save Ellis Island docent, where we’ll uncover its many, buried secrets.
Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital
Did you know that Central Park was once the site of a former African-American village? Or that it was previously home to an infamous casino, where alcohol flowed throughout the Prohibition? For almost 160 years, Central Park has been the green heart of the city, serving as a pastoral haven for New Yorkers and visitors alike. Even so, it still holds many secrets that have yet to be discovered. On this walking tour we’ll explore the history behind some of its best-loved and hidden sites. Learn about the genesis, design, and evolution of the immense green space, while uncovering its many outrageous happenings, scandals and more.
Secrets of Central Park Walking Tour
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
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
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Underground Tour of the NYC Subway
Check out our full lists of public tours and Insider events!
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