Kick off 2019 with an adventure! Join Untapped Cities to explore some of New York City’s most iconic and little known locations on our behind-the-scenes tours. Every week we offer exciting, expert led experiences designed to help you rediscover your city. Check out all of the tours offered this first week of 2019:
Explore the over 100-year-old contagious disease hospital, which has been abandoned since 1954
See an exhibition by the world-renowned artist JR, who has placed life-sized historic photographs of Ellis Island immigrants on interior walls of the hospital buildings
Visit the Laundry Building, where 3000+ pieces of laundry were washed and sanitized daily
Discover the kitchen, autopsy room and other usually off-limits places
Get special access inside the original morgue and long abandoned FBI offices
Inside the Chambers Street station in Lower Manhattan
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
At first glance, it might seem like there’s not much left of Dutch New Amsterdam, but there’s much more than meets the eye. This includes the massive one hidden in plain sight: the original street grid embedded in lower Manhattan grid today. Discover the many hidden Dutch relics south of Wall Street, as you trace the streets of Manhattan in 1667. You’ll hear about New York’s founding myths and facts while standing in the very spots they all happened.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Walk the city’s original coast line
See the remains of Manhattan’s first City Hall
Discover the original Dutch fort, wind mill and battery
Trace the streets of Manhattan in 1667 with Manhattan’s first map in hand
Physically touch history as we spend time finding out why Bowling Green has its name and why it’s been so important in our city’s history
The New York City subway system is the largest in the world and with hundreds of art installations scattered throughout its 430 stations, it’s also one of the world’s largest public art galleries. Join Untapped Cities tour guide Justin Rivers as he takes you on an in-depth tour of the subway art tapestry, put together to illuminate the often unseen art, history, and secrets that make the subway system the most playful gallery in the world. Co-conceptualized by artist Aaron Asis, it’s a perfect compliment to our popular Underground Subway Tour or a fun stand alone for art, history and subway lovers alike.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Learn the secrets behind the much-loved brass figures at 14th Street and 8th Avenue
See how an artist framed the 14th Street Union Square station to preserve its history
Engage with a very playful art installation at 23rd Street
See the forgotten terra cotta tiles in Fulton Center and learn about their history
