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Come visit the world’s first rooftop vineyard with us!
The warm weather is giving us lots of ideas here at Untapped Cities, especially for new tours and explorations. Whether you’ve joined us in the past or are new to our exploration community and looking for activities in New York City, we hope to see you in the coming months. All of our tours are also available as private tours, which you can request here.
Here’s what we have in store for May:
Untapped Cities invites you on an exclusive insider tour of the members only Players Club on Gramercy Park. This theater social club was founded in 1889 by Edwin Booth, one the most renowned American actors of the 19th century, along with fifteen friends and colleagues including Mark Twain and General William T. Sherman. On this 60-minute tour, led by a Players Club docent, you will learn about the history of the Club and its members, visit the room in which actors met secretly in 1913 to form the Actors Equity Association, and get a close look at Mark Twain’s poker table. You will also walk into the bedroom of Edwin Booth, left untouched since the night of his death over a century ago. Inside rests the skull donated by a fan used in his famous 100 consecutive performances of Hamlet,
The tour will also include a visit to the Hampden-Booth Theatre Library, which contains a vital collection of books, plays, theatre magazines and other artifacts of 19th and early 20th century American and British theatre history.
Although virtually nothing remains of Dutch New Amsterdam, the Dutch influence is felt in many hidden relics south of Wall Street. This includes the massive one hidden in plain sight: the original street grid embedded in lower Manhattan grid today.
Join author, playwright, and Untapped Cities guide, Justin Rivers, complete with Manhattan’s first map in hand 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 include, a look at the remains of Manhattan’s first city hall, a walk of the city’s original coast line, discovering the original Dutch fort, wind mill, and the original battery. Physically touch history as we also spend time finding out why Bowling Green has its name and why it’s been so important in our city’s history.
Did you know Coney Island was named after rabbits? Titled America’s first playground, Coney Island was a small strip of sand on Brooklyn’s south coast that became synonymous with the burlesque, the bizarre, the outlandish and the corrupt.
On this tour, also led by Justin Rivers (who writes a comic book series about Coney Island history), you’ll unearth old secrets of the many long-gone amusement parks, while learning about what’s in store for the hotly contested future development of the island.
Did you know the world’s first commercially viable rooftop vineyard is hidden within the Brooklyn Navy Yard? Untapped Cities will be bringing readers on a special wine tasting and tour at Rooftop Reds, led by one of its founders who will share their knowledge of winemaking.
Within the 14,800 square foot rooftop, you will see a unique urban planter system that is the first of its kind, developed with Cornell University and Finger Lakes industry leadersAs an added bonus: all guests will get 20% off purchases of Rooftop Reds wines. Get in on this experience early, as the first harvest will be taking place this October 2016. Take in an amazing view, lounge in a hammock, and sip on Rooftop Red wines in our tours which start in May, to continue through the year.
Untapped Cities is excited to offer this exclusive tour of the normally off-limits Woolworth Building led by architect Cass Gilbert’s great granddaughter, Helen Post Curry, who runs the Woolworth Building tours. In addition to a guided visit through the spectacular lobby, we will also visit the cellar level where the bank vault is located and where the former entrances to the subway are, and provide special access to the gorgeous mezzanine level.
VIP Tour of the Woolworth Building
In addition, our popular Secrets of Grand Central Terminal tour is sold out for May but available for a new date in July. Join us on our group tours, or request a private one for you and friends, or your company here. Our full list of upcoming tours is available here.
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