Artist rendering of the New York Wheel. Image via NYCMayorsOffice
It’s an exciting week here at Untapped Cities: we’re hosting our one-time hard hat tour into the Construction of the New York Wheel and exploring the New Yorker Hotel with Joe Kinney, the iconic building’s senior engineer. Kinney is set to retire at the end of June, so join us for an unique, behind-the-scenes experience that caters specifically to the curious New Yorker.
Behind-the-Scenes Tour at the New Yorker Hotel: June 14th at 5pm
Untapped Cities is excited to host this exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of The New Yorker Hotel, led by Joe Kinney, the senior project engineer and historian of the hotel. Experience both sides of history on this visit: walk in the glamorous footsteps of society’s rich and famous and learn about the hotel’s engineering and design feats. See off-limits places deep in the hotel’s underbelly, including the hotel’s award winning power plant and a tunnel that once connected to the subway system.
Joe Kinney has worked at the New Yorker Hotel since 1996 and has been reviving the storied past of the hotel. Part of the proceeds for this visit will support Kinney’s effort to expand the small historic exhibit he has built on the lower level of the hotel. We hope you will join us on this unique behind-the-scenes tour one of NYC’s most iconic hotel. A portion of the proceeds will go to the enhancement of its museum.
Behind the Scenes Hard Hat Tour into the Construction of the New York Wheel, World’s Largest Observation Wheel: June 15th at 5:30pm
Staten Island will soon be home to the New York Wheel, the world’s tallest observation wheel, and we’re taking you on a behind-the-scenes hard hat tour of the active construction site on Staten Island on May 12th. Join us as New York Wheel CEO and visionary Rich Marin discusses the progress of the New York Wheel, which will measure 630-feet tall when completed (that’s 80 feet higher than the High Roller in Las Vegas, currently the tallest observation wheel in the world). It’s all part of the St. George Waterfront Restoration Program, a $1.2 billion endeavor, which seeks to transform the Staten Island waterfront into a world-class destination that includes a 350,000 square-feet retail complex. On our tour, we’ll see the construction progress, hear about this project from the experts directly involved and witness first-hand the transformation of Staten Island’s St. George into New York City’s Urban Getaway, which will include 100 different retail shops, two hotels and more,
Tour of the Secrets of Grand Central Terminal: Saturday, June 17th at 2:30pm + 4pm
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. Peek into the entrance of its glass walkways, locate lost armchairs, see its hidden tennis courts and learn about its backwards ceiling. 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.
