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The Very First Guide To
Community Tourism in New York City
by Sheryl Lee and Nicole Edwards
technical assistance by Delphine VeaudorTourists and New Yorkers alike want to know the "real New York." Thus the need for community tourism. As opposed to mass market tourism, community tourism is organized by the stewards of their communities. These tours take visitors into areas not on the typical tourist map and connect them to local music, immigrant history, parks, waterways, architecture, cuisine, artists, murals, and one-of-a-kind stores.
To help popularize community tourism in New York, we have created this, the City's first online guide.
Congratulations to The Community Tourism Roundtables of Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel (BEST), an initiative of The Conference Board in association with the World Travel and Tourism Council, which inspired us to undertake this project.
"The Very First Guide To Community Tourism in New York City" is a co-production of Metro New Media, Inc., publisher of Curator's Choice, and DowntownNYC, Inc.
We intend to be inclusive, and welcome a note from any organization we may have (inadvertently) left out. Please e-mail comments and suggestions to the authors care of: jslaff@nymuseums.com.
Neighborhoods:
DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN (South of Canal St. and Ellis Island)
GREENWICH VILLAGE, SOHO, LOWER EAST SIDE (Canal to 14th Sts.)
CHELSEA AND GRAMMERCY PARK (Manhattan, 14th to 34th Sts.)
MIDTOWN MANHATTAN (23rd to 59th Sts.)
UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (59th to 110th Sts.)
HARLEM
THE BRONX
QUEENS
BROOKLYN
STATEN ISLAND
LONG ISLAND
Downtown Manhattan (South of Canal Street and Ellis Island)
Seaport Liberty Cruise
New York Water Taxi
Tug Tours aboard W.O.Decker
Harbor sails aboard schooner Pioneer
Lady Liberty
The Historic (Old) New York City Tour- Fulton and Water St. and Battery Park
Ellis Island Tour
The 30 Minute Flight Delight NY Helicopter Tour
Fantastic Friday Dance Party Cruise in New York.
The Past and Future of the World Trade Center Site
Greenwich Village, Soho, Lower East Side (Canal to 14th Sts.)
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum Walking Tours
Gray Line Downtown Loop
Historic TriBeCa
Immigrant New York
The "Official" Gangs of New York
The Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour: "From Naples to Bialystock to Beijing"
SoHo and NoLiTa
The Jewish Lower East Side Tour
Irish New York
The East Village
Greenwich Village
Chinese New Year in Chinatown
Historic Lower Manhattan
East Village and Noho
The Landmarks of Greenwich (Central) Village and Washington Square Neighborhood
A Walking Tour of The West Village
SoHo and Charlton King Van Dam District Historic Walking Tour
The Little Italy/ Five Points Walking Tour (Bleecker St., Lafayette St., the Bowery, Chambers St.)
The Irish Heritage Walking Tour
Lower East Side Jewish Heritage Tour
Lower East Side Jewish Rialto Walking Tour
The Italian Heritage Walking Tour
Chinatown Walking Tours with Jami Gong
I'll Take Manhattan
Chinatown Walking Tour
The Heart of New York Culture Walking Tour - Greenwich Village, East to WestChelsea and Grammercy Park (Manhattan, 14th to 34th Sts.)
Stuyvesant and Grammercy Parks Historic Walking Tour
"Stories That Must Be Told And Never Forgotten"
Midtown Manhattan (23rd to 59th Sts.)
Day and Twilight Harbor Tour
The Full Island Tour
The Semi Circle Cruise
"Hell Ain't Hot- This Here's Hell's Kitchen!"
Grand Central Terminal- Crossroads Of A Million Private Lives
The Midtown Architectural Walking Tour
Art Deco Midtown
Murray Hill
Oscar Wilde in New York
1-Hour VIP Champagne Party Night Tour
The Heart of New York Culture Walking Tour: Midtown, from Broadway to Columbus CircleUpper East Side, Manhattan (59th to 110th Sts.)
Fifth Avenue Gold Coast
The Metropolitan Museum of Art From The Outside: An Architectural Tour of America
The Places And People Who Came Before Central Park
Cross Park Promenade
Views from the Past
Harlem
Harlem-Keystone of African America
Walking Tour of Spanish Harlem
Harlem WalkThe Bronx
History of the Valentine-Varian House
Mambo to Hip Hop Tours
Teatro Puerto Rico
Bronx Casino/Caravana Club/El Cerromar and La Campana
Rincón Criollo
Casa Amadeo
La Giralda/Longwood Casino
The Bronx County Historical SocietyQueens
Touring Steinway and Sons Piano Factory
The Alfred Hitchcock's Locations WalksBrooklyn
From Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Heights
Green-Wood Cemetery
Park Slope
Hassidic Neighborhoods of Brooklyn
Custom Biking Tours
New York Like A Native Walking Tours
The Heart of New York Culture Walking Tour - Brooklyn's Magnificient "Brownstone Belt"
Staten Island
Village Curriculum Tours
Urban Park RangersLong Island
Historic Long Island Gold Coast Sightseeing Cruises
•Seaport Liberty Cruise: Pier 16, South Street Seaport, Manhattan, NY. (212) 563-3200 or www.circleline.com.
Hop onboard for a 1-hour inspirational lower harbor cruise of landmarks such as the majestic Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the historic immigration center and the World Financial Center and a chance to admire the awesome skyscrapers that make our fabulous skyline come alive.
Closed Thanksgiving Day. Closed for the Season, December - March.
1 hour cruise. Adults $13, Seniors $11, Children $7. Please check website for schedule information.•New York Water Taxi: 10 landings: Brooklyn Army Terminal, Fulton Ferry Landing (Brooklyn), Pier 11 (Wall Street/South Street Seaport), Pier A (Battery Park), North Cove (World Financial Center), Pier 63 (W.23rd St./Chelsea Piers), Pier 84 (W. 44th St/Circle Line/Intrepid), East 34th St Pier, Hunters Point Pier in Long Island City and East 90th St. Pier. (212) 742-1969 or www.newyorkwatertaxi.com
Step off the Water Taxi and into New York City’s historic financial district. The New York Stock Exchange is just a few steps away down Wall Street, and you can watch the traders at work by picking up a free ticket to the Observation Area at 20 Broad Street. If you want someone to show you the actual money, make a reservation to tour the Federal Reserve Bank, where the nation’s largest store of gold is kept. The Museum of American Financial History will provide you with the background to make the most of your visit to New York’s financial heart, and a visit to the nearby Trinity Church, once Manhattan’s tallest building, will give you a place to pay tribute to some of our nation’s forefathers --or to pray that the market stays strong.Year-round with special winter hours. See website for prices and schedules.
•Tug Tours aboard W.O.Decker: Pier 16 South Street Seaport , Manhattan, NY.(212) 748-8786 or www.southstseaport.org.
Explore New York Harbor onboard South Street Seaport Museum's 1930' s-era wooden tugboat W.O.Decker: Tour hidden backwaters such as Newtown Creek, the Gowanus Canal and Port Johnson, rich in photographic potential. Navigate past derelict vessels in Rossville, snowy egrets in Dutch Kills, Civil War-era warehouses in Red Hook, working tugboats in the Kill Van Kull and huge container ships at Port Newark. No limited timetable enables lingering in spots who like to shoot without being rushed. Capacity is limited to six passengers on four- or six-hour cruises on New York's waterways ranging from the Arthur Kill to the Tappan Zee.
Public Tug Tours: Saturdays, April through October.
•Harbor sails aboard schooner Pioneer: Pier 16 South Street Seaport, Manhattan, NY (212) 748-8786 or www.southstseaport.org
Enjoy spectacular harbor views aboard South Street Seaport Museum's 1885 schooner 'Pioneer', sailing daily except Mondays from East River Pier 16 at Fulton Street. Catch a cool harbor breeze, help hoist the main sail, or relax on our cabin top.
Sunday: 1 p.m.–3 p.m.; 4 p.m.–6 p.m.; Monday: No sails; Tuesday/Wednesday: 7 p.m.– 9 p.m. 7 p.m.– 9 p.m; Thursday/Friday: 7 p.m.– 9 p.m.; 9:30 – 11:30 p.m; Saturday: 1 p.m.–3 p.m.; 4 p.m.–6 p.m.; 7 p.m.– 9 p.m.; 9:30 – 11:30 p.m. Memorial and Labor Days: check schedule. Rates: Non members- Adults $25, Children 12 and under $15, $20 Students and Seniors. Members- Adults $20, Children 12 and under $12, Students $20 and Seniors $15. Fourth of July: special rates and schedule, call for details.
•Lady Liberty: Downtown Manhattan Heliport, Pier 6 and the East River, Manhatan, NY (212) 967-6464 or www.libertyhelicopters.com
Experience the thrill of a helicopter flight while flying past the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street the Financial Capital of the World, Ellis and Governors Island, as you return you will view South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Year round. 5-7 minutes. $56 per person Monday to Friday only.
•The Historic (Old) New York City Tour- Fulton and Water St. and Battery Park: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A walk through thehteart of the financial district and we will pass such historic sites as: The Colonial New York City Historic District, Fraunces Tavern Historic District, Viet Nam Plaza, Battery Park, Bowling Green and much more. Each participant is given an itinerary with 29 Stops that include 20 New York City Landmarks And 15 National Landmarks - Each Stop Is Fully Discussed. Other sites include: The Shrine of Elizabeth Seton , Martyrs Monument / Trinity Church (picture of the original Trinity Church and more), one site where George Washington slept, the United States Customs House Building, Remnants from colonial New Amsterdam and the Vietnam Memorial, India House, Hanover Square and the site of Captain Kidd's house, the old Delmonico's restaurant and the Downtown Association building.
Meet at the corner of Wall St and Broadway in front of Trinity Church
•Ellis Island Tour: Israelowitz Publishing, P.O. Box 228, Brooklyn, NY. (718) 951-7072 or www. Israelowitzpublishing.com
This three-hour tour includes a ferry ride past the Statue of Liberty and a walking tour on Ellis Island with its Museum of Immigration and Wall of Honor, including over 400,000 names. The tour includes a visit to the archaeological remains of Fort Gibson, an exciting film about how the 12 million immigrants arrived and were processed, and a stop in the Great Hall with its magnificent Guastavino vaulted ceiling and beautiful chandeliers.
Cost: $15/person (minimum 10 people) or $300/group Does not include ferry tickets.
•The 30 Minute Flight Delight NY Helicopter Tour: Liberty Helicopter Tours, 12th Ave @ West 30th Street, Manhattan, NY (212) 967- 6464, Fax: (212) 967 1553 or www.libertyhelicopters.com
The 30 Minute Flight Delight NY Helicopter Tour is another of New York City's great sight seeing opportunities. This 30 minute tour is a “must do” for everyone while in New York. You can design your tour any way you desire or let our experienced pilots take you on an unforgettable trip around, through and over the greatest city in the world.
9:00am – 9:00pm 7 days per week, 365 days per year. Downtown Manhattan Heliport Pier 6 at the East River: Monday – Friday: 9:00am – 6:30pm. Closed Saturday & Sunday. Call heliport for holiday closings.
•Fantastic Friday Dance Party Cruise in New York: New York Waterway 1-800-53-FERRY.
Fantastic Friday Dance Party Cruise in New York. Tour Details: Dance to the rhythm.Take in the breathtaking views. Gaze at the stars or into some special someone's eyes. Hot dance party music, a special New York City experience! Dancing, snacks & cocktails available, all while the lights of the city are music to your eyes!
Cruise Departs: Fridays: Pier 78 at West 38th St. & 12th Ave. - 9:00pm Pier 17 at South St. Seaport - 9:30. USA Prices From: $: 19 | €: 17.12 | £: 11.87.0
•Downtown: Inside and Out: Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue (between 50th and 51st Streets), Manhattan, NY (212) 935-3960.
n our walk from Bowling Green to Wall Street we will tuck ourselves inside whenever possible as we explore Downtown’s diverse history, art and architecture. Highlights will include the former U.S. Custom House, the booking hall of the former Cunard Building, the Regent Wall Street Hotel (formerly First National City Bank), the public spaces of the Morgan Bank headquarters, a modern lobby or two, and even the 1905 Wall Street subway station. Leader: Joseph Svehlak, urban historian. Meet at the steps of the former U.S. Custom House (now the National Museum of the American Indian) at 1 Bowling Green at the foot of Broadway.
•The Past and Future of the World Trade Center Site: Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue (between 50th and 51st Streets), Manhattan, NY. (212) 935-3960.
This tour will study the periphery of the World Trade Center site in an attempt to understand the scale of devastation and imagine the site’s future. Tours meet at southeast corner of Broadway and Park Row, across the street from St. Paul’s Chapel. $2 off "The Past and Future of the WTC Site".Please call for further information.
•The Lower East Side Tenement Museum Walking Tours: 90 Orchard Street, Manhattan, NY. Tel:(212) 431-0233 or www.tenement.org.
--Public/Group Tour (Adults): Getting by: Weathering the Great Depressions of 1873 and 1929. In 1873 and 1929, severe economic depressions forced thousands of immigrant families to find creative ways to get by. Visit the homes of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family (l870s) and the Sicilian-Catholic Baldizzi family (1930s) and discover the spirited and imaginative means that these two families employed to make their way through hard times and to forge new lives for themselves in America.
Saturday and Sunday: 10am Monday - Friday: 10 and 11:30 am Monday Afternoons: Available by appointment. Call 212-431-0233 x241 for times. Thursdays at 10am: Not available. Length: 1.5 Hours.
Group tour for under 12 Kids: Monday-Friday: 10:00 and 11:30am.Thursdays at 10am: Not available. Monday Afternoons and Combination Programs: Available by appointment. Call 212-431-0233 x241 for times. Length: 1.5 Hours--Group Tour (Adults): The Confino Apartment. This "living history" apartment is based on the Sephardic-Jewish Confino family from Kastoria, (once part of the Ottoman Empire, now in Greece). A costumed interpreter plays teenage Victoria Confino c. 1916. She welcomes visitors as though they were newly arrived immigrants, teaching them how to adapt to America. The Confino Apartment is a hands-on experience: visitors can touch any items in the apartment, try on period clothing and fox trot to music played on an authentic wind-up Victrola.
Saturday and Sunday: 10am, 11am and 4pm (depending on group size) Monday-Friday: 10am until 4pm. Thursdays at 10am: Not available. Length: 1 Hour.
Group tour for under 12 Kids: Monday-Friday: 10am - 4pm.Thursdays at 10am: Not available. Saturday and Sunday: 10 and 11am; 4pm depending on group size. Combination Programs: Available by appointment. Call 212-431-0233 x241 for times. Length: 1 - 1.5h depending on group size--Public/Group Tour (Adults): Piecing it Together: Immigrants in the Garment Industry. Celebrate the 1897 birth of Max Levine in the apartment/garment shop run by his parents, Jennie and Harris from Poland. Then pay a shiva (bereavement) call to the Rogarshevsky family, mourning the loss of Abraham, who worked as a presser in a garment factory until succumbing to tuberculosis in 1918. Hear other immigrants as well - from Europe, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere - recall their lives in the garment industry from the 1930s to the present.
Saturday and Sunday: 10am Monday-Friday: 10 and 11:30am Thursdays at 10am: Not available.Monday Afternoons: Available by appointment. Call 212-431-0233 x241 for times. Length: 1.5.hours Tours in Spanish also available.
Group tour for under 12 Kids: Monday-Friday: 10:00 and 11:30am.Thursdays at 10am: Not available. Monday Afternoons and Combination Programs: Available by appointment. Call 212-431-0233 x241 for times. Length: 1.5 Hours--Group Tour (Adults): Inspect This! Inspect the Museum’s landmark tenement and learn how working-class immigrants helped to shape definitions of acceptable housing. Explore changing ideas about sanitation, the responsibilities of tenants, landlords and the government, and the politics of "home" through the stories of our tenement's residents. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of the landmark 1901 Tenement House Act.
Monday - Friday: 10 and 11:30 am Monday Afternoons: Available by appointment. Call 212-431-0233 x241 for times.Thursdays at 10am: Not available. Length: 1.5.Hours.4th-6th grade tour: Role-playing as Tenement Inspectors, students examine the homes of two families who lived in our building and explore how tenement conditions impacted the tenants lives. Students compare ideas of acceptable housing at different times and learn how immigrants, reformers, and the government fought to improve housing. Students leave with information about their own housing rights and the steps to take to report a problem. Talk with a modern-day inspector! For a select number of dates, an inspector from NYC's Department of Housing Preservation and Development is available to talk with your class. Students will leave armed with today's housing laws, as well as the steps to take if they have a problem with their own homes. Monday-Friday: 10 and 11:30am. Thursdays at 10am: Not available. Monday Afternoons and Combination Programs: Available by appointment. Call 212-431-0233 x241 for times. Length: 1.5.Hours
--Group Tour (Adults): Inside/Outside. "Inside/Outside" combines any one of the above tenement house programs with a 1-hour guided walking tour of the Lower East Side to make a 2-hour program. A rich look at the neighborhood, which remains a vital immigrant portal, the walking tour explores the public spaces and historic buildings that newcomers shaped and continue to shape.
Weekdays: Subject to availability. Weekends: Not available. Please call 212-431-0233 x 241 for more informations Length: 2 Hours.Group Tour (Adults): Tenement Touch Tour for Visitors with Visual Impairments. Explore our tenement building using hands-on artifacts, an architectural model, audio recordings, even smell! Take the Getting By or Piecing It Together tour using verbal description and a multi-sensory approach for visitors with visual impairments.
Monday-Friday: 10:00 and 11:30am.Thursdays at 10am: Not available. Monday Afternoons and Combination Programs: Available by appointment. Call 212-431-0233 x241 for times. Please note that this tour is available for five or more people. Length: 1.5 Hours.•Gray Line Downtown Loop: Gray Line Visitors Center, 777 8th Avenue (between 47th and 48th Streets), Manhattan, NY (212) 445-0848 or www.graylinenewyork.com
The neighborhoods on the Downtown Loop are some of the oldest and some of the newest in Manhattan. Stops will include Greenwich Village, where the literary past comes alive, and the New Times Square, Empire State Building - an icon of architecture, as well as the Flatiron building and Union Square shopping districts, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, Lower East Side, East Village, Rockefeller Center, Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum and more.
Daily. Year round. Frequent departures: 8am- 5pm Daily. 2+ hours. Adults: $35 Children (5-11) $25
•Historic TriBeCa: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
Explore the historical and architectural wonders of New York's western frontier. TriBeCa has come full circle - from residential neighborhood to industrial center and back. Stops include: St. John's Park, the Mercantile Building, and sites associated with architects Carrere and Hastings, McComb, and Bogardus.
Meet: Bogardus Triangle, intersection of Chambers, Hudson, and West Broadway. Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•Immigrant New York: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
A multi-ethnic walking tour through the Jewish East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy, and what used to be called Little Germany, Little Ireland, and Little Africa. Stops include: the African Burial Ground, Mulberry Bend, and sites associated with Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Mother Cabrini, Jacob Riis, and Abraham Cahan.
Meet: The southeast corner of Chambers Street and Broadway at City Hall Park. Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•The "Official" Gangs of New York: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
A tour led in conjunction with Miramax Films exploring the history, people, legends and lore of Five Points and Herbert Asbury's 1927 classic The Gangs of New York - now the inspiration for major motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese. Stops include: the site of Paradise Square, "Murderer's Alley", and sites associated with Bill "the Butcher" Poole, William M. Tweed, and the 1857 Police and 1863 Draft Riots.
Please check website for schedule informationss and rates.
•The Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour: "From Naples to Bialystock to Beijing": Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
A walking tour featuring the historic and gastronomic delights of the Jewish East Side, Chinatown, and Little Italy. Learn about this fascinating "land of the immigrants" while munching on everything from plantains to bialys to dim sum to fresh mozzarella. Reservations requested.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•SoHo and NoLiTa: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
Trace the historic evolution of SoHo and NoLiTa, from Italian neighborhood to artist colony, from remote farmland to the Cast Iron District of fashionable galleries and boutiques. Stops include: the Little Singer Building, the San Gandolfo Society, and sites associated with Bill "the Butcher" Poole, James Monroe, and Keith Haring.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•The Jewish Lower East Side Tour: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
A walking tour through more than 150 years of Jewish settlement on the Lower East Side - once the largest Jewish community in the world. Stops include: the Eldridge Street Synagogue, the Jewish Daily Forward building, and the founding sites of the B'nai B'rith and HIAS.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•Irish New York: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
A walking tour through the former Little Ireland district of Lower Manhattan, between Chatham Square and Houston Street. Stops include Old St. Patrick's Cathedral, the founding site of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Al Smith's childhood home and the former sites of Tammany Hall and the Five Points slum.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•The East Village: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
Explore the area made famous by radicals and immigrants alike, combining the history of German, Ukrainian, and Jewish immigrants with that of labor activism and the Second Avenue Stage. Stops include: the Fillmore East, Labor Lyceum, and sites associated with Daniel Tompkins, Emma Goldman, Peter Stuyvesant and Sophie Tucker.
Meet: The Black Cube at Astor Place. Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•Greenwich Village: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
A walking tour of New York's unique and legendary home to artists, writers and radicals, with a special emphasis on the history and architecture of the area. Stops include: the Jefferson Market Courthouse, St. Luke-in-the-Fields Chapel, the Stonewall Inn, and the homes of Aaron Burr, Edith Wharton, John Sloan and e.e. cummings.
Meet: The Washington Square Arch. Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•Chinese New Year in Chinatown: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
A walking tour through the largest "Chinatown" in the Western Hemisphere. This tour explores the diverse Asian community of the Lower East Side. Stops include: Quong Yeun Shing (the oldest store in Chinatown), the Kimlau Memorial, and the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas.
Meet: The southwest corner of Canal and Lafayette Streets. Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•Historic Lower Manhattan: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
A wide-ranging tour exploring the history, architecture, and people of Lower Manhattan - the birthplace of New York's long history. Stops include: the Woolworth Building, Bowling Green, Trinity Church, and sites associated with Abbie Hoffman, Cass Gilbert, Captain Kidd, J.P. Morgan, and Pierre Toussaint.
Meet: Front steps of the U.S. Customs House, located at Bowling Green. Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•East Village and Noho: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A Walk through the East Village including: No-Ho, Saint Marks Place, The Lafayette Historic Group, Saint Marks Historic District, The Renwick Triangle, We will pass the site of the Jewish (Yiddish) Rialto, the "Walkway of Stars", the Astor Place Riot and the start of `Ladies Mile'. Each participant is given an itinerary with 18 stops that include 18 New York City Landmarks and 12 National Landmarks. Each stop is fully discussed. Some More Highlights are: Stuyvesant-Fish House, The Astor Library and HIAS, Colonnade Row, No-Ho, The Old Merchants House Museum, Grace Church, Cooper Union , New York's Only Skyscraper designed by Louis Sullivan (The Prophet of Modern Architecture) , The Hebrew Technical School, The DeVinne Press Building and much more.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•The Landmarks of Greenwich (Central) Village and Washington Square Neighborhood: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
This walking tour focuses on the history and architecture of the central part of Greenwich Village and the part that was known as "Washington Square" in the mid 19th Century including Washington Park and its environs, along with interesting pictures and stories that join us with the area's past. We will pass the sites of the home of Henry James (author of the novel "Washington Square") and that of his grandmother's home and also the home of the fictious Dr. Sloper and his daughter Chatherine. Other highlights will include: The Washington Square Arch and Park ; The Row and The Washington Square Mews; The remains of the Original Main Building for N.Y.U.; The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Tragedy Judson Memorial Church and Tower; Mac Dougal Alley and The Original Whitney Museum; The Church of The Ascension; Second Shearith Israel Cemetery; The Ira Hawley Mansion General Winfield Scott's Townhouse; Lockwood de Forest Townhouse and much more. Meet at Washington Squre Park Arch at Washington Square Park. 2.5 hours
Please check website for schedule informations and rates.
•A Walking Tour of the West Village: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
This tour features the writers, poets, artist and famous people of the West Village with informations about it's history and architecture along with interesting pictures and stories that help join us with the neighborhood's past which includes Abingdon Square, Bank Street, Christopher Street, Bedford Street, Grove Street, Hudson Street and Sheridan Square. The West Village is an unofficial name for a part of Greenwich Village that roughly speaking falls between West 14th Street and St. Luke's Place and West of the Avenue of the Americas. Meet at the Southeast corner of Hudson St. and W.11St. 3 hours.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•The Heart of New York Culture Walking Tour, Greenwich Village, East to West: Contact: revacooper@earthlink.net; Telephone 718-965-0486; www.heartofnyculture.com
From Astor Place to the High Line (the newest, coolest place to walk). Peter Stuyvesant, the great immigrant communities, artistic pioneers, Yiddish theater, hippies, rock clubs, the birth of Off and Off-Off-Broadway, and the vibrant, diverse neighborhood life. For further information, please check website.
•SoHo and Charlton King Van Dam District Historic Walking Tour: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A walk through the Cast Iron Historic District of So-Ho and the Charlton King Van Dam Historic District ending up at the landmark Ear Inn. Once there was a middle income artisan community with hundreds of 1 family (2 story) Federal styled homes that spread across both neighborhoods - we will see a few of these survivors along with 16 stops that include 12 New York City Landmarks and 9 National Landmarks. Meet at Northeast corner of Broadway and Houston St. 2.5 hours.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•The Little Italy/ Five Points Walking Tour (Bleecker St., Lafayette St., the Bowery, Chambers St.): (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
We will walk through Little Italy and Nolita and the area that was the infamous “Five Points” Neighborhood portrayed in the movie "Gangs of New York". We will see a remaining landmark survivor (1 family, 2 story, Federal styled home) of a middle income artisan community that was here before Little Italy or the Five Points neighborhoods came into being. We will also see surviving landmark institutional buildings along with interesting pictures and stories that will give us an insight into both neighborhoods past . We will walk through "NoLIta" the new neighborhood emerging in the northern part of Little Italy. There are 16 stops that include 8 New York City Landmarks and 7 national landmarks. Meet at Northeast corner of Broadway and Houston St. 2.5- 3 hours.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•The Irish Heritage Walking Tour: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A walk through a neighborhood that was once Irish, changed into Little Italy and is now called NOLITA (northern Little Italy) and part of Chinatown that was in fact part of the old Five Points neighborhood. One of the early stops on the tour is the old St. Patrick's Cathedral (1st cathedral in NY) and the last stop is St. Peter's Church (the earliest Catholic congregation in New York City) located near City Hall Park. Each participant is given an itinerary with 19 stops that include 12 New York City landmarks and 11 National Landmarks. All stops are fully discussed along with some history about the early Irish American community, the flood of Irish immigrants that followed after 1845, the Know Nothings and nativist mobs and signs saying "No Irish Need Apply." Meet at Northeast corner of Houston and Broadway. 3.5 hours.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•Lower East Side Jewish Heritage Tour: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A walk through the neighborhood once known as the Yiddish Rialto and a look at some former Yiddish Theaters. We will stop by the home of Emma Goldman and the Second Avenue Deli (a Lower East Side version of Growman's Chinese restaurant in Hollywood in that it uses it's side walk to commemorate its past.) We will continue down the Lower East Side to Allen Street, Eldridge Street, Henry Street and Broome Street.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•Lower East Side Jewish Rialto Walking Tour: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A walk through the Yiddish Rialto and a look at some former Yiddish Theaters. We will stop by the home of Emma Goldman and the Second Avenue Deli (a Lower East Side version of Growman's Chinese restaurant in Hollywood in that it uses it's side walk to commemorate its past.) We will be walking through an area that once was part of the Lower East Side but today it is called the East Village. Meet at Southeast corner of E.13th St and Third Ave. 1.5- 2 hours.
Please check website for schedule informations and rates.
•The Italian Heritage Walking Tour: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A walk through part of the West Village, past the MacDougal- Sullivan Gardens Historic District, So-Ho and Little Italy and ending up where the old Five Points neighborhood of the Lower East Side used to be. Everyone is given an itinerary with 16 stops which include five New York City and National Landmarks.
Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•Chinatown Walking Tours with Jami Gong:
Conducted by ChinatownNYC.com co-founder, Jami Gong will guide you through Chinatown, witness personal stories, learn about legends, and indulge in anecdotes that date as far back as the 17th Century when the Dutch settled in New York. Some sites to note: The Benjamin Ralph Kim Lau Memorial Arch, Columbus Park, The Bowery, Canal Street, 32 Mott Street (the oldest Chinatown store), The Transfiguration Church, The Chinatown Fair, The Confucius Statue, and The Five Points from the blockbuster movie, The Gangs of New York.
General tour every Wednesday at 9am ($15), Private tour ($18). A) General Tour plus a 20 min Tea Ceremony at the Ten Ren Tea and Company ($25)-requires 6 or more. B) General tour plus an eight course pre-fixe lunch at Mandarin Court Restaurant ($30)-requires 10 or more C)General Tour plus an eight course pre-fixe dinner at Mandarin Court Restaurant ($40)- requires 10 or more. Participants meet under the Kim Lau Memorial Arch, Chatham Square.
For further information please check www.chinatownnyc.com.
•I'll Take Manhattan: (732) 270-5277 or email: ag@newyorkcitywalks.com
Tour Details: A stroll through one of the most popular and diverse of all New York Neighborhoods. This tour includes many historic sites and landmarks. Visit the carnival atmosphere of St Mark's Place. See the building where Andy Warhol created his exploding plastic inevitable. Visit the site where Janis Joplin and Elton John lit up the stage. See the club where punk rock and slam dancing were born. Walk past the residence where George and Ira Gershwin grew up. View New York's version of the Grauman Theater Walk of Fame. See the theater where Robert DeNiro, Danny DeVito, and Richard Dreyfus started as young actors. Walk on the Jewish Rialto where Walter Mathau, Edward G. Robinson, and Molly Picon launced their careers. See the theaters where Oh Calcutta, A Chorus Line, and Grease were first performed. The Tour also stops at the Anthology Film Archives, the nation's largest museum for independent films, as well as the building where Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, and JFK spoke. Prices From: $: 60 | €: 54.08 | £: 37.48
•Chinatown Walking Tour: Museum of Chinese in the Americas, 70 Mulberry Street, 2nd floor (at Bayard Street).
MoCA leads a 90-minute walking tour of Chinatown, with special emphasis on the neighborhood’s changes since September 11. Reservation required.
•Stuyvesant and Gramercy Parks Historic Walking Tour: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A walk through Stuyvesant Town and the Stuyvesant Park Historic District and the Gramercy Park Historic District. Each participant is given an itinerary with 21 stops including 10 New York City landmarks and 8 national landmarks. All stops are fully discussed. Highlights Of The Tour Are: A row of landmark Italianate brick houses from 1852 -- The Lying in Hospital now an apartment house -- Saint George's Church and Chapel (where J.P. Morgan worshiped) -- The National Arts Club and The Players Club and `Edwin Booth' -- The house Elsie De Wolf lived in with Elizabeth Marbury before becoming Lady Mendi -- the site of New York City's first apartment house and a picture of what it looked like (it was demolished over 40 years ago) -- The oldest surviving apartment house in New York City.
Meet at the Northeast corner of East 14th and 1st Ave. 2.5 hours. Please check website for schedule informations and rates.
•"Stories That Must Be Told and Never Forgotten": The Limo Tour, 141 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10011. (212) 242-5762This isn't just a tour -- it is a time spent with friends as we tell stories that must be told and never forgotten. Travel with The LimoTour and discover why New York City was not only the world's #1 city -- but also regarded as the Gay capital of the nation for over a century. Whether you want a private LimoTour or a group luxury bus tour, invite your friends for a truly amazing experience.
$85 PER HOUR FOR ENTIRE LIMOUSINE (NOT PER PERSON)
•Day and Twilight Harbor Tour: Pier 78 at West 38th Str and 12th Ave, Manhattan. 1800-53-FERRY or www.nywaterway.com
Rated best on Citysearch 2002! This is the tour par excellence of New York's harbor. This cruise features breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, South Street Seaport, The Brooklyn Bridge, The United Nations, The Chrysler Building and The Empire State Building. By night, the view is utterly breathtaking and oh so romantic! Fair warning, you may just fall in love!
Day cruise- year long.Please check website for schedule information and rates.
•The Full Island Tour: Circle Line cruises, Pier 83, 42nd Street, Manhattan, NY. www.circleline.com
Enjoy a relaxed and refreshing 3-hour cruise as you discover the secrets of the city. You'll circumnavigate Manhattan Island and see it all - 3 rivers, 7 major bridges, 5 boroughs, over 25 world renowned landmarks and, of course, a magnificent close-up of the Statue of Liberty. Beverages, food and souvenirs are available on board.
Adults $26, Children $13, Seniors $20. Nov.3-Dec.31: 12:30pm (Closed Tuesdays in December), Jan 2- March 31: 12:30pm (Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Jan. and Feb. and closed Tuesdays in Mar.) 3 hours.
•The Semi Circle Cruise: Circle Line cruises, Pier 83, 42nd Street, Manhattan, NY. www.circleline.com
Experience the grandeur of New York on our 2-hour city highlights tour. You'll enjoy magnificent views of the world's premier skyline and a close-up view of Lady Liberty. Sail down the Hudson, cruise around the Battery, up the East River, and under the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges to the United Nations and back.
Adults $21 Children $10 Senior Citizens $17Nov 3- Dec.3: 10am, 4pm (Closed Tuesdays in December), Jan 2- Mar 31: 10am, 4pm (Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Jan. and Feb. and closed Tuesdays in Mar.) 2 hours.
•"Hell Ain't Hot- This Here's Hell's Kitchen!": Joyce Gold History Tours of New York, 141 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011. (212) 242- 5762 or www.nyctours.com
Whatever happened to the lurid district of one-lung Curran, bloody slaughterhouses, and the sweaty old Madison Square Garden? Meet: Tenth Ave. and 42nd St., northwest corner.
For further schedule information, please check website.
•Grand Central Terminal- Crossroads Of A Million Private Lives: Joyce Gold History Tours of New York, 141 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011. (212) 242- 5762 or www.nyctours.com
Monument to movement, and a thrilling symbol of New York’s openness to people and ideas. Whitney Midtown, 42nd St. and Park Avenue, sw corner. $12.
For further schedule information, please check website.
•The Midtown Architectural Walking Tour: (212) 979-2388 or www.nycwalk.com
A walk in Midtown from the Waldorf Astoria's Art Deco to Trump Tower's Post Modern style and back with landmark examples of Romanesque, Moorish / Islamic Revival, Gothic along with 16th Century Italian Renaissance Palace styles of architecture and a dozen landmark historically styled turn of the century mansions. Each participant is given an itinerary with 25 stops which include 19 New York City Landmarks and eight National Landmarks. Meet in front of: 300 Park Ave between E. 49 St. and E. 50 S.
•The Heart of New York Culture Walking Tour - Midtown, from Broadway to Columbus Circle: Contact: revacooper@earthlink.net; Telephone 718-965-0486; www.heartofnyculture.com
Cultural, architectural and civic highlights, from 40th to 59th Streets, including: The World of Broadway Theater; personalities, shows, restaurants, traditions; the restoration of Midtown, Rockfeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral and other Fifth Avenue attractions, Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Modern Art and Columbus Circle. For further information, please check website.
•Art Deco Midtown: The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Ave., Manhattan, NY(212) 439-1049 or www.mas.org
A visit to a cluster of New York’s greatest Deco hits, including the spectacular and beautifully restored General Electric Building, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and Midtown’s miraculously urbane urban wonderland, Rockefeller Center. Leader: Anthony Robins, architectural historian. Meet at the Urban Center, 457 Madison Ave. at 51st St. 11am
For further shcedule information and rates, please check website.
•Midtown Reborn: Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue (between 50th and 51st Streets), Manhattan, NY. (212) 935-3960.
Many midtown institutions occupy not their first, but their second, third or even fourth homes. Starting at the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 49th Street, this tour visits the second Waldorf-Astoria hotel, second St. Patrick's Cathedral, fourth St. Thomas' Church and second University Club.
Please call for further information.
•Murray Hill: The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Ave., Manhattan, NY(212) 439-1049 or www.mas.org
Murray Hill has been a prestigious residential neighborhood since the mid-19th century. Its history is heavily, and sometimes surprisingly, tied up with that of Grand Central Terminal. We will look at the lovely streets of Murray Hill (including the new historic district), Park Avenue south of Grand Central, and such great buildings as the Morgan Library and 2 Park Avenue. Leader: Francis Morrone, architectural historian. Meet at the entrance to Track 29, Grand Central Terminal.
For further shcedule information and rates, please check website.
•Oscar Wilde in New York: (856) 625 6793
In 1882, Oscar Wilde arrived in New York and famously declared his genius.This walk traces his arrival with a leafy stroll through Madison Square and Gramercy Park discovering the places he knew and visited as he made his New York debut in the social and literary world. Unearth the reasons for Oscar's visit, and the stories behind his lectures, parties, receptions, and appearances in the leading periodicals of the day. Along the way, discover many other celebrities and literary giants of the period and Wilde's connection with them. The walk concludes in Union Square where the famous photographs were taken of Oscar Wilde that have largely formed the visual image we have of him today. Meet at the statue of Chester A. Arthur in Madison Square Park close to the corner of E. 26th Street and Madison Avenue. Cost $15 adults; $12 students. Duration: about 2 hours.
•1-Hour VIP Champagne Party Night Tour: The Limo Tour, 141 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10011. (212) 242-5762TOUR IS DONE EVERY DAY - Experience New York's greatest evening tour in a luxurious super-stretch limousine, complimentary champagne, with guests from around the world. When the sun comes down, the lights go up as you tour past Times Square, Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue and many other locations. The lights of New York, a limousine ride, champagne toast, other guests, and our very own special music makes this New York's best evening tour. We do recommend that individuals be over 21 (unless you book a private tour). RESERVATIONS A MUST.
•Fifth Avenue Gold Coast: Joyce Gold History Tours of New York, 141 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011. (212) 242- 5762 or www.nyctours.com
The great mansions of New York's Gold Coast to the east of Central Park – and the notable people within them. Meet: The Frick Collection, 1 E. 70th St. $12.
For further schedule information, please check website.
•The Metropolitan Museum of Art From The Outside: An Architectural Tour of America: The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Ave., Manhattan, NY(212) 439-1049 or www.mas.org
Construction of the museum has spanned more than a century and represents a virtual history of American architecture. Once located in a “showroom” on 14th Street, the museum moved to Central Park and into its Victorian Gothic brick structure by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould in 1880 (now the Medieval Sculpture court). Subsequent additions have included the work of many American architects – from Richard Morris Hunt and his son Richard Howland Hunt to McKim, Mead and White to Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates. Leader: Arthur Rosenblatt, FAIA, former vice director and vice president of the Metropolitan Museum. Meet at the base of the steps at the Metropolitan Museum, 5th Ave. and 81st St. 11am.
For further shcedule information and rates, please check website.
•The Places And People Who Came Before Central Park: The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Ave., Manhattan, NY(212) 439-1049 or www.mas.org
The creation of genteel Central Park was a catalyst for sudden change in New York City, inspiring street grading, and neighborhood development. But what social impact did the appropriation of land needed for the park have on the communities living on its 778 acres? Bone-boiling plants, saloons, and shanties were displaced along with communities of free African Americans, and Irish and German immigrants. This walk focuses on some of the long-gone people and institutions previously occupying today’s Central Park and its environs. Topics include Seneca Village, Gilhooley’s Burial Plot, the Croton Aqueduct, the Stone Block House, McGowan’s Pass, and the Mount St. Vincent Convent. Leader: Carl Riobo, Assistant Professor at Barnard College.
For further shcedule informations and rates, please check website.
• Cross Park Promenade : Central Park Conservancy, 14 East 60th Street
(between Madison and Fifth Avenues), New York. (212) 310-6600.Want to learn more? Discover park's history, ecology and design on free, volunteer-led walking tours sponsored by the Central Park Conservancy. Jan. 11, 18, 25 & Feb. 1, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
•Views from the Past: Central Park Conservancy, 14 East 60th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues), New York. (212) 310-6600.
This promenade reveals how designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux created America’s greatest urban park. Tours meet at the Dairy, located mid-Park at 64th Street.
•Harlem-Keystone of African America: Joyce Gold History Tours of New York, 141 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011. (212) 242- 5762 or www.nyctours.com
20th century hub of black culture and struggle. History, homes, music, churches, artists, leaders, and today's economic renaissance.Meet: City College, 138th St. and Amsterdam Ave.$12.
For further schedule information, please check website.
•Walking Tour of Spanish Harlem: ACAB Tour Company, 231 East 110th Street, Manhattan, NY. (212) 828-5455 or Fax: (212) 828-5463
A walking tour of Spanish Harlem includes gardens, parks, studio, latin art, museums and murals. Groups: 5-75.
Call for further informartion.
•Harlem Walk: Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue (between 50th and 51st Streets), Manhattan, NY (212) 935-3960.
John Reddick, President of Cityscape Institute leads a tour along Martin Luthur King, Jr. Boulevard to explore the rapid economic growth and neighborhood's physical change. Tours meet at the southeast corner of Lenox Avenue and 125th Street, by the Lenox Lounge.
Please call for further information.
•History of the Valentine-Varian House: The Valentine-Varian House, 3266 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, NY.(718) 881-8900
Half an hour by public transportation from the center of Manhattan, and set in a park surrounded by fruit trees and a herb garden, is the historic Valentine-Varian House. The four-level fieldstone farmhouse has stood at the crossroads of history, when Isaac Valentine built it near Boston Post Road, which linked the major cities of the American colonies. It was later the site of six skirmishes between American troops and British forces, who occupied the house for most of the Revolutionary War. In 1791, the house passed into the hands of the Varian family (Isaac Varian served as mayor of New York City from 1839 to 1841) who owned it for the next 114 years. The house changed hands one more time, in 1905, when William F. Beller purchased it. His son, William C. Beller, generously donated the historic dwelling to The Society.
•Mambo to Hip Hop Tours: The Point, Bronx. Ask to speak with Angel Rodriguez @ (718) 542-4139, or e-mail tiotimbales@yahoo.com
THE POINT is a cultural center that celebrates the art, music, and community life of the South Bronx and is the developer of the Mambo to Hip Hop tour. Stop here to shop, watch performances and eat. THE POINT offers cultural heritage tours that cover the Latin music heritage trail. Tours explore Latin music and hip hop sites in East Harlem and the South Bronx, as well as the cutting-edge approaches that are remaking South Bronx neighborhoods and open spaces. Van, walking, and canoe/kayak tours on the Bronx River are led by trained local guides, and will include THE POINT, its new artist studios in the American Banknote Building, fabled dancehalls, and other historic and noteworthy sites in the area. Tours may also include lunch, and special music and dance workshops at The Point. Customized Tours are available for 2 to 5 hours. A step on guide is recommended. The longer tour includes post-tour entertainment and food at THE POINT; food can be made available for the shorter tour; please arrange in advance.
•Teatro Puerto Rico: The Point, Bronx. Ask to speak with Angel Rodriguez @ (718) 542-4139, or e-mail tiotimbales@yahoo.com
Teatro Puerto Ri: formerly the center of vibrant variety shows and la farándula (Spanish-language show business) that filled this theater from the 1940s through the 1960s. A self-guided tour of Latin music landmarks in East Harlem and South Bronx, based on the tour planned by City Lore and the Point Community Development Corporation. Informations on tours to be offered this fall by the 92nd Street Y and the Point Community Development Corporation: (718) 542-4139.
•Bronx Casino/Caravana Club/El Cerromar and La Campana: The Point, Bronx. Ask to speak with Angel Rodriguez @ (718) 542-4139, or e-mail tiotimbales@yahoo.com
Hear about the Caravana Club, where Charlie Palmieri recorded his Live at the Caravana, which popularized the pachanga dance craze in the Bronx. Next door, the little bar La Campana was where a night out started before heading to the borough’s larger club. Hours: Mondays through Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.Customized Tours are available for 2 to 5 hours. A step on guide is recommended. The longer tour includes post-tour entertainment and food at THE POINT; food can be made available for the shorter tour; please arrange in advance.
•Rincón Criollo: The Point, Bronx. Ask to speak with Angel Rodriguez @ (718) 542-4139, or e-mail tiotimbales@yahoo.com
Casitas are little houses reminiscent of housing in the Puerto Rican countryside that are used for community gatherings and musical festivities. Rincón Crillo is one of the City’s largest and oldest. Visits and tours of the casita and gardens can be arranged. Customized Tours are available for 2 to 5 hours. A step on guide is recommended. The longer tour includes post-tour entertainment and food at THE POINT; food can be made available for the shorter tour; please arrange in advance.
•Casa Amadeo: The Point, Bronx. Ask to speak with Angel Rodriguez @ (718) 542-4139, or e-mail tiotimbales@yahoo.com
Opened in 1941 by Victoria and Rafael Hernández as Casa Hernandez, Casa Amadeo is recognized as the oldest Latino music store in New York. Rafael has been called one of Latin America's greatest composers. Victoria, Rafael's sister, was a pianist and one of Latin music's first female entrepreneurs. In 1969, they sold the store to Mike Amadeo, a musician and composer who has sustained Casa Amadeo as an important gathering place for musicians and a treasure house of Latin music. Open Monday-Saturday, from 11am-7pm. Customized Tours are available for 2 to 5 hours. A step on guide is recommended. The longer tour includes post-tour entertainment and food at THE POINT; food can be made available for the shorter tour; please arrange in advance.
•La Giralda/Longwood Casino: The Point, Bronx. Ask to speak with Angel Rodriguez @ (718) 542-4139, or e-mail tiotimbales@yahoo.com
La Giralda/Longwood Casino were two of the earliest Latin music establishments in the Bronx, and catered to the emerging Puerto Rican and Cuban communities. Casalegre, one of the most popular record stores and hang out spots for musicians in the 1950s, started by Al Santiago, who also founded Alegre Records, a record label that became synonymous with the New York Latin music sound until the mid-60s. The Tropicana Club was inspired by the Havana Cabaret in Cuba; this was one of the ritziest and elegant of the Latin music clubs in the Bronx. See The Hunts Point Palace, formerly the largest dance hall in the Bronx and The Spooner Theatre, which housed the Tritons Club, the best after-hours place for jam sessions in the 1960s. It was also here that the changa dance was given its official Bronx moves. At La Placita local Latino b-boys and b-girls (breakdancers) would come here to dance during the 1970s. Club Tropicoro was a nightclub owned by two-time welterweight boxing champion Carlos Ortiz. In addition to Secretary of State Colin Powell, many of the biggest names in Latin music also attended P.S. 52, including Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri and Joe Quijano.
•The New York Botanical Garden: The New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road Bronx, New York 10458. Phone: (718) 817-8687 Fax: (718) 817-8737; E-mail: grouptours@nybg.org
A group tour is an excellent way to experience all that the Garden has to offer. Guided tours are led by experienced and friendly docents who have specialized training in botany, horticulture, and natural history. Docents provide your group with a unique and memorable Garden experience. The Group Tours team will assist you with group reservations and can offer creative ideas and package options to make your Garden visit a success. The minimum number of persons to qualify as a group is 15. The New York Botanical Garden offers the best of nature in every season. The 250 rambling acres of the Garden are home to beautiful flower collections, spacious meadows, sparkling waterfalls, a vast old-growth forest, and a world-class conservatory. The New York Botanical Garden offers the best of nature in every season. *Available year-round. Includes admission to Garden grounds, Rock and Native Plant Gardens, Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children's Adventure Garden, and narrated public tram tour.• Adults: $9.00• Seniors/Students: $6.75• Children (2–12): $3.60.
•The Bronx County Historical Society: The Bronx County Historical Society, 3309 Bainbridge Avenue The Bronx, New York, USA 10467. To reserve a place in a tour, call (718) 881 - 8900.
The Bronx County Historical Society offers scheduled tours for the general public. Students, tourists, conventioneers, overseas visitors, business executives–and especially native New Yorkers–often find these tours one of their most rewarding experience in New York City. In addition to walking tours scheduled during the spring, summer and fall, The Society also organizes special group trips by bus, boat, bicycle, auto, and horse.The tours show The Bronx of yesterday and today. Explore the many neighborhoods and ethnic areas of The Bronx, from the quiet tree lined streets of Riverdale, with its breathtaking views of the Hudson River, to the urban landscapes of the South Bronx, the seaside air of City Island. See some of the finest collections of Art Deco buildings in America on the Grand Concourse. . . Study the wonders of the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Garden. Visit the Hall of Fame housing the bronze busts of over famous Americans by some of the country’s greatest sculptors, such as Daniel Chester French and Frederick MacMonnies. There are also trips to the 10 colleges and universities in The Bronx. Other tours take in the borough’s many houses of worship, a numer of which are historic landmarks. Tours are conducted by Joyce Gold, M.A. Instructor of Manhattan history at the New School for Social Research and New York University. She is author of From Windmills to the World Trade Center: A Walking Guide to Lower Manhattan History (3rd ed) and From Trout Stream to Bohemia: A Walking Guide to Greenwich Village History (2nd ed.). According to the New York Times, she is "the doyenne of city walking guides." Joyce Gold History Tours of New York"
Guided Tours and School Groups at other times by appointment.
Touring Steinway and Sons Piano Factory: The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Ave., Manhattan, NY(212) 439-1049 or www.mas.org
To celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary, tour the factory floors of Steinway and Sons in Astoria, Queens to watch how pianos are made – from raw material to finished product. Note: This program involves substantial walking and climbing stairs. Cost of members only tour: $40 per person. Reservations are required and accepted with pre-payment. Call MAS at 212.935.3960 to reserve a space on the bus which will depart from and return to the Urban Center, 457 Madison Ave. 9- 12:15pm.
For further information, please check website.
•The Alfred Hitchcock's Locations Walk: Bookings at sandra_shevey@yahoo.com
A three-hour walk tracking Hitchcock sites in Manhattan and Queens used by director Alfred Hitchcock in his films, led by Hitchcock historian Sandra Shevey who interviewed him in Hollywood in 1972. The cost is $25 excluding Metrocard. Bookings only via e-mail.
The walk goes every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at llam.
•From Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn heights: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
First, we cross the Brooklyn Bridge and recount the dramatic story of how it was built. Then it's on to the Heights, the city's first suburb, to explore the rich architectural, social and literary history. Stops include: Plymouth Church, the A. A. Low Mansion, and sites associated with Hart Crane, Norman Mailer, and Betty Smith.
For further information, please check website.
•Green-Wood Cemetery: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
Covering some 474 acres and containing more than 600,000 graves, Green-Wood is New York's great Victorian "City of the Dead". This tour is an introduction to the history, architecture, and people of this Brooklyn treasure. Stops include the graves of DeWitt Clinton, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Leonard Bernstein, and John "The Soda Fountain King" Matthews.
Meet: Green-Wood's main entrance located at 5th Avenue and 25th Street, Brooklyn. One block east of the N train stop at 25th St. Please check website for schedule and rates.
•Park Slope: Big Onion Walking Tours, 436 13th Street, Brooklyn, NY. 212) 439-1090 or www.bigonion.com
Explore Brooklyn's "Gold Coast". As one of New York's finest residential neighborhoods, Park Slope is a landmark district filled with remarkable architecture and splendid history. Stops include: The Montauk Club, Litchfield Manor, and sites associated with Charles P. H. Gilbert, Mayor William Gaynor, and Adams Chewing Gum.
Meet: The southeast corner of Plaza Street West and Flatbush Avenue, at the news-stand. Please check website for schedule and rates.
•The Heart of New York Culture Walking Tour: Brooklyn's Magnificient "Brownstone Belt." Contact: revacooper@earthlink.net; Telephone 718-965-0486; www.heartofnyculture.com
Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights
This tour begins at the Brooklyn Museum -- a McKim Mead and White masterpiece -- and ends at the 1848 Brooklyn Borough Hall (or, the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, if you'd like to have another great experience and walk back to Manhattan, or the hip DUMBO area). Enjoy the stunning neighborhoods, the splendid 19th Century architecture -- houses, churches, public buildings and monuments by major architects -- Revolutionary and Civil War connections, homes of famous performers, writers and the mother of Britain's greatest prime minister -- and a fantastic, 180-degree view of New York harbot. For further information, please check website.•Hassidic Neighborhoods of Brooklyn: Israelowitz Publishing, P.O. Box 228, Brooklyn, NY. (718) 951-7072 or www. Israelowitzpublishing.com
This four-hour bus and walking tour includes visits to the Satmar Hassidim in Williamsburg, the Bobover Hassidim in Borough Park and the Lubavitcher Hassidim in Crown Heights. See the great synagogues (including the new 6,000-seat Satmar shul) established by each group. Depending on the time of year when visiting, see the hundreds of succahs built on specially-designed terraces, visit a matzoh factory and watch matzohs being created within the prescribed 18 minutes, and visit a mikveh and the Lubavichter Rebbe Library and Museum.
Cost: $300/group Fee does not include charter bus. (Plus $50 donation to Lubavitch Youth Organization if spokesperson is provided)
•Custom Biking Tours: Bike the Big Apple, Brooklyn, NY. (201) 837-1133 or email: Explore@BikeTheBigApple.com
Tour Details: This special tour starts with a ride over the new Williamsburg Bridge bike path. We enter the hip, artistic neighborhood of Williamsburg and head to the big apple's only micro-brewery, The Brooklyn Brewery. Its 1860's building has been beautifully restored to its bare brick and wood timbers. Here you can sample its top rated beer, ale, or stout on tap. Only a short ride away, yet centuries back in time, we enter a Hassidic shetle, like that made famous in Fiddler On The Roof. Here the orthodox Jewish population still tries to live as it did before before the Holocaust. On this the Jewish sabbath, all the businesses are closed as the synagogue becomes the focal point of existence. Another short pedal away, and we are back again in the 21st century. Now we are in Dumbo, another fascinating ôinö neighborhood of Brooklyn. We head to Jacques Torres Chocolate Shop, run by a pastry chef extraordinaire. Here you can sample his pethiviers, highlighted recently in The New York Times - or get high on other chocolate delights. We finally pedal over the Brooklyn Bridge, also on its own bike path. The high here is not merely provided by altitude, but also by the incredible views of the New York skyline and harbor. Great brews, Great views and Great chocolate - all make for a delightful afternoon in the Big Apple!
For further information, please check website.
•NY Like A Native Walking Tours: Walk Brooklyn, NY. (718)393-7537 or visit: www.nylikeanative.com
Tour Details: There are lots of walking tours in New York, but Brooklyn specialist Norman Oder has designed these tours to be wider-ranging and faster-paced than most. These are geared to energetic, independent-minded visitors (or residents!) who can handle public transportation and are curious about the richness beyond the tourist basics. Brooklyn: Our Home, Our Specialty The stoop and entryway of a Brooklyn Heights brownstone on Pierrepont Street. Brooklyn would be the nation's fourth-largest city if it went independent. On our tours, you learn why Brooklyn was so important and hear tales of its heyday, decline, and fascinating recovery. (Oh, we also offer tours of the Lower East Side, which is umbilically connected to Brooklyn.)
For further information, please check website.
•Urban Park Rangers: Urban Park Rangers, The Arsenal: Central Park 830 5th Avenue New York, NY 10021, Staten Island. (212) 360-8111.
Nature in New York? It's here, we promise. Join the Urban Park Rangers as they share their expertise about winter ecology and wildlife all month long at sites on Staten Island.Nature Centers and Tours check Web site for times and places.
•Village Curriculum Tours: 44 Clark Avenue, Staten Island, NY. Tel: (718) 351-1611 or www.historicrichmondtown.org.
The Family at Work and Play (grade K-2). This tour uses the Stephens House, the General Store, and the Tinsmith Shop, to explore relationships within the family and community in the past and in the present. Hands-on activities underscore lesson points. Level K Unit Themes addressed: Myself and Others, My Family and Other Families, Basic Human Needs and Wants, People Helping One Another to Meet Needs and Wants. Grade 1 Unit Themes addressed: My Family and Other Families, My Community and Local Region, Challenge of Meeting Needs and Wants, Economic Decision Making. Grade 2 Unit Themes Addressed: Economic Decision Making, Challenge of Meeting Needs and Wants, People Using Human, Capital, and Natural Resources. These tours were developed in consultation with curricular experts to fit the New York State Social Studies standards and are keyed to particular grade levels.
Rural Neighbors (grades 2-5; can be adjusted for 6-8). This tour uses the Gyon-Lake-Tysen House and the Basketmaker's House, along with hands-on activities and documents, to examine ways in which neighbors in early American communities depended on each other. Students compare community roles and standards of living in a kitchen and parlor places. Grade 2 Unit Themes Addressed: My Community and Region Today, People Depending on and Modifying the Physical Environment, Challenge of Meeting Needs and Wants, People Using Human, Capital, and Natural Resources. Grade 3 Unit Themes Addressed: Cultures and Civilizations, People Depending on and Modifying their Environment, Challenge of Meeting Needs and Wants. Grade 4 Unit Themes Addressed: Three Worlds Meet in the Americas, Colonial and Revolutionary Periods, Urbanization: economic, political and social impacts. Grade 5 Unit Themes Addressed: History of the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Economies of the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
Acting as Citizens (grades 3-5; can be adjusted for 6-8). This tour uses the Courthouse, Voorlezer's House (Dutch Reformed Meeting House), and Tavern, as well as a variety of documents, to introduce students to the development and key elements of citizenship in the United States. In each building, a costumed interpreter leads students in a discussion of a particular document related to the civic role of the building. Grade 3 Unit Themes Addressed: Culture and Civilization; People Making and Changing Rules and Laws; Governments Around the World. Grade 4 Unit Themes Addressed: Three Worlds Meet in the Americas; Colonial and Revolutionary Periods; Local and State Governments and The New Nation. Grade 5 Unit Themes Addressed: History of the United States, Canada, and Latin America; Governments of the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
Africa-American History Focus Tour. The African-American focus tour is Historic Richmond Town's first tour to be built around a specific theme. Students explore various aspects of life in early America from the perspective of African-Americans, both enslaved and free. This tour uses local primary source documents, the museum exhibit "Made on Staten Island," and two of the historic buildings as windows into the experience of Blacks in the New York City area from the colonial era to the Civil War. Curriculum Themes Addressed: Three worlds meet in the Americas; Colonial and Revolutionary America; Challenge of meeting needs and wants; Life in the new nation. Skills Enhanced: Reading and Analysis of primary source documents.Tour includes a visit to areas not normally on view to school groups. Offered in October and Jan-Mar.
Historic Richmond Tour. Please call (718) 351-1611 for more details.
•Historic Long Island Gold Coast Sightseeing Cruises: Skyline Cruises, World's Fair Marina, Flushing, NY. (718) 446-1100 or www.skylinecruises.com
Get on board the luxury yacht Skyline Princess as it takes you on a spectacular two hour excursion on the Long Island Sound. Departing from the World's Fair Marina in Flushing, Queens, you'll view the historic sights of the Long Island Gold Coast. Highlights include the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges, Fort Schuyler and Fort Totten, Execution and Stepping Stone Lighthouses and Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy. Relive the Great Gatsby era as you sail past the impressive mansions of Whitestone, Great Neck, Kings Point, Manhasset and Sands Point. A concession is available for food and drink purchases. May to October. Every Saturday, 12pm-2pm- $20 per person, $17 Senior Citizen, $10 Children (12 and under)
The Very First Guide to Community Tourism in New York is © copyright 2004, Metro New Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
