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Recreate the Most Requested Walking Tour of 1840s New York

Recreate the Most Requested Walking Tour of 1840s New York

Overview

This 2.5-hour walking tour meets at the Public Theater in Astor Place, across from Colonnade Row and what was the highest end residential block in the country in the 1830s, the resides of Astors, Delanos and Roosevelts. We end at the Civic Center, and the old Five Points neighborhood of "Gangs of New York" notoriety.

Going from the upper class residential precinct of today's Astor Place to the gang-infested slums of the Five Points was a typical request of visitors in the 1830s and 40s. That walk down Broadway would have taken them through a part of town that would, in the 1850s, break out as the new fashionable city center, what we now call SoHo. This part of Broadway was once a tether between the locales of these social extremes. In making that walk again, we decode and deconstruct the streetwalls of NoHo and SoHo to reveal the forces at work in the architectural creation of New York City.

City: New York City

Fri 18 Apr

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $79.00

Make a reservation

Fri 18 Apr

Starting at $79.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Professional guide

Additional Info

Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

What To Expect

The Public Theater

We start at the ruins of Colonnade Row, the early 1830s residence in the country's elite. We will lay the groundwork of history and the forces that passed through a landmark location of many histories. What's most to be appreciated is the high ground setting of once was a pleasure garden when "the city" was far downtown.

Noho

We walk down Broadway and decode the streetscape making sense of history through the buildings, noticing their styles, and sizes, and how they may have been adapted (and re-adapted) for re-use. Images from the past show the evolution of the SoHo section of Broadway. What went on before the fashionable shops and the artists gallery before them? Who were the people who walked the sidewalks?

SoHo

At Houston Street and Broadway the ancient geography makes it apparent in the asphalt why the grid began here. It was an early site of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and an upper class residential neighborhood. The tour continues through SoHo, a name place only since the 1950s, which begs the question, how did people refer to this part of town at different times in the past? We go down Broadway with explanations, descriptions, and images that deconstruct of the streetscape and reveal the brick-and-mortar history of New York City.

Canal Street

The walk down to Canal Street is a roster of social and retail history, with stories and characters from a by-gone era.

Foley Square

Today's Civic Center was a lake, the shore of which had been the African Burial Ground through much of the British colonial period. The lake would be filled in, and along its old shoreline would develop The Five Points, the most notorious slum in New York City history.

Columbus Park

The tour ends at the location of The Five Points, now 500 Pearl Street. From the high historical social standing of the beginning of the tour, we end where the most long-lived desperate and deplorable living conditions once existed, from the Irish (and The Five Points), through the tenements of Mulberry Bend, the area is now at the border of the Court District and Chinatown.

Show 3 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (12)

Khushbu_G

Nov 2023

I had the most wonderful time learning about the history of New York & SoHo from Rob. He has done thorough research of the city and patiently answered all of my questions. It was a real treat to walk through a city I’ve been to numerous times with someone with a such wealth of knowledge. I would definitely take another tour with Rob next time I’m in the city!

Response from Host

Feb 2024

Thank you!

christin367

Sep 2019

I Was impressed with the tour guide’s knowledge and love for his city. Would definitely take another tour of his.

Response from Host

Sep 2019

Thank you for your review, I hope to see you again.

Elizabeth_W

Jul 2019

Robert was a wonderful guide! Very knowledgeable and fun to be with! We learned so much history on the tour and can’t wait to book him again the next time we are in NY.

Response from Host

Aug 2019

Thank you Beth, you also made it a great afternoon!