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Explore Parts of New York You’ve Never Seen
Reservations now open for OpenHouse New York
Eldridge Street Synagogue
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Reservations are now open for OpenHouse New York, America’s largest design and architect event, in which the doors of some of NY’s most fascinating buildings are opened for tours on Oct. 9-10, free of charge. The tours fill up quickly, so be sure to RSVP now. Here are some of the more interesting sounding events (for full information, please click here):
Manhattan
1 World Trade Center
Neighborhood: Lower Manhattan
Reservation: 1wtc.ohny@gmail.com
This is the first office tower to rise on the actual World Trade Center site. Upon completion, the tower is to become the tallest building in the New York City skyline, a memorable architectural landmark.
69th Regiment Armory
Neighborhood: Flatiron District
The National Historic Landmark New York State Armory is home to the legendary “Fighting 69th” Infantry and houses numerous artifacts from its historic past including original Medals of Honor, original Civil War era battle flags including the “Prince of Wales” flag- one of the “Irish Colors.”
African Burial Ground
290 Broadway/Elk St.
Neighborhood: Lower Manhattan
Reservations required: Cherie_butler@nps.gov
From about the 1690s until 1794, both free and enslaved Africans were buried in a 6.6-acre burial ground in Lower Manhattan. Lost to history due to landfill and development, the grounds were rediscovered in 1991 as a consequence of the planned construction of a federal office building.
Apollo Theater
253 W. 125th St.
Neighborhood: Harlem
Reservations required: www.apollotheater.org or (212) 531-5379.
Get a behind-the-scenes tour of one of NYC’s most iconic entertainment venues. Resident historian Billy Mitchell will be on hand to talk about the history of the venue and design professional John Reddick will speak about Harlem’s architectural past.
Eldridge Street Synagogue
12 Eldridge St.
neighborhood: Lower East Side/Chinatown
Reservations requireq: contact@eldridgestreet.org
Established by East European immigrants, this National Historic Landmark was restored to its original grandeur. It features an exuberant combination of Moorish, Gothic & Romanesque styles, stained-glass windows, paint decoration and Victorian-era lighting and a new window by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans.
Grand Central Terminal
East 42nd Street/ Park Ave
Neighborhood: Midtown
Reservations required: ohny@bbbarch.com.
One of the grandest Beaux-Arts buildings in the city, this historic terminal is rife with secrets to uncover.
Moynihan Station
James A. Farley Buildling, North Rotunda, 33rd Street & 8th Avenue
Neighborhood: Midtown
Reservations required: msdc@empire.state.ny.us
Get a behind the scenes tour of Moynihan Station which will expand to Penn Station into the historic Farley Post Office Building to create a new, sky-lit train on similar to that of Grand Central. Learn more about Phase 1 of the project which will relieve congestion at Penn Station for over 600,00 passengers that pass through on a daily basis.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
28 E. 20th St.
Neighborhood: Flatiron District/Gramercy Park
View the birthplace and boyhood home of President Theodore Roosevelt and see what it was like to grow up in the “Gilded Age.”
Brooklyn
The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel
SW corner of Court St & Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn
Neighborhood: Cobble Hill
Reservations required: atlantic.ave.tunnel@gmail.com.
Officially the world’s oldest subway tunnel, it was constructed in seven months using only hand tools and primitive equipment. It was built to provide grade separation for early Long Island Rail Road trains that lacked brakes good enough to operate on city streets.
Gowanus Canal Sponge Park
Intersection of Degraw and Nevins Streets, Brooklyn
Neighborhood: Gowanus
Reservations required: dlandstudio@gmail.com.
An open space system that remediates surface water runoff while also adding accessible urban open space to underserved neighborhoods. The design uses landscape, architectural and engineered strategies to help make waterways cleaner by slowing, retaining and filtering storm water.
The Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge
290 Conover Street/ Pier 44, Brooklyn
Neighborhood: Red Hook
Lehigh Valley RR Barge #79 is the only floating, wooden, covered barge of its kind in America, and features exhibits about its restoration and transition into a waterborne museum.
Bronx
The New York Botanical Garden
Bronx River Pkwy/Fordham Road
Neighborhood: Fordham
Located within Bronx Park, the Garden showcases one of the world’s greatest collection of plants. The grand neo-Renaissance-style Museum Building and Fountain of Life form a distinguished and monumental Beaux-Arts civic space inside the largest garden in the country.
Queens
Fort Totten
212 Street, N Intersection/Bell Blvd.
Neighborhood: Bayside
With its battlements and gothic features, this Fort once guarded the East River waterfront.
Louis Armstrong House Museum
34-56 107th St/37th Avenue
Neighborhood: Corona
Reservations required: info@louisarmstronghouse.org
In 1943, Louis Armstrong, the world’s most famous jazz musician, and his wife Lucille settled in a modest brick house in Corona, Queens, where they lived for the remainder of their lives. In 2003, the house was converted into a museum.