Recreate the Most Requested Walking Tour of 1840s New York
Description
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.
Tour Options
Itinerary
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.
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?
We stop to appreciate Louis Sullivan's only building in the city, and learn its role in the evolution of the skyscraper style.
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.
The walk down to Canal Street is a roster of social and retail history, with stories and characters from a by-gone era.
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.
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.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- 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
Reviews(12)
Wonderful tour, great info, good visual aids, encyclopedic knowledge of history and architecture, the serial nature of Manhattan's land use planning ( mostly accidental): a really fun and interesting experience. And, I'm a native NY'er!
Thank you at much and I hope to see you again!
I have visited NYC many times, but saw it through a whole new light thanks to this amazing tour guide. He was over the top knowledgeable and fun to tour with. Excellent!!!
Thank you! It was awesome having you on the tour!
Amazing tour and so much detailed information and knowledge. Absolutely loved it. Our guide had such a passion for the history of New York. Highly recommend it. Thank you 🙏
It was great taking you around! I really appreciate that you still came on the tour after everything you went through getting here! I forgot to mention, you should check out pier 57, and look into taking the commuter ferries to see different parts of town, or just to be on the water during these next fw days. Enjoy the city and thank you again!!!
Excellent guide, many facts not know about New York in the 1800’s Fascinating Architecture not noticed until pointed out, We take things for granted but understanding what went behind the building of NYC is very interesting.
It was a pleasure taking you around, thank you for the great review!
This is my second tour with Manhattan Unlocked and both have been spectacular! We learned so much and saw things we would never have noticed (or understood the significance of) on our own. I highly recommend these tours!!
It was great to see you and thank you for looking out for me!!! Hope to see you again
Rob's tour was a highlight of our visit to New York, an immersion into the history, architecture and even topography of the city along its most famous original thoroughfare, Broadway. We'll never again look at Manhattan in the same way. Rob was an extremely well-informed, gracious and accommodating host, and we're truly grateful for the experience. We look forward to exploring more of the city with him on our next visit.
Thank you so much for the great review! I look forward to seeing you again!
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!
Thank you!
I Was impressed with the tour guide’s knowledge and love for his city. Would definitely take another tour of his.
Thank you for your review, I hope to see you again.
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.
Thank you Beth, you also made it a great afternoon!
<p>My wife and I very much enjoyed our 1840's NY tour. The history, the architecture, the neighbors, all made for a fascinating morning!. Further, our guide was fabulous, with his detail, knowledge, and caring that we enjoyed our tour</p>
