Join us on this 3 hour off the beaten path tour as an introduction to the Village neighborhood where we will explore both the East and West Village. Both areas unique and historic, the East village is more funky and gritty while the west village is older and more charming, each with a bohemian past.
We will begin in the East village when it was Dutch farmland and look at remnants of New York's Kleines Deutschland, at one time the 3rd largest urban population of Germans outside of Berlin and Vienna and when 2nd Avenue was the ¨Jewish Rialto¨ a thriving Jewish entertainment district. We will talk about New Yorks immigration waves and the rise of tenement housing. We will also look at the early history of political protests in Tomkins Square Park.
From there we will head west and visit the haunts of poets, writers and artists of the 20th century around Washington Square Park and MacDougal Street with art movements such as Abstract Expressionism, Beat Poetry and Folk Music : McSorley´s Pub, The GasLight Cafe, and learn about famous American artists such as Edward Hopper and Basquiat. We will end on the west edge of the Village and visit the Stonewall Inn, an old speakeasy as well as the first off Broadway theatre.
If you haven’t spent much time in the Village, this is a perfect introduction of its highlights. The tour will end near Little Island and The Standard Hotel, and many other spots where you can relax and enjoy New Yorks unique ambiance.
SPECIAL TOURS !!
DEC 11, Wed 1:30pm- This tour will be East Village ONLY and will include a visit and guided tour to the Brant Foundation to see an 80’s East Village artist Kenny Sharf. Tickets are $10 general, $7 students and seniors. You can purchase museum tickets in advance for the 2:30 pm time slot. Space is limited. Museum tickets are not included in the tour.
DEC 15 Sun 5:00pm
This tour will include a fun Christmas event “Unsilent Night”, a musical orchestra with jam boxes. We will start at Cafe Reggio and end in the east village. This tour will not include the Stonewall Inn and stops west of there.