Practicing artist, student of tech and computer art. Have lived in New York for going on 8 years. I love how I keep finding cool treasures in the city. I’m from Texas. I have been giving tours of art and architecture for 10 years, working at modern art museums as well as New York City guided tours.
Join us on this 3 hour, off the beaten path tour where we will explore both the East and West Village neighborhoods. 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 draft riots to communist rally’s.
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, $5 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 Sunday 4:45pm - This tour will include a unique Christmas musical event (with jam boxes) in Washington Square Park. The tour will include East Village and Middle Village area but not West Village. The event is free.
We will meet outside of Veniero’s pastry shop. I will have a colorful kids umbrella.
Get a slice of Dutch colonial vibes from the 2nd oldest church in New York, once old Dutch farmland.
The East Village was once one of the largest German populations in the world.
This Irish pub has been around since 1850s, and has a few stories to tell.
This beautiful park acts as NYUs backyard.
Historic West Village Strip, once a center for beatnik poetry and establishment era folk music.
How could Monica afford that huge apartment in the Village
The first off Broadway theatre
The protest here for gay rights in 1960s is celebrated nation wide in Gay Pride.
Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end of the tour the amount that he or she considers appropriate (these usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).