PRIVATE TOUR OFFERING: American Tapestry: A Journey Through Lower Manhattan’s Immigrant and African American History
Experience the history, culture, and heritage of immigrant groups and African Americans who built New York City in this fascinating tour of Lower Manhattan.
We’ll traverse the streets and sidewalks of Lower Manhattan to discover narratives of generations past. Here, the vibrant threads of African, Jewish, Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese histories intertwined over time, weaving New York City’s intricate tapestry of culture and tradition. This historical tour reveals the resilience, tenacity, faith, agency, and yearning to realize their American Dreams. We’ll explore parts of the Financial District, Civic Center, Chinatown, the Lower East Side, and Little Italy, each a microcosm of rich cultural heritage.
The tour is outdoors and about three miles. Bring your walking shoes and curiosity. The tour is led by a licensed New York City tour guide and historian with over twenty-five years of experience. You’ll see historic images and photographs that will help you understand the changes that have occurred.
Prepare for an unforgettable journey through the heart of history and culture! Here’s a sample of what awaits you:
- John Street Methodist Church: Step into the birthplace of Methodism in the United States, where African American congregants broke away and founded the first African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in the city.
- African Burial Ground: Discover the poignant history of this colonial-era cemetery from the 17th and 18th centuries and the final resting place of many free and enslaved people of African descent.
- Foley Square and Mulberry Park: Walk through the former site of the notorious Five Points and hear tales of Tammany Hall, the powerful political machine that ruled the Democratic Party. Discover reformers like Jacob Riis, who exposed the dreadful living conditions of more than half of New Yorkers.
- The Banana King: Discover the fascinating history of a funeral home building, originally built in 1881 as a bank, founded by an entrepreneurial Italian immigrant who controlled the lucrative banana business in New York City.
- Church of the Transfiguration: Marvel at this historic 1801 church, which evolved from Lutheran to Irish Catholic and Italian, and now offers Mass in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.
- Pelham Café Site: The Chinatown saloon where a young Russian-Jewish singing waiter, Irving Berlin, first played. He would go on to meld cultures as one of the great American songwriters, writing a famous ragtime number and crafting some of the most famous songs about Christmas and Easter.
- Kimlau Square: Pay homage to a Chinese American patriot who bravely fought and died in World War II.
- The Alfred E. Smith House: Celebrate the legacy of a four-time governor and the first Catholic presidential candidate in 1928 at this landmark site.
- A Lower East Side Rivalry: Discover the fascinating skyscraper competition between a socialist Jewish newspaper, The Forward, and the capitalist Jarmulowsky Bank. Which won the title for the tallest on the Lower East Side? Discover what they are today!
This is just a sample of what you will experience. Embark on the “American Tapestry” walking tour and discover the history of the fascinating diversity of people who settled Lower Manhattan beginning in the 1800s.
This is a Lower Manhattan tour. The meeting location will be sent once you register for the tour.
