The Bowery Official Historic District Tour Discount Tickets

Get your discount tickets for the The Bowery Official Historic District Tour, save up to 12% !

Overview

Join us on a journey through over four centuries as we walk down NYC’s oldest street! Originally a Native American footpath and Dutch farm road, site of the first free Black homesteads, it witnessed gang wars, the bloody Astor Place Riot, & Lincoln’s famous anti-slavery speech at Cooper Union. It was the working-class main street for sailors, shopgirls, gangs, gays, and waves of immigrant Irish, Italians, Germans, Jews, and Chinese. NYC’s first entertainment district, it has seminal links to tap dance, vaudeville, Yiddish theater, Houdini, Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin, Mae West, modern tattooing, Abstract Expressionism, Beat literature, improvisational jazz and punk rock. Though it declined in the 1900s, when flop houses and dive bars proliferated, it nonetheless became home to affordable jewelry, lighting, and restaurant supply stores, and a live-work home for artists like Marc Rothko, Maya Lin, William Burroughs, Robert Frank, and Debbie Harry.

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Please meet in front of the Confucius Statue on corner of Bowery and Division Streets

End Point

End point

Tour ends at the Cooper Union Foundation Building

Language Offered

English-GUIDE

Itinerary

1. Statue of Confucius
Meeting point is at the Confucius Statue at Confucius Plaza, corner of Bowery and Division Street
Duration: 5 mins
2. Doyers Street
We'll stop at the entrance to Doyers Street, aka Murder Alley and the Bloody Angle during the 19th Century
Duration: 5 mins
3. Manhattan Bridge
We'll pass by the Triumphal Arch and Colonnade of the Manhattan Bridge, we'll stop to talk about the Original Diamond District on Bowery and Canal, the old Citizens Bank Building, Confucius Plaza and former sights of the German Winter Garden and Windsor Theatre
Duration: 5 mins
4. The Bowery Ballroom
We will stop near the old Bowery Ballroom, one of the last music vestiges of the Bowery, we'll also talk about the old LIncoln Hotel, former site of one of the Germania Bank Buildings and more
Duration: 5 mins
5. New Museum
Stopping near the New Museum of Contemporary Art Building we will talk about the Bowery Mission, Italian Opera Houses, Yiddish Theatre and more
Duration: 5 mins
6. Bowery Poetry Club
We will stop near the Bowery Poetry Club and talk about the Punk Rock era of Bowery. Right across the street was the location of the famous CBGB's. We are not far from Electric Ladyland and former residence of Deborah Harry (Blondie)
Duration: 5 mins
7. Cooper Union Foundation Building
As we approach the Cooper Union Foundation Building we will also have a few stops along Cooper Square including the old Village Voice Building, Carl Fischer Music Building, McSorley's Ale House, and more
Duration: 10 mins

Inclusion

Sightseeing Guide

Exclusion

Gratuity

Cancellation Policy

Check mark icon Refundable tickets

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

  • 100% refund if cancelled 1+ days before the start date
  • 0% refund if cancelled less than 1 day(s) before the start date

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Public transportation options are available nearby

Transportation options are wheelchair accessible

All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries

Not recommended for pregnant travelers

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Supplied by Tommys New York

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