The Bowery Official Historic District Tour
- 1h 30m
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
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.
Inclusions
What's included
- Sightseeing Guide
What's not
- Gratuity
Itinerary
Meeting point is at the Confucius Statue at Confucius Plaza, corner of Bowery and Division Street
We'll stop at the entrance to Doyers Street, aka Murder Alley and the Bloody Angle during the 19th Century
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
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
Stopping near the New Museum of Contemporary Art Building we will talk about the Bowery Mission, Italian Opera Houses, Yiddish Theatre and more
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)
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
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.9
- 519
- 40
- 31
- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 20 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Please meet in front of the Confucius Statue on corner of Bowery and Division Streets
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 50 travellers
- Operated by
- Tommys New York
- 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
How it compares in New York City
- Its from-price is 60% below the median of the 2673 experiences we list in New York City.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 726 of 2673.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About New York City
New York City packs skyscrapers, famous museums, Broadway theatres and dozens of distinct neighbourhoods into five boroughs that hum day and night.
Manhattan is the classic first stop. Times Square glows above the theatre district, Central Park stretches for blocks between the Upper East and Upper West Sides, and the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center define the midtown skyline. Downtown, the 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge sit close together, and boats run out past the Statue of Liberty to Ellis Island.
Top-ranked sights in New York City: Statue of Liberty, Central Park, National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Special offers in New York City
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
