South Street Seaport Tour

Experience New York’s maritime heritage

Come explore the old and the new at South Street Seaport, featuring the largest concentration of restored early 19^th-century commercial buildings in New York, and the newly repurposed Tin Building as a culinary marketplace by Chef Jean-Georges. The tour starts at the Titanic Memorial located at the corner of Fulton and Water Streets, a 1913, 60-foot lighthouse built to commemorate those who perished on the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.

South Street Seaport has evolved from one of the first and busiest streets in Manhattan when it was New Amsterdam’s first port serving the Dutch West India Company, and later as the Port of New York importing goods from England and China, and the location for the Fulton Fish Market, in 1822.

Since the 1980s, South Street Seaport has become a tourist destination featuring the South Street Seaport Museum and its fleet of historical ships, Schermerhorn Row, the Titanic Memorial, and the revitalized Pier 17 — a restaurant destination and summer concert venue.

Tour guide Ginny Poleman will guide you through the evolution of the neighborhood with stops at the 18^th and 19^th century remnants, sharing stories and vintage photographs of a bustling commercial district, ending with spectacular views of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Tour highlights will include:

• Burling Slip, where archeologists discovered in the 1980s the entire hull of an 18th-century merchant ship used as the bulkheads for landfill
• Schermerhorn Row, the landmarked Federal Style early 19th century counting houses built by Peter Schermerhorn, the ancestor to the Gilded Age’s “The Mrs. Astor”, Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, and today’s home of the South Street Seaport Museum
• Peck Slip, the only remaining NYC neighborhood with authentic maritime architecture, and the temporary hideout for George Washington and his troops during the American Revolution
• Water Street, the location of the 1770s “Rat Pit” when Water Street was once the “sea of wretchedness and sin” of gambling halls, prostitution, and dog fights
• Pier 17, location of South Street Seaport’s fleet of ships, including the 1885 Wavertree freighter, the largest remaining wrought iron vessel in the States, as well as the site of the newly updated Tin Building, once the home of the Fulton Fish Market and now a curated, upscale food hall

Book online now!

Here is a review from a recent tour:

“A highly recommended experience. Ginny knew everything about the city and took us through important parts of the city with a historical legacy. Highly recommended.”

–Google

The Tour

This tour walks through the historic district of South Street Seaport. It starts in Titanic Memorial Park near the corner of Fulton and Water Streets, ending at Pier 17. We will send exact meetup instructions when you sign up.

Duration

2 hours and about 1 mile of walking

Book online now!

Please contact us to set up a private tour!

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Ages

This tour is best suited for ages 12+

Tour Guide

Prep for the tour by listening to Bowery Boys episodes “The History of South Street Seaport.”