Discover the origins of The Gilded Age with Carl Raymond
A very special tour with the host of the Gilded Gentleman
Join this unique tour of the once elegant Bond Street NOHO neighborhood, former home to some of New York’s most famous families including the Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos and Schermerhorns. You’ll learn how the neighborhood from the Bowery to Washington Square evolved into an enclave of the very rich and often vary famous, as well as the fringes of New York’s 19th-century underbelly.
Your tour guide: Carl Raymond, host of The Gilded Gentleman History Podcast.
WALKING TOUR Upcoming Date:
Check back for future dates
Your expert guide Carl will lead you through the neighborhood of 19th-century cobblestone streets and introduce you to characters in this real-life drama, such as John Jacob Astor, Washington Irving, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Mrs. Astor, and Edith Wharton.
Our tour will visit such New York landmarks as the famous Colonnade Row, the Public Theater (once New York’s first public library), and Cooper Union, site of impassioned political speeches from Lincoln to Obama. You’ll be able to imagine the drama of events that unfolded on today’s bustling Astor Place including the Opera House riot of 1847, one of the bloodiest in American history.
We’ll dive into the history of the site of the notorious 1857 Bond St. murder of Harvey Burdell, which remains one of New York’s still unsolved murder mysteries, and you’ll hear true stories of the literary as well as the libertine residents of this incredible neighborhood.
NoHo Tour Highlights
- Astor Place, a longtime site of cultural life as well as a political struggle
- Visit Washington Square and the chance to explore the myth and reality of this historic space
- Grace Church, built for the neighborhood’s wealthy elite and a background setting in Edith’s Wharton’s The Age of Innocence
- Colonnade Row, once the most exclusive residential site in America with a look at some of the homes’ most famous inhabitants
- Merchant’s House Museum, Manhattan’s first landmark and a virtually intact home inside and out from 1832
- The Bowery – tales of the famous and infamous that once walked this famous street
- Site of A.T. Stewart’s Iron Palace, one of America’s very first grand department stores
- St.-Mark’s-in-the-Bowery, a look at this beautiful Georgian church built on the site of land once belonging to New Amsterdam’s last leader, Peter Stuyvesant
A sampling of reviews from TripAdvisor:
NYC History Comes Alive
“I love the Bowery Boys podcast. And, this is the podcast in walking tour form. I was so impressed. Carl the guide was so excited about NY and had great historical stories and personal anecdotes. I hope the Bowery Boys continue to expand their offerings-we will be back!”Legends and Lore
“I loved every minute of the Bowery Boys Walking Tour of NOHO. This neighborhood has a rich and fascinating history that came to life as we walked around Astor Place and Washington Square. The pace was just right and Carl provided vintage photographs that gave us an idea of how the area had changed over the years.”
“Carl was an excellent, knowledgeable and engaging tour guide. He made history come alive with interesting and relevant storytelling and facts. I would absolutely take another tour given by him and through the Bowery Boys.”
Rates
Person – $50.00 / Virtual Tour – $20.00
(Best suited for ages 16+)
Please contact us to set up a private tour!
Upcoming dates
Please click to see upcoming dates for this tour – or check this list of all upcoming tours, by date.
Duration
2 Hours (we will send you the meeting place after you book)
Please note: This is an online experience. We will send you a Zoom link once you sign up.
Your guide
Carl Raymond is an expert tour guide and host of The Gilded Gentleman History Podcast, a show about America’s Gilded Age, Paris’ Belle Époque, and England’s Victorian and Edwardian eras. It is produced by The Bowery Boys.
Prep for our 19th-Century NoHo Tour by listening to the Bowery Boys episode “The Murder on Bond Street”.