Name: The Gilded Age Revisted! Upper East Side History, Architecture and Art Tour.
Start: 2025-12-06T16:30:00.000Z
Location: Cooper Hewitt Arthur Ross Terrace & Gardens

**Join is for a deep dive into the history of The American Revolution to celebrate the revival of a former NYC-only holiday!**

RSVPs open Saturday, November 8th at 10:00am. Space is set aside for new group members, first and second timers. Email me at hankorenstein@gmail.com if you land on the waiting list and would like a spot. This tour is free with a voluntary donation to your guide via cash, venmo or zelle at the end.

There will be a procession/short parade starting at 11:45am outside the historic Fraunces Tavern (which predates the American Revolution) followed by a ceremony at nearby Evacuation Day Plaza at Bowling Green. **Evacuation Day event organized by Lower Manhattan Historical Association (LMHA).**

**Tour length**: about 3.5 miles mostly level walking. Moderate pace with numerous stops at historic sites.

**Restrooms**: At the beginning of the tour at our meeting place upstairs at Barnes & Noble Bookstore and across 17th street near the NEcorner of Union Square Park. Other option - Whole Foods on 14th Street and at the NE corner of Union Square Park, just below 17th Street. Be sure to arrive early for restrooms (Barnes & Noble also has a cafe on the top floor).

**WHAT IS EVACUATION DAY?**
Evacuation Day was an annual local holiday in New York City and was given equal, or even greater importance than the Fourth of July! Celebrating the departure, or evacuation of British troops from New York following the Revolutionary War which lasted 7 years, November 25th was observed from the late 18th century to the early 20th century until the WW1 era when The British became close allies.

On November 25, 1783 the British military officially withdrew from New York City ending its occupation by British forces and marking the end of the American Revolution and a beginning for this fledgling country, the United States of America.

The picture above is an artist's rendering of George Washington making his triumphant return to lower Manhattan. He is riding along Wall Street near the future first U.S. Capitol, Federal Hall, where he will eventually be sworn in as our first President. After the Revolutionary War, Evacuation Day was celebrated with military parades, patriotic oratories, fireworks and banquets.

**The tour route:**
From Union Square we'll travel south along the Bowery Road which is likely the route that George Washington likely took on horseback. and make our way to the site of the Bull's Head Tavern on The Bowery, where Washington's large procession gathered before heading down to Wall Street along today's Pearl Street. The entourage then turned on to Broadway and headed to Fort George at Bowling Green to raise the American flag once the British flag was removed.

There are many historic locations along the route including Cooper Union, CBGBs (now John Varvatos fashion store), and the city's first community garden. Magnificent architecture and colorful history awaits us as we head into the Civic Center and historic lower Manhattan. We'll also pass through a small section of Chinatown and the former Five Points area.

The tour formally ends around 12:30pm at Evacuation Day Plaza on Broadway (by The Charging Bull), convenient to 1 , 4, 5 and R subways. Optional group lunch at the Historic Fraunces Tavern - need to have a head count in advance. You can check out the menu on their website.
https://www.frauncestavern.com/

Cheers!

Hank
646-596-3005
hankorenstein@gmail.com

Exploring NYC History and Neighborhoods

Hank Orenstein

Grace

Mailey

Erzinete

Dykeman

Stefan

Fredda 

Randi

Joan

Danielle

Michelle

Yvonne Wheby

Lina

suzanne

Cheryl

Klaudia Martini

Somayeh

LYNN O    

Robin Mitnick

Laurie A

Celebrating Evacuation Day 1783:  A Day that Was and Should be A NYC Holiday!

Barnes and Noble - Union Square

**Join us for the perfect antidote to Black Friday!**

**Note that we will meet INSIDE the museum instead of outside. The museum is free. It is a Smithsonian affiliated federal site and has airport-style security with metal detectors. *Hopefully it will be re-opened by the end of November.***

RSVP's open Wednesday November 12th at 8:00pm. Space is set aside for first and second timers and new group members **who land on the waiting list**. Email me at hankorenstein@gmail.com to request a spot. This tour is free with a welcome donation to your leader and guide at the end via cash, venmo or zelle.

**OVERVIEW**
November is American Indian Heritage month, and the day after Thanksgiving is **Native American Heritage Day** so let's celebrate by going on a walking tour of historic lower Manhattan and visit one of NYC's most beautiful buildings - the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, an architectual feast from Cass Gilbert (Woolworth Building's architect).

Museum admission is free and opens at 10am and I suggest arriving by 12:15pm or earlier to allow 30 minutes to one hour to see the exhibits, enjoy the interior architecture and use the restroom. The excellent gift shop is fun to explore. **Recommended Exhibit is "Native New York," all about the local tribes that pre-dated the arrival of Europeans in the early 1600s.**
https://americanindian.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item?id=981

**NOTE THIS MUSEUM IS A FEDERAL SITE**: Smithsonian security personnel conduct a thorough but speedy hand-check of visitors’ bags, briefcases, purses, strollers, and containers. Visitors are required to walk through a metal detector. No skateboards, bikes or scooters. Do not bring sharp items into the museums such as knives (including pocket or "Swiss Army" style knives), screwdrivers, scissors, etc. Other items not permitted include firearms, pepper spray, and Mace. For more information about the museum check out this link:
https://americanindian.si.edu/visit/reopening-ny

**After your self-guided visit, we'll meet inside the museum in the Rotunda room which is a large oval room juts past the lobby after you enter through security. (Museum is pictured above).**

**Walking Tour Description**
We will visit various sites in Lower Manhattan associated with local tribes which predated the Europeans by many centuries and discuss their interactions with the 17th century Dutch colonists who established New Amsterdam in Lower Manhattan in the 1620's. We will also explore the many contributions of American Indians including their many inventions and the influence on the U.S. Constitution and Democracy and the Women's Rights Movement of the 19th century. We will walk around 2 miles and will finish around 3:00pm.

We will also tell the true version of the story of the first Thanksgiving celebration held in 1621 by the pilgrims in Massachusetts after their first successful harvest with the help of the local Wampanoag tribe and Tisquantum (Squanto).

**Photography**
The Smithsonian permits still and video photography for noncommercial use only in its museums and exhibitions, unless otherwise posted.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Hank
hankorenstein@gmail.com
646-596-3005

Barbara R

Liza

Rebecca

Amy D

Christine W

Linda W

Frank Bamberger

Carlos

Helena

Carole

Marion Chalat

Mary Gould

Fredda

Honoring Our First New Yorkers with a Museum Visit & a Historic Walking Tour

American Indian Museum / Old US Custom House

**Back by popular demand!** This tour was offered multiple times earlier this year and we had very long waiting lists.

**RSVPs begin Saturday, November 15th at 10am.** Space is set aside for new group members, first and 2nd timers who land on the waiting list after RSVP. Email me at hankorenstein@gmail.com to request your spot. No repeats if you have taken this tour before.

**Cost**: This tour is free with a voluntary donation to your guide/organizer at the end via cash, Venmo or Zelle.

**To Bring**: Snacks (suggest to eat a hearty breakfast beforehand), appropriate dress for the weather, warm socks and footwear. We will be going indoors on 5 occasions during the tour which will help should also serve has a break from cold weather.

**Overview**
This tour we will indulge in the East 80's between 5th Avenue and Park Avenue and the residential architecture of the gilded age which consists of mansions and elegant townhouses. We'll cover the history of this area and how and why it developed as an enclave for NYC's wealthy elite and how the area developed into a hub for the visual arts beginning with the opening of the Metropolitan Museum in the late 1800s.

Starting out at the garden of the Cooper Hewitt museum, which was originally the mansion home of Andrew and Louise Carnegie, we'll visit several local art galleries (TBD) during our journey, along with several other indoor locations with spectacular architecture, including a gilded age mansion.

**Restrooms before the tour: Tarulucci e Vino Cafe at the Cooper Hewitt Museum.** You can enter the cafe via the garden without having to pay admission to the museum. There is a quick bag inspection by a security guard. There are also public restrooms at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest across the street from the garden at 90th Street & 5th Avenue. Once inside the church veer immediately to your right (one stall).
**Other nearby options: Met Museum pay what you wish for NY residents. There is also an education entrance near 81st Street where you can go to the rest room without visiting the museum. And of course any of the other local museums - Guggenheim, Neue Gallery, Cooper Hewitt, (admission charge).**

We'll have a break and restrooms in Central Park or depending on time and weather at the Met Museum's education entrance.

**Tour ends at 76th Street & Madison Avenue** or thereabouts.

Your organizer and guide,

Hank Orenstein
hankorenstein@gmail.com
646-596-3005

(photo: the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, courtesy of the the museum).

Sanjay

Eileen

Annette

Dana R.

Agnes waxman

Gloria 

Elena

Ralph L

michele monahan

Keiko M

Maryann

Lee R Cross

Heather 

Laurel

Jeong Hyun Lee

The Gilded Age Revisted! Upper East Side History, Architecture and Art Tour.

Cooper Hewitt Arthur Ross Terrace & Gardens

Hank Orenstein's Exploring NYC History and Neighborhood

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