Mobile Guides / Walking Tours
Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World (The Unveiling of the Statue of Liberty), Oct. 28, 1886, Painting, Edward Moran (1829-1901), Museum of the City of New York. Image credit: MCNY.
NYC Gateway to America Official Mobile Guides begin Downtown and on New York Harbor, the place that has shaped our heritage from the time of the First People and the first explorers to successive waves of immigrants, ship masters, and pleasure boaters propelling our growth into the nation’s most populous and vibrant city.
These free tours are produced by the Federal Hall Conservancy, and the United States National Park Service, the largest caretaker of shoreline on New York Harbor. Its network of 24 historic sites and recreation areas arc to three other boroughs of the city, and across to New Jersey. They connect to national parks across the nation, preserved and protected for the American people to experience, and to share with visitors from around the world.
This is New York. We invite you to tune out the present, to imagine the past on your journey through these narrow and winding centuries-old streetscapes you otherwise might have taken for granted. Hear that cacophony? It’s the sound of the city, a vibrant city, a city where history happened. And is still happening.
Each tour takes about 90 minutes and covers distinctive locations heading north, from the Battery on New York Harbor. At each—at the very place where history happened—you’ll listen to several minutes of expert commentary, and view historic or contemporary imagery, all of which will also be available later on your mobile device. You can walk the trail at your own pace. This Gateway Guide features an interactive map showing all tour stops, your current location, and directions to the next stop. You access the map by tapping the icon at the bottom of the screen.
The images you’ll see during these first two tours—prints, portraits, paintings, engravings, maps, documents, original sketches, and photographs—are among the treasures of The New York Public Library and from the illustrious archives of The New York Times. Funding provided by Lower Manhattan Marketing Association.
By the early 18th century, New York City was second only to Charleston, South Carolina as an urban center of slavery. Four in ten households owned at least one enslaved person. Kidnapped, sold and put to work in the most objectionable jobs, hear their stories of struggle and triumph—from New Amsterdam where freedom could be earned to colonial New York, where subversive retention of culture was a rare victory in the face of oppression.
Written and narrated by Sam Roberts, Correspondent, The New York Times, this audio walking tour features an introduction by Tony Marx, President & CEO, The New York Public Library; commentary from noted historians including Mike Wallace, author of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898; Christopher Moore, historian, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and our legendary National Park Rangers. The tour begins at Castle Clinton and ends at the African Burial Ground. Stops include the sites of the Wall Street slave market, African Pinkster celebration and more.
Unlike Boston and Philadelphia, New York’s Revolutionary War history is often hidden from view. Hear about the people and visit the places that shaped the city and fueled a legacy of resilience that saw it through the darkest of days of 1776 and more recently 2001. From a seven-year British occupation to short-lived glory as the republic’s first capital; from the disastrous fire that razed a quarter of its structures to a reemergence as a global metropolis.
This free tour is written and narrated by Sam Roberts, Correspondent, The New York Times, and features an introduction by Tony Marx, President & CEO, The New York Public Library; commentary from Pete Hamill, author of Downtown*; Mike Wallace, author of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898; and our legendary National Park Rangers. The tour begins at Castle Clinton and ends at St. Paul’s Chapel. Stops include the sites of Fort George, the tavern of spy Samuel Fraunces and more.
Promoted by New York City Tourism & Conventions
*Excerpts from the audiobook edition of Downtown used with permission from Hachette Audio, written and read by Pete Hamill and currently available for purchase online and where books and music are sold. Downtown © 2004 by Deidre Enterprises, Inc. ℗ 2004 by Hachette Audio. All Rights Reserved.
Walking Tours
Before the Bill of Rights, before the War for Independence, before even the British, another great story unfolded in New York. It is the story of a Dutch settlement on the southern tip of Manhattan where citizens from different countries, speaking different languages and worshiping different gods, banded together to tame a wilderness and reshaped history in the process.
This free, one-hour audio walking tour features commentary from Russell Shorto, author of the bestselling book The Island at the Center of the World and Eric Sanderson, landscape ecologist and author of Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City. The tour begins at Castle Clinton and ends at Federal Hall, across from the New York Stock Exchange. Stops include the sites of Peter Stuyvesant’s house, Fort Amsterdam and more.
For a brief moment in August of 1776, the success of the American quest for independence hinged on a daring midnight retreat by a defeated General George Washington and the Continental Army across the East River to Manhattan. Vanquished by the British in the battle of Brooklyn, they would survive to fight another day. In fact, Washington would liberate New York City seven years later and become the First President, in this the nation’s first seat of government.
The tour begins at Castle Clinton and ends at Federal Hall. Stops include the chapel where Washington worshiped, the site where he was inaugurated and more.
