South Street Seaport Museum Announces Summer Series of Walking Tours

The South Street Seaport Museum announces this summer's Seaport Walking Tours, illuminating the hidden, forgotten, and overlooked histories of New York's original seaport. Tickets are $15 for Seaport Walking Tours (members $12) and $25 for Special Walking Tours (members $20) and are available at https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/seaportwalkingtours.

Take a Seaport Walking Tour and discover the seaport district's exceptional, wacky, and, at times, seedy history. Each tour takes attendees not only on a journey through the neighborhood, but through time as well. Hear stories about innovative merchants, hardened criminals, and incredible feats of engineering. Walking Tours are offered from May-July, every Thursday and Friday, and third Saturday of the month (Thurs at 12pm; Fri at 12pm & 2pm; Sat at 12pm, 2pm & 4pm).

The Secret Life of the Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge quietly rises above South Street, but beneath its great towers the bridge stands on nearly 150 years worth of secrets. Take a walk from the seaport district to the start of the Brooklyn Bridge promenade near City Hall*. Along the way, hear stories of the bridge's grueling construction, of the incredible lives of its builders, and of the long-forgotten vaults hidden deep within.

*Please note this tour does not cross the Brooklyn Bridge.

A Wild Tour of the Wickedest Ward

The Fourth Ward was 19th century New York's most infamous district of vice and crime, earning it the title of the Wickedest Ward. Take a walk through the Seaport District and discover its seedy past when it was home to rat pits, lady bouncers, and river pirates.

Hello, Havana!

The Roaring Twenties transformed the piers of the East River into a haven for mobsters, smugglers, and tourists heading to the casinos of Havana, Cuba. From rum runners to luxury liners, discover the forgotten life of the East River waterfront during Prohibition, the Great Depression, and the Cuban Revolution.

Special Walking Tours:

Titanic's Seaport

Join the South Street Seaport Museum's Historian for this special tour to commemorate the 105th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic. From Schermerhorn Row to the Brooklyn Bridge, the Seaport District is full of surprising connections to many of Titanic's passengers. Come and discover these forgotten ties between the ill-fated liner and South Street.

Friday, April 14 at 12pm and 3pm; Saturday, April 15 at 12pm and 3pm

Sex, Liquor, and Murder

Have you been on the daytime tour of the Wickedest Ward? Now, join the Seaport Museum's Historian for an extended and darker tour of the Fourth Ward. This once a month adults-only (18 and older) evening tour takes you through 19th century New York's most infamous district of vice and depravity. Stories of sordid murders, notorious criminals, and about infamous houses of ill repute will be told as you take a walk through the Wickedest Ward.

Fridays, May 26, June 30, and July 28 at 6:30pm

Building Tours:

Architecture of Trade: Schermerhorn Row and the Seaport

Discover the treasures hidden inside Schermerhorn Row, one of the oldest warehouses of New York City, and home of the Seaport Museum. Walk up three floors, usually closed to the public, view selected artifacts from the Museum's Permanent Collection, and walk through the hidden hotels and saloon rooms made famous by New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell's story "Up in the Old Hotel."

Second Friday and Saturday of each month, through June (Fri at noon, Sat atnoon and 2pm).

All tours meet at the South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton Street. Please wear weather appropriate clothing, comfortable shoes, and bring a bottle of water.

ABOUT SOUTH STREET SEAPORT MUSEUM

South Street Seaport Museum is a non-profit cultural institution located in the heart of the historic Seaport district in New York City. Founded in 1967, the South Street Seaport Museum preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Designated by Congress as America's National Maritime Museum, the Museum houses galleries and education spaces, working nineteenth century print shops, a maritime library, a maritime craft center, and a fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of "Where New York Begins."