The Viele Map
"No other city is so spitefully incoherent"
--James BaldwinWelcome to Manhattan Unlocked Walking Tours
Discover the hidden-in-plain-sight history and have fun decoding the architectural assortments of New York's most iconic (and architecturally complex) neighborhoods.
About Us
Manhattan Unlocked began as a blog over a decade ago to explore and explain the complex and captivating histories behind New York's constellation of neighborhoods that stretch nearly five miles from the Battery to Central Park--what most people consider New York City. It was a journey to test the waters for a book project, and the results were promising enough to dive into discovering the single story history behind the architectural creation of New York City. Our method of research and exploration involved creating immersive walking tours for key New York neighborhoods that together tell a unifying story of the city.
Our Walking Tours
Join us on a journey through time and space and re-discover long lost geographies and bygone transit systems. Manhattan Unlocked walking tours cover neighborhoods with their own unique stories to tell, but that were all part of the "city's" move uptown from City Hall to Central Park.
What Makes Our Tours Special?
The Book: Build: The History of New York City on the Island of Manhattan
While our walking tours provide a taste of Manhattan's history, we're also hard at work on a book that will dive deep into the city's past and explain the logic behind the "conveyer belt" of neighborhoods running up Broadway and Fifth Avenue, along a path of modern-day "ruins" of forgotten "cities."
Join Us on a Walking Tour
We are relaunching our walking tours over the Fall 2023 after the challenges of covid. We hope to see you on a tour of the history behind the world's most inspiring streetscapes.
Re-launch dates:Sept 18: Midtown Manhattan Art and Architecture Walking Tour
Midtown westSept 27: Holdouts! Based on the Alpern & Durst Book
Midtown east
Oct 10: Recreate the Most Requested Walking Tour of 1840s New York
NoHo & SoHo to City Hall
TBD: Explore the Ruins of a Forgotten City in the Middle of Manhattan
Astor Place to Madison Square
TBD: A Disastrous History of Housing the Poor
Chinatown and The Lower East Side
In the meantime, the old blog for "testing the waters" remains below.
Friday, November 26, 2010
WTC progress
I haven't gotten choked up about September 11 in a long time, but the size of the memorial is staggering when you see it for the first time. It was difficult to view, but I guess it's supposed to be.
That's part of the footprint of the South Tower, I think that's a generator and lights being hoisted up.
The South Tower footprint/Reflecting Absence being born...
The view from the Winter Garden. I've been at this spot maybe a dozen times since September 11 and for years the feeling was like you were looking at a construction site. With the memorials in view now, the feeling here is starting to change.
The opposite direction of the above view....
Friday, November 19, 2010
Harriet Tubman in Harlem: Not a Typical Outdoor Sculpture
Of the real historical figures, though, Manhattan has something on the order of 94 men and--up until Harriet Tubman set down on West 122nd in Harlem--5 women. Women who have risen to statue-worthy status are Joan of Arc, Eleanor Roosevelt (both in Riverside Park), Gertrude Stein (Bryant Park), Golda Meir (a bust on Broadway at 39th Street), and Mother Clara Hale (152 West 122nd).
Technically I suppose we could include the enlarged replica of Picasso's Head of Sylvette in the courtyard of NYU's Silver Towers, but 1. It's cubism and resembles a spaceship as much as a human head, and 2. She was Picasso's mistress, no Joan of Arc or Roosevelt. I suppose we could also count the statuettes along the facade of the I. Miller building at 46th Street in Times Square of Ethyl Barrymore, Marilyn Miller, Mary Pickford and Rosa Ponselle. I vote no because 1. Like allegorical figures each represents one of the theatrical arts: musical comedy, drama, opera and film, and 2. They are each represented as a character they were noted for, not themselves.
Now, of the 200 or so sculptures in Manhattan, I have counted only about 6 or so in Harlem (though I'm not considering Morningside or Hamilton Heights, which can justifiably be considered Harlem). So the arrival of Harriet Tubman at 122nd Street and 7th Ave satisfies two shortcomings in the city's statuary stock: a statue of a historic woman, and another statue in Harlem. Here she is, along with some of the other outdoor sculpture of Harlem... (and thanks to Lee Gelber for always expanding my knowledge of New York.)
I made these especially large so you can see the details in the sculpture
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Ghost of the Broadway Central Hotel
Notice the distinct shape of the "Broadway Central Hotel" sign in the upper left corner. It juts out a bit from the main building...
The mark on the adjacent building (built after the above picture) matches perfectly...