Round Manhattan’s Rim July 7, 2015 In 1933, journalist Helen Worden of the World-Telegram decided to take a jaunt. With her friend Ruth Steinway in tow, she circumnavigated the waterfront of Manhattan island, and wrote it all up in a pithy little number called Round Manhattan’s Rim. This Depression-era travelogue is a wonderful curio that opens up a vintage Pandora’s-hatbox of questions, from “What is a B.E.F.?” to “Where on earth was Spanish-town,” and “When did the Seaport stop being painted in bright colors of blue and white?”
The General Slocum Disaster June 15, 2015 Today is the 111th anniversary of one of New York’s biggest disasters in terms of loss of life. In fact, before September 11th, it was the biggest disaster for New York City but it seems few people have heard of it.
Haunted Brooklyn Heights May 29, 2015 This summer, we’re bringing back our signature “Haunted Brooklyn Heights” walking tour! Stroll through the quiet side streets of Brooklyn Heights, and enjoy the cool breezes on the promenade as you discover the haunting and ghostly histories of Brooklyn’s oldest neighborhood… but don’t let its sedate charms fool you.
“It Hurts When I Do This” Quack Medicines Medical History Tour and Secret Speakeasy May 25, 2015 Join us for a tour through New York City’s medical past, followed by an interactive demonstration of medical antiques!
Haunting Histories and Legends of Astoria May 24, 2015 Boroughs of the Dead brings our signature dark walking tours to Queens with “Haunting Histories and Legends of Astoria.” This 2-hour stroll visits some lesser-known historical sites, including the glorious Victorian mansions of Old Astoria Village, and reveals unsettling tales of the neighborhood’s grim and ghostly past.
Marriage, Medicine, and Mysticism for May! April 28, 2015 This May brings three exciting specialty tours to Boroughs of the Dead, from a gorgeous stroll through the natural beauty of Central Park just in time for Mother’s Day, to a wedding anniversary edition of our celebrated Edgar Allan Poe tour, and an all-new historical walking tour through New York’s medical past.
Q&A with Will Ellis of Abandoned NYC April 16, 2015 Sometimes at Boroughs of the Dead, we happen upon fellow New Yorkers whose interests are so in-tune with our own, we just have to get to know them. Will Ellis, founder of the blog Abandoned NYC and author of the book by the same name, was one such as these. We chatted recently about all things abandoned, forgotten, and eldritch in the city of New York.
Lucky Star: Violet Jessop April 7, 2015 When speaking about Titanic, phrases like “unlucky,” “ill-fated,” and even “star-crossed” get bandied around a lot. Yet for all the bad luck surrounding the boat, there were a great number of people who exhibited extraordinarily good fortune and were able to survive the sinking or even stay off the ship entirely due to one twist of fate or another. But what about the woman who survived not one but two seafaring disasters?
The Real Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown April 6, 2015 I’ve been reading a lot about Titanic lately, as I do around this time every year, and one of my favorite surprising recent discoveries has been that the real “Unsinkable Molly Brown” is actually far, far more interesting than movies and TV would lead us to believe.