INFINITE CITY #6: Mayors, Writers and Peculiar Churches
About the Tour
INFINITE CITY is a series of walking tours exploring New York City in endless detail. This is the sixth tour in the series.
On this twenty-minute tour, we’ll walk two loops around a block in the Gramercy Park neighborhood. Each successive trip reveals another layer of information about the people, buildings and trees surrounding you. On the first loop, you’ll hear about the unique history of this block, and how it became a private park and an enclave for the wealthy. You’ll hear about the people that have lived here too. Then, on the second loop, we’ll explore its extravagant architecture, and the trees that characterize this area.
Join us on a walking tour unlike any other where, by putting this city block under a microscope, you’ll learn about:
- Gramercy Park’s creator
- Mayoral traditions in Manhattan
- The park’s extravagant parties
- A peculiar looking church
Each tour in the INFINITE CITY series is an accumulation of a particular place’s memories and an obsessive compendium of its often overlooked minutiae. Keep a look out for more tours in the series on VoiceMap’s app soon!
Tour Producer
Akiva Saunders
Akiva Saunders is a New York City teacher who uses technology and software to explore the frontiers of education. He is the chair of Latin at the Latin/Greek Institute, a teacher in the NYC public school system and a founder of Spectacle Theater, a microcinema in Brooklyn now celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Preview Location
Location 4
8 Gramercy Park South
This turreted, brown brick building is known as The Gramercy House. Before it was an apartment building, it was a church known as the All-Souls Parsonage, a branch of the First Congregational Unitarian Church. Under the lea... Read More
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Major Landmarks
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The Parish of the Calvary Church
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The Church of the Holy Zebra
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The Gramercy Park Hotel
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The first Houses on Gramercy Park
Getting There
Route Overview
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Start locationGramercy Park W, New York, NY 10003, USA -
Total distance555m -
Distance back to start location8.44m
Directions to Starting Point
This tour begins at the West side of Gramercy Park, at the corner of Gramercy Park West and East 21st Street. When you arrive at the Park, look for the row of red brick townhouses with a big black metal porch; the tour will begin at the corner next to these buildings. Nearby subways include the 6, R and W lines.
Tips
Places to stop along the way
L' Express cafe, Gramercy Park Hotel, Parish of the Calvary Church.
Best time of day
Daytime
Precautions
Watch out for bicyclists, who may be coming from either direction.
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