In-Person and Anytime Activities Throughout the Month of October
Our annual series of building and district tours returns for Archtober 2021.
This year, our district Typography History Walking Tours will return in person! Join Bowne & Co. Art Director and Operations Manager Rob Wilson for a free, in-person walking tour of the South Street Seaport Historic District to discover where passenger and shipping services printed their tickets and advertisements.
Additionally, check out a selection of virtual “anytime-activities” that will be available throughout the month of October as part of Archtober 2021, from tours of Schermerhorn Row and the currently under-renovation Thompson Warehouse, to special blog posts and self-led walking tours, and an upcoming expansion of our Collections Online Portal that will include over 120 new architectural elements from our collection added to the portal.
Mark your calendars! Tickets for the in-person tours and the anytime-activities will be available when Archtober kicks off on October 1.
In-Person Activities
Join us for the return of in-person walking tours and learn about the history of printing and typography in the Seaport and New York City.
Walking Tour: Typography and Job Printing in the 19th-Century Seaport
In person | Free | Saturday, October 9 and October 23, 2-3 PM ET
Join Bowne & Co. Art Director and Operations Manager Rob Wilson for a free, in-person walking tour of the South Street Seaport Historic District to discover where passenger and shipping services printed their tickets and advertisements. Get a detailed look at the neighborhood’s buildings while learning about the history of Lower Manhattan’s printing industry, then see some of that history spring to life with a 19th century printing demonstration at Bowne & Co.
Online – Anytime Activities
Join us for a special collection of on-demand videos where you can go “behind-the-scenes” and get an inside look of some of the Museum’s well known Historic and landmark buildings. Or head out on your own self-led walking tour curating by the Seaport Museum in partnership with Urban Archive.
Inside Schermerhorn Row: A Virtual Tour of the Seaport Museum’s Landmark Buildings
Anytime activity | Free
Join us for a special tour of the upper floor of the Seaport Museum headquarters located within Schermerhorn Row (1810 – 1812), from the comfort of your home! This free, on-demand tour offers the opportunity to see and learn about the history of one of the most significant examples of early 19th century commercial architecture in New York.
The upper floors of this New York City Landmark, located within the National Register-listed South Street Seaport Historic District, include architectural remnants of neighborhood history and developments, such as the renowned remains of two 150-year-old hotels, made famous by New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell in his essay “Up in the Old Hotel.”
Inside Thompson Warehouse: A 19th Century Landmark, Revealed
Anytime activity | Free
Watch layers of history literally peeling back to reveal secrets of this 19th century cast-iron building, spotlighting surprises like cart tracks in the basement, historic construction methods, and the machinery of an early elevator.
This special virtual tour is led by South Street Seaport Museum President and CEO Capt. Jonathan Boulware showing and telling the process of renovating the historic Thompson Warehouse, at 215-213 Water Street, in the heart of the South Street Seaport Historic District.
Collections Online Portal – Architectural Element Highlights
Anytime activity | Free
Take a tour through New York City’s past with the architectural features preserved at the Seaport Museum by browsing our free online searchable database.
The Museum’s collection of architectural elements and building components includes bricks, doors and windows, samples of wallpaper, cast iron and terracotta ornaments, structural ironworks, and more. The objects are examples of the changing physical fabric of New York City, and particularly of Lower Manhattan and the South Street Seaport Historic District.
Archtober Blog:
The Writer and the Wrecking Ball
Anytime activity | Free
As part of the Seaport Museum’s Collections Chronicles Blog, where our Collections Department staff and interns explore the institution’s collections and archives through rich articles and multimedia features, this special blog post by Director of Collection Martina Caruso highlights the connections between one of the Museum’s early founding fathers author Joseph Mitchell and the Museum’s vast collection of architecture elements.
The Seaport Museum began collecting architectural elements in its early days thanks to Mitchell, and its current holdings document New York’s significant role in the evolution of American architectural design and the city’s ever-evolving urban landscape. Take a virtual stroll from Tribeca to Hoboken and and learn about a few lost structures that live on in the Seaport Museum collections thanks to Mr. Mitchell.
South Street Seaport x Urban Archives: Virtual Walking Tours
Anytime activity | Free
Take a walk with us, virtually, and discover the origins of New York’s greatness, via Urban Archive, a technology nonprofit that promotes historical research and discovery. You can either come down to South Street, download the app, and follow the walk on your own, or enjoy a virtual tour from the comfort of your own home.
Tours include architecture gems of the South Street Seaport Historic District, Lower Manhattan Waterfront, Castle Clinton, and more.
Together we can save the South Street Seaport Museum!
The pandemic has put the Museum at great risk of closing for good. We’re asking all those who love New York to step forward and join the die-hards who have kept the Museum alive through a myriad of challenges. Join the Our City, Our Seaport: Campaign to Save the Seaport Museum.