West Side Stories - CANCELED

Join tour guide Diana Gold to explore iconic locations on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The area was claimed by the Dutch after a great deal of conflict with the Munsee Indians. Bloemendal, known for Dutch tobacco farms, became the anglicized Bloomingdale area. The dusty Bloomingdale Road, (now Broadway) conveyed wealthy downtown merchants to their weekend country estates which stood interspersed with lean-to shanties. The Upper West Side's rugged topography allowed the area to remain mostly undeveloped through the late 1800's. The 1900's brought new industrial techniques and the Ninth Avenue elevated train brought people to an area that to this day, alternates privilege and privation. Countless episodes of Law and Order as well as the 10-time Academy Award winning movie, West Side Story, have this legendary neighborhood as their backdrop. [This tour is a great prelude for those holding matinee tickets for Lincoln Center performances.] Cost: $30 / $20 Members.