Members Tour: Into the Wilderness

Join our exclusive tour exploring the early years of Washington Square and Lower 5th Avenue:

Into the Wilderness 

Thursday, July 17th, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Join us for an exclusive tour exploring the birth and early years of Washington Square Park and lower Fifth Avenue, with a close look at how the development of this area forever altered New York City. Our tour guide is James Scully, director/co-creator of the award-winning historical audio fiction soap opera Burning Gotham, set in 1835 New York.

Please note this tour begins at The Washington Square Arch and concludes at the Salmagundi Club near the corner of Fifth Avenue and 12th Street.

Tour Overview

While New York is a city continually changing and evolving in almost every aspect, it’s hard to top the upheaval of Antebellum New York. Between 1825 and 1845 New York City’s population exploded as the streets, avenues, land lots, and structures we’ve come to take for granted were created all at the same time. It has been said that 19th Century New York was “one giant construction site.” Much of this begins at the northern end of Washington Square Park as New Yorkers went into the wilderness to form their own version of Manifest Destiny in the years after the opening of the Erie Canal.

Our unique experience will include:

• A Brief overview of the early history of the area that is today’s Washington Square Park and lower Fifth Avenue stretching back to the 1600s, including Native American, Dutch, African American, and even Italian history.
• A Trip to see the oldest living resident in Washington Square Park, with stories centered around the Marquis de Lafayette, Washington Square’s use as a Potter’s Field, and the various epidemics that plagued early 19th Century New York.
• The story behind John Randel Jr’s Grid Plan of 1811, the City’s swallowing of Greenwich Village into the 9th Ward, the birth of Fifth Avenue in 1824 and what early 19th Century New Yorkers thought of this area.
• Stories from the birth of New York University, including financial issues, riots, prison labor, the Gothic Revival structure, the birth of the telegraph, the first portrait photograph ever taken in 1839, and the last remnant of NYU’s original building.
• The birth of Greek Revival, Greek-mania, and Sailor Snug Harbor in the 1830s with a trip to The Row and The Mews, sharing stories behind their residents, and quotes from New Yorkers of the time that eerily echo sentiments from today.
• Into the wilderness with the Randalls, the Rhinelanders, the Brevoorts, The Church of the Ascension, The First Presbyterian Church, the vote to build the Croton Aqueduct, and life on early Fifth Avenue in the 1820s – 1840s with maps and photographs.
• Concluding at the oldest surviving mansion this far south on Fifth Avenue with stories behind its construction and its current use as an artist’s club.

The group is limited to the first 25 to RSVP, so if you are interested, please let us hear from you soon.

About James

James Scully is an outgoing native New Yorker who grew up in a home with four generations of family. He had close relationships with both his grandparents and great-grandparents. This exposed him to an invaluable amount of local history and culture, helping him to become a passionate historian, writer, and director.

He’s a graduate of Xavier High School in Manhattan, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and spent over a decade working as an art director and copywriter for media companies such as Condé Nast and Hearst before becoming a writer, director, and historian. His history focus is both New York City history and U.S. radio history.

James produces and hosts Breaking Walls, the docu-podcast on the history of U.S. network radio broadcasting. He also develops audio fiction productions, like the 2022 official Tribeca audio selection Burning Gotham, set in 1835 New York City, and several others. James’ a member of the Salmagundi Club, has given numerous talks and webinars on various history subjects, and is a New York City sightseeing/tour guide.