Members Tour: Burning Gotham

Join our exclusive tour exploring 1830’s New York:
From the Great Fire to South Street Seaport
Friday, March 7th, 12:00 – 2:00 PM

Join us for an exclusive tour of Lower Manhattan with James Scully, New York City tour guide and director/co-creator of the Tribeca Film Festival award-winning historical audio fiction soap opera Burning Gotham, set in 1835 New York.

Please note this tour begins on the steps of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004) and concludes on Stone Street, with a chance to grab a bite to eat or a drink after. See you there!

Tour Overview

While New York is continually changing and evolving in almost every aspect, it’s hard to top the upheaval of the 1830’s. Between the worst fire in City history, which destroyed the entire financial district, and absolute pandemonium surrounding Moving Day — when all City leases expired simultaneously — it was truly one of New York’s wildest periods.

It’s time to hit the streets and uncover the stories and remnants of 1830’s New York like never before!

Our unique experience will include:

• An overview of New York in the 1830’s and why this period of social, political, and geographical upheaval is the most forgotten period in City history — everything from the creation of new streets to abolitionism, to the vote to build (and funding for the creation of) the Croton Aqueduct.

• A trip to important neighborhood landmarks dating back to the 1830’s, including Fraunces Tavern, Bowling Green, Stone Street, and South Street Seaport. You’ll also find out which historic architectural relic from Wall Street is tucked in plain sight inside the Metropolitan Museum.

• Some of the big news stories that were the talk of the town, including why the U.S. was on the verge of war with France, the lack of clean running water in New York, and the City’s Penny Papers orchestration of the greatest hoax of the 19th century.

• The full scoop surrounding the Great Fire (December 16, 1835), the worst fire in New York history, which destroyed everything in Manhattan’s chief merchant district, and caused the modern equivalent of $500 million in damage. While an investigation ensued, no public blame was ever assigned … but what if the City’s greatest “accidental” fire was no accident?

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

REGISTER HERE

*Runtime for this tour is roughly 90-120 minutes.

**Please bring water and comfortable shoes as we’ll be doing a lot of walking. This tour will happen rain or shine, unless there is torrential rain or a blizzard, in which case a makeup date will be announced.

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.