Explore the Ruins of a Forgotten City in the Middle of Manhattan

Explore the ruins of a forgotten city in the middle of Manhattan. History is written in the streetwalls, and this tour seeks out the brief life of the Gilded Age city when the finest shops, theaters, hotels and museums radiated out from where Fifth Avenue, Broadway and 23rd street all cross at Madison Square. It was the carriage trade era of top hats, fashionable brownstone living, and hotel life. It was a time when saloons, brothels and gambling halls were common, and just around the corner from Broadway in a district known as the Tenderloin. Historic images will transport you back to that brilliant city that only lasted about 25-30 years. And you'll learn about the extraordinary change that swept over this relatively small area of land, in a relatively brief amount of time. It is a story of rural farms being overrun by churches and homes, being overrun by shops, theaters, and hotels, in turn being overrun by buildings for offices and manufacturing. All in a generation or two.