Our Tours

New York and How It Got That Way:

 

Visionaries, Dreamers and Schemers and How They Shaped the Look and Outlook of New York City

An eye opening, provocative tour that will have participants

- Cheering the Dutch for inspiring New York's true foundations
- Boo-ing the English for treating New York as an ATM machine
- Re-evaluating Thomas Jefferson
- Thanking Alexander Hamilton for the city's skyscrapers
- Celebrating forgotten heroes who saved New York from disaster

The Guides: Passionate about New York and its often improbable history

The Do-Good: A portion of each booking will be donated to Graham Windham, a children’s service organization created in 1806 by Alexander Hamilton’s widow, Elizabeth Schuyler-Hamilton, and friends

The Route: Battery Park ➤ Wall Street ➤ SoHo ➤ Washington Square Park ➤ Grand Central Terminal ➤ Carnegie Hall ➤ Central Park ➤ Lincoln Center

Duration: 4 Hours (snacks along the way)

Transportation: Luxury coach with some easy walking

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Early praise
New York And How It Got That Way

  • Wendy Ormond
    The day after taking this tour I was already looking at my city in a different way. I thought I knew my city’s history from all I had read. But discovered I never really understood how its social norms had developed. The city came alive for me and made me prouder than ever to call myself a New Yorker.
    Wendy Ormond
    Lawyer, lifelong New Yorker
  • George Vecsey
    I met heroes I never knew existed. John Randel, Jr. Andrew Haswell Green.

    Without them the city I have lived in all my life would be a very different place.
    George Vecsey
    Author, former columnist, New York Times
  • Andrew Zacks
    In a city like New York that is constantly rebuilding itself history sometimes falls by the wayside.  MANHATTAN PASSPORT’s tour goes far beyond typical sightseeing. I never associated Alexander Hamilton with SoHo. Now I get it. Layers of New York’s rich history and architecture are unpeeled and explained clearly. The expert guides enrich the sights with interesting anecdotes and facts.  I would strongly recommend the tour for tourists and residents alike.
    Andrew Zacks
    Veteran New Yorker, retired investment adviser, voracious reader
  • Adam Kemezis
    I lived in Manhattan for 10 years. No one ever told us about John Randel. This tour did. He was only 20 when he was handed a map and hired to measure Manhattan and make the famous grid. He did it against great odds. Every high school kid should know about this guy and be inspired by him.
    Adam Kemezis
    Associate Professor of Classics, University of Alberta
  • Francesca Kress
    My family was deeply influenced by Andrew Carnegie and his “Gospel of Wealth.” He inspired us and many others to share our great good fortune and showed us how to do it. Carnegie chose libraries; The Kress Foundation chose museums and other large and small causes. This tour gives Carnegie well deserved praise for the good he inspired and continues to inspire
    Francesca Kress
    Psychologist, Philanthropist
  • Dr. Gary Hoffman
    We recently bought a co-op in Manhattan. Ina previewed some of the tour highlights for us over dinner recently. My wife Marcelle and I can’t wait to take the full tour. As newcomers, this is just the introduction to New York we’ve been looking for.
    Dr. Gary Hoffman
    Surgeon, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles

Early praise
New York And How It Got That Way

  • Dr. Gary Hoffman
    We recently bought a co-op in Manhattan. Ina previewed some of the tour highlights for us over dinner recently. My wife Marcelle and I can’t wait to take the full tour. As newcomers, this is just the introduction to New York we’ve been looking for.
    Dr. Gary Hoffman
    Surgeon, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
  • Francesca Kress
    My family was deeply influenced by Andrew Carnegie and his “Gospel of Wealth.” He inspired us and many others to share our great good fortune and showed us how to do it. Carnegie chose libraries; The Kress Foundation chose museums and other large and small causes. This tour gives Carnegie well deserved praise for the good he inspired and continues to inspire
    Francesca Kress
    Psychologist, Philanthropist
  • Adam Kemezis
    I lived in Manhattan for 10 years. No one ever told us about John Randel. This tour did. He was only 20 when he was handed a map and hired to measure Manhattan and make the famous grid. He did it against great odds. Every high school kid should know about this guy and be inspired by him.
    Adam Kemezis
    Associate Professor of Classics, University of Alberta
  • Andrew Zacks
    In a city like New York that is constantly rebuilding itself history sometimes falls by the wayside.  MANHATTAN PASSPORT’s tour goes far beyond typical sightseeing. I never associated Alexander Hamilton with SoHo. Now I get it. Layers of New York’s rich history and architecture are unpeeled and explained clearly. The expert guides enrich the sights with interesting anecdotes and facts.  I would strongly recommend the tour for tourists and residents alike.
    Andrew Zacks
    Veteran New Yorker, retired investment adviser, voracious reader
  • George Vecsey
    I met heroes I never knew existed. John Randel, Jr. Andrew Haswell Green.

    Without them the city I have lived in all my life would be a very different place.
    George Vecsey
    Author, former columnist, New York Times
  • Wendy Ormond
    The day after taking this tour I was already looking at my city in a different way. I thought I knew my city’s history from all I had read. But discovered I never really understood how its social norms had developed. The city came alive for me and made me prouder than ever to call myself a New Yorker.
    Wendy Ormond
    Lawyer, lifelong New Yorker
 
Central Park, Manhattan
 

Who should take this tour?

- Veteran New Yorkers
- Newly minted New Yorkers
- Tourists who want to know more than just the height of the Empire State Building (A before-you-go primer takes care of such essentials)
- Corporations looking for a way to inspire employees with tales of persistence and grit that got New York to where it is today
- Students, to encourage them to never give up their big ideas.
- Teachers, to encourage students to think big
- And anyone looking for some surprising history or salacious gossip to share at the next dinner party.

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