NYC Walking Tours
In addition to being a published author and registered architect, I (John Hill) am a licensed New York City Sightseeing Guide. I've been giving architectural walking tours since early 2012, just after my first book, Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture, was published by W. W. Norton. Then, in 2019, Prestel put out NYC Walks: Guide to New Architecture, which collects ten of the walking tours I had been giving in those seven years.
If you would like to go on one of the architectural walking tours in the book (they are the ones below with asterisks) or any of the other tours listed below, or if you would like to hire me to craft a custom tour, please email me for rates and availability.
Architectural Walking Tours by John Hill:
- Pedestrian Lower Manhattan*: Experience the new buildings and landscapes in the Financial District, at the World Trade Center site, and in Battery Park City, by walking on car-free paths at, under, and above street level.
- POPS in the Financial District: Since 1961, New York City has allowed developers to build Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) — plazas, arcades, through block connections, etc. — in exchange for additional square footage in their buildings. More than 300 have been created to date, and this tour visits a dozen of them in Lower Manhattan.
- Westside Living*: This tour traverses three neighborhoods on the West Side of Manhattan — Tribeca, Hudson Square and the West Village — focusing on new residential buildings on the formerly industrial blocks near Hudson River Park.
- The High Line and Its Environs*: Walk the 1.5-mile-long elevated park from its southern tip next to the Whitney Museum of American Art to the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, learning about the elevated park and the new buildings it has sparked.
- The Bowery Changing*: Look at new buildings on the Bowery from the New Museum at Prince Street to Cooper Union at Astor Place, taking in adjacent blocks along the way.
- One Mile on Fifth Avenue: A walk up Fifth Avenue from Bryant Park to Central Park that looks at some iconic buildings, old and new, while also looking back into history at some forgotten buildings and a few of the events that shaped the iconic thoroughfare.
- POPS in Midtown: Since 1961, New York City has allowed developers to build Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) — plazas, arcades, through block connections, etc. — in exchange for additional square footage in their buildings. More than 300 have been created to date, and this tour visits a dozen of them in Lower Manhattan.
- 57th Street, River to River*: This architectural walking tour looks at the changing landscape of Manhattan’s Midtown architecture by focusing on the street that has become known as Billionaires’ Row.
- Midtown Transit: This walking/subway tour looks at changes to the major transit hubs in Midtown — Grand Central Terminal, Moynihan Train Hall, Penn Station, Port Authority Bus Terminal — as well as a few of the new buildings and public spaces adjacent to them.
- Columbus Circle and Lincoln Square*: Look at and go inside some recent buildings in the West 50s and 60s, from the Hearst Tower and the transformed Lincoln Center to the Apple Store.
- Stone Facades: Modern and Neo-Traditional Architecture on the Upper East Side: This tour looks at relatively recent buildings — townhouses, shops, museums, apartment buildings — that alternatively contrast and harmonize with the older buildings that make up the storied, beautiful streets of the Upper East Side.
- Columbia University*: Look at recent additions to the campuses of Columbia University and Barnard College in Morningside Heights, take a sneak peek at Columbia’s expansion into Manhattanville, and take the 1 Train to see the athletics complex designed by Steven Holl and DS+R's medical center.
- The Brooklyn Waterfront*: Walk along the waterfront from John Street in Dumbo to Atlantic Avenue near Brooklyn Heights to see new buildings and landscapes in and around Brooklyn Bridge Park (photo at top).
- Brooklyn via the G Train*: Hop on and off the G train from Downtown and Fort Greene, to Clinton Hill, and to Greenpoint and Williamsburg, taking in recently built townhouses, campus facilities, hotels and other buildings along the way.
- East River by Ferry*: This tour looks at new buildings and landscapes along the East River in Manhattan, Long Island City, and Roosevelt Island, taking the NYC Ferry to string together a few short walks.
- Astoria and Long Island City: This tour wends around parts of the Astoria, Dutch Kills, and Hunters Point neighborhoods, looking at new buildings and learning about the rezonings that have reshaped the area.