September 25, 2008

OpenHouse NY official site list, with reservation picks

(This entry will be updated for a few days as NewYorkology can obtain clarifications to the OHNY guide. See the list of best spots that don’t require reservations.)

The full list of the free Open House NY events for October 4 and 5 is now live, and a significant number of the events will require reservations this year.

Among the free events one of the the coolest additions this year may be Governors Island, which for the first time ever will open up the entire island to the public. (Reservations are required for the all-island tram tour: info-gipec@empire.state.ny.us; but “walking tours with special access to several buildings are not reservation based,” an OHNY spokeswoman told NewYorkology via e-mail on Friday morning. But a Governors Island rep e-mails: “The entire historic district is open to the public, including buildings that are normally closed. The only way to access the southern part of the Island is with a tram reservation.” )

There are about 200 sites and programs scattered all over the five boroughs. Novices be warned, many of these sites are open other times during the year. If you’re trying to maximize your weekend, look for the private residences and the unique opendialogue programs, often with the architects who designed or reconstructed the spaces.

Also be warned that many sites will change their offerings and hours if the past years are any indication. Indeed, tonight’s list already has cancellations (McCarren Park Pool,) and several additions.

But most importantly for now is the snagging of the reservations. … (Items in bold may still have openings.)

Reservations required

Woolworth Building tour of the lobby and a 21st floor office - Saturday only; e-mail openhouse@controlgroup.com - FULL
The High Line - tours both days awarded by lottery. You can register online for the High Line lottery until September 29 (corrected date.) Details from High Line email: The tours are “30-minute walks on the High Line’s northern section, which still exists its wild, self-seeded state. Please note, tours will not enter any of the areas of the High Line currently under construction.”
Great Interiors of the Financial District walking tour including the Collector’s Office at the former U.S. Custom House, the great hall at the former Cunard Building at 25 Broadway, and the huge rotunda of the former Merchant’s Exchange at 55 Wall St. - Sunday at 2 p.m. FinancialDistrictInteriors@gmail.com - FULL
Guggenheim Museum dialogue with restoration project manager and museum staff - Saturday at 2 p.m. - FULL
Ellis Island’s shuttered South Side buildings - 9:30, 11 a.m., 12:30, 2 and 3:30 p.m. both days, (212) 363-3200 × 580 - FULL
Radio City Music Hall tour with restoration architect Hugh Hardy at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday ohny@h3hc.com - FULL
7 World Trade Center dialogue with the architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill with Silverstein Properties - Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. - FULL
Grand Central Terminal dialogue/tour with renovation architects on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. ohny@bbbarch.com - FULL
BBG-BBGM Design Studios on the 25th floor of the Empire State Building - several tours both Saturday and Sunday
Trolley tour of 1939 and 1964 World’s Fair monuments - Saturday at 10, 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. (718) 846-2731 - FULL
Porter House condominium tour with SHoP architect Gregg Pasquarelli - Saturday at 6 p.m. - FULL
Morgan Library & Museum - Sunday noon and 2 p.m. dialogue with with BBB architect Meghan Lake - FULL
New Museum tours with former SANAA architect Florian Idenburg - Sunday at noon and 1 p.m. - FULL
NYC’s first airport, Floyd Bennett Field, will offer tours of the control tower and the passenger loading tunnel - Saturday and Sunday from 11a.m. to noon and 1 to 2 p.m., a ranger told NewYorkology on Friday afternoon.
Brooklyn Navy Yard by bus - Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. chidalgo@brooklynnavyyard.com - FULL
Temple Emanu-El dialogue with restoration architect Tom Lindberg of Beyer Blinder Belle - Sunday at noon and 2 p.m. ohny@bbbarch.com
Private tours of MoMA’s “Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling” - Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 a.m. - FULL
The BankNote tour with Nadia Shirazi of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners of this landmark building, which is being redeveloped as a center for creative industries - Saturday at 2 p.m. ohny@bbbarch.com.
Lefferts House attic-to-cellar tour - Saturday and Sunday at noon (normally $10)
Times Square: Peeling Back the Neon tour - Saturday at 11a.m., 4 p.m. and 11p.m.; Sunday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. (variation of the weekly free Friday tour, but the 11 p.m. tour will focus on “the sex scene, late night movies, and notable nightlife spots”)
Flux Factory’s Living Room site-specific installations in eight private homes and OHNY sites - Shuttle to all sites leaves at noon on Saturday and Sunday
Lower East Side Forsyth Street Loft tours with architects of an apartment blurs the boundaries between the public and private - Saturday and Sunday at 1:30, 3, 4:30 p.m. left@leftish.net - FULL
Transit power station tour with Robert Lobenstein, General Superintendent of New York City Transit - Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. - FULL
Japan Society tours of its 1971 Junzo Yoshimura-designed building , the only building in NYC of modern Japanese design.- Saturday and Sunday at 12:30, 2 and 3:30 p.m. - FULL
Williamsburg Bridge Walk with former Chief Engineer/First Deputy Commissioner for NYC Department of Transportation “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz - Sunday at 1 p.m. - FULL
Woodlawn Cemetery tours of the mausoleums - both Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (718) 920-1470

There are still more sites that require reservations. See the OHNY list and look for sites marked with a scripted R.

No reservations required
The historic district of Governors Island - Saturday and Sunday
Historic Richmond Town’s (pictured, left) restored 1720s farmhouse kitchen and a 1750s house - Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.
1930’s-designed Jacob Riis Park, including grounds and renovated bathhouse - open Saturday from 9 to 5 p.m. with a no-reservations required tour 3 to 5 p.m., NPS rangers told NewYorkology late Friday. Also disregard the OHNY guide suggestion to take the Water Taxi; it no longer runs on weekends. Directions here.
Behind the scenes tours of the redesigned Queens Theatre in the Park (next to the Unisphere,) with its transparent, spiraling round pavilion - Saturday and Sunday
The Montauk Club - open Sunday from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

Morris Jumel Mansion - Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 4 p.m.
Wyckoff Farm House, the oldest residence in New York City - Saturday and Sunday 11 to 4 p.m.
Wave Hill tours and family events - throughout Saturday and Sunday
Brooklyn Historical Society - free admission all weekend, plus architectural tours at 2 p.m.
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Contact Station tour of the green-design visitor station - Sunday 2 to 3 p.m.

The full list is obviously longer. Consider this the first-night picklist. And remember, OHNY events may change, right up to and during OHNY weekend.

Sign up for Twitter and use the #OHNY tag to indicate news you find, like when reservations have filled up, or suddenly opened, or a site has decided not to honor what’s printed in the program.

Picture credits: OHNY Program Guide for 2008; Pictures from 2007 OHNY by Amy Langfield/NewYorkology

Earlier: Woolworth, High Line on OpenHouse NY list for 2008

September 25, 2008 7:01 PM in Architecture, Cheap Stuff, Downtown, History, Kids, Midtown, Museums, Out of Manhattan, Sightsology, Tours, Transportology, Upper East Side, Upper West Side

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