August 4, 2009
OpenHouse NY releases early site list for '09 free tours
Come October, the non-profit openhousenewyork will again pull back the curtain at hundreds of seldom-seen spots around the city, allowing free public access to the Apollo Theater, the abandoned 1844 railway tunnel under Atlantic Avenue, the Thaw Conservation Center at the Morgan Library and Museum, and the “Model Museum” showcasing the designs of architects Richard Meier and Partners.
OHNY this year promises 350 tours, talks, workshops, performances and screenings during the weekend of Oct. 10 and 11.
This will be the 7th annual Open House New York; last year’s event drew 175,000 visitors, organizers said.
Free tours will also be available of the newly opened High Line park, designed by James Corner Field Operations with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, as well as its wraparound Standard Hotel, designed by Todd Schliemann of Polshek Partnership Architects.
The full list of 350 sites — which will go public Oct. 1 — will include historic landmarks, architect and artist studios as well as private residences, including a live-work architectural studio in a converted 1899 carriage house in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
 In addition to the above location, provided by Open House New York, a handful of other NYC locations have already noted their participation on their public calendars, including the rarely open (c.1750) Boehm House (pictured, right) and (c.1720) Christopher House at Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island and Saint Paul’s Church National Historic Site in the Bronx.
In past years, OHNY events have included the Woolworth Building, the shuttered hospital on Ellis Island, a Rockefeller Center roof garden, the old airport tunnels under Floyd Bennet Field and walking tours of the High Line near the Javits Center (pictured, top.)
The non-profit OHNY runs on donations and also holds a handful of not-free tours throughout the year to help fund the free weekend. Tonight’s $25 tour offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Restoration and Renovation of St. Francis Xavier. The St. Francis work involves conservation of the church’s 47 murals, restoration of 35 plaster statues of saints, and repair and cleaning of stone and marble.
Picture credits: High Line and Boehm House by Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story said in past years tours offered access to Gramercy Park, which indeed was promised, including to people who paid for OHNY VIP passes. However, on the day of the actual tour, the guard at Gramercy Park refused entry to the tour group.
Earlier: OHNY: Governors Island’s cinema, gym, chapel
OHNY: Floyd Bennett Field’s Hangar B dance charrette
OpenHouse NY 2008 no-reservations required picklist
OpenHouse NY official site list, with reservation picks
Up in the attic at the Staten Island Museum
Inside the Woolworth Building with OpenHouse NY
Rockefeller Center roof garden & more OpenHouse
On board the Mary A. Whalen for Open House NY
The views from atop the rebuilt 7 World Trade Center
More pictures from Open House New York
Exploring secret Ellis Island during Open House NY
August 4, 2009 7:26 AM in Architecture, Cheap Stuff, Downtown, History, Kids, Midtown, Museums, Out of Manhattan, Sightsology, Tours
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