The Other Side of the Gilded Age

The Gilded Age is synonymous with opulent mansions, grand parties and unimaginable wealth, but there is another side to the era. This tour will discuss the lives of the other residents of New York at the time: the poor tenement dwellers, the staff who worked for the rich, the politicos and journalists of the time, and the emerging army of city workers.

We’ll wander through the very streets where New York City churned and bubbled, including some of the most famous blocks in the city, like Mott Street in Chinatown and Mulberry Street in Little Italy. Along the way you’ll learn how the lives of the rich and poor differed enormously in this era, but also how they intersected in direct and indirect ways. We’ll also discuss the architecture of numerous buildings along the route, from large public buildings that mined the same architectural styles as the famous Fifth Avenue mansions, to humble tenement buildings designed to house as many as possible for the least expense.

The Gilded Age era was one of tremendous growth and change for New York City, but the lives of the ultra-wealthy were only one part of it. This tour aims to fill out the picture and show what was going on down on the streets.