Artists, Oddballs & Provocateurs: East Village Since the 1950s
Explore an iconic and exhilarating neighborhood
Around the middle of the 20th century, the area east of Third Avenue between Houston and 14th Streets began a transformation from what it had long been — a working-class immigrant neighborhood — to a unique, exhilarating, and sometimes dangerous one teeming with artists, oddballs, provocateurs, and future icons. In the following decades, new generations would find their way to the East Village and continue to enrich this beguiling and contradictory mix: a great neighborhood to live in that also fed a creative spirit and became one of the city’s most famous nightlife destinations.
On this tour, we’ll tell you the story of the East Village since the 1950s, focusing on the many subcultures that took root and flourished here, and on the nightlife that continues to draw people to this day (yes, even during COVID)!
Tour participants will even be encouraged to share their memories of the East Village and talk about some of their favorite spots.
Your guide will be a 15+ year resident of the neighborhood who has spent many an hour in the East Village eating, drinking, walking, biking, playing music, photographing and otherwise indulging in all the wonders the neighborhood has to offer.
A recent review for our East Village Tour:
“We enjoyed the tour tremendously. Krikor was terrific — knowledgeable, engaging, amusing! I really enjoyed his in-depth stories about the lives and times of St. Marks and the East Village.”
-David B./Los Angeles
Tour Highlights
Get ready to discover…
- Meet artists, musicians and writers like WH Auden, The Velvet Underground and Nico, Joey Ramone, Keith Haring and Lady Bunny.
- Experience the incredible array of subcultures that have flourished here, from 1960s hippies to the downtown cool of the 1990s
- Find out how punk music was born here and dominated the look of St. Marks Place
- Spend some time hanging in the neighborhood’s center, Tompkins Square Park
- Learn about the increase of wealth since 2000 and how it’s created a debate over the future of the neighborhood
- Local institutions and businesses like Veselka, the Fillmore East, Manic Panic and the original Hare Krishna temple
Duration
Walking Tour: 2 hours (we will send you the meeting place when you book)
Rates
Person – Walking Tour $40.00
(Best suited for ages 16+)
Private Tours available!
Book a walking tour with our guides in New York City or a live online experience that makes a fun socially distanced event for your family, organization, or group of friends.
Click to learn more
Your Guide
East Village resident Krikor Daglian
Looking to study up before the tour?
Prep for our East Village Tour by listening to the podcast episode “St. Mark’s Place: It’s Party Time in the East Village!”