Trinity Church began in 1696 with a small group of Anglicans, members of the Church of England, they created the first Anglican Church in Manhattan, New York. As New York’s population grew the Church built new chapels such as St. George’ Chapel and St. Paul’s Chapel. In 1776, the first Trinity Church was destroyed by …
Category: Tours
Iceberg Ride
ACT UP City Hall Demonstration
One of the many ACT UP demonstrations, took place on March 28, 1989 at City Hall. It was the biggest AIDS demonstration with 3,000 people protesting Ed Koch’s AIDS policy. [1] [1] “ACT UP New York records 1969, 1982-1997 [bulk 1987-1995] D.” ACT UP New York records. Accessed December 05, 2017. http://archives.nypl.org/mss/10#overview.
King’s College
King’s College was founded in 1754 by the royal charter of King George II of England where it got its name and is now known as Columbia University. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in New York State. When King’s College was founded there was much debate and controversy on the topics of …
The Fraunces Tavern
The Fraunces Tavern, located at 54 Pearl Street, was purchased by Samuel Fraunces in 1762 and opened what was originally known as the Queen’s Head Tavern. In the 18th century taverns were very important places, they were the center of the community, meeting places, exchanging of ideas and news for both locals and visitors, a …
The Bank of New York
The Bank of New York, now the New York Mellon, was founded in in 1784 by Alexander Hamilton following the Revolutionary war, a time of chaos. At that time there was only one bank in North America located in Philadelphia, a time where it was very difficult to conduct business. In the conclusion of the …
The East Village
The East Village is where the play takes place and where it was written. The East Village has changed over the years, but in the time that Rent was produced, it was a hub of artists. However, it was also where gentrification was occurring. The remnants of 300 homeless people still resided in the East …
Little Apollo Theater
The approximate former location of the Little Apollo Theater. Not to be confused with the more famous Apollo Theater, this establishment was acquired by the Minskys soon after they left the Park Theater, and quickly became one of their most profitable venues, taking in net profits of around $20,000 a week at its height.
The Life Cafe
The Life Café is where the end of the first act of the Rent takes place. The song “La Vie Bohème”, which occurs before the intermission and is one of the most popular scenes from the play, is performed here. The Life Café was chosen for this particular scene because Jonathan Larson was a frequent …
Oriental Theater
The approximate former location of the Oriental Theater. Acquired by H.K. and Morton Minsky in 1936, it was apparently meant to be a permanent home for Minsky productions, but it was forcibly closed by the city government before this vision could become a reality.