Explore the stories of Riverside Drive with Ephemeral New York on a September walking tour!

Riverside Drive, opened in 1880 and intended to rival to Fifth Avenue as the home of Manhattan’s newly minted millionaires, isn’t just a breathtaking avenue for a stroll. Its mansions and memorials holds secrets and stories.

Who was the silent screen actress whose famous paramour bought her a Riverside Drive townhouse close to his family penthouse? Which steel titan built a 75-room chateau for himself, his wife, and their 20 servants?

What drove a turn-of-the-century mother with a lovely home on the Drive to launch a citywide campaign against “unnecessary noise”? Who is the real-life model at the Fireman’s Memorial who was a sensation in the early 1900s and then lived much of her long life in a mental institution?

Why did a famous author name a Riverside Park boulder after a neighborhood boy? Which still-standing mansion has a tunnel leading to the Hudson River? When did the 1840s railroad that hugged the Hudson River shoreline finally move underground?

Want insight into more stories about Riverside Drive, especially the Drive in the Gilded Age—when an eclectic mix of business titans, poets, actors, and eccentrics made this avenue of mansions and monuments their home?

Join Ephemeral New York on an upcoming walking tour! Tour dates are as follows, and tickets can be purchased by clicking the link:

Sunday, September 8: A few tickets remain for The Gilded Age Mansions and Monuments of Riverside Drive, organized by Bowery Boys Walks. Tour starts at 1 p.m.

Sunday, September 22: Sign up for Exploring the Mansions and Memorials of Riverside Drive, organized through the New York Adventure Club. Tour starts at 1 p.m.

Hope to see everyone on these fun, insightful walks up one of New York’s most beautiful avenues, made even better by the cool, breezy weather in September!