In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Fifth Avenue near Central Park filled up with the lavish mansions of the wealthy. This tour focuses on the design and history of these great houses, including who owned them, who designed them and who lived in them.

We’ll visit the outside of multiple Gilded Age mansions built in the Beaux Arts style, architecture rooted in Greek, Roman and Renaissance European styles with some modern updates.

We’ll also talk about the larger meaning of the era in New York’s history, when much of New York City is moving on past the Gilded Age, yet up on Fifth Avenue, behind the limestone and marble facades of the huge homes, things carry on much how they had in the previous decades.

And that includes the many dramas and scandals of these elite families — we’ll dig into some of the quirky and iconically unique figures of the age and learn how, despite their wealth and fame, humans are humans.

This tour starts at 70th Street and Central Park and ends at 90th Street near the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum.

LENGTH:  2 hours
COST: $40 per person
NOTE: This tour is run through Bowery Boys Walks — cancellation and other tour policies reflect their guidelines.