Name: Jewish Influence in the Gilded Age - A Free Walking Tour
Start: 2025-11-09T11:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-11-09T13:30:00-05:00
Location: The Paris Theater

Jewish Influence in the Gilded Age - A Free Walking Tour

The Gilded Age included prominent Jewish families (Adlers, Guggenheims, Pulitzers, Strauss’ and Warburgs) who built grand homes along 5th Av
About this Event

In 1873, Mark Twain (along with Charles Dudley Warren) wrote a book titled “The Gilded Age - A Tale of Today” which satirized the greed and corruption evident in the North and West after the Civil War. The book was panned by critics, but the monicker “The Gilded Age” went on to represent that era. The Captains of Industry (or Robber Barons) with familiar names such as Vanderbilt, Astor, Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan ruled the day by taking advantage of the abundant labor force emigrating from Europe. They flaunted their great wealth by lining the streets near 5th Avenue and Central Park with their opulent mansions.

But the Gilded Age also included prominent Jewish families like the Adlers, Guggenheims, Pulitzers, Strauss’ and Warburgs who also built great homes in the area and have interesting connections to that era.

Many of those mansions (mostly along 5th Avenue) survived until the 1930’s, replaced by apartment buildings, but some of them survive to this day in all their ostentatious grandeur - along with their history and stories.

Join tour guide Bradley Shaw as he points out these existing beautiful mansions and townhomes as you walk the affluent Upper East Side from the Plaza Hotel on 59th Street to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 82nd Street.

Some of the places you will visit and learn about:

The iconic Plaza Hotel
The corner where an upscale department store replaced the largest private home ever built in NYC
A Jewish connection to the Titanic
Exclusive Clubs of the rich and famous
More exclusive clubs of the rich and famous who weren’t allowed in those other exclusive clubs
A Central Park favorite
A famous Fifth Avenue Synagogue that replaced the Astor Mansion
A street with a notorious Jewish past
A mansion that once displayed a Michelangelo

PLEASE NOTE - THERE IS A FAIR AMOUNT OF WALKING ON THIS TOUR!

This event is being sponsored by the Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative (MJHI), a community-based project, interactive in scope, formed to explore, compile and record the extraordinary history of the Jewish community of Manhattan, and disseminate it through web, social media, etc. MJHI is known for their annual Awards program honoring Jews that have made an extraordinary contribution to Manhattan.

The tickets are free (donations accepted) and space is limited, so please register early and only if you truly plan on attending so you don't take a registration spot away from somebody else. Donations can be made the day of the tour in cash or by check made out to the Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative. They can also be sent to Lori Weissman, 383 Grand Street, M2001, New York, NY 10002-6060. Your support helps us offer affordable program and events throughout the year.
Thank you.