Field Trip: Brooklyn Navy Yard and More
past
Sun, Jul 27, 1:30 PM - 9:30 PM GMT
Columbus Circle, New York, NY, USA
We will meet in the center of Columbus Circle at the base of the statue of Christopher Columbus
Hosts
About
Get ready for a most unique tour of the renowned Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard has been a cornerstone of American industry and military power since 1801, serving for more than 150 years as one of the nation’s most important naval shipbuilding facilities. During its peak in World War II, the Yard employed nearly 70,000 people around the clock, building and repairing iconic vessels including battleships, aircraft carriers, and destroyers that served in nearly every major conflict of the 20th century. After the Navy left in 1966, the site was reborn as a city-owned industrial park, and today it hosts over 450 businesses employing more than 11,000 workers. The 300-acre campus is a living museum of industrial architecture and innovation, with structures like the 1851 Dry Dock No. 1, which is still in use for ship repairs, and massive World War II-era machine shops now repurposed for modern manufacturing and technology. The tour also visits the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92, which is certified LEED Platinum, a green building standard that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, highlighting how the Yard has become a model for sustainable urban redevelopment while still supporting critical infrastructure for New York City, including energy systems and stormwater management.
We will meet at Columbus Circle at 9:30am and travel by subway to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, or you can meet us directly at Building 77, located at 141 Flushing Avenue, by 10:45am. The tour begins at 11:00am with Turnstile Tours and lasts about two hours. Tickets for the Turnstile tour cost $25 per person and must be purchased directly from them. Don't delay, there are a limited number of tickets available. Book your tickets at
https://turnstiletours.com/tour/brooklyn-navy-yard-sustainability-tour/
After the tour we will then visit the Naval Cemetery Landscape, located along the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. This 1.7-acre memorial space was originally the U.S. Naval Hospital Cemetery, active from 1831 to 1910, where over 2,000 sailors and workers were buried. Although most of the remains were relocated to Cypress Hills National Cemetery, the site still holds hundreds of historic burials. It was transformed in 2016 into a contemplative park featuring native wildflower meadows, a pollinator habitat recognized as a Monarch Waystation, and a gently curving elevated boardwalk that allows visitors to experience the landscape without disturbing its sacred ground.
We will then take the 1:55 p.m. NYC Ferry from Dock 72 on the Astoria route north to Roosevelt Island. The NYC Ferry, launched in 2017, uses sleek aluminum catamaran boats built in Alabama and Louisiana, with spacious open-air decks and wide windows that make the ride feel more like a harbor cruise than a commuter trip.
As we cross the East River, we will enjoy sweeping views of Manhattan’s skyline and the ever-changing waterfront architecture, passing directly beneath the Williamsburg Bridge, whose bold steel cables and industrial style once carried the busiest streetcar line in the world and was considered an “ugly duckling” compared to its more famous neighbor, the Brooklyn Bridge, but is now classic New York. We will also go under the Queensboro Bridge, a cantilevered marvel from 1909 known as the 59th Street Bridge and immortalized in the Simon & Garfunkel song “Feelin’ Groovy,” which even once had an elevator to lower cars to Roosevelt Island before the tram existed. In the distance, we will see the Brooklyn Bridge, the first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world with its cathedral-like granite towers that famously supported P.T. Barnum’s parade of elephants to prove its strength, as well as the Manhattan Bridge, whose graceful arch approach was nicknamed the Gateway to Chinatown and whose subway trains once made the deck sway dramatically.
On Roosevelt Island, we will have lunch at Piccolo Trattoria, a cozy Italian restaurant.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7jsvTGDSwpFhpa8B9
Historically called Welfare Island, Roosevelt Island once housed hospitals, asylums, and the landmark Smallpox Hospital, whose dramatic Gothic ruins still stand today. The island was redesigned in the late twentieth century as a planned residential community with landscaped parks and modern apartment towers. At its southern tip is Four Freedoms Park, designed by architect Louis Kahn as a memorial to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with striking granite geometry framing panoramic views of the East River and the skyline.
If there is time, we will also ride the Roosevelt Island Red Bus, a bright red shuttle that loops around the island for just 25 cents, offering a quick and classic way to see its parks, housing, and waterfront.
After exploring the island, we will return to Manhattan on the Roosevelt Island Tramway. The tram, which opened in 1976 as one of the first commuter aerial tramways in North America, crosses the East River to 59th Street and Second Avenue. This unique transit system, originally intended as a temporary link until the subway reached the island, has become a beloved part of the city’s transportation network, providing dramatic aerial views of Midtown and the Queensboro Bridge.
Bring comfortable walking shoes and lots of water to stay hydrated. Everyone is responsible for their own costs and participates at their own risk.
Going
Register to see all event details
Where your group belongs
Field Trip: Brooklyn Navy Yard and More
past
Sun, Jul 27, 1:30 PM - 9:30 PM GMT
Columbus Circle, New York, NY, USA
We will meet in the center of Columbus Circle at the base of the statue of Christopher Columbus
Hosts
About
Get ready for a most unique tour of the renowned Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard has been a cornerstone of American industry and military power since 1801, serving for more than 150 years as one of the nation’s most important naval shipbuilding facilities. During its peak in World War II, the Yard employed nearly 70,000 people around the clock, building and repairing iconic vessels including battleships, aircraft carriers, and destroyers that served in nearly every major conflict of the 20th century. After the Navy left in 1966, the site was reborn as a city-owned industrial park, and today it hosts over 450 businesses employing more than 11,000 workers. The 300-acre campus is a living museum of industrial architecture and innovation, with structures like the 1851 Dry Dock No. 1, which is still in use for ship repairs, and massive World War II-era machine shops now repurposed for modern manufacturing and technology. The tour also visits the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92, which is certified LEED Platinum, a green building standard that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, highlighting how the Yard has become a model for sustainable urban redevelopment while still supporting critical infrastructure for New York City, including energy systems and stormwater management.
We will meet at Columbus Circle at 9:30am and travel by subway to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, or you can meet us directly at Building 77, located at 141 Flushing Avenue, by 10:45am. The tour begins at 11:00am with Turnstile Tours and lasts about two hours. Tickets for the Turnstile tour cost $25 per person and must be purchased directly from them. Don't delay, there are a limited number of tickets available. Book your tickets at
https://turnstiletours.com/tour/brooklyn-navy-yard-sustainability-tour/
After the tour we will then visit the Naval Cemetery Landscape, located along the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. This 1.7-acre memorial space was originally the U.S. Naval Hospital Cemetery, active from 1831 to 1910, where over 2,000 sailors and workers were buried. Although most of the remains were relocated to Cypress Hills National Cemetery, the site still holds hundreds of historic burials. It was transformed in 2016 into a contemplative park featuring native wildflower meadows, a pollinator habitat recognized as a Monarch Waystation, and a gently curving elevated boardwalk that allows visitors to experience the landscape without disturbing its sacred ground.
We will then take the 1:55 p.m. NYC Ferry from Dock 72 on the Astoria route north to Roosevelt Island. The NYC Ferry, launched in 2017, uses sleek aluminum catamaran boats built in Alabama and Louisiana, with spacious open-air decks and wide windows that make the ride feel more like a harbor cruise than a commuter trip.
As we cross the East River, we will enjoy sweeping views of Manhattan’s skyline and the ever-changing waterfront architecture, passing directly beneath the Williamsburg Bridge, whose bold steel cables and industrial style once carried the busiest streetcar line in the world and was considered an “ugly duckling” compared to its more famous neighbor, the Brooklyn Bridge, but is now classic New York. We will also go under the Queensboro Bridge, a cantilevered marvel from 1909 known as the 59th Street Bridge and immortalized in the Simon & Garfunkel song “Feelin’ Groovy,” which even once had an elevator to lower cars to Roosevelt Island before the tram existed. In the distance, we will see the Brooklyn Bridge, the first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world with its cathedral-like granite towers that famously supported P.T. Barnum’s parade of elephants to prove its strength, as well as the Manhattan Bridge, whose graceful arch approach was nicknamed the Gateway to Chinatown and whose subway trains once made the deck sway dramatically.
On Roosevelt Island, we will have lunch at Piccolo Trattoria, a cozy Italian restaurant.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7jsvTGDSwpFhpa8B9
Historically called Welfare Island, Roosevelt Island once housed hospitals, asylums, and the landmark Smallpox Hospital, whose dramatic Gothic ruins still stand today. The island was redesigned in the late twentieth century as a planned residential community with landscaped parks and modern apartment towers. At its southern tip is Four Freedoms Park, designed by architect Louis Kahn as a memorial to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with striking granite geometry framing panoramic views of the East River and the skyline.
If there is time, we will also ride the Roosevelt Island Red Bus, a bright red shuttle that loops around the island for just 25 cents, offering a quick and classic way to see its parks, housing, and waterfront.
After exploring the island, we will return to Manhattan on the Roosevelt Island Tramway. The tram, which opened in 1976 as one of the first commuter aerial tramways in North America, crosses the East River to 59th Street and Second Avenue. This unique transit system, originally intended as a temporary link until the subway reached the island, has become a beloved part of the city’s transportation network, providing dramatic aerial views of Midtown and the Queensboro Bridge.
Bring comfortable walking shoes and lots of water to stay hydrated. Everyone is responsible for their own costs and participates at their own risk.
Going
Register to see all event details
Where your group belongs