A Grand Tour of New York City's Theater World: Day 2

Heather Bailey is the winner of the Heritage Travel Reviews Contest, which we held back in the spring on our pre-launch website, GoWithaPurpose.com. She won a grand tour of New York City’s theater world -- complete with special backstage tours of New York’s most famous venues, tickets to Broadway shows and a stay at New York’s oldest hotel. Heather will be reporting back on her experiences and posting them right here on the Go With a Purpose blog.

Saturday's adventures began with breakfast at a New York-style diner. Our tour guide, Rey, recommended that we try a diner while in town, and the Red Flame just happened to be next to our hotel. There was a good mix of tourists and locals inside, and we had some great diner fare to start our day. I was particularly taken with the clock on the back wall of the diner. I love those kinds of details.

Our tour group gathered in the lobby of the Algonquin, and we were greeted by Matilda, the cat. She was feeling a bit more sociable today and kept prowling around as if to make sure that everyone was accounted for. Because it was Halloween, I thought that the accidental exposure of the picture I took of her that made her look like some type of ghost cat was very fitting.

Our main focus for the day was on the historical, architectural and theatrical heritage of Harlem. Due to a street festival on Madison Avenue and preparations for the New York Marathon, our bus got tangled in traffic, and our guides quickly retooled and led us out onto the subway system. That ended up being lucky for us because we got to see and learn about things that we wouldn't have otherwise, such as the evolution of the subway system in the city. We arrived at 125th Street and met Billy Mitchell at the Apollo Theater. Billy is known as the Soul of the Apollo, and you really could not ask for a better person to unravel the stories that this building holds.

Knowing that we were preservation-minded, he discussed the upcoming renovation plans, which will be phenomenal, and the changes to the building over time. And no trip to the Apollo is complete without rubbing the lucky stump. Fortunately for them, I was not going to perform after rubbing it, so we were all lucky in that regard. After being provided with some very detailed contextual information on Harlem and how the segregation in early New York shaped the theater industry, among other things, we headed out for a driving and walking tour of Harlem and its different neighborhoods.

We got to see some row houses that infamous architect Stanford White designed for African-American professionals, although there was no sign of a red velvet swing. We also visited the new location of Alexander Hamilton's farmhouse and its previous location, also not the first location of that building, and we learned about his influence on the shaping of New York and our country. While perusing the row houses that now sit on top of what was once his family farmstead, we unknowingly began our tour of movie-related sites. Dr. Rosenberg pointed out the building that was used in the movie "The Royal Tenenbaums."

On our way back to the hotel, my mother and I asked to be dropped off early, and we trekked out to tally up a few more movie sites. Growing up, I loved the movie "Ghostbusters," and it seemed imperative to visit those iconic sites. I excitedly proclaimed that we had found the Temple of Zuul when we came across the apartment building used in the movie. I imagined what the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man would have looked like climbing up it, and then took a picture of the church next to it while quoting Bill Murray, "Nobody steps on a church in my town!"

After that adventure, we went to explore Greenwich Village and got to see the preparations for the famous Halloween parade. We were able to continue our movie and television theme at dinner, when we were seated right by television actor John Stamos. I did not take a picture of him, since I thought the man deserved to eat his dinner in peace before he left to perform in the musical "Bye Bye Birdie." According to the waitress, he comes to eat at Bond 45 quite frequently, so Stamos fans are now in the know.

For the evening, we stepped back into my mother's teen years by going to see the musical "Hair." On our way to do our "Ghostbusters" tribute, we made a point to visit the Dakota. This apartment building was home to John Lennon and the site where he was assassinated. Imagining his message, we went into "Hair" with thoughts of war protest and free love.


The show won a Tony for the best revival of a musical, and it was well deserved. The actors were excellent, lively and very interactive with the crowd. My mother and I both came away with flowers. I tucked mine behind my ear and wore it as a sort of costume for our return trip to our room. Walking through Times Square on Halloween night was amazing, although I couldn't always tell who was wearing a costume and who just dressed that way. And I think that is spectacular.