Fall 2025 marks the fifteenth AIA Architects League of Northern New Jersey’s Ted Kessler Walking Tour, which means that if you managed to attend every one you would have walked well over fifty five miles and earned 70 LUs. You also would have experienced the city in a way that you might not have expected- each tour is carefully planned to not only give you the best routes and best views of landmarks and neighborhoods, but also to include stories and stops that try to reframe the city in unexpected ways. My favorite part of planning these tours is finding a building or subject or architect and falling down a rabbit hole researching something I didn’t expect to. I am equally as excited about telling you all about the Chrysler Building as I am about telling you all about a small triangular plaque on the street that was a protest against eminent domain, or all about a city park civil engineer who had a buzzer installed in his coffin in case he was buried alive by mistake. Stories like these are a part of what makes the Architects League’s Ted Kessler Tours so unique and hopefully what makes them as fun to attend as they are to lead.
I am often asked a few of the same questions about the walking tours, so I think it makes some sense to use those questions to help give you a background of their history and future
How and why did these tours start?
In 2007, the current ALNNJ President came up with the idea to honor one of our members (Ted Kessler) who had recently passed away. Ted used to lead walking tours for a middle school from Washington State that would visit New York every year on a class trip. Kevin’s idea was good but his plan for the tour was not especially well thought through. This led me to suggest that if we do a walking tour, we should think about it first and do it right, and this led directly towards me researching and leading the first tour in Fall 2007.
How do you decide on a route?
I usually start in the spring thinking about what route might work for the next fall tour, or if a significant new building or park is scheduled to open that can anchor a tour. I will usually start on Google Street View to get a feel for what you can see, then spend a few weekends in the summer walking the neighborhood.
Can I go on one of these tours?
The Ted Kessler Walking Tours remain an exclusive member benefit for AIA Architects League of Northern New Jersey members and guests. To learn more about AIA Architects League of Northern New Jersey, click here.
How long does it take to research?
Longer than you think. Two months before the tour I am usually heavily researching and writing notes, although the handout often isn’t finished until a few days before we start.
What sources do you use to research these tours?
It’s hard to beat the AIA Guide to New York for basic information, but most of the time they don’t go into too much depth. The Robert Stern New York 1900 series of books are also a solid resource to understand how the city progressed over time. Online, the NYC DOB has a BIS map that you can cross reference with the the Metropolitan Archive, and there’s also a great map of landmark buildings and districts from the city. The New York Public Library is also a great resource for historic photos, and they even have a map that locates some photos by their nearest street corner.
How many people can go on the tours?
Due to practical limitations, we limit the tours to 25 people. Traditionally they sell out fairly quickly, so if you’re interested in going, don’t wait until the last minute to try and get tickets.
How long are you going to keep doing this?
I had initially planned stopping after the first tour, then the fifth, then the tenth, but have kept going because there’s always been another area or neighborhood or building that I thought would be good to explore. I already have some ideas about the some upcoming tours, although nothing will be finalized until it gets closer.
Which one is your favorite?
Each one is different so it’s really hard to compare them. That said, in 2015 I led a special version of the Lower Manhattan tour for the Spring Street International School on San Juan Island. It was a special request from Ted’s son Eric, whose daughter Addi would be on the school’s eighth grade trip. This was the same school trip that Ted Kessler used to give tours to, and now I was leading a tour in Ted’s name for his granddaughter. It was a special moment for all of us and an overall great experience.
When will the next walking tour be?
The walking tours have resumed their normal schedule, with a new route premiering in the Fall and then repeated the following Spring.
So far, there have been fourteen different walking tours on thirteen different routes in New York City
Tour #1: Classic Midtown
The very first tour in hit a lot of the big sites in Midtown Manhattan, starting at Grand Central Terminal, then heading up to the Seagram Building, over to Citicorp Center and then across Midtown past Rockefeller Center to Columbus Circle.
Tour #2: Hudson River Walk
This tour started at the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, and then moved straight north through Tribeca and the West Village, ending at Gansevoort Street. At the time of the tour, the first phase of the High Line was getting ready to open, and the tour focused on the massive changes already impacting that part of the city.
Tour #3: Madison Square
Starting at Madison Square, this tour followed a route (generally) south stopping at (or, more accurately, outside) Gramercy Park, Union Square, Cooper Square and then all the way down to Canal Street.
Tour #4: Midtown West and Rockefeller Center
A companion to the first tour, this one started in and focused on Times Square and Bryant Park, before going in depth on Rockefeller Center and ending at Lincoln Center, where the new Diller, Scofidio + Renfro renovations had just been completed.
Tour #5: Lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center
This tour looped five miles in, around and through Lower Manhattan, starting at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and ending up at Foley Square. In between we focused in depth on the World Trade Center construction as well as the fascinating history of that part of the city.
Tour #6: Midtown East and Roosevelt Island
From Grand Central Terminal, we headed east to Tudor City and then north for a tram ride to Roosevelt Island, This tour took place right after the opening of the long delayed Louis Kahn FDR Memorial and before the demolition of the Goldwater Hospital.
Tour #7: Hamilton Heights
One of my favorite tours, this one connected the campuses of Columbia University and City College (and went up and down the steep hill in between them), starting at St John the Divine and ending at Riverbank State Park.
Tour #8: Central Park
Starting at the Museum of Natural History and ending at the Cooper-Hewitt, this tour was probably the hardest route to figure out since most of it took place in Central Park. It was however a great excuse to spend a summer trying to walk every path in the park trying to find the perfect views.
Tour #9: Greenwich Village
Starting at Union Square and ending at the IM Pei’s Silver Towers, this tour looped through (mostly) the west side of the village, where (almost) every block had something interesting or historic (or both) to see.
Tour #10: Penn Station and Hudson Yards
After starting at Herald Square, this tour went really deep into Penn Station (both figuratively and literally), then through the West Chelsea Historic District and Hudson Yards, still a few years a way from completion.
Tour #11: Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO
Our first tour in Brooklyn hit all the major sites in Brooklyn Heights before crossing the (actually open) Squibb Park Bridge and walking along the river to DUMBO, where the long awaited Empire Stores was finally ready for visitors.
Tour #12: Long Island City
Long Island City is one of the most fascinating places out there, and as we walked along our route it changed dramatically almost block to block, from gritty industrial areas to tree lined streets with historic brownstones to brand new residential towers.
Tour #13: Park Slope and Fort Greene
Starting at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and heading downhill (except for that last part) to the monument in Fort Greene Park, this tour covered multiple residential neighborhoods as well as Prospect Park and a rapidly changing Downtown Brooklyn.
Tour #14: 57th Street Crosstown
We’re back in Manhattan for our first crosstown route, even if we don’t make it all the way across to the East River this time. We’ll be starting on the Hudson River, walking through Hell’s Kitchen and seeing all the new supertall skyscrapers we can.
Tour #15: 34th Street Crosstown
The fifteenth tour starts where the fourteenth tour ended, and continues down 42nd Street, through Kips Bay, Murray Hill and K-Town and over to Penn Station, Moynihan Train Hall and finishes up in Hudson Yards.