Big Onion Walking Tours
Encyclopedia
Big Onion Walking Tours is the largest walking tour
company in New York City
. It is operated by graduate students with advanced degrees in American history or related fields. The company has offered sidewalk tours of the city since 1991. According to a recent review, Big Onion is the "grandaddy" of New York's walking tour companies.
graduate students Seth Kamil and Ed O'Donnell in 1991. They were initially encouraged by Kenneth T. Jackson
, a Columbia professor and prominent historian of New York City. For decades Jackson has required his students at Columbia to explore the city on foot and even to write walking tours as academic assignments. Kamil and O'Donnell initially gave walking tours on ad hoc basis for museums and school groups as a way to help to pay for graduate school. What started as an informal enterprise gradually developed into a small company as they began giving public "show-up" tours that were listed in the newspaper. Soon thereafter, they hired colleagues at Columbia, New York University
, and CUNY to help lead tours.
In 2001, Jackson wrote in the preface to the first published collection of Big Onion tours:
After 9-11, Big Onion had a marked decrease in patrons, while maintaining its public tour roster, no groups chose to take tours from September 12 through October 29, 2001:
They have since recovered, as has other tourism in New York City
.
As of 2009, Seth Kamil continues to serve as president, and Big Onion employs more than two dozen veteran guides from universities all over the region (many "retired" guides have moved on to successful academic careers). Each year Big Onion offers hundreds of show-up tours to the public and hundreds more to schools, businesses, law firms, non-profits, and families. It is a programming partner of the New-York Historical Society
.
, often missed by other operators.
Big Onion gives tours in two dozen neighborhoods and parks in Manhattan and Brooklyn 365 days a year, rain or shine. Tours meet at or near a subway stop and are typically two hours long. Since each guide is encouraged to bring her own perspective and expertise to her tour, no two tours are alike. Guides often incorporate their academic specialities into their tours and provide listeners with historical context as well as running commentary on architecture, immigration, urban development and historic figures. Several tours concentrate on the history of specific ethnic groups and neighborhoods.
Walking tour
Walking tour may be defined has having one or more of the following characteristics:* A full or partial-day tour of one or more tourist destinations, which can be led by a tour guide, an escort, or be self-guided....
company in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It is operated by graduate students with advanced degrees in American history or related fields. The company has offered sidewalk tours of the city since 1991. According to a recent review, Big Onion is the "grandaddy" of New York's walking tour companies.
History
Big Onion was founded by Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
graduate students Seth Kamil and Ed O'Donnell in 1991. They were initially encouraged by Kenneth T. Jackson
Kenneth T. Jackson
Kenneth Terry Jackson is a professor of history and social sciences at Columbia University. A frequent television guest, he is best known as an urban historian and a preeminent authority on New York City, where he lives on the Upper West Side....
, a Columbia professor and prominent historian of New York City. For decades Jackson has required his students at Columbia to explore the city on foot and even to write walking tours as academic assignments. Kamil and O'Donnell initially gave walking tours on ad hoc basis for museums and school groups as a way to help to pay for graduate school. What started as an informal enterprise gradually developed into a small company as they began giving public "show-up" tours that were listed in the newspaper. Soon thereafter, they hired colleagues at Columbia, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and CUNY to help lead tours.
In 2001, Jackson wrote in the preface to the first published collection of Big Onion tours:
"New York is fundamentally a walking city, so what better way is there to see it? The reason Big Onion Walking Tours has succeeded is that it makes the city's history accessible and understandable--not to mention entertaining. This is no small feat given New Yorkers' unforgiving nature and the difficulty of running any business here, let alone one founded by graduate students. Big Onion began with only three tours--Immigrant New York, the Jewish Lower East Side, and Ellis Island. Today there are almost thirty, all of which peel back the layers, like an onion, to reveal what's beneath."
After 9-11, Big Onion had a marked decrease in patrons, while maintaining its public tour roster, no groups chose to take tours from September 12 through October 29, 2001:
They have since recovered, as has other tourism in New York City
Tourism in New York City
Tourism in New York City includes nearly 47 million foreign and American tourists each year. Major destinations include the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Broadway theatre productions, museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other tourist attractions including Central Park,...
.
As of 2009, Seth Kamil continues to serve as president, and Big Onion employs more than two dozen veteran guides from universities all over the region (many "retired" guides have moved on to successful academic careers). Each year Big Onion offers hundreds of show-up tours to the public and hundreds more to schools, businesses, law firms, non-profits, and families. It is a programming partner of the New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...
.
Tours
Big Onion provides primarily historical and literary walking tours, to show the sites not shown on "plaques". They also focus on neighborhoods, such as the Lower East SideLower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
, often missed by other operators.
Big Onion gives tours in two dozen neighborhoods and parks in Manhattan and Brooklyn 365 days a year, rain or shine. Tours meet at or near a subway stop and are typically two hours long. Since each guide is encouraged to bring her own perspective and expertise to her tour, no two tours are alike. Guides often incorporate their academic specialities into their tours and provide listeners with historical context as well as running commentary on architecture, immigration, urban development and historic figures. Several tours concentrate on the history of specific ethnic groups and neighborhoods.