The guided tours invite you to discover Fort Greene Park's history, learn little-known facts about Walt Whitman, and explore Wallabout's historic architecture and landmarks.
Grab your comfy walking shoes and join the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership and Fort Greene Park Conservancy for their free neighborhood walking tours this summer. Two guided tours will be available each month, one exploring the history of Fort Greene Park and the other the historic Wallabout neighborhood north of Myrtle Avenue.
The Fort Greene Park Walking Tour, held the second Saturday of each month through August, will share the park's history with a focus on the life of Walt Whitman, a leading advocate for the neighborhood park. Information on Whitman, along with the reciting of some of his and other's works during the tours, is provided by the Walt Whitman Project and the American Opera Projects.
The Wallabout Historic Walking Tour, which takes place every third Saturday of each month through October, explores the neighborhood's 400 years of history, from a rural farming community to a 20th-century urban neighborhood and industrial center. Participants will experience the area's historic architecture and landmarks, and venture into the neighborhood's beautiful mix of pre-Civil War homes and late 19th-century industrial district just outside the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The Wallabout Tour will also highlight notable residents, such as Doo-Wop Singer Little Anthony, civil rights leader Maritcha Lyons and poet Walt Whitman, as well as lesser-known stories of the neighborhood's past. The guides will walk you past the home of the first professional baseball player, the birthplace of Michael Jordan and The Chocolate Factory, which once made the famous Tootsie Rolls.
All tours are free, begin promptly at 11:00am at the Fort Greene Park Visitors Center and last 90 minutes. RSVPs are required and can be made here or by calling (718) 230-1689 ext. 1.
