Design, Drama, Murals and Music: Sunnyside Arts and Culture - September 20

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Sep 20, 2026

Design, Drama, Murals and Music: Sunnyside Arts and Culture

Sunday, September 20, 2026
1 – 2:30 PM
In-person
Sunnyside, Queens

Architects and city planners have long celebrated Sunnyside’s Art Deco buildings and the historic Sunnyside Gardens district, but everyone can appreciate the many sights and stories of the neighborhood’s culture and creativity. This tour traces some highlights, from Thalia Spanish Theater (the first and only bilingual Hispanic theater in Queens), the Bliss Theater (a rare surviving example of an Egyptian Revival movie palace), and iconic Sunnyside Arch, to murals and memorials commemorating pioneers of folk, jazz, and punk rock. Stops along the way include treasures of progressive urban housing design, as well as galleries and storefronts that are showcasing artists in this close-knit community just a 20-minute subway ride from Grand Central Station.

The tour will be led by Eric Narburgh – a 17-year Sunnyside resident and Queens Community Board 2 member, serving as vice chair of its Arts and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Sunnyside Shines BID was one of HDC’s 2025 Six to Celebrate priorities – New York’s only targeted citywide list of preservation priorities that provides strategies and resources to neighbourhood groups at a critical moment to reach their preservation goals.

The tour will take place outdoors, rain or shine and covers a total distance of 1 mile at a moderate pace.

Please e-mail [email protected] with questions about accessibility.

General Admission $15
Friends of HDC / Seniors $10

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Bushwick Then & Now Walking Tour - October 3

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Oct 3, 2026

Bushwick Then & Now Walking Tour

Saturday, October 3, 2026
2 – 3:30 PM
In person
Bushwick, Brooklyn

Join us for a walk through the streets of Bushwick tracing the industrial, residential, civic and recreational history and architecture that made it a successful and prosperous community. Today, much of that built environment is in danger of being forever erased and forgotten as the neighborhood is experiencing an unparalleled surge of popularity and growth. Includes a stop at the site of what was the landmarked South Bushwick Reformed Church (1853) which tragically burned down this past Juneteenth and the surviving Fellowship Hall (1880).

Led by architectural historian Suzanne Spellen, this tour highlights the best of this great neighborhood. You will meet the entrepreneurs, architects and people who shaped Bushwick in the past, and the efforts of those who seek to preserve that legacy today.

After the tour, join us at a local pub to socialize and talk about all things history!

Bushwick Historic Preservation Association was one of HDC’s 2023 Six to Celebrate awardees- New York’s only targeted citywide list of preservation priorities that provides strategies and resources to neighbourhood groups at a critical moment to reach their preservation goals.

The route covers a total distance of 1 mile at a moderate pace and will take place rain or shine.