During Open House New York, get a rare look inside NYC’s most interesting residential properties

A whopping 313 New York City destinations will host public events October 16th to 18th, including museums housed in mansions, breathtaking rooftops, historic churches, and industrial spaces. Open House New York Weekend also provides a rare look inside exclusive residential properties—meaning you can look around a luxury or historic address without getting a sales pitch.

Last year, almost 50,000 people participated in 1,175 hours of free programming over the weekend. Visitors came from 89 percent of NYC’s zip codes, according to organizers. With that many attendees, consider planning your visit carefully. Some sites are open without reservations during designated hours, and OHNY’s website has a filter designating locations with especially long lines. 

To gain entrance to the many ticketed events, you should be poised with catlike readiness at noon on Oct. 2nd, when reservations become available on Eventbrite on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets for most sites are $7 and you can buy up to two tickets at a time. Children need their own tickets, but not all sites allow them. 

Obtaining OHNY Weekend tickets can be “competitive and frustrating” with demand outpacing supply, according to OHNY organizers. Last year, 80 percent of the event’s 10,000 tickets sold within minutes.

You can also donate to Open New York and receive a “passport” that grants expedited entry to non-ticketed events. 

Read on for a selection of properties old and new you can tour across the five boroughs.

Office-to-residential conversions are a hot topic of conversation right now, as the city struggles to keep up with high housing demand. This site offers an opportunity to see the process up close as Vanbarton Group and architect CetraRuddy turn this 26-story Financial District office building into 47 units of luxury housing. Tickets required.

For a fascinating slice of pre-Civil War history, you can tour three preserved 19th century homes in a part of Crown Heights known as Weeksville, the second-largest free Black community of the antebellum era. Experts will give hour-long tours of the landmarked Hunterfly Road Houses on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets needed. 

This four-townhouse development in Red Hook—a neighborhood inundated by flooding during Hurricane Sandy—was designed to withstand future flooding. Constructed out of sustainable materials, the four units were built around a 120-year-old silver maple tree. Gradient Architecture’s Ben Krone will be leading tours of this heavy timber townhouse development, the first of its kind in Red Hook. Tickets required. 

In Greenpoint, architects from Marvel and INC Architecture & Design will show you around the mixed-use development that features NYC’s largest geothermal residential system. Visitors can check out a variety of units inside this low carbon project and stroll around the waterfront park Field Operations designed. Tickets required.

Curious to see how WXY Studio transformed a Bronx youth prison into a mixed-use development with 740 permanently affordable homes? Now’s your chance. The former site of the Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in Hunt’s Point now includes gardens and walking paths. Tickets required.

If you’re a history nerd as well as design-curious, you can check out former President Teddy Roosevelt’s home in the Flatiron District, where he was born in 1858 and lived until he was 15. The National Park Service site includes five restored rooms with furnishings dating back to the days of the country’s 26th president. Tickets required.

Usually, only club members can see inside the Samuel Tilden Mansion in Gramercy Park. New Yorkers interested in Gilded Age architecture, a stained-glass dome from the 1880s and of course, stunning art, should sign up for this tour with the National Art Club’s curator Robert Yahner. Tickets required.

This massive mixed-use development from Two Trees and Selldorf Architects sits at the tip of the former Domino Sugar refinery in Williamsburg, now the site of two residential towers and a public park. You can wander through the reflective towers, which include more than 500 apartments and amenities like an aquatic suite, multi-sport simulators, and an outdoor pool. Tickets required.

This Gowanus mixed-use development aims to mimic the industrial look of 19th century Brooklyn, including the nearby Powerhouse Arts building. Only adults can attend the tour of the south building at 340 Nevins St. led by staff from Fogarty Finger. Tickets required. 

Parents, take note: visits to this historic home in East Flatbush, the first building to become a landmark in New York, are marked as family-friendly. Special architectural tours will take place at the 17th-century Dutch farmhouse, giving you a glimpse of the root cellar and attic. No tickets needed, but check online for tour times.