Harlem: Yesterday and Today

Sightseeing and Attractions: (Duration: 4 hours with a Licensed NYC Tour Guide)

Almost a city unto itself, Harlem is one of the most famous neighborhoods in the world. Founded by the Dutch in 1658, Harlem was once farmland and the first US home of hundreds of thousands of European immigrants. The center of New York City’s African American culture, Harlem is a diverse neighborhood with a vibrant and influential history. Your fully guided tour explores the changing face of Harlem, with special focus on the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. A literary, music, drama, and art revival in Harlem, the Renaissance period cultivated and nurtured the talents of great jazz musicians like Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, and authors such as Zora Neale Hurston and W.E.B. Du Bois. Home to the famed Apollo Theater and Cotton Club, the effect of the Harlem Renaissance can still be felt in America’s artistic and cultural life today.

We can add a Gospel Choir experience on Sundays, additional hours will be required.

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About Eric Gordon

Eric J Gordon has been working in the travel and tourism industry for over 25 years and founded Beyond Times Square, a leading New York-based company in 2003.

Eric is the son of Harold Gordon, the founder of Park East Tours, one of the first USA based African Safari Companies. Eric is a native New Yorker. He was raised just outside of NYC in Rockland County, but because of his parents love for NYC (they owned an apartment in Manhattan) and his father’s passion for Broadway Theater, Eric spent much of his youth in Manhattan.

Eric jumped out of college and into the safari business. After 10 years at Park East and selling the business, he moved on. Having spent so much time in New York, he declared himself a New York Expert. He saw the fragmentation in the New York City tourism industry and created Beyond Times Square, making many services available to travelers. He set out appealing to the group market and then moved on to private high-end luxury vacations in New York City, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia and Niagara Falls. The name Beyond Times Square grew and in 2012 Beyond Times Square became the preferred on-site tour company for the prestigious Virtuoso Luxury Travel Consortium. He also was voted on to the board of NYC&Co in 2014, serving as the first tour operator member.

Eric holds a BA in Psychology from the State University of New York College at Oswego and an MBA from Baruch College in NYC. He has visited 47 of 50 states, over 40 countries and counting.