Following History One Step at a Time

As one of the oldest neighborhoods in New York City, the Lower East Side has more than a few checkered tales in its vault. To preserve and share these stories, the Lower East Side History Project-a nonprofit organization designed to foster an appreciation for the LES' past-presents a series of absorbing tours. Of course they have a Lower East Side expedition, but several other themed routes are offered.

Want to learn about the gangsters of Lower Manhattan? Grab your sneakers and follow the Project's certified guides to the notorious haunts of Mafia legends like Charlie Luciano, Vito Genovese and Giuseppe Masseria, among others. Hankering for a libation and a factoid? Sign up for the Radical Spirits Bar Crawl, which is advertised as "an evening walk of Lou Reed, W.H. Auden, Jack Kerouac, Keith Haring and Abbie Hoffman." (The $35 fee includes three drinks.)

The Project's repertoire also includes LES bordering areas such as Chinatown/Five Points, the Bowery and the East Village, and charges a standard general admission of $20.

-Marissa Maier