Visit the site of Collect Pond, once Manhattan’s primary freshwater source and later the center of one of New York City’s most notorious neighborhoods. Learn how pollution, development, and political corruption transformed the area and helped shape the history of Five Points.

Explore the streets of the former Five Points neighborhood, once one of the most densely populated and infamous districts in 19th-century New York City. Learn how Irish, African American, Italian, Chinese, and other immigrant communities shaped the area, and discover the stories of tenement life, political corruption, notorious gangs, reform movements, and the early development of American popular culture.

Walk through Columbus Park, located in the heart of the former Five Points neighborhood. The park stands near the historic site of Paradise Square, where immigrant communities, street gangs, political organizations, and early forms of American popular culture once converged.

See the historic Church of the Transfiguration, commonly known as “The Little Church Around the Corner.” Learn about its long-standing connection to New York’s immigrant communities and its role as a place of worship, refuge, and neighborhood history.

The tour connects Chinatown’s present-day culture with the earlier communities, businesses, and tenements of the Five Points district. Along the way, enjoy a fried dumpling from a popular Mosco Street dumpling shop, included with the tour.