This Saturday and Sunday, October 14 and 15, Open House New York will present a citywide celebration of architecture and urban design, for the 15th year in a row. One of the largest architecture festivals in the country, with more than 200 buildings and projects across the five boroughs, from historic to contemporary, will be opened up over the weekend for tours and talks with architects, urban planners, historians, preservationists, and city leaders.
[[ NORTH BROOKLYN ]]
NY Sun Works’ Greenhouse Project at PS84 | 250 Berry St
Saturday 10am-2pm
The rooftop greenhouse at PS84 serves as an urban farm and hydroponic science lab for K-8th grade students. The lab was developed and programmed by NY Sun Works, a non-profit that builds hydroponic science labs in urban schools to teach students and teachers about the science of sustainability.
The City Reliquary | 370 Metropolitan Ave
Sat & Sun 12-6pm
The City Reliquary Museum began as a simple window display on a Williamsburg corner in 2002. Since moving to its current location on Metropolitan Avenue, it has become New York City’s finest repository of everyday ephemera and artifacts from the city’s past, featuring a permanent collection as well as rotating exhibitions.
Church of the Annunciation | 259 N 5th St
Sat & Sun, 1-6pm, Tours every 15 minutes both days
This church’s unique high altar is composed of hand carved wood, gilded with gold and silver leaf accents, containing statues dating back to 1870. Tours explore the church’s extensive artwork, including the high altar, side altars, statues, paintings, murals and the distinctive Lithuanian wayside crosses at the church entrance.
Brooklyn Art Library | 28 Frost St
Sat & Sun 10am-6pm
Over 36,000 sketchbooks from more than a hundred countries live within the walls of this one-of-akind storefront space. The library’s exhibitions and projects are all interactive, allowing anyone to participate, and creating an approachable museum setting that inspires creation, discussion and education.
Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof | 520 Kingsland Ave
Sat 10am-2pm, Sun 12-4pm
This Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund project is committed to expanding natural habitat and green corridors for bird and wildlife populations. The stunning green space is perched atop an active movie studio owned and operated by Broadway Stages, in the most sci-fi and industrial section of North Brooklyn alongside Newtown Creek.
TroutHouse | 225 Troutman St
Sat 10am-2pm. Tours with thread collective at 11am, 1pm
This energy star, LEED Gold multifamily ground-up building houses a mix of residential spaces above offices for the firm thread collective, which designed and developed the project. Strong moments of color, repurposed materials—including reclaimed Coney Island boardwalk, a 5kW solar canopy, and green roof—support well designed open plan interiors.
The Evergreens Cemetery | 1629 Bushwick Ave
Sat & Sun 10am-2pm, Tours at 10am both days
This historic cemetery, designed in the rural style, covers 225 acres. Over 500,000 people are buried here, including notables such as tap legend Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, jazz musician Lester Young, and painter Martin Heade. Tours will explore the community mausoleum, normally closed to the public, as well the Victorian Gothic Chapel, currently under renovation.
[[ LONG ISLAND CITY ]]
Brooklyn Grange | 37-18 Northern Blvd
Sat 11am-4pm
This 43,000-sf farm sits on a solid concrete slab roof with enough rebar to withstand three times its load of soil and plants. Visit to take in views of the Manhattan skyline and Sunnyside Yards. Join City Growers for family-friendly workshops throughout the day.
Materials For The Arts | 33-00 Northern Blvd
Sat 10am-2pm, Tours every 30 mins
Materials for the Arts makes donated reusable materials available for free to nonprofits, civic organizations, and public schools. Explore the colorful warehouse featured on the cover of this year’s OHNY Weekend Event Guide with MFTA reuse artists, who will guide visitors through the wild variety of materials and give everyone a tour of the gallery and artist-in residence studio.
LaGuardia Community College, Building B | 30-20 Thomson Ave, Bldg B, Rm 336
Sat • 12-4pm. Tours at 12, 1, 2, 3pm
The Gallery of Photographic Arts encompasses three spaces which feature a variety of photographic projects. The entire facility will be open and operating with shooting studios, a wet darkroom and digital labs all for the public to explore. Students and faculty will be on site to discuss their work.