The Outlaws Who Built NYC

New York City was built by crooks, con artists, and cutthroats. The Outlaws Who Built NYC reveals the grifters, gangsters, and shady masterminds who shaped the city from the shadows.

Walk the streets where swindlers schemed, dirty money flowed, and corruption thrived!

Main Features

  • From Hustlers to High Society – How swindlers and racketeers laid the foundations for Manhattan’s wealthiest dynasties

  • Elixirs, Scams & Secrets – The underground trade in “remedies” that rewired NYC’s future

  • Pirates of the Hudson – The shocking ties between legendary outlaws like Captain Kidd and the city’s landmarks

  • Cops, Robbers & Corruption – The dark origins of the NYPD, FBI, and the lawmen who played both sides

Meeting point: Millennium Downtown New York, 55 Church Street, New York, NY 10007 (OUTSIDE the main entrance, not the Fulton Street entrance)

Endpoint: White Horse Tavern, Bridge Street, Financial District

Tour length: 2 hours

Distance covered: 1.3 miles

Meeting Point: Millennium Downtown New York (OUTSIDE the main entrance on Church Street)

Guide held forth on a fast-paced, entertaining yet informative take on a slice of New York history. I learned much from this tour that I would not have otherwise on my own. It's well-researched and thoughtfully structured. I'm usually averse to tours but after this, I plan on signing up for another one with this group.

April 22, 2024

Supatra k (TripAdvisor) 5*

“The Outlaws Who Built NYC is superb as all the others have been. Beautifully structured, thoroughly researched, delivered with clarity and enthusiasm, and enlightening from start to finish. And fun, even. If you compared the Purefinder tours to other New York walking tours, you would say they are by far the best. But you can't compare them. They are literally incomparable. Well-chosen slices of the always interesting New York story, and fascinating looks at the often-unknown people that make the story, vividly brought to life.”

March, 2024

notpracticing (TripAdvisor) 5*