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For over 150 years, the Brooklyn Navy Yard churned out America’s most famous fighting ships, from the USS Maine to the USS Missouri. Today, the Yard is becoming a model for sustainable urban industrial parks.  From sustainability and history tours to a Yard Inspectors Family Tour, there’s something for everyone at the Brooklyn Navy Yard! These tours are given by Turnstile on behalf of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Visitor and Exhibition Center at BLDG 92.


Brooklyn Navy Yard Overview Tour

This tour explores the vast 300-acre property and offers opportunities to take a closer look at the Yard’s most intriguing sites, including a a dry dock that’s been used since before the Civil War, the 24-acre former naval hospital annex that is virtually frozen in time, and the nation’s first multi-story LEED Gold-certified industrial building.  Oral history clips and historical photographs, as well as stories of companies in the Yard today, will also be included on this tour. While we’ll use a bus to get you from place to place, we will be getting off the bus at most of the stops.

Admission: $30/person (Click here to view schedule and purchase tickets)

Schedule: Public tours are offered on most Saturdays and Sundays from 2:30PM-4:30PM (Mar-Oct) and select Saturdays and Sundays (Nov-Feb) from 2:00PM-4:00PM.  Private tours offered other days of the week, subject to availability.  Click here for the calendar and to purchase tickets.

View Schedule and Buy Tickets

2 hours
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92 at the intersection of Flushing and Carlton Avenues in Brooklyn, NY.
$30/person. Tickets must be purchased for all tour attendees, including children ages 2 and up, and may be purchased online up until the time of your tour or at BLDG 92 on the day of the tour, subject to availability. Tours do regularly sell out. Advance ticket purchase is strongly encouraged.

Please note that while infants under 2 years of age do not require tickets, they must be tied to the person (via a wrapping cloth, baby bjorn, etc.) of the accompanying adult while on the bus to ensure the child’s safety.

Please contact us for more details on booking a private two-hour bus tour of the Yard. Private tours can be scheduled most days of the week, but are subject to availability.

The Can-Do Yard: World War II at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

USS Missouri launching from the launchways into the East River with the Williamsburg Bridge in the background.

Credit: Naval History and Heritage Command, courtesy of the Brooklyn Navy Yard

During World War II, the Brooklyn Navy Yard played a pivotal role in the American war effort – it built battleships and aircraft carriers, repaired over 5,000 ships, sent troops and supplies to fronts across the globe, and the tireless efforts of its 70,000 workers earned it the nickname ”The Can-Do Yard.”  This tour examines the role of the New York City waterfront in the war effort, explores connections between the Yard and famous battles of World War II, and visits sites of significance that remain from this era, including the Naval Hospital campus, the Naval Film Exchange, a working dry dock, and even businesses outside the Yard that switched to wartime production.  By visiting these sites, hearing the stories of workers and sailors, and examining historical images and documents from the period, the tour will evoke a sense of what the Yard was like during the war and illuminate the historical legacies that persist to this day.  While use a bus to get you from place to place, which keeps us toasty in the winter and cool in the summer, we get off the bus at several stops to explore some of the most interesting sites on foot.

Admission: $30/person (Advance purchase required. Click here to view schedule and purchase tickets)  FREE admission for WWII veterans and 10% discounts available for other military personnel and veterans.  Please call (347) 903-8687 for more information and registration.

Schedule: This tour is offered the first Sunday of each month from 11:00AM-1:00PM, plus select holiday weekend days, including Presidents’ Day and Memorial Day weekends.  Upcoming dates include Saturday, May 25th, Sunday, June 2nd, Sunday, July 7th, and Sunday, August 4th. Click here to see the calendar of upcoming tours and to reserve your ticket/s.  Private tours offered other days of the week, subject to availability.

View Schedule and Buy Tickets

2 hours
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92 at the intersection of Flushing and Carlton Avenues in Brooklyn, NY.
$30/person. Tickets must be purchased in advance for all tour attendees, including children ages 2 and up, and may be purchased online up until the time of your tour, subject to availability. Tours do regularly sell out.

Discounts for veterans: World War II veterans receive free admission for this tour but must register in advance by calling (347) 903-8687.  Other veterans and military personnel are eligible for a 10% discount but must call (347) 903-8687 or send an email to info@turnstiletours.com for details.  Advance ticket purchase/ registration required.

Infants welcome: Please note that while infants under 2 years of age do not require tickets, they must be tied to the person (via a wrapping cloth, baby bjorn, etc.) of the accompanying adult while on the bus to ensure the child’s safety.

Please contact us for more details on booking a private two-hour bus tour of the Yard. Private tours can be scheduled most days of the week, but are subject to availability.

Seasonal Photography Tours of the Brooklyn Navy Yard

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a fascinating visual tapestry of 19th century buildings and LEED-certified structures, of natural landscapes and waterfront vistas amid a thriving industrial park.  Starting this fall, Turnstile Tours and BLDG 92 are pleased to offer seasonal photography tours to provide opportunities for the public to come out with their cameras and capture some of the most visually stimulating sites within the Yard.  Highlights include the Navy Hospital campus with its 19th century buildings, the World War II-era pier with views of the Manhattan skyline and Wallabout Bay, and a functioning dry dock that is used for ship repair.  Unlike our other bus and bike tours, tour guides will provide limited content and instead offer extended opportunities at several locations for guests to take photographs of the diverse industrial and natural landscapes of the Yard.  While we’ll use a bus to get you from place to place, we will be getting off the bus in several locations.

Please note that photographs taken on this tour may only be used for non-commercial purposes.  Participants will be required to abide by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation’s photography policies (see “Photography Policy” tab below), sign a waiver on the day of the tour, and comply with directions and instructions provided by the accompanying tour guide and driver. 

Admission: $30/person (Click here to view schedule and purchase tickets)

Schedule: Select Saturdays in 2013 from 11AM-1PM:  The winter tour was on Sat., January 26th; spring tour on Sat., April 20th; summer tour on Sat., July 20th; and fall tour on Sat., Oct. 20th.  Private tours offered other days of the week, subject to availability.

View Schedule and Buy Tickets

2 hours
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92 at the intersection of Flushing and Carlton Avenues in Brooklyn, NY.

$30/person. Tickets must be purchased for all tour attendees, including children ages 2 and up, and may be purchased online up until the time of your tour or at BLDG 92 on the day of the tour, subject to availability. Tours do regularly sell out. Advance ticket purchase is required for this tour.

Please note that while infants under 2 years of age do not require tickets, they must be tied to the person (via a wrapping cloth, baby bjorn, etc.) of the accompanying adult while on the bus to ensure the child’s safety.

Photographs taken on this tour may only be used for non-commercial or personal purposes. Using photographs for commercial purposes without acquiring permission from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. is strictly prohibited.  Please also note that photography of Steiner Studios and the power plant is not allowed; entrance into tenants’ buildings or photographs of the insides of buildings that are currently occupied by tenants is strictly prohibited; and all tour participants are required to abide by and comply with instructions provided by either the bus driver or tour guide while on seasonal photography tours of the Yard.  
Please contact us for more details on booking a private two-hour bus tour of the Yard. Private tours can be scheduled most days of the week, but are subject to availability.

Brooklyn Navy Yard Sustainability Bicycle Tour

Industrial building with wind turbines against a blue sky with white clouds

Get a “handle” on sustainability at the Brooklyn Navy Yard! Pedal along with us and explore the Yard’s transition from one of the nation’s foremost naval shipbuilding facilities to a national leader for sustainable urban industrial parks. Learn about the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s sustainable development efforts, including the nation’s first multi-story “green” industrial building, first solar and wind-powered street lamps, NYC’s first building-mounted wind turbines, adaptively reused historic structures, and much, much more!  Turnstile Tours hosts this tour in partnership with BLDG 92 and the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative.

Admission: $24/person (Click here to view schedule and purchase tickets)  Admission includes knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide, security escort, and a bicycle sweep.

Schedule:  Private tours offered only on weekends, subject to availability.  Public bicycle tours are offered 1-2 weekend days per month, March-Oct from 12:00PM-2:00PM.

View Schedule and Buy Tickets
2 hours
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92 at 63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY.
$24/person. Tickets must be purchased for all tour attendees, including children, and may be purchased at BLDG 92. Tours do sell out.  Advance ticket purchase is strongly encouraged.
Each participant must supply his/her own bicycle and bring and wear a safety helmet at all times while on the Brooklyn Navy Yard tour.
Please contact us for more details on booking a private bicycle tour of the Yard. Private tours can be scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays at anytime of the year, subject to availability.
Make sure to set up your rental in advance.

Ride Brooklyn Bike Shop – Located a 10 minute bicycle ride from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Blazing Saddles – Located near the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan. You’ll need to cross the East River – either by bicycling over the Brooklyn Bridge or taking the East River Ferry to Williamsburg – in order to get to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Plan 30-40 minutes for this ride.

Yard Inspectors Tour: Fun for Families and School groups!

A designed graphic with a crane in the center and text that reads Brooklyn Navy Yard Inspector USAStep into the shoes of an inspector in-training on this Yard-wide adventure! Follow clues through the Yard to uncover its hidden treasures. Search for industrial cranes, street lamps powered by wind and the sun, and much, much more on this hands-on guided Yard-wide tour! Along the way, participants will learn about Brooklyn’s legacy of naval shipbuilding, New York’s maritime industry today, and new “green” architecture and businesses in the Navy Yard today. Appropriate for children ages 6 to 13 and their parents.

Admission: $22/adult inspector and $20/child inspector (Click here to view schedule and purchase tickets).  Includes fun and knowledgeable educator, bus and driver, inspector materials (with clues and a historic map!), and an inspector badge.

Schedule:  Public tours are offered 1-2 weekend days per month, March-October.  Upcoming public tours include Sat. June 15th, Sun. July 21st, and Sun. Aug 18th.   All public tour dates for 2013 can be viewed by clicking here.  Private tours available most days of the week, subject to availability.

View Schedule and Buy Tickets
Approx. 1 hour
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92 at 63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY.
$22/adult and $20/child. Tickets must be purchased for all tour attendees, including children, and may be purchased at BLDG 92. Tours do sell out.  Advance ticket purchase is strongly encouraged.
Please contact us for more details on booking a private Yard Inspectors Tour for families, school groups, camps, and birthday parties, available most days of the week and can also include a visit to the museum at the Brooklyn Navy Yard..