Open House NYC

If you think that the realms of brick and mortar are as dead and dull as door nails, Open House New York will change your mind. It's not to be missed. There will be over 350 sites open and free to the public, and most of them are truly unique, if not downright crazy. Here are my top picks:

For Friday night, I recommend packing a flask of whiskey and heading to Roosevelt Island at 3am to see 120 spookily illuminated white tents. Each tent has an installation and is open from 7pm-7am. Here's a description from the website:

It proposes an archaeological dig as its metaphor; the search for artifacts is replaced by the search for a collective memory of Roosevelt Island. Sokoloski (the designer) told Metro that Roosevelt Island's past, filled with hospitals, lunatic asylum and other facilities, inspired him, "When you go deep the history is so fascinating. This will be a kind of digital archaeology, a model of exchange where the community will uncover the stories of the island’s past.” He also calls it "a metaphorical, archaeological dig into the history of mental health."

If you're still on Roosevelt Island between noon and 5pm, head to Octagon & Lighthouse Park, at 888 Main St/ 12th Road. As noted on their website, "America’s first municipal lunatic asylum was restored and converted into sustainably designed apartments equipped with NYC’s largest array of solar panels. The site features an art gallery, ecological park and green building exhibit, including information on Verdant Power’s Tidal Energy Project for the East River. "

To top it all off, I'll be heading home to hear Angels & Accordions at the cemetery in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. This week-end officially starts the ghastly, spirited Halloween festivities.

For those of you who don't appreciate my suggested lunatic/cemetery itinerary (perhaps you feel that you have enough contacts with the lunatics on the subway), there are plenty of other things to see. There's a long list of wholesome, green buildings that you can tour, for example. Check out the website for a complete line-up of events.