Joan Didion's New York: An Audio-Guided Walking Tour

Overview

Beloved American writer and journalist Joan Didion called Manhattan's Upper East Side home for most of her life. On this walking tour, we’ll scout out her former homes and haunts while exploring their connections to specific passages from her writing. You’ll get a sense of the neighborhood where Didion lived and worked—first, as a young writer in the 1950s and ’60s, and then again, from 1988 until her death in 2021. Along the way, you’ll have a chance to find out how the Barbizon Hotel became a home for Joan Didion and many other young women who "arrived in New York City alone from 'elsewhere' with a suitcase and a dream." Also, hear some gossip about a squabble between neighbors Nelson Rockefeller and Richard Nixon. Among several other stops, pass by the building that remains one of the largest unobstructed spaces in the city (and also includes the oldest balloon shed in the United States). Let Didion's writing about her homes in this neighborhood fill your ears as we walk by them.