Open House New York's 2026 festival opened more than 300 destinations across three days, from October 16 through 18. The architecture program offered access to the city's infrastructure, workplaces and public spaces, including buildings a visitor might usually pass without entering.
The festival dates covered Friday through Sunday, but the individual site listings set their own dates, times, access arrangements and accessibility information. A building could offer one short opening rather than access throughout the weekend.
Tours and open-access visits
Ticketed listings included the Andrew Carnegie Mansion at Cooper Hewitt and 20 Exchange Place. Their entries showed specific sessions. Scheduled tours, ticketed places and open-access visits required different amounts of planning, especially for anyone trying to see buildings in more than one borough.
Travel could occupy much of the day. A 45-minute visit with an hour of travel on either side uses nearly three hours, an illustrative calculation that favors a smaller neighborhood route over a long list of scattered addresses. A nearby open-access stop also leaves more flexibility around a booked tour if queues develop.
Entry and accessibility varied by site
The individual listings carried information about wheelchair access, age restrictions, bags and photography. Meeting points could differ from a building's main street address. Those arrangements were specific to each site, so the general festival description could not settle every access question.
For visitors with particular requirements, the organizer's information for the selected building was more useful than a citywide assumption. The same applied to timing: Friday-only and Saturday-only openings were unavailable to someone planning a Sunday visit.
