Not every corporate gathering has to take place in a hotel’s grand ballroom, nor does every family reunion have to rent space in a convention center. New York City has a lot to offer when it comes to unique event venues. In fact, there are certain event spaces that are designed for the sole purpose of being rented out for parties, workshops, and beyond.
We’ll cover a list of some of our favorite NYC event venues and how you can make the most of them.
5 Coolest Manhattan Venues to Check Out
Let’s be real. The first place people imagine when they think about New York City isn’t Staten Island. Whether the event is a wedding or a corporate seminar, there’s something a bit romantic about walking into an event space in the middle of Manhattan.
If you’re looking to deliver on that dream, you’ll want to take a look at these awesome Manhattan venues:
1. OS NYC
Operating System NYC is mostly utilized by gamers and content creators, but they have availability for private events as well. With a 19 foot LED wall as a centerpiece (that we built by the way!), everyone will be wowed by your displays and presentations. This place has a very underground feel to it, raising the bar for cool.
2. Penthouse 45
Penthouse 45 offers a panoramic view of the New York City skyline and Hudson River. With a deck of multimedia amenities, professional kitchen, TV monitors, and an oversized fireplace, the venue’s 2,500 square feet can be used for any occasion. The addition of an outdoor terrace is the icing on the cake.
3. Slate
This hybrid space works as a lounge, bar, night club, adult playground, and event space, making it perfect for a crowd who’s ready for a good time. Slate offers private and semi-private venue spaces for rent over two floors. Their layouts are customizable and come with a great menu, group activities like karaoke, and state-of-the-art onsite audio visual capabilities.
A new venue, the Expo at Starrett-Lehigh offers event space to all vendors. With the ability to design your ideal layout using glass walls and garage doors, you can use up to 5,474 square feet at once in order to accommodate your guests. The space comes with plasma TVs, projectors, wifi, house lighting, furniture, and more.
5. The Caldwell Factory
The Caldwell Factory has two different event spaces available for rent: the Theater and the Studio. Featuring exposed brick walls, skylights, and open, columnless floor plans, it has a raw, modern elegance to it that makes it a great option for any event hosting 500 people or less.
5 Unique NYC Event Venues
We’re the first to recognize that there’s so much more to New York City than just Manhattan. There are plenty of unique event venues to choose from across the Big Apple. Here’s just a few that we find pretty epic.
1. The Williamsburg Hotel
If you’re looking for a venue with a lot of character in bustling Brooklyn, look no further than the Williamsburg Hotel. Popular among new brands hosting activations and mixers, the hotel has special offers, like their “Meet Like Locals” work lunch, that put a focus on celebrating the NYC ambiance and attitude. With 10,000 square feet of flexible event space, the venue looks just as trendy as the rest of the neighborhood. For out of towners, you can book a stay in the hotel with access to a rooftop pool and a loaded calendar of Brooklyn events.
2. Intrepid Museum
The Intrepid Museum is a New York City gem. You can step aboard an aircraft carrier and host an event in one of their 13 venue spaces. You’ll have a truly unique backdrop, as well as gorgeous views of the NYC skyline and Hudson River. Set up your event in the Great Hall, inside hangars, on the flight deck, or directly on the pier. They provide spaces for any and every event imaginable.
3. New York Expo Center
The New York Expo Center is a 10-acre venue space that’s able to accommodate anything from music festivals to fairs. This is the perfect place to hold large scale events. With a waterfront lawn, 90,000 square feet of interior space, and proximity to trains and the Bruckner Expressway, you’ll be able to host the event of a lifetime.
4. The Liberty Warehouse
Located in the shipping yards of Brooklyn, this spot offers four event rooms (two large, two small). With 15,000 square feet available, you’ll get amazing views of the New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. Sitting right on the water, any event here is sure to impress attendees.
5. CNVS
CNVS truly is a blank canvas that you can customize to your liking. An experienced team of designers will build, take down, and cater your dream event. They have onsite technicians that can handle all of your audiovisual needs, including the ability to create a fully projection-mapped venue. Events ranging from galas to auto shows have been hosted here, which means they can accommodate you too.
Working with Unionized Venues
While researching venues for rent, you may come across a unionized venue. This means that the venue itself is unionized and has its own staff, including an event audiovisual team, that you may choose to utilize or not. You’re well within your rights to bring in a third-party audiovisual vendor to assist you, but you’ll be expected to pay shadow labor fees (you can read more about them here).
When you hire an event audiovisual service like One Way Event Productions, we can work with the unionized venue to negotiate an affordable quote in spite of these fees, so the perfect unique event venue can still be yours, at the right price, with our experienced team! We provide services for every aspect of your event’s audiovisual needs, no matter where in New York City you wind up. Reach out to us for a quote today.
