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The New York Lower East Side Jack Kirby Birthday Walking Tour, Tonight

Published Thu, 28 Aug 2025 11:57:05 -0500

Article Summary

Celebrate Jack Kirby’s 108th birthday with a free Lower East Side walking tour tonight at 6:30 pm.
Tour starts at Essex and Delancey and explores sites from Kirby’s early life and creative legacy in NYC.
Kirby, creator of iconic heroes like Captain America and the Fantastic Four, was born on Essex Street in 1917.
This year, Essex Street was renamed Jack Kirby Way & Yancy Street, honoring his comic book contributions.

The Jack Kirby Museum of New York will be offering a Jack Kirby Walking Tour of the Lower East Side on what would be his 108th birthday, this evening. Those interested are encouraged to meet up at 6:30 pm on the SE corner of Essex and Delancey in front of the Essex Market. The tour lasts approximately 90 minutes, admission is free, though donations are welcome. After the final stop, the original location of the Boys Brotherhood Republic at 290 East 3rd St, the plan will be to find the nearest dive in which to toast the memory of Jack Kirby.

The New York Lower East Side Jack Kirby Birthday Walking Tour, Tonight — ©Adi Tantimedh

Jack Kirby, creator and co-creator of Captain America, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, The Avengers, X-Men, Eternals, New Gods, Darkseid, Devil Dinosaur and so much more, was born Jacob Kurtzberg on the 28th of August, 1917, at 147 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, where he grew up. His parents, Rose Bernstein and Benjamin Kurtzberg, were Austrian-Jewish immigrants, and his father earned a living as a garment factory worker.

Earlier this year, to promote the Fantastic Four movie, the corner of the Lower East Side of New York City, Essex Street and Delancey Street, was renamed in a civic ceremony as Jack Kirby Way and Yancy Street. Kirby's tribute to the place he grew up, was in creating Yancy Street, home to Ben Grimm, The Thing. Much of the Thing's life was based on Jack Kirby and is reflected somewhat in the movie. Jack Kirby's family who flew in to be a part of the renaming, though it was only for one day.

Next month, Dark Horse Comics publish The Art of Fantastic Four Hardcover, and Image Comics has just published The Man Who Dreamt the Impossible: A Tribute to Jack Kirby original graphic novel.

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