While the city cuts through red tape, New Orleans’ many urban explorers risk arrest, and sometimes even risk their lives, to show us what lies beneath. “How easy was it to get into this building?” we asked John Gualtieri in the shadow of the Plaza Tower at South Rampart Street and Howard Avenues. “It was pretty easy, not going to lie,” he laughed. Gualtieri goes by @New_Orleans_Ghost_Hunter online. His hobby is, legally speaking, trespassing. Informally, he’s an urban explorer. “First of all, let me tell you, just looking at it, obviously it looks really tall from here,” he said, pointing at the Plaza Tower. “When you get up there, it’s really, really tall. It’s mostly empty. I think a lot of people go in there for the views from the top.” Gualtieri said he’s been in the Plaza Tower multiple times, and the views from the top are just the beginning.