Midtown Manhattan Art and Architecture Walking Tour

This Midtown Manhattan walking tour is a comprehensive look at the city's historical development as told through the buildings themselves. Fascinating strands of social, cultural, technological, real estate and zoning law histories are woven together in this wide and deep look New York's Midtown art and architecture.

1. 1

   Eighth Avenue

   15 min

   We begin at the boundary of Hells Kitchen and Times Square with an overview of the city's historic move uptown. We cover the basics of historical (academic) architecture up to the Modern period, and from overblown Beaux Arts to ornament-free skyscrapers. We learn the fundamentals of zoning in this POPS (Privately Owned Public Space). Works by Sidney Simon and Matt Mullican.

2. 2

   Stop 2

   3 min

   The subway station below Worldwide Plaza is an example of evolving zoning law history; incised granite by Matt Mullican is part of the program.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   3 min

   On the way to Citizen M and Julian Opie's larger-than-life wall art we scan the skyline for Hearst Tower and the New York Times Building.

4. 4

   Times Square

   Pass by

   We stop at the Allianz Building and Warner Music Group to take in the view of Times Square from the north. Zoning laws achieved a look inspired by Tokyo!

5. 5

   Stop 5

   5 min

   We use the Brill Building to launch into a short discussion the role Times Square and much of today's Midtown played (and still do) as holding almost a monopoly on the history of American culture: Music, theater, radio, television, books, magazines, newspapers, advertising, even automobiles.

6. 6

   Stop 6

   5 min

   We pass the Winter Garden, the Taft Hotel, and the building that inspired the song MONY MONY. We transition into private corporate space in the lobby of 787 7th Avenue and we go from commercial culture to corporate commercial. Expensive art and monumental feats of architecture are the mainstays of the remainder of the tour. Roy Lichtenstein opens us to the world of corporate art appropriately with Mural with Blue Brushstroke, a work he painted in place before the building opened. Out back in the POPS are works by Sol Le Witt and Barry Flannagan.

7. 7

   6 1/2 Avenue

   3 min

   We look as far uptown as we can along this 6-block long quirk in zoning, so-called "6 1/2 Avenue," a mid-block arcade that doesn't quite connect Times Square with Central Park.

8. 8

   UBS Art Gallery

   5 min

   They have a world renown collection and their lobby is divided between temporary and permanent exhibits that include Frank Stella and Sarah Morris.

9. 9

   Stop 9

   3 min

   The lobby of the Time and Life building is a Modern classic with its stainless steel panels and terrazzo floor. Large wall art by Fritz Glarner, a student of Mondrian.

10. 10

    Exxon Building

    Pass by

    Monumental is the common theme to works by Hiroshu Senju and Kan Yasuda. Outside on the plaza is La Gran Manzana.

11. 11

    Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas)

    5 min

    We stop in 1221 (the McGraw Hill building) the see a work by visual artist Mark Bradford. Out onto Sixth Avenue stand below "Skyscraper Alley," some of the worst products wrought by man and zoning law. Across the street begins the art and architecture, and story Rockefeller Center, one of the greatest civic-minded entrepreneurial (seriously) projects in modern history. The Art Deco of Rockefeller Center would come to define the style. Most interesting to point out are the subtle shifts from the "Modernistic" (Art Deco) to the Modern as the project progressed after the passing of Raymond Hood.

12. 12

    Radio City Music Hall

    3 min

    We learn the origin story of the name for every venue today named Roxy.

13. 13

    Rockefeller Center

    Pass by

    The politics of the day, and the Rockefeller family dynamic, are the most interesting backstories to the art history of likely the most important corporate lobby in Modern history. The story of radio and David Sarnoff is also integral to the story.

14. 14

    The Rink at Rockefeller Center

    5 min

    Art and architecture reach their apex outside where the Christmas tree goes every year. There is a mix-bag of interesting history: holdouts, Diego Rivera and the Rockefellers, the story of the ice-skating rink and perhaps the greatest reversal-of-fortune in Rockefeller Center history.

15. 15

    Rockefeller Center

    5 min

    The lobby of the International Building is a work of art itself. Light and Movement by Michio Lhaza are the wall "center pieces." Atlas by Lee Lawrie stands outside facing St. Pat's

16. 16

    St. Patrick's Cathedral

    3 min

    The history of Fifth Avenue is told through its buildings.

17. 17

    Stop 17

    Pass by

    As we make our way to Park Avenue we pass striking juxtapositions of the Modern and the Beaux Arts. the Villard Houses are now the Palace Hotel.

18. 18

    Park Avenue

    5 min

    Architecture. We learn the evolution of Park Avenue from open train tracks, to high end residential, to today's corporate buildings. Buildings discussed are: The Health and Racquet Club (1918), St. Bart's (1919), The New York Central Building (1929), The Waldorf Astoria (1931), The GE Building (1931), Lever House (1952), The Seagram Building (1958), and the Met Life Building (1963).

19. 19

    Stop 19

    3 min

    535 Madison Avenue is hat trick for architecture, zoning laws, and works by three French artists, about 20 years apart: Leger, DuBuffet, and Francois-Xavier LaLannes.

20. 20

    Stop 20

    2 min

    A fascinating example of a "successful" holdout in New York's high pressure real estate market. A great option for lunch or dinner after the tour.

21. 21

    Stop 21

    Pass by

    A Philip Johnson Building with a recently re-designed, and likely the most spectacular outdoor POPS in the city. If there's time we can go inside to see Solid Sky by Alicia Kwade.

22. 22

    Stop 22

    Pass by

    The IBM Building's POPS is regularly the most highly-rated in the city. Applefest pieces.

23. 23

    Stop 23

    3 min

    Finally, we exit onto 57th Street where we end the tour beneath Billionaire's Row, skinny residential towers that are the latest redesign of the Manhattan skyline; astronomical heights and prices.

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.