- Category
- Architecture
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Location
- New York
- Traverse 42nd Street from East to West
- Led by an architecture or history expert
- Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, New York Public Library, and Times Square
Itinerary Details
We’ll continue along to Grand Central Station, a magnificent Beaux-Arts structure and temple to transportation, where we’ll gaze up at the star-flecked sky of the Main Concourse and discuss the Terminal’s origins during the heyday of long-distance passenger rail service. Just two blocks away, we’ll visit New York Public Library, a building that offers sumptuous exterior decoration and interiors for a very different purpose. We’ll conclude our walk in Bryant Park, one of the signature examples of New York City’s revival in the 1990's, or perhaps head down to the New York Times Building.
FAQ
Generally speaking, the walk begins near Tudor City on 2nd Avenue. Your confirmation email will have the exact meeting point details along with a map, and 24/7 phone number. The walk typically ends near Bryant Park or Time Square.
Do we go inside the venues or just see them from the outside?
You will go inside the lobbies of several of the skyscrapers we discuss on the walk. Some of these include the Chrysler Building, Daily News Building, and Grand Central Terminal.
What if it’s raining?
Tours operate rain or shine, but in the case of inclement weather, your guide will modify the tour so more time is spent indoors. It never hurts to have an umbrella on hand.
Is this tour good for kids and teens?
Yes! We have some excellent family friendly guides who can appeal to the learning styles of children. We have a separate Building the City walk just for families with children 12 and under. When booking, feel free to provide us with information about your children such as favorite school subjects, and hobbies. This way we can match you with the best possible guide.
Is this a walking intensive tour?
This walk covers about 1.25 miles overall. There are occasional opportunities to sit, use the bathroom, and get something to drink if needed.
A specialist in Renaissance and Baroque art, Irina teaches art and architectural history at Columbia University where she also earned her PhD in 2003. She has published numerous articles in her field, worked for several New York Old Master galleries, and received fellowships for her academic work from the National Gallery in Washington, the Fulbright Foundation, the Getty, the Society of Fellows and the Italian Academy (both at Columbia) and the American Philosophical Society. In addition to teaching in her area of specialization, Irina, a native New Yorker with a deep interest in local history, has been offering a class on the architecture of New York City at Columbia for the past four years.
Louis Mazzari has taught American history, art, and literature for a dozen years in Istanbul, Turkey, at Bogazici University, the country’s most renowned university, and he now also teaches in the City University of New York system. He has published books and articles on the cultural and political history of the U.S. with the university presses of LSU, Yale, and South Carolina. His New York work has included a study of the documentary aesthetic of photographer Berenice Abbott. Mazzari previously served as managing editor of the anthropology journal Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, and he worked on the editorial staff of the Harvard Educational Review. His years in a variety of classrooms have focused on the intersection of the artwork and its cultural history, and he speaks to American art’s profusion and its diversity of intentions and effects. That mix of art and culture is at the center of his presentation of the abundance of the Met’s American Wing.
Abhinav is pursuing his graduate studies in Urban planning and Transportation, and brings with him an eclectic blend of technical knowledge of architecture as well as a keen sense of artistry. Abhinav has studied the history and development of the urban landscape of San Francisco right from the time of the gold rush and is knowledgeable about the transportation system and its evolution to its present day form. He also enjoys dabbling in photography and modern art and can share the artistic styles behind the famous Victorian houses of San Francisco. From walking around downtown to learning about the tech revolution (and unfortunately, a resulting gentrification), Abhinav enjoys introducing clients to this interesting city.
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