The Midtown Architectural Walking Tour #1
Architecture - History - Interesting Pictures and Stories

This two and a half hour walking tour covers a section of Midtown Manhattan that contains a number of landmark buildings
with a selection of historic and anti historic architectural styles more diverse than any other part of Manhattan.
Also Included are, some of the area'a history, interesting pictures and stories that help join us with the area's past.

This Walking Tour of the Past and Present Features:

A walk in Midtown with landmark examples of Art Deco, Modern, Post Modern, and even an example of deconstructionism in a New York skyscraper.
Mixed with landmark examples of: neo-Georgian, neo-Tudor, Romanesque Revival, neo-Moorish / Islamic Revival, along with the 16th Century Italian Renaissance Palace style of architecture.
We will see buildings by such well knwon modern architects as: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Gordon Bunshaft.
Also, Post Modern skyscrapers including two by Philip Johnson plus one with a nice optical illusion.
And to Make the mix more interesting will see an early modern interior designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and a landmark interior by,Philip Johnson.

For the two and a half hour walking tour each participant is given an itinerary with 18 stops which include 12 New York City landmarks and 4 national landmarks
The charge for the two and a half hour tour is $150.
All stops are fully discussed.

This Walking Tour of Midtown's Past and Present Features:

Landmark examples of New York's best modern skyscrapers (The international style)
The Waldorf= Astoria and the original Waldorf=Astoria, what it looked like and the family feud that precipitated it
"The Spirit of Achievement" by: Nina Saemundsson - "Abundance" by: Charles Keck
"The Wheel of Life" and 13 allegorical oil murals by: Louis Rigal
St. Bartholomew Church and a remnant from the past
"The Story of Creation" by Hildreth Mier
A landmark neo Georgian mansion styled after Virginia Manor on the James River
A landmark neo Tudor townhouse from 1910
A landmark hotel that looks like it escaped from Florida
Brick Sculpture by Aleksandra Kasuba
The original G.E. Building - a beautiful landmark Art Deco skyscraper, given away as a gift
"Salta Nel Mio Sacco" by: Frank Steller
Lever House and the Seagram Building both both modern style, landmark skyscrapers considered precursors to the Minimalist movement
and both rotate their art collection for the benefit of the public.
Walter Gropius' only building in New York
The Tennis and Racquet Club (scaled to the avenue)
The Oldest Synagogue Building in New York, still in continuous use as a synagogue by the original congregation
A showroom originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish are interred in a columbarium in the church's undercroft
Heron Tower - a Post Modern skyscraper with an optical illusion
The Chippendale Skyscraper, Philip Johnson's first Post Modern building
The IBM Building with an enviromental sculpture that contains the buildings address
An example of deconstructivism in a small New York City skyscraper
The Fuller Bldg. an Art Deco building with a modernistic entrance in 1928 and much more

Meet in front of 300 Park Ave between E.49 St. and E. 50 St.
#6 train to East 51 St. & Lexington Ave. or the E or F Train to Lexington Ave. (53 St.)

All Tours Guided by Alfred Pommer, college graduate, an informative native New Yorker and a licensed New York City guide,
with over 20 years experience researching, creating and leading walking tours in Manhattan's many diverse neighborhoods.

Interested in a Private Walking Tour" ?
Call: (212) 979-2388 for details www.nycwalk.com

The Midtown Architectural Walking Tour 2
Vanderbilt Row and other 19th Century Mansions
Architecture -- History -- Interesting Pictures and Stories

A Walking Tour of the Past and the Present

The walking tour is about two and a half hours long
Each participant is given an itinerary with 20 stops which include 16 New York City landmarks and 5 national landmarks
The charge for the two & a half hour tour is $150. - All stops are fully discussed.
Also the three hour tour with 24 stops for $180.

The prosperity generated in The Gilded Age, a period that started at the end of the Civil War and lasted until about the turn of the last century, created a number of large individual fortunes that may well have been symbolized by the mansions appearing on 5th Ave. Such as: "Vanderbilt Row", from W. 51 St. to W. 58 St. on 5th Ave. which consisted of 10 Vanderbilt mansions mingled with mansions of other wealthy New Yorkers. Also on 5th Ave. there was "Marble Row" between E. 57 St. & E. 58 St. and Mansard Row" between E. 55 St. & E. 56 St. These mansions were demolished but as we walk through the area we will see many existing buildings that started as mansions of other prominent and wealthy New Yorkers of the era - also I will point out the sites of a number of demolished mansions of the past - show pictures of what they looked like and discuss some related information about the mansions and their owners.

We will pass the sites of:

The Cornelius Vanderbilt II Stable and see what it looked like in 1880
Cornelius Vanderbilt II Mansion built 1880
Marble Row built 1869
Colin P. Huntington Mansion
Theodore Roosevelt Sr. House
Dr. Theodore Thomas House
The first Plaza Hotel from 1889
Mansard Row built 1870
John D. Rockefeller's first and only mansion in New York City
Hamilton & Florence (Vanderbilt) Twombly Mansion and the William & Eliza (Vanderbilt) Webb Mansion
William K. Vanderbilt Jr. Mansion and William K. Vanderbilt Sr. Mansion
William Henry Vanderbilt built: the 'Brownstone Twins" also known as "The Triple Palace" actually three mansions
Madame Restell's (Mrs. Anne Lohman also call: Madame Killer) Mansion

All (except for 6) of the below listed stops are survivors from the Gilded Age on / or near 5th Ave. and Vanderbilt Row.
All the structures listed below are still there and make up the bulk of the tour

This Two and a Half Hour Walking Tour Features Present Day Survivors of the Past:

Several Landmark Turn of the Last Century Mansions on one block (designed by such well kown turn of last centruy archtitects as:
Stanford White, John Ducan, Henry J. Hardenbergh, Robert H. Roberson)
Several Windows designed by Rene Laique, an internationally acclaimed French craftsman
The landmark Plaza Hotel
A beautiful Art Deco mural of Manhattan Island, from 1930
The University Club a nice landmark example of the "Palace Style"
The Crown Building, a historically decorated skyscraper with Art Deco set backs
St. Thomas Church, a unique altar and a famous Baroque painting from 1620
originally: Harry B. Hollis Mansion
originally: Birdsall Otis Edey Mansion
originally: William H. Moore Mansion
originally: George W. Vanderbilt Townhouse once part of "The Marble Twins"
Aeolian Bldg., a Classical styled office bldg with French Renaissance details. by Warren & Wetmore
Rockefeller Apartment Bldg. an example of European Modern from 1938
originally: Morton & Nelie Plant Mansion, given away for a string of pearls
5th Ave. Presbyterian Church from 1875
Olympic Tower and replicas of the Parthenon

The Three Hour Version Includes:

Edith A. Logan Townhouse, remodeled 1904
E. Hayward Ferry Townhouse, remodeled 1907
Henry Seligman Townhouse, 1901
Dr. William Morton Townhouse from 1882
originally: John Pierce Mansion
The landmark Henry Villard Houses
The Look Building, probably the best of the tasteless white brick towers of the 1950's
originally: The Vanderbilt Guest House

Meet at: Northeast corner of E. 58 St. and Madison Ave.
#4, #5, or #6 train to East 59 St. & Lexington Ave. or the E or V Train to Lexington Ave. (53 St.) or R Train to 59 St. & 5th Ave.

You can choose a special tour that focuses exclusively on the public art in Midtown. Works by such well known artist as:
Frank Steller, Ramond Mason, Jean Dubuffet, Fernand Leger, Robert Cook, Damien Hirst, Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Stuart Davis, Luis Sanguino, Michael Heizer, and others.
Click for a special: "Midtown Art on Display Walking Tour"
or "A Walking Tour of Rockefeller Center's Public Art Display"