Tours
Upcoming MAS Tours
New Tour
Saturday, February 4, 2012, 11:00 AM
Audubon Park in Upper Manhattan
Once the site of John James Audubon’s estate, this historic area is the location of several significant institutions. We will have a tour of the Church of the Intercession, a magnificent structure that was architect Bertram Goodhue’s favorite. Adjacent to the church is Trinity’s Uptown Cemetery where we will see Audubon’s grave. Across Broadway we will visit the Hispanic Society, home of the glorious Sorolla murals – Visions of Spain.
Tour Leader: Pat Guida
Meet: S.E. corner of Broadway and 157th St., outside the 157th St. station of the #1 train
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
African-American History Month
Sunday, February 5, 2012, 1:45 PM
Louis Armstrong: Satchmo in Queens (RSVP)
Louis Armstrong—the world’s most famous jazz musician—was an international celebrity who could have lived anywhere. Yet in 1943, he and his wife, Lucille, settled in a modest house in Corona, Queens, where they lived for the remainder of their lives. Join Justin Ferate as we travel back to the world of Louis Armstrong. Our tour of Louis Armstrong’s home of nearly 30 years will provide an intimate glimpse into the life of this extraordinary musician. In addition, we’ll discover that he was also a vivid writer and witty collage artist. Meeting near the subway station, we’ll stroll through Corona, the neighborhood that Louis Armstrong regarded with fondness. We’ll also tour the house that Armstrong described as containing “…a whole lot of comfort, happiness + the nicest things.” No one has lived in the house since Louis and Lucille Armstrong, and the house and its furnishings remain very much as they were during their time.
Advisory: The entire ground floor of the Louis Armstrong Museum (which includes the Welcome Center, Museum Store, exhibit area, and restroom) is wheelchair accessible. The historic house tour requires the ability to climb two sets of stairs and to stand for 40 minutes. Visitors who are unable to take the tour will receive a virtual tour instead.
Tour Leader: Justin Ferate
Note: Reservations required. Please RSVP online or call (212) 935-2075. No refunds or exchanges.
Cost of Tour: $25, $20 MAS members. Includes admission to the museum.
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
Friday, February 10, 2012, 9:30 AM
The Good Housekeeping Institute (SOLD OUT)
Located in Hearst Tower, designed by Norman Foster, the Good Housekeeping Insitute was founded in 1909. Following a brief discussion of Columbus Circle’s recent history, we’ll visit the 29th floor and enjoy a tour of the Insitute’s six research labs, where various consumer products are analyzed and evaluated. At the tour’s conclusion, guests may visit the building’s handsome atrium and dine in the cafeteria on their own.
Tour Leader: Matt Postal
Note: Members-only tour, RSVP online, limited to 25. No refunds or exchanges.
Cost of Tour: $10 MAS members.
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
African-American History Month
Saturday, February 11, 2012, 2:00 PM
Harlem at the Turn of Two Centuries – Through the Lens of its Public Schools
This walk will look at grand public schools that Charles B. J. Snyder provided Harlem, when it was home to the well to do with the lowest percentage of immigrants. Then the decade of the 1920s transformed it and its schools with the departure of 110,000 whites and the arrival 80,000 African-Americans. In the 1960s and 1970s more than half of Harlem’s historic schools were demolished or abandoned and those that remained were the victims of deferred maintenance. Is the 21st century seeing another transformation back to the old privilege and prestige but with a new inclusiveness?
Tour Leader: Jean Arrington
Meet: S.E. corner of 116th St and Frederick Douglass Blvd, in front of a deli
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
President’s Day Weekend Favorite
Sunday, February 12, 2012, 11:00 AM
In the Footsteps of Abraham Lincoln
To mark the Great Emancipator’s birthday, we’ll revisit the Civil War metropolis, focusing on a particularly historic stretch of lower Broadway, from the site of Barnum’s American Museum to present-day SoHo. Stops include early 19th century structures associated with the 16th president and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, including Matthew Brady’s daguerreotype studio, the Haughwout department store, as well as theaters, saloons, and related amusements.
Tour Leader: Matt Postal
Meet: In front of the Woolworth Building, 233 Broadway
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
♥ Valentine’s Day ♥
Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Chelsea Art Galleries
During the past 15 years, Chelsea has become the world’s most important center for contemporary art, with hundreds of art galleries, small and large, within just a few city blocks. We will visit 8-10 galleries with a variety of exhibitions, to explore what is new and most exciting on the current art scene. Besides art, the neighborhood also has the Highline running through it, great new architecture and stellar restaurants and bars – a perfect place to celebrate Valentine’s Day alone or with someone special!
Tour Leader: Sylvia Laudien Meo
Meet: 10th Ave and 22nd St. in front of Clement Moore Park
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
President’s Day Weekend Favorite
Saturday, February 18, 2012, 2:00 PM
New York in the Time of George Washington
Presidents’ Day weekend is the perfect time to reflect on the role played by New York in the Revolution and in thelives of the Founding Fathers. This walk – an annual MAS tradition – through Lower Manhattan shows sites associated with Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Burr, and others, with discussion and explanation of important events in the nation’s founding and of political divisions that are with us still.
Tour Leader: Frances Morrone
Meet: S.E. corner of Broadway and Chambers Streets
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
Winter Favorite
Sunday, February 19, 2012, 2:00 PM
Art Deco in East Midtown
A walk taking in some of the city’s finest Art Deco skyscrapers, all with wonderful, warm lobbies. We visit Raymond Hood’s Daily News Building (1929-30), William Van Alen’s Chrysler Building (1928-30), Sloane & Robertson’s Chanin Building (1927-29), Cross & Cross’s General Electric Building (1929-31) and Schultze & Weaver’s Waldorf-Astoria (1929-31) – five towers, all completed within two years of each other that helped create the modern Midtown skyline.
Tour Leader: Tony Robins
Meet: In front of 220 E. 42nd Street, south side of 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues (former Daily News Building)
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
President’s Day
Monday, February 20, 2012, 11:00 AM
From Brick & Stone to Cast Iron
This downtown tour focuses on two 19th century neighborhoods, from the origins of the row house to the beginnings of large-scale retailing. We’ll explore the handsome blocks of the Charlton-King-Van Dam Historic District, where the first president and vice president once slept, as well as SoHo, where one can view isolated brick residences and early cast-iron stores, including the world’s first building to incorporate a passenger elevator.
Tour Leader: Matt Postal
Meet: N.E. corner of Varick and Charlton Streets
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
New Tour
Friday, February 24, 2012, 11 AM – NOON
Grand Central Terminal for Families with Children on the Autism Spectrum (RSVP)
Train stations capture the heart of young and old alike — and Grand Central Terminal holds a very special place as one of the most beautiful stations in the world. This special tour is especially for families with children who have special needs, including those on the Autistic spectrum. The tour, presented in a child-friendly format, will explore the wonder of the station’s sculptural décor including its many images of Mercury and oak tree branches, and we will discover its layout with maps, look at the trains’ itineraries and routes, check out the curving tracks and sloping ramps, whisper into the Guastovino tile vault and much more.
Tour Leader: Sylvia Laudien Meo
Note: Reservations required. Please RSVP online or call (212) 935-2075. No refunds or exchanges.
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members.
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
African-American History Month
Saturday, February 25, 2012, 2:00 PM
Harlem Renaissance
Discover the sites and history of this historic neighborhood. Since the early 1900′s, Harlem has been one of the most exciting, vibrant and largest African-American communities in the United States. Your walking tour will take you from the beautiful homes of Hamilton Heights to the row houses of Strivers Row, from the night clubs and speakeasies of the 1920′s Harlem Renaissance to the famous Apollo Music Hall, Sugar Hill and The Schomberg Center. Travel the streets where Langston Hughes, Madame C.J. Walker, A’Leila Walker, Florence Mills, County Cullen, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and other luminaries once lived.
Tour Leader: Marty Shore
Meet: Corner of 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. (7th Ave.), next to the statue of Adam Clayton Powell
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information
Winter Favorite
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 2:00 PM
Central Park in Winter
Central Park is a wonderland throughout the year. In each season, one can see things not visible the rest of the time. Winter is the time to see the park with bare-limbed trees etching beautifulpatterns against the sky. It is also the best season in which to take a close look at the park’s structures designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould, including the spectacular Terrace with its improbably intricate carvings. It’s also the best time to look at the park’s wealth of sculpture, some of it great (like the Indian Hunter and Angel of the Waters), some of it not so great. On this walk through the park’s southeastern quadrant, we will look at Vaux’s bridges, “Literary Walk,” the Conservatory Water, the Obelisk, and much more, and consider the contributions to the park of Robert Moses and of the Central Park Conservancy.
Tour Leader: Francis Morrone
Meet: General Sherman Monument in Grand Army Plaza, Fifth Avenue and 59th Street
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour
Transit: Check MTA TripPlanner and MTA Weekender for up-to-date transit information