December 2011 Tours
Saturday, December 3, 11:00 a.m.
Keeping Off Midtown Streets: East Side
In the “post-modernist era,” New York City planning principles encouraged innovative new public spaces to be maintained by private entities. These new spaces typically offer shelter and shortcuts and add to the connections already provided by transit, stores, and hotels. These walks, particularly when offered in cold weather months, beat winter by connecting public atriums, passageways, building lobbies, and walkways that reveal a more intimate side of Midtown.
Tour Leader: Jack Eichenbaum, urban geographer.
Transit: Grand Central [S, 4, 5, 6, 7].
Meet: NYC Transit Gallery & Store, shuttle passage, Grand Central Terminal. MAP.
Note: Please check MTA Weekender for up-to-date weekend transit information.
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour.
Sunday, December 4, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Public Art in Lower Manhattan
Join us as we discover some of the remarkable works of public art in Lower Manhattan. We’ll begin near the lush waterfront community of Battery Park City and stroll south. En route, we’ll discover Brian Tolle’s haunting “Irish Hunger Memorial,” Craig McPherson’s vast 318-foot mural “Harbors of the World,” and Ken Smith’s emotive “Eleven Tears.” We will also view works by such varied artists as Isamu Noguchi, Jenny Holzer and Tom Otterness – with an impressive array of others.
Tour Leader: Justin Ferate, architectural historian.
Transit: Chambers St. [#1, 2, 3, A, C, E].
Meet: N.E. corner of Chambers St. and West Broadway, outside Starbucks. MAP.
Note: Please check MTA Weekender for up-to-date weekend transit information.
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour.
Sunday, December 11, 11:00 a.m.
Late For The Sky: Recent Developments in Midtown
Though Manhattan no longer holds the title of having the world’s tallest building, many distinguished skyscrapers, often with public atriums, have been built in recent decades. The largest concentration can be found in Midtown, where important examples of post-modernism and neo-modernism can be visited, including key works by Philip Johnson, Cesar Pelli, Christian de Portzamparc, and Norman Foster.
Tour Leader: Matt Postal, architectural historian.
Transit: 59 St. [#4, 5, 6, N, Q, R].
Meet: S.E. corner of Lexington Ave. and 57th St. MAP.
Note: Please check MTA Weekender for up-to-date weekend transit information.
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour.
Saturday, December 17, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Starchitecture NYC, 2011 (SOLD OUT)
Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano—these and other so-called “star-architects” are transforming Manhattan, creating memorable museums, corporate headquarters and high-rise apartments. Join architectural historian Matt Postal for a concentrated three-hour tour via small motor-coach and on foot of some of the city’s most talked-about buildings, structures and spaces.
Reservations required. Please RSVP online or call (212) 935-2075.
Tour Leader: Matt Postal, architectural historian.
Meet at: Provided upon registration.
Cost of Tour: $55, $49 MAS members.
Sunday, December 18, 11:00 a.m.
Flushing’s Chinatown
This immigrant destination and commercial center has come to rival its Manhattan antecedent. Taiwanese rather than Cantonese at its core, Flushing’s Chinatown plays host to a variety of overseas Chinese groups. Rezoning and greater land availability support unusual real estate developments including office buildings, hotels, residential condos, specialty shops, cultural institutions and malls.
Tour Leader: Jack Eichenbaum, urban geographer.
Transit: Flushing-Main St. [#7].
Meet: Second floor of New World Mall, outside of the restrooms. Enter New World Mall between the #7 Main St. subway stop (S.E. corner Main St. & Roosevelt Ave.) and Macy’s on Roosevelt Ave. MAP.
Note: Please check MTA Weekender for up-to-date weekend transit information.
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour.
Thursday, December 22, 11:00 a.m.
West 10th Street and the Church of the Ascension (SOLD OUT)
Join us for a leisurely stroll along one block of Greenwich Village, 10th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Few blocks in the city are of greater interest. The beautiful block has been home to New York characters as varied as Emily Post and Marcel Duchamp, Frederick MacMonnies and Isamu Noguchi. Learn about the Tile Club and the Marshall Chess Club–and R.M. Hunt’s legendary (but long-gone) Studio Building. We will conclude the tour with a visit to the newly restored Church of the Ascension, an 1841 Gothic Revival church by Richard Upjohn that had its chancel remodeled in the 1880s under the direction of Stanford White. We will see John La Farge’s fantastic Ascension mural, and much more.
Reservations required. Please RSVP online or call (212) 935-2075.
Tour Leader: Francis Morrone, architectural historian.
Meet at: Provided upon registration.
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members.
Saturday, December 24, 11:00 a.m.
Grand Central Terminal: A Holiday Tour
For over 30 years, MAS has offered weekday tours of Grand Central Terminal, the magnificent Beaux Arts landmark MAS helped to save and now celebrates. Come December, the terminal is especially attractive, with special exhibits, a holiday fair and festive lighting. Join us to learn some of Grand Central’s secrets as we take you on an in-depth look at its art, architecture, engineering and $200 million restoration. Highlights include the “whispering” and “kissing” galleries, and the site of a private apartment.
Tour Leader: Joe Svehlak
Meet: Near the information booth in the middle of the main concourse.
Note: Please check MTA Weekender for up-to-date weekend transit information.
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour.
♦ Christmas Day ♦
Sunday, December 25, 10:00 a.m.
Rockefeller Center: Art Deco Masterwork (SOLD OUT)
This urban wonderland of New York’s is full of surprising history, remarkable art and stunning architecture. Conceived as a new home for the Metropolitan Opera, but built instead as Radio City, Rockefeller Center is a private real estate venture that has evolved into the public square of Midtown Manhattan. We explore the planning, art and architecture of this 1930s Art Deco complex.
Reservations required. Please RSVP online or call (212) 935-2075.
Tour Leader: Tony Robins, architectural historian.
Transit: 47-50 St. [B, D, F, M].
Meet at: Meet at Atlas status on Fifth Ave., between 50th & 51st streets.
Cost of Tour: $20, $15 MAS members.
Tuesday, December 27, 10:00 a.m.
Rockefeller Center: Art Deco Masterwork
Same tour as for Dec. 25.
Tour Leader: Tony Robins, architectural historian.
Transit: 47-50 St. [B, D, F, M].
Meet at: Meet at Atlas status on Fifth Ave., between 50th & 51st streets.
Cost of Tour: $15, $10 MAS members.