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LanguagesEnglish
Private tourOnly your group will participate
Overview
This Midtown Manhattan walking tour includes every aspect of the built environment: the city's historical move uptown, public and private works of art and architecture. This tour is unique for the underground passages, tunnels and POPS (privately-owned-public-places) that link these curated blocks of the city's most interesting and engaging spaces.
What's included
Expert guide
Gratuities
What to expect
Hell's Kitchen
15m
We start the tour by dipping our toe into the tenements of Hell's Kitchen, a good juxtaposition for the residential history we see on Fifth Avenue at the end of the tour.
We discuss zoning laws and POPS (privately-owned-public- spaces) at Worldwide Plaza.
Times Square
15m
At the Citizen Hotel in tims Square we discuss the history of New York and its move uptown.
In the hotel lobby we see works by Julien Opie
Times Square
Pass by
787 Axa Equitable (now, BNP Paribas). Here we deconstruct a Roy Lichtenstein mural, then head out back to more works of art and 6 1/2 Avenue, a quirk of zoning and creative urban planning.
Midtown
30m
We pass into an underground tunnel netwoek that links a series of Midtown Manhattan corportate lobbies with stunning works of art, from Frank Stell and Fritz Glarner to Sarah Morris and Mark Bradford.
Skyscraper Alley is the nickname for these buildings by Wallace Harrison, part of the consortium of architects who built rockefeller Center.
Rockefeller Center
30m
We pass through Rockefeller Center and along the way discuss the fascinating, inordinate history, incuding: Columbia University, holdouts, Alexander Hamilton, Diego Rivera, radio and televison, the Rockefellers themselves , the architectural genius of Raymod Hood, and an incredible array of art. One key to understanding the hisotry of Modern architecture is in Rockefeller Center's program of art, not ornament, in its architecture (thoguh we'll see where John. D. Rockefeller Jr. won out over his architects and got a bit of ornament in his buildings)
St. Patrick's Cathedral
15m
You will always remember the view up the escalator to behold St. Patrick's Cathdrel across the Street.
We admire one of New York's most beautiful spaces, the last room in Rockefeller Center before heading out on Fifth Avenue.
Becuase they are long gone, pictures bring back the era when Venderbilt manisons stretched from this part of Fifth Avenue up to Central Park.
Fifth Avenue
Pass by
We discuss the history of Fifth Avenue and its periods of development.
Olympic Tower
20m
We pass through the POPS of Olympic Tower and depending. We may use this time to discuss history or architecture if seating is availabe,
10m
This building represents the height of Modern architecture; we put it in context with the development of the rest of the block.
Park Avenue
20m
There's a tone of hiostry to talk about here: Grand Central Terminal, the grid, the transformation of Park Avenue, twice! And the current "history" underway.
Monkey Bar
3m
A must see stop on the tour.
Midtown
20m
The tour ends with two of New York's most prized POPS that are across the street from each other: 550 Madison and the IBM building's POPS.
Meeting and pickup
Meeting point
We meet in front of the Food Emporium supermarket on the northeast corner of 49th Street and 8th Avenue.
End point
The tour ends on 57th Street below the residential "pencil towers" of Billionaire's Row, near the corner of Tiffany's and Fifth Avenue.
Additional information
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
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
