Walking Tour: The Architecture of Park Avenue South

Park Avenue below Grand Central Terminal and Park Avenue South (formerly Fourth Avenue) pass through the historic neighborhoods of Murray Hill and Rose Hill and the more recently named Flatiron and NoMad districts. Once the insurance row of Manhattan, today these neighborhoods feature a lively mix of commercial, residential, and institutional uses, including transformed Class B office buildings and recent ground-up additions.

Within this corridor lies an encyclopedia of the architecture of New York City. Charles Follen McKim, Stanford White, and James Renwick Jr. prominently represent the 19th Century, while projects by Cass Gilbert, Ely Jacques Kahn, and Harvey Wiley Corbett usher in the first forty years of the 20th Century. Contemporary work by Ennead Architects, Michael Graves, Renzo Piano, Pelli Clarke Pelli, Christian de Portzamparc, Gwathmey Siegel, and Kohn Pedersen Fox are also highlighted on the avenues and adjacent blocks.    
  
This tour examines urban design and architectural issues in Park Avenue South, including NYC zoning, the Manhattan grid, POPs bonus plazas, Class A and Class B office buildings, and façade organizing principles.

Tours will run rain or shine. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to tour start time. Registration is limited to 15; walk-ups are not guaranteed a spot on the tour.

AIANY Guide: Joseph Lengeling, AIA