Walking Tour: The Architecture of Park Avenue South

Meet inside the atrium space of the Philip Morris building at the SW corner of 42nd Street and Park Avenue.

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

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Health and Safety Guidelines:

The safety and comfort of our guides and guests is our number one priority. By registering for this tour, you acknowledge and agree to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Face masks will be required for any remarks made inside. Once outside, vaccinated individuals may remove masks. In accordance with CDC guidelines, unvaccinated guests must please wear a mask throughout the tour. 
• Maintaining six feet of distance from the guide and anyone not in your party is strongly encouraged.

Failure to follow these guidelines may result in your guide requesting that you kindly leave the tour group. Refunds will not be provided for tours canceled due to a failure to comply with safety guidelines. 

AIANY cannot be held liable and assumes no responsibility for any injury or loss incurred by participants in these programs. Tour is limited to 12  attendees.  Walkups cannot be guaranteed a spot on the tour. 

Cancellation Policy:
AIANY Walking tours take place rain or shine, please dress for the weather. There are no refunds, cancellations, or exchanges, unless we cancel a tour.