Between the Clocks: The Architecture of Park Avenue South

Meet at SW corner of 42nd Street and Park Avenue under the arcade of the Philip Morris Building.

Between the exuberant clock on the façade of Grand Central Terminal to the modern interpretation of time on the façade at the terminus of Park Avenue South at 14th Street lies an encyclopedia of the architecture of New York City. James Renwick Jr. and Stanford White prominently represent the 19th Century while projects by Cass Gilbert, Ely Jaques Kahn, and Harvey Wiley Corbett ushered in the first forty years of the 20th Century. Contemporary work by Ulrich Franzen, Ennead Architects, Michael Graves, Renzo Piano, Pelli Clarke Pelli, Christian de Portzamparc, Gwathmey Siegel, Davis Brody Bond, and SOM are featured on this corridor that will also include some adjacent blocks.

Urban and architectural issues will be discussed, including zoning, the Manhattan grid, 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. Some tours utulizie VOX amplification systems, and so attendees are welcome to bring their personal earbuds.