Tour: Civic Center/Tribeca Art Deco

This tour with Anthony W. Robins begins at the edge of the financial district and continues into the Civic Center with the Federal Post Office, a WPA product of the Modern Classic; and three remarkable municipal buildings at the northern tip of the Foley Square courts district: the New York State Building, the Health, Hospitals and Sanitation Building and the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse. Star architect of the walk is Ralph Walker, designer of three communications-related behemoths: the delightfully decorative New York Telephone Company headquarters, the ponderously massive Western Union Building, and the Long Lines Building which is both massive and decorative. Mr. Robins is the author of the book, “New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham’s Jazz Age Architecture.”