ACTIVITIES

Post Conference Tours

Learn the inside scoop on some of Manhattan's best-known places with architectural walking tours before and after the conference. Spaces are limited, so sign-up now on the registration form. Tours are scheduled from 8:30-10:30 a.m., on Saturday, July 28 and Tuesday, July 31.

Saturday, July 28 & Tuesday, July 31
8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Each Tour Costs $12

Tour I. 42nd Street led by The New 42nd Street
Times Square has been reinvented. Leading that transformation is The New 42nd Street, a nonprofit organization charged by New York's Empire State Development Corporation to bring back to life six long-vacant theatres. This tour will focus on that organization's impact on 42nd Street. We will visit The New Victory Theater, restored specifically for kids and family audiences, and The New 42nd Street Studios, the first rehearsal studio complex built for the performing arts in New York City in 100 years. We will also see the New Amsterdam Theatre, the city's only Art Nouveau style extravaganza, now operated by Disney. The tour will include coffee and conversation with The New 42nd Street staff. Cost is $12.

Tour II. Destination Grand Central led by The Municipal Art Society
More than a railroad terminal, Grand Central is New York's town square, a magnificent Beaux-Arts landmark where tens of thousands pass each day to shop, dine, and of course, travel. Saved from demolition during the 1970's through the efforts of the Municipal Arts Society, the terminal has undergone a remarkable and breathtaking two-year restoration that was completed in 1998. Costing $195 million, the faded interiors have been cleaned and refurbished, prompting even the most jaded New Yorkers to stop in their tracks to admire the "zodiac" ceiling high above the main concourse. This tour offers in-depth attention to the terminal's visionary design and the impact it continues to have on Midtown Manhattan today. Cost is $12.

Tour III. Rockefeller Center led by The Municipal Art Society
Rockefeller Center was the largest private business development in the world when it was built in the depths of the depression. Its sleek modern buildings were grouped around open spaces and gardens in a formal plan that was one of the last great triumphs of the Beaux-Arts spirit in New York architecture. We will examine the buildings, planning, and artworks (which tell us much about the arts of the 1930s), as well as the personalities who were the driving forces behind the center's realization. Cost is $12.