One Times Square rises as a narrow, triangular tower wrapped in massive, glowing advertising billboards that define its silhouette against the city sky. Completed in nineteen oh four, the building originally served as the headquarters for…
Midtown Skyscrapers and Plazas
This walk takes you through the heart of Midtown Manhattan to stand in the shadow of the city's most legendary Art Deco towers and iconic public squares. You will see how monumental architecture and bustling street-level plazas shaped New York's iconic visual identity.
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1. One Times Square
2. Bryant Park
Bryant Park is recognizable for the expansive, manicured lawn at its center, bordered by rows of London plane trees and the grand stone facade of the New York Public Library. While it now serves as a busy midtown gathering place, the nine…
3. New York Public Library - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is defined by its massive white marble facade and the two famous marble lions, Patience and Fortitude, that flank its Fifth Avenue entrance. This Beaux-Arts landmark occupies the former site of the Croton…
4. Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal is identifiable by the massive, triple-arched stone facade on its forty-second street front, crowned by a monumental sculpture group and a clock of Tiffany glass. It opened in nineteen thirteen as the final version…
5. Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is identified by its terraced crown of stainless steel, which radiates in seven overlapping arches punctuated by triangular windows. Completed in nineteen thirty, this seventy-seven-story skyscraper at Lexington…
6. The Helmsley Building
The Helmsley Building is a thirty-five-story skyscraper that stands over Park Avenue, its base designed with two massive arched portals that allow city traffic to flow directly through the structure. Completed in nineteen twenty-nine as…
7. St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral occupies a full city block of Midtown Manhattan, its white Tuckahoe marble façade and twin spires rising three hundred thirty feet above Fifth Avenue. It is the seat of the Archbishop of New York and the largest…
8. Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a massive complex of nineteen commercial buildings covering twenty-two acres in Midtown Manhattan, defined by its cohesive Art Deco limestone architecture and sunken plaza. Commissioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and…
9. Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is identifiable by the neon marquee that stretches for an entire city block along the Avenue of the Americas. Opened in December nineteen thirty-two, this venue was conceived by John D. Rockefeller Junior and theater…