(DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New York City

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8 Helmsley Building MIDTOWN WEST
Straddling Park Avenue between & THE THEATER UPPER
DISTRICT
45th and 46th, the Helmsley Building MIDTOWN
has an ornate entrance symbolizing
the wealth of its first occupants,
New York Central Railroad. LOWER
MIDTOWN
GRAMERCY & East River
THE FLATIRON East Side
DISTRICT
Mailbox Locator Map
in the See map pp16–17
Chrysler
Building
Key
Suggested route
5. Chrysler
Building Worker resting during construction
Ornamented with of the Chrysler Building
automotive motifs,
this Art Deco
delight was
built in 1930
for the Chrysler
car company.




E
U
N 7 The Ford Foundation Building
E is the headquarters of the
A V
philanthropic Ford Foundation.
D E 4 3 R D S T R E E T It has a lovely interior garden
R
I surrounded by a cube­
H
T shaped building made of
pinkish­gray granite,
glass, and steel.
E
E 4 2 N D S T R E E T
U
N
E
A V

D
N Ralph J. Bunche Park
C O E
E U
S N
E
A V

T
S
R
I
0 meters 100 F
0 yards 100
6. Daily News Tudor City
Building This 1928 private
The Art Deco former residential complex
home of the has 3,000 apart ments.
eponymous news­ Built in the Tudor
paper has a revolving style, it features fine
globe in the lobby. stone work details.
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The building’s rooftop heliport
was abandoned in 1977 after a
freak accident showered debris
onto the surrounding streets.
In 1981 the building was sold to
the Metro politan Life organi-
zation, and then on to Tishman
Speyer Properties.

2 Grand Central
Terminal
Stonework detail on the Chanin Building
See pp152–3.
4 Chanin Building
3 Bowery Savings 122 E 42nd St. Map 9 A1. q 42nd St-
Bank Building Grand Central. Open office hours.
Once the headquarters of
110 E 42nd St. Map 9 A1. q 42nd St- Irwin S. Chanin, one of New
Grand Central. Open by appt only. York’s leading real estate
Cipriani Tel (646) 723-0826.
developers, the 56-story tower
was the first skyscraper in the
Many consider this 1923 building Grand Central area, a harbinger
the best work of bank of things to come.
Lobby of the MetLife Building architects York & It was designed by
Sawyer, who chose the Sloan & Robertson
1 MetLife Building style of a Romanesque in 1929 and is one of
basilica for the offices of the best examples of
200 Park Ave. Map 13 A5. q 42nd St-
Grand Central. Open office hours. the venerable Bowery the Art Deco period.
 0 Savings Bank (now part A wide bronze band,
of Capital One Bank). patterned with birds
Once, the sculptures atop the An arched entry leads and fish, runs the full
Grand Central Terminal stood into the vast banking Facade of the Bowery length of the facade;
out against the sky. Then this room, with a high- Savings Bank Building the terracotta base
colossus, formerly called the Pan beamed ceiling, marble is decorated with a
Am Building and designed in mosaic floors, and marble luxuriant tangle of stylized
the Modernist style by Walter columns that support the stone leaves and flowers. Inside,
Gropius, Emery Roth and Sons, arches that soar overhead. Radio City’s sculptor René
and Pietro Belluschi, rose up in Between the columns are Cham bellan worked on the
1963 to block the Park Avenue unpolished mosaic panels of reliefs and the bronze grilles,
view. It dwarfed the terminal marble from France and Italy. The elevator doors, mailboxes,
and aroused universal dislike. building, now an event space, is clocks, and pattern of waves
At the time it was the largest also home to Cipriani restaurant, in the floor. The vestibule reliefs
commercial building in the whose opulent decor lures high chart the career of Chanin, who
world, and the dismay over its rollers for celebratory dinners. was a self-made man.
scale helped thwart a later plan
to build a tower over the
terminal itself.
It is ironic that the New York
skies were blocked by Pan Am,
a company that had opened
up the skies as a means of
travel for millions of people.
When the company began
in 1927, Charles Lindbergh,
fresh from his solo trans-
atlantic flight, was one of
their pilots and an adviser on
new routes. By 1936, Pan Am
managed to introduce the first
trans-Pacific passenger route,
and in 1947 they introduced the
first round-the-world route. Carved detail in the former banking hall of the Bowery Savings Bank




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L OWER MID T OWN  151


into position
through the
roof, ensuring
that the building
would be higher than
the Bank of Manhattan,
then just completed
downtown by Van Alen’s great
rival, H. Craig Severance.
Stainless-steel Van Alen was poorly
gargoyle on the rewarded for his labors.
Chrysler Building Chrysler accused him of
accepting bribes from
5 Chrysler Building contractors and refused to
pay him. Van Alen’s career
405 Lexington Ave. Map 9 A1.
Tel (212) 682-3070. q 42nd St-Grand never recovered from the slur.
Central. Open office hours The stunning lobby, once Entrance to the Daily News Building
(7am–6pm), lobby only. 7 used as a showroom for
Chrysler cars, was perfectly 6 Daily News
Walter P. Chrysler began his restored in 1978. It is lavishly Building
career in a Union Pacific Railroad decorated with patterned
machine shop, but his passion marbles and granite from 220 E 42nd St. Map 9 B1.
for the motor car helped him around the world and has a q 42nd St-Grand Central.
rise swiftly to the top of this chromed steel trim. A vast Open 8am–6pm Mon–Fri.
industry to found, in 1925, the painted ceiling by Edward
corporation bearing his name. Trumball shows transportation The Daily News was founded
His wish for a headquarters in scenes of the late 1920s. in 1919, and by 1925 it was a
New York that symbolized his Although the Chrysler million-seller. It was known,
company led to a building that Cor poration never occupied the rather scathingly, as “the servant
will always be linked with the building as their headquarters, girl’s bible,” for its concentration
golden age of motoring. their name remains, as firm a on scandals, celebrities, and
Following Chrysler’s wishes, fixture as the gargoyles. murders, its readable style, and
the stainless-steel Art heavy use of illustration. Over
Deco spire resembles a the years it has stuck to what
car radiator grille; the it does best, and the formula
building’s series of has paid off handsomely. It
stepped setbacks are revealed stories such as the
emblazoned with romance of Edward VIII and
winged radiator caps, Mrs. Simpson, and has become
wheels, and stylized renowned for its punchy
automobiles; and there headlines. Its circulation figures
are gargoyles modeled are still among the highest in
on hood ornaments the United States.
from the 1929 Its former headquarters,
Chrysler Plymouth. designed by Raymond Hood in
It stands at 1,046ft 1930, have rows of brown and
(320 m), but it lost the black brick alternating with
title of tallest building windows to create a vertical
in the world to the striped effect. Hood’s lobby
Empire State Building a is familiar to many as that of
few months after its the Daily Planet in the 1980s
completion in 1930. Superman movies. It includes
William Van Alen’s the world’s largest interior
77-story Chrysler globe, and bronze lines on the
Building and its floor indicate the direction of
shining crown are still, world cities and the position
however, among the of the planets. At night, the
city’s best-known and intricate detail over the front
most-loved landmarks. entrance of the building is lit
The crowning spire from within by neon. The
was kept a secret until newspaper’s offices are now
the last moment, when, at 4 New York Plaza, but this
having been built in the building has been designated
fire shaft, it was raised Elevator door at the Chrysler Building as a national historic landmark.




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2 Grand Central Terminal

In 1871 Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877)
opened a railway station on 42nd Street.
Although often revamped, it was never large
enough and was finally demolished. The present
station opened in 1913. This Beaux Arts gem has
been a gateway to and symbol of the city ever
since. Its glory is the soaring main concourse and
the way it separates pedestrian and train traffic.
The building has a steel frame covered with 42nd Street colonnaded facade
plaster and marble. Reed & Stern were in charge
of the logistical planning;
Warren & Wetmore,
the overall design.
The restoration by
architects Beyer
Blinder Belle
is outstanding.


Statuary on the
42nd Street Facade
Jules-Alexis Coutan’s
sculptures of Mercury,
Hercules, and Minerva, in
his work Glory of Commerce,
crown the main entrance.









Cornelius Vanderbilt
The railroad magnate was
known as the “Commodore.”
KEY
1 Subway
2 Circumferential Road
3 As many as 750,000 people
pass through the terminal each
day. An escalator leads up into the
MetLife Building, where there are
specialty shops and restaurants.
4 Main Concourse Level
5 Vanderbilt Hall, adjacent to the
Main Concourse, is a fine example of
Beaux Arts architecture. It is
decorated with gold chandeliers
and pink marble. Grand Central Oyster Bar
6 The Lower Level is linked to This popular spot (see p302), with its yellow Guastavino
the other levels by stairways, ramps, tiles, is one of the many eateries in the station. The
and escalators. dining concourse, on the lower level, is enormous,
with food, snacks, and drinks to suit all tastes.




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VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Practical Information
E 42nd St at Park Ave.
Map 9 A1.
Tel (212) 340-2583.
Open 5:30am–2am daily. 7 &
8 12:30pm daily, sold online
and in the Main Concourse, (212)
935-3960; self-guided audio tours
are also available, see Grand
Central Terminal website for
. Main Concourse details. 0 - = Lost & found:
This vast area with its vaulted ceiling is dominated (212) 340-2555.
by three great arched windows on each side. ∑ grandcentralterminal.com
Transport
q 4, 5, 6, 7, S to Grand Central.
@ M1–5, M42, M50,
M101–103, Q32.











Vaulted Ceiling
A medieval manu script
provided the basis
for French artist Paul
Helleu’s zodiac design
containing over 2,500
stars. Lights pinpoint
the major constellations.


















Grand Staircase
There are now two of
these double flights of
marble steps, styled
after the staircase in
Paris’s opera house, . Central Information
and a vivid reminder This four-faced clock tops the
of the glamorous days travel information booth on
of early rail travel. the Main Concourse.




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7 Ford Foundation 9 1 and 2 United
Building Nations Plaza
320 E 43rd St. Map 9 B1. q 42nd Map 13 B5. q 42nd
St-Grand Central. St-Grand Central. @
M15, M42, M50.
Built in 1968, this building was
designed by architect Kevin These two great
Roche, and featured the first of columns of blue-
the atria, now common across green mirrored glass
Manhattan. The structure stands are set at an angle to
as one of the most unique each other; the play of light
spaces in New York, embodied and reflec tions on their
by pink-and-brown granite, and gleaming sides and sloping
weathered steel. The atrium setbacks make them seem a
resembles an enormous green- giant, ever-changing work
house, supported by towering of modern art. The marble
columns of granite. A and mirrored interiors
subtropical garden of its own, are also stunning. They
the atrium transforms with the house streamlined
seasons – it was one of the first modern offices and,
attempts at a natural environ- in No. 1, the ONE
ment within a building. It is UN New York
fringed by two walls of offices Hotel. Here,
that are visible through glass Performance at the Japan Society the guest list frequently
windows, and yet the enclave includes many UN delegates
is incredibly tranquil. The din Building straddling the busy from all over the world as well
of 42nd Street disappears, and traffic flow beneath. There is as a number of visiting heads
all that remains is the echo of just one flaw – the monolithic of state. Even the stresses of
voices, the murmur of fountains, MetLife Building (which was international diplomacy must
and the sound of shoes on built by Pan Am as its corporate ease when one is floating lazily
brick walkways. headquarters in 1963) towers in the glassed-in swimming
behind it, replacing the pool, enjoying the bird’s-eye
building’s former backdrop, views of the city and the United
the sky. Nations itself.
Built by Warren & Wetmore
in 1929, the Helmsley Building
was originally the headquarters 0 United Nations
of the New York Central Rail road See pp156–9.
Company. Its namesake, the
late Harry Helmsley, was a
billionaire who began his
career as a New York office q Japan Society
boy for $12 per week. His 333 E 47th St. Map 13 B5.
wife Leona, who died in 2007, Tel (212) 832-1155. q 42nd St-Grand
was a prominent feature in Central. @ M15, M50. Gallery:
all the advertise ments for Open Oct–Jun: 11am–6pm Tue–Thu,
their hotel chain – until her 11am–9pm Fri, 11am–5pm Sat & Sun.
imprisonment in 1989 for tax ^ 7 8 ∑ japansociety.org
evasion on a grand scale. Many
Stairway to the captivating Ford observers believe that the The headquarters of the Japan
Foundation Building extravagant glitter of the Society, founded in 1907 to
building’s face-lift was due foster understanding and
to Leona’s overblown cultural exchange
8 Helmsley taste in decor. between Japan
Building and the US,
was built with
230 Park Ave. Map 13 A5.
q 42nd St-Grand Central.
Open office hours.
One of the great New York
views looks south down Park
Avenue to the Helmsley Roman gods reclining against the Helmsley Building clock




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L OWER MID T OWN  155


the help of John D. Rockefeller e Church of
III, who underwrote costs the Incarnation
of some $4.3 million. The
striking black building with 209 Madison Ave. Map 9 A2.
its delicate sun grilles was Tel (212) 689-6350. q 42nd St-Grand
designed by Tokyo architects Central, 33rd St. Open 11:30am–
2pm Mon–Fri, 8am–1pm Sun.
Junzo Yoshimura and George 5 8am Tue, 12:15pm Wed,
Shimamoto in 1971. It includes 12:15pm Fri, 8:30am, 11am & 5pm
an auditorium, a language Sun. 7 8 by appointment.
center, a research library, a ∑ churchoftheincarnation.org
museum gallery, and traditional
Oriental gardens. This Episcopal church dates
Changing exhibits include from 1864, when Madison
a variety of Japanese arts, from Avenue was home to the elite.
swords to kimonos to scrolls. Its patterned sandstone and
The society offers programs brownstone exterior is typical
of Japanese performing arts, of the period. The interior
lectures, language classes, has an oak communion rail
and many business workshops by Daniel Chester French;
for American and Japanese a chancel mural by John
executives and managers. La Farge; and stained-glass
windows by La Farge, Tiffany,
w Fred F. Tiffany stained-glass window in the William Morris, and Edward
Burne-Jones.
French Building Church of the Incarnation
521 5th Ave. Map 12 F5. q 42nd r The Morgan
St-Grand Central. Open office hours. included the Chanin Building
(see p150). They handsomely Library & Museum
Built in 1927 to house the blended Near Eastern, ancient See pp160–61.
best-known real estate firm Egyptian, and Greek styles with
of the day, this edifice is a early Art Deco forms.
fabulously opulent creation. Multicolored faience orna-
It was designed by French’s ments decorate the upper t Sniffen Court
chief architect, H. Douglas Ives, facade, and the water tower 150–158 E 36th St. Map 9 A2.
in collaboration with Sloan & is hidden in a false top level q 33rd St.
Robertson, whose other work of the building. Its disguise is
an elaborate one, with Here is a delightful, intimate
reliefs showing a rising courtyard of 10 brick Roman-
sun flanked by griffins esque Revival carriage houses,
and bees and symbols built by John Sniffen in the
of virtues such as 1850s. They are perfectly and
integrity and industry. improbably preserved off
Winged Assyrian a busy block in modern New
beasts ride on a York. The house at the south
bronze frieze over the end was used as a studio
entrance. These exotic by the American sculptor
themes continue into Malvina Hoffman, whose
the vaulted lobby, plaques of Greek horsemen
with its elaborate decorate the exterior wall.
polychrome ceiling
decoration and 25
gilt-bronze doors.
This was the first
building project to
employ members of
the Native Canadian
Caughnawaga tribe as
construction workers.
They did not fear
heights and soon
became highly sought
after as scaffolders for
many of the city’s most
Lobby of the Fred F. French Building famous skyscrapers. Malvina Hoffman’s studio




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0 United Nations

Founded in 1945 with 51 members, the United Nations now
numbers 193 nations. Its aims are to preserve world peace, to
promote self-determination, and to aid economic and social
well-being around the globe. New York was chosen as the UN
headquarters, and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. donated $8.5 million
for the purchase of the site. The chief architect was American
Wallace Harrison, who worked with an international Board of
Design Consultants, and completed the core complex of the
site between 1948 and 1952. The 18-acre (7-ha) site is an
international zone, with its own stamps and post office.
A $1.9-billion renovation of the
complex, approved by the UN’s
General Assembly in 2006, was
completed in 2015.








United Nations headquarters














. Security Council
Delegates and their assistants confer
around the horseshoe-shaped table,
while verbatim reporters and other
UN staff members sit at the long
table in the center.



KEY
1 Economic and Social Council
2 Trusteeship Council
3 The Conference Building
houses meeting rooms for the
Security Council, the Trusteeship
Council, and the Economic and
Social Council.
. Peace Bell
4 Secretariat building Cast from the coins of 60 Rose Garden
5 The statue of peace was a gift nations, this gift from Japan Twenty-five varieties of roses
from the former Yugoslavia. hangs on a cypress pagoda adorn the manicured gardens
shaped like a Shinto shrine. on the East River.




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UNITED NA TIONS  157


. Reclining Figure (1982) VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
This bronze statue was a gift from
the Henry Moore Foundation. Practical Information
1st Ave at 46th St.
Map 13 C5.
Tel (212) 963-8687.
Open 9am–4:30pm Mon–Fri,
10am–4:30pm Sat & Sun.
Closed Jan 1, Presidents’ Day,
Memorial Day, Independence Day,
Labor Day, Eid, Thanksgiving, Dec
25 (limited hours during year-end
hols). 7 8 Mon–Fri; must book
in advance; no children under 5.
0 = ∑ visit.un.org
Colors of the World
Flags of member nations fly in Transport
front of the UN complex. q 4, 5, 6, 7 and S to 42nd
St-Grand Central. @ M15,
M42, M50.


.General Assembly
This is the only UN organ in which
all member states are represented.
One regular, three-month session
is held each year.

Non-Violence (1988)
Luxembourg donated
this peace sculpture by
Karl Fredrik Reutersward.






Visitors’
entrance



















Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares
This bronze statue (1958) by
Soviet sculptor Evgeny Vuchetich
symbolizes the main goal
of the United Nations.




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The Work of the United Nations

The goals of the United Nations are pursued by three UN Security Council, it also
councils and a General Assembly comprising all of its member appoints the judges of the
nations. The Secretariat carries out the administrative work International Court of Justice,
of the organization. Guided tours allow visitors to see the based in the Netherlands.
Security Council Chamber. Often there is a chance to briefly
observe a meeting.
Secretary General Translators interpret
debates in Arabic, Chinese,
French, Russian, Spanish,
or English.
Mural symbolizing peace and freedom by
Per Krohg (Norway)
Security Council
The most powerful part of
the UN is the Security Council.
It strives to achieve international
peace and security and
intervenes in crises such as
Reporters the fighting in Iraq and
Afghanistan. It is the only
body whose decisions member
states are obliged to obey,
Public gallery as well as the only one in
continuous session.
Nation Public entrance Five of its members – China,
delegates sit in France, the Russian Federation,
alphabetical order by
country, but who sits at the the United Kingdom, and the
front is decided before every United States – are permanent.
session by drawing lots. General Assembly Hall The other nations are elected by
the General Assembly to serve
two-year terms.
General Assembly
Assembly also appoints the When international conflicts
The General Assembly is the Secretary General (on the arise, the Council first tries to
governing body of the UN recommendation of the Security seek agreement by mediation.
and has regular sessions each Council), approves the UN If fighting breaks out, it may
year from mid-September to budgets, and elects the issue cease-fire orders and
mid-December. Special sessions non-permanent members of impose military or economic
are also held when the Security the Councils. Together with the sanctions. It could also decide
Council or a majority of members to send UN peacekeeping
request one. All of the member missions into troubled areas to
states are represented with an separate opposing factions until
equal vote, regardless of size. issues can be resolved through
The General Assembly may diplomatic channels.
discuss any international Military intervention is the
problem raised by the members Council’s last resort. UN forces
or by other UN bodies. Although may be deployed, and peace-
it cannot enact laws, its keeping forces are resident in
recommen dations strongly such places as Cyprus and the
influence world opinion; these Middle East.
require a two-thirds majority vote.
Lots are drawn before
each session to determine the Trusteeship Council
seating in the chamber for the The smallest of the councils,
delegations. All 1,898 seats in this is the only UN body whose
the chamber are equipped with workload is decreasing. The
earphones that offer simul- Foucault’s Pendulum (Holland); its slowly council was established in 1945
taneous translations in several rotating swing is proof of the earth’s with the goal of fostering
languages. The General rotation on its axis peaceful independence for




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UNITED NA TIONS  159


non-self-governing territories in favor of
or colonies. Since then, more Taiwan –
than 80 colonies have gained gained UN
self-rule, and the number of membership.
people living in dependent In the 1990s,
territories has been reduced the UN was
from 750 million to about involved in
3 million. The Trustee ship the break-up
Council consists of the five of Yugoslavia,
permanent members of the and more
Security Council. recently in
Zanetti mural (Dominican Republic), in the Conference Building, the conflicts
depicting the struggle for peace in Afghanistan,
Libya and
Important Events Syria. A 2004 UN mission to
in UN History
Congo was plagued by
The UN depends on voluntary accusations of sexual abuse
compliance and military by UN peacekeepers. In 2006–7
support from its members to there were arrests over kick-
keep the peace in the event backs in the UN oil-for-food
of disputes. In 1948, the UN program to Iraq.
declared South Korea the At any given time at least
Trusteeship Council Chamber legitimate government of Korea; half a dozen missions are
two years later, it played a major active somewhere in the
role in defending South Korea world. The UN was awarded
Economic and against North Korea. In 1949, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988
Social Council the UN helped negotiate a and 2001.
The 54 members of this Council cease-fire between Indonesia
work to improve the standard of and the Netherlands and set up
living and social welfare around a confer ence that led to the
the world, goals that consume Dutch granting independence
80 per cent of the UN’s resources. to Indonesia.
It makes recommendations to In 1964 a UN military force
the General Assembly, to each was sent to Cyprus to keep
member nation, and to the peace between the Greeks and
UN’s specialized agencies. Turks, and it still remains. Persist-
The Council is assisted by ent issues in the Middle East
com missions dealing with have kept UN forces in the area
regional economic problems, since 1974, the year that China – Soviet premier Khrushchev speaking to the
human rights abuses, long refused membership General Assembly in 1960
population, narcotics, and
women’s rights. It also works
with the Inter national Labor Works of Art at the UN
Organization, the World Health
Organization, UNICEF, and other The UN Building has acquired numerous works of art and
global welfare organizations. reproductions by major artists; many have been gifts from member
nations. Most of them have either a peace or inter national friendship
theme. The legend on
Secretariat Norman Rockwell’s The
Golden Rule reads “Do unto
An international staff of 16,000 others as you would have
works for the Secretariat to carry them do unto you.” Marc
out the day-to-day work of the Chagall designed a large
United Nations. The Secretariat stained-glass window as
is headed by the Secretary a memorial to former
General, who plays a key role as Secretary General Dag
a spokesperson in the organiza- Hammarskjöld, who was
tion’s peace-keeping efforts. The accidentally killed while on a
Secretary General is appointed peace mission in 1961. There
by the General Assembly for is a Henry Moore sculpture
a five-year term. António Guterres in the grounds (limited
of Portugal was elected Secretary access) and many other
General in 2016, replacing Ban sculptures and paintings by The Golden Rule (1985), a large mosaic by
Ki-moon, who stepped down at the artists of many nations. Norman Rockwell
the end of the year.




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r The Morgan Library & Museum

The Morgan Library’s collection, accumulated by
banker Pierpont Morgan, is housed in a magnificent
palazzo-style 1906 building by architects McKim,
Mead & White. Morgan’s son, J. P. Morgan, Jr., made
it a public institution in 1924. One of the world’s finest
collections of rare manuscripts, drawings, prints,
books, and bindings is on display in a complex that
also includes the Annex building, completed in 1928,
and the brownstone home of J. P. Morgan, Jr.
Exterior of the original library building
The Song of Los (1795)
Mystic poet William Blake
designed and engraved this
plate for one of his most
innovative works.















The J. P. Morgan Jr. House
Main entrance by
Renzo Piano







Morgan
Stanley
Gallery West

Key
Gutenberg Bible (1455) Exhibition space
This volume is one of only 11 surviving
copies; the Morgan Library holds three Non-exhibition space
in total.



Mozart’s Horn Concerto
in E-flat Major
The six surviving leaves
of this score are written
in different-colored inks.




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Library Guide VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Mr. Morgan’s Study and the
original library contain some Practical Information
of his favorite paintings, objets 225 Madison Ave.
d’art and rare acquisitions. Map 9 A2.
Changing exhibitions feature Tel (212) 685-0008.
a wide variety of impressive Open 10:30am–5pm Tue–Thu,
10:30am–9pm Fri, 10am–6pm Sat,
cultural artifacts.
11am–6pm Sun. Closed Mon,
Jan 1, Thanksgiving, Dec 25. &
. Mr. Morgan’s Study free 7–9pm Fri. ^ 7 8 - =
Renaissance art and an ∑ themorgan.org
antique, Florentine wooden
ceiling adorn this room. Transport
q 6 to 33rd St; 4, 5, 6, 7, S to
Grand Central Terminal; B, D, F, V to
First floor 42nd St. @ M1–5, and M16, M34
crosstown.














. Mr. Morgan’s Library
The walls are lined from
floor to ceiling with triple
tiers of bookcases. Murals
show historical figures
and their muses, and
signs of the zodiac.

. The Rotunda
Clare Eddy The entrance foyer of The
Thaw Gallery Morgan Library has marble
columns and pilasters; the
marble floor is modeled
Morgan Stanley on the floor in Villa Pia in
Gallery East the Vatican gardens.


The Nursery Alice Pierpont Morgan
Lewis Carroll’s
characters are Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) was
immortalized not only a leading financier but
in Sir John also one of the great collectors of
Tenniel’s his time. Rare books and original
classic illus- manuscripts were his passion,
trations and inclusion in his collection
(c.1865). was an honor. In 1909, when
Morgan requested the donation
of the manuscript of Pudd’nhead
Wilson, Mark Twain responded,
“One of my high ambitions is gratified.”





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AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS WEST 57TH ST GRAND Fifth Ave- E A S T 4.5.6 6 0 T H Lexington Ave-
CENTRAL PARK S
ARMY
59th St
N.Q.R
PLAZA
57th St
F I F T H A V E N U E P A R K A V E N U E E A S T E A S T 5 8 T H S T R E E T
F
59th St
59th St
N.Q.R

WEST 55TH ST
M A D I S O N A V E N U E
S T R E E T
WEST 54TH ST
E A S T
Fifth Ave-
WEST 53RD ST
53rd St
E.M
SWING STREET
5 9 T H
C O N D A V E N U E
E A S T
Lexington Ave-
51st St D A V E N U E 5 7 T H S T R E E T
53rd St

AERIAL TRAMWAY
E.M
E A S T
5 5 T H
EAS T
49T H L E X I N G T O N AV E N U E 5 4 T H S T R E E T SUTTON PL Queensboro Bridge
E A S T 5 6 T H S T R E E T
E A S T
EAS T
48T H STREET 6 T H I R E A S T S T R E E T e l ROAD
E A S T 5 3 R D R S T A V E N U E SUTTON PLACE S n n

S T R E E T
5 2 N D a
STREET
S E S T R E E T h WEST
5 1 S T C
E A S T S T R E E T ROOSEVELT

E A S T 5 0 T H S T R E E T ISLAND
I

F
S T R E E T
E A S T
4 9 T H FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT DR (E RIVER DR)
t
s

4 8 T H
S T R E E T W e ROAD
S T R E E T WEST ROAD EAST
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NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA  163

UPPER MIDTOWN

Upscale New York in all its diversity is here, in originated and, in 1934, the Bloody Mary was
this district of churches and synagogues, clubs first served at the King Cole Bar in the St. Regis
and museums, grand hotels and famous stores, Hotel. In the 1950s, architectural history was
and trendsetting skyscrapers. Upper Midtown made when the Lever and Seagram buildings
was once home to society names, such as Astor were erected. The Museum of Modern Art
and Vanderbilt. The Waldorf Astoria Hotel, (MoMA), one of the greatest art galleries in
completed in 1931, is where the Waldorf salad the world, stands here.

Sights at a Glance
Historic Streets Modern Architecture Churches and Synagogues
and Buildings 3 IBM Building 4 St. Thomas Church
1 Fifth Avenue w Lever House 7 St. Patrick’s Cathedral pp174–5
8 Villard Houses e Seagram Building 9 St. Bartholomew’s Church
0 General Electric Building r Citigroup Center t Central Synagogue
y Sutton Place Museums and Galleries Landmark Hotels
u Roosevelt Island 5 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) q Waldorf-Astoria
p Fuller Building
pp168–71 a Plaza Hotel
6 Paley Center for Media Landmark Stores
2 Tiffany & Co.
AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS WEST 57TH ST GRAND Fifth Ave- E A S T 4.5.6 6 0 T H Lexington Ave- Parks and Squares 500
o Bloomingdale’s
CENTRAL PARK S
ARMY
59th St
N.Q.R
PLAZA
i Franklin D. Roosevelt
57th St
F I F T H A V E N U E P A R K A V E N U E E A S T E A S T 5 8 T H 0 yards S T R E E T 500
F
Four Freedoms Park
59th St
59th St
N.Q.R
0 meters

WEST 55TH ST
M A D I S O N A V E N U E
S T R E E T
WEST 54TH ST
E A S T
Fifth Ave-
WEST 53RD ST
53rd St
E.M
SWING STREET
5 9 T H


C O N D A V E N U E
E A S T
Lexington Ave-
51st St D A V E N U E 5 7 T H S T R E E T
53rd St

AERIAL TRAMWAY
E.M
E A S T
5 5 T H
EAST
49TH L E X I N G T O N AV E N U E 5 4 T H S T R E E T SUTTON PL Queensboro Bridge
E A S T 5 6 T H S T R E E T
E A S T
EAST
48TH S T REET 6 T H I R E A S T S T R E E T e l ROAD
E A S T 5 3 R D R S T A V E N U E SUTTON PLACE S n n

S T R E E T
5 2 N D a
S T REET
S E S T R E E T h WEST
5 1 S T C
E A S T S T R E E T ROOSEVELT

E A S T 5 0 T H S T R E E T ISLAND
I

F
S T R E E T
E A S T
4 9 T H FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT DR (E RIVER DR)
t
s

4 8 T H
S T R E E T W e ROAD
S T R E E T WEST ROAD EAST
Restaurants see pp299–302
1 Aquavit
2 BLT Steak
3 Dawat
4 Felidia
5 Four Seasons
6 La Grenouille
7 Pampano
8 Rue 57
9 Shun Lee Palace
10 Smith & Wollensky See also Street Finder maps 12, 13, 14
Beautiful stained-glass windows inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral For keys to symbols see back flap
162-163_EW_New_York_City.indd 163 4/3/17 11:41 AM

164  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

Street by Street: Upper Midtown

The luxury stores that are
synonymous with Fifth Avenue
first blossomed as society
moved on uptown. In 1917,
Cartier acquired the mansion The University Club
of banker Morton F. Plant, was built in 1899 as
supposedly in exchange for a 1 Fifth Avenue an elite club for
string of pearls, setting the Carriage rides have been replaced gentlemen.
style for other retailers to with rickshaws and iconic yellow
taxis, offering tourists more
follow. But this stretch of leisurely ways to view some
Midtown is not simply for of the main sights.
shoppers. There are some
distinctive museums and a
diverse assembly of archi­
tectural styles to enjoy, too.


4 St. Thomas Church
Much of the interior carving
was designed by sculptor
Lee Lawrie. A V E N U E

5. Museum
of Modern Art
One of the
world’s finest
collections of
modern art. E 5 3 R D S T




6 Paley Center
for Media
Exhibitions, seasons of F I F T H
special screenings, live Fifth Avenue
events, and a vast library subway
of historic broadcasts (lines E, V)
are offered at this
media museum.
Saks Fifth Avenue
has offered goods in E 5 1 S T S T
impeccable taste to
generations of New
Yorkers (see p313).
7. St. Patrick’s
Cathedral
This, one of the largest
Catholic cathedrals in
the United States, is a Olympic Tower
magnificent Gothic combines offices,
Revival building. apartments and a
skylit atrium within
its sleek walls.
8 Villard Houses
Five handsome brownstone
houses now form part of the
Lotte New York Palace Hotel.




164-165_EW_New_York_City.indd 164 4/3/17 11:11 AM

UPPER MID T OWN  165


Trump Tower is CENTRAL
UPPER
Donald Trump’s PARK EAST SIDE
Paley Park signature tower
is a tiny and contains
green oasis, luxury residences. UPPER
known as MIDTOWN
a “vest- Roosevelt I.
pocket” park. LOWER
East River
MIDTOWN
Locator Map
See map pp16–17
3 IBM Building
A peaceful atrium is found
at the base of this polished Key
black granite building.
Suggested route
Sony Building has a very
distinctive “Chippendale” top.
0 meters 100
0 yards 100
2Tiffany & Co.
w Lever House Renowned for its discreet
This building is one of luxury, this iconic store
A V E N U E “glass-box” buildings contains many precious
the most prominent
jewels (see p322).
in New York.
A V E N U E




E 5 3 R D S T
M A D I S O N Park Avenue Plaza is a

bulky glass prism containing
an airy atrium.
F I F T H Racquet and Tennis Club, a Renaissance 0 General Electric Building
The spiky pinnacle of
this building, built in 1931,
palazzo–style building, provides squash is meant to symbolize
electrical waves.
and tennis courts for its members.
A V E N U E 9 St. Bartholomew’s
Church
A Byzantine dome sets this
place apart from other
E 5 1 S T S T
Midtown churches.
P A R K





51st Street
subway (line 6)
q Waldorf-Astoria
Old-world elegance has attracted
many famous guests to this hotel,
from movie stars to heads of state.




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166  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

2 Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany’s: 727 5th Ave. Map 12 F3.
Tel (212) 755-8000. q 5th Ave-53rd
St, 5th Ave-59th St. Open 10am–7pm
Mon–Sat, noon–6pm Sun.
∑ tiffany.com.
Immortalized by Truman
Capote in his famous 1958
novel Breakfast at Tiffany’s,
this prestigious jewelery store
was founded in 1837 and
remains a must-see for both
fans of the book and film buffs.
A bright window display at With weathered wood and
Bergdorf Goodman green marble interiors, the
Art Deco store is still best
1 Fifth Avenue described by Capote’s fictional
Holly Golightly: “It calms me
Map 12 F3–F4. q 5th Ave-53rd St,
5th Ave-59th St. down right away . . . nothing
very bad could happen to you
In 1883, when William Henry there.” A bronze figure of Atlas
Vanderbilt built his mansion at holds a clock on his shoulders Entrance to Tiffany & Co., the exclusive
Fifth Avenue and 51st Street, he above the doorway. jewelry emporium
started a trend that resulted in Next door stands Trump
palatial residences stretching as Tower, a flam boyant monument
far as Central Park, built for to affluence by businessman 3 IBM Building
wealthy families such as the turned US President, Donald 590 Madison Ave. Map 12 F3.
Astors, Belmonts, and Goulds. Trump. Built in 1983, the tower q 5th Ave. Garden Plaza
Only a few remain to attest to is the head quarters of the Open 8am–10pm daily. 7
the grandeur of the era. Trump Organization and
One of these is the Cartier includes a lavish apartment Completed in 1983, this 43-story
store at 651 Fifth Avenue, once for the Trump family. There is tower was designed by Edward
the home of Morton F. Plant, an impressive 80-ft- (24-m-) Larrabee Barnes. It is a sleek,
millionaire and commodore high indoor waterfall inside, five-sided prism of gray-green
of the New York Yacht Club. while the exterior is lined polished granite, with a
As retailers swept north up the with hanging gardens. cantilevered corner at 57th
avenue – a trend that Street. The Garden
began in 1906 – Plaza, with its
society gradually bamboo trees, is
moved uptown. In open to the public
1917, Plant moved to and has been
a mansion at 86th redubbed “The
Street, and legend Sculpture Garden.”
has it that he traded Eight new works,
his old home to which change four
Pierre Cartier for a times a year, are on
perfectly matched view at any one time.
string of pearls. Near the atrium is a
Fifth Avenue has work by American
been synonymous sculptor Michael
with luxury goods Heizer, entitled
ever since. From Levitated Mass. Inside
Cartier at 52nd Street a low, stainless-steel
to Henri Bendel at tank is a huge slab
56th and Tiffany and of granite that seems
Bergdorf Goodman to float on air.
at 57–58th, you will On the corner
find many brands of 57th Street and
symbolizing wealth Madison Avenue
and social standing is Saurien, a bright-
today, just as Astor orange abstract
and Vanderbilt did sculpture by
over a century ago. Interior of the Trump Tower atrium Alexander Calder.




166-167_EW_New_York_City.indd 166 4/3/17 11:41 AM

UPPER MID T OWN  167

4 St. Thomas
Church
1 W 53rd St. Map 12 F4. Tel (212)
757-7013. q 5th Ave-53rd St.
Open 7:30am–6:30pm Mon–Fri,
times vary on Sat, 7am–6pm Sun
(Sep–May; till 1pm in summer).
5 8am, 12:10pm & 5:30pm Mon–Fri,
12:10pm Sat, 8am, 9am & 11am Sun.
^ 7 8 after 11am service &
concerts. ∑ saintthomaschurch.org
This is the fourth home for this
parish and the second on this site.
Today’s church was built between
1909 and 1914 to replace an earlier
structure destroyed in a fire in
1905. The previous building had
provided the setting for many
high-society weddings of the late
19th century. The most lavish of
these was in 1895, when heiress The Beatles’ Paul, Ringo, and John on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964
Consuelo Vanderbilt married the
English Duke of Marlborough. making his television debut. William S. Paley, a former head of
The limestone building, in Sports enthusiasts can relive classic the CBS TV network. It opened
French-Gothic style, has a single Olympic moments. World War II in 1975 as the Museum of Broad-
asymmetrical tower and an off- footage might be chosen by casting on East 53rd Street. It was
center nave, novel solu tions to the students of history.Six choices at so popular that, in 1991, it moved
architectural problems posed by any one time can be selected from to this hi-tech $50 million home.
its corner position. The richly a computer catalog that covers
carved, shimmering white screens a library of over 50,000 programs.
behind the altar were designed by The selections are then played in 7 St. Patrick’s
architect Bertram Goodhue and small private areas. There are larger Cathedral
sculptor Lee Lawrie. Carvings in the screening sections and a theater
choir stalls, dating from the 1920s, for 200, where retro spectives See pp174–5.
include modern inventions such of artists and directors are
as the telephone, plus presidents shown. There are also
Roosevelt and Wilson, and photo exhibits and
Lee Lawrie himself. memorabilia.
The museum was
5 Museum of the brain child of
Modern Art
See pp168–71.


6 Paley Center
for Media
25 W 52nd St. Map 12 F4. Tel (212)
621-6600. q 5th Ave-53rd St.
Open noon–6pm Wed–Sun (to 8pm
Thu). Closed public hols. & ^ 7
8 = ∑ paleycenter.org
In this one-of-a-kind repository
museum, visitors can watch
and listen to a collection of
entertainment and sports
documentaries from radio and
television’s earliest days to the
present. Pop fans can see the early
Beatles or a young Elvis Presley Watch 1960s television star Lucille Ball at the Paley Center for Media




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168  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

5 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

MoMA contains one of the world’s most
comprehensive collections of modern art.
Founded in 1929, it set the standard for museums
of its kind. Following an expansion program,
MoMA in Midtown reopened in 2004. The building
provides gallery space over six floors. Stretches
of glass allow abundant natural light both to
penetrate inside the building and to bathe the
sculpture garden. A major expansion project
unveiled in 2014 should be complete by 2019.
Museum facade on 54th Street Fourth floor

Gallery Guide
The sculpture garden is on the first floor and
contemporary art, print, and media galleries are
on the second floor. Painting and sculpture are
exhibited on the second, fourth, and fifth floors
while architecture and design, photography, and
drawings are all on the third floor. Changing
exhibitions are displayed on the third and sixth
floors. Films are shown on the lower level.
Christina’s World (1948)
Andrew Wyeth contrasts an
overwhelming horizon with the
minutely studied surroundings
of his disabled neighbor.
Third floor




Second
floor







Sculpture Garden
The Abby A. Rockefeller Sculpture
Garden has a peaceful atmosphere. First floor












Main
entrance






168-169_EW_New_York_City.indd 168 4/3/17 11:41 AM

MUSEUM OF MODERN AR T  169


VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Sixth
floor Practical Information
11 West 53rd St btw Fifth Ave
& Ave of the Americas.
Map 12 F4.
Tel (212) 708-9400.
Open 10:30am–5:30pm daily
(8:30pm Thu & 8pm Fri).
Fifth Closed Thanks giving, Dec 25. 9
floor 8 groups. & free 4–8pm Fri.
7 = - 0 ∑ moma.org
Transport
q 5th Ave-53rd St. @ M1–5,
Fourth floor
M50, Q32.










Anna Zborowska (1917)
The sitter’s elongated,
mask-like face is
typical of Amedeo
Modigliani’s style.
Water Lilies (c.1914–26)
Claude Monet’s late triptych is a vast artwork
that creates a glowing, serene environment.





. Les Demoiselles
d’Avignon
Anticipating Cubism, this
portrait of five prostitutes,
which Picasso painted
in 1907, was seen as
revolutionary at the time.

Key
Sculpture Garden
Contemporary Art
Media
Prints and Illustrated books
Architecture and Design
Drawings
. Portrait Joseph Roulin (1889)
Vincent Van Gogh considered Photography
this painting of his friend Paintings and Sculpture
Joseph Roulin, a postman, to Special exhibitions
be a “modern portrait” that
used color to best represent Non-exhibition space
the sitter. Non-accessible space




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170  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

Exploring the Collection

The Museum of Modern Art has almost 200,000 works of art Other notable works include
by more than 18,000 artists, ranging from Post-Impressionist Jasper Johns’ Flag, Robert
classics to an unrivaled collection of modern and contemporary Rauschen berg’s First Landing
art, as well as fine examples of design and early masterpieces Jump, composed of urban
refuse, and Bed, which consists of
of photography and film. bed linen. The Pop Art collection
includes Roy Lichtenstein’s Girl
included in a strong with Ball and Drowning Girl, Andy
representation of Warhol’s famous Gold Marilyn
El Lissitzky, Monroe, and Claes Oldenburg’s
Malevich, and Rod- Giant Soft Fan.
chenko: De Stijl’s Works after about 1965 include
influence is seen pieces by Judd, Flavin, Serra, and
in paintings by Beuys, among many others.
Piet Mondrian,
such as Broadway
Boogie Woogie.
There is a large
The Persistence of Memory by the Surrealist body of work by
Salvador Dalí (1931) Matisse, such as
Dance (I) and
Red Studio. Dalí, Miró, and
1880s to 1940s Ernst feature among the
Painting and Sculpture bizarre, strangely beautiful
Paul Cézanne’s monumental Surrealist works.
The Bather and Vincent van
Gogh’s Portrait of Joseph Roulin
are two of the seminal works Postwar Painting
and Sculpture
in the museum’s collection of
late 19th-century painting. Both The extensive collection of
Fauvism and Expressionism are postwar art includes works by Man with a Hat by Pablo Picasso (1912),
well represented with works by Bacon and Dubuffet, and has a collage with charcoal
Matisse, Derain, Kirchner, and a particularly strong represent-
others, while Pablo Picasso’s ation of American artists. Drawings and Other
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon marks The collection of Abstract
a transition to the Cubist style Expressionist art, for example, Works on Paper
of painting. includes Jackson Pollock’s One More than 7,000 artworks
The collection also has an [Number 31, 1950], Willem de ranging in size from tiny
unparalleled number of Cubist Kooning’s Women, I, Arshile preparatory pieces to large
paintings, providing an Gorky’s Agony, and Red, Brown, mural-sized works are among
overview of a movement and Black by Mark Rothko. MoMA’s holdings. Many
that radically challenged drawings use conven tional
our perception of the materials, such as pencil,
world. Among the vast charcoal, pen and ink,
range are Picasso’s pastel, and watercolor.
Girl with a Mandolin, However, there are also
Georges Braque’s Man collages and mixed-media
with a Guitar and Soda, works composed of paper
and Guitar and Glasses ephemera, natural products,
by Juan Gris. Works by and man-made goods.
the Futurists, who The collection provides
brought color and an overview of Modernism,
movement to Cubism from the late 19th century
to depict the dynamic to the present day, including
modern world, include movements such as Cubism,
Dynamism of a Soccer Dadaism, and Surrealism.
Player by Umberto Drawings by famous and
Boccioni, plus works well-established artists, such
by Balla, Carrà, and as Picasso, Miró, and Johns, are
Jacques Villon. The exhibited alongside a growing
geometric abstract art The Bather, an oil painting by French Impressionist number of works by talented
of the Constructivists is Paul Cézanne emerging artists.




170-171_EW_New_York_City.indd 170 4/3/17 11:41 AM

MUSEUM OF MODERN AR T  171


Film Department
With a collection of over 22,000
films and four million stills, the
collection offers a wide range
of programs, including
retrospectives of individual
directors and actors, films
in specific genres, and
American Indian Theme II by Roy experimental work, as well as
Lichtenstein (1980) a broad range of other
exhibitions. Film conservation is
a key part of the department’s
Prints and work and many of today’s top
Illustrated Books directors have donated copies Film still of Charlie Chaplin and Jackie
All significant art movements of their films to help fund it. Coogan in The Kid (1921)
from the 1880s onward are
represented in this extensive
collection, which provides a Architecture
fascinating overview of printed
art. With more than 50,000 and Design
items in the department’s The Museum
holdings, there are wide- of Modern Art
ranging examples of historical was the first
and contemporary printmaking. art museum to
Works created using traditional include utilitarian
media such as etchings, objects in its
lithographic prints, screen prints, collection. These
and woodcuts are displayed range from
alongside pieces created by Sunday on the Banks of the Marne, photographed by Henri such household
more experi mental techniques. Cartier-Bresson in 1939 appliances as
There are some particularly stereo equipment,
fine examples of works by practitioners, most notably furniture, lighting, textiles, and
Andy Warhol, who is widely Friedlander, Cindy Sherman, glassware to industrial ball
considered to be the most and Nicholas Nixon. bearings and silicon chips.
important print maker of the The photographers have Architecture is represented
20th century. There are also covered an extensive variety in the collection through
many illustrations and prints of subject matter in both colour photographs, scale models,
by other artists including and black and white: delicate and drawings of buildings
Redon, Munch, Matisse, landscapes, scenes of urban that have been or might have
Dubuffet, Johns, Lichtenstein, desolation, abstract imagery, been built.
Freud, and Picasso. and stylish portraiture, including Graphic design is shown
some beautiful silver-gelatin in typography and posters.
print nudes by the French Larger exhibits that look as
Photography
Surrealist Man Ray. Together, if they belong in a museum
The photography collection they form a complete history of transportation include a
begins with the invention of of photographic art and Willys-Overland Jeep and
the medium around 1840. represent one of the finest the Bell helicopter, which
It includes pictures by fine collections in existence. dates from 1945.
artists, journalists, scientists,
and entrepreneurs, as well
as amateur photographers.
Among the highlights
of the collection are
some of the best-
known works by
American and
European photo-
graphers including Atget,
Stieglitz, Lange, Arbus,
Steichen, Cartier-Bresson,
and Kertesz. There is also a
range of contemporary Reclining rocking chair of steam-bent beech and cane by Gebrüder Thonet (c.1880)




170-171_EW_New_York_City.indd 171 4/3/17 11:41 AM

172  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA


8 Villard Houses 0 General Electric
Building
457 Madison Ave (Lotte New York
Palace). Map 13 A4. Tel (800) NY 570 Lexington Ave. Map 13 A4. q
PALACE. q 51st St. Lexington Ave. Closed to the public.
∑ lottenypalace.com
Henry Villard was a Bavarian In 1931 architects Cross & Cross
immigrant who became were commissioned to design a
publisher of the New York skyscraper that would be in
Evening Post, and was one of the keeping with its neighbor,
first presidents of the Northern St. Bartholomew’s
Pacific Railroad. In 1881, he Church. Not an
bought the land opposite easy task, but
St. Patrick’s Cathedral and hired the result won
McKim, Mead & White to design acclaim. The
town houses on the site. The colors were
inspired result, completed in chosen to blend
1884, has six four-story houses St. Bartholomew’s Church and contrast,
set round a central court and the design
opening to the street and 9 St. Bartholomew’s of the tower
the church. The interiors were Church complemented
designed by the sculptor the church’s
Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Soon 109 E 50th St. Map 13 A4. Tel (212) polychrome
after completion, financial 378-0222. q 51st St. Open 9am– dome.
6pm daily (to 7:30pm Thu &
difficulties forced Villard to sell, 8:30pm Sun). 5 frequent. 7
and ownership passed to the lectures, concerts. = 8 after 11am
Roman Catholic archdiocese. Sunday services. 0 (212) 888-2664.
When the church outgrew its ∑ stbarts.org
space in the 1970s, the houses
were saved by the Helmsley Known fondly to New Yorkers
chain, who purchased air rights as “St. Bart’s,” this Byzantine
for the 51-story Helmsley (now structure with its ornate detail,
Lotte New York) Palace Hotel. pinkish brick, open terrace, and
The hotel was built in 1980 to a a polychromed gold dome
design by Emery Roth & Sons, brought color and variety
and the building was later to Park Avenue in 1919.
restored in 2003. After a stint of Architect Bertram Goodhue
ownership by the Sultan of incorporated into the design
Brunei, the property was bought the Romanesque entrance
out by South Korea’s Lotte Hotels portico created by Stanford
& Resorts, at $805 million, in 2015. White for the original 1903
The upper section of the lobby St. Bartholomew’s on Madison
has a red Verona marble fireplace, Avenue, and marble columns The General Electric Building on
with carvings that represent from the earlier church were Lexington Avenue
hospitality, joy, and moderation. used in the chapel.
Dolphins sit on either side as St. Bartholomew’s program View the pair from the corner
fountains. Saint-Gaudens also of concerts is well known, of Park and 50th to see how
designed a zodiac as is its theater well it works. The General
clock, which can group, which Electric is no mere backdrop to
be viewed by mounts three the church, but a work of art in
the ornate productions in its own right and a favorite part
marble the church of the city skyline. It is an Art
staircase. each year. Deco gem from its chrome and
marble lobby to its spiky “radio
waves” crown.
Walk one block north on
Lexington Avenue to find a place
much cherished by movie fans.
It is right at this spot that Marilyn
Monroe, in a billowing white
frock, stood so memorably in
the breeze from the Lexington
Avenue subway grating in the
Villard Houses, now the entrance to the Lotte New York Palace movie The Seven-Year Itch.




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UPPER MID T OWN  173


q Waldorf-Astoria many Modernist buildings
of the 1950s, consists of two
301 Park Ave. Map 13 A5. Tel (212)
355-3000. q Lexington Ave, 53rd St. rectangles of bronze and glass
See Where to Stay p289. that let the light pour in.
∑ waldorfnewyork.com Between 1959 and 2016,
the exclusive Four Seasons
This Art Deco classic, which Restaurant was here, a landmark
covers an entire city block, was in its own right. Designer Philip
designed by Schultze & Weaver Johnson created a remark able
in 1931. The original Hotel at space, with the centerpiece of
34th Street was demolished to one room a pool, and another
make way for the Empire State a bar topped by a quivering
Building. Still deservedly one Richard Lippold sculpture.
of New York’s most prestigious
hotels, the Waldorf-Astoria
serves, too, as a reminder of
a more glamorous era in the Lever House on Park Avenue
city’s history. The 625-ft (190-m)
twin towers, where General stacked to stand tall above it,
MacArthur, Cole Porter, Frank to allow light in from every side.
Sinatra, and Marilyn Monroe The crisp, bright design was
lived, have hosted numerous in tended to symbolize the
celebrities, including every Lever Brothers’ products –
US president since 1931. The they were known for soap
giant lobby clock, executed production and, in 1930, Lever
for the Chicago World’s Fair merged to form Unilever.
of 1893, is from the original Revolutionary though it was
hotel, and the piano in the in 1952, Lever House is now
Peacock Alley cocktail lounge dwarfed by its many imitators, Office workers at lunch in the spacious
belonged to Cole Porter when but its importance as an Citigroup Center atrium
he was a resident. architectural pacesetter remains
undiminished. The Casa Lever r Citigroup Center
restaurant is a VIP scene.
153 E 53rd St. Map 13 A4. q 53rd St-
Lexington Ave. Open 7am–11pm
e Seagram daily. 0 = St. Peter’s Lutheran
Church 619 Lexington Ave. Tel (212)
Building 935-2200. Open 9am–9pm daily.
5 12:15pm Mon–Fri, 6pm Wed,
375 Park Ave. Map 13 A4. 8:45am & 11am Sun. Jazz vespers 5pm
q 5th Ave-53rd St. Sun. Concerts noon Wed. York Theater
Open 9am–5pm Mon–Fri. at St. Peter’s; Tel (212) 935-5820.
∑ saintpeters.org
Winston Churchill and New York Samuel Bronfman, the late
philanthropist Grover Whalen at the head of Seagram distillers, was An aluminum-clad tower
Waldorf-Astoria in 1946 prepared to put up an ordinary built on ten-story stilts and
commercial building until his with a 45-degree angled roof,
architect daughter, Phyllis the Citigroup Center caused a
w Lever House Lambert, intervened and sensation when it was com-
persuaded him to go to the pleted in 1978. The slanting
390 Park Ave. Map 13 A4.
q 5th Ave-53rd St. Lobby and best – Mies van der Rohe. top never functioned as a solar
building: Closed to the public. 0 The result, which is widely panel as intended, but it is an
considered the finest of the unmistakable landmark on
Imagine a Park Avenue lined the skyline.
with sturdy, residential buildings The unusual base design
– and then imagine the sensation accommodates St. Peter’s
when they were suddenly Lutheran Church, which sits
reflected here in the first of the underneath the northwest
city’s glass-walled skyscrapers, corner of the building. Step
one of the most influential inside to see the striking interior
buildings of the modern era. The and the Erol Beker Chapel by
design, by Skidmore, Owings & sculptor Louise Nevelson. The
Merrill, is simply two rectangular church is well-known for its
slabs of stainless steel and glass, The elegant Pool Room in the organ concerts, jazz vespers,
one laid horizontally, the other Seagram Building and theater presentations.




172-173_EW_New_York_City.indd 173 4/3/17 11:41 AM

174  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

7 St. Patrick’s Cathedral . Lady Chapel
This chapel honors
The Roman Catholic Church originally intended the Blessed Virgin. The
this site for use as a cemetery, but in 1850 stained-glass windows
Archbishop John Hughes decided to build a portray the mysteries of
the rosary.
cathedral instead. Many thought that it was
foolish to build so far beyond the (then) city
limits, but Hughes went ahead anyway. The
result was New York’s finest Gothic Revival
build ing, and one of the largest Catholic
cathe drals in the US. The cathedral, which
seats 2,500 people, was com pleted in 1878,
though the spires were added between
1885 and 1888.


Pietà
American
sculptor William
O. Partridge
created this
Pietà in 1906.
The statue
stands at the
side of the
Lady Chapel.








The cathedral’s Fifth
Avenue facade




















. Baldachin
The great baldachin rising
over the high altar is made Stations of the Cross
entirely of bronze. Statues Carved of Caen stone in Holland,
of the saints and prophets these reliefs won first prize in the
adorn the four piers field of religious art at the Chicago
supporting the canopy. World’s Fair in 1893.




174-175_EW_New_York_City.indd 174 4/3/17 11:41 AM

UPPER MID T OWN  175

Saint Elizabeth Ann VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Seton Shrine
The bronze statue and Practical Information
screen depict the life of 5th Ave and 50th St.
the first American to be Map 12 F4.
canonized a saint. She Tel (212) 753-2261.
founded the Sisters of Open 6:30am–8:45pm daily.
Charity (see p77).
5 frequent Mon–Sat; 7am, 8am,
9am, 10:15am & noon, 1pm, 4pm
(in Spanish) & 5:30pm Sun. 7 =
Concerts, recitals, lectures.
∑ saintpatrickscathedral.org
Transport
q 6 to 51st St; E, V to Fifth Ave.
@ M1–5, M50, Q32.

. Great Organ and
Rose Window
Measuring 26 ft (8 m) in diameter,
the rose window shines above the
great organ, which has more than
7,000 pipes.

























. Great Bronze Doors
The massive doors weigh 20,000 lb
(9,000 kg) and are adorned with
important religious figures.



KEY
1 The cathedral’s exterior wall is
built of white marble. The spires rise
330 ft (101 m) above
the pavement.
Main entrance 2 Crypt
3 Lady of Guadalupe





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176  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

t Central The stenciled interior is a colorful “horseshoe” arches
Banded
Synagogue mix of red, blue, ocher, and gilt and are typical of
was inspired by Victorian prints of
the Alhambra, the celebrated Hispano-
652 Lexington Ave. Map 13 A4. Moorish palace in Mooresque
Tel (212) 838–5122. q Lexington Granada, Spain. design.
Ave-53rd St. Open noon–2pm
Tue & Wed. 8 12:45pm Wed. 7
u 6pm Fri, also 9:30am Sat (Jul &
Aug), 10.30am Sat (Sep–Jun).
∑ centralsynagogue.org
This is New York’s
oldest building in
continuous use as a
synagogue. It was
designed in 1870 by
Silesian-born Henry
Fernbach, America’s
first prominent Jewish
architect. He also
designed some of
SoHo’s finest cast-iron
buildings. Restored
after a 1999 fire, the
Synagogue is
considered the city’s The ark holds the
best example of sacred scrolls of the
Moorish-Islamic Revival Jewish Holy Book,
The Torah.
architecture. The congreg-
ation was founded in 1846 as
Ahawath Chesed (Love of Mercy) The twin towers represent the two
by 18 immigrants, most columns that stood outside Solomon’s
of them from Bohemia, The facade is Temple. The domed minarets, which
an understated
on Ludlow Street on Moorish design rise 122 ft (37 m), are onion-shaped
the Lower East Side. in local brownstone. and made of green, patinated copper.
y Sutton Place noted architects. The arrival of for a glimpse of Riverview
New York society in the 1920s Terrace, a private street of
Map 13 C3. q 59th St, 51st St.
@ M15, M31, M57. transformed an area that had five ivy-covered brownstones
once been the province of fronting on the river. The tiny
Sutton Place is a posh, pleasant factories and tenements. Three parks at the end of 55th Street
neighborhood devoid of busy Sutton Square is the residence and jutting out at 57th Street
traffic, and made up of elegant of the secretary-general of the offer views of the river and the
low-rise apartment houses and United Nations. Look beyond Queensboro Bridge.
town houses designed by Sutton Square and 59th Street The Ed Koch Queensboro
Bridge, to give it its official
title, was named after the late
mayor. It was completed in
1909, and connected Queens
with Manhattan via Roosevelt
Island. A popular icon today, it
has featured in movies such as
Woody Allen’s Manhattan.

u Roosevelt Island
Map 14 D2. q 59th St. Tram,
Roosevelt Island station (F).
∑ rioc.com
An often overlooked corner
of New York, Roosevelt Island
sits in the middle of the East
Park at Sutton Place, looking toward Queensboro Bridge and Roosevelt Island River, and has around 13,000




176-177_EW_New_York_City.indd 176 4/3/17 11:11 AM

UPPER MID T OWN  177


inhabitants. It was known as Building on Fifth Avenue (see p123).
Minnahannock by the local The Fuller Building is a hive of
Native Americans, until owner- exclusive art galleries, most
ship passed on to the English of which are open to the public
farmer, Robert Blackwell, in 1686. on weekdays.
Although it became known as
Welfare Island in 1921, much of
the island was deserted and
forgotten by the 1950s. It was Bloomingdale’s, the popular
redeveloped in the 1970s, and department store
eventually became a popular
residential neighborhood. Today, o Bloomingdale’s
it boasts a breezy promenade 1000 3rd Ave. Map 13 A3.
with fabulous views of Midtown. Tel (212) 705-2000. q 59th St.
Since 1976, a Swiss cable car Open 10am–8:30pm Mon–Sat,
departing from Second Avenue 11am–7pm Sun. See Shopping p313.
at 60th Street, has offered a ∑ bloomingdales.com
quick, thrilling ride across the
river, with the F subway line For a while in the booming 1980s,
servicing the island. “Bloomies” was synonymous with
the good life. Founded by Joseph
and Lyman Bloomingdale in 1872,
i Franklin D. this famous department store French Renaissance-style facade of the
Roosevelt Four had a bargain-basement image Plaza Hotel
Freedoms Park until the 3rd Avenue El (elevated a Plaza Hotel
railway) was taken down in the
1 FDR Four Freedoms Park, Roosevelt 1960s. Then came the store’s 5th Ave & Central Park South.
Island. Map 14 D5. Tel (212) 204-8831. transformation to the epitome of Map 12 F3. q Fifth Ave-59th St.
q Roosevelt Island. Open Apr–Sep: trendy, sophisticated shopping. ∑ theplazany.com
9am–7pm Mon & Wed–Sun; Oct– But the late 1980s brought new
Mar: 9am–5pm Mon & Wed–Sun. ownership and eventual bank- The city’s grande dame of
∑ fdrfourfreedomspark.org ruptcy. While not as flashy as in the hotels was designed by Henry
past, Bloomingdale’s is open every J. Hardenbergh, known for
At the southern end of Roosevelt day and remains one of the city’s the Dakota (see p212) and
Island is the Franklin D. Roosevelt best-stocked stores. Downtown the original Waldorf-Astoria.
Four Freedoms Park, designed shoppers can head to the SoHo Completed in 1907 at the
by architect Louis Kahn in the location, at 504 Broadway. exorbitant cost of $12.5 million,
1970s but only completed in the Plaza was proclaimed “the
2012. With 120 linden trees lining best hotel in the world,” with
the park, the triangular expanse p Fuller Building 800 rooms, 500 baths, a two-
ends with a bronze portrait of the 41 E 57th St. Map 13 A3. James story ballroom, five marble
32nd president. Nearby, there Goodman Gallery. Tel (212) 593-3737. staircases, and 14- to 17-room
is an engraving of his “four Open 10am–5:30pm Mon–Fri. apartments for such families
freedoms” on slabs of granite. q 59th St. as the Vanderbilts and the
In a speech from 1941, these Goulds (see p51).
four tenets were described as This slim-towered black, gray, The 18-story cast-iron
the freedom of speech, freedom and white 1929 beauty by Walker structure resembles a French
of worship, freedom from & Gillette is a prime example of Renaissance château. Much
want, and freedom from fear. geometric Art Deco design. The of the interior decoration came
striking statues on either from Europe. The Palm Court
side of the clock above still has mirrored walls and
the entrance are by Elie Italian carvings of the four
Nadelman. Step inside seasons, and is a lovely place
to admire the for afternoon tea.
intricate Already lavishly restored by
mosaic tile its former owner Donald Trump,
floors; one the building underwent a
panel shows $400-million conversion in 2005,
the Fuller and is now a mix of apartments,
Company’s hotel condominiums, and a
former 282-room hotel. There are also
home in six floors of luxury retail and
the famous upscale dining, including a
The clock statues above the Fuller Building entrance Flatiron gourmet food hall.




176-177_EW_New_York_City.indd 177 4/3/17 11:11 AM

EAST
104TH ST
EAST
102ND ST
EAST
98TH ST
F I F T H A V E N U E EAST 95TH STREET 96th St
EAST 96TH ST
6
EAST 94TH STREET
EAST 93RD STREET
M A D I S O N A V E N U E 86th St EAST 90TH STREET
EAST 92ND STREET
E
EAST 91ST STREET
4.5.6 A V E N U E
U
N
E
T H I R D A V E N U E
A V

S E C O N D A V E N U E

( M U S E U M M I L E ) P A R K L E X I N G T O N EAST 83RD STREET EAST END AVENUE CARL


F I R S T A V E N U E


EAST 89TH STREET
Y O R K A V E N U E
EAST 88TH STREET
EAST 87TH STREET
EAST 86TH STREET
EAST 85TH STREET
EAST 84TH STREET
SCHURZ
EAST 78TH ST
PARK
EAST 77TH ST
E
EAST 82ND STREET
M A D I S O N A V E N U E
U
EAST 81ST STREET
N
F I F T H A V E N U E EAST 71ST STREET EAST 79TH STREET E a s t R i v e r
77th St
68th St- A V E N U E
E
EAST 80TH STREET
6
A V

S E C O N D A V E N U E


LEXINGTON AVENUE

E A S T 7 2 N D S T R E E T A V E N U E


EAST 76TH ST

EAST 75TH ST


EAST 73RD STREET

EAST 74TH STREET
K
R
T H I R D
Hunter College
F I R S T
P A EAST 70TH STREET
6
EAST 69TH STREET
Fifth Ave-59th St Lexington Ave- EAST 67TH STREET Y O R K A V E N U E
N.Q.R 63rd St
EAST 68TH STREET
F EAST 65TH STREET
EAST
EAST
EAST 66TH STREET
EAST 64TH STREET


EAST 62ND STREET
63RD
59th St
Lexington Ave- 60TH
EAST 61ST STREET
N.Q.R STREET STREET
178-179_EW_New_York_City.indd 178 4/3/17 11:11 AM

NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA  179
UPPER EAST SIDE


An enclave of New York’s upper class since the and Park avenues. Chic shops and galleries line
1890s, the area was once home to dynasties Madison Avenue. Farther east lies what is left of
such as the Astors, Rockefellers, and Whitneys. German and Hungarian Yorkville in the East 80s,
Many of their Beaux Arts mansions are now and little Bohemia, with its Czech population,
museums and embassies, such as the Met and below 78th Street. Although many of these
the buildings on Museum Mile, but the well-to- ethnic groups no longer occupy the area, their
do still occupy apartment buildings on Fifth churches, restaurants, and shops still remain.

Sights at a Glance
Historic Streets and Buildings Churches and Synagogues Restaurants see pp302–4
9 Park Avenue Armory 0 Temple Emanu-El 1 Beyoglu
t Gracie Mansion e Christ Church 2 Café Boulud
Museums and Galleries United Methodist 3 Café d’Alsace
1 Neue Galerie y Church of the Holy Trinity 4 Café Sabarsky
2 Jewish Museum u St. Nicholas Russian 5 Daniel
3 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Orthodox Cathedral 104TH ST 6 E.A.T.
EAST
Design Museum 7 Flex Mussels
EAST
4 Ukrainian Institute 102ND ST 8 Maya
5 Solomon R. Guggenheim 9 Penrose
Museum pp184–5 10 Sasabune
6 The Metropolitan Museum of Art 98TH ST 11 Sfoglia
EAST
pp186–93 12 Shanghai Pavilion
7 The Frick Collection pp196–7
8 Asia Society EAST 96TH ST
q Society of Illustrators F I F T H A V E N U E EAST 95TH STREET 96th St
6
w Mount Vernon Hotel Museum EAST 94TH STREET
and Garden EAST 93RD STREET
r The Met Breuer EAST 92ND STREET
i Museum of the City of EAST 91ST STREET
New York M A D I S O N A V E N U E 86th St EAST 90TH STREET 0 yards 500 500
0 meters
E
4.5.6 A V E N U E
U
N
E
T H I R D A V E N U E
A V

S E C O N D A V E N U E
( M U S E U M M I L E ) P A R K L E X I N G T O N EAST 83RD STREET EAS T END AVENUE



F I R S T A V E N U E


EAST 89TH STREET
Y O R K A V E N U E
EAST 88TH STREET
EAST 87TH STREET
EAST 86TH STREET
EAST 85TH STREET
EAST 84TH STREET
CARL
SCHURZ
EAST 78TH ST
PARK
EAST 77TH ST
E
EAST 82ND STREET
M A D I S O N A V E N U E
U
EAST 81ST STREET
F I F T H A V E N U E EAST 71ST STREET EAST 79TH STREET E a s t R i v e r
N
77th St
68th St- A V E N U E
E
6
EAST 80TH STREET
A V

S E C O N D A V E N U E


LEXINGTON AVENUE

E A S T 7 2 N D S T R E E T A V E N U E


EAST 76TH ST

EAST 75TH ST


EAST 73RD STREET

K
EAST 74TH STREET
R
Hunter College
T H I R D
F I R S T
P A EAST 70TH STREET
6
EAST 69TH STREET
Fifth Ave-59th St Lexington Ave- EAST 67TH STREET Y O R K A V E N U E
N.Q.R 63rd St
EAST 68TH STREET
F EAST 65TH STREET
EAST
EAST
EAST 64TH STREET
EAST 66TH STREET


EAST 62ND STREET
63RD
59th St
Lexington Ave- 60TH
EAST 61ST STREET
N.Q.R STREET STREET
See also Street Finder maps
12, 13, 16–18, 21
Brightly lit facade of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum For keys to symbols see back flap
178-179_EW_New_York_City.indd 179 4/3/17 11:11 AM

180  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

Street by Street:
Museum Mile

Many of New York’s museums are clustered
on the Upper East Side, in homes ranging
from the former Frick and Carnegie mansions
to the modernistic Guggenheim, designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright. The displays are as varied
as the architecture, running the gamut from 2 Jewish Museum
Old Masters to photographs to decorative The most extensive collection of Judaica in
arts. Presiding over the scene is the vast the world is housed here. It includes coins,
archaeological objects, and ceremonial and
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’s religious artifacts.
answer to Paris’s Louvre. Some of the museums
stay open late one day a week.


3.Cooper Hewitt,
Smithsonian
Design Museum
Ceramics, glass, furniture,
and textiles are well 9 3 R D S T
represented here.

)
E
L
I 9 2 N D S T
M M
U
E
S
U
M 9 1 S T S T
E ( U E
U N
The Church of the N E
Heavenly Rest was E N A V
built in 1929 in the H A V
Gothic style. The T 9 0 T H S T S O
madonna in the I F I
pulpit is by sculptor F A D
Malvina Hoffman. 8 9 T H S T M






Graham House is an
apartment building
with a splendid Beaux
Arts entrance. It was
built in 1892.


5. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s building, which
is in the form of a spiral, is floodlit at dusk. To
see one of the world’s premier collections of
modern and contemporary art, take the
elevator to the top and walk down.




180-181_EW_New_York_City.indd 180 4/3/17 11:11 AM

UPPER EAST SIDE  181


The facade of the UPPER
Squadron A Armory is all WEST SIDE East Side
that remains of the original
building. It is now the west
wall of the playground CENTRAL
PARK
of Hunter College High EAST SIDE
UPPER
School. The school was
built to complement Roosevelt I.
The William G. the style of the armory. UPPER Queens
Loew Mansion MIDTOWN
(1931), now part of Locator Map
the Spence School, See map pp16–17
is in the “American
Adams” style. Key
Suggested route
Public 0 meters 100
basketball 0 yards 100
court
To 96th Street
subway (2 blocks)

The Synod of Bishops of
the Russian Orthodox
9 3 R D S T
Church Outside of
Russia is housed in a
lovely 1918 mansion.
E
9 2 N D S T
U
N
E
K A V
R
E
U P A
N
E Night Presence IV (1972), a
N A V modern work in rusting steel,
was created by Louise
O E Nevelson. Some New
S U
I N Yorkers feel it is out
D E
A of place among
M N A V its staid, old-
fashioned
T O neighbors on
G
N Park Avenue.
I
X
E
L
At 120 and 122 East 92nd Street
are two of the few wooden
houses left in Manhattan. Built in
1859 and 1871, respectively, they
have a charming Italianate air.
The Marx Brothers spent their
boyhoods in a three-bedroom
apartment in a modest row house
at 179 East 93rd Street.




180-181_EW_New_York_City.indd 181 4/3/17 11:11 AM

182  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA


1 Neue Galerie stonework in an extension is by
New York the stonemasons of St. John the
Divine (see pp220–21).
1048 5th Ave at E 86th St. Map 16 F3. Objects have been brought
Tel (212) 628-6200. q 86th St. here from all over the world,
@ M1–4. Open 11am–6pm Thu– some at great risk of persecution
Mon. Closed public hols. & 9 ^ to the donors. Covering 4,000
0 Café 9am–6pm Mon & Wed,
9am–9pm Thu–Sun. = 7 years, artifacts include Torah
∑ neuegalerie.org crowns, candelabras, kiddush
cups, plates, scrolls, and silver Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design
Founded by art dealer Serge ceremonial objects. Museum entrance
Sabarsky and philanthropist There is a Torah ark from the
Ronald Lauder, this museum’s Benguiat Collection, the exquisite The museum offers a variety of
objective is to collect, research, faience entrance wall of a displays, from digitally printed
and exhibit the fine and deco- 16th-century Persian synagogue, fruit to steel necklaces, rubber
rative arts of Germany and Austria and the powerful Holocaust by chairs, and porcelain chess sets.
from the early 20th century. sculptor George Segal. Changing It also has the largest ensemble
The Louis XIII-style Beaux Arts exhibitions reflect Jewish life and of paintings by the American
structure was completed in 1914 experience around artists, Frederic Edwin Church
by Carrère & Hastings, who also the world. and Winslow Homer. Apart from
designed the New York Public the permanent collection, there
Library (see p142). Once occupied are several temporary exhibits
by Mrs. Cornelius as well.
Vanderbilt III, the mansion
was pur chased by Lauder
and Sabarsky in 1994. The 4 Ukrainian
ground floor has a book-shop Institute
and the Café Sabarsky (see p303);
the second is devoted to the 2 East 79th St. Map 16 F5. Tel (212)
works of Klimt and Schiele, and A 19th-century ewer and basin from 288-8660. q 86th St. @ M1–4.
Wiener Werkstätte objects. The Istanbul at the Jewish Museum Open noon–6pm Tue–Sun.
upper floors feature works from Closed public hols. ∑ ukrainian
institute.org
Der Blaue Reiter (artists such as
Klee, Kandinsky), the Bauhaus 3 Cooper Hewitt,
(Fein inger, Schlemmer), and Smithsonian Inevitably over shadowed by the
Die Brücke (Mies van der Rohe, Design Museum Met up the road, this cultural
Breuer). Klimt’s Portrait of Adele center, with its intriguing art
Bloch-Bauer I (1907) is the star of 2 E 91st St. Map 16 F2. Tel (212) 849- collection, is well-worth a visit.
the museum. From his “Golden 8400. q 86th St, 96th St. @ M1–4. Temporary exhibits from modern
Period”, the portrait depicts Adele Open 10am–6pm Sun–Fri (to 9pm Ukrainian artists are on the
Bloch-Bauer, a member of one of Sat). Closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving, second floor, while the upper
Vienna’s richest Jewish families. Dec 25. & 7 8 = - levels exhibit abstract work from
The painting was stolen by the ∑ cooperhewitt.org Alexander Archipenko, paintings
Nazis in 1938. from David Burliuk, the “father
Housed in the former mansion of Russian Futurism”, and huge
of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, Soviet Socialist Realist canvases.
2 Jewish Museum this museum underwent a Built for the banker Isaac Fletcher
massive redevelopment in 1899, it is more famous for
1109 5th Ave. Map 16 F2. Tel (212) 423- project, which culminated being owned by Harry Sinclair,
3200. q 86th St, 96th St. @ M1–4.
Open 11am–5:45pm Thu–Tue in 2014. The modern galleries industrialist and scandal-prone
(to 8pm Thu, to 5:45pm Fri Mar–Nov). are now scattered oilman in the 1920s.
Closed public & Jewish hols. around the
& ^ 7 8 - = original
∑ thejewishmuseum.org staircase, with
the mansion’s
The exquisite château-like wooden
residence of Felix M. Warburg, interiors and
financier and leader of the parquet floors
Jewish community, was still intact. On
designed by C. P. H. Gilbert in the second
1908. It now houses one of the story is the
world’s largest collections of Carnegie Library,
Jewish fine and ceremonial art, with its intricate
and historical Judaica. The teak carvings. The facade of the Ukrainian Institute




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UPPER EAST SIDE  183

5 Solomon R. 0 Temple Emanu-El
Guggenheim 1 E 65th St. Map 12 F2. Tel (212)
Museum 744-1400. q 68th St, 63rd St.
Open 10am–4:30pm Sun–Thu.
See pp184–5. Closed Jewish hols. u 5:30pm
Sun–Thu, 5:15pm Fri, 10:30am Sat.
6 The Metropolitan 7 8 = ∑ emanuelnyc.org
Museum of Art This impressive limestone
edifice of 1929 is one of the
See pp186–93.
largest synagogues in the
world, with seating for 2,500
7 The Frick in the main sanctuary alone.
Collection The grand entrance hall of the Park It is home to the oldest
Reform congregation in
See pp196–7. Avenue Armory New York, and the wealthiest
members of Jewish society
8 Asia Society 9 Park Avenue worship here.
Among the synagogue’s
725 Park Ave. Map 13 A1. Tel (212) Armory many fine details are the Ark’s
288-6400. Events: (212) 517-ASIA. 643 Park Ave. Map 13 A2. Tel (212) bronze doors, which represent
q 68th St. Open 11am–6pm Tue– 616-3930. q 68th St. 8 10am Tue an open Torah scroll. The Ark
Sun (to 9pm Fri). Closed public hols. & Thu (excluding holidays); days also has stained glass depicting
& 8 2pm Tue–Sun, 6:30pm Fri vary, check website. ^ 7 biblical scenes and showing
(except Jul–mid-Sep). ^ 7 = - ∑ armoryonpark.org the tribal signs of the houses of
∑ asiasociety.org
Israel. These signs also appear
From the War of 1812 through on a great recessed arch that
Founded by John D. two world wars, the Seventh frames a magnificent wheel
Rockefeller III in 1956 Regiment, an elite corps of window, the dominant feature
to increase under- “gentlemen soldiers” from of the Fifth Avenue facade.
standing of Asian prominent families, has played The synagogue stands on
culture, the society a vital role. Within the fortress - the site of the palatial home of
is a forum for 30 like exterior of their armory are Mrs. William Astor, the famed
countries in the extraordinary rooms filled with society hostess. Lady Astor moved
Asia-Pacific lavish Victorian furnishings, objets to the Upper East Side after a
region from d’art, and regimental memorabilia. feud with her nephew, who
Japan to Iran, The design by previously lived next door to
Central Asia Charles W. Clinton, her. Her wine cellar and
to Australia. a veteran of the three marble fireplaces still
The 1981 eight- regiment, had remain at the synagogue.
story building offices facing Park
was designed by Avenue, with a vast
Edward Larrabee drill hall stretching
Barnes and is behind to Lexington
made of red Avenue. The
granite. After reception rooms
a renovation South Asian include the
in 2001, the sculpture at the Veterans’ Room and
museum has Asia Society the Library by Louis
increased gallery Comfort Tiffany.
space. One gallery is permanently The drill hall is
devoted to Rockefeller’s own now the site of the
collection of Asian sculptures, Winter Antiques
amassed by him and his wife Show (see p55)
on frequent trips to the East. It and a favorite
includes Chinese ceramics from venue for charity
the Song and Ming periods, and a balls. The Armory
copper Bodhisattva statue, inlaid hosts a large
with precious stones, from Nepal. number of cultural
Changing exhibits show a performances, from
wide variety of Asian arts, and modern dance to
the society has a full program of concerts by the
films, dance, concerts, and lectures New York Philhar-
and a well-stocked bookstore. monic Orchestra. The Ark at Temple Emanu-El




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5 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Home to one of the world’s finest collections of modern and contemporary
art, the building itself, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is perhaps the
Guggenheim’s greatest masterpiece. The exterior of the museum was
beautifully restored in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the building
in 2009. The shell-like facade is a veritable New York landmark. Inside, the
spiral ramp curves down and inward from the dome, passing works by
major 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century artists along the way.




















Paris Through the Window
The vibrant colors of Marc Chagall’s 1913 masterpiece
illuminate the canvas, conjuring up images of a magical and
mysterious city where nothing is quite what it appears to be.















Woman Ironing (1904)
A work from Pablo Picasso’s
Blue Period, this painting is
his quintessential image of Main entrance
hard work and fatigue.

KEY
1 Sackler Center for
Arts Education
2 Small Rotunda
3 Tower
4 Great Rotunda Yellow Cow (1911) Nude (1917)
5 Café Franz Marc’s late work focused This sleeping figure is typical of
on nature and color. Amedeo Modigliani’s stylized work.




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UPPER EAST SIDE  185


Museum Guide VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
The Great Rotunda features
special exhibitions. The Small Practical Information
Rotunda shows some of the 1071 5th Ave at 89th St. Map 16 F3.
museum’s Impressionist and Tel (212) 423-3500. Open 10 am –
Post-Impressionist holdings. 5:45pm Fri–Wed (7:45pm Sat).
Closed Thksgv, Dec 25. & 5:45–
The Tower galleries (also 7:45pm Sat by voluntary donation.
known as The Annex) hold 7 8 9 Lectures, concerts. -
exhibi tions of work from the = ∑ guggenheim.org
permanent collection, as well
as contemporary pieces. The Transport
permanent collection q 4, 5, 6 to 86th St. @ M1–4.
is shown on a
rotating basis,
and only parts of
it are on display
at any one time. Before the Mirror (1876)
In trying to capture the flavor of
19th-century society, Edouard
Manet often used the image
of the courtesan.







Woman Holding a Vase
Fernand Léger incorporated
elements of Cubism into this
work from 1927.













Black Lines (1913)
This is one of Vasily Kandinsky’s
earliest examples of his work in
“non-objective” art.

Frank Lloyd Wright
During his lifetime, Wright was
considered the great innovator of
American architecture. Characteristic
of his work are Prairie-style homes and
office buildings of concrete slabs, glass
bricks, and tubing. Wright received the
Guggenheim commission, his only New
York building, in 1942 and it was
Woman with Yellow Hair (1931) completed after his death in 1959.
The gentle, voluptuous figure of
Picasso’s mistress often appears Interior of the Guggenheim’s Great Rotunda
in his work.




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6 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Founded in 1870 by a group of artists
and philanthropists who dreamed of an
American art institution to rival those of
Europe, this collection is thought to be the
most comprehensive in the Western world.
Works date from prehistoric times to the
present. The museum opened here in 1880
and houses collections from all continents. The entrance of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Greek and Roman galleries on the first
floor are especially popular.
Ground floor



. Jeanne
Hébuterne (1919)
Amedeo Modigliani’s
mistress, Hébuterne,
appears in over 20 of
his works. She killed
herself the day after
he died in 1920.

















Mezzanine
floor
Pendant Mask
The kingdom of Benin (now part
of Nigeria) was renowned for its
art. This mask was made in the Key
16th century.
The American wing
Gallery Guide Art of Africa, Oceania,
and the Americas
Most of the collections are housed
on the two main floors. Works Arms and armor
from 19 curatorial areas are in Egyptian art
the permanent galleries, with European sculpture and
designated sections for temporary decorative arts
exhibitions. Central on the first Greek and Roman art
and second floors are European Medieval art
painting, sculpture, and Modern and Contemporary art
decorative arts. The Costume
Institute is situated on the ground Seated Man with Harp Robert Lehman Collection
level, directly below the Egyptian This statuette was made Special exhibitions
galleries on the first floor. in the Cyclades c.2800 BC. Non-exhibition space




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me tropolit an museum of ar t  187


. Portrait of the VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Princesse de Broglie
This portrait, painted Practical Information
in 1851–3, was J. A. D. 1000 Fifth Ave. Map 16 F4.
Ingres’ last. Tel (212) 535-7710. Open 10am–
5:30pm Mon–Thu & Sun, 10am–
9pm Fri & Sat. Closed Jan 1,
Thanksgiving, Dec 25.
& 7 8 9 0 - =
Concerts, lectures, classes, sem-
First floor inars, film & video pres enta tions.
∑ metmuseum.org
Transport
q 4, 5, 6 to 86th St. @ M1–4.



















.Byzantine Galleries
This marble panel with a griffin
is from Greece or the Balkans
(c.1250). It is just one of the
pieces on display in the
Byzantine Galleries.


Stairs to
Costume Institute
Main entrance
















The Marriage Feast at Cana English Armor . The Temple of Dendur (10 BC)
This rare 16th-century panel This was made for The Roman emperor Augustus built this
painting by Juan de Flandes is part Sir George Clifford three-room temple, which is located in
of the Linsky Collection. around 1580. the Egyptian Art section.




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Metropolitan Museum of Art: Upper Levels

Card Players (1890–92)
Paul Cézanne departed
here from his traditional
landscapes, still lifes, and
portraits to paint this
scene of peasants
intently playing cards.


Roof garden
Sculpture Garden
These modern sculptures,
on the roof of the Modern
Art wing, are changed
annually.























. Cypresses (1889)
Vincent van Gogh painted this the
year before he died. The heavy
brushstrokes and the swirling
style mark his later work.





First floor



Second floor . Diptych (1440–44)
Flemish painter Jan van
Eyck was one of the
earliest masters of oil
painting. These scenes
of the Crucifixion and
Last Judgment show
him to be a forerunner
of realism, too.




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ME TROPOLIT AN MUSEUM OF AR T  189

Eagle-Headed
Winged Being
Pollinating the
Sacred Tree
(c. 900
BC) This relief
comes from an
Assyrian palace.




Third floor




. Self-portrait (1660)
Rembrandt painted almost
100 self-portraits. This one
shows him at the age of 54.

Key
The American wing
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Art of Arab Lands
and Central Asia
Asian art
Drawings and prints
European paintings
European sculpture
and decorative arts
Greek and Roman art
Modern and
Contemporary art
Musical instruments
19th- and early 20th-
century European paintings
and sculptures
Photographs
Special exhibitions
Astor Court
Non-exhibition space



The Astor Court
In 1979, 27 craftspeople from China,
responsible for the care of Suzhou’s
historic gardens, came to New York to
replicate a Ming-style scholar’s garden
in the Metropolitan Museum. They used
centuries-old techniques and handmade
tools that had been passed down for
generations. It was the first cultural
exchange between the United States
and the People’s Republic of China. The
result is a quiet garden for meditation,
a Western parallel to Suzhou’s Garden
of the Master of the Fishing Nets.





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Exploring the Metropolitan

The treasures of the “Met” include a vast collection of
American art and more than 2,500 European paintings,
including masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer.
There are also many Islamic exhibits, plus the greatest
collection of Egyptian art outside Cairo.
It holds not only
one of the world’s
finest collections of
American painting
and sculpture but
also of decorative
arts from Colonial
times to the
beginning of
the 20th century.
A painted gold funerary mask (10th–11th century) from the Highlights range
necropolis of Batán Grande, Peru from elegant Neo-
Classical silver Mysterious in identity and origin, the rare
vessels made by Paul Revere to copper Head of a Ruler (c. 2300–200 BC)
Art of Africa, Oceania, innovative glassware by Tiffany from the Near East
and the Americas & Co. In the furniture section
Nelson Rockefeller built the are settees, dining chairs, tables, the 9th-century BC Assyrian
Michael C. Rockefeller Wing bookcases, and desks from palace of Ashurnasirpal II, stand
in 1982 in memory of his son, major centers of American at the entrance to the Ancient
who lost his life on an art- cabinetmaking such as Boston, Near Eastern galleries. Inside is a
finding expedition in New Newport, and Philadelphia. collection spanning 8,000 years,
Guinea. The wing showcases a Period rooms, with their rich in Iranian bronzes, Anatolian
superb collection of over 1,600 original decorative woodwork ivories and Sumerian sculptures,
objects from Africa, the islands and furnishings, range from and Achaemenian and Sassanian
of the Pacific, and the Americas. the saloon hall in which silver and gold. The adjacent Arts
Among the African works, George Washington celebrated of Arab Lands section contains
the ivory and bronze sculptures his last birthday to the elegant Islamic art of the 7th to the 19th
from the royal kingdom of Benin prairie-style living room from centuries; glass and metalwork
(Nigeria) are outstanding, as is the the house that Frank Lloyd from Egypt, Syria, and Meso-
wooden sculpture by the Dogon, Wright designed for Francis potamia; royal miniatures from
Bamana, and Senufo peoples W. Little in Wayzata, Minnesota, Persia and Mughal India; 16th-
of Mali. From the Pacific come in 1912. and 17th-century rugs; and an
carvings by the Asmat people of The Charles Engelhard Court 18th-century room from Syria.
New Guinea and decorations and is an indoor sculpture garden
masks from the Melanesian and with large-scale architectural Arms and Armor
Polynesian islands. From Mexico elements, including the lovely
and Central and South America stained-glass and mosaic Mounted knights in full armor
come pre-Columbian gold, loggia from Louis Comfort charge at each other across the
ceramics, and stonework. The Tiffany’s Long Island estate and equestrian court here. These
wing also contains fine Native the facade of an 1824 United galleries are a favorite with
American artifacts by the Inuit States Branch Bank that once children and anyone moved
and other groups. stood on Wall Street. by medieval romance or thrilled
by power.
There are suits of armor,
The American Wing Ancient Near Eastern rapiers and sabers with hilts
and Islamic Art
Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of of precious stones and gold,
George Washington, George Massive stone sculptures firearms inlaid with ivory and
Caleb Bingham’s Fur Traders of winged, human-headed mother-of-pearl, plus colorful
Descending the Missouri, John animals, once
Singer Sargent’s notorious the guardians of
portrait of Madame X, and
the monumental Washington
Crossing the Delaware by
Emanuel Leutze are among the
icons in the American Wing. The pistol of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (16th century)




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ME TROPOLIT AN MUSEUM OF AR T  191


heraldic banners and shields.
Highlights include the armor Costume Institute
of gentleman-pirate Sir George The 31,000-piece collection of
Clifford, a favorite of Queen costumes and accessories has
Elizabeth I. The rainbow-colored expanded by over 23,000 items
armor of a 14th-century Japanese under an agreement with the
Shogun and a collection of Wild Brooklyn Museum (see pp238–41).
West revolvers that once There is no permanent display
belonged to gunmaker Samuel due to the fragility of the objects,
Colt are also exhibited here. but there are two special
exhibitions a year.
The collec tion spans five
centuries from the 17th century
to the present and is a definitive
compendium of fashionable
dress, from the elaborately
embroidered dresses of the
late 1600s to gowns from the
Napoleonic era. The designs
of Elsa Schiaparelli, Worth, and
Balenciaga are also inclu ded,
along with Ballets Russes Michelangelo’s studies of a Libyan Sibyl for
costumes and even David the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508)
Bowie’s sequined jockstrap.
The Old Plum, a Japanese paper screen The Art of Dress audio tour, and an incredible 1.2 million
from the early Edo period (about 1650) narrated by actress Sarah Jessica prints. The drawings collection
Parker, focuses on how artists is espe cially rich in Italian and
have used clothing to express French art from the 15th to
Asian Art identity and power. the 19th century. Specific
Many outstanding galleries The Institute is sophisticated exhibits of the drawings in
contain masterpieces of Chinese, in its understanding of this collection are shown
Japanese, Korean, Indian, and conservation techniques, with on a rotating basis because
Southeast Asian art, dating from a state-of-the-art laboratory. of the light-sensitive nature
the second millennium BC to of works on paper.
the 20th century. A full-scale Highlights among the 17,000
Ming-style Chinese scholar’s drawings include works
garden was built by by Michelangelo, Leo-
craftspeople from nardo da Vinci, Raphael,
Suzhou as part of the Ingres, Goya, Rubens,
first cultural exchange Rembrandt, Tiepolo,
between the United and Seurat.
States and the The encyclopedic
People’s Republic of print collection
China. The museum includes major works
also has one of the by virtually every
finest collections of master printmaker, from
Song and Yuan dynasty an early German wood-
paintings in the world, cut entitled Virgin and Child
Chinese Buddhist monu- to some of Dürer’s most
mental sculptures, fine accomplished works and Goya’s
Chinese ceramics and jade, The Giant. Influential gallery-
and an important display of the A 17th-century European owner Alfred Stieglitz’s
arts of ancient China. silk-and-satin doublet donation of his own extensive
The full range of Japanese arts collection of photographs
is represented in a breathtaking brought here such gems as
suite of eleven galleries Drawings and Prints Edward Steichen’s The Flatiron.
featuring chronological and These eclectic galleries began It formed the core of a photo-
thematic displays of Japanese as a gift of 670 pieces from graphy collection that is now
lacquer, ceramics, painting, Museum trustee Cornelius also particularly strong in
sculpture, textiles, and screens. Vanderbilt, in 1880. Today the Modernist works dating from
Indian, Southeast Asian, and Museum holds over 17,000 between the world wars.
Korean galleries display superb drawings, some 12,000 Ephemera such as posters
sculptures and other arts from illustrated books from both and advertisements form
these regions. Western Europe and America, another part of this collection.




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18th-century French
Egyptian Art
domestic interiors known
One of the museum’s best-loved as the Wrightsman Rooms.
areas is the ancient Egyptian The Petrie European Sculpture
wing, which displays every one Court features French and
of its thousands of holdings – Italian sculpture in a beautiful
from the prehistoric period to garden setting reminiscent of
the 8th century AD. Objects Versailles in France.
range from the fragmented
jasper lips of a 15th-century BC Greek and Roman Art
queen to the massive
Temple of Dendur. Other A Roman sarcophagus from
amazing archaeological finds, Young Woman with a Water Pitcher Tarsus, donated in 1870, was
most of them originating from (c. 1662) by Johannes Vermeer the first work of art in the Met’s
museum-sponsored expeditions collections. It can still be seen in
undertaken early in the 20th Brueghel’s The Harvesters, the museum’s Greek and Roman
century, include sculptures several works by Rubens, galleries, along with breath-
of the notorious Queen Van Dyck, and Rembrandt, taking wall panels from a villa
Hatshepsut, who seized the and more Vermeers than any that was buried under the lava
Theban throne in the 16th other museum. The collection of Vesuvius in AD 79, Etruscan
century BC; 100 carved reliefs also has masterpieces by mirrors, Roman portrait busts,
of Amenhotep IV’s reign; and Spanish artists El Greco, exquisite objects in glass and
tomb figures such as the blue Velázquez, and Goya, and silver, and Greek vases. A
faïence hippo that has become by French artists Poussin monumental 7th- century BC
the museum’s mascot. and Watteau. Some of the statue of a youth shows the
finest Impressionist and Post- movement toward naturalism in
Impressionist canvases reside sculpture, and the Hellenistic
here: 34 Monets, including Marble Statue of an Old Market
Garden at Sainte-Adresse; 18 Woman demon strates how the
Cézannes; and several van Greeks had mastered realism by
Goghs, including Cypresses. the 2nd century BC.
European Sculpture
and Decorative Arts
In the Kravis wing and
Fragment of the adjacent galleries are
head of a pharoah’s queen works from the impressive
60,000-object collection
of European sculpture and
European Paintings decorative arts. The galleries
The heart of the museum is its include exquisite pieces such as
awe-inspiring collection of over Tullio Lombardo’s marble statue
3,000 European paintings. The of Adam; a bronze statuette of a
Italian works include Botticelli’s rearing horse, after a model by
Last Communion of St. Jerome Leonardo; and dozens of works
and Bronzino’s Portrait of a by Degas and Rodin. Period
Young Man. The Dutch and settings include the patio from
Flemish canvases are among a 16th-century Spanish castle An amphora by Exekias, showing
the world’s finest, with and a series of ornate a wedding (540 BC)
Egyptian Tomb Models Lehman Collection
In 1920, a Met researcher’s light illuminated a room, which had been What had been one of the the
closed for 2,000 years, in the tomb of the nobleman Meketre. Within finest private art collections in
were 24 tiny, perfect replicas of his daily life: his house and the world, that of investment
garden, fleet of ships, and herd of cattle. Meketre is there, banker Robert Lehman, came
too, on his boat, inhaling a lotus’s scent and to the museum in 1969. The
enjoying the music of his Lehman Wing is a dramatic
singer and harpist. The glass pyramid housing an
museum has 13 of these extraordinarily varied collection
delightful replicas.
rich in Old Masters and 19th-
century French paintings,
drawings, bronzes, Renaissance




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ME TROPOLIT AN MUSEUM OF AR T  193


Modern and
Contemporary Art
Since its foundation in 1870,
the museum has been acquiring
contemporary art, but it was not
until 1987 that a permanent
home for 20th-century art was
built – the Lila Acheson Wallace
Wing. Other museums in New
York have larger collections
of modern art, but this display
space is considered among the
finest. European and American
works from 1900 onward
are featured on three levels,
starting with Europeans such
as Picasso, Kandinsky, Braque,
and Bonnard. The collection’s
greatest strength lies in its
collection of modern
American art, with works by
New York school “The Eight,”
including John Sloan; such
A panel from the stained-glass Death of the Virgin window, from the 12th-century cathedral Modernists as Charles Demuth
of St. Pierre in Troyes, France and Georgia O’Keeffe; American
Regionalist Grant Wood;
majolica, Venetian glass, furniture, Abstract Expressionists, including
and enamels. Among the Musical Instruments Willem de Kooning and Jackson
canvases are works by The world’s oldest piano, Pollock; and such Color Field
North European masters, Andrés Segovia’s guitars, and painters as Clyfford Still.
Dutch and Spanish paintings, a sitar shaped like a peacock Special areas of the wing house
French masterpieces, Post- are some of the features of Art Nouveau and Art Deco
Impressionists and Fauves. a broad and sometimes furniture and metalwork; a
quirky collection of musical large collection of works on
instruments that spans six paper by Paul Klee; and the
Medieval Art continents and dates from Sculpture Gallery, with its large-
The Metropolitan’s medieval prehistory to the present. The scale sculptures and canvases.
collection includes works instruments illustrate the history Gems of the collection
dating from the 4th to the 16th of music and performance, and include Picasso’s portrait
century, roughly from the fall of most of them are conserved to of Gertrude Stein, Matisse’s
Rome to the beginning of the remain in playable condition. Nasturtiums with the painting
Renaissance. The collection is Worth particular mention Dance (1) Demuth’s I Saw the
split between the main are instruments from Figure 5 in Gold, and Andy
museum and its uptown the European courts Warhol’s last self-portrait.
branch, the Cloisters of the Middle Ages and Each year the Cantor Roof
(see pp246–9). In the main the Renaissance; rare Garden at the top of the wing
building are a chalice once violins; harpsichords; features a new installation of
thought to be the Holy instruments inlaid with contemporary sculpture,
Grail, six silver Byzantine precious materials; and a especially dramatic against the
plates showing scenes from fully equipped traditional backdrop of the New York skyline
the life of David, a 1301 violin-maker’s work shop; and Central Park.
pulpit by Giovanni there are also African
Pisano in the shape drums, Asian pi-pas,
of an eagle, and several or lutes; and Native
monumental sculptures American flutes.
of the Virgin and Child. Visitors can use audio
Other exhibits include equipment to hear
Migration jewelry, many of the instru-
liturgical vessels, ments playing the
stained glass, music of their day.
ivories, and
14th- and 15th- Stradivari violin from Grant Wood’s The Midnight Ride of
century tapestries. Cremona, Italy (1691) Paul Revere (1931)




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patriotic society, in 1924 and carved from Spanish marble, the
turned into a charming re- nave columns and from veined,
creation of a Federal home. purple Levanto marble.
Costumed guides show visitors
through eight rooms, which
exhibit Chinese porcelain, r The Met Breuer
Sheraton chests, and a Duncan 945 Madison Ave. Map 17 A5.
Phyfe sofa. One bed room even q 77th St. Open 10am–5:30pm Tue–
contains a baby’s cradle and Thu & Sun, 10am–9pm Fri & Sat..
children’s toys. An 18th-century- ∑ metmuseum.org
style garden has been planted
around the house. An extension of The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, The Met Breuer
opened in March 2016 in the old
premises of the Whitney Museum
Book cover (1916) by illustrator N. C. Wyeth of American Art. Created by
architect Marcel Breuer, the
q Society of building’s Brutalist design was a
Illustrators controversial addition to the town
houses of the Upper East Side in
128 E 63rd St. Map 13 A2. Tel (212) 1966. The Met Breuer provides
838-2560. q Lexington Ave. further exhibition space for
Open 10am–8pm Tue, 10am– 20th and 21st century art,
5pm Wed–Fri, noon–4pm Sat. along with residencies,
Closed public hols. 7 restricted. 8 educational programs,
= ∑ societyillustrators.org
and unique performances.
Established in 1901, this society Stunning mosaics on the dome of the
was formed to promote the Christ Church United Methodist
illustrator’s art. Its notable roster t Gracie Mansion
included Charles Dana Gibson, N. e Christ Church East End Ave at 88th St. Map 18 D3.
C. Wyeth, and Howard Pyle. It was United Methodist Tel (212) 639-9675. q 86th St.
at first concerned with education @ M31, M79, M86. Open 10am,
and public service, and still holds 524 Park Ave. Map 13 A3. Tel (212) 838- 11am, 1pm, 2pm most Tue for
monthly lectures. In 1981, the 3036. q Fifth Ave, 59th St. Open 7am– prebooked guided tours only. & ^
Museum of American Illustration 6pm Mon–Fri, 9am & 11am Sun for 7 = ∑ nyc.gov/gracie
opened in two galleries. services. ∑ christchurchnyc.org
Changing thematic exhibitions This gracious, balconied wooden
show the history of book and With deceptively simple exteriors, 1799 country home is the official
magazine illustration, with an this dazzling Romanesque mayor’s residence. Built by
annual exhibition of the year’s structure was designed in 1931, wealthy merchant Archibald
finest American illustrations. by architect Ralph Adams Cram. Gracie, it is one of the best
Gold-leaf mosaics fill the vaulted Federal houses left in New York.
ceiling and apse, while parts of Acquired by the city in 1896,
w Mount Vernon the choir screen date from 1660, it was the first home of the
Hotel Museum and were once owned by Tsar Museum of the City of New
Nicholas II of Russia. The altar is York. In 1942 it became the
421 E 61st St. Map 13 C3. Tel (212)
838-6878. q Lexington Ave, 59th St.
Open 11am–4pm Tue–Sun.
Closed Aug, public hols. & ^ 8
= ∑ mvhm.org
Built in 1799, the Mount Vernon
Hotel Museum and Garden was
once a country day hotel for
New Yorkers who needed to
escape from the crowded city,
then only at the south end of the
island. The stone building sits on
land once owned by Abigail
Adams Smith, daughter of Presi-
dent John Adams.
It was acquired by the Colonial
Dames of America, a women’s Front view of Gracie Mansion




194-195_EW_New_York_City.indd 194 4/3/17 11:11 AM

UPPER EAST SIDE  195


official Mayoral Residence. u St. Nicholas
When Fiorello La Guardia Russian Orthodox
moved in after nine years in Cathedral
office, preferring it to a 75-room
palace on Riverside Drive, he said 15 E 97th St. Map 16 F1. Tel (212)
that even the modest Gracie 876-2190. q 96 St. Open by appt.
Mansion was too fancy for him. 5 throughout the week, including
“The Little Flower” (from Fiorello) 10am & 6pm Wed & Sun.
had fought corruption in the city.
Built in Muscovite Baroque style
in 1902, this church has five
onion domes crowned with
crosses, and blue and yellow
tiles on a red brick and white
stone facade. Among the early
worshipers were White Russians Facade of the Museum of the
who had fled the Russian City of New York
Revolution, mostly intellectuals
and aristocrats who soon i Museum of the
became a part of New York City of New York
society. Later, there were further
waves of refugees, dissidents, 1220 5th Ave at 103rd St. Map 21
and defectors. C5. Tel (212) 534-1672. q 103rd St.
The cathedral now serves Open 10am–6pm daily. Closed Jan 1,
Thanksgiving, Dec 25. & 7 8 -
a scattered community, and = ∑ mcny.org
Arched doorway of the Church of the congregation is small. Mass
the Holy Trinity is celebrated in Russian with Founded in 1923 and at first
great pomp and dignity. housed in Gracie Mansion, this
y Church of the The cathedral is filled with museum is dedicated to New
Holy Trinity the scent of incense. The high York’s development from its
central sanctuary has marble earliest beginnings up to the
316 E 88th St. Map 17 B3. Tel (212) columns with blue and white present and on to the future.
289-4100. q 86th St. Open 9am– trim above. Ornate wooden Housed in a handsome
5pm Mon–Fri, 7:30am–2pm Sun. screens trimmed with gold Georgian Colonial building
5 8:45am Tue & Thu, 8am, 10:30am enclose the altar. It is unique, an since 1932, the museum has
& 6pm Sun. ∑ holytrinity-nyc.org
unexpected find on a side street expanded its public space, with
Delightfully placed in a serene in this staid part special exhibitions throughout
garden setting, this church was of Manhattan. the year on subjects such as
constructed in 1889 of glowing fashion, architecture, theater,
golden brick and terracotta in social and political history, and
the French Renaissance style. photography. In addition there
It boasts one of New York’s best is a collection of toys, includ ing
bell towers, which holds a the famed Stettheimer
handsome wrought-iron Dollhouse, with original works
clock with brass hands. of art in miniature, painted
The arched doorway is by such luminaries as
richly decorated with Marcel Duchamp and
carved images of the Albert Gleizes.
saints and prophets. A core exhibition of
The complex was the museum is the film
donated by Serena Timescapes: A Multi­
Rhinelander in memory media Portrait of New
of her father and York (every 30 mins,
grandfather. The land 10:15am–4:45pm).
was part of the It uses images from
Rhinelander farm, the museum’s
which the family had collection and historic
owned for 100 years. maps to chart the
Farther down at 350 growth of New York,
E 88th Street is the from its early days as a
Rhinelander Children’s tiny settlement to its
Center, also a gift, and current status as one
the headquarters of the of the largest cities in
Children’s Aid Society. Facade and domes of St. Nicholas Russian Cathedral the world.




194-195_EW_New_York_City.indd 195 4/3/17 11:11 AM

196  NE W Y ORK C i TY AREA B Y AREA

7 The Frick Collection

The art collection of steel magnate Henry Clay Frick
(1849–1919) is exhibited in a residential setting
amid the furnishings of his opulent mansion, which
provides a rare glimpse of how the extremely
wealthy lived in New York’s gilded age. Henry Frick
intended the collection to be a memorial to himself,
and on his death he bequeathed the entire house
to the nation. The collection includes important The Harbor of Dieppe (1826)
Old Master paintings, major works of sculpture, J. M. W. Turner was criticized by
French furniture, rare Limoges enamels, and some skeptical contemporaries
beautiful Oriental rugs. for depicting this northern European
port suffused with light.
Oval
Room
Garden
Court

Library


West
Gallery




The Polish Rider
The identity of the rider in this
equestrian portrait, painted by
Rembrandt in c. 1655, is unknown.
The somber, rocky landscape
creates an eerie atmosphere
of unknown danger.













Living Hall



Gallery Guide
Of special interest are the West Gallery,
with oils by Vermeer, Hals, and Rembrandt;
the East Gallery, featuring Van Dyck and
. Sir Thomas More (1527) Whistler; the Oval Room, featuring
Holbein’s portrait of Henry VIII’s Lord Gainsborough; the Library and Dining
Chancellor was painted eight years Room, with English works; and the Living
before More’s execution for treason. Hall, with works by Titian and Holbein.




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UPPER EAST SIDE  197


. Officer and Laughing Girl VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
(c. 1657)
Johannes Vermeer is unique Practical Information
among 17th-century Dutch 1 E 70th St.
painters for his bold use of Map 12 F1.
light and shadow. Tel (212) 288-0700.
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sat,
11am–5pm Sun.
Closed most public hols. & (no
children under 10). ^ 7 - 9
Concerts, lectures, film & video.
East ∑ frick.org
Gallery Transport
q 6 to 68th St. @ M1–4.
Key
Exhibition space
Non-exhibition space















Stairs to lower
gallery




Fowling and Horticulture (1750–52)
François Boucher painted a series of
Main panels for Madame de Pompadour.
entrance This one reflects her interest in
exotic birds and botany.

Dining Room


Fragonard
Room



The Pursuit
(1771–3)
This is part of The Progress
of Love (1790–91), by
Jean-Honoré Fragonard. . Mall in St. James’s Park (c. 1783)
The series of paintings The three central figures in Thomas
depicts the events of Gainsborough’s London landscape
an idealized courtship. may be the daughters of George III.




196-197_EW_New_York.indd 197 06/04/16 12:39 pm

110th St-
Cathedral Parkway
B.C
Blockhouse Central Park North- NORTH
C E N T R A L P A R K W E S T NORTH MEADOW Lasker Pool
CENTRAL PARK
110th St
THE
2.3
GREAT
HILL
Harlem
Meer
103rd St
& Rink
The
B.C
WEST D R I V E
Loch
The
CENTRAL
Pool
PAR K
WEST DRIVE
BALL
EAST DR I V E
FIELD
96th St
B.C
EAST
MEADOW
SOUTH MEADOW
97TH ST TRANSVERSE RD
TENNIS COURTS
Jacqueline Kennedy F I F T H A V E N U E
Onassis Reservoir
86th St
B.C
81st St- 86TH STREET TRANSVERSE RD
Museum of
Natural History
B.C
THE GREAT
LAWN
SHAKESPEARE
GARDEN Delacorte Theater
Turtle
WEST D RI V E RAMBLE
Pond
79TH ST TRANSVERSE RD
C E N T R A L P A R K W E S T B.C 7 2ND STREET TRANSVERSE R O A D (MUSEUM MILE)
THE
Central
EAS T DRIV E
Park Lake
72nd St
CHERRY
HILL
W ES T DR IVE
SHEEP
MEADOW
T H E M A L L
EAST
CENTRAL
GREEN
P ARK
BALLFIELDS
59th St- HECKSCHER EAST DRIVE
Columbus Circle
65TH ST TR ANSV ERSE ROAD
1.A.B.C.D
WOLMAN FIFT H AV E NUE
RINK
The Pond
CENTRAL PARK SOUTH (OLMSTED WAY)
198-199_EW_New_York_City.indd 198 4/3/17 11:41 AM