Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
airline, the building, in profile, was meant to suggest an aircraft wing. The blue-grey mass
certainly adds drama to the cityscape, even as it seals the avenue at 44th Street.
WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL
301 Park Ave between E 49th and E 50th sts. Subway #6 to 51st St. MAP
The solid mass of the 1931 Waldorf Astoria Hotel helps contribute to the conspicuous
wealth of Park Avenue. Even if you're not staying here (lucky you if you are; see Waldorf
Astoria Hotel for review), duck inside the block-long lobby to stroll through vintage Deco
grandeur, sweeping marble and hushed luxury, which continues downstairs in the grand cir-
cular bar of the Bull and Bear .
ST BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH
325 Park Ave at E 51st St. Subway #6 to 51st St. www.stbarts.org . Mon, Tues & Thurs-Sat 9am-6pm, Wed
9am-8pm, Sun 7.45am-6pm, choir service Sun 11am. MAP
The Episcopalian St Bartholomew's Church is a low-slung Romanesque hybrid with
portals designed by McKim, Mead and White. Adding immeasurably to the street, it gives
the lumbering skyscrapers a much-needed sense of scale. Due to the fact that it's on some of
the city's most valuable real estate, the church fought against developers for years and ulti-
mately became a test case for New York City's landmark preservation law.
THE SEAGRAM BUILDING
375 Park Ave between E 52nd and E 53rd sts. Subway E, M, V Lexington Ave/53rd St; #6 to 51st St. MAP
Designed by Mies van der Rohe with Philip Johnson, the 1958 Seagram Building was the
seminal curtain-wall skyscraper. Its floors are supported internally, allowing for a skin of
smoky glass and whisky-bronze metal. Every interior detail - from the fixtures to the letter-
ing on the mailboxes - was specially designed. The plaza, an open forecourt designed to set
the building apart from its neighbours, was such a success that the city revised the zoning
laws to encourage other high-rise builders to supply similar public spaces.
More Midtown monoliths
The city, especially Midtown, is filled with far too many landmark, innovative or just
plain unusual buildings to list in these pages. If you're interested in the subject of archi-
tecture, try to catch the following in addition to the ones described in this section: the
Ford Foundation Building , 320 E 43rd St between First and Second aves, whose atri-
um is one of New York's great indoor/outdoor experiences; Phillip Johnson's Lipstick
Building , 885 Third Ave between E 53rd and 54th sts, named for its curved, telescoping
shape; and the right-angle steel and glass slabs of the Lever House , 390 Park Ave, also
between E 53rd and 54th sts.
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