New York - Upper Midtown

Citicorp Center caused a sensation when it opened in 1978. It has an aluminum spire built on 10-storey stilts with a sliced-off roof--an unmistakable sight in midtown Manhattan. The building actually had to accommodate St. Peter's Lutheran Church. The tower was elevated ten stories above street level on four columns and a central core, thus freeing up space below for a public plaza. This design is now employed on new structures worldwide.

St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of New York's finest examples of Gothic Revival, with its massive bronze doors (weighing 20,000 lb each), white marble facade, 330-ft spires, the Great Organ and Rose Window, bronze baldachin, pipe organ (of 7,380 pipes), 2,400 seating capacity, and the statue of Pieta at the side of the Lady Chapel. With more than 5.5 million visitors annually, the cathedral is a major destination for believers and tourists alike. The building was erected in 1879 and has been carefully restored and maintained throughout its existence. For those wishing to take home a memento of their visit, there is a gift shop on site.

The Alwyn Court Apartments are a 1909 apartment building known for its French Renaissance-style-terra-cotta carvings adorning its exterior. The interior courtyard features stonework by artist Richard Haas.

Bloomingdale's is a battered, but historic department store, founded in 1872. In the eighties it was known for its trendy, sophisticated shopping. More recently, it has battled bankruptcy, but has recovered and remains a popular store.

The Central Synagogue is New York's oldest surviving synagogue, and its best example of Moorish-Islamic Revival architecture. Opened in 1870 and designed by Henry Fernbach, the synagogue has a stenciled interior of red, blue, ochre and gilt; twin towers rising 122 feet; a Moorish, brownstone facade and banded "horseshoe" arches.

Based on an art collection by Dr. Dahesh, the Dahesh Museum of Art exhibits and collects European Academic art from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Dr. Dahesh brought the collection to the United States in 1975, and the museum opened in 1995. It closed its doors in 2008 and currently travels the world for exhibitions.

The Fuller Building is an example of geometric Art Deco design: slim, black, towering, gray-and-white. Striking the clock above the entrance are statues. Inside are mosaic tile floors, as well as two exclusive galleries, the Andrew Emmerich and Susan Sheehan.

The General Electric Building of 1931 was a skyscraper designed by architects Cross and Cross that would blend in with its neighbor, St. Bartholomew's Church. The final product is an Art Deco monolith. Touches include its spiky radio-waves crown to its chrome and marble lobby.

The IBM Building is a 43-storey tower designed by Edward Barnes and completed in 1943. It is a five-sided structure made of gray-green polished granite with a cantilevered corner at 57th Street. Inside is a garden shop run by the New York Botanical Garden, a sculpture by Michael Heizer and the Gallery of Science and Art.

Lever House is a landmark in modern architecture. When it opened in 1952, it revolutionized skyscrapers. Lever House is two rectangular slabs of stainless steel and glass, one laid horizontally, the other stacked to stand above it to allow light to come in from every side. Like all glass-clad buildings, the Lever House changes appearance at night when each level of the vertical tower becomes a horizontal ribbon of light.

Lever House now serves as a top dining establishment.

The Lipstick Building is an elliptical telescoped tower designed by Phillip Johnson. The unusual shape was a reaction to zoning laws in the crowded Third Avenue corridor. The corners of the building were shaved off to allow extra space for pedestrians as well as to make the building distinctive to its more-traditional, rectangular-shaped neighbors. It was completed in 1986.

The Manhattan Art and Antiques Center houses a variety of antique shops all open to the public and each specializing in different kinds of hard to find objects. Art, coins, furniture, clocks, jewelry and other accessories, tapestries, and much more can all be found in the Antiques Center.

The Municipal Art Society is dedicated to preserving the historic architecture of New York. The society works as an advocate for urban design and planning, contemporary architecture, historic preservation and public art. The urban galleries of the society feature ever changing exhibits on issues that affect the city.

The Museum of Arts & Design displays handmade quilts, ceramics, glass, textiles, wood, silver and metalwork, dating from 1900 to the present. The museum first opened its doors in 1956 in a Victorian brownstone building. In 2008 the museum began operations at 2 Columbus Circle. The current building is a stunning example of modern architecture with unique lines and a shining glass façade.

The museum has a unique mandate which, as it states, "focuses on contemporary creativity and the ways in which artists and designers from around the world transform materials through processes ranging from the artisanal to the digital". The museum has an active exhibition schedule, an onsite gift shop / store, and a 143 seat theater along with a full service restaurant serving lunch, tea service, and dinner.

The SONY Wonder Technology Lab is a technology and entertainment museum with four floors of hands-on exhibits. There is a state-of-the-art 73-seat HD theater, as well as an opportunity to produce a music preview and create a video game. This is a fun attraction for kids and teens.

St. Bartholomew's Church (known as "St. Bart's" to New Yorkers) is a Romanesque-Byzantine structure designed by Bertram Goodhue in 1919. It has an open terrace, pinkish brick and a poly-chromed gold dome.

St. Thomas Church is a limestone building designed in the French-Gothic style. It was built between 1909 and 1914. The previous building here on this site of Fifth Avenue high-society weddings at the turn of the last century.

Sutton Place & Beekman Place is a posh neighborhood that affords a pleasant view of the Queensboro Bridge and Roosevelt Island. Riverview Terrace is a private street of handsome brownstones fronting the river. The privacy of the area has attracted celebrities such as Tyrone Power and Stephen Sondheim.

Sutton Place is on the National Register.

The Paley Center for Media lets visitors watch and listen to a staggering array of entertainment, sports, dramatic, comedic and many other kinds of TV and radio. The 50,000 programs includes Elvis making his TV debut, World War Two footage, past Olympic highlights and news at key points of modern history. There are also photo exhibits, posters and memorabilia. Opening in 1975, the museum became so popular that it moved into larger quarters in 1991.

The Waldorf Astoria hotel is an Art Deco classic, covering an entire city block. The hotel was designed by Schultze & Weaver in 1931 and remains a prestigious and glamorous address. Its 625-foot twin towers have hosted celebrities including every U.S. president since 1931. The piano in the Peacock Alley cocktail lounge belonged to Cole Porter when he was a resident here.

The hotel was extensively renovated in 2010 and is now divided into two: the Waldorf Astoria and the boutique division, the Waldorf Towers. In total the Waldorf Astoria and the Waldorf Towers contain 1416 rooms including 303 suites. The hotel boasts that no two rooms are exactly alike - each one is individually decorated in its own style. The hotel is very centrally located and close to important attractions including Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Theater District.