2023 Autumn in New York: Art Deco Weekend

About the Program

The Art Deco Society of New York (ADSNY) invites you to our vibrant, exhilarating Art Deco capital to enjoy an immersive extended weekend exploring and celebrating New York City’s finest Art Deco creations in Midtown Manhattan and beyond. In addition to experiencing the city’s interwar treasures and mementos of Jazz Age culture, we will dine in iconic hotspots that embody our favorite era, and be hosted in the home of the Art Deco Society's President, with unmatched views of midtown's great Deco skyscrapers.

During this stellar series of engrossing programs—led by acclaimed and award-winning architectural, design, and cultural historians—we’ll delve deep into 1920s and 1930s New York, home to the flapper, the speakeasy, and the belief that anything goes. This program focuses on the development of New York’s premier Art Deco skyline, as well as stunning examples of Art Deco design in less-well-known Manhattan enclaves plus an all-day visit to the borough of Queens, home to New York's original Deco airport and its only known surviving Deco nightclub.

This fun-filled extended weekend spotlights New York’s embrace of everything au courant during the dizzying heights of hopes and excesses of the 1920s, continuing past the stock market crash of 1929 and into the economic downturn of the Great Depression, which could not stop the spread of the Deco styles. We will see some of the city’s most luxurious residential structures, signaling triumph over adversity and embodying the upward thrust of the American spirit. 

Join us to experience this very special weekend tailored to the Art Deco enthusiast at the crossroads of the world—where far-flung cultures joined forces and Art Deco became the rage in all aspects of life and defined New York as the most celebrated modern city in the world.

There are two options for this year's Autumn in New York Weekend:

Attendees have the option of selecting a Four-Day or Three-Day Autumn in New York experience. The Four-Day program includes an introductory day exploring Midtown Manhattan’s Deco Icons. Those who have previously enjoyed the Art Deco Society of New York’s Midtown explorations may choose to take advantage of the Three-Day Program, if they prefer.

Four-Day Program including Midtown Manhattan’s Deco Icons 

October 26–29, 2023

Program begins early morning Thursday, October 26; attendees are encouraged to arrive by evening of Wednesday, October 25.

Three-Day Program

October 27–29, 2023

Program begins early morning Friday, October 27; attendees are encouraged to arrive Thursday, October 26 for a reception in a private home with a remarkable Deco collection.

Highlights Include

• Immersive tours led by New York's award-winning experts in Art Deco
• Visits to major monuments as well as delightful Deco surprises
• In-depth walking tour of Manhattan’s renowned Murray Hill and Gramercy Park enclaves
  
• An exploration of Chelsea, the stylish west side neighborhood with a collection of Art Deco gems
• A day-long motor coach tour of Art Deco landmarks and lesser-known, but equally thrilling, treasures in neighborhoods throughout Queens, the most diverse borough of New York
• Everything from subway power stations on Midtown's west side to luxury hotels on the east side
• A pair of rare surviving gates by French iron master Edgar Brandt who designed the now-lost gates of the 1925 Paris Exposition from which Art Deco takes its name.
• Dining together in eateries featuring spectacular views and/or ties to the 1920s and 30s
• A private cocktail reception in a residence boasting unparalleled views of Manhattan's famed Deco skyline

Thursday: Midtown Manhattan’s Deco Icons

October 26, 2023

For those wanting the full four-day experience, this expert-guided look at New York’s Midtown Art Deco icons takes attendees to such major monuments as the Daily News, the Chrysler Buildings and Rockefeller Center, but also visits delightful Deco surprises hidden on Midtown’s less-traveled side streets. This day is ideal for first-timers attending ADSNY's Autumn in New York Art Deco weekend.

Highlights of the day include:

• Visits to all four New York skyscrapers designed by Raymond Hood, a master of modernist design of the 1920s and 30s

• The one and only Chrysler Building, whose architect, William Van Alen, was once called the Ziegfeld of his profession

• Stylized Art Deco terracotta by Rene Chambellan, the most sought-after ornamental designer of his day

• The little-known cluster of the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and the Beaux-Art apartments, Art Deco in style despite their name

• A respite from the hustle and bustle of midtown Manhattan to enjoy a three-course lunch at the welcoming culinary oasis, The Lambs Club. This Deco-inspired restaurant is a staple of the Great White Way, and its landmark building was the original home of the turn of the century, members-only thespian society, from which the venue takes its name.

• After lunch, a thorough immersion in that urbane urban wonderland, Rockefeller Center, originally conceived as a home for the Metropolitan Opera but built instead as home to Radio City Music Hall and a dozen Deco towers. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. brought together three architectural firms and more than a dozen major artists to create this one-of-a-kind city within a city.

After a short break to recharge and refresh on your own, all attendees are invited to enjoy the official opening Welcome Reception

Welcome Cocktail Reception: Above the Glittering Lights of the City 

October 26, 2023 

The first evening of our immersive Deco weekend kicks off with an exclusive cocktail reception for all attendees in the private residence of ADSNY's president, which boasts a beautiful collection of Art Deco furnishings and design. But the highlight of the setting is its unmatched bird's-eye views of Manhattan's famed Deco gems--the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings--as well newer buildings of the city's ever changing skyline, including the many new towers seemingly rising daily across the East River in Queens and Brooklyn.

Friday Morning: Gramercy Park to Murray Hill

October 27, 2023

This morning's walk through the east side of Midtown South includes an unusual collection of buildings, each different from the next. Our exploration takes us from the posh streets of Murray Hill, a residential neighborhood miraculously surviving among the midtown skyscrapers, down Fifth Avenue and around recently restored Madison Square to end at Gramercy Park, a rare English-style residential square on the London model.

On this stroll, we’ll see buildings boasting a wide array of striking features—chevrons, stylized floral motifs, geometric patterning, speedlines—that exude Art Deco glamor. We will see colorful glazed terracotta, uniquely styled brickwork, stunning ironwork, and inviting entrances, that epitomize the grandeur of New York Deco.

Highlights include:

• A surprising modernist apartment building among the genteel town houses of Murray Hill
• Ely Jacques Kahn’s most impressive office building, Two Park Avenue, and another Kahn building that’s no slouch
• A work by Edgar Brandt, the great French iron master; Brandt’s famous entrance gates for the 1925 Paris Exposition – the one that gave Art Deco its name – no longer stand, but in New York his 1925 gates for the Cheney Silk Co. showroom still survive on Madison Avenue, and are now officially landmarked.
• The iconic Empire State Building, including its stunning lobby with ornament by Oscar Bach, the great American metalsmith
• The Metropolitan Life Annex, an incomplete attempt to capture the Empire State Building’s “world’s tallest” title
• George and Edward Blum’s Gramercy House, boasting some of the most sublime Art Deco terra-cotta ornament in the city.

We will relax and recharge over a gala three-course lunch at one of New York's  legendary private clubs.

Friday Afternoon: Chelsea's Deco Delights

Refreshed after our leisurely lunch, we will join architectural historian Matt Postal who will lead us on a walking tour of Chelsea, nestled between Greenwich Village and the Garment Center. This stylish west side neighborhood has a varied and often overlooked collection of Art Deco gems, including memorable structures from the late 1920s and 1930s that were built as commercial lofts, residences, schools, warehouses, and even a women’s prison. Postal will trace the area’s history and development, highlighting jazz age designs by such noted figures as Ralph Walker, Emery Roth and Horace Ginsbern, and share with us a few recent preservation success stories.

Highlights include:

• The stunning Salvation Army Headquarters by Ralph Walker
• The Elgin (now Joyce) Theater, a rare surviving structure by Winold Reiss
• Inland Terminal 1 (now Google HQ)
• Apartment buildings by Emery Roth and Horace Ginsbern
• Walker Tower condos - also designed by Ralph Walker - originally one of New York’s spectacular telephone buildings

From there we will stop at the Poster House to view a newly opened exhibition Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde.

Our memorable day will conclude over a glass of wine and three-course leisurely dinner.

Saturday: Queens Beyond the Beaten Path

October 28, 2023

Today New York’s most ethnically diverse borough, Queens flourished mightily during the 1920s and 30s. This day-long motor coach tour will immerse us in Queens's best Art Deco architecture and design. From well-known landmarks, to lesser-known gems, this in-depth exploration is sure to open your eyes to the many splendors of this borough just across the East River.

Highlights of the day include:

• A visit to the 1940 Marine Air Terminal designed by William Delano to handle Pan American's fleet of flying boats, the Boeing 314 Clippers, which landed on nearby Bowery Bay

• Walks through enclaves of Art Deco apartment houses and commercial buildings in Sunnyside, Forest Hills and Jamaica

• A spectacular Art Deco church in Astoria

• A gorgeously ornamented Forest Hills bank 

• A Pool and Play Center, one of eleven WPA recreation centers built by Robert Moses

• An Art Deco insurance company with highly ornamental metalwork and brightly colored glazed terra-cotta panels 

• An RKO movie theater that took its name from the Battle of Midway 

• Lunch in a unique restaurant that captures the ethnic vibe of the borough

To conclude our in-depth jaunt through Queens's Art Deco neighborhoods, we will enjoy a three-course dinner in a restaurant nestled under the famed Pepsi-Cola sign with stunning views overlooking New York’s Manhattan skyline.

After dinner, for our final adventure of the day, we will leave our motor coach behind and ferry across the East River back to Manhattan.

Sunday: Art Deco in the Fabulous Fifties: From the Panhellenic Tower to the Brill Building

October 29, 2023

To top off this wonderful weekend, we will close with a Sunday morning walk roughly following 50th Street. We will take in a wide variety of Midtown Manhattan Deco, from the cluster of modernistic residences along the East River ranging from the celebrity-heavy River House to Southgate apartments and host hotel, the Beekman Tower; to superstar to superstar General Electric skyscraper and legendary Waldorf-Astoria on Park and Lexington avenues, and ending with the Brill Building, the new home for Tin Pan Alley. 

Highlights include:

• The General Electric Building, the only Deco tower that can rival the Chrysler Building – architect John Walter Cross described the commission as “challenging us to depict in design the very fundamentals of our universe”

• The Waldorf-Astoria – the city’s grandest Deco hostelry – currently emerging from a three-year-and-counting restoration

• The Brill Building, once home to the nation’s music industry and known for the “Brill Building Sound”

• The august, sedately modernistic River House, whose apartments ranging from eight to eleven rooms were described in 1931 as “private homes in a skyscraper”

Following this dazzling walking tour, the program will officially conclude with a relaxing bubbly brunch in a stylish restaurant offering a spectacular view of one of our favorite New York Art Deco icons.

Lodging

ADSNY has arranged special discounts for Autumn in New York attendees at a famed hotel in the Midtown East Area for rooms at $296 per night + tax. 

You are responsible for booking your own hotel accommodations. Should you wish to extend your stay, the host hotel will honor the discounted rate before and/or after the program. While special discounted pricing is arranged for this program at the host hotel, you have the option of lodging anywhere you choose. However, most scheduled activities will begin and end near host hotel.

Upon receipt of your deposit for the program, ADSNY will provide you with instructions on how to contact the hotel to reserve your discounted room(s). Please check the hotel cancellation policies when booking your stay.

Inclusions, Exclusions, and Details

• All tours
• All admissions
• All gratuities
• All lunches at quintessentially New York restaurants
  
• Two dinners and one special champagne brunch
• One glass of wine included with each dinner
• Local transportation
• Cleaned and sanitized audio assistance devices for all attendees on each walking and motor coach tour

Program price does not include:

• Travel to and from New York
• Ground transportation to and from airport/train station
• Hotel accommodations
• Non-scheduled visits and activities
• Trip Insurance*

*ADSNY strongly recommends that you purchase a travel protection plan to protect yourself and your investment in the event of illness prior to or during the trip. When purchasing a policy, please consult travel agent to review COVID-19 related coverage. Insurance companies can be found online.

Registration and Fees

Visitors have the option of selecting a Four-Day or Three-Day Autumn in New York experience. The Four-Day program includes an additional day exploring Midtown Manhattan’s Deco Icons. Those who have previously enjoyed the Art Deco Society of New York’s Midtown explorations, may choose take advantage of the Three-Day Program, if they prefer.

Four-Day Program including Midtown Manhattan’s Deco Icons 

October 26–29, 2023

Program begins early morning Thursday, October 26; attendees are encouraged to arrive by evening of Wednesday, October 25.

• $2,475 per person full payment

Three-Day Program

October 27–29, 2023

Program begins early morning Friday, October 27; attendees are encouraged to arrive Thursday, October 26, for a reception in a private home with a remarkable Deco collection.

• $1,880 per person full payment

Space is extremely limited; you are urged to reserve your place quickly!

Credit card Payments

An additional 5.5% per ticket processing fee will be applied to all online payments.

• Click the gold Register button located to the left of the "About the Program" section
• Enter the requested information in the Registration Form and follow the instructions to pay online and complete your registration
• Upon completion of your event registration, an email confirmation will be sent to the email address you used to register. If you do not see this email in your inbox, please check your spam folder. 
• You will receive an email with the tour's meeting location the week before the program

If you have questions or need further assistance registering for this event, please email Info@ArtDeco.org, and let us know if you are registering for the three or four day option, and we will send you an invoice that can be easily completed without going through the ArtDeco.org website.

Check Payments

• Please email Info@ArtDeco.org to let us know you are mailing your registration
  
• Checks must be made payable to: Art Deco Society of New York
  
• And mailed to: Art Deco Society of New York,  
  P.O. Box 6205, New York, NY  10150-6205

Registration Forms

Each attendee must complete his/her own Registration Form and submit it to ADSNY to secure registration. Hand-signed forms may be scanned and emailed to ADSNY at Info@ArtDeco.org or mailed to the above P.O. Box. Electronic signatures are not accepted.

Why tour with the Art Deco Society of New York?

• ADSNY trips reflect the organization’s extensive knowledge and expertise in Art Deco architecture, design, and interwar culture, amassed since its incorporation in 1982. All ADSNY programs are carefully curated to provide authentic, and unique experiences, with special access to ADSNY’s experts, research, and resources.
  
• ADSNY tours provide stellar immersive experiences with engaging experts, superb personal service, and experienced trip leaders and local guides.  And when you travel with ADSNY, you can be sure that your safety and well-being are always our top priority.
  
• ADSNY’s expert tour guides, who are very knowledgeable about each area of interest, make enjoyable and engaging learning the core of every trip.
  
• Each of ADSNY’s trips attract informed, intellectually curious, and adventurous Art Deco enthusiasts who share your passion for learning and exploration. 
  
• ADSNY provides small groups with big experiences. Now more than ever, the idea of traveling with a small group of fellow enthusiast is reassuring. All ADSNY’s trips feature small groups, allowing for more flexibility so you get to know fellow travelers and trip leaders.  
• ADSNY’s trips include celebrated experts leading all guided tours, access to private spaces, all lunches and dinners, local transportation, and a knowledgeable ADSNY representative with the group each day to provide you with one-on-one service, so you are ensured an exceptional experience.  
• When you travel with ADSNY, your participation benefits the work of the important non-profit organization, supporting ADSNY’s educational mission to preserve New York’s Deco heritage, spread interwar knowledge, and share our resources. 
  

• VACCINATIONS: All attendees must be fully vaccinated and boosted. ADSNY will require confirmation of vaccination before the program
• FACE COVERINGS: Face masks are optional and can be provided upon request.
• COVID RISK: Though positivity rates are declining, an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public space where people are present. Those joining ADSNY'S in-person programming do so at their own risk to such exposure

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out at Info@ArtDeco.org.

ADSNY strongly recommends that you purchase a travel protection plan to protect yourself and your investment in the event of illness prior to or during the trip, and to obtain additional medical coverage while on the tour. When purchasing a policy, please consult with a travel insurance agent to review COVID-19 related coverage. Insurance companies can be found online.

Cancellations, Responsibility, and Release

All payments are final, there are no refunds or exchanges. The Art Deco Society of New York (ADSNY) strongly recommends that you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Insurance companies offering cancellation policies can be found online.

Payment of your fee represents your acceptance of the following terms and conditions. ADSNY shall not be liable and does not assume responsibility for any claims, damages, expenses or other financial loss whether to person or property arising out of any illness, injury, accident, death, cancellation, delay, alteration, or inconvenience resulting from any act of omission, commission, or inadvertence of any hotel, carrier, restaurant, or other company or person rendering any of the services included in the tour or its pre- and post-tour arrangements, or caused by weather, sickness, strikes, or the willful or negligent acts of any other tour members or any cause whatsoever beyond the control of ADSNY. It is understood that there may be changes in the itinerary subject to weather or unexpected circumstances. In all cases, ADSNY will make every attempt to substitute other events of equal value and interest. By registering for this program you confirm that you agree to follow all safety protocol outlined in the program materials. ADSNY events may be photographed or recorded by ADSNY. By attending this program, you consent to the use of your image and voice by ADSNY for all non-commercial, nonprofit purposes.

PHOTO CREDITS: RICHARD BERENHOLTZ