Rediscovering New York’s Art Deco Architecture
About the Program:
On January 11, 1982, a dozen admirers of Art Deco gathered in the Murray Hill apartment of interior designer Henriette Nathan to hold the first official meeting of the members and directors of the newly incorporated Art Deco Society of New York. Interest in the modernistic styles of the 1920s and 30s had been growing worldwide since a seminal Paris retrospective exhibition of 1966, and a number of New York's Deco superstars––Radio City Music Hall, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building––had found shelter under the city's Landmarks law of 1965. But the revival of interest in Art Deco was still in its early days. Forty years later, Art Deco may be the single most recognizable architectural style in New York City, where more than 80 individual Deco buildings have won Landmarks protection, along with dozens more in historic districts, including a stretch of the Grand Concourse.
In this program that you can view in person or live on zoom, Anthony W. Robins––who joined ADSNY while the Society was still getting organized––will trace the extraordinary growth of New York's fascination with Art Deco architecture, and its rocky road to acceptance in historic preservation circles. Robins witnessed much of that story while on staff at the Landmarks Commission (where he wrote the designation reports of half a dozen Deco landmarks). The talk will revisit resounding victories, from rescuing Radio City in the late 1970s to the interiors of the Waldorf-Astoria in 2017. It will highlight major restorations, from the Empire State Building's lobby to the Orchard Beach Bathhouse. But it will also recount some of the lamentable losses––from Bonwit Teller, demolished in 1980, to the McGraw Hill Building lobby, stripped to the walls in 2021––a reminder that there is still work to be done.
This event will be available in person at The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York and via Zoom. When registering, please be sure to choose whether you will be attending in person or watching via the live stream on Zoom.
About the Speaker:
Anthony W. Robins has been guiding natives and visitors to the city’s wonders of steel and stone for twenty-five years. He has led hundreds of walking tours of New York history and architecture. A founding member of ADSNY, Robins created the Society’s original tour program in 1981. In 2017, the Guides Association of New York City honored him with the “Guiding Spirit Award.” He lectures on New York history and architecture to audiences both in the United States and abroad, teaches various levels of students about architecture and the development of New York City, and has authored five books and a number of short guide books, as well as many newspaper and magazine articles. His latest award-winning book, New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham’s Jazz Age Architecture, explores Art Deco throughout the five boroughs.
Registration:
How to Register for ADSNY's Web-based programs:
- Click the gold Register button located to the left of the "About the Program" section
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If you need further assistance registering for this event, or are experiencing a different issue, please email Events@ArtDeco.org, let us know which events you would like to register for, and we will send you an invoice that can be easily completed without going through the ArtDeco.org website.
All ticket sales are final. Sorry, there are no refunds or exchanges.
