Coined in the 1960s to describe a style of French decorative arts, “Art Deco” now refers to almost anything from saltcellars to skyscrapers, produced anywhere in the world during the early decades of this century, using abstract, stylised floral, geometric, or streamlined design.

In New York, Art Deco evolved through a series of Manhattan skyscrapers into the city’s chief architectural language. Today, New York’s Deco buildings survive as prized remnants of a distant yet modern past that still help define the city’s visual identity.

Come along to this in-depth illustrated tour of Midtown Manhattan’s major boulevard of Deco skyscrapers, showcasing some of the city’s most famous monuments.

These include Raymond Hood’s red-and-white-striped Daily News Building, the Chanin Building with its Rene Chambellan-designed abstract ornamentation and the peerless Chrysler Building, the city’s (and the world’s) most famous Art Deco skyscraper.

We will also look at Tudor City, built just before Art Deco swept away the notion of borrowing from Europe’s past to design America’s future, and the often-overlooked block between First and Second Avenues with three surprising Deco creations and a fabulous interior by Ely Jacques Kahn.

About the speaker:

A native New Yorker, architectural historian and former long-time staff member of New York’s Landmarks Commission, Anthony W. Robins' most recent book, New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham’s Jazz Age Architecture, won a New York Society Library “New York City Book Award” in 2018.

Anthony has completed an MA at London’s Courtauld Institute of Art, and he lectures nationally and internationally on New York’s history and buildings. A popular leader of architectural walking tours, he specialises in Art Deco, having organised series for many organisations, including the Art Deco Society of New York of which he is a long-time member and current Vice-President.

Robins was honoured with the 2017 Guiding Spirit Award from the Guides Association of New York City.