Gotham Center Scruntinizes A Midtown Corner
The Corner of 34th and Fifth
Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 6:30 p.m.
Recital Hall at CUNY-Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue
All Forums are FREE and open to the public, but we now require registration. Please click here to register. Seating is limited. There will be a stand-by line for those who did not register.
Co-Sponsored with the New York Council for the Humanities
The second forum on 34th Street will focus on a geographical and historical look at one corner over time — the corner of 34th and Fifth Avenue. This one corner can serve as a synecdoche for much of New York City’s elite history. It was home to farm land, two Astor Mansions (1850s), the A.T. Stewart mansion (1867), the Waldorf and Astoria Hotels (1893 and 1897), B. Altman’s (1906) and the Empire State Building (1931). 2008 marks the 75th anniversary of King Kong (1933). This panel will focus on the experience of elites and examine the layers of change that reveal much about the history of power, real estate and tourism. Join panelists David M. Scobey, Professor of History, Bates College; Clifton Hood, Professor of History, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and author John Tauranac.
For more information visit our Web site at www.gothamcenter.org or call 212-817-8460.