The Murray Hill Experience: Walking Tour and Visit to Scandinavia House

RSVPs open Sunday, July 27th at 8pm. Space is set aside for new members, first and 2nd timers who land on the waiting list. If this is you, kindly email me at hankorenstein@gmail.com to request a spot.

We meet in front of the library at 5th Avenue at 41st. The library will open so be sure to use the restroom beforehand if needed!

Tour Overview
Once the 25-acre farm of affluent Quaker Robert Murray in the 1700s, today’s Murray Hill is a vibrant residential community that includes a magnificent mostly 19th cenrury historic district, several museums and cultural centers for the public including the JP Morgan Library and Museum, Scandinavia House and the Romanian Cultural Institute.

Area Covered: 41st Street to 35th Street, between 5th Avenue and 2nd Avenue.

While Park Avenue is lined with high-rise apartments, much of the neighborhood’s architecture is comprised of elegant mid-19th century townhouses, gilded age mansions and distinctive houses of worship. As we discover the many layers of Murray Hill’s history, you will also learn about a legendary event that occurred during the early days of the American Revolution in 1776! We'll also talk about the current real estate scene.

We will also stroll over to Tudor City, which features among the world's first skyscraper apartment buildings. Built in the 1920's in the medieval Tudor style, it was also created as a self-contained walkable community, complete with a beautiful park.

We'll also break up our walking tour a bit with a visit to Scandinanvia House to see the current exhibit (free) an described below.

About the Current Exhibit at Scandinavia House
Nordic Echoes — Tradition in Contemporary Art is the first major traveling exhibition of contemporary Nordic folk arts and cultural traditions from the Upper Midwest (North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). Featuring 55 works by 24 contemporary artists whose practices are informed by Nordic traditional skills, the exhibition will showcase the malleability and persistence of these traditions in the U.S. Looking at painting and textile traditions as well as works in wood and metal, Nordic Echoes highlights how variations on traditional themes and innovations have led to the emergence of living, evolving forms. No longer static objects rooted in an imagined past, these works explore themes of identity and belonging as well as how traditions have been shaped by their U.S.-based environments.

Cheers from your organizer,
Hank
hankorenstein@gmail.com
646-596-3005