The Chrysler Building, the Empire State, 30 Rock, and other skyscrapers adorn the skyline. At street level the solitude of the Public Library, and the glitz of Fifth Avenue. And underground, Grand Central Terminal ushers commuters in and out of the city. Take a walk amongst the sights of Midtown East.

There's no place like NYC for the holidays! From iconic window displays to synchronized light and sound shows, this walk will guide you through the history of a festive city tradition that dates back to the 1870s.

BERGDORF GOODMAN, MANHATTAN Address: 754 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10019 Architect: Buchman & Kahn Constructed: 1928 Constructed as seven individual but architecturally unified stores, this structure replaced the Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion, one of the grandest Gilded Age residences in the city. Its distinct seven- and nine-story massing pays homage to the demolished Vanderbilt structure. Bergdorf Goodman, established in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and Edwin Goodman, was one of the building’s first tenants. They eventually acquired the entire building, and further expanded into two adjacent buildings in 1959. In 1984, the building received a new base, designed to unify the previously separate storefronts in a way that would relate to the rest of the building. In addition to being home to an iconic New York retailer, the structure is significant for its refined design and strong classical organization, featuring a series of bays with a tight rhythm of windows. Its white South Dover marble façade, capped by a slate roof, features shallow changes of planes to create lines, shadows and decorative figures.

Cornelius Vanderbilt Mansion, 1920. The original Vanderbilt mansion on this location was undertaken in 1878 by Cornelius Vanderbilt II upon inheriting over $70 million from his father. The "modest" townhouse was quickly overtaken in the neighborhood by the larger, more opulent homes of other wealthy society families: Rockefeller, Carnegie, Frick, and Astor. In the spirit of competition with the other, in 1883 Vanderbilt hired George B. Post and Richard Morris Hunt to drastically expand the home. He purchased the five brownstones to the north on Fifth Avenue and had them demolished for this purpose. The resulting mansion was the largest private residence ever built in the city (long gone, it still retains that title). It was modeled on the Château de Blois in the Loire Valley and featured skylights by John La Farge and sculptures by Saint-Gaudens in its 130 rooms. The mansion was completed in 1893. Vanderbilt only lived in the home six years before he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1899. His widow and a cadre of servants continued to live in the home until she was forced to sell in 1926. Prior to its demolition, Alice Vanderbilt briefly opened the home to public and attempted to save a few of its decorative features. Today details of the house can be seen in a pair of monumental gates in Central Park, sculptural reliefs at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, and a giant fireplace in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Bergdorf Goodman ARCHITECT: Buchman & Kahn DATE: 1927-28 STYLE: Modern Classical The site, which was the former location of Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s mansion, was purchased by the real estate developer Frederick Brown in 1926. Brown developed the site from 1927-1928 to read as separate, but aesthetically unified, buildings. Ely Jacques Kahn, one of the most important New York architects of the 20th century, designed the buildings in the Modern Classical style. His design incorporated classicizing elements of French architecture and harmonized with the other buildings on the Grand Army Plaza.

As the city expanded and the relentless churning of commerce caused New York's population to explode, the city pushed northward. As the city itself moved northward, so did its elite. They settled along the undeveloped edge of the brand new Central Park, building enormous homes and mansions to celebrate their fabulous wealth. This walk takes you through a selection of the Fifth Avenue mansions that would have once dominated the Avenue.

In November 2014, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) announced a plan to clear 95 properties that had been on its calendar for five years or more, but not yet designated as landmarks. The wholesale removal of these properties without considering each one’s merits would have represented a severe blow to the properties and to the city’s landmarks process in general, sending a message that would jeopardize any future effort to designate them. The properties represented years of research and support from New Yorkers, elected officials, community groups and the Commission itself. To broadly reject all of that through an administrative action would be disrespectful to the efforts and judgment of previous LPC Commissioners and staff. Further, the removal of these 95 sites from the LPC’s calendar would render the LPC powerless in the case of any proposed work or demolition project involving those sites. The Historic Districts Council acted strongly in opposition to this action, and advocated for a more considered, fair and transparent approach. To further prioritize this advocacy, HDC made the initiative one of its Six to Celebrate in 2015, calling it “Landmarks Under Consideration.” As part of this effort, HDC worked with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and a coalition of other preservation organizations to submit an alternative plan for the LPC’s consideration. The plan eventually formed the basis for the LPC’s initiative, entitled “Backlog95,” calling for a series of public discussions to evaluate the properties in geographical groupings. Announced in July 2015, the LPC’s initiative was the direct result of the advocacy of preservation groups and concerned New Yorkers, over 200 of whom wrote to the LPC to demand a fair process for considering the sites on their individual merits. In fall 2015, the LPC held four “special hearings” in which the items were grouped according to their location by Community District, with roughly 5-12 items per group. At these hearings, the public was given the opportunity to comment. HDC wrote and delivered statements for nearly every item. In February 2016, the LPC held another special hearing to discuss and vote on how to proceed. The Commission was given three choices for the fate of each property: prioritize for designation by the end of 2016; remove from the calendar by voting not to designate (based on a lack of merit); or remove from the calendar by issuing a no-action letter (this allows an item to be taken off the calendar without prejudice, meaning it could be brought forward for designation at a later date). On that day, 30 items were prioritized for designation, five were removed from the calendar with a vote not to designate and the rest were removed from the calendar by issuing a no-action letter. The five properties that the Commission voted not to designate were largely irreparably altered or had been demolished. This story highlights some of the sites considered throughout this 15-month process. HDC chose the following sites in order to provide a snapshot of the geographic, historic, cultural and typological diversity of the 95 sites considered by the LPC in its historic “Backlog95” action. This selection was not influenced by the outcome of the hearings. Many of the sites listed have now been designated as NYC Landmarks by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

In August 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving some women—but not all—the right to vote at the national level. Celebrate the centennial of suffrage with a tour of New York locations that were important in the history of women’s rights.

Bergdorf Goodman, 746 Fifth Avenue, ca. 1944. For decades, Bergdorf Goodman has created glamorous, eccentric, and fashion-inspired installations that are known to impress. For 2017, the store brought a philanthropic twist to its spectacular displays: Bergdorf Goodman partnered with seven New York City charities to raise money for a number of good causes.