The Municipal Art Society of New York - Francis Morrone

The Municipal Art Society of New York recently celebrated its fiftieth year of offering walking tours to the public; in 2007 more than 10,000 people participated. This illustrated guidebook to highlights of architecture, preservation, urban planning, and public art described by two experienced guides, with pictures, route maps, and travel information, covers Manhattan from downtown skyscrapers to Harlem by way of Madison Square, Art Deco Midtown, Grand Central Terminal, Columbus Circle, Central Park, and more.

Francis Morrone is an art and architecture critic who writes book reviews, film criticism, and design criticism for many publications. He has written architectural guides to Philadelphia and New York City. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. He is also the recipient of the 2012 Arthur Ross Award in History/Journalism, given by The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA).

The MAS's expertise in conducting tours is highly evident; the book provides extraordinarily precise directions on where to walk, where to look up and when to turn around. The text, by architectural tour guide Francis Morrone and architectural historian Matthew A. Postal, is rich without being overly dense, and striking high-resolution photography by Edward A. Toran makes the volume useful to armchair travelers as well.

References to other buildings are thoughtfully keyed, aware of the manner in which a book allows for the walking tour to devolve into something more personal, less scripted….It furthers [the MAS] mission of celebrating the city's many layers and appreciating them firsthand.
John Hill

The book is a suitable gift for out-of-town visitors or city residents, and it could serve as the basis for a group excursion, if you're looking for a cheaper, D.I.Y. approach to teambuilding.