The “Spirit” of the Gilded Age

Come for a drink as we talk about high society with author Esther Crain of The Gilded Age in New York, 1870-1910. A transformative time in New York City’s history, the Gilded Age is known as a period of growth, wealth, skyscrapers, lavish parties, and rapid social change. The Upper East Side boasts some of the most spectacular mansions of the period, built by millionaires along the “Gold Coast” of Fifth Avenue. While names like Astor, Vanderbilt, Frick, and Carnegie left their mark along Millionaire’s Row, hundreds of thousands of immigrants crowded into tenements in Yorkville, the “other” half of the Upper East Side. Esther Crain, who writes the popular Ephemeral New York blog, illustrates this period of great extremes through the use of historic photography, personal diaries, newspapers, and more in her new book. Join FRIENDS and the author for drinks, discussion, and a look at Gilded Age life. Jazz music by legendary guitarist Gene Bertoncini to follow.

East River Vistas: Architecture and Changing Lifestyles in Yorkville

Once home to bucolic farmland, the eastern edge of Yorkville was dotted with clapboard farmhouses and country houses, and later transformed into an industrial hub of factories by the turn of the 20th century. As immigrants settled in Yorkville, tenement buildings were constructed, and by the 1930s the area around East End Avenue was home to luxury apartments designed by elite architects. Join the Historic Districts Council and FRIENDS as we track this fascinating history of housing in eastern Yorkville with architectural historian and famed tour guide, Francis Morrone. Highlights will include East End Avenue, Gracie Square, and Carl Schurz Park, model tenements such as the Cherokee Apartments, the idyllic rowhouses at Henderson Place, and everything in between, including the biggest white brick high-rise in the universe!

East River Vistas: Architecture and Changing Lifestyles in Yorkville

Once home to bucolic farmland, the eastern edge of Yorkville was dotted with clapboard farmhouses and country houses, and later transformed into an industrial hub of factories by the turn of the 20th century. As immigrants settled in Yorkville, tenement buildings were constructed, and by the 1930s the area around East End Avenue was home to luxury apartments designed by elite architects. Join the Historic Districts Council and FRIENDS as we track this fascinating history of housing in eastern Yorkville with architectural historian and famed tour guide, Francis Morrone. Highlights will include East End Avenue, Gracie Square, and Carl Schurz Park, model tenements such as the Cherokee Apartments, the idyllic rowhouses at Henderson Place, and everything in between, including the biggest white brick high-rise in the universe!