Stan O'Connor's Midtown, from Grand Central through Rockefeller to Times Square Walking Tour
This tour starts at the magnificent, century-old Grand Central Terminal. You’ll see this massive building’s main concourse, a huge room with a vaulted ceiling painted with the stars of the northern hemisphere. We’ll go down to the basement of a dozen eateries, and see the whisper corners, where two people can converse while facing into two corners about 40 feet apart. Up again to cruise through Grand Central Market for fresh foods, chocolates and cheeses. You’ll pass under Pershing Square Arch, where Park Avenue approaches from the south, and cars roll over the outer roofs of Grand Central.
Next we will walk over to Fifth Avenue and pass dozens of shops, stopping in at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. From there, you’ll explore the 18-building complex of Rockefeller Center, seeing its many statues and other works of art. If the season is right, we’ll lean over and watch skaters at The Rink. 30 Rock, at the center of The Center, is home to a couple of chocolate shops I’d like to show you. We will stand outside the studio of the Today Show, and photograph the famous awning of Radio City Music Hall, home of The Rockettes.
Then on to Times Square, itself home to more than forty theaters, 38 of which are so-called ‘Broadway’ theaters, meaning they’re within a block of Broadway and hold more than 499 guests. You will stand in the middle of the square and gaze up at dozens of brilliant spectacular signs, meant to awe the onlooker. ABC’s Good Morning America is here, as well as Viacom, the original Paramount Building, The Brill Building (think Phil Spector, Burt Bacharach, David Shire, and Paul Simon), whose music revolutionized the sounds of 1950s and 1960s pop!
The tour ends at 42nd Street, on a block that contains cinemas, Ripley’s, Madame Tussaud’s, and a good dozen restaurants. And if there’s something you do or don’t want to see on this tour, it can be customized to your tastes.
3 hours - $30 per person, minimum 2
$150 for groups of 8 - 20
Some stair climbing.