NYC - Best lobbies to see?
 

Everyone has been so great providing ideas for our upcomcing trip to NYC - I hope you can stand yet another question.

I've got a whole list of buildings I want to see from the outside (for the architecture) but which are the "don't miss" interiors? If I were going to pop in to, say, five buildings in Manhattan (to see architecture or design) which would you suggest?

Many thanks!

Message: There are several Museum exhibitions that would be of major interest for you.
1) There currently is an exhibition of the architecture of Diller + Scofidio
at The Whitney Museum, through June 1 .
2) At the Cooper Hewitt Museum:
National Design Triennial: Inside Design Now
April 22, 2003 - January 25, 2004
The Triennial looks at the breaking developments and future horizons across the fields of design practice, from architecture and interiors to product design, graphic design, and fashion.

As a native NY'er and a modern architiecture buff, I would recommend you check out the following:

1950's/60's classic Modern Architiecture:
1 Chase Manhattan Plaza
CBS Building
Lever House
Segram Building
Met-Life Building(AKA Pan-Am Building)
Guggenheim Museum

1980's modern buildings:
The World Financial Center and the surround Battery Park City developments
CitiGroup Center(AKA CitiCorp Center)
Sony Building (AKA At&T Building)


1990's & current modern design buildings:
LVMH Building 19 East 57th Street
The under construction AOL/TimeWarner Building
American Folk Art Museum
Conde Nast Building
Reuters Building
The Austria Consulate Building, 11 East 52nd Street
Prada store located on Broadway @ Prince St. Designed by Rem Koolhaus,it is considered the most innovative retail store design in Manhattan

Hotels:
Marriot Marquis Hotel (an excellent example of 1970's hotel design as pioneered by John Portman )
Westin Times Square Hotel (the direct opposite of the Marquis, this is an excellent example of the new, latin-flavored design by Miami-based firm of Architectonica)
4 Seasons Hotel
The Paramount
The Royalton
W Times Square
W NY
W Union Suare

You can add to the hotel list The Tribeca Grand Hotel

Interiors:

The Plaza
Grand Central Terminal
St. Patrick's
Cloisters
The Pierre
St. Regis
Rockefeller Center (main)
Tour Carnegie Hall

don't forget the magnificent lobby and ceiling of the Venator (was Woolworth ) building on Park Place, across from City Hall

The Ford Foundation is a little known building on 42nd St between 1st and 2nd AVe. It's looks like a park inside the building, right down to the little babbling brook and pond.

I would also add some of the building in Central Park and the Flat Iron Building to that list.

Grammercy Park and the surrounding area and again a little known treasure of older city homes is on 18th St, between 1st and 2nd Ave. It will remind you of homes in New Orleans.

There is also a block long mews of homes on 161st and St. Nicholas and some older historic buildings in upper Manhattan.

St. Patricks Cathedral, Riverside Church, St. John the Divine, (which will be the largest gothic cathedral when it is completed, it is huge and can hold over 4 thousand people.

So much to see you won't have time to see it all, so pick an area of town or two and get your walking shoes out.

Have a great time.

The lobby of the Chrysler Bldg is rather small and absolutely gorgeous. There's a mural on the ceiling, in-laid imported wood on the elevator doors and gorgeous Deco decorations. If you go there and you're on E. 42nd St, in addition to Grand Central Terminal, check out the Daily News building with its huge globe.

What about the lobby to the Empire State Building? It's got some cool details.

I second the motion for the Chrysler Building - beautiful details and one of the classiest deco lobbies I'ver ever seen. The public areas of the Empire State Building are also interesting and on a larger scale but to my taste less appealing then the Chrysler.

The lobby of the Paramount Hotel on W 46th Street is a Phillipe Starck design (if I recall correctly) and fun to see - very funky and not hotel like at all. No sign on outside of hotyel - it's the white building on north side of street between 7th and 8th and has roses on the exterior wall in small planters. The lobby of another Ian Schrager property, the Hudson Hotel, is cool but less impressive from a design standpoint.

For inside architecture, Grand Central Station is a must see.

Don't forget the Regent Hotel on Wall St. When you walk in, you walk straight into the Regent Ballroom which is absolutely spectacular. The ballroom has been used for many important events over the years.

Another strong vote for the lobby of the Chrysler Building. Make sure you observe the elevators. All in all, the epitome of Art Deco.

My daughter wanted me to add that, in the Chrysler Building, each elevator interior is different - all gorgeous. Also, the only reason why I know about the Chrysler lobby is because of her school assignment.