From Affluence to Affliction: The Urban Development of the Upper East Side & How We Got Here

From 59th to 96th Street, bounded by Central Park to the west and the East River to the east, the Upper East Side of Manhattan, known as the “Silk Stocking District” and one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in NYC, is filled with luxury high rise residential co-op apartment buildings, stately townhouses, foreign consulates, Fifth Avenue’s Museum Mile, and historic brownstones. Yet the UES has also welcomed German, Hungarian, Czech, Irish and French immigrants into Yorkville, into its public and experimental low-income housing apartments, prestigious museums and even a residential tuberculosis retreat.

Circle of Friends is delighted to welcome William M. Singer, AIA, NYC Architect, who will take us on an in-person walking tour presentation of this elite NYC neighborhood, while known for its Gilded Age Mansions and expensive eateries, it holds many architectural surprises. The story of the urban development of the Upper East Side is the story of wealthy Masters of the Universe living side-by-side with the broad range of everyday New Yorkers.

Registration is required at [email protected]. There is no program fee, but free will donations are appreciated.