Midtown North NYC Architecture Walking Tour

This thoughtfully designed tour is an enjoyable and enlightening journey through the history of New York and of architecture as told in notable buildings of Midtown Manhattan. Highly recommended! TIP: Tours can be cancelled if there aren’t enough participants, so try to schedule your tour as early as you can in your visit to NYC. That way if your tour is cancelled you have more chances of taking another tour. This happened to us, and Ivan was very helpful in communicating with us and making arrangements so we could take the tour on a later date. Thanks Ivan!

William was a fantastic tour guide and shared his wealth of knowledge with us. He opened our eyes to so many things we did not know or notice before. We will definitely do another of these tours next time we are in New York and would recommend it to anyone who wants to know the city better.

I really loved how thoughtfully this tour was designed — moving from neo-classical to Modern and contemporary architecture in a clear and engaging way. Even after living in nyc for years, this tour gave me a fresh perspective on buildings and streets I usually take for granted. Dr. Shumkov is incredibly knowledgeable and made the experience even more insightful. Highly recommend for both tourists and locals.

Our guide -- a retired architect and current City employee -- is very personable and knowledgeable. I am a 55-year NYC resident and recovering lawyer with a life-long interest in architecture. Yet or guide made me see and understand Midtown in a whole new way.

I booked a private Midtown North Architecture tour while my parents were visiting us over Thanksgiving. Ivan was a wealth of information about every site we visited and showed us places we would not have found on our own. I particularly appreciated that he customized the tour to my Dad’s interests and the cold weather. If you’re considering this tour, don’t hesitate, highly recommended!

Fantastic tour! We visited iconic buildings for the most renown periods in the history of NYC architecture. Ivan was very knowledgeable and dynamic. I recommend this tour 100%

William, our tour guide was very knowledgeable and informative. He was very passionate and congenial and asked us if it was okay to go beyond the two hours because there was so much more he wanted to show us. We learned a lot but some of the information was more technical than we anticipated. The other people on the tour seemed to have an architectural background so seemed to have a better understanding of the content. Overall though it was a great tour. Definitely recommend it.

The tour from start to finish was fabulous. William was our guide and he knew absolutely everything there is to know about New York architecture. We saw all the big architecture names and some stunning art deco gems. Communication was great before we arrived as well. Can't recommend enough!

Our walking tour with Build Tours NYC was one of the highlights of our trip to New York! We highly recommend it to anyone who wants a deeper, more personalized experience of the city. My husband and I share an interest in the intersection of construction and art, and Ivan, the owner and our guide, tailored the entire tour around that theme. His knowledge of architecture, design, and the stories behind each building was remarkable — you can tell he truly loves what he does. We had engaging conversations throughout the tour, learning not only about the physical structures but also the creative vision and craftsmanship that bring them to life. Ivan pointed out details we would have completely missed on our own, and he made even familiar landmarks feel new and fascinating. It was well worth the price — an inspiring blend of art, history, and construction that we’ll remember for years to come

We did a private 2 hour tour of midtown with Ivan. My sister and I booked this for our father as a surprise for his 70th birthday. He is a former structural engineer with a strong passion for architecture and the city. Ivan did an amazing job of tailoring the walk and discussion to my father’s interests and took into account count certain buildings that he wanted to see and learn more about. Ivan was very knowledgeable and impressed our entire family. He was very patient and indulged all of our father’s requests and questions. As a New Yorker of 15 years, I was surprised at the buildings I discovered and facts I learned on the tour as well! I highly recommend this tour for anyone who is looking for a specialized, in depth look into the city’s history and architecture.