TDC Midtown South Walking Tours on May 10 and 12, 2011

Midtown South is the area between 42nd Street and 23rd Street. Some of it is familiar to tourists, but much of it is not. The two One Club tours will try to cover this area, if not from river to river, at least from Third Avenue to Ninth Avenue. The neighborhoods in this area are home to a variety of lettering styles, materials and techniques to see. These tours represent an opportunity to go beyond Helvetica, Times Roman and the rest of the dreary fonts that you see everyday.

May 10, 11 am to 2 pm – Midtown South: East of Fifth Avenue (Murray Hill and Kips Bay)
This area includes department stores such as Lord & Taylor and Macy’s, famous skyscrapers (Empire State Building), Art Deco buildings, churches, hotels and schools that are all worthwhile targets for the dedicated type-aholic.

May 12, 11 am to 2 pm — Midtown South: West of Fifth Avenue (Garment District and Chelsea)
This area includes older industrial buildings as well as newer art galleries. There is still some Art Deco but there is also more 19th c. and vernacular lettering to see. This is a different opportunity for the lettering fanatic. Or for anyone who just enjoys seeing different parts of New York City.

About the instructor: Paul Shaw is widely known and respected as a guide to urban lettering. With Garrett Boge he co-founded and led the original Legacy of Letters tours of Rome, Florence and Tuscany from 1997 to 2000 and since 2010 he has been co-leading the revived tours of northern Italy with Alta Price. On his own he has conducted regular walking tours of lettering in New York City since 2005 for the Type Directors Club and other organizations. He has also led similar tours of Boston, Buffalo and Atlanta for SoTA (the Society of Typographic Aficionados). Paul is the author of Helvetica and the New York City Subway System which has been republished by The MIT Press this year. He has been a calligrapher for over 40 years and has designed 18 typefaces. He is the principal of Paul Shaw / Letter Design and teaches calligraphy at Parsons School of Design and the history of typography at the School of Visual Arts.

TDC members $35
Non members $45

Registration: Registration is required and space is limited (20 attendees max.). To register, email Carol Wahler, or call 212 633-8943.