The distinctive footprint that disrupts Manhattan’s grid west of Broadway between 155th and 158th Streets—the Audubon Park Historic District—did not come about by accident or from the demands of local topography. It unfolded from careful planning and alliances among like-minded property owners, whose social and political connections ensured that when progress swept up Manhattan’s west side, they would benefit.

Join neighborhood historian Matthew Spady for a leisurely walk through the architectural treasures in the Audubon Park Historic District on Sunday, October 16 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The walk, sponsored by the Historic Districts Council, will begin at the Audubon Monument in Trinity Cemetery (155th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue) and from there wind through the historic district, ending at the distinctive row of twelve houses that John Leo and John Lilliendahl built on 158th Street between 1896 and 1898. The Historic Districts Council selected this row as one of its Six to Celebrate designations for 2016.

Sunday, October 16, 2:00—3:30 p.m.

Meeting Place: Audubon Monument, 550 West 155th Street

$10 for seniors, students, or friends of the Historic District Council

$20 for non-members

Reserve a space today

Matthew Spady has been an evangelist for Audubon Park since 1998, when he began researching, writing, and speaking to promote its rich history. With an educational and professional background spanning the performing arts, education, and market research, he brings a unique set of presentation skills to his written and oral interpretation of the historic Audubon Park neighborhood in northern Manhattan.

Creator of the virtual walking tour of the Audubon Park Historic District, he regularly leads walking tours of the Audubon Park Historic District and neighboring Trinity Cemetery and has given numerous presentations about the area’s rich history for groups such as Researching New York Conference, Association of Public Historians of New York State, Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology, and Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group. He contributed to the Audubon Park Historic District Designation Report and has been quoted in the New York Times, Manhattan Times, DnaInfo, Avenue Magazine, Brick Underground, as well as by numerous history and arts news sites.