cultureNOW Museum Without Walls
Consider the world outside a museum. Imagine that the world we live in is really another kind of museum where the works of art exist in the landscape itself. What if you could have a gallery guide that would tell you about the buildings and artworks you find around you? It would show you what the place used to look like and introduce you to some of the people who shaped it.
Our curators are the artists, architects, photographers, and historians who created the images, podcasts, and videos to share their knowledge and insights. Our collaborators are museums, universities, cities, and civic organizations that are the stewards of our shared cultural history.
Our growing virtual collection of photographs and drawings, maps and documents, podcasts and videos tells the stories of how some of the more iconic places in our cities got to be the way they are and what they might become.
Explore buildings of the past, present, and future. Look at the vast selection of artwork that graces the public realm. And discover how places have evolved over time. Deconstruct the layers of history that form the fabric of our urban landscape. Meet people who have made their mark on our cities and country, who have lived in the past or are living now. Listen to their voices. Take (or make) a tour. And join us at an event, either virtual or real.
Episodes
May 2, 2026
May 2, 2026
May 2, 2026
May 2, 2026
May 2, 2026
May 1, 2026
May 1, 2026
May 1, 2026
8 min
Lever House considered the 1st modernist skyscraper in New York was commissioned by Charles Luckman who was President (and trained as an architect). Rather than make a wedding cake tower as the 1916 New York Zoning Code required for tall buildings, Gordon Bunshaft's act of genius was to set the the building back and only utilize a quarter of the available site area. Other Innovative features included the curtain wall, lack of retail on the ground floor, plaza art program and other employee amenities. It has been renovated several times (all by SOM).
May 1, 2026
May 1, 2026
4 min
The podcast tells the story of how the building was commissioned and shares a couple of stories about events at the Club as well as the zoning battle with the Fisher Brothers in the late 70's that netted them a $5 million fee.
Apr 30, 2026
Apr 30, 2026