Promoting the arts in Midtown Manhattan since 1976

We bring community together

The Conservancy is a vibrant hub of arts and culture, hosting hundreds of performances and visual art exhibits every year. Partnering with Saint Peter's Church, Grand Central Partnership, and the Older Adults Center at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, we bring the community together through engaging programs like our popular Jazz on the Plaza series, public art galleries, artist talks, dance workshops, music lessons, and Off-Broadway plays and musicals.

Whether indoors at our facility or outdoors on the adjacent public plaza, our events are free or affordably priced, ensuring everyone can enjoy the arts!

1976

Midtown Arts Common

The Conservancy, originally incorporated as Midtown Arts Common (MAC) in 1976, was established alongside the construction of the new Saint Peter's Church and its public cultural spaces within the iconic 601 Lexington Avenue skyscraper.

For over 120 years, the visual and performing arts have been at the heart of Saint Peter's mission, and MAC formalized a secular approach to engaging artists and audiences.

In the 1950s, Saint Peter’s launched a visual art gallery curated by Elaine de Kooning, a passionate advocate of Abstract Expressionism. Now under the Conservancy's leadership, this gallery remains one of New York City’s longest-running public art programs, offering free exhibitions to the public.

1997- 2022

Rich jazz legacy

With a Minister of Jazz and a history of nurturing legends like Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billy Strayhorn. This deep connection to jazz inspired the Conservancy’s beloved Jazz on the Plaza series, featuring free performances by renowned artists like Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and many more.

The Conservancy has a long history of nurturing jazz with jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald.
Billy Strayhorn sits at his piano, a jazz legend who collaborated often with Duke Ellington and ultimately gifted his piano to Saint Peter's.
The Conservancy has a long history of nurturing jazz with jazz legends like John Coltrane.
The Conservancy has a long history of nurturing jazz with jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie.

2023

The Conservancy

In 2023, Midtown Arts Common (MAC) was renamed as the Arts and Architecture  Conservancy at Saint Peter’s to reflect its nonprofit responsibility to expand arts and culture programming and continue to promote public art initiatives at 601 Lexington Avenue (formerly Citicorp).

Through its commitment to the arts, the Conservancy continues to be a vibrant cultural hub in the heart of the city.

Nestled under the tower, Saint Peter's is a founding member of the condominium that created Citigroup Center (now 601 Lexington)