Lovers of Open Space, Speak Up!

First, the folks at Historic Districts Council (HDC) handed you the mic to voice your opinion on New York City's open spaces.  Now, they're giving us all -- that includes YOU! -- one more chance to help inform their upcoming annual conference, this year titled "The Great Outside: Preserving Public and Private Open Spaces".

Before Friday, February 10th, head to the HDC blog and fill out their "Request for Information".  Answer questions like ...

Why do you think open spaces matter?  How are open spaces threatened?

After you've shared your comments, be sure to RSVP for the conference, taking place March 2-4th.  Attending HDC's annual conference is a terrific way to learn about preservation efforts taking place city-wide, and an opportunity to share information about your own ongoing preservation campaigns.  

We'll see you in March to celebrate "the Great Outside"!

Spotlight on Education: As masons, tour guides, and advocates, interns experience architecture and preservation

At LW!, education is key.  Be it through walking tours, slide lectures, building research "how-to"s, design assistance, or our award-winning youth education program Keeping the Past for the Future -- sharing and celebrating the history and richness of the Upper West Side with our friends and neighbors is central to our mission.

Throughout the year, we welcome to our team a small handful of interns.  Many are current graduate students (like guest blogger Kate Gilmore), learning the preservation, planning and advocacy ropes "on the ground".  More recently, we've added to our ranks high school-aged interns from the Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design.

Working with these students has been a tremendous experience for interns and LW! staff alike!  In addition to helping with "behind the scenes" projects, like updating our Online Buildings Database or taking photos, we've encouraged our WHSAD interns to engage with our membership right here on our blog.  2011 intern Ingrid partnered with Kate G. and wrote some of her own, original content -- check it out!

We're looking forward to meeting and working with more WHSAD interns in 2012 and can't say enough great things about the program.  In addition to LW!, organizations like the World Monuments Fund, A. Ottavino Corp. Stoneworks, Historic House Trust, Park Avenue Armory, and Green-Wood Cemetery have opened their doors to these impressive students.  

But, as the expression goes, don't take our word for it.  Check out the video below, featuring WHSAD interns (including our very own Ingrid!) in the field and in action.

Williamsburg High School for Art and Design Preservation Internship Program 

from World Monuments Fund on Vimeo.

Interested in partnering with WHSAD and hosting and intern?  We're happy to put you in touch; just email us!

TONIGHT, Open Mic for Open Spaces, with Historic Districts Council

Courtesy of our friends and colleagues at the Historic Districts Council, you're getting your turn at the mic! Be a part of the discussion TONIGHT ...

Open Spaces, Open Voices

Wednesday, January 25th from 6:00 to 8:00pm

Jefferson Market Courthouse, New York Public Library Branch 

located at 425 6th Avenue in Manhattan

Sunnyside Garden Historic District

Grab the mike and tell HDC about the urban open spaces that matter to you! In order to best represent local communities citywide, we want to know what concerns you have about local public and private spaces. What challenges does a particular lot or park pose to your neighbors? How have you triumphed in preserving a garden or landscape? All are invited to share thoughts on public parks, plazas, streets and yards at Open Spaces, Open Voices. Attendees will be asked to voice their ideas in a moderated discussion with fellow neighborhood advocates.

The issues raised at the forum will shape the central topics for HDC’s upcoming conference titled The Great Outside: Preserving Public and Private Open Space in March. The theme for the 18th Annual Preservation Conference is inspired by increased pressure on the city’s green spaces due to overuse, development and neglect. Public and private open spaces and the environment created by the adjacency to buildings are top priorities as we plan for New York City’s future. Participants will explore what makes open space historically significant and how those elements of history can be protected in a changing city landscape. The panels will consider current pressures and threats to public or private open space.

FREE and Open to the Public; Registration required. 

Email sromanoski@hdc.org or call 212-614-9107 to reserve a space. 

Space is limited.

For more information or to rsvp please call 212-614-9107

For information about past conferences click here

Happy Chinese New Year, from LW!

In Service of Our Landmarks: Looking back at MLK Day volunteer initiatives

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service.  Today is a special opportunity for us to think about how we can lend our energies to the people, places and organizations in our communities who could use a bit of help.  Whatever kind of service project you're interested in, you can likely find something in your neighborhood to match.

LW! is dedicated -- every day -- to helping those in our neighborhood navigate the ins and outs of landmark regulations and designation.  We're always here to answer questions (Is my building a landmark? How can I be involved in the public review process? What are landmark-worthy buildings in my neighborhood?).  And in 2010, for the National Day of Service, we took our daily advocacy efforts to the streets, in service of educating West Siders (and visitors thereof) about the "landmark in waiting" in their midst: West-Park Presbyterian Church.

In the company of dedicated volunteers and passionate interns, we fanned out across the West-Park neighborhood (the intersection of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue) to hand out flyers about this important resource.  West-Park has since been landmarked, and the church is regularly host to exciting and engaging community activities (follow the "West-Park" label here on our blog.  

Then, in 2011, we encouraged friends and neighbors to, on the National Day of Service, "give back" to the locally-owned businesses that give the West Side such unique character.  We want to hear from you: "What service projects did (or do you plan to) participate in this year?"

From Palm Court to Preservation Hideaway: The Hotel Endicott

One week from today, 446 Columbus Avenue will become the site of a friendly fiesta to celebrate 75 years of a West Side MVP (that's "Most Valuable Preservationist"): Arlene Simon!

Before "La Noche Cubana" takes over next Thursday, January 19, let's get to know the venue a bit better, shall we? 

446 Columbus Avenue, the Hotel Endicott, photographed
in 1990 at the time of its designation in the
Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District.

446 Columbus Avenue is also known as the Hotel Endicott.  Now, as diligent preservationists, we wouldn't normally settle for citing Wikipedia as a source, but when a bibliography basically includes all New York Times mentions of a building since 1902, we can't help ourselves! 

"The original hotel was built by Charles A. Fuller and designed by [architect] Edward L. Angell, who also designed several other prominent buildings on the Upper West Side*. The hotel was originally intended to be an apartment house, the Endicott. The original plans filed in April 1889 called for two buildings, each with 44 families and seven stories high. But the initial plans were not approved by the Building Department. After several changes to the plans, the Endicott began construction in 1889 at a cost of over $1,500,000. The first building on 81st Street for 52 families was finished in 1890; the second building on 81nd street for 72 families opened in 1891. 

"When the hotel opened, it was described as "in all respects, the finest and best appointed in this part of the city." The Hotel was built of Pompeian brick and terra cotta and boasted many modern marvels of its day including steam heat, lighting by its own electric plant, and good ventilation. The original decor was elaborate, sporting marble tile and onyx wainscoting. The original hotel included a glass-roofed Palm Room (pictured below) ... "

The original Palm Court in the Hotel Endicott, 1907.
Courtesy of Robert C. Quinlan.

Which brings us back to "La Noche Cubana".  Our birthday bash for Arlene Simon will take place in what was originally the Hotel Endicott's light-filled Palm Court.  Until recently the space had been home to the restaurant Calle Ocho.  The aura of the "Land of Spirit" lingers on, and is the inspiration for our own Cuban-themed festivities.

"La Noche Cubana" would not be possible without the generous donation of space by the building's owner, Robert C. Quinlan.  Rather than let the location sit unused and vacant, as 446 Columbus Avenue awaits a new tenant, Mr. Quinlan has opened the doors to LW! for our event.  Talk about creative dedication to ones community and to celebrating neighborhood preservation!

*Search and discover more buildings by Edward L. Angell in the LW! Online Buildings Database!

At West-Park Church, the Heat is On!

West-Park Presbyterian Church*

As temperatures on the West Side begin to drop low, low, low, the heat at landmarked West-Park Presbyterian Church is going up, up, up!!

LW! learned some BIG NEWS this morning, courtesy of our friends at the West End Preservation Society (WEPS): the beleaguered boiler at West-Park has been replaced and the church's heat is ON!  

From WEPS ...

Last night ... WEPS met and chatted with Rev. Dr. Jane S. Galloway, who preaches at West-Park Church. "Last Sunday, I couldn't figure out what was different, and then I  realized: I wasn't cold!" She praised the new boiler and the efforts of Council Member Gale Brewer, whose dogged determination generated the means and money to get the boiler functioning in the only-recently Landmarked  Building.  Gale's newsletter makes the  announcement, but just in case you missed it, here's the good news: "West  Park Presbyterian Church, 165 West 86 Street, has a working “green” boiler and has heat! Much thanks to West Siders, preservation groups, and Community Board 7 as well as the Dept. of Buildings and ConEd for expediting their inspection schedules. Now we can work toward getting the roof repaired and the scaffolding removed." Thanks  to the New York Landmarks Conservancy for being point-man on the money collection  and in its advocacy for the building. And thank you, Gale, for your tireless efforts in behalf of the well-being, warmth, and preservation of the best of the Upper West Side. 

The interior of West-Park, as seen during the December 2010 volunteer clean up,
organized by Preservation Alumni, West-Park, LW!, Friends of West-Park, and many more.

Together, we -- the community -- have done it!  To all of our friends and neighbors who responded to LW!'s October 2011 call for donations, THANK YOU!  Every penny counts ... and 250,000 pennies (that's $2,500!) made a real difference in helping the West-Park congregation and leadership to meet its fundraising goal.

West-Park has already been host to an amazing collection of public programs.  With the heat now on, we're eager to see the events continue!  For more on upcoming events, stay tuned to our blog (follow the "West-Park" label!) and the calendar for The Centre at West-Park. 

READ MORE: "West-Park Presbyterian Church's New Boiler Boosts Temps, Spirits" by DNA Info's Leslie Albrecht 

* West-Park Presbyterian Church is located on Amsterdam Avenue at West 86th Street.  Architect Leopold Eidlitz designed the original chapel in 1884, followed by architect Henry F. Kilburn's church addition in 1890.

Ye Olde Upper West Side

Monday is all about looking forward.  What meetings do we have this week?  What public hearings are scheduled?  What progress are we hoping to make on any particular project?  But this week, why not kick things off with a look back? To the Upper West Side of days past!

Columbus Circle in 1892.
Caption by NYTimes; Photo by Museum of the City of New York.

As we reported in November, 2011 marked 200 years of life on the NYC grid.  Last week, the New York Times ran a great piece, complemented by wonderful historic images, of the development of our city's underlying grid.  The Times' article announces a exhibition put on by the Museum of the City of New York entitled "The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011".

Where once were farmhouses now automobiles reign supreme and apartment blocks tower over sidewalks.  Most interesting for this West Side office were the images of Columbus Circle (above) and Riverside Drive (below).  It's hard to believe there was a time when the Circle was not a gilded homage to all things Trump and a destination of hyper commerce!  And as for Riverside Drive ... farmland and Hudson River views for miles and miles!

Houses at Riverside Drive and 94th Street in 1890.
Caption by NYTimes; Photo by the Museum of the City of New York.

Happy Monday to all!

Here Comes Havana! :: "La Noche Cubana" tickets still available!

Because of all she's done for our West Side neighborhoods, and to celebrate her 75th birthday, LW! is throwing a party in honor of our President and founder, Arlene Simon!

Because we are so grateful to YOU, our readers, for following our goings on via our blog, we're offering you a 10% discount to the soiree!  Read on to find out how to get your special blog-friendly discount!

In honor of the 75th birthday of founder Arlene Simon (born in Dec. 1936!),
escape with LANDMARK WEST! to "the Land of Spirit" here on the Upper West Side!

LA NOCHE CUBANA
Thursday, January 19, 2012 8-10 p.m.
446 Columbus Ave. (81st-82nd Sts.)
$75, $50 for students & young professionals

*10% discount for LW! blog readers

 

 Toast Arlene with sangria, make merry with a mojito, taste the flavors of Cuba, take to the floor and tango, channel the spirit of 1930s Havana...  

 

To purchase or reserve tickets, contact us at (212) 496-8110 or pay online at
http://lwcubana.eventbrite.com

*For blog reader discount, enter code "LWBLOG10" 

 

100% of proceeds benefit LANDMARK WEST!, the feisty non-profit founded by Arlene in 1985,
recognizing her 26 years (and counting!) of "creative volunteering" on behalf of the Upper West Side

Spotlight on Education: LW! partners with architecture & engineering firm to bring lessons to life

As LW!'s Dir. of Education, Debi Germann, has the enviable job of exploring the West Side with local youngsters, encouraging them to look up from their shoestrings and take in the exciting architecture around them.  Debi does this through "Keeping the Past for the Future", LW!'s award-winning youth education program (learn more here!).  

In addition to Debi's established curriculum -- whereby students work on projects like neighborhood mapping, row house facade design and even holding mock hearings of the Landmarks Preservation Commission -- Debi is also able to call on members of the preservation community to volunteer their time in the service of education.  

In sharing with students their real-world experiences as architects or engineers, for example, these professionals give KPF students a glimpse at how the lessons they're learning with Debi and their teachers translate into "real life".  In November, Debi was joined by Lynne Funk of Rand Engineering & Architecture on a visit to the classroom.  LW! is incredibly thankful to our friends and colleagues at Rand for generously volunteering their time to benefit KPF students.  Enjoy the "report from the field", direct from Rand's Lynne Funk, below!  And if you're interested in learning more about how you can be a part of KPF's mission, let us know! 

-------------------------------

 

A “Real Life Architect” Goes Back to School 
Posted on December 15, 2011 by Lynne Funk, AIA

I recently had the pleasure of visiting a fifth-grade class at the Bloomingdale School (P.S. 145) on West 105th Street in Manhattan and talking to the students about what it's like to be a "real life architect."

The students participate in Keeping the Past for the Future, an architecture and preservation appreciation course offered at Upper West Side schools through Landmark West, a non-profit historic preservation group. Their teacher is Samantha Deutsch, who Landmark West honored this summer as an "Unsung Hero" for inspiring students (and teachers) to learn about the buildings in their neighborhood and the importance of preservation. As part of the course, Samantha leads her students on guided tours of the landmarks and historic buildings surrounding their school, using the local architecture to reinforce classroom learning.  

Before my visit, the fifth graders had observed nearby row houses and their varied ornamentation. Each student was given an outline of a row house elevation, adding details at cornice level, around the windows, and at the stoop. I brought a set of plans from one of Rand's projects at a nearby building and explained how the details for facades and roofing systems are drawn and scaled.

Rand Architect Lynne Funk explains the details of building design
to a class of budding preservationists at the Bloomingdale School (P.S. 145).

Samantha's success in engaging the kids to learn about buildings and architecture was reflected in their questions: Some of the many questions they asked were: How long does a project takes from start to finish? (From a couple of weeks to a couple of months—or sometimes even years.) Who else beside the architect works on a building? (Engineers, masons, carpenters, roofers, plumbers, electricians, et al.) What's a cornice for? (Mostly ornamental, but it also keeps water from dripping on the facade.) What should you study if you want to be an architect? (Math, design, art, writing, history.)

They were also very interested in what makes buildings stand up—and why they sometimes fall down. To explain how structural supports function, Samantha pointed to the vertical columns and horizontal beams in the classroom, and I described how concrete is reinforced with steel in buildings and how this system differs form the load-bearing walls in the row houses they drew.

I come from a family of engineers, but I loved to draw and to write, so my father steered me toward architecture. I would have loved to have been in a class like Samantha's when I was in elementary school. Based on the enthusiasm I saw in her students, I have a feeling I was looking at some future "real life architects."

This Holiday Season, Celebrate NYC Architecture

This year, LW! had made some terrific new friends.  One such comrade on the front lines of documenting and reporting West Side happenings, musing on architecture and urban planning in NYC (past and present!), and generally keeping  us engaged with their blog reporting is untapped cities.

They were with us at Landmark Feast in September, and we're looking forward to clacking our castanets together on January 19th for "La Noche Cubana"!  Our thanks to untapped founder and city enthusiast, Michelle Young, for taking a shine to LW! and sharing our work with the community!

We encourage you to check out untapped new york and any other corner of the world you want to explore through the lens of untapped's contributors.  We'll even get you started ...

Below are holiday greetings from untapped to LW! that we're sharing along to you!  These pieces by Downtown Doodler highlight some of our city's iconic architecture (I spy the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center!).  See more from Bernadette Moke, she of downtown doodling renown, on untapped (here!).

Original art by Bernadette Moke / Downtown Doodler

Original art by Bernadette Moke / Downtown Doodler

SAVE the DATE :: For a friendly fiesta, straight from 1930s Cuba

West-Park Celebrates Milestone 100 Years in the Making

Yesterday evening, the congregation of West-Park Presbyterian Church opened its doors to celebrate their 100th year!  To mark the occasion, the Church hosted 100+, a benefit event looking back on the past century of growth and achievements in anticipation of the rejuvenation that has already begun!

West-Park, located on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue at West 86th Street, was alive with theatrical and acoustic musical performances, modern dance and ... an aerialist!  The variety of programming during 100+ speaks to the amazing opportunity for adaptive reuse at West-Park, and the range of partners who could one day call the church "home" and its congregation "neighbors"!

Click here to learn more about how far West-Park has come (and how YOU can be a part of it!), and click here to learn about plans for the future!

Below, a few (somewhat fuzzy) iPhone photos snapped during the evening's merriment:

Rev. Robert Brashear welcomes friends and supporters to 100+.

The beautiful stained glass inside West-Park illuminates the sanctuary.

The evening began with a one-act play, chronicling the history of the church. 
On the left, "Wes" (that is, the church personified) explains to a construction worker his plan
for the future of West-Park.

In the balcony above the sanctuary, members of Times Square Playwrights perform.

In the parish house, musician Amanda Christine performs.

Aerialist Rachel Hsiung stuns and mesmerizes the crowd amid balloons and cupcakes aplenty.

Deck Your Halls with Gifts from LANDMARK WEST!

For gift giving inspiration this holiday season, you need look no further than LANDMARK WEST's booth at this weekend's GreenFlea Market (entrance to the yard is free)! Come with your pocket book at the ready and leave with the perfect gifts for your nearest and dearest.

    WHEN: This Sunday, December 4th
                 10AM to 5:30PM
  WHERE: Schoolyard on Columbus Ave.
                  between 76th and 77th Streets
                       Click here view the location on Google maps
 

What's for sale, you ask? The items below, and so much more!

 

"Vintage" prints, photos and postcards galore! We've dug deep into our archives and will be bringing some wonderful treasures that are sure to bring joy to whomever receives them. Most items are "one of a kind", so come early and have your pick from our collection, featuring fantastic historic maps of Manhattan, whimsical articles and illustrations from Harper's Weekly, stunning turn-of-the-century panoramas of Fifth Avenue, and so much more!

We last opened our print and photograph vault in September for the Columbus Avenue Street Festival. With almost each purchase we were told "These maps are terrific! You should really consider selling them at the GreenFlea market." You shared your suggestion; we listened! 

We hope you'll stop by this Sunday!

GUEST BLOG :: Buffalo's Central Terminal rides the rails to restoration

As reported by LW! graduate intern Kate Gilmore 

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel holidays. We all move to and fro at a frenzied pace and rarely do we stop to appreciate the fantastic structures that facilitate such rapid transportation.

This past Wednesday, as I waited for my train in New York's Penn Station, every corner was bustling with activity. Alas, present-day Penn Station is depressing and dark -- a far cry from the illuminated, soaring space of McKim, Mead and White's original building.

Original Penn Station Interior

However, magnificent train stations still exist!  One in particular that has fallen into disuse and is not well-known is Buffalo Central Terminal located in East Buffalo.  Luckily, I was able to visit this amazing train station during the National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference in October.  Buffalo Central Terminal is an impressive -- both visually and physically! -- art deco masterpiece designed by architects Fellheimer and Wagner.  Fellheimer had worked on the architectural team that built Grand Central Station, and together with Wagner was best known for Buffalo Central Terminal and Cincinati's Union Terminal.

Exterior of Buffalo Central Terminal, c. 1930s.
Source: Buffalo History Works

The Buffalo terminal's construction began in 1927, and BCT opened to the public on June 22, 1929. Just fifty years later, on October 28, 1979, the last train left BCT. The building then went through a series of different owners. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the building was used as a salvage site. Nothing was done in order to try and revitalize the structure with activities that would make use of the space itself.

Main Terminal in Disrepair.
Source: Buffalo History Works

In 1997, the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation purchased the building and began the painstaking process of restoration. Through weekend volunteer sessions and public activities, CTRC has brought people back into the magnificent terminal space. The BCT is an amazing tribute to the former dominance of rail transportation, and CTRC had committed to work with the structure to ensure its re-use. Visit their website to see the current master plan for the structure and learn more about public events.

So the next time your train pulls into the station, remember that the history of rail travel has produced some excellent architecture -- to be celebrated and used by current generations.

------------------------------------------------

For more from Kate Gilmore, check out:

The Future of Development on the Upper West Side, July 7, 2011 

From East Side to West Side, newsracks making headlines, July 18, 2011

"Honor the Past, Celebrate the Future" with West-Park

West-Park Presbyterian Church
165 West 86th Street

West-Park Presbyterian Church has achieved some major milestones in the last few years.  Certainly one would be the Individual Landmark designation by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in early 2010 (affirmed by the City Council later that May!). 

Next Monday, December 5th, the church is celebrating another major (and we mean major!) moment: its 100th Anniversary! 

To mark the occasion, the leadership and congregation at West-Park are hosting "100+", a benefit event that will honor West-Park’s history of social justice advocacy, inclusivity, and support for culture and the arts, and will offer an exciting glimpse—and celebration—of the future. 

Projected on the horizon for West-Park is the revitalization of the landmark building (which has received a terrific boon this fall thanks to handfuls of generous supporters of West-Park), and the founding and development of The Center at West-Park.

To learn more about the 100+ Benefit Event, click on the graphic below!

If you're unable to attend but would like to learn more about how you can support West-Park's rejuvenation, email us at landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org.

Return of the Urns

Thank you, David Dunlap and The New York Times for drawing attention to the demon that plagues historic neighborhoods under active consideration for landmark protection.  Too many heedless owners rush to destroy the very fabric that makes buildings in these neighborhoods architecturally significant, but more importantly, fabric that is integral to the quality of life of the people who live here.

“It was one of the most traumatic days of my life,”said Kennedy Fraser, a 35-year resident of 333 West 86th Street, a building located in a proposed extension of the Riverside-West End Historic District (PDF).  Fraser described her feelings as she watched contractors remove 16 magnificent masonry urns from the building's facade last May.

Read Dunlap's article to find out how neighbors succeeded in bringing the urns back (albeit in fiberglass because the originals had been too badly damaged through removal).

It's a crying shame--and an expensive mistake.  Property owners, hear this message:

“Everybody responds to beauty,” Ms. Fraser said. “People think it doesn’t matter, that nobody will see them, that they’re just a poetic detail. But somehow, it’s important to have those things that not everybody notices.”

...but that they will fight for.

Alpha-Branches and Number-Limbs: Fun in Central Park!

We couldn't have asked for nicer weather on Sunday, November 13th for LW's family program, The ABCs of Central Park, led by author and artist Gerald Lynas (visit http://www.lynaspress.com to see his work). The air was crisp and the leaves were crunching as families searched for and photographed the alphabet -- in the trees! Keep scrolling to see photos from the walk!

 

We even found our own initials in the trees!

A Toast: To the future of preservation! To the young professionals!

Upon arrival at the Hi-Life Restaurant. Cristiana and Sarah's Twitter storm begins!
The distinct neon signage* pulled us in like a tractor beam ...

Thank you to all the young professionals out there -- the recent graduates, the "payin' your dues" AutoCad specialists, the Lorax-like advocates, the alternative transportation enthusiasts, the current students, and more! -- who joined us last night for our first ever happy hour.

The event was an indisputable success, with NYC's future preservation and planning movers and shakers rubbing shoulders and networking up a storm.  We got the message loud and clear: more young professionals events, please!  If you have a specific idea of an event, don't hesitate to contact Sarah Sher, LW's Program Coordinator. 

Former LW! graduate intern and Pratt HP alum Will Vogel (far left) with
fellow Pratt HP students and alums.

For scenes and musings from the event, which took place at the Upper West Side's own Hi-Life Bar & Grill (a supporter of LW's 2011 Unsung Heroes Awards!), check out the Twitter feed featuring #YoungLW.

We leave you with the tweet of former LW! intern and Pratt HP grad Will Vogel: 

"As we @PrattHP students say, 'Raze a toast. Not our buildings!' #YoungLW "

Cheers!

*Consider yourself a neon signage enthusiast? Save the date for December 5th, when LW! will host a slide lecture with Kirsten Hivley of Project Neon.  More here ...

Central Park Was Made for Fall

Photo, taken with Instagram, via @jamiezoob

This picture of fall in Central Park is so stunning; had to share it.  Happy fall, everyone! 

Get out there and enjoy the City's first Scenic Landmark: Central Park!

Celebrating 200 Years of Life on the Grid

Preservation largely documents the history of our built environment and cultural heritage.  But who documents the history of preservation itself?  That'd be the New York Preservation Archive Project (NYPAP)! 

For over a decade, NYPAP, under the leadership of Anthony C. Wood, has carefully kept tabs on the historic preservation movement in New York City -- the movers and shakers whose activism and and decision-making has shaped the City's Landmarks Law, the projects and legal cases that have defined the fight to preserve New York's historic resources.

One such hero of preservation celebrated by NYPAP is Andrew H. Green (more on him below!).  And this Saturday, November 12th, we (that means you!) are all invited to join the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to honor his contributions to the City.

The Andrew Haswell Green Bench in Central Park, via Wikipedia.

NINTH ANNUAL ANDREW H. GREEN TRIBUTE CEREMONY
AT THE GREEN BENCH IN CENTRAL PARK (SATURDAY 11/12)
Join Manhattan Borough Historian Michael Miscione as we raise a toast of non-alcoholic cider to the memory of Andrew H. Green. Though Green’s name is unfamiliar to most New Yorkers his legacy is everywhere: Central Park, Riverside Park, and Morningside Park; the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the New York Public Library; and indeed, the very five-borough city that exists today. Green, who is sometimes described as a 19th-century Robert Moses, was a pioneering city planner and preservationist, and the driving force behind the movement to consolidate the municipalities around New York Harbor into a single metropolis.

In honor of the 200th anniversary of the Manhattan street grid plan, this year’s ceremony will focus on Green’s substantial modifications to that plan’s original design.

Saturday, November 12th
12:00PM/Noon
Andrew H. Green Memorial Bench, inside Central Park 

(see below for a map and directions)

FREE and open to the general public

GETTING TO THE BENCH
The Green Memorial Bench is located inside Central Park at about 105th Street. It is extremely difficult to find and is not marked on most park maps. For a printable/downloadable map with detailed directions click here.  

From the East Side: At Fifth Avenue and E. 102 Street, enter the park via the pedestrian entrance. Make your way onto the main auto drive. Walk north on the drive for about two blocks. When you come to the standing three-sided map on your left (the composting operation will be on your right), turn left on to the wide, well-paved crossover road that heads to the West Side. Take an immediate right onto the blacktop footpath that heads uphill. Bear right as you walk along the footpath. The bench is at the top of the hill.
 
From the West Side: At Central Park West and W. 100 Street, enter the park via the automobile entrance road. Bear left, merging on to the main drive. Continue walking north on the drive for about two blocks. Before the drive crosses a stone bridge, turn right onto the wide, well-paved crossover road that heads to the East Side. This road will be marked with an "Authorized Vehicles Only" sign. Continue down this road, passing a little police kiosk on your right. Just before the road intersects with the main east drive, turn left onto the blacktop footpath that heads uphill. Bear right as you walk along the footpath. The bench is at the top of the hill.
 
Note: There is a lot of construction taking place at the north end of the park right now which might make some of these directions unworkable. Be prepared to improvise!

Things are Warming Up at West-Park Presbyterian Church

West-Park Presbyterian Church
165 West 86th Street

Since its induction into the West Side landmark family in 2010, the community has filled West-Park Presbyterian Church with helping hands; we've seen it filled with intrigue and theatrical flair and with heavenly voices and inspirational instruments.  Now, let's fill West-Park with one of the basic essentials: heat!

Join the leadership and congregation of West-Park, Council Member Gale Brewer, members of the city-wide preservation community, and neighbors and supporters of West-Park next Thursday, November 10th, from 6-8PM for a fundraiser to benefit the church's boiler repair/replacement fund. 

Repairing or replacing the existing boiler is a major priority since, without heat, the congregation will be unable to use the church this winter, stalling efforts to revitalize the building.  Attend this upcoming fundraiser to contribute to this project and to hear updates as to "next steps" in the ongoing rejuvenation of this captivating red sandstone landmark.

              WHAT : Fundraiser to benefit 

                           West-Park Presbyterian Church
             WHEN : Thursday, Nov. 10th, 6-8PM

           WHERE : The Belnord Apartments

                           225 West 86th Street
                                 RSVP required; please email semplelisa@aol.com

Community Members Help LW! Meet the Challenge!
In the month of October, the congregation at West-Park received a challenge grant that would match up to $25,000 of monies raised toward the much needed repair/replacement of the church's insufficient boiler.  LW! reached out to its network of West-Park supporters and neighbors to inspire them to make a modest contribution -- $100, $50, whatever worked for each individual or family! -- and help toward the church's $25,000 goal.  We set forth a challenge: to raise $2,500 towards the total $25,000 needed.  In less than two weeks ... done!

The New York Landmarks Conservancy, who is administering the boiler fund, reported that indeed, the $25,000 goal was met (a total of $50,000 with matching funds).  The boiler project is estimated at $84,000 total -- help us go the distance.  Attend the November 10th fundraiser; be a part of the renewal of this community resource!

Preserving West-Park: Looking back to move forward
A 20-year community effort was thankfully rewarded on May 12, 2010, when the New York City Council affirmed the designation of the West-Park Presbyterian Church as a NYC Individual Landmark (click here to read the designation report).  The victory kickstarted a new chapter in the life of West-Park. 

Here's just a snapshot at some of the recent activity of LW!, the West-Park congregants, our local elected officials, and preservation colleagues, including the New York Landmarks Conservancy, Friends of West-Park, and Preservation Alumni:  

• Long-time West-Park congregant and West Sider Jim Wadsworth secured a generous $5,000 donation from the Lois G. Roy Dickerman Fund as seed money towards replacing West-Park's failing boiler.  "The boiler must be in place in order to secure the development partners and renters necessary to fulfill our emerging business plan," Rev. Brashear shared.  The Dickerman Fund gift--made in honor of Mr. Wadsworth's late wife, Carol--is the first dedicated donation to the boiler project.
  
  

• City Council Member Gale Brewer organized a fundraiser to collect starter funds for bricks-and-mortar restoration of West-Park.  The fund, managed by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, was recently put to work with roof repairs to West-Park's sanctuary and chapel.  At the same time, the Conservancy spent $10,000 from a special Rockefeller Foundation grant to initiate architectural services to establish a phased exterior restoration plan.  The plan will be completed this month, with a priority to facade work that will allow the removal of the sidewalk bridge at long last.  A significant step in the long process of West-Park's physical rejuvenation!
  
  The West-Park restoration fund remains open for contributions!  Checks can be made payable to "New York Landmarks Conservancy," with "WPPC" as the memo, and mailed to:
  
                   New York Landmarks Conservancy
                   ATTN: Peg Breen, President
                   1 Whitehall Street
                   New York, NY  10004
  
  
• Members of the West-Park congregation teamed with Preservation Alumni, the alumni organization for graduates of Columbia University's Historic Preservation Masters Program, LW!, Friends of West-Park, and the generous team of Jack Pontes Brownstone Restorations for a day-long interior clean up of the church's sanctuary.  Dusting, vacuuming, buffing, scrubbing ... you name it!  Dozens of volunteers turned out to put their muscles to work for the preservation of West-Park.   
  
  

• LW! worked with architects and an electrician to upgrade the church's wiring and emergency exit lighting to help make it possible for the congregation to open its doors for public events, such as a holiday craft fair in December and this summer's Bridge Concert Series.  

The all-volunteer crew celebrates the successful clean-up of West-Park in December 2010.

Designation was only the beginning of what must continue to be a robust, sustained, community-wide effort.  Full restoration of West-Park Presbyterian Church will be a major undertaking, but we must begin with manageable goals, such as the ongoing development of a strategic plan.

See you at the fundraiser!

West Side Spirit Gives Thanks to Local Heroes

Top to bottom, left to right: Batya Lewton, Melissa Elstein,
Victor Gonzalez, and Dee Rieber.
All photos by West Side Spirit.

Protecting the special character of our Upper West Side neighborhood is a never ending effort, and one shared on the shoulders of many.  LANDMARK WEST! calls the individuals and organizations who do their part to honor our history and community "Unsung Heroes".  Local newspaper and online news source The West Side Spirit shows its gratitude with its annual WESTY Awards!

As the West Side Spirit reported on on Wendesday, Oct. 26th, "the 2011 WESTY Awards (West Side Spirit Thanks You) took place the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 19 at Jewish Home Lifecare. Harold Holzer of The Metropolitan Museum of Art was the master of ceremonies, and 20 west siders were honored for their contributions to the community."

LW! congratulates all of this year's winners, such as those pictured here.  To Batya Lewton of Coalition for a Livable West Side, Melissa Elstein of the West 80s Neighborhood Association, and to Dee Rieber of the West 75th Street Block Association (read about Melissa's and Dee's work here), THANK YOU for your stalwart support of the community's long and ongoing efforts regarding the proposed West End Avenue historic district extensions.  And to our good friend Victor Gonzalez, we thank you for your support of our Amsterdam Houses advocacy initiatives.