Manhattan: Historical Society Revises Blueprints

By GLENN COLLINS
Published: February 2, 2007

The New-York Historical Society unveiled a redesign of its proposed new facade, left, before a turbulent meeting of 450 community residents on Wednesday night. The meeting took place in the church of the Fourth Universalist Society at Central Park West and 76th Street, across the street from the historical society’s headquarters. The plan calls for a granite portico at the main entrance and a less prominent exposure of glass than the previous design, which the public policy committee of the New York Landmarks Conservancy rejected in December. After Louise Mirrer, the historical society’s president, declined to discuss a possible 23-story luxury residential tower atop its building until the society selected a real estate developer, there were catcalls and some residents walked out. The journalist Bill Moyers, who lives a block away, won a standing ovation when he commented that a tower would “permanently disturb a skyscape that is unique.”