Honoring Margot Gayle: A Centennial Celebration

In honor of our dear friend and fellow trench-fighting preservationist, Margot Gayle, LANDMARK WEST! is pleased to pass along this invitation from the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America to join in celebrating Margot's 100th birthday on May 14, 2008. Honoring Margot Gayle: A Centennial Celebration is a fitting tribute to the founder of many of New York's most vigorous preservation campaigns. Margot didn't win every battle (she sounded an early call to preserve Edward Durell Stone's 2 Columbus Circle back in the mid-1990s, nearly a decade before it became an international cause!). But, thanks to Margot, Greenwich Village's Jefferson Market Courthouse, SoHo's cast-iron architecture and countless other landmarks have been saved for the future.

For more information about Margot Gayle and her Centennial Celebration, please see below and visit: http://www.metrovsa.org.

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

On May 14, Margot Gayle will celebrate her 100th birthday! To honor one of our founders, as well asone of New York City's eminent preservationists, the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society is throwing her a birthday party. The event will be held at 6:00 p.m. on her birthday at the CenturyAssociation 7 West 43rd Street. We want you to be part of this special occasion as a member of the benefit committee!

As many of you know, it was around Margot's kitchen table that the Victorian Society in America was formed in 1966. Recognizing that the United States was rapidly losing its Victorian architecture, Margot Gayle rose to the challenge and established an organization that today boasts 16 chapters and over 1300 members.

Margot's commitment to historic preservation reaches far beyond her work with our organization. Her preservation efforts extend from the 1960s when she successfully campaigned to save the Jefferson Market Courthouse in Greenwich Village to a drive in the 1990s to restore the Yorkville sidewalk clock on Third Avenue near 85th Street.

A founder of the Friends of Cast Iron Architecture, she is credited with raising public awareness nationwide of the significance of iron-fronted buildings of the Victorian era. In addition to serving on the founding board of Friends of Terra Cotta, Margot is a widely accredited author and columnist. This year, as a special centennial birthday present to Margot, the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society is asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the SoHo historic district expansion so that she may witness the culmination of her life's work.

Please join us on May 14 at the Century Association to wish Margot a happy birthday and honor a woman who has devoted her life to preserving the rich architectural legacy of New York City and the Victorian heritage of our country.

Sincerely,

Jeff Sholeen

President

All but $100 of your donation is tax deductible. Please keep this for your records.

Names of attendees will be at the door.



Honoring Margot Gayle: A Centennial Celebration

May 14, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.

The Century Association

7 West Forty-Third Street



Yes, I/We want to join you in celebrating Margot Gayle's 100th birthday.



Amount Enclosed:



BENEFACTOR $2,500 ____________



PATRON $1,000 ____________



SPONSOR $500 ____________



CONTRIBUTOR $250 ____________



COMMITTEE MEMBER $150 ____________



I/We regret we will be unable to join you on May 14 but have enclosed a contribution to the Victorian Society in honor of Margot Gayle in the amount of $_________.



Please make checks payable to: Metropolitan Chapter VSA and mail to: 232 East 11th Street, NYC 10003



Name:____________________________________________



Address:___________________________________________



City:___________________ State___________ Zip:________



Phone:___________________ Email __________________



All replies received by March 15 will be listed on the invitation. Thank you!