Old, Massive, Illustrious and Somehow Overlooked

"Its delicate Renaissance-style exterior could just as well have clothed an opera house, although the five colossal stacks gave it away." 

Photo: New York City Municipal Archives, via NY Times

Preservation groups are circling the deliciously decorated Con Ed powerhouse at 11th Avenue and 59th Street, as the 1904 structure, designed by Stanford White, nudges up for a third time to landmark designation. At the same time, a similar grand structure sits alone without fuss or bother, just working hard in elegant industrial simplicity ...

Click here to read the full article by Christopher Gray, in which he looks both at the West Side's IRT Powerhouse and, across the island, at an East River contemporary.

Preservation Heroes: Awards ceremony sings the praises of our "Unsung Heroes"

The world has many an unsung hero.

In 2011, the Upper West Side has eight more.

The Unsung Heroes of the Upper West Side

Awards Ceremony

Please join LANDMARK WEST! on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, in the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (61 West 62nd Street, the extraordinary public space recently transformed by star architects, and our special guests for the evening, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien) as we celebrate the people and projects that—in some way, shape or form—lead the way in preserving our neighborhood’s special character and sense of place.

Click here for information about reserving your tickets.

And the 2011 awardees are…

Exterior Preservation
American Youth Hostel, 891 Amsterdam Avenue, and
Cutsogeorge, Tooman & Allen Architects, a model partnership to restore a West Side architectural gem

Community Steward
Margarita Curet, Amsterdam Houses tenant leader and all-around "Force to Be Reckoned With"

Future Generations
Samantha Deutsch, 5th-grade teacher and partner in preservation education at P.S.145, West 105th St.

Preservation by Design
Milton Glaser, graphic designer of “I [heart] NY,” New York magazine, and LW! logo fame
   
Preservation Advocate
Roberta Brandes Gratz, former Landmarks Commissioner, award-winning journalist, urban critic, and author

Archival A-Team
Office for Metropolitan History: Christopher Gray & Suzanne Braley, curators and chroniclers of New York’s architectural history

To meet the honorees, visit the event website.

Artwork by Ron Barrett, illustrator of the world famous "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs".