EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT: Upper West Side Townhouse (24 West 71st Street)

This Upper West Side Townhouse was built in 1888-90 (NB- 1500-1888) by two commonly known architects Lamb and Rich and owned by Elizabeth Milibank. Significantly made with granite and iron spot brick, this Terra-Cotta designed townhouse is on the market for $29 million. The 20 foot wide 5 story home sits mid block between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. In 1892 this townhouse was completed and filed in 1888. Later this town-house received a museum-grade restoration that cost $1 million and then became a grand single-family residence. The townhouse style is Romanesque Revival with Renaissance elements with facades of brick and stone. The windows type/ material is one-over-one double hung/wood, and transoms/wood. This method of construction is masonry bearing walls.

ABOUT THE ARCHITECTS: LAMB RICH
   Hugh Lamb & Charles Alonzo Rich were partners in the NYC firm of Lamb & Rich, established after 1880 and operated until 1899. Both architects were born around 1850. Lamb was a Scottish native. Rich was born in Beverly, Mass and attended Dartmouth. Lamb was the business man and Rich was the designer. Lamb died in 1903 and Rich died in 1943.
Some of their works include Mount Morris Bank Building (East 125th Street and Park Avenue) New York, NY (1883)-mostly demolished, Sagamore Hill (20 Sagamore Hill Rd, Oyster Bay (1884-86)), Astral Apartments (184 Franklin Street, New York, NY (1885)), Main Building Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY (1886-87) Germania Fire Insurance Co. Building (62 William Street, New York, NY (1891)) and many others. 
      
    This same townhouse sold in 1996 for a then-record $4.3 million. This home now has six bedrooms, six and a half baths, 10 gas fireplaces, an elevator, a Japanese inspired spa and auxiliary kitchens on the garden level (used as a home office and conference room) and on the top floor, a self contained suite mostly used by the owners' parents. the third floor is designated master level, with a front library and den, a bold black marble powder room and rear bedroom with dual baths, one with a sunken tub and two exposures, the other with a shower and a wall of closets.

The current owners, Arrien and Robin Schiltkamp, were enthralled by the distinctive exterior, with its wrought iron ornamentation, terra-cotta scallop shells in the arches of the fifth floor windows, and twin cherubs hoisting the pillars that frame the cornice. 

As said by Dexter Guerrieri, the president of Vandenberg, the Townhouse Experts, "in 25 years of selling townhouses, i can say with confidence that there is not a finer parlor floor. The museum quality details and opulence of this townhouse are unsurpassed.  

~ My name is Shannon Brown and I'm an intern at Landmark West! I will be entering my senior year of high school in September 2015. My experience here has been a great one so far.  Hope to share more research before the summer is out.

10 Years After Katrina, Book Talk by Roberta Brandes Gratz

 

Above: Photo of Uptown New Orleans by Eric Bouler  

Please join LANDMARK WEST! as we remember Hurricane Katrina (2005)
and celebrate 10 years of steady urban regeneration 

in the historic city of New Orleans.

Wednesday, September 9, 6:30PM
A Book Talk by Roberta Brandes Gratz*

award-winning journalist, urban critic and author of the newly released
We're Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City

Book Culture on Columbus**
450 Columbus Avenue (between 81st & 82nd Streets)

Tickets $15 ($10 for members of LW!)
RSVP - space is limited
landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or (212) 496-8110
or reserve online through Eventbrite

Talk followed by book signing and reception
Books available for purchase from Book Culture

On August 29, 2005, an ill wind swept across New Orleans. Her name was Katrina.

So begins RBG's riveting account of a historic city's near-destruction and, against all odds, rebirth. "Cities are never lacking in wise, energetic, passionate, and dedicated citizens who know how to rebuild their communities. New Orleans has more than its share of such citizens. They are the ones most responsible for their city's recovery."
 

What others are saying:

"Gratz provides a moving chronicle of the efforts of a real people to rebuild their battered city in the fact of bad engineering, cynical politicians, incompetent bureaucrats and greedy developers...This book is an absolute must read for anyone who cares about the future of our communities and nation."
- Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and professor at NYU 

"In this powerful book, Roberta Brandes Gratz turns her deep understanding of the work of Jane Jacobs into an astonishing account of how imaginative community activists like Jacobs emerge and grow in the wake of a disaster like Katrina. In virtually every domain of urban life-in housing, health care, education, economic development, and environmental protection-she discovers New Orleanians... A masterpiece of reportage and analysis!"
- Richard Rabinowitz, Phd, President, American History Workshop



*ABOUT ROBERTA BRANDES GRATZ
A Greenwich Villager by birth; a world traveler, lecturer and writer by profession; and an Upper West Sider by choice, Roberta Brandes Gratz began her preservation journey as a copy girl and went on to pen an award-winning-and game-changing series of articles probing the city's then-nascent landmarks process for the New York Post in 1973. Her coverage led directly to strengthening the Landmarks Law and set the stage for protecting more than 25,000 places covered by the Law in the years since. With Jane Jacobs, she founded The Center for the Living City. As a member of the Landmarks Preservation Commission from 2003 to 2010, and right on till today, Roberta is an outspoken defender of the New York's historic neighborhoods, including her own beloved West Side. She splits her time between New York and New Orleans. (for more about Roberta, visit www.robertabrandesgratz.com)

**ABOUT BOOK CULTURE
"As Upper West Siders, we want to start turning the tide right here in our own community, on a current trend that sees independent bookstores - and the power of choice that comes along with them - disappearing at an alarming rate. As New Yorkers, we want to do our part to make sure that our city's rich history and reputation for being home to writers, publishing houses, editors, and bookstores, remains intact - as does our city's position as the literary capital of the world." (excerpted from www.bookculture.com)

History on Wheels: RSVP for first ever LW! bike tour!

A Bicycling Tour of Historic Railway, Subway & Greenway Sites and Structures on the Upper West Side 

Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 3 p.m.

$15, $10 for LW! and American Planning Association Members 

Click here to RSVP or email landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org

Josef Szende

From railway to subway to greenway, the Upper West Side is the keeper of key infrastructural components that help New Yorkers stay in motion. Join transportation planner and Upper West Sider Josef Szende for a tour of sites and structures that are part of the history of the Hudson River Railroad and the IRT subway.  Also learn about the history of some of New York City's most advanced bicycling infrastructure, including the Hudson River Greenway and the Columbus Avenue bike lane.

Josef Szende earned his master's degree in urban planning (with a focus on transportation) at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and his B.A. in geography from the University of Toronto.  He is currently the Executive Director of the Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District, and is also an avid Transportation Alternatives volunteer.  

Bicycle tour will be approximately 10 miles in length and will in part take place in NYC streets.  Bicycle rentals will be available prior to the tour.  For more information, please call us at 212-496-8110 or email us at landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org.  

(Lead image is 2012 US Bicycling Forever Stamps)

A Glimpse of Winters Past on the Upper West Side

With the first day of Spring less than a week away, we took a moment to remark on the utter lack of Winter to be had in New York this year.  Unlike "Snowmageddon" of years past, with days on end of snow boots, down jackets and gloves, we've had it pretty easy this year *knock on wood*.  So this post (an oldie but a goodie) from Ephemeral New York seemed like a fun -- and historically appropriate! -- way to remind ourselves of our weather luck this winter.

From Ephemeral New York: Huddling by the stove at the 72nd Street El ...
 

Berenice Abbott took this February 6th, 1936, photograph of subway riders warming up in the El station at 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue. El tracks lined Columbus from 1879 to 1940.

The paneled windows, wooden turnstiles, and decorative border along the interior wall are some rather old-fashioned touches for a public train station. And when was the last time you saw a pot-bellied stove in the subway? Gives the photo quite a homey feel.

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

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!

Fun at the Festival: LW! at weekend street fair

REPORT from the FIELD

By Cristiana Peña

This past weekend brought the annual Columbus Avenue Festival to the Upper West Side.  Events like this are right up LW's alley -- it gives us the opportunity to escape the four walls of our office and mix and mingle (out on beautiful Columbus Avenue, no less) with folks who value and love the neighborhood as much as we do.

LW's Sarah Sher has the table set, tote in hand ... she's ready to talk about landmarks!

This year, I was joined by our newly minted Program Coordinator Sarah Sher and our graduate intern Kate Gilmore (no stranger to this blog).  We shared information about ongoing advocacy work, such as the West-Park Presbyterian Church, distributed copies of our latest Map Newsletter, and generally made merry.

And for the first time in a long time, we had stuff to sell!  For a modest donation ($3, $20 and many denominations in between!), visitors to the LW! table walked away with a historic map of a Manhattan neighborhood, or a "vintage" copy of a Harper's Weekly article, or an artistic representation of Grand Central Terminal, or one of many other odds and ends.  The map and photo sale was a big hit and we heard lots of encouragement (both at the fair later via Twitter) from folks as to planning other opportunities to sell these pieces of the past.

Our good friend Brendan walks away with his own Bromley map of northern Manhattan.
Thanks for all your support, Mr. Shera!

Kate, Cristiana and Sarah with a sample of one of the hundreds (literally!) of maps
available at Sunday's street fair.

But it wasn't all work on Sunday.  Kate G. made sure to peruse the other stalls and visit our friends at Soutine Bakery (Kate's a regular).  The tasty treats they had out for the festival has us dreaming of what Soutine Bakery and owner Madge Rosenberg have planned for Landmark Feast (coming this Sunday!).  Excited to see (and taste!) for ourselves.

Soutine Bakery tempts passersby on Sunday.

To all who swung by to say hi (@westsiderag, @NewTasteUWS and many others!), thank you!

History to Hang on Your Wall

This weekend, let's make a deal!

This Sunday, September 18th, is the annual Columbus Avenue Festival, sponsored by the West Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.  LANDMARK WEST! will be there!  The street fair is a great opportunity for us to share information about our historic neighborhood, make new friends, and hear -- directly from you -- just what you LOVE about the West Side.

                 WHEN:  Sunday, Sept. 18th, 12PM/noon to ... whenever!
               WHERE:  Northeast corner of Columbus Avenue at West 67th Street
                                  (if for any reason we have to relocate,
                                   just look for us as you stroll the Avenue!)

And this year, we're adding something new to our traditional roster of street fair assignments.  In addition to handing out copies of our latest Map Newsletter and helping folks sign up for our informative emails, we've got stuff to sell!

What kind of stuff, you ask?  All manner of "vintage" prints and photos!  For a modest contribution -- four dollars, twenty five cents, make us an offer! -- you can walk away the proud new owner of images like this one:

That's just the beginning.  We asked our summer interns Ingrid and Zack to help us give the blogosphere a sneak peek at the not-at-all-particular collection of images that awaits ...

We have to agree with the interns, the image on the left is TOO GOOD.  What are they looking at?  What's happening behind the camera?!?!  Tell us what you think at the street fair!

And these are only the beginning.  We'll post a few more samples before Sunday, but they'll hardly be a dent in terms of our large collection.  So meander along Columbus Avenue this Sunday and visit us at West 67th Street!

Love Your Landmark #9 - Pioneer Supermarket

Pioneer Supermarket

Columbus Avenue between 73rd and 74th Streets

Between the tenaciously old-school facade and the rotating selection of Russian beers served in large plastic bottles, the Pioneer gives me hope for a Columbus Avenue increasingly dominated by cupcakes and couture.

Love,

B. Rooney Shera

Urbanist