The History of Preserving History: Penn Station rally, 50 years later

Protesters in front of Pennsylvania Station on Aug. 2, 1962.
Photo: Eddie Hausner/The New York Times

The architects Peter Samton and Diana Goldstein can tell you exactly where they were a half century ago, at 5 p.m. on Aug. 2, 1962: out on Seventh Avenue, tilting at windmills.

Pennsylvania Station, the McKim, Mead & White masterpiece, was doomed. They knew it. But they weren’t going to let it go down undefended. With Norval White, Jordan Gruzen, Elliott Willensky and others, they assembled an impromptu resistance brigade known as Agbany, for Action Group for Better Architecture in New York.

On that 86-degree summer evening 50 years ago, commuters were greeted by the sight of more than 100 buttoned-down and white-gloved protesters marching around the colossal colonnade at the station’s entrance.

“Save Penn Station,” their signs said, in nicely formed letters. (Architects. Of course.) “Don’t Sell Our City Short.” “Save Our Heritage.” “Action Not Apathy.”

Philip Johnson was impeccably present, in the company of the peerless Elizabeth Bliss Parkinson, a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, who would soon be its president. There was Aline B. Saarinen, the widow of Eero Saarinen, who had been until 1959 an associate art critic at The New York Times. Agbany counted Eleanor Roosevelt, Stewart Alsop, Jane Jacobs and Norman Mailer among its supporters, along with many of the most respected names in architecture and architectural criticism ...

For the full article by David Dunlap, click here.

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The firm of McKim, Mead & White is also responsible for another monumental New York edifice: the IRT Powerhouse.  But like Penn Station before, the building's lack of protection as an Individual Landmark means it is constantly at risk of inappropriate modifications and, worse still, demolition.  Learn more at the Save the Powerhouse blog.

To Nora Ephron, forever a West Sider

Via The New Yorker

"[F]or many of those who did not know Ms. Ephron personally, her zeal for food seemed to generate a bond." So wrote Matt Flegenheimer in his July 1st New York Times column, "Mourning the Wit and the Woman." In that fashion, our own acquaintance with Nora Ephron was epicurean in nature. In September 2011, Nora and her husband, Nick Pileggi, graciously accepted our invitation to serve as co-chairs of our first-ever Landmark Feast event, which celebrated farm-to-table dining and preservation ideals (and, of course, the West Side neighborhood we all love!). For their enthusiastic support, we will be forever grateful.

The West Side setting was another element on which Nora Ephron and LW! connected: our commitment to preserving the neighborhood's architecture and special sense of place is embodied in the one West Side abode that Nora loved so much as to pen a novella in the June 5, 2006, edition of The New Yorker. Entitled "Moving On: A love story", we learn about Nora's introduction to -- and immediate amorous fall for -- the Apthorp Apartments. On the first of this six-page homage, she writes that "I had never planned to live on the Upper West Side, but after a few weeks I couldn't imagine living anywhere else, and I began, in my manner, to make a religion out of my neighborhood." Nora captures the draw that LW! -- and certainly all West Siders -- feel for that intangible sense of place that is squarely at home on the Upper West Side.

And to zoom in on the gloriously decadent Apthorp, specifically? Well, Nora never stood a chance! She continues: "The apartment in the Apthorp seemed like an urban miracle. I'd found a haven. And the architecture of the building added to the illusion ... Every time I walked into the courtyard at the end of the day, I fell in love all over again." Nora Ephron's love of her neighborhood, of her apartment, of its architecture inspired countless fans via her films which used the West Side as their backdrop.

She also inspired the next generation of cultural movers and shakers, it seems, as Lena Dunham writes (in her touching remembrance of Nora from The New Yorker's June 28, 2012 issue) of her mental list when looking for a residence of her own: "I tried to use Nora-esque criteria -- prewar details, an open courtyard, an eccentric building staff, and neighbors who appeared to dabble in the occult, at least enough for a good story". When Ms. Dunham finally signed her name to a Brooklyn apartment, she "told [Nora] it was my Apthorp, whatever that means". 

To a woman who, as Mayor Bloomberg tweeted, "always loved a good New York story" and "could tell them like no one else", we pay tribute. To a woman who adored the Apthorp and its impressionable architecture. To Nora Ephron, forever a West Sider.

Click here to read James Barron's July 10th New York Times piece dedicated to Nora's "exit", her utterly unique, self-planned memorial service.

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 in the Papers: More news on Save St. Vincent de Paul

Sanctuary of St. Vincent de Paul

"A French Church Nears Its End, but Not Without a Contretemps"  

By David W. Dunlap, April 5, 2012, 6:16 pm

   

Tossing a gauntlet as he delivered an Easter sermon in 1841 to the people of New York, Charles Auguste Marie Joseph, the bishop of Nancy and Toul in France, demanded:

"In this great city, where the Irish and German Catholics have recoiled from no sacrifice to have their own churches and priests, how is it that the French, so famous for the faith of their fathers, alone remain indifferent?" he asked. "How, in fact, can this nationality be long preserved in a foreign land without the powerful bond of religion?"

That is exactly what some parishioners are asking today as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York prepares to close the Church of St. Vincent de Paul at 123 West 23rd Street - the very church that emerged 170 years ago in response to the bishop's exhortation - and merge the French-speaking parish with the Church of St. Columba at 343 West 25th Street. No date has been set.

How will an unusually diverse body of Catholics from France, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Switzerland, Togo and elsewhere maintain their connection with one another and with the mother church? What will keep them from dispersing, even if accommodated at St. Columba?

"The consequences are so grave, so overwhelming, they don't even want to hear about it," said Sylvestre Kouadio, a 51-year-old Ivorian taxi driver from the Bronx who directs the choir at St. Vincent. "The church has become a second home, a home away from home for Africans who speak French. This is the anchor." 

Click here for the full article and slide show at www.nytimes.com.  Please post your comments!  

Click here to visit "Save St. Vincent de Paul" and here to read LW's previous e-blast on this issue.

Reliving "The Battle for Bryant Park"

Last week, the Historic Districts Council hosted its Annual Conference.  This year's theme was "The Great Outside", asking preservationists and architectural enthusiasts to consider the open space around our much-loved brick-and-mortar treasures.

LW! was there, tracking all the conference action via Twitter (#GreatOutsideConf -- our thumbs are still aching from all the documentation via iPhone!).  

The "The Great Outside" conference themes live on, in upcoming programming from our friends at HDC ... 

From the LW! archives, an R.O. Blechman-designed invitation
to honor Anthony M. Tung in 1988

 

The Battle of Bryant Park, 25 Years On

A Discussion with Anthony Tung

Thursday, March 8, 6:00pm 

Neighborhood Preservation Center

232 East 11th Street. Free!

Reservations required; please call (212) 614-9107 or contact hdc@hdc.org

Co-sponsored with the New York Preservation Archive Project 
and the Neighborhood Preservation Center 

On January 8, 1987, The New York Times reported: "A four-year-old plan to build a restaurant behind the New York Public Library has been dealt a surprising setback, with the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission warning that it would consider 'absolutely untenable' any structure that would make it difficult to view the library’s west facade." The author of the motion was Commissioner Anthony Tung.

Five days later, on Sunday, in "A Landmark of Misfeasance" the Times editorial board called for the replacement of every member of the Commission.

By Monday, Tony Tung had been sacked. But it took 18 turbulent months for the mayor to finally unseat him.

Marking the 25-year anniversary of this battle, which energized the entire preservation community, Anthony Tung will join Anthony C. Wood and Jeffrey Kroessler to re-examine the controversy of 25 years ago.  The discussion will examine how this episode affected the independence of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and relations between the preservation community and the commission, as well as the implications for the present.

Anthony Max Tung lectures internationally on historic preservation and has taught historic preservation at MIT and Columbia. He is the author of Preserving the World’s Great Cities: The Destruction and Renewal of the Historic Metropolis.

Anthony C. Wood is the founder of the New York Preservation Archives Project, Chair Emeritus of the Historic Districts Council, member of the Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation, and advisor to preservationists across the city and state. He is the author of Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City’s Landmarks.

Jeffrey A. Kroessler is a longtime board member of HDC and member of the Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation. He is the author of New York, Year by Year and The Greater New York Sports Chronology. He is an associate professor in the library at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Special thanks to Arlene Simon and LANDMARK WEST! for the invitation to the 1988 party honoring Anthony Tung  – at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery (art by R.O. Blechman)

A Letter to Landmarks: Preserve the mural at former Victor's Cafe

Your neighborhood needs you!

As reported in our recent blog post, a new restaurant operator has applied to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to demolish the sculpted mural at 240 Columbus Avenue (formerly home to Victor's Cafe). This cultural artifact -- a reminder of the area's once-thriving Cuban population -- tells the important story of our neighborhood's layered history.

Victor del Corral, owner of Victor's Cafe (left) with
sculptor Arturo Martin (right), via NYTimes.

After learning about this issue in our most recent email, a concerned neighbor decided to register his support with the LPC, submitting the following via email (with a "cc" to LW!):

Please preserve the mural of the soon-ish to be opened Café Tallulah. As a long-time Upper West Side resident not only do I have fond memories of Victor's, but I believe the mural is part of the neighborhood's architectural heritage and a reminder of a moment in Upper West Side history, when Victor's Cafe was a popular destination for countless New Yorkers. 

                   ~ Sam S. 

The LPC has not yet voted.  Before it does, the 11-member Commission needs to know that we, the community, value the Victor's Cafe mural as a historical marker.  Follow Sam's lead; send in your email today!

Emails to the LPC can be directed to the attention of Chair Robert Tierney at comments@lpc.nyc.gov.  Tell the Chair what you think of the mural, share an anecdote about the heyday of Cuban culture at Victor's, or echo the comments we made in our testimony (available here).  Please be sure to "cc" LW! at landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org. 

You can also learn about the mural via recent articles by the New York Times' City Room blog and DNA Info's Leslie Albrecht.

The LPC did not vote on the proposal last Tuesday for two reasons: (1) there was not a quorum of six Commissioners present, the required minimum number to permit a vote, and (2) the Commissioners in attendance directed the applicant and the LPC staff to dig deeper into the history of the mural.  

LW! is on the case, too!  Stay tuned for more updates.

In Central Park, Tavern on the Green to rise anew

Tavern on the Green, Central Park*

Tavern on the Green, the legendary dining destination inside Central Park at West 67th Street, will soon rise again.  But unlike the famously glitzy, high-priced restaurant of days gone by, the new Tavern on the Green (the name stays!) is set to be a casual, park-centric eatery that celebrates the historic architecture of the building and it's landmark landscape setting.

This past Tuesday, February 1st, the Dept. of Parks and Recreation (DPR), along with the Central Park Conservancy, the Department of Design and Construction, reps from Swanke Hayden Connell Architects, and others behind the project convened a site visit for all those interested in applying for the one-of-a-kind opportunity of operating a restaurant/bar at the Tavern on the Green site (currently serving as a visitors center).

From our office just down the way on West 67th Street, LW! scooted over to the Tavern site to hear and see for ourselves what the multi-agency vision for the new restaurant is.  And we weren't the only ones.  Dozens (50? 60?) of people flooded the terrace, where this summer food trucks reigned supreme.  In introductory comments, the DPR informed the crowd that the footprint of the former Tavern on the Green is to be reduced.  Earlier additions are to be demolished (the Crystal Room is already long gone) so that the U-shaped building at the core of the Tavern is all that remains.  With this in mind, we were taken in small groups to tour the building.

A stickered remnant of days gone by at the Tavern on the Green site in Central Park.*

Mirrored corridor inside the Tavern on the Green building.*

Following the short walk-through, a question-and-answer session took place.  As the morning's intended/primary audience was that of possible restaurant operators, rather than preservation advocates or design consultants, the majority of queries concerned HVAC allowances, storage availability, delivery access, and the like.  Though questions concerning intended landscape modifications did arise, they were not fully addressed.  They are expected to be a focus, rather, of the upcoming Community Board 7 Preservation Committee meeting, scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 9th at 6:30PM (item No. 1).  This will be the West Side's first look at how the DPR and the Conservancy's vision of a reborn Tavern on the Green translates into landmark (both architecture and landscape) restoration and preservation.  Mark this important public meeting on your calendar!

The Feb. 1st site visit prompted quite a bit of press buzz; see and read for yourself:

*These photos familiar? Hopefully you saw them on our Twitter feed. For more from-the-field preservation updates, be sure to follow us!  See snaps like the one below, of graduate intern Ali K. doing site documentation of the Tavern.