Join the Committee; Protect the Neighborhood!

The Tavern on the Green, in Central Park, soon to be restored
and modified with a glass pavilion.  An example of a recent preservation issue focused on
by our C of A Committee (learn more below!).

In landmarks preservation, designation is just the beginning!  Learn more about "on the ground" landmark stewardship and how YOU can participate in neighborhood preservation!

OPEN HOUSE: Get to know (and consider joining!)

the LW! Certificate of Appropriateness Committee

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 6 p.m.

Macaulay Honors College (35 West 67th Street)

Join us -- admission is FREE; wine and light snacks will be served 
CheeseSticks generously provided by John Wm. Macy's CheeseSticks  
Click here to RSVP or email us at landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org

Even the staunchest of preservationists knows that in vibrant communities, changes in the built environment are inevitable.  Landmarks are not frozen in time, and they depend on our constant stewardship for appropriate and sensitive maintenance and growth.

When owners of landmark buildings and sites wish to make changes, they need to apply to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) for what's called a Certificate of Appropriateness (C of A).  LW's C of A Committee is an all-volunteer group that works with building owners and their architects, contractors and consultants to advise on design and protect the integrity of our constantly evolving neighborhood.  We welcome our friends and neighbors, architects, designers, historians, attorneys, real estate professionals ... anyone and everyone excited to volunteer their skills and expertise to the stewardship of the Upper West Side.

JOIN US on April 18th, meet current Committee members and others in the community who share your interest in neighborhood preservation! 

240 Columbus Avenue (then Victor's Cafe) at the time of its inclusion
in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District in 1990.

These meetings culminate in testimony -- directly inspired by the input from our Committee members -- before the LPC, the Public Design Commission, and other public agencies and forums.  We "win" some, we "lose" some, but we always succeed in raising awareness about the history of our West Side neighborhood.   

A recent preservation issue -- and success story! -- has been 240 Columbus Avenue (formerly Victor's Cafe), at West 71st Street.  Thanks to collaborative efforts with the family of Victor del Corral, founder of the pioneering West Side restaurant, Victor's Cafe, a noteworthy bas relief mural on the 71st Street facade was saved from demolition.  This important layer of West Side history -- when Columbus Avenue and 71st Street was a destination for Cuban expatriates in New York City -- can be experienced and appreciated by future generations.  A new restaurant, Cafe Tallulah, is expected to open this Summer.  Click here to read more about our C of A Committee's work on this project.

Another recent issue of our Committee has been the Tavern on the Green in Central Park (pictured at the top of this post).  As we testified before the LPC:

"With this transition, LANDMARK WEST! is pleased to see the building's restoration needs being addressed.  Over dozens of years, the footprint of the Tavern on the Green gradually increased to accommodate larger private parties and seat more guests. Slowly but surely, the historic Jacob Wrey Mould-designed core was swallowed up by expanded kitchen facilities to the West and South, along with additional dining areas encased in greenhouse-like glass on the South and, famously, to the East in the form of the Crystal Room. With the removal of these egregious additions, the Tavern on the Green can once again breathe. And, perhaps more importantly, the public can fully experience and appreciate its architectural beauty in the landscape."  Read more here.

The proposal was ultimately approved by the LPC and the Public Design Commission, and the glass box will soon rise in the U-shaped courtyard of the Tavern.  Click here to read more about our work on this project.

JOIN US on Wednesday, April 18th, at 6PM for our first ever C of A Open House! The C of A Open House will be an opportunity for friends and neighbors to learn more about design review process and its essential role at LANDMARK WEST!.

UPDATE: A look at architectural renderings for new Tavern on the Green glass pavilion

Last week, LW! reported on the Landmarks Preservation Commission's (LPC) public hearing to consider both restoration work and a new addition at the iconic Tavern on the Green building, in Central Park.  

Following our post, we received from the project architects a copy of the final project rendering (see below; turns out the image sourced from Curbed.com was an early massing study).  

The project was approved by the LPC.  According to Dept. of Parks & Recreation staff who've presented at various public meetings and forums on this issue, the LPC-approved restoration work and glass pavilion are expected to be completed by mid-2013.

Rendering of final design for glass addition proposed (and approved)
for the Tavern on the Green building.
Photo: Swanke Hayden Connell Architects

Close-up view of area enclosed in yellow box, above.

UPDATE: As historic Tavern on the Green re-emerges, new addition threatens to obscure once more

Earlier this month, we reported on plans moving forward for the iconic Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park.  Since then, the action has moved from the field to the hearing room.

The City's multi-agency team and contracted architects have shopped their proposal for what is being termed the "shell and core" restoration of the building before Community Boards (including the West Side's own CB7 Preservation Committee, on February 9th) and, on Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).

Along with preservation colleagues like the Historic Districts Council (HDC) and Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts (connect with them here and here), LW! took to the podium before the LPC.  As we stated in testimony, "[t]he restoration of the Tavern on the Green to its former glory is an incredible contribution to the long history of this site." We're thrilled! Alas, "that restoration alone is not 'enough' and that an addition is also proposed is predictable" (copy our statement available here).

A glass pavilion has been proposed, to rise in the Tavern's Eastern courtyard, connecting to the historic building where once did the Crystal Room.  Curbed.com provided a glimpse of the final design for said pavilion, posting it to their site at almost the exact time that the LPC review commenced.

Proposed addition for the Tavern on the Green, via Curbed.com.

From LW's statement to the LPC:

LW! is not opposed to new design at the Tavern on the Green site in principle, but a legendary destination and a handsomely designed building such as this deserves something far more sympathetic; a quietly masterful note of our time. The pavilion proposed is a hefty glass-and-metal box that does nothing but hide what is most exciting about the building's primary facade: the East-facing central bay.

We're disappointed to report that the LPC ultimately approved the City's plan, glass box and all.

Read more from preservation advocates on this issue:
       - Statement of the Historic Districts Council (third project down, listed as "Item 9")
       - Statement of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts

*Central Park, home to Tavern on the Green, was the City's first Scenic Landmark, designated by the LPC in 1974.  Learn more about the park and its history in the designation report. Up until now, and until work on the restoration begins, the Tavern on the Green building has served as a visitor's center (more here).

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.