Category: Preservation

Grand Central Terminal Turns 108 on February 2, 2021

Grand Central Terminal, Preservation

 

 

Grand Central Terminal turns 108!

Grand Central Terminal is a major destination when visiting New York, and a welcome historic site for all who move through it every day. Some points of interest ~ The ceiling in the main concourse featuring 12 constellations painted in gold leaf plus 2,500 stars ~ Information Booth Clock, the crown jewel of Grand Central ~ Whispering Gallery in the low, Guastavino ceramic arches ~ Grand Central market including a wonderful gift section at Eli Zabar’s ~ The Tiffany Clock at the Park Avenue Viaduct ~ The Campbell Bar with its 25-foot hand painted ceilings, grand stone fireplace, and century-old leaded glass window with original millwork ~ Oak leaf and acorn finishes, symbols of the Vanderbilt family ~ Vanderbilts symbol of the age of electricity, exposed light bulbs still on view + more.

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Richmond Barthé ‘Exodus & Dance’ at Kingsborough Houses to be Restored

Preservation, Sculpture

 

 

 

Richmond Barthé’s Green Pastures: The Walls of Jericho (1938), a sculpture located at the Kingsborough Houses (also in Crown Heights). Barthé, who identified as homosexual, is considered the most important sculptor of African-American modernism in the first half of the twentieth century. Photos via NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project

As we approach Black History Month 2021, the Fulton Art Fair, in celebration of its 100th birthday of artist Richmond Barthé, announced the restoration of the much loved relief, ‘Exodus and Dance.’

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13th St. Repertory Theatre, 50 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village under Threat of Demolition

Greenwich Village, Preservation

 

 

 

13th Street Repertory Company

We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Edith O’Hara, founder of the 13th St. Repertory Theatre, in October, 2020 at the age of 103. We have also been alerted by Village Preservation to the urgency in asking NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider landmark designation for the 3 1/2 story, 170 year-old row house located at 50 West 13th Street.

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Newly Restored Endale Arch in Prospect Park Now Open to the Public

Architecture, NYC Parks Department, Preservation, Prospect Park

 

 

 

Endale Arch Restoration. Photo credit: Paul Martinka.

Prospect Park’s historic Endale Arch has been restored to its original splendor with a $500,000 restoration funded by Tiger Baron Foundation and Council Member Brad Lander’s District 39 Participatory Budgeting.

The restoration of this historic arch, one of the first architectural elements in Prospect Park, reveals hidden details not seen in more than a century. Take a look at some pictures at the ribbon-cutting today.

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A Look Inside the Historic Park Avenue Armory in NYC

Architecture, Park Avenue Armory, Preservation

 

 

The Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue at 66th Street, NYC

In present day, New Yorkers enjoy a plethora of activities at the Park Avenue Armory, including live performances, concerts, art and antique shows. But the Armory enjoys a history just as exciting ~ completed in 1881, designed and decorated by some of the most sought-after masters of the American Aesthetic Movement during the Gilded Age, and home to the prestigious National Guard’s Seventh Regiment ~ also known as the ‘Silk Stocking Bragade.’  Take a look back in time.

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Textile Conservation Lab at Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Preservation

 

 

 

Behind the Cathedral is the Greek Revival building ~ Textile Conservation Lab

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine received a donation of twelve 17th Century Italian Barberini tapestries in 1891, a year before construction began on the Cathedral itself. In time, the acquisition of a collection of Raphael designed tapestries depicting scenes of the Acts of the Apostles drawn from the New Testament Book of Acts, and nine Mortlake tapestries were acquired. So it should not be surprising that, in 1981, a textile conservation lab was established, by the Cathedral, as a way to care and conserve the collection.

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NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Designates Five Historic Buildings Associated with Tin Pan Alley

Preservation

 

 

 

Buildings of Tin Pan Alley, c. 1910. Image via Historic Districts Council

On Sunday, October 22, 2017,  preservationists and historians rallied to protect the cultural treasure known as Tin Pan Alley along 28th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue ~ with musical performances and a tour. It was a day to learn about the rich history of the historic one block, known as Tin Pan Alley, and the efforts to preserve its heritage, along with many of its 19th-century structures still in tact.

On Tuesday, December 10, 2019, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated five historic buildings on West 28th Street in Manhattan:   47 West 28th Street, 49 West 28th Street, 51 West 28th Street, 53 West 28th Street and 55 West 28th Street. These buildings are an intact part of a block known as Tin Pan Alley, home of the most significant concentration of sheet music publishers in New York City. While on this block — so named to describe the audible racket of piano music that made 28th St. sound “like a tin pan alley” — these firms revolutionized the music-publishing industry’s practices for the creation, promotion and consumption of popular music as we know it today.

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The Historic Equitable Building Shines a Spotlight on its History

Architecture, Downtown, Murals, Preservation, Street Art

 

 

 

40th Floor, 120 Broadway

The landmarked 120 Broadway, also know as the Equitable Building, has undergone a two-year, $50 million renovation. We were pleased to be invited to take a look inside, from the historic Banker’s Club space on the 40th floor to the newly created mural project on the third floor, and beautifully restored lobby. Come along, as we take in the new, while reflecting on the old.

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Long Awaited Ground-Breaking for the Reconstruction of the New York State Pavilion Observation Towers at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Architecture, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Preservation, Queens

 

 

 

Photo credit: Daniel Avila/NYC Parks

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, today joined Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Queens Community Board 7 Parks Chair Kim Ohanian, and members of People for the Pavilion, Flushing Meadows Corona Park Conservancy and Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, to break ground on the reconstruction of the New York State Pavilion Observation Towers.

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Historic Harlem Fire Watchtower Ribbon Cutting ~ October 26, 2019

East Harlem, Harlem, Harlem Fire Watchtower, Preservation

 

 

The long-awaited ribbon-cutting for the restoration and unveiling of the historic Harlem Fire Watchtower took place on Saturday, October 26, 2019, to the delight of the entire community. Come along with us as we walk up to the Acropolis and celebrate the watchtower’s return.

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Honoring the 2018 Grassroots Preservation Awards Winners

Preservation

 

 

 

Each year, the Historic Districts Council celebrates community preservationists with its Annual Grassroots Preservation Awards. The awards are given to individuals and groups dedicated to working in public service and online to bring attention and resources to saving the “heart and souls of New York City.”

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NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Unanimously Voted to Landmark Three East Harlem Buildings

East Harlem, El Barrio, Preservation

 

 

Connie Lee, Landmark East Harlem, President of the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, and Public Art Initiative, December 2014 in front of Richard Webber Harlem Packing House, 207-215 East 119th Street in East Harlem

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) scheduled a public hearing for February 13, 2018, on three buildings in East Harlem ~ and unanimously voted to Landmark all three.

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Preserving The Historic Julien Binford Murals on West 14th Street ~ and a Visit from Banksy

Banksy, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, Murals, Preservation, Street Art

 

 

 

Mural entitled “A Memory of 14th Street and Sixth Avenue” located at 101 West 14th Street painted by Julien Binford in 1954

Preservationists familiar with the building recognized it right away as the original home of the historic Julien Binford murals located at 101 West 14th Street. The murals at the 14th street location appeared to still be intact. The building, a recently shuttered HSBC bank branch, was built in 1952, designed by Halsey, McCormack & Helmer. The website nysonglines states that the Binford murals at that location were painted in 1954, and can be seen from the street. What will become of the Binford murals, when new tenants occupy the space, is unknown. However we did learn that Council Member Corey Johnson’s office is looking to preserve the mural, now owned by Google, and securing a permanent home.

Below, read the history of the murals, and the great ‘save’ thanks to the efforts of Speaker Corey Johnson and Save Chelsea.

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