E-BULLETIN OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL

February 2005, Volume 2 Number 2

Historic Public Spaces Highlighted in Pre-Conference Lecture Series

As a precursor to “Preserving Public Places: Caring for Our Shared Heritage” – which will be held on March 4-6, HDC is presenting a pre-conference lecture series highlighting a few of the public landmarks of New York City in February.

On Thursdays in February at the Kaplan Assembly Hall of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (208 West 13th Street, Manhattan), we will present the following lectures:

Thursday, February 10th, 6:30pm
STANDING TALL: PLANNING THE RESTORATION OF STANFORD WHITE’S PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the completion of Stanford White’s design for an imposing memorial site at the center of Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn’s first public park. The monument, White’s last public work, commemorates 11,500 American Revolutionary War patriots who died on the British prison ships in Wallabout Bay. John Krawchuck, director of historic preservation for the New York City Parks Department, will discuss the upcoming restoration of the monument and the surrounding site.

Thursday, February 17th, 6:30pm
STEWARDSHIP DENIED: THE RISE AND DECLINE OF UPPER MANHATTAN’S PARKS
Ross Wheeler of Queens College will discuss the history and stewardship of Upper Manhattan’s parks, focusing primarily on Fort Washington and Highbridge Parks. He will tell the story of how these parks originally reflected the interests and the concerns of the social class that inhabited Washington Heights through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and what happened when the parks lost their support and were ultimately sacrificed to other city needs.

Thursday, February 24th, 6:30pm
CARNEGIE LIBRARIES: SUSTAINING THE ARCHITECTURE OF LITERACY
Mary Dierickx of Mary B. Dierickx Architectural Preservation Consultants will discuss New York City’s collection of Carnegie libraries, the largest of any city in the country. Andrew Carnegie donated $5.2 million to build a branch library system. Sixty-seven libraries were built from 1901 to 1929; 54 of these are still used as libraries. The library systems have taken up the challenge of bringing these buildings into the 21st century while retaining their historic architecture.

Admission is $5 per lecture for the general public and payable at the door, free for Friends of HDC.

These programs are a part of the Historic Districts Council’s 11th Annual Preservation Conference, “PRESERVING PUBLIC PLACES: CARING FOR OUR SHARED HERITAGE,” which will be held on March 4-6, 2005.

Whitney Museum to Come Before the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Tuesday, February 1st

Recently the Historic Districts Council was given a presentation by the Whitney Museum on their proposed expansion. We greatly appreciate the Whitney’s efforts to meet with us and other members of the community to keep the public informed about the proposed expansion. We encourage all applicants to be as forthcoming as the museum, particularly when proposing large-scale projects.
While HDC understands the Whitney’s need for expansion, we found the proposal to be inappropriate for the Upper East Side Historic District, and also detrimental to the character of the iconic Whitney Museum, designed by Marcel Breuer.
The new expansion is designed by one of today’s most renowned architects, Renzo Piano, and standing on its own merits, is an interesting and engaging design. However, the benefits of this new design do not justify what will be lost and forever altered on one of the most visible corners in the Upper East Side Historic District.
The proposal calls for:
-A large, highly visible rooftop addition on the existing Breuer museum, which takes away from the building’s iconic profile and massing.
-The demolition of three buildings within an historic district. While two of these buildings are considered “no-style” buildings in the district’s designation report, they still contribute to maintaining the scale and sense of place of the Upper East Side Historic District.
-The breaking of the intact historic street wall on both Madison Avenue and 74th Street.
-A new mid-block tower, with a large external fire escape, of over 170 feet in height.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission, making a reasonable accommodation to the likely interest in the issue, has moved the hearing to Pace University’s Multi Purpose Room (entrance on Spruce Street between Park Row & Gold Street). The application is to be heard on Tuesday, February 1st at 9:30 am. Public testimony will be accepted at this hearing and we encourage individuals to testify. If you would like to submit testimony, send it to comments@lpc.nyc.gov. If you wish to learn more about the project, click here.

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The Advocate for New York City’s Historic Neighborhoods
232 East 11th Street New York NY 10003
tel: 212-614-9107 fax: 212-614-9127 email: hdc@hdc.org