| E-BULLETIN
OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL
December 2006, Volume 3 Number 12
Landmarks in the Making: Sites in Three Boroughs To Be Considered
by LPC
On December 12th, the Landmarks Preservation Commission will be
considering four important sites for potential designation as individual
landmarks.
Preserving A Machine Age Restaurant
The first, the Horn
& Hardart Automat – Cafeteria Building at 104th Street
and Broadway, is thought to be one of the most distinctive small-scale
commercial Art-Deco buildings in New York and one of the best surviving
examples of the popular chain restaurants that sprang up in the
early 20th Century. Although invented in Philadelphia, the Automat
quickly became synonymous with the fast-paced rush of New York,
and was celebrated in art, music and film. This particular building
is noted for its fine glazed polychrome terra-cotta detailing on
its third floor.
Progress on HDC’s “Heard But Not
Designated” Initiative
The Rutan-Journeay House, built circa 1850 in Tottenville on Staten
Island, is a rare survivor of the South Shore village’s early
history. A vernacular clapboard cottage with transitional Greek
Revival elements, this home was first owned by James Madison Rutan,
a major ship-builder in the village. Like the nearby Theodore
& Elizabeth De Hart House, the Orchard
Beach Bathhouse in The Bronx, 67
Greenwich Street in lower Manhattan and the
Staten Island Savings Bank in Stapleton, this house is one of
HDC’s “Heard but Not Designated” priorities for
individual designation, a list we established to draw attention
to properties that have been considered for landmark designation
but not acted upon (see http://www.hdc.org/IndPriorities.htm
for the whole list). We greatly hope that this charming and venerable
building will soon join those in gaining landmark protection.
Protecting Tribeca, Two Buildings At A Time
23 and 25 Park Place were built in the late 1850’s and designed
by Samuel Adams Warner, architect of the designated Marble
Collegiate Church. These adjoining buildings share Italian Renaissance
palazzo-style facades on Park Place and Murray Street with fine
masonry work and elegant carved window details. These buildings
were first considered by the LPC in 1989, as part of the broader
move to preserve
historic buildings in the former Washington Market area (later
known as Tribeca). After studying the area, the LPC eventually designated
five
small non-contiguous historic districts, as well as calendaring
and hearing 38 individual buildings, many of which are still not
landmarks but are still on the books as “calendared”
(see Sunday’s New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/nyregion/thecity/03land.html
for Jeff Vandam’s recent article on this topic).
Rare Clinton Hill Mansion Gets a Chance for Survival
Finally, the LPC will be considering 70
Lefferts Place as an individual landmark. This c.1854 Italianate
villa is one of the last-remaining wood-frame houses in the Clinton
Hill South neighborhood (it is already a contributing building in
the Clinton Hill South National Register Historic District). Despite
its recent restoration, the new owner of the property has declared
his intention to demolish the house to put up a high-rise development.
HDC has been working closely with the Lefferts Place Civic Association,
the Society for Clinton Hill and Council Member Letitia James on
the preservation of this site and is very excited that the LPC is
going to be considering it for designation.
All these buildings will be heard at the Landmarks
Preservation Commission’s public hearing on Tuesday, December
12th, starting at 9am. Please send comments or testimony at comments@lpc.nyc.gov.
One More Day to Break the Glass Dagger
The LPC is holding the public record for 980 Madison
Avenue open until tomorrow, December 5th at 5pm. As regular readers
may recall, this is a proposal by developer Aby Rosen to place a
26-story glass tower on-top the five-story Parke-Bernet Building
on Madison Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets. In addition to
being radically inappropriate to the Upper East Historic District
in terms of style, materials and design, this proposal also completely
violates the protective zoning Special Madison Avenue Preservation
District which was adopted specifically to discourage this kind
of development. Over seventy groups from all five boroughs have
joined HDC in opposition to this plan.
This may be your last opportunity to voice
your opinion. Please email the Landmarks Preservation Commission
at comments@lpc.nyc.gov
and let them know that our historic districts must be protected
against inappropriate development and the Rosen Tower must be denied!
See http://hdcvoice.blogspot.com/2006/10/alert-help-save-nycs-historic.html
for a sample letter.
The following groups are opposing the Rosen
Tower: 10th & Stuyvesant Streets Block Association,
Bay Improvement Group, Boerum Hill Association, Brooklyn Borough
Historian's Office, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy , Brooklyn
Heights Association, Brownstone Revival Coalition, Cambridge Place
Action Coalition, Carnegie Hill Neighbors, Center Development Corporation,
Center for Thanatology, Central Park West Preservation Committee,
Civitas, Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights, Council of Chelsea
Block Associations, Crown Heights North Association, Defenders of
the Historic Upper East Side, Ditmas Park Association, Drive to
Protect the Ladies' Mile District, DUMBO Neighborhood Association,
East 78th Street Block Association Park/ Lex., East 85th/86th Lex-Park-Mad
Block Association, East 86th Street Merchants/Residents Association,
East Midtown Coalition for Sensible Development, East Village Community
Coalition, Fort Greene Association, Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation
Alliance, Friends of Historic New Utrecht, Friends of Terra Cotta,
Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, Fulton Ferry
Landing Association , Gramercy Neighborhood Associates, Greater
Astoria Historical Society, Greenwich Village Community Task Force,
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Historic Districts
Council, Historic Neighborhood Enhancement Alliance, Institute of
Classical Architecture & Classical America, Jackson Heights
Beautification Group, Landmark West!, Manhattan Community Board
8, Manhattan East Community Association, Metropolitan Historic Structures
Association, Modern Architecture Working Group, Municipal Art Society,
Murray Hill Neighborhood Association, New York Landmarks Conservancy,
New York Marble Cemetery , New York Preservation Alliance, NoHo
Neighborhood Association, North Shore Waterfront Greenbelt, Preservation
League of Staten Island, Preserve and Protect, Queensborough Preservation
League, Richmond Hill Historical Society, Riverdale Historic District,
Roosevelt Island Historical Society, Senator Street Historic District,
Serpentine Art and Nature Commons, Society for Clinton Hill, Society
for the Architecture of the City, SoHo Alliance, Sunnyside Foundation
for Community Planning and Preservation , Tribeca Community Association,
Turtle Bay Association, Union Square Community Coalition, Vinegar
Hill Neighborhood Association, West 122nd St. Block Association,
West 54 - 55 Street Block Association, West Brighton Restoration
Society, West Cunningham Park Civic Association, Westerleigh Improvement
Association, Wyckoff House & Association, Yorkville Historic
Society. (Don’t see your name? Email hdc@hdc.org
and say “sign me up!”)
HDC Annual Holiday Book Party
Please join us for an evening of holiday cheer with
Kevin Walsh, author of Forgotten
New York. Mr. Walsh will read from his work and signed
copies of this perfect gift will be on sale. This event takes place
on Thursday, December 7 from 6:00-8:00pm at Former Engine Company
No. 31, 87 Lafayette Street at White Street. To RSVP please email
ftolbert@hdc.org
or call 212-614-9107. This event is a thank-you to our many Friends
who have supported HDC in 2006.
Not Yet a Friend of HDC? Please Consider an
End-of-Year Gift!
HDC’s Friends and supporters make all our programs
possible. If you’re not one already, please take this opportunity
to become a Friend of HDC and receive benefits
such as free events, special admission offers, access to
technical and moral support and advance notice of preservation issues.
Learn more about the benefits of being a Friend
or join our mailing
list to receive an information packet in the mail.
To unsubscribe from the email list please email hdc@hdc.org
and write "Unsubscribe" in the subject heading. We’ll
miss you!
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
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