FALL 2019 and Part of the Group That Established the New and Earned a Liberal Arts Degree
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Remembering Bill Dane william j. dane, one of the earliest sity of New Hampshire but left in 1942 to join members of the Victorian Society in America the Army. Aft er the war he returned to college FALL 2019 and part of the group that established the New and earned a liberal arts degree. He later said York chapter, died July 13. He was 96 years old. he “didn’t have clue” as to where that degree Bill Dane, as he was known, was part of would lead him. the group that met in Margot Gayle’s home in In the fall of 1947, he applied for a job at the the 1960s to organize activities of the fl edg- Newark Public Library and was hired to be ling Victorian Society in America. Aft er the a clerk in its Art and Music Department. “I national organization moved its headquarters to circulated books, shelved and moved mate- Philadelphia, he remained active in it as well as rials,” he recalled, “and I picked up all kinds [email protected] | 212-886-3742 in the local chapter. He served on the New York of information relating to the subject areas chapter’s board of directors from 1970 until 1992. of art and music.” Th e library granted him WWW.VICSOCNY.ORG He was its treasurer (1970-73, 1984-85) and vice leaves to study at various institutions. In 1950 up the Gertrude Fine Prints Endowment Fund the new york metropolitan chapter of the victorian society in america president (1973-75). In 2002 the chapter honored he went to the Sorbonne and later to Harvard. in memory of his sister. His initial contribu- him with a lifetime achievement award. He earned a master’s degree in library science tion of $30,000 was augmented with $10,000 In 2005, the Victorian Society in America from Drexel University and took more than 20 from the Dodge Foundation. Over the years, presented him with a special president’s courses at New York University’s Institute of he curated more than 350 exhibitions at the award. Th at presentation noted he had actively Fine Arts. library. At one time he gave his job title as “the supported many of the organization’s activi- Bill remained with the Newark Public keeper of prints.” At retirement he was the Victoriana at the Edge ties from its earliest days. He had a particular Library for 62 years, retiring in 2009. Over the supervising librarian of special collections. interest in the summer schools, and for many years, his work and responsibilities changed Active in many professional organizations, Cameron Robertson, a VSNY board member and criteria. During the survey’s Reconnaissance patt erns and defi ned communities by the years served on the committ ee that organized as he expanded the library’s holdings to Bill co-founded the Art Libraries Society of a planner and historic preservation specialist at Level phase, any structure that appeared dominant historic themes refl ected in the and ran them. He was also an offi cer of the encompass a comprehensive survey of the North America in 1972 and was its fi rst trea- the consulting fi rm AKRF, has been using state- to meet NR criteria was documented using existing historic built fabric. Th e community Summer Schools Alumni Association. graphic arts from the Renaissance to the 21St surer. He received the Distinguished Service of-the-art technology to analyze vulnerabilities the app. Aft er OPRHP reviewed these forms, types identifi ed were labeled Maritime Econ- Bill was born May 8, 1923, in Concord, N.H. century. It was named Th e William J. Dane Award from the organization in 1998. to climate-change-related damage in New York structures underwent Intensive Level analy- omies, Resort Towns, Industrial Areas, Parks, He began his college education at the Univer- Fine Print Collection in 1997. In 2004, he set neighborhoods, many of them rich in Victorian sis if they were deemed eligible or if OPRHP Military Installations, Early 20th Century buildings. Here’s a summary of the team’s requested more information. More research Suburbs, Late 19th Century Workers’ Housing intriguing fi ndings so far, writt en by Cameron and documentation for buildings qualify- and Institutions. Jack Taylor Dies at 93 with colleague Erica Mollon and supervisor ing for this level included detailed physical Once the community types were identi- Claudia Cooney. descriptions and statements of signifi cance. fi ed, challenges facing each typology became jack taylor th Legendary preservationist died campaign to preserve the 19 -century Born in Manhatt an on April 25, 1925, Taylor Once the Intensive forms were completed clearer. For example, the earliest form of February 8 at the age of 93. A longtime VSNY building. (It was demolished in 1995.) Taylor att ended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., In 2012, Superstorm Sandy rendered parts and neighborhood contexts fi nalized, OPRHP Maritime Economies tend to be located on member, he was honored with the organiza- also valiantly tried to prevent the 1991 and Georgetown University in Washington, of the New York City coastline and larger uploaded that information to their online, slightly higher ground and are hence more th tion’s lifetime achievement award in 2014. demolition of the house at 327 E. 17 Street, D.C. His fi rst job aft er college was with Th e region unrecognizable. To increase the state’s publicly accessible database, the Cultural likely to face development pressures and en- Taylor is perhaps best remembered for where Antonin Dvořák lived from 1892 Washington Post. resiliency in the face of future storm events, Resources Information System (CRIS). croachment from new high-density projects. spearheading the drive to designate the Ladies’ to 1895 and composed his “From the New AKRF was hired by the New York State Parks, During the project’s Phase 1, encompass- By contrast, Resort Communities developed Mile Historic District. Th e 1989 designation World” symphony. Recreation and Historic Preservation Offi ce ing the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, the adjacent to beaches and boardwalks, drawing protects shops and department stores built in Taylor was a leader in achieving the (OPRHP) to produce a two-phase, four-year, team surveyed 65 neighborhoods. Th ey identi- visitors by ferry, train and later car. Many th th th the late 19 and early 20 centuries between designation of the East 17 Street/Irving federally-funded survey. Th e goal has been fi ed 1,346 properties at the Reconnaissance neighborhoods on the Rockaway Peninsula th th 15 and 24 Streets from Broadway to Sixth Place Historic District. It was designated in to identify vulnerable historic resources, to Level and 605 at the Intensive Level, and they developed in this way, and properties are Avenue in Manhatt an. 1998 aft er a 14-year eff ort. Even longer was ensure that they are protected from climate- delineated 20 Historic Districts containing a primarily bungalows, with some larger late His preservation eff orts blossomed in the the campaign to preserve the Tammany Hall related damage in the future, either during total of 532 contributing resources. To identify 19th-century houses. Th ese communities are early 1980s aft er his retirement as an editor building on the east side of Union Square. It storm events or post-storm recovery. Th e community typologies, the team analyzed continued on page 2 at Family Circle magazine. Th e threatened was designated an offi cial New York City land- project team is using the most recent coastal demolition of Luchow’s, the famed German mark in 2013 aft er 29 years of lobbying. Taylor fl ood hazard composite risk maps to delineate th restaurant at 110 E. 14 Street in Manhatt an, was also involved in eff orts to protect Union study areas, and is employing mobile technol- sparked his enthusiastic participation in Square from unwise changes proposed by the ogy to geo-locate and document all potential a years-long and ultimately unsuccessful city for the park. historic resources in accordance with Na- tional Register (NR) survey criteria. To complete the large-scale survey, the team collected basic information in the fi eld—including photos and locations of resources—via an online soft ware and mobile app. Before fi eldwork began, neighbor- hood research and a context statement were prepared to identify each area’s themes of cultural and social trends as well as build- ing trends that would potentially meet NR View of Havemeyer/Huntington Mansion in the Bronx, circa 1906 232 East 11th Street (photo: New York Public Library) New York, NY 10003 VictorianSocietyNY @VicSocietyNY photos/victorianny/ Demarest Building Threatened continued from page 1 vulnerable because of their proximity to These hallmarks stand out among alterations Despite staunch appeals from VSNY, the ornaments are high-relief portraits of the water, and their wood frame buildings including modern window sashes, newer 29th Street Neighborhood Association and shirtless deities holding up floral bowers. often experience insensitive repairs, such roofing material, recladding in asbestos other community members for landmark Activists have regularly appealed to as the stripping of detailing and recladding. shingles and the infill of the porch. designation of the Demarest Building at 339 government officials to expand the Madison rd The neighborhoods’ surviving bungalows, The survey also revealed how distinctive 5th Avenue (at 33 Street), built in 1890 and Square North Historic District to include originally built as temporary homes, were designed by renowned architecture firm Renwick’s masterful design (which the architectural trends are still discernible in the not designed to withstand decades of harsh Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell, permits have Landmarks Preservation Commission has early communities—either in street layouts weather conditions.