DISTRICT LINES NEWS AND VIEWS OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL

WINTER 2002, VOLUME XVI, NUMBER 1 STATEN ISLAND, BOROUGH WHERE LANDMARKING LAGS

The Historic Districts Council recently spent a day touring City’s least- landmarked borough and concluded that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has a lot of catching up to do. Staten Island, the third-largest borough in land area, has only two designated historic dis- tricts: St. George/New Brighton and Farm Colony – Sea View Hos- pital. These meager designations do an injustice to Staten Island’s varied and interesting architectural communities, many of which are under threat of rapa- cious development. The Preservation

League of Staten Island, with HDC’s SANDRA LEVINE encouragement and support, is spear- A row of 1900 neo-Tudor buildings designed by Carrèe & Hastings for developer George heading a boroughwide drive to correct Washington Vanderbilt, best known for his creation of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North this neglect and bring much- needed Carolina. preservation attention to the Island. During the course of the tour, HDC’s hoods, including Stapleton Heights (also Avenue, Westerleigh (also known as Pro- New Districts Committee looked careful- called Mud Lane), the Nook (a section of hibition Park), and an undesignated sec- ly at a number of undesignated neighbor- Stapleton), Snug Harbor East, Vanderbilt Continued on page 5

AFTER THREE DECADES,MURRAY HILL BECOMES A HISTORIC DISTRICT

Murray Hill was first developed in the cultural history. In the late-19th and house. Delano also designed a sophisti- 1850s as a fashionable district for some of early-20th centuries, the neighborhood cated French Renaissance facade for a New York’s most distinguished families. was home to some of New York’s more former carriage house at 126 East 38th Over the years, the neighborhood has noteworthy residents. The narrow Ital- Street for use as his office. retained much of its mid-19th-century ianate brownstone at 125 East 36th Street Murray Hill’s 30-year effort to obtain appearance – its predominantly low-scale was the first home of newlyweds Eleanor official historic-district status moved for- residential character of quiet, tree-shaded and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Rhinelanders, ward on January 29, 2002, when the New streets lined with handsome townhouses, Belmonts, Tiffanys, and Havemeyers also York City Landmarks Preservation Com- contiguous brownstone rows, and converted lived in the neighborhood. Architect mission voted unanimously in favor of carriage houses in a variety of architectural Ralph Townsend was commissioned by designation. The boundaries of the dis- styles. Many of the dwellings are set back Todd Lincoln, son of the President, to trict stretch from East 35th to East 38th from the street behind front yards graced design a double Georgian-style house at Street, roughly between Lexington and with ornamental iron fences, adding an ele- 122-124 East 38th Street for his two Park Avenues, encompassing the historic gance and gentility to the area not usually daughters. Another prominent architect, core of Murray Hill, one of Manhattan’s associated with Midtown Manhattan. Delano, lived in a brown- finest Victorian-era neighborhoods. Sup- In addition to its architectural features, stone at 131 East 36th Street, which he ported by the Historic Districts Council, the area also has its share of interesting transformed to a tasteful Parisian town- Continued on page 9 DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 2

TO MARKET, TO MARKET … nent preservationists from the Historic (THE GANSEVOORT, THAT IS) Districts Council, the Municipal Art Society, the New York Landmarks Con- According to Landmarks Preservation servancy, and architectural consultants. Commission Chair Sherida Paulsen, the Guidelines would govern alterations designation of the Gansevoort Market area and new construction in the district, and on the West Side of Manhattan as a historic they would be specific to existing build- district could happen in six to 12 months, ings and streetscapes. “We need to but no one in the Save Gansevoort Market demonstrate that the industrial history of GREENWICH VILLAGE SOCIETY FOR VILLAGE GREENWICH PRESERVATION HISTORIC Task Force is regarding it as a done deal. The Homestead Restaurant on Ninth Avenue, this area as a mercantile district is tied to Although much research has already a true landmark in the heart of the proposed the way the buildings look today,” said been done on the area, commonly known district. Ms. Yowell. “And we need to write guide- as the meatpacking district, more is need- lines that allow change while preserving ed. A major step in the effort for designa- executive director of GVSHP, which is the streetscapes and a sense of place.” tion was the submission to the LPC last overseeing the task force. “The Gan- Few designated historic districts in September of a report written by architec- sevoort Market district is different. It’s New York City have such guidelines. tural historian Thomas Mellins entitled not your typical rowhouse area. Architec- Spelling out what does and does not con- “The Proposed Gansevoort Market His- tural quality by conventional standards form to regulations helps the LPC to toric District: An Overview.” Among exists, but there is much more here than administer a district. Having them may other material, he used archival research the traditional case for districting, and advance the case for designation. Just as on the riverside buildings below 14th there is untapped potential in regard to important, making guidelines available to Street that had been done for a 1989 doc- what LPC has not touched on.” owners clarifies what alterations are ument called “The Architecture of the To further the designation effort, a acceptable and what may not be, what Greenwich Village Waterfront,” edited by new committee has been formed to advise changes require permits and what do not, architectural historian Regina Kellerman and consult with the LPC about a master thereby demystifying the process. This and published by the Greenwich Village plan to accompany the proposed district’s can go a long way to convincing property Society for Historic Preservation designation report. The master plan owners that the regulations of a historic (GVSHP). New research will bring that would include proposals for design district are not arbitrary or capricious. study up to date, but since the LPC sug- guidelines for area development. Orga- Although not common in New York, in gested expanding the proposed historic nized by Linda Yowell, a member of the other cities throughout the world, preser- district northward to West 16th Street, task force and co-chair of the Preserva- vation districts often have such guidelines. similar research will be done for the tion Committee of GVSHP, the new When the guidelines are ready, says buildings north of 14th Street. The gener- group will be chaired by architect James Ms. Hamilton, the task force will approach al boundaries as proposed are West 16th Stewart Polshek and composed of promi- property owners, hoping to enlist their Street on the north to Horatio Street on support for designation. “We want to listen the south, and from Hudson Street or to owners’ concerns to try to meet them Ninth Avenue west to the Hudson River. intelligently,” she adds. While not legally New research will deal not only with DISTRICT LINES necessary, owner support is always wel- the vital statistics of individual build- NEWS AND VIEWS OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL come in the quest for designation. ings—dates of construction and alter- “There’s a lot up in the air about how Editor Simeon Bankoff ations, uses and owners—but will also Layout and Production Ross Horowitz development and preservation are going examine more broadly how the evolution Editorial Consultant Jack Taylor to be in the future,” says Mr. Berman. of transportation and industry and the Contributors Penelope Bareau, Claire Bier- “We’re not going completely out on a limb links between them have shaped the dis- horst, Minor Bishop, Hal Bromm, Franny here, but we’re moving farther along it.” trict as a whole over the years. Industrial Eberhart, Ann Walker Gaffney, Sandra Other activities of the task force are: Levine, Joyce Mendelsohn, Jack Taylor history is rich in this area, as is the evolu- Creation of a Website—www.savegan- tion of marketing that gives the district its The Historic Districts Council is the city- sevoortmarket.org—which includes Mr. name. In looking at the district’s changes, wide non-profit advocate for New York’s des- Mellins’s report, a fact sheet about the we can better see how the flow of history ignated historic districts, and for neighbor- district and the movement, and a Request is expressed in existing buildings and hoods worthy of preservation. The Council is For Evaluation form which can be down- dedicated to preserving the integrity of New streetscapes, how the layers of history can York City’s Landmarks Law and to furthering loaded, filled out, and sent to the LPC. be read in the present environment. In the the preservation ethic. A self-guided walking-tour brochure, end, says Jo Hamilton, co-chair of the DISTRICT LINES is made possible, in which is being prepared for springtime task force, the goal is “to refine the mean- part, by the New York Department of Cultural strollers. ing of ‘sense of place,’ and to pin it down Affairs. A special tour of Gansevoort Market The Historic Districts Council is supported GREENWICH VILLAGE SOCIETY FOR VILLAGE GREENWICH PRESERVATION HISTORIC with examples and history.” during HDC’s Preservation Conference in ue, by public funds from the New York State “It’s very, very exciting,” says Andrew Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the March. ■ Berman, the new (since January 2, 2002) generosity of its Friends and other donors. DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 3

ty’s very real concerns, and has promised CB1 and also a member of the Lower to act soon, many remain skeptical. Manhattan Development Corporation, In addition to protecting more of agrees with HDC that the historic street Tribeca, now is the time to finally create grid is crucial to a successful integration the Civic Center Historic District, origi- of the site into the surrounding neighbor- nally proposed in the first Koch Adminis- hoods. She promises to do everything she tration when Kent Barwick was chair of can to prevent a reconstruction of 7 WTC the LPC. With a single stroke, the Com- that would block Greenwich Street, stat- mission could grant landmark protection ing it would happen “over my dead body.” to some of the city’s greatest early office That kind of commitment is music to the buildings. By designating the Civic Cen- ears of many in preservation. Let’s hope ter, the historic municipal core of New everyone is listening. —Hal Bromm York City would be saved for reinvestment and reuse. The magnificently restored grand entrance staircase of the Tweed HDC PRESERVATIONIST AT Courthouse on Chambers Street and the GROUND ZERO newly restored Sun Building on Broadway are stunning examples of restoration done Preservationist Robert J. Bob Kornfeld

.DECKER right and old buildings reborn. Jr. has been a memberpart of f the e ©P A solid consensus has formed around Ground Zero team this past fall and win- the very wise concept that the entire 16- ter. He has prepared assessments of dam- acre World Trade Center site must be aged buildings for New York City and THE PRESIDENT’S COLUMN reunited with the neighborhoods around taken part ina plan for the restoration of it by restoring the street grid that was the designated landmarked 90 West As New York moves beyond September unfortunately erased by the center’s oddly Street, and of the American Express x 11th, a wealth of good ideas have come elevated plaza. In case you forgot (or Tower Building (3 World Financial Cen- forward for rebuilding south of Vesey never knew) what that grid looked like, ter), which wereas heavily damaged by Street. The Historic Districts Council has New York New Visions has produced an the collapse of the South World Trade been active in the re-imagining process— excellent map with the old street beds Center Ttowers. joining Manhattan Community Board 1, ghosted in. Bringing the plaza site to New York New Visions, the Civic Alliance, existing grade and remapping historic and many others. Near the World Trade streets would knit the surrounding com- Center site, proposals are focusing on sav- munities of Tribeca, the Civic Center, and ing unprotected and endangered historic the financial district together both physi- resources as new perils arise in the rush to cally and psychologically, with important revitalize downtown. economic benefits to all. This issue has particular urgency in Greenwich Street, a key thoroughfare Tribeca, where both CB1 and the Tribeca that marches through Tribeca heading Community Association have spent years south, was blocked—both visually and lobbying for extensions to historic dis- physically—by the ungainly 7 World tricts that were underdesignated a decade Trade Center. Madelyn Wils, chair of ago. Along with too many others through- out the city, the four Tribeca districts are all much smaller than the community had sought. Now a new extension to the southern area—closest to Ground Zero— is in the offing. HDC, CB1, and the (aptly named) Committee to Extend the Tribeca Historic Districts have brought forward a proposal to preserve these intact but unprotected streetscapes, and the Land- UL RUBENFARB CARL FOSTER, LPC marks Preservation Commission has PA responded. However, the extension as Mutilation in progress (summer 2001) on the Mutilation in progress (summer 2001) on the northwest corner of Warren and Church northwest corner of Warren and Church counter-proposed by the LPC is miserly Streets, outside of the Tribeca South Historic in scale, leaving many significant streets Streets, outside of the Tribeca South Historic District. This site is slated to become luxury District. This site is slated to become luxury still vulnerable to inappropriate alter- loft condominiums. Note the Cary Building loft condominiums. Note the Cary Building ations and development. Although the (right rear), an individual landmark at (right rear), an individual landmark at LPC seems to understand the communi- Chambers Street. Chambers Street. DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 4

Architect and Historic Districts Coun- buildingís wall and set off fires that tially collapsed by heavy steel debris cil DC board member Bob Kornfeld Jr. burned for two days. Smaller debris dam- from the twin towers. always identified with the anti-Vietnam aged the ornate terra cotta and stone Since November the reconstruction of War attitudes of his generation. Heí’s a bit faÁcade masonry. lit the building on fire. the American Express Tower (3 World surprised that, now, as he spends his days I-beams javelined through walls. Large Financial Center) has been progressing at working at Ground Zero, it feels good to portions of the faÁade’s stonework detail- breakneck speed. , keeping Bob has been wear a hard hat covered with American- ing were obliterated by the spray of rub- stationed at LZA/T-Tís field office in the flag stickers along with his jeans, work ble which blasted the building. The ele- cityís command center on the 30th fFloor boots, and bright- orange safety vest. gant copper, mansard roof was also badly of the building to head up the architectur- Bob works for The LZA/ Thornton- damaged by the fire. Since the attacks, u: al portion of the faÁcade restoration. The Tomasetti Group, which was hired by the in some places the green patina was frame and floor slabs are being recon- New York City Department of Design and burned off and the roof turned black; in structed at heavily damaged or collapsed Construction C as the Cityís prime engi- other places, the copper sheets warped or areas, and the contractors are gearing up neering consultant for Lower Manhattan peeled apart. Sheet metal column covers for a major campaign of stone wall- panel right after the September 11th attacks. . (from the faÁade of the South Tower) and window replacement. Engineers from Bob’ís office worked lodged in the courtyard scaffolding, There are two other landmark build- quickly in the days following the World where some restoration work had previ- ings in the immediate area. The Verizon Trade Center disastercollapse, combing ously been undertaken. Building (Barclay-Vesey Building), the site to analyze the collapse and ensure Under Bob’s supervision, Unstable designed by architect Ralph Walker, was the safety of rescue workers, figuring out debris has been removed from the build- heavily damaged when 7 WTC collapsed where to assemble cranes, and inspecting ing, and structural damage has been against its east elevation. It is stabilized, surveying hundreds of200 neighboring shored. Work is being done to , and the and awaits facade restoration. A block buildings for stability. LZA/T-T architects building is being protect the building away stands St. Paulís Chapel, Manhat- and mechanical engineers followed the from the elements and to ed and re-win- tanís oldest surviving church, where initial survey with visits to the most heav- terize it properlyd. networks of scaffold- George Washington worshipped at the ily damaged buildings in order to prepare ing-like shoring have been built in fragile beginning of his presidency. The land- Life Safety Assessment Reports. These areas of the building to stabilize it. mark church suffered no damage and has reports , evaluated ing facÁade damage, Although it While the building90 West been converted by its congregation into a roof debris, site safety, and other issues Street looks as if like iit has been heavily respite center for disaster recovery work- affecting renovation work or re-occupan- shelled, gone through a WWII bombing ers. cy, such as fall and hazards, electrocution battleraid, Bob is enthusiastic about the The experience of working in the dam- hazards and , damage to fire protection possibilities forbuildingís restoration. He aged buildings has been intense. Bob has systems, and gave requirements for pro- points out that Tthe superstructural esys- spoken about navigating ed, in near-dark- tecting and stabilizing the buildings. For tem is relatively intact and while the . The ness, around by thousands of glass- and more than over the past severalfour faÁcade damage is horrific, it is but is dust-coveredated desks and seeing them months, Bob has been performing these mostly concentrated in several discrete adorned with family photos and memen- site visits, working in a field office at the areas. Finally, Tthe extent of interior dam- tos, some with calendars opened to Sep- site, preparing assessments, implement- age actually allows makes this tragedy to tember 11th, some with September 11th ing the necessary workfollowing up on become an opportunity to do a complete newspaperscopies of the New York implementation,detailed Life Safety upgrade of the buildingís mechanical sys- Times, and half-eaten breakfasts. in front Assessment Reports containing recom- tems.in excellent shape, and the work of of still-on computers. On one office wall mendations for repairing the most imper- gutting the building, a prerequisite to ren- Iin 90 West Street, Bob noticed a glass- iled buildings and working on restoration ovation, has largely been accomplished framed photograph propped against the projects for the owners of several of the already by the fire. The landlord has wall of a debris-strewn stair well. It was buildings.. expressed interest in restoring the build- of the National Historic Landmarkland- One of the buildings he has worked on ing in a historically-accurate manner. marked “Insert Name Here MansionMo- intensively is 90 West Street, an his- The World Financial Center was has honk Mountain House” in upstate New toricdesignated New York City NYC not generally been loved by preservation- Paltz, New York. Someone working at 90 landmark completed in 1907 and ists, but in the wake of the World Trade West Street was a preservationistóIts designed by Cass Gilbert (who also Center attack, it is taking on a historical beauty and serenity are a good omen for designed the nearby Woolworth Building) patina both physically and symbolically the restoration of theis beautiful wounded architect Cass Gilbert and completed in in the wake of the World Trade Center landmark near Ground Zerobuilding. 190712. The 90 West Street building was attack. In the future, visits the Winter severely damaged on September 11th;. Garden will likely feel more like a shrine Aas the South Tower collapsed, the north than a tourist trap. Structural repairs face of 90 West Street was pelted pound- designed by LZA/T-T are under way on ed by heavy steel debriswith large chunks the atriumWinter Garden, which was par- of flaming steel that which penetrated the DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 5

STATEN ISLAND, BOROUGH WHERE LANDMARKING LAGS Continued from page 1 tion of St. George. To anyone whose familiarity with Staten Island is limited to either the ferry slip or the drive across the island to get to New Jersey, these neigh- borhoods would come as a big surprise. Heavily treed, hilly, winding streets are lined with finely detailed single-family houses in a variety of styles dating from the mid-19th century. Neighborhoods like these are rare in New York City. Yet they have received little formal recognition and almost no protection, especially on Staten Island. Chan Graham, president of the Preser- vation League of Staten Island (PLSI), notes that while all the historic areas on Staten Island are worthy of designation as historic districts, Stapleton Heights and the Nook should, in his opinion, take priority. PENELOPE BAREAU PLSI has been moving forward with desig- nation proposals to the LPC for an exten- “This exuberant 1885 house on St. Paul’s Avenue in Stapleton Heights is unprotected by the sion to the St. George Historic District and Landmarks Law.” for Snug Harbor East. HDC is coordinat- ing with PLSI’s efforts and has sent a tion has issued a call for proposals for Finally, an update about Spanish request to the LPC to look at all of the pro- work two of the seven buildings remaining Camp (see District Lines, Vol. 15, No. 2, posed Staten Island historic districts. on the site. Spring 2001). Almost a year after the ille- In addition to pursuing new landmark This year the National Trust for His- gal demolition of the Dorothy Day Cot- designations, PLSI has been an active toric Preservation awarded PLSI a local tages, the property owners have agreed to preservation advocate for Staten Island. initiative grant, the only grant awarded in convey to the city some of the land along Among their programs is a popular house New York State. The two-part grant will Seguine Pond, including the site of the tour – this year 250 people attended – that enable PLSI to study the feasibility of three destroyed cottages, as well as an includes properties such as the Moore- expanding its scope of activities and then, access route to the public beach. Accord- McMillen House, an 1818 designated if the expansion is warranted, to hire its ing to Mark Silberman, counsel for the farmhouse that had been the home of the first-ever executive director since its LPC, “Subsequent to its public hearing founding director of Historic Richmond founding in 1986. HDC will be working [in April 2001], the LPC is considering Town, and the Church of St. Andrew, the with the organization on this exciting designation of the site as a landmark.” oldest house of worship on Staten Island. prospect, with the hope that 2003 will Now that the issue of public access to the PLSI also regularly testifies before the bring an even stronger voice for preserva- site is resolved, perhaps this commemora- LPC and has joined HDC in opposing tion on Staten Island. tion can happen. ■ proposals to attach a catering hall to the Two other exciting preservation-relat- Charles Kreischer House and to construct ed events in the borough are the recently townhouses on the property of the late- completed restoration of the interior of 17th-century Manee-Seguine Homestead. Staten Island’s Carrère & Hastings- As part of their ongoing advocacy, designed Borough Hall, a pet project of PLSI maintains a list of endangered places newly elected Borough President James on Staten Island (www.preserve/plsi), one Molinaro, begun when he was Assistant of which, the site for a proposed light- Borough President. Farther in on the house museum, has topped the list for Island, in the long-neglected New York years. The lighthouse originally on the site City Farm Colony–Sea View Hospital still exists but was moved to Raritan Bay in Historic District, architect Page Ayres 1895. It is now considered redundant by Cowley has completed a survey of the the Coast Guard. Mr. Graham estimates remaining structures in the Farm Colony. that $1.5 million would enable it to be This documentation will prove invaluable relocated back to the lighthouse-museum should the long-wished-for opportunity site. In a positive recent move, New York for adaptive reuse ever come to pass. City’s Economic Development Corpora- DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 6

Lisa Ackerman of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and Wendy Nicholas of the National Trust for Historic Preservation before one of the designated landmark murals of the Court room.

Presiding Justice Joseph Sullivan and Clerk of the Court Catherine O’Hagen Wolfe greet Dorothy Marie Miner. Justice Sullivan presided over Dorothy Marie Miner, the 2001 Landmarks Lion, with many of the appellate decisions that supported the Landmarks Law. HDC’s Susan Tunick at the 13th Annual Landmarks Lion Award Ceremony on November 15, 2001. Susan, president of the Friends of Terra Cotta, created the award plaque, incorporating historic and new ceramics. The event took at the newly-restored Courthouse of the Appellate Division, First Department, of the New York State Supreme Court, an interior and exterior landmark.

Holly Leicht, Jane Rudofsky Johnstone of the Municipal Art Society and Autmn Rierson of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Former LPC Chair Gene Norman and former Commissioner HDC’s George Calderaro, Florent Morellet of Save Gansevoort Market and Anthony M. Tung. former LPC Director of Researcher Marjorie Pearson. DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 7

BOOK REVIEWS

The odyssey Mr. Tung embarked upon buildings in a provocative booklet called in the mid-1990s took him to 22 of the “Modern Architecture on the Upper East cities he calls “the most artistically and Side: Landmarks of the Future.” Based on historically significant places” world- the organization’s recent exhibition of the wide. How these cosmopolitan centers same name, the booklet illustrates and have dealt with the daunting task of pre- briefly describes modern buildings on serving their heritage is invigorating and Manhattan’s Upper East Side that are not instructive reading – and a damning protected by individual-landmark status indictment of, especially, the 20th centu- or by being part of any of the area’s his- ry’s “culture of destruction.” toric districts. From Rome to London and Paris, from The Friends exhibition and booklet are Jerusalem to Kyoto and Moscow – with part of their effort to raise consciousness surprising excursions to less-predictable about modern architecture and act to pro- environs like those of Mexico City and tect the best of it before it is too late. Even Singapore –Mr. Tung lays out the failures as the exhibition and booklet were in and successes that should be object preparation, the facade of one of the lessons for New York. Most prominent buildings that was to have been included among the failures are Cairo and Beijing; was removed. among the successes, Amsterdam and our The structure pictured is the Group own Charleston. Residence for Young Adults at 217 East Are there grounds for hope in the 21st 87th Street. Completed in 1968, it is in century? The future of preserving the his- the so-called “New Brutalist” style rarely toric built environment comes down to seen in New York, and is by the architect SHOULD THIS NEW BOOK BE this philosophical tenet, writes Mr. Tung: Horace Ginsbern, who is best known for REQUIRED READING? “A sensitivity to conservation…. There designs but practiced in a vari- are, of course, specific legal, economic, ety of styles throughout his long and pro- For those active in or sympathetic to the historical, social, political, and physical lific career. historic-preservation movement, the circumstances involved…but their com- Copies of the free booklet may be answer is a resounding “Yes!” plex interrelationship can only be obtained from Friends by calling (212) The author, Anthony M. Tung, who described as cultural. Preservation is dif- 535-2526 or writing them at 20 East served for nine years as a New York City ferent in different places because the cul- 69th Street, New York, NY 10021. For Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, ture of every great city is unique. And in more information about Friends pro- donned the mantle of a latter-day Marco our age of globalization and creeping grams and events, visit their Website at Polo and journeyed to 22 urban centers homogeneity, it is exactly this uniqueness www.friends-ues.org. ■ around the globe to document their that is in need of saving.” efforts in “Preserving the World’s Great Clarkson Potter/Publisher, New York; Cities: The Destruction and Renewal of 2001; $40. With 71 black-and-white the Historic Metropolis.” photographs, by the author and Janet M. It is a definitive survey, at home and Vicario, and numerous historic and con- abroad, that in many ways reflects Mr. temporary city plans drawn by the Tung’s outspokenness on the Commission author. The provocative dust-jacket illus- – a forthrightness with applicants and tration is of a detail from a painting by public alike that earned him a reputation Antonio Canaletto (1697-1768) of a for “zealotry” in pursuing his personal building on the Rialto in Venice, with convictions about historic preservation workmen on the rooftop who could be and landmarking. either demolishing the structure or In this 469-page epic of prodigious restoring it. ■ observation and research, we can all gain from that passion again – ardor and expertise that are appropriate to Mr. SHOULD THIS BUILDING BE A Tung’s appearance as the keynote speaker LANDMARK? at the Historic Districts Council’s 2002 Preservation Conference on Saturday, Friends of the Upper East Side His- March 9th, at Manhattan’s New School, toric Districts is asking that question

66 West 12th Street. about this and 21 other 20th-century PHYLLIS HOFFZIMER DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 8

IN MID-MANHATTAN, A NEW HISTORIC DISTRICT Continued from page 6

MARY ELLEN “MICKEY” Mark Murphy, with whom she and Ralph Joes: Joe Cantalupo, the garbageman, and MURPHY Weld edited “A Treasury of Brooklyn” in Joe Mitchell, the courtly New Yorker 1917-2002 1949. reporter fighting to save Fulton Market. Mickey and Mark bought a house on She was there with Peter Stanford, the [NOTE: PUT INTO BLACK BOR- Sidney Place in 1945, years before even Harvard boy who took on Socks Lanza DER AND TYPE WITHIN BORDER IS the most adventurous newcomers bought and the even more formidable Depart- FULL MEASURE, BOTH LINES OF houses in Brooklyn Heights. Mark died in ment of Ports and Terminals. But the TITLE IS CENTERED WITHIN BOX] 1952, but Mickey raised their two chil- moment things started happening on the dren in that house and remained there Brooklyn shore, she was here where the Mickey Murphy came to the board of until her death in January. Before the action is, a sidekick of Olga [Bloom, directors of the Historic Districts Council Promenade-topped Brooklyn-Queens founder of Bargemusic], that other force to represent Brooklyn and lobby for Expressway was built and before the Port of nature, beating back the bureaucrats areas, especially on the waterfront, that Authority took over the privately owned with music, charm, and good humor.” needed and still need preservation atten- piers, Mickey was walking along the Mickey’s advice was: Know the issues, tion. But her sound advice, political Brooklyn waterfront watching the ships know the zoning, know the players, and sense, and long memory encompassed all come in to unload and getting to know the know the politicians – and she knew of New York City. sailors and longshoremen. When pier almost everyone. In addition to being a Mary Ellen “Mickey” Green Murphy activity diminished in the 1970s – director of HDC, she was a governor of was born in Wisconsin and grew up in because cargo container cranes couldn’t the Brooklyn Heights Association, a Ohio. She was graduated from Smith be accommodated on the narrow upland member of Brooklyn Community Board College in 1938, received a M.S. from the between the Heights cliff and the East 2, and a board-of-advisers member of the Columbia School of Journalism in 1939, River – Mickey began her first efforts to Waterfront Center, a Washington-based became a reporter for The New York Post save the piers’ maritime use and allow organization. Her passion, knowledge, and later worked for Time-Life and many public access to the river. and involvement will be missed by us all. other publications. She married journalist As Kent Barwick said in his remarks She was truly sui generis. ■ at her January 19th memorial service at Bargemusic, Fulton Ferry Landing: “Mickey was on the west side of the river years ago when citizens long walled off from the water pushed through the fat NON-PROFIT ORG. chain-link fence. She was with the two U.S. POSTAGE PAID NEW YORK, NY Permit No. 3732

DISTRICT LINES NEWS AND VIEWS OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL

Hal Bromm and Mickey Murphy at the 1998 HDC Preservation Party at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery. HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL 232 EAST 11TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10003 PHONE: (212) 614-9107 FAX: (212) 614-9127 E-MAIL: [email protected] The voice for New York City’s historic neighborhoods DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 9

AFTER THREE DECADES, MURRAY HILL BECOMES A HISTORIC DISTRICT Continued from page 1 the Municipal Art Society, the New York ment and office buildings and even the Landmarks Conservancy, the Metropoli- construction of new buildings that reflect tan Chapter of the Victorian Society in their surroundings and contribute archi- America, The Drive to Protect the Ladies’ tecturally to the streetscape of Murray Mile District, and many elected officials Hill. and Murray Hill property owners, the The Historic Districts Council long campaign for this designation was applauds the Murray Hill Neighborhood ably led to fruition by the Murray Hill Association for staying the course in their Neighborhood Association’s Preservation quest for designation and all their suc- and Design Committee. However, the dis- cessful efforts to maintain the history and trict voted upon was much smaller than appearance of its beautiful buildings and the district originally requested. streetscapes. We look forward at long last As early as 1981, what was then called to welcoming Murray Hill as an official The Murray Hill Committee sought land- historic district. ■ mark protection for an area between East 34th and East 40th Streets and bounded by Madison Avenue on the west and Third Avenue on the east. After an initial rebuff by City Hall and a successful contextual rezoning of the midblocks areas, the com- munity came forward with a much small- VIRGINIA PARKHOUSE er proposal, of an area consisting of both This handsome double house was sides of East 35th Street between Park commissioned in 1905 by Todd Lincoln for his and Lexington Avenues. Finding this two daughters. retrenchment far too timid, HDC’s Desig- nations Committee (the predecessor of the New Districts Committee) recom- mended new boundaries to encompass from East 35th Street to East 37th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues (these recommendations were published in Districts Lines, Vol. 6, No. 2, Autumn 1991). Eleven years later, the LPC has finally acted on this long-awaited district, SAVE THE DATE! but not before a number of townhouses Thursday, November 15, 2001 fell prey to unsympathetic alterations like Courthouse of the Appellate Division, unfortunate rooftop additions, inappro- First Department, of the New York priate paint colors, and damaging State Supreme Court through-wall installation of air condition- VIRGINIA PARKHOUSE Madison Avenue and 25th Street This carriage house was converted by Manhattan ers. The City Planning Commission must architect William Adams Delano for his office. now issue a report to the City Council, Delano, a graduate of Yale and the Ecole des Join us for the celebration of the 13th which will later affirm, amend, or reject Beaux-Arts, designed many town and country Annual Landmarks Lion Award, to the designation. homes in the New York City area, many of them designated landmarks. Among his Dorothy Miner Along this long road to historic-dis- better-known non-residential work is the trict status, the Murray Hill Preservation “…for showing unusual devotion and in Queens and the South aggressiveness in protecting and Design Committee established an Balcony of the .” landmarks and historic districts” Annual Awards Ceremony to promote public awareness of the rich architectural As long-time Counsel to the Landmarks heritage of the neighborhood and to Preservation Commission and as a honor those owners who did the right preservation law educator, Dorothy Miner has been at the forefront of many thing by repairing or restoring their his- of the milestone legal victories that toric properties in ways that preserved the have helped define preservation today architectural integrity and character of the community. Over the past eight years, the awards program has broadened to include the sensitive renovations of apart- DISTRICT LINES - Winter 2002 Page 10

BECOME A FRIEND OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL TODAY!

SoHo, the Upper East Side, Park Slope, Sugar Hill, Douglaston, St. George are all neighborhoods that are designated historic districts, protect- ed from inappropriate alterations and development. But unfortunately many more neighborhoods throughout the city are not. Richmond Hill, Old Astoria, Morningside Heights, and the Grand Concourse are among the more than three dozen communities that are seeking protection under the Landmarks Law. And they need help and guidance in their quest for designation. That’s where the Historic Districts Council steps in. As the citywide advocate for New York’s historic neighborhoods, HDC fights to preserve and protect New York’s architectural and cultural her- itage by working with local community groups and giving voice to under-designated areas. Even in designated districts, persistent vigilance, educa- tion, and outreach are necessary to maintain and enhance our historic neighborhoods. Your Friendship contribution helps HDC to continue its important mission. And, more importantly, our Friends serve as the human foundation— a concerned and committed preservation citizenry—that supports all our work. Join the campaign to preserve New York City’s architectural and cultural heritage—become a Friend of the Historic Districts Council today! Name: ______■ $25 Address: ______■ $50 ______■ $100 E-mail: ______■ $250 Phone: ______■ Other: $______Please make checks payable to the Historic Districts Council and mail to: Historic Districts Council, 232 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.