The Municipal Art Society of New York

The MAS April/May newsletter and calendar is hitting mailboxes across the city right now. This issue features MAS Streets Month programs and tours, and our May 11 program on the future of New York City’s skyline.

In addition to our Streets Month tours, there’s a daylong visit to Tottenville in Staten Island, as well as our annual tour of Jane Jacob’s West Village, in honor of Jacobs’ birthday—this year would have been her 95th! Continue Reading>>

MAS testified before the City Council’s Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses Subcommittee on Tuesday, to urge the Council to uphold the Landmark Preservation Commission’s designation of Coney Island’s Shore Theater. Opened in 1925, this neo-Renaissance Revival theater and office building has been vacant for 30 years, but the building remains remarkably intact. Located across the street from the major subway station, this building has the potential to become a great performance space for theater and live shows Continue Reading>>

MAS testified on Tuesday at the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) regarding proposed changes to the recently designated Manufacturers Trust Company Building at 510 Fifth Avenue. The proposal before the LPC was for restorative work and alterations to allow for the ground floor to be divided to accommodate new retail uses. MAS praised the project’s significant amount of restoration work, but raised concerns about some of the alterations. Continue Reading>>

Changing Streets
Bike lanes have been a hot button issue in New York for some time now, and this week was no exception. The New York Times profiled City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, a key figure who has significantly changed the city’s streetscapes. Then, on Monday, a lawsuit against the city regarding the Prospect Park West bike lane was filed. Continue Reading>>

MAS is pleased to report that the interior of the Manufacturers Trust Company Building was designated a landmark yesterday. The transparent glass cube building, erected between 1953 and 1954, is a showcase for its interior and a departure from the more traditional, ornamental bank structures of its time. The exterior of the building was designated a landmark in 1997. Continue Reading>>

Neighborhood groups are rallying to save 35 Cooper Square from meeting the same fate as its neighbors, which were demolished to make way for the 21-story Cooper Square Hotel. Originally built in the early 19th century as a residence, it is one of the oldest houses on the Bowery. This federal-style structure was altered in the 1870s to include a brownstone storefront, reflecting the change in neighborhood character from prominent residential to commercial. Continue Reading>>

New York University announced last week that it was abandoning plans to add a 38-story tower to its landmarked Silver Towers complex, designed by I. M. Pei. The proposed tower was part of the university’s 20-year expansion plan, NYU 2031, which seeks to add six million square feet of campus space throughout the city. Continue Reading>>

Can old buildings help make New York a more sustainable city? How will climate change affect the city’s historic buildings and neighborhoods? How can we make the city’s landmarks more energy efficient? Speakers will address these questions and more at the Conference on Preservation and Climate Change in New York City. Co-sponsored by The Municipal Art Society of New York and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the all-day conference on Saturday, October 16th will be kicked off by an opening lecture and reception on October 15th, and be followed by special tours on October 17th. (Click here to see the agenda and list of speakers and here to register).

Panels and lectures include: Continue Reading>>

The northwest Bronx isn’t the first place you’d go looking for an enormous medieval French castle. But that’s where such a castle—or an early 20th c. American version of a 19th c. French version of a 14th c. French castle—was built to house the Eighth Coastal Artillery in 1912. Its massive towers and crenelated parapets (those notched tops that scream “castle”), was designated a New York City landmark in 1974 for its military architecture. Read more about the Kingsbridge Armory in a new profile on the PlaceExplorer.

To get there, take the 4 train to the Kingsbridge Road stop. The site is bounded by Jerome Avenue, West 195th Street, Reservoir Avenue, and East Kingsbridge Road. The National Guard used the Armory until 1996, but today, it is closed off by a chain link fence that hides the enormous drill hall—a major feat of engineering in its time—and the bowling alley, rifle range, gymnasium and auditorium that once were tucked underneath it! Continue Reading>>

MAS applauds last week’s decision of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, which upheld the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s re-designation of two buildings on the Upper East Side. The buildings, which were built at the turn of the 20th century, are part of the City and Suburban Company’s First Avenue Estate model tenement complex and are important for their innovative design as well as in their role in social housing reform. MAS filed an amicus brief (that is, a brief filed as a friend of the court) in support of the designation.

“MAS is very pleased with the court’s decision to uphold the LPC’s designation,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “It is crucial that we celebrate both our architectural and social heritage, and the lasting impact of the City & Suburban Company’s efforts to improve low income housing through projects like the First Avenue Estate. Continue Reading>>

On Tuesday, June 22, 2010, MAS will testify before the Landmarks Preservation Commission in support of the designation of a proposed Grand Concourse Historic District in the Bronx. The proposed district is comprised of 73 buildings running roughly along the Concourse between 153rd and 167th Streets.

In response to the LPC’s hearing, MAS President Vin Cipolla said: “The Grand Concourse is one of the Bronx’s most majestic thoroughfares and one of its great treasures.  The designation of a Grand Concourse Historic District  by the Landmarks Commission is the perfect way to celebrate the 100th year of the boulevard and protect this street and the buildings along it.” Continue Reading>>

Clockwise from top left: Snug Harbor, Staten Island, photo Robert Catalano; Prospect Park boathouse, Brooklyn, photo Al Rabowitz; Cornelius Baker Hall, Bronx, Colonnade Row, Manhattan, and Kingsland Homestead, Queens, photos Emilio Guerra.

This April marks the 45th anniversary of the Landmarks Law. Enacted in 1965, with support from MAS, the law ensured that the historic character of New York City’s built environment would be protected with the creation of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

To celebrate this “landmark” anniversary, we’re inviting you to tell us which building that was saved from demolition thanks to the Landmarks Law is your favorite. Choose from these five historic structures, among the first to be landmarked in their respective boroughs.

(polls)

This morning, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to “calendar” (the first step in the landmark designation process) the Shore Theater building in Coney Island.  MAS President Vin Cipolla said, “MAS has long advocated for the renewal of Coney Island, and the Shore Theater represents Coney Island’s distinct status as a recreation and amusement destination. The Landmarks Commission took a huge step today to ensure that this wonderful theater will play a role in Coney Island’s future.”

During the Coney Island rezoning process, MAS recommended to the City that the area’s historic resources, like the Shore Theater, be protected, as they are key to a revitalized Coney Island.  The Shore Theater has long been one of Coney Island’s most striking buildings.  Opened in 1925 as the Coney Island Theatre and designed by noted theater architects, Reilly & Hall, the Shore Theater sat nearly 2,400 people in its auditorium and featured both live vaudeville shows and moving pictures.  Although it has long been vacant, if reinvigorated, the Shore Theater could present a unique opportunity for theater and other performance space in the amusement area. Continue Reading>>

The former Gage & Tollner restaurant on Fulton Street near Brooklyn’s Borough Hall is now the most beautiful Arby’s in the world, thanks in large part to its designation as both an exterior and interior landmark. Gage & Tollner was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter because for over 100 years it “gave diners a taste of old Brooklyn”. Although Gage & Tollner closed in 2004, its Victorian interior remains intact and open to the public, now as home of Brooklyn’s first Arby’s.

The restaurant that became Gage & Tollner was originally opened by Charles M. Gage in 1879.  When Gage partnered with Eugene Tollner a few years later, the restaurant was renamed for the two of them.  In 1892, Gage & Tollner moved from its original location near present-day Cadman Plaza to the 1870s Italianate row house at 372 Fulton Street. The building’s wooden Neo-Grec storefront, which is still intact, was likely added at this time. Gage & Tollner’s clientele were among Brooklyn and Manhattan’s elite, and throughout the next century, the restaurant was renowned for its food quality and excellent service.  The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s 1974 designation report for the building’s exterior refers to Gage & Tollner as “one of Brooklyn’s best known restaurants.” Continue Reading>>

After more than 25 years in the Villard Houses on Madison Avenue, the Municipal Art Society is moving its headquarters to the Steinway Hall Building at 111 West 57th Street, as of February 2010. MAS President Vin Cipolla remarked earlier this week,
“Having a new home in such a storied building coincides perfectly with our plans to reaffirm our mission of advocacy for all New Yorkers. I am excited to call 111 West 57th Street MAS’ new home, and look forward to many productive years there.”

MAS signed a lease for the entire 16th floor at 111 West 57th Street, located between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue. The 17-story office building is owned by Steinway & Sons. Built in 1925, 111 West 57th Street was designed by legendary architects Warren and Wetmore. For more information about the building, read the press release here.

Plans are underway for the continuation of our exhibition programming and our bookstore operations.

Please stop by the Villard Houses to view our current exhibit, Re-Imagining cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil, co-sponsored by PennDesign. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, is on display at MAS through Friday, December 4. Click here for more information about MAS exhibits, including gallery hours.