E-BULLETIN OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL
November 2013, Volume 10, Number 7
SECRET LIVES TOUR: GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
Thursday, November 21st
10:00 AM- 1:00 PM
Join the Historic Districts Council for a Secret Lives Tour of Grand Central Terminal. With the Terminal winding down from a year long centennial celebration, come explore the hallowed passageways, grand halls and the secret corners of this gorgeous architectural landmark.
This tour showcases areas of Grand Central not publicly accessible. You will view the glass catwalks, explore the sub-basement and view the original machinery that made Grand Central possible, up to the top floor control room and witness how GCT functions today.
This urban adventure is not for the faint of heart. This tour will last for three hours and will including extended walking, standing and some stair climbing.
For more details and pricing please contact: Michelle Arbulu 212-614-9107 [email protected]
Meeting location will be provided upon registration. You will be contacted a week before the event
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Sunset Park Walking Tour
Saturday, November 23rd
10:00AM
$10 Donation
Tour the heart of Sunset Park, one of HDC’s 2013 Six to Celebrate! The tour will start at the landmarked courthouse (43rd Street and 4th Avenue) and end in NYC’s third Chinatown on 60th Street and Eighth Avenue. Hear about the history, architecture, development, ethnic diversity, and the potential to become a New York City landmarked historic district, which would protect the historic streetscapes.
To reserve your spot on the tour, click here.
Exact meeting location is available upon registration. Space is limited.
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Continuing Education: Working with Historic Buildings
Preservation 101: Working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission
Tuesday, December 3rd
9:00 am to 11:30 am
Tenzing Chadotsang and Jenny Fernandez of the LPC will speak about the landmarks process, specifically addressing frequent questions that architects are asked by clients and explaining what LPC does and doesn’t regulate on a designated building. Dan Allen of Cutsogeorge Tooman & Allen Architects will discuss navigating the permitting process and working with the LPC staff through the sample approval and construction process, as well as present restoration plan case studies of designated buildings.
For more information about this and future Continuing Education Programs click here
*Please note this session will be 2 AIA and New York State CES credits
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SAVING THE LIONS’ CAGE: NYPL’S MULTI-STORY STACKS
Friday, December 6th at 6 P.M.
Neighborhood Preservation Center
232 E. 11th St. New York, NY 10003
FREE but Space is limited!!
Please RSVP to [email protected]
The plan to remove millions of books from the New York Public Library’s century old building at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue has caused an outcry from writers and scholars, but less has been said about the book stacks that will be destroyed once the books are gone. This construction of steel and iron is the innovation at the core of the library’s ingenious organizational scheme. Its efficient beauty is as much a part of the building as the marble walls that enclose it. The design of the library involved Carrère & Hastings in a spirited, open competition. Its construction enmeshed the architects in a complex collaboration with a varied cast including a celebrated surgeon, an unsung engineer, and a New Jersey foundryman. This process stands in stark contrast to the secrecy with which NYPL has developed the radical alteration it now proposes. Architect and author Charles Warren will discuss the history and construction of the stacks and the reasons they should remain at the center of one of New York’s most celebrated civic buildings.
Charles D. Warren is a member of the Committee to Save the New York Public Library and principal of the Manhattan firm, Charles Warren Architect. He is the co-author of the two-volume monograph, Carrère & Hastings Architects and author of other books and essays on architecture and town planning.
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The Changing Face of SoHo: A Walking Tour with Matthew Postal
Saturday, December 7th
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Take a walk through the iconic streetscapes of NoHo and SoHo as architectural historian Matthew Postal illuminates some of the contemporary responses to this rich commercial neighborhood of cast-iron and masonry structures. Attendees will look at new buildings, recent additions and preservation projects by Aldo Rossi, Beyer Blinder Belle, and Jean Nouvel among others. Come delve in the past, present and ever-changing future of this bustling and well-loved neighborhood, stay for some holiday shopping afterwards!
Click here for more information and tickets
These tours are part of HDC’s 2014 conference “New Design + Old Places”. The conference will showcase projects that broaden traditional perceptions of the field of historic preservation and incorporate contemporary design with historic resources.
These tours are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York City Councilmembers Margaret Chin, Inez Dickens, Daniel Garodnick, Vincent Gentile, Sara Gonzalez, Stephen Levin and Rosie Mendez.
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Monday Morning Coffee Talks:
What’s Next for the Landmarks Preservation Commission in a New Administration?
Monday, December 9th
8:30 AM – 10 AM
FREE!
With the results of the 2013 city government elections in, attention now turns toward what might happen next. The new administration will make its selections for agency chairs, including the Landmarks Preservation Commission. In this final Coffee Talk of 2013, the Historic Districts Council’s Executive Director, Simeon Bankoff, will explore these issues and much more.
Reservations are required. For more information on this series or to RSVP, please contact Barbara Zay at [email protected] or 212-614-9107.
Neighborhood Preservation Center, 232 East 11th Street New York, NY 10003
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Secret Lives Tour: Hidden Collections at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
Monday, January 27 , 2014
2:00 PM- 3:30 PM
Join HDC for a tour of Columbia’s Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library and a unique peek at treasures in the Avery Classics collection of rare books.
Designed by the legendary architecture firm McKim, Mead, and White, Avery Hall was completed in 1912 and for the last 100 years has been home to one of the most comprehensive architecture and fine arts library collections in the world. Andrew Dolkart, Director of the Historic Preservation Program and Carolyn Yerkes, Curator of Avery Classics, will provide a brief tour of the library, followed by a look at some rarely seen and uniquely New York treasures from the library’s impressive collection of drawings, books and ephemera.
$35 for Friends of HDC, students and seniors, $45 for general public
To register, please click here.
If you have any questions, please contact Brigid Harmon at [email protected] or 212-614-9107.
The exact meeting location will be emailed to registrants the week prior to the tour. Space is limited.
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Follow Us on Facebook and Find Out What’s Up in New York Preservation
HDC uses our Facebook account to circulate news articles about preservation in New York City. Check us out at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Historic-Districts-Council/91520047765.
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If you’re receiving this, then you know that HDC is working hard throughout the city to protect and preserve the neighborhoods which make New York great. Please consider contributing and becoming part of the movement to preserve our city’s irreplaceable architecture and history. There are a lot of buildings to cover, and we can only do it with a lot of people.
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tel: 212-614-9107 fax: 212-614-9127 email: [email protected]