On Extending the West End-Collegiate Historic District Extension
Statement of the Historic Districts Council
Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Hearing, June 28, 2011
Item 16: LP 2462
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
PROPOSED WEST END-COLLEGIATE HISTORIC DISTRICT EXTENSION
The Historic Districts Council is the advocate for New York City’s designated historic districts and neighborhoods meriting preservation.
The Historic Districts Council been impressed by LPC’s swift and generous response to neighborhood advocates’ request to landmark West End, and we are pleased to support the designation of the proposed West End-Collegiate Historic District Extension.
When walking through the Upper West Side, it is sometimes difficult to tell what is designated and what is not. The buildings within the proposed district share not only the same history as nearby landmarked buildings but also many of the same architects and designs. From the late 19th century revival-style rowhouses by the likes of Clarence True and C.P.H. Gilbert, to the elegant apartment buildings that sprung up in the first years of the 20th century after the opening of the Broadway subway line, to taller, classically ornamented high-rises designed by Rosario Candela and others following World War 1, through to the Great Depression and World War II era apartments of Sylvan Bien and his contemporaries, the proposed buildings have all the hallmarks of Upper West Side landmarks. It takes more than just fine residential structures to build a lively New York City neighborhood though, and the district includes institutional buildings such as schools and houses of worship that help tell the complete story of the West End.