16th Annual Preservation Conference's Keynote Address
by Rochelle Spencer
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the vivid images from Fran Leadon’s keynote address to Saturday’s 16th Annual Preservation Conference are worthy of several dictionaries.
As co-author of the forthcoming AIA Guide to New York City, Leadon, an assistant professor at Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York, knows a thing or two about buildings and the city itself. Leadon’s keynote address described the challenge of preserving historic landmarks in a city of competing values.
Leadon, who lost his friend, mentor, and co-author Norval White on December 26, gave a heartfelt address that described how the city has also had historic losses—including Tribecca’s St. John’s Chapel and Staten Island’s Sandy Ground Park—and could have more.
AIA Guide
Leadon’s presentation juxtaposed drawings of St. John’s Park (which was torn down in 1918, despite citizens’ protests, to build a freight terminal) with pictures of the exit for the Holland Tunnel, which eventually replaced it.
Similarly, Leadon showed current pictures of the vine-covered Sandy Ground community, “a black oystering community founded by free slaves” that was alluded to in a New Yorker story by Joseph Mitchell and was once “one of the most important African American communities in the country.”
Leadon’s message that it can be difficult to preserve history in a city where a diverse population holds different “economic values, cultural values, sentimental values” motivated some conference attendees to want to learn more about forgotten parts of the city.
“It sparked interest in some new stuff I really want to see,” said Claudette Brady of the Bedford Corners Historic District.
Other attendees said they simply admired the scope of Leadon’s AIA project. Judith Berdy, President of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, said that she wasn’t surprised Leadon is from Florida. “No New Yorker would ever take on this project,” Berdy said of the famously thorough AIA guides. “There’s so much to cover–and you can never include everything. I bought three of the last four editions of the AIA, and I love them. I always check out Roosevelt Island section, and they’ve done an excellent job.”
Leadon’s keynote kicked off the day-long conference held at St. Francis College. Before Leadon’s keynote, Councilmen Jumaane Williams, Brad Lander gave remarks that stressed the importance of preservationists and economic organizations working together.