Landmark West! looking for volunteers
Much of the Upper West Side has been comprehensively walked, photographed and documented, and yet a large portion – namely the blocks between 96th and 110th Streets – remains largely unexplored. While there are now close to 2,700 protected landmarks on the Upper West Side, only a small fraction of them are between 96th and 110th Streets.
View the Landmark West! map of official Landmarks
As significant as these existing designations are, they represent just the tip of the iceberg in terms of valuable historic fabric in this area that urgently needs to be identified and protected. The Upper West Side is changing, as recent out-of-scale development and the Department of City Planning’s consideration of amendments to current zoning prove. We must work proactively to safeguard our neighborhood’s historic resources – that these blocks have so far been overlooked for landmark evaluation does not reflect their worth!
LW! is embarking on a careful study of these 40+ blocks of our neighborhood. Our plan is to:
PHOTOGRAPH the facade of every building, from West 96th to West 110th Street
DOCUMENT each building, gathering data on materials used, architectural styles, current conditions, dates of construction, and names of architects
RECRUIT volunteers to help collect this information which could ultimately save our neighborhood from losing its character
This basic research is vital in determining the potential for future Individual Landmarks and Historic Districts as well as creating a comprehensive inventory of our richly diverse architectural heritage. As we traverse these blocks, surveying and discovering the unsung treasures of our corner of New York City, we hope to have you there with us!
Think of it as a “crash course” in learning to document architecture!
If you’re interested in volunteering, please send an email to Landmark West’s coordinating intern, Cristiana Peña, at [email protected], letting her know when you’re available to survey (ie: weekdays or weekends?). Based on volunteer availability, we can set a date for a brief surveying “How To.”
A wealth of history awaits us, and we’re ready to start mining it … together!