Landmarks Commission Hears Modern Interior
Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the designation of the interior of the former Manufacturers Trust Company Building at 510 Fifth Avenue. This 1954 Modern masterpiece, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill and completed in 1954, was designated as an individual landmark in 1997. However, only its exterior was actually protected, which was unfortunately insufficient for the transparent building faced with curtain wall glass. After the removal of a site-specific Henry Bertoia sculpture in October, HDC worked with advocate Theodore Grunewald to assemble a coalition of organizations including HDC, DOCOMOMO/Tri-State, Preservation League of New York State, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Recent Past Preservation Network, and Institute for Classical Architecture & Classical America, to advocate for the designation of the interior.
At the hearing a dozen individuals spoke in favor of the designation, including representatives of Vornado Realty, the owner and Skidmore Owings and Merrill. We are pleased that the LPC has finally taken this important step in protecting the interior of this iconic structure. We urge anyone who is interested in the protection of this structure to email the Landmarks Preservation Commission and tell them to designate the interior as soon as possible!