Edith Wharton lives on!
Today, the Historic Districts Council and the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center honored the memory of celebrated author and New Yorker Edith Wharton with the installation of a commemorative cultural medallion at 14 West 23rd Street, Wharton’s place of birth.
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| 14 West 23rd Street, birthplace of Edith Wharton. |
Writes the HDC:
… a ceremony commemorating the life and work of Edith Wharton, author of “The House of Mirth” and “The Age of Innocence”. Born in 1862 at 14 West 23rd Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District, Wharton was a chronicler of New York City’s Gilded Age and trendsetter for her generation.
The plaque is part of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center’s Cultural Medallion program. The Center, chaired by Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel (HDC’s 2011 Landmarks Lion), has installed almost 100 medallions around New York City to heighten public awareness of New York’s cultural and social history. Read more about this program and the plaque in the Wall Street Journal article “Addressing History”.
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| Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, chair of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center. |
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| Click on the image to read an enlarged commemorative plaque. |
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| The crowd gathers (and grows!) outside 14 West 23rd Street as the commemoration ceremony begins. |
LW’s Cristiana joined the crowded street before No. 14 along with dozens of “Whartonites” (think we just coined a term!) and curious passersby. Now a Starbucks outpost, the present occupant of Wharton’s birthplace shared in the celebration with free coffee for all!
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| Cristiana celebrates Edith Wharton with a cup of java. |
Help the Center to identify other cultural landmarks that you feel deserve recognition — nominate a new cultural medallion!