n 1975, architectural educator, researcher, and writer Christopher Gray founded the Office of Metropolitan History as a repository and resource on the architectural history of New York City buildings. Today, that legacy is overseen by Sam Hightower, building detective, blueprint wrangler, and the Director of the OMH. Hightower gifts all fans of NYC architectural history this special evening, beginning […]
Italian sculptor Costantino Nivola's 18 cast-concrete horse sculptures for Stephen Wise Towers are back! Uber conservators Mary Jablonski and Ed FitzGerald will tell the incredible story of how they recreated the beloved herd and returned it to its UWS home. May 7 via Zoom at Landmarkwest.org.
Sara Cedar Miller, historian emerita of the Central Park Conservancy, and author of Before Central Park shares her always-fascinating, uber deep-dive research--this time with a focus on what came before the grand Museum and Library that are now at 170 Central Park West. Miller takes us to worlds we could never otherwise see. What she unearths connects 17th century landowners, enslaved persons […]
Old houses share their secrets only if they survive. Lee McColgan committed to preserving a ramshackle 1702 house using period materials and methods. But his enchantment withered as he discovered the massive repairs it needed. Fighting deteriorating bricks, frozen pipes, shattered windows, and a punctured foundation, he began to question “Why restore anything?” Enter a quirky yet […]
HGTV meets LW! in this historic property behind-the-scenes program! From post-grad days advocating for preserving historic houses of worship on the Upper West Side to actually rescuing a beleaguered upstate church herself, Landmark West! alumnus Cristiana Peña lives and loves the preservation world. She's Zooming in to share her incredible recent experience as a featured […]
Join LANDMARK WEST! for a special walking tour led by Stephanie Azzarone, author of the award-winning book, Heaven on the Hudson: Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park. As you stroll some of the UWS's most beautiful blocks, from 72nd to 83rd Streets, you'll hear how Riverside Park and the Drive came to be and what makes them so very special. You'll also learn some of the secrets of Riverside Drive’s more unusual people and places.
LANDMARK WEST! continues its focus on Riverside Drive's rich history, notable architecture, colorful residents, and secrets—from exquisite interior design details to delicious scandals—with another engaging walk led by Stephanie Azzarone, author of the award-winning tbook, Heaven on the Hudson: Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park. Moving into the middle section, from 86th to 107th Streets, you'll hear how Riverside Park and the Drive came to be and what makes them so very special. Azzarone will take you back to the days when William Randolph Hearst ensconced his movie star paramour and a fortune of European treasures inside a Riverside Drive mansion. You'll visit the Drive’s tallest apartment building, its only privately owned freestanding villa (whose owner stiffed his architect) and contemplate the sad fate of America’s first supermodel. Multiple affairs, a scandalous divorce and a murder color this tour’s tales.
Jeff Broxmeyer, an expert on 19th-century politics, is taking us back to who got the vote—and how—during an infamous era that embraced a creative intertwining of capitalism and party politics. In the Gilded Age, party leaders found incredibly novel ways to become wealthy. Control over political property and political offices was everything. As we enter […]
The Wendel family had made a fortune in New York real estate but as the Gilded Age came to an end, this once fabulous and famous family turned against itself and became mired in gossip and intrigue. Asylums, infidelities, recluses: Who were the people whom the New York press dubbed “the weird Wendels”?
Photojournalist Robert F. Rodriguez showcases rare views of the largely unseen wondrous and intricate carvings of the uncompleted South Tower of St. John the Divine and highlights the stone carvers who created them. 1/30 at 6pm.
