Stubborn Survivors: The Holdouts of West End Avenue
Weds., Dec. 11, 2024 6-7pm via Zoom with special speaker Tom Miller
West End Avenue was an elegant residential thoroughfare in the 19th century, lined with brick and brownstone mansions. In the early 20th century, however, fashion switched from private homes to upscale apartment living. The rows of private residences were replaced by soaring modern multi-family buildings. But certain homeowners stubbornly resisted the trend. As a result, West End Avenue has numerous eccentric leftovers—once refined rowhouses now vised between soaring apartment buildings.
Don’t miss this special program by history fan favorite Tom Miller (aka the “Daytonian in Manhattan” blogger) for an online tour of West End Avenue’s stubborn, beloved, and literally low-profile holdouts. As always, Miller will share from his trove of deeply researched historic photos and much more to tell the stories that played out within these buildings and what’s going on with them today.
Only Murders In The Building: Staging the Scene of the Crime VIDEO
This event has passed, but a link to the full 1.5 hour video can be purchased below
A murder. A trio of neighbors-turned-crime investigators-turned-podcasters. A landmarked building. A perfect evening! If you’ve been pulled into the whodunnit world inside the luxe Arconia building (aka the Belnord on the UWS), you can’t miss this “how-dunnit” special event.
Emmy-winning Production Designer Curt Beech and Set Decorator Rich Murray and Art Director Jordan Jacobs from the hit Hulu show Only Murders In The Building will share their secrets on everything from scouting the perfect NYC building for this caper of capers to creating the entire glittering world within.
OMITB fans have been gushing over the lavish and eclectic interior set design crafted by our über-talented speakers that has made the fictional Arconia a full-fledged cast member. That courtyard! The lobby! Even the elevator! And of course, the unbelievable rambling pre-war apartments for each character: maximalist Oliver, sophisticated & quirky Charles, inscrutable Mabel and a host of others (no spoilers). Hear how every detail, color palette, texture and style were carefully curated to create a set that feels real and wholly New York City.
The Historic Districts Council and Landmark West! invite you in for an evening to peek behind the designer curtains (there will be photos!) of one of the most popular series that also features one of our city’s finest landmarks!
Holding the Safety Net in San Juan Hill VIDEO
Wednesday, January 25th 6-7pm via Zoom
Please join Landmark West! and architectural historian Jessica Larson in this exploration of the ways in which Black charity and reform initiatives shaped the landscape of San Juan Hill, the community Robert Moses demolished to make way for the Lincoln Center for the Perforning Arts complex, in the early decades of the 20th century. Larson will focus in on the architecture of the buildings constructed to facilitate this social work, and together we will look at how the built environment of San Juan Hill was shaped by community-driven efforts to address poverty and improve the quality of life for the residents. Because charity work was deeply gendered, Larson will emphasize the significance of women to the spatial and welfare programs of the neighborhood.
Speaker Jessica Larson is a Ph.D. candidate in Art and Architectural History at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her dissertation examines the architecture of charitable and reform institutions built in Manhattan for Black aid recipients between the Civil War and World War I, with a focus on how women reformers directed to these designs. She has held fellowships with the American Council of Learned Societies, the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Library of Congress. She has also worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Princeton University Art Museum, and the Bruce Museum. Jessica is currently a Fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Museum of American History.
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Looking for VIDEOS of past LW programs? LW! Members have free access HERE with passcode!
Need the passcode? Email us at Landmarkwest@Landmarkwest.org – all recordings are available for free viewing for members
