A Walk Around the Block: The Why, When and How West 86th & 87th Streets Came to Be With Gregory Dietrich
Monday, July 15h, 6:30pm in Person
Join LANDMARK WEST! and tour guide Gregory Dietrich, principal of Gregory Dietrich Preservation Consulting, for a focused walk in the heart of the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. From apartment buildings to rowhouses and even a synagogue, this block will cover the buildings, their architects and our urbanism along this major cross-town corridor.
Gregory Dietrich is a graduate of both Columbia University’s Historic Preservation and Real Estate Development programs and has over two decades of experience in the field. Formerly holding positions at the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Cultural Resource Consulting Group, Dietrich now focuses on Applications for Historic Tax Credits, Grants, National Register Nominations and Preservation Planning Studies. He also teaches in the Art History, Urban Design and Architecture Studies Program at NYU.
170 Central Park West: A History Before the Historical Society With Sara Cedar Miller
Monday, June 10th, 6pm via Zoom
Sara Cedar Miller, historian
Miller takes us to worlds we could never otherwise see. What she unearths connects 17th century landowners, enslaved persons and Free men. Familiar names like Beekman and Dyckman play their parts. Naturally, this true tale must include a notorious New York City mayor, as well as an exiled king, Irish immigrant and a diplomat, for good measure.
Don’t miss this exciting, intriguing exploration of an UWS site before it became….the New-York Historical Society!
A House Restored
Tuesday, June 18th, 6pm via Zoom
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 endearing cast of preservationists to the rescue. To many, preserving the past can seem an overwhelming endeavor, but Lee McColgan is here to tell us that it’s anything but. His preservation journey is a joyous trip that any fan of history and historic architecture will relish and relate to.
Please join us for a wonderful LW! evening looking at our relationship to history through the homes we inhabit and the philosophy of preserving the past to find purpose for the future.
This event will be recorded and available for additional viewing after the live presentation.
The Opulent Apartment Houses of The Boulevard VIDEO
This event has passed, but a link to the full 1.25 hour video can be purchased below.
The Ansonia, the Belleclaire, the Dorilton, the Belnord, the Apthorp: five of the finest apartment hotels of “The Boulevard” on the Upper West Side. It was the turn of a new century and people like William Waldorf Astor and William Earl Dodge Stokes had a vision for a new way of living. They imagined the well-to-do living, hotel-style, in gracious apartments flanking a fashionable boulevard similar to the Champs-Élysées in Paris. (This explains why the first three of the above were so French in style.)
Historian Tom Miller (aka The Daytonian in Manhattan blogger) takes us along The Boulevard, circa the heyday of these impressive and aspirational buildings. Tiptoeing past the vigiliant doormen of the day, we’ll gawk at the courtyards, architecture and ornamentation; delve into the stories of some of the more colorful residents; and revel in the apartments’ upscale and innovative amenities.
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
