by Megan Fitzpatrick
This past Saturday, LANDMARK WEST! was invited to attend an event at 370 Riverside Drive to celebrate not only the birthday of Hannah Arendt, but to see the recently installed medallion honoring her memory and work while she lived in the landmarked building. Arendt lived in apartment 12A with her husband Heinrich Blucher, for much of her active public and political life. She is celebrated as being one of the most influential political thinkers of the 20th century, mostly in her later years. Having fled Nazi Germany and eventually settling down in New York, she led a fascinating and complex public and personal life. She wrote several books, including the controversial yet triumphant Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963).
The brilliant event was organized by Glen Leiner, and included talks by the president of Bard College, Leon Botstein, author Jim Mackin, author Barbara von Bechtolsheim, and cinematographer Peter Stein, who displayed the photographic works of his father, Fred Stein, in the lobby. One of Stein’s most notable photographs was of Arendt.
The medallion honoring Arendt was designed by award winning and internationally recognized artist Massimo Vignelli. It was made possible by the support of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center and its Chair, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, and permanently installed in 2023.
A walking tour of sites of significance related to Hannah Arendt was creating by Samantha Hill for the Goethe Institute and can be followed at this link: https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/ney/uun/har.html.