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 residences were replaced by soaring modern multi-family buildings. For the most part. Certain homeowners stubbornly resisted the trend. As […]
Ever wonder if Only Murders is anything like a real “true crime” podcast? Dr. Paula Uruburu offers her own forensic analysis of the show's place in the cultural phenomenon of the true crime podcast. It's true crime meets the whodunit on the historic Upper West Side! 3/12 via Zoom. landmarkwest.org.mats
Now forgotten, the uber-wealthy Dixon clan of NYC declined through a succession of disastrous marriages to cranks, schemers, and even a killer! Learn their stories from the Gilded Age on the old Bloomingdale Road to Alaska during the Gold Rush.
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.
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”?
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
