What Makes an NYC Landmark?
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Note New York City is a big
place. We don't have all NYC landmarks posted as yet but
we're working to add more each week
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Many of the city's older buildings
had been destroyed in the building booms of the '20s and post-WW II
years, but the biggest brouhaha started in the 1963 with the
demolition of the old Pennsylvania Railroad Station to make way for
the new, combined Madison Square Garden-Penn Station project.
Citizen outrage led to the creation of The Landmarks Preservation
Commission in 1965. The Commission's activities were fairly quiet
the first couple of years then, in 1968, there were proposals to
demolish Grand Central Terminal and erect a large joint-use office
complex and new railroad station. This time people acted before
another major New York City asset was destroyed. Pressure from
prominent citizens such as Jacqueline Onassis stopped the project
and pointed the Landmarks Commission to a more activist role
The Great Theater Massacre of 1982
was another rallying point for historic preservationists. To make
way for the now Marriott Marquis Hotel the Astor Theater, the Bijou
Theater, the Gaiety Theater, the Helen Hayes Theater and the Morosco
Theater were demolished. The resulting outcry, far too late and
ineffective, led to the designation of virtually every surviving
Broadway theater built prior to 1930 as a landmark, whether
deserving or not
The Landmark Commission can designate
landmarks in four categories. All must fit have basic criteria
written into the landmarks law, A special character or special
historical or aesthetic interest or value as part of the
development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the city, state
or nation.
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An individual or exterior landmark is
a building, other structure or fixture that fits these
requirements. Grand Central Terminal, the Brooklyn Bridge and
the Sidewalk Clock at 522 5th Avenue (at 44th Street) are
examples of individual landmarks
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Interior landmarks are publicly
accessible interior spaces that meet the basic criteria.
Examples of interior landmarks include the interior of the
Embassy Theater (now the Times Square Visitor Information
Center), the lobby of the Chrysler Building, the auditorium of
the Imperial Theater and the dining rooms and other interior
spaces of the Four Seasons Restaurant
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Scenic landmarks are places on
city-owned property that of themselves are visually impressive.
Central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn are two
of the better known scenic landmarks
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Historic
Districts may or may not contain individual landmarks but
they must embody a distinct sense of space and time. Sections of
the city representing one period or style of architecture are
eligible to be designated historic district. The SoHo-Cast Iron
Historic District in Manhattan and the St George-New Brighton
Historic District on Staten Island are examples
Since its inception in 1965 the New
York City Landmarks Commission has designated about 1,100 landmarks
and 70 historic districts
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