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Celebrating Art, History, & Preservation at the Romanian Cultural Institute
On Thursday, November 6th, the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s Preservation & Design Committee (P&D), led by Susan Demmet and Elaine Silber hosted a special Art Exhibit Opening Reception & Awards at the Romanian Cultural Institute, bringing together artists, community leaders, and cultural advocates to honor Murray Hill’s rich heritage and creative spirit. View the full art catalogue here.
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It is almost impossible to imagine New York City without its famous landmarks. Tourists come from all over the world to see the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, the Morgan Library & Museum, the Flatiron Building and Grand Central Terminal, to name just a few. Murray Hill alone has 14 Designated Landmarks, with all but two listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Each is unique and significant in its own right, and all contribute as a whole to the character of our historic neighborhood and our city.
The New York City Landmarks Law was signed into law In April 1965 by Mayor Robert Wagner to protect historic buildings and neighborhoods from further destruction. The law was created primarily in response to public outrage over the loss of many historically significant buildings in New York City, most notably Pennsylvania Station. After the monumental loss of Pennsylvania Station, the late, great architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable said, “We will probably be judged not by the monuments we build, but by those we have destroyed.”
The Landmarks Law was responsible for the creation of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the largest Preservation Agency in the country. The LPC is comprised of 11 commissioners appointed by the Mayor, and is responsible for protecting New York City’s architecturally, historically and culturally significant buildings and sites by designating them landmark or historic district status and monitoring them after their designation. The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association has worked closely with the LPC since the beginning to research and recommend new buildings for landmark designation.
To qualify as an exterior or interior landmark a building must be at least thirty years old and have special historical, architectural or cultural merit as deemed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Buildings with landmark designation status are protected from destruction and inappropriate alterations, safeguarding the city’s historic and architectural heritage. The LPC must approve any alterations or new construction on landmarked buildings, and all must be kept in good repair.
More than 38,000 buildings are protected throughout all five boroughs. This number includes 1,464 individual landmarks, 158 historic districts, 123 interior landmarks, and 12 scenic landmarks. Owners of landmarked buildings have reason to be proud because in addition to representing the city’s architectural, historic and cultural heritage, landmarked buildings stabilize and improve property values, encourage civic pride and enhance the city’s tourist attractions, strengthening its economy.
Grand Central Terminal’s 1967 landmark status and the New York City’s Landmarks Law were threatened in a suit involving the LPC’s refusal to allow Penn Central, the owner of Grand Central, to build a tower above the terminal. With the Municipal Art Society of New York as the driving force, along with Jacquelyn Kennedy Onassis and many preservationists, the decision to overturn this law was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1978. Many advocates from Murray Hill took the Historic Train to Washington called “The Landmark Express” to attend the hearing. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Landmarks Law, which preserved the landmark designation of Grand Central Terminal— a major preservation victory!
New York City’s neighborhoods are so much richer because of the passage of the Landmarks Law. We are secure in the knowledge that the historic character of our great city is maintained and our landmarks are preserved for future generations.
The Preservation & Design Committee will celebrate the LPC’s historic 60th anniversary in 2025 with many special activities. Stay tuned for “landmark of the month” articles on Murray Hill’s 14 landmarks, special walking tours, and details of an artistic drawing competition of Murray Hill’s landmarks. We hope you enjoy the articles and get a chance to walk around the neighborhood, finding pleasure in the architecturally diverse beauty of our Designated Landmarks, from stately mansions to carriage houses and churches. We look forward to seeing you!
PRESERVATION & DESIGN COMMITTEE
By Elaine Silber, Co-Chair Preservation & Design Committee
Susan Demmet, Chair Preservation & Design Committee
Email: Preservation [at] murrayhill.org
The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association Preservation & Design Committee is collecting Murray Hill Neighbors’ Stories.
This is a place to share your personal memories, anecdotes, surprising encounters, or human interest stories that charm, surprise and build our community.
We want to hear from you!
ARE YOU A HISTORY BUFF? A LOVER OF ARCHITECTURE? INTERESTED IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION?
If so, and you have an interest in sharing your knowledge with others, apply to become a volunteer walking tour guide! The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association Preservation and Design Committee is seeking volunteer walking tour guides for its award-winning program. Training will be provided.
If interested, kindly reply to preservation@murrayhillnyc.org. Photo: De Lamar Mansion, 233 Madison Avenue at 37th Street, New York, Drawing by Dean Avery (detail).
Garish 24-hour lights and signage have recently sprung up in residential Murray Hill, especially on Park Avenue.
The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association opposes the recent proliferation of 24-hour garish LED/neon signs all night light displays in store front street-level spaces in residential buildings creating a commercial thoroughfare in our historic residential Murray Hill, especially on Park Avenue. The MHNA sent a letter to Board Presidents and Managing agents of Park Avenue buildings from 34th – 39th Street, as well as to certain individual buildings regarding the LED/neon signs in Murray Hill. They also reported the problem (with images) to Community Board Six and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. A ground floor space in a business in a landmark building on 38th Street replaced their flashing sign with a smaller, less garish sign. If you would like to comment on this issue, please call 311 to report the offensive signage issue.
The Preservation & Design Committee hosted a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Murray Hill’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2003, 88 historic and architecturally important structures in Murray Hill were listed on the prestigious register. The boundaries were then expanded in 2013 for a total of 239 buildings including those in the Murray Hill Historic District and the Sniffen Court Historic District. To commemorate these milestones, banners highlighting historic architectural details in Murray Hill are adorning light poles in the designated area, which runs from 34th to 39th Streets and Third Avenue to Madison Avenue. Activities such as walking tours, lectures, and the 2024 Park Avenue Day street festival are also planned.
Actors from Murray Hill’s Snarks and Amateur Comedy Club brought to life Mary Murray’s role in the early days of the American Revolutionary War whereby legend has it that she and her daughters detained the British General Howe at her home long enough for Washington and his troops to escape north and to fight another day.
The Snarks and Amateur Comedy Club opened the program with beautiful flute performances and rousing renditions of “My Country, Tis of Thee,” “America the Beautiful,” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” They were sung with pride by the many celebrants who gathered on the clearest of spring days, amidst the cherry red tulips and pink cherry blossoms all abloom on the Park Avenue malls, to mark this important milestone. The program closed with the singing of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” by those assembled.
Now that the banners are aloft, we are sending two articles that discuss the banner map image. The first we call the “Yellow Dots” article as it discusses the yellow dots on the banner map, representing Murray Hill’s 14 landmarked buildings. The second article discusses historic districts, of which Murray Hill has two, and are represented on the banner map by the two blue markings. The landmarked buildings and two historic districts are all within the National Register of Historic Places boundaries of 239 buildings.
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