REQUIRED READING  

 

When Is a Landmark A Landmark?  

 

By Roberta Brandes Gratz 

 

"When is the alteration of a landmark for a new use so extensive as to render the designation pointless?  

 

"Stripping a landmark of the character that makes it special or letting one serve as a pedestal for a new tower contradicts both the spirit and substance of New York's Landmarks Law,

once a model for the country."

 

In a new Huffington Post op-ed responding to the recent gutting of the landmark Manufacturer's Trust Company Building at 510 Fifth Avenue (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1954), former Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, Upper West Sider, and 2011 "Unsung Hero" Roberta Brandes Gratz tackles these issues and more.  

 

Gratz connects this latest crisis with "the battle over the future of 2 Columbus Circle...the 'Penn Station of Modernist Preservation.'"  Get the backstory, then visit SaveLPC.org to stay tuned.