The Landmarks of New York

National Gallery of Art | Audio

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, commissioner, American Battle Monuments Commission; chairperson, Historic Landmarks Preservation Center; commissioner, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; founder and chair, NYC Landmarks50 Alliance; chair, New York State Council on the Arts; and director, Trust for the National Mall. As the definitive resource on the architectural history of New York City, The Landmarks of New York: An Illustrated Record of the City’s Historic Buildings, 6th ed., documents and illustrates the 1,352 individual landmarks and 135 historic districts that have been accorded landmark status by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission since its establishment in 1965. Arranged chronologically by date of construction, the book’s entries offer a sequential overview of the city’s architectural history and richness, presenting a broad range of styles and building types: colonial farmhouses, Gilded Age mansions, churches, schools, libraries, museums, and the great 20th-century skyscrapers that are recognized throughout the world. In this lecture recorded on March 1, 2017, at the National Gallery of Art, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel shares how so many of these structures have endured, in large measure, through the efforts of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and hundreds of private sector preservation organizations, large and small. Since the commission was established, New York City has become the leader of the preservation movement in the United States, with more buildings and districts designated and protected than in any other city