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Fifty Unforgettable stories. Fifty Remarkable Years.

Celebrate the New York Landmarks Conservancy's 50th anniversary by experiencing the 50 at 50 exhibition. Explore our most iconic, memorable successes in preserving and protecting the architecture that helps make New York singularly unique.

Watch a Film

Watch a Film

Learn more about the work, impact, and history of the Conservancy through this short film.

Explore the Exhibition

Explore the Exhibition

See the 50 at 50 exhibition up close, with our featured landmarks all over the City.

New York in the 1970s

New York in the 1970s

Explore what NYC was like when the Conservancy was founded via an interactive timeline.

Explore the Exhibition

Explore 50 of our most iconic and memorable successes from borough to borough, where our work has preserved not only physical landmarks, but also the stories and the history behind them, all woven into the fabric of the City we love. There’s no place quite like New York, and we look to the future with renewed dedication to preserving its unique architectural heritage.

Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House

Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House

Manhattan

Civic

Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? The seven-story, steel-framed U.S. Custom House is a Beaux-Arts masterpiece connected back to New York...

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Alice Austen House

Alice Austen House

Staten Island

Domestic

Alice Austen House, Staten Island

Why is this building significant? The Alice Austen House, also known as “Clear Comfort,” was the home of Alice Austen,...

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American Academy of Arts and Letters

American Academy of Arts and Letters

Manhattan

Cultural

American Academy of Arts and Letters, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? Funded by Archer M. Huntington, heir to a California railroad fortune, the American Academy of...

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Astor Row

Astor Row

Manhattan

Domestic

Astor Row, Manhattan

Why are these buildings significant? Comprising 28 three-story houses, Astor Row was a pioneering example of speculatively built housing, among...

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Bartow-Pell Mansion

Bartow-Pell Mansion

The Bronx

Domestic

Bartow-Pell Mansion, The Bronx

Why is this building significant? Built on land the Pell family had owned since 1654, this three-story Greek Revival mansion,...

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Bedford Park Congregational Church

Bedford Park Congregational Church

The Bronx

Religion

Bedford Park Congregational Church, The Bronx

Why is this building significant? Designed by the son of this congregation’s founder, Shearjashub Bourne, a prominent Congregationalist minister, the...

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Blackwell House

Blackwell House

Manhattan

Domestic

Blackwell House, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? A simple two-story clapboard residence with a one-story kitchen wing, the Blackwell House is not...

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Bowne House

Bowne House

Queens

Domestic

Bowne House, Queens

Why is this building significant? The modesty of this colonial-era, two-story house belies its historical significance. John Bowne, an English...

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Center for Brooklyn History

Center for Brooklyn History

Brooklyn

Cultural

Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn

Why is this building significant? The Brooklyn Public Library’s Center for Brooklyn History (formerly the Brooklyn Historical Society) is a...

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Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

Manhattan

Religion

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? In 1891 Bishop Henry Codman Potter oversaw the purchase of the Morningside Heights site of...

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Christ Church New Brighton

Christ Church New Brighton

Staten Island

Religion

Christ Church New Brighton, Staten Island

Why is this building significant? Built of granite trimmed with limestone and cast stone, this Victorian-era church was modeled on...

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Church of the Most Precious Blood

Church of the Most Precious Blood

Queens

Religion

Church of the Most Precious Blood, Queens

Why is this building significant? This church, constructed during the Great Depression, broke new stylistic ground for an ecclesiastical building...

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Church of St. Anselm and St. Roch

Church of St. Anselm and St. Roch

The Bronx

Religion

Church of St. Anselm and St. Roch, The Bronx

Why is this building significant? The design of this imposing church, a rare example of Byzantine Revival architecture in New...

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Congregation Beth Elohim

Congregation Beth Elohim

Brooklyn

Religion

Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn

Why is this building significant? Occupying a corner site in the heart of Brooklyn’s heavily residential Park Slope neighborhood, this...

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Congregation Shearith Israel

Congregation Shearith Israel

Manhattan

Religion

Congregation Shearith Israel, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? Sited prominently opposite Central Park, the Congregation Shearith Israel synagogue houses the oldest Jewish congregation...

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Congregation Tifereth Israel

Congregation Tifereth Israel

Queens

Religion

Congregation Tifereth Israel, Queens

Why is this building significant? Founded by residents of Manhattan’s Lower East Side who moved to the Corona section of...

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Conrad Poppenhusen Institute

Conrad Poppenhusen Institute

Queens

Civic

Conrad Poppenhusen Institute, Queens

Why is this building significant? German immigrant Conrad Poppenhusen financed this five-story Victorian-style building as a place where people, irrespective...

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Corbin Building

Corbin Building

Manhattan

Corbin Building, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? This eight-story office building, built on speculation and named after one of its financiers, Austin...

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1325 Dean Street

1325 Dean Street

Brooklyn

Domestic

1325 Dean Street, Brooklyn

Why is this building significant? As transportation improved at the end of the 19th century, Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood witnessed...

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El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109

El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109

Manhattan

Cultural

El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? This community-organized project adaptively reused an abandoned public school designed by Charles B. J. Snyder,...

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Eldridge Street Synagogue

Eldridge Street Synagogue

Manhattan

Religion

Eldridge Street Synagogue, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? The first major synagogue built on Manhattan’s Lower East Side by Eastern European Jews, this...

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Ellis Island Hospital

Ellis Island Hospital

Manhattan

Civic

Ellis Island Hospital, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? Twelve million immigrants came through Ellis Island when it was an active Immigration Station from...

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Enid Haupt Conservatory

Enid Haupt Conservatory

The Bronx

Cultural

Enid Haupt Conservatory, The Bronx

Why is this building significant? This Italian Renaissance-style complex of greenhouses serves as an architectural grace note within the New...

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Erasmus Hall Academy Building

Erasmus Hall Academy Building

Brooklyn

Civic

Erasmus Hall Academy Building, Brooklyn

Why is this building significant? Of note both for its distinguished architecture and its associations with the Founding Fathers, the...

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Federal Archive Building

Federal Archive Building

Manhattan

Civic

Federal Archive Building, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? This 10-story building was, at the time of its completion, the largest structure ever built...

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Flushing Friends Meeting House

Flushing Friends Meeting House

Queens

Religion

Flushing Friends Meeting House, Queens

Why is this building significant? The Old Quaker Meeting House, as it is widely known, is reputedly the oldest house...

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Fourth Universalist Society

Fourth Universalist Society

Manhattan

Religion

Fourth Universalist Society, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? In his design for this building, William A. Potter broke decisively from the Classical vocabulary...

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Fraunces Tavern Block

Fraunces Tavern Block

Manhattan

Cultural

Fraunces Tavern Block, Manhattan

Why is this site significant? This block was constructed in 1689 on landfill in the East River and constituted the...

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Gould Memorial Library

Gould Memorial Library

The Bronx

Civic

Gould Memorial Library, The Bronx

Why is this building significant? The Gould Memorial Library is considered Stanford White’s masterwork. The monumental library’s rotunda incorporates Greek...

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Governors Island

Governors Island

Manhattan

Civic

Governors Island, Manhattan

Why is this site significant? This 172-acre site includes more than 50 historic buildings, including two former military fortifications that...

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64 Havemeyer Street

64 Havemeyer Street

Brooklyn

Domestic

64 Havemeyer Street, Brooklyn

Why is this building significant? With its peaked roofline, corner turret, and tall, slim windows, this High-Victorian Gothic building comprises...

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Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery

Brooklyn

Religion

Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn

Why is this site significant? Predating both Central Park and Prospect Park, Green-Wood was one of the most significant public...

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Historic Richmond Town

Historic Richmond Town

Staten Island

Civic

Historic Richmond Town, Staten Island

Why is this site significant? Historic Richmond Town is a preserved village comprising approximately 30 buildings located near the center...

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Little Red Lighthouse

Little Red Lighthouse

Manhattan

Transportation

Little Red Lighthouse, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? The Little Red Lighthouse, officially Jeffrey’s Hook Lighthouse, is a romantic remnant of New York...

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Morris-Jumel Mansion

Morris-Jumel Mansion

Manhattan

Domestic

Morris-Jumel Mansion, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? This mansion enjoys both political and architectural significance. The oldest surviving house in Manhattan, it...

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Mother AME Church

Mother AME Church

Manhattan

Religion

Mother AME Church, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? Also known simply as Mother Zion, this church houses the City’s oldest African American congregation,...

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Moynihan Train Hall

Moynihan Train Hall

Manhattan

Transportation

Moynihan Train Hall, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? The Moynihan Train Hall returns grandeur and ceremony to entering New York City, attributes decidedly...

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New York Public Library

New York Public Library

Manhattan

Civic

New York Public Library, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? The flagship building of the New York Public Library system, this magnificent marble, Beaux-Arts structure,...

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New York Studio School

New York Studio School

Manhattan

Civic

New York Studio School, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? In the first decades of the 20th century, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney assembled this group of eight...

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Olmsted-Beil House

Olmsted-Beil House

Staten Island

Domestic

Olmsted-Beil House, Staten Island

Why is this building significant? This two-story, wood-and-stone farmhouse, set on a 1.7-acre site, is the last vestige of a...

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Picasso Curtain

Picasso Curtain

Manhattan

Cultural

Picasso Curtain, Manhattan

Why is this artwork significant? The Picasso Curtain (Le Tricorne), depicting a bullfight, is a fragment of a stage curtain...

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Pier A

Pier A

Manhattan

Transportation

Pier A, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? Pier A is the last remaining example of the piers that once lined New York...

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The Plaza

The Plaza

Manhattan

Hospitality

The Plaza, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? Since its opening, the Plaza has been an architectural landmark and a central focus of...

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Renwick Ruin

Renwick Ruin

Manhattan

Civic

Renwick Ruin, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? Standing in close proximity to 1970s housing, Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park, and...

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St. Andrew’s Church

St. Andrew’s Church

Manhattan

Religion

St. Andrew’s Church, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? This picturesque Victorian Gothic Revival church is built of rock-faced granite and has a steeply...

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South Street Seaport Museum

South Street Seaport Museum

Manhattan

Cultural

South Street Seaport Museum, Manhattan

Why is this building significant? The South Street Seaport Museum occupies a block of nine red-brick warehouses, known as Schermerhorn...

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Survivors’ Staircase

Survivors’ Staircase

Manhattan

Civic

Survivors’ Staircase, Manhattan

Why is this structure significant? On September 11, 2001, this staircase at the northeastern edge of the elevated World Trade...

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TWA Flight Center and Hotel

TWA Flight Center and Hotel

Queens

Transportation

TWA Flight Center and Hotel, Queens

Why is this building significant? Saarinen’s curvaceous, concrete structure is a symbol of post-World War II American optimism and a...

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Weeksville Heritage Center

Weeksville Heritage Center

Brooklyn

Domestic

Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn

Why is this site significant? Founded before the Civil War, Weeksville was one of the country’s first free Black communities...

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Woodlawn Cemetery

Woodlawn Cemetery

The Bronx

Religion

Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx

Why is this site significant? This sprawling cemetery, comprising more than 300 acres within the confines of New York City,...

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New York

When We Were Founded
The New York Landmarks Conservancy was founded in 1973. Explore the 70's when New York was defined by crises and opportunities.
The Custom House Is Abandoned

1973

The Custom House Is Abandoned

The Custom House Is Abandoned, 1973

In 1973 the Customs Service vacated its grand headquarters in Cass Gilbert’s Beaux-Arts masterpiece for offices in the new World Trade Center. The fate of the building—dismissed by some as a “white elephant”—was uncertain. When the Conservancy was founded, the organization ardently championed the building, which became its first preservation initiative.

Photo: U.S. Custom House, 1975. Photographer: Edmund Vincent Gillon. Museum of the City of New York.
Focus on the Theater District

1974

Focus on the Theater District

Focus on the Theater District, 1974

In addition to the Conservancy’s efforts, other attempts to preserve and revive the City’s architecture were prevalent in the 1970s. In 1974 the nine-year-old New York City Landmarks Commission, a city agency, granted individual landmark status to the Lyceum Theater. The Lyceum is an architectural gem in the Theater District and one of the oldest performing arts venues in the City.

Photo: Lyceum Theater, West 45th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, 1903. Photographer: Byron Company. Museum of the City of New York.
Saving Brownstone Brooklyn

1974

Saving Brownstone Brooklyn

Saving Brownstone Brooklyn, 1974

It was not just the City’s monumental architecture that was being newly appreciated and saved. Intrepid New Yorkers had been on their own restoring brownstones, as seen in this photograph of 1974, until the Conservancy got involved. It has played an indispensable role in providing homesteading “brownstoners” with expert advice and funding.

Photo: Park Slope, Brooklyn, 1974. Hum Images/Alamy Stock Photo.
A City in Panic

1975

A City in Panic

A City in Panic, 1975

Early landmarks preservation successes were all the more remarkable for taking place against the backdrop of a city in decline. Crime was so high that the Council for Public Safety issued a brochure for tourists advising them how to protect themselves.

Photo: Survival Guide to Visitors, 1975.
NYC on its Own

1975

NYC on its Own

NYC on its Own, 1975

New York was in financial trouble and facing insolvency. President Gerald Ford refused to spare the City from economic disaster, as the New York Daily News famously proclaimed: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.”

Photo: New York Daily News, October 30, 1975. Wikicommons, Public Domain.
New Optimism for NYC

1976

New Optimism for NYC

New Optimism for NYC, 1976

While early preservation successes, including those achieved by the Conservancy, were beginning to transform the City, a new optimistic mood emerged.  New Yorkers’ faith in their city–edged with a bit of never-say-die homegrown chauvinism–was given memorable expression in Milton Glaser’s bold image, often accompanied by an up-beat jingle sung by New York City officials and celebrities.

Photo: Milton Glaser, I Love New York logo, 1976. © 2022 NYS Dept. of Economic Development.
The South Bronx Renaissance

1977

The South Bronx Renaissance

The South Bronx Renaissance, 1977

Parts of the South Bronx literally burned to the ground and became a national symbol of urban blight when visited by President Jimmy Carter. But once again, community groups and the City refused to give up and in subsequent decades the borough would witness a renaissance.

Photo: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Patricia Harrison, President Jimmy Carter, and Mayor Abraham Beame on Charlotte Street, South Bronx, October 5, 1977. Everett Collection Inc./Alamy Stock Photo.
Mrs. Astor Signs On

1978

Mrs. Astor Signs On

Mrs. Astor Signs On, 1978

Saving the block with the historic Fraunces Tavern was another of the Conservancy’s early successes. In 1978 the Conservancy obtained funds from philanthropist Brooke Astor to purchase the five buildings, and the row was leased to a private developer for conversion to residential and commercial use.

Photo: Brooke Astor signs a check to save Fraunces Tavern, 1978. New York Landmarks Conservancy.
A Supreme Victory

1978

A Supreme Victory

A Supreme Victory, 1978

In the mid-1970s, a decade after the loss of Pennsylvania Station, a
monumental gateway to the City, Grand Central Terminal was threatened. Supported by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the Landmarks Preservation Commission took a legal case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1978 the court ruled in favor of saving the terminal, sending a clear message that the preservation movement was here to stay.

Photo: Philip Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Bess Meyerson, Ed Koch in front of Grand Central Terminal, January 30, 1975. Municipal Art Society.

Events

Explore the 50 at 50 exhibition by attending one of our public events.

Book Talk: Fifth Avenue, From Washington Square to Marcus Garvey Park
March 30, 2023 @ 6:00 pm

Book Talk: Fifth Avenue, From Washington Square to Marcus Garvey Park

The New York Landmarks Conservancy In partnership with Monacelli Press cordially invites you to: Fifth Avenue: From Washington Square to...

Find Out More
Historic Richmond Town – Tavern Concert
April 15, 2023 @ 8:00 pm

Historic Richmond Town – Tavern Concert

Historic Richmond Town, Staten Island 441 Clarke Avenue April 15, 2023 – 8pm Tavern Concert – Music by Harbortown. A...

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New-York Historical Society – Panel Discussion
May 4, 2023 @ 6:00 pm

New-York Historical Society – Panel Discussion

New-York Historical Society May 4, 2023, 6pm Panel discussion with dance historian Lynn Garafola. nyhistory.org

Find Out More
View All Events

Credits

Photography

Noël Sutherland (Except where noted)

Curators

Donald Albrecht Thomas Mellins

Branding Web Design

SJI Associates

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  • Who We Are
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    • Our Supporters
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    • Advocacy
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    • Success Stories
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    • Celebrate 50 at 50
    • Living Landmarks Celebration
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    • Watch a Film
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    • New York in the 1970s
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