The New York Landmarks Conservancy In partnership with The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York cordially invites you to watch a Landmark Lecture:
Highlights From 50 Years of Preservation
Buildings and the Stories They Tell With Conservancy President Peg Breen
This lecture took place on March 14th, 2023 at The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of The City of New York
20 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), Manhattan
Peg Breen, the New York Landmarks Conservancy President, led an illustrated talk on the Conservancy’s history and mission. Buildings tell stories and her presentation included images from “50 at 50”, an interactive, online exhibition launched in January to kick off the Conservancy’s 50th anniversary.
In 1973, the Conservancy’s visionary founders realized that landmark designation alone wouldn’t always save a building, and they saw the need for a group with financial and technical skills to help property owners maintain their historic structures. They also sought a group that could devote the time required to pull off major preservation projects.
From its gutsy beginnings finding new uses for vacant public buildings, the Conservancy has become one of the largest preservation groups in the country.
The Conservancy’s range of financial and technical programs has helped protect more than 1,300 historic structures, providing more than $60 million in grants and loans which has leveraged $900 million to preserve worthy buildings and neighborhoods throughout New York.