Amsterdam Houses

Family Day 2008 :: LW! Joins in on the Party!



How can I lend my support?


Statement of Significance
Oral History Interviews (coming soon!)
State and National Register Eligibility
Online Petition

Helpful Links and Frequently Asked Questions
Further Reading
Return to LW!'s Main Site


 Click here for more photographs of Amsterdam Houses
Amsterdam Houses
West End to Amsterdam Avenue,
West 61st to 64th Street

How you can lend your support to grant NYC landmark status to Amsterdam Houses:

Please contact us by emailing landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org
and/or calling 212-496-8110



Email/fax/call:
Hon. Robert B. Tierney, Chair
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1 Centre Street, 9th Floor, NYC 10007
Email: comments@lpc.nyc.gov
Fax: 212-669-7955
Phone: 212-669-7888

Make sure to sign our online petition!

Statement of Significance
Amsterdam Houses is a significant example of public housing built immediately following World War II according to plans by prominent New York City architects Grosvenor Atterbury, Harvey Wiley Corbett and Arthur C. Holden, together with landscape architects Gilmore D. Clarke and Michael Rapuano.  Originally home to many returning veterans, Amsterdam Houses was unique from the start for its ethnic diversity.  Today, it stands as one of the last publicly funded housing developments “to define open space along Classically inspired lines and to exhibit brickwork that was carefully detailed to create simple ornament,” according to New York City historian Robert A.M. Stern (New York 1960, p677).   

LANDMARK WEST! has for many years maintained a “wish list” of buildings and blocks that deserve attention and protection as official New York City Landmarks.  For its twentieth anniversary in 2005, LW! updated our designation list to include Amsterdam Houses as a noteworthy example of early, well-designed, racially and ethnically integrated public housing.

Family Day 2008: A Day for Family and Community Pride
On Saturday, August 9th, LANDMARK WEST! joined with residents of Amsterdam Houses for a celebration of community, family, food, fun, music, and much more.

	A potluck buffet kept the crowd happily well-fed throughout the day.		Mark Foley of Volunteer Music delights children with a special concert and with a song penned especially for the day, "Amsterdam Houses, Rise!"
	Summer intern Alex Werth, Director of Education Debi Germann, and Director of Community Outreach Cristiana Pena hosted art activities for children, shared the history of Amsterdam Houses, and listened to the stories of long-time tenants.		Master of Ceremonies Margarita Curet, President of the Amsterdam Houses Tenants Association, addresses the crowd.

Amsterdam Houses Oral Histories
Transcripts and Recordings - COMING SOON!
For now, please check out our flyer and our questionnaire from the 2006 Amsterdam Houses reunion.
Call 212-496-8110 to schedule an oral history interview.



State and National Register Eligibility
State and National Registers of Historic Places Application for Amsterdam Houses
Response from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation's Resource Evaluation for Amsterdam Houses

Helpful Links and Frequently Asked Questions

Telling the Story: The History of Amsterdam Houses (exhibitions prepared by John Jay College of Criminal Justice students), under the guidance of Dr. Gregory "Fritz" Umbach
Amsterdam Houses' Reunion Page
New York City Housing Authority's Historical Photograph Database

Frequently Asked Questions about Landmarking

Further Reading
San Juan Hill by Horace Mungin
New York 1960 by Robert A. M. Stern, Thomas Mellins, and David Fishman
A History of Housing in New York City by Richard Plunz
The New York Approach: Robert Moses, Urban Liberals, and Redevelopment of the Inner City by Joel Schwartz

"Amsterdam Houses Celebrate 60 Years" by Gary Shapiro. The New York Sun 30 July 07

"The Neighborhood Ties That Still Bind" by Corey Kilgannon. The New York Times 2 Aug 2004

Other major works by Grosvenor Atterbury:
Forest Hills Gardens (Queens, 1909-22) with Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
The Russell Sage Foundation Building (122-130 East 22nd Street, 1912-13)
American wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (completed in 1936)

Other major works by Harvey Wiley Corbett:
Rockefeller Center (member of the design team, 1932-1940)
The Metropolitan Life North Building (11 Madison Avenue, 1933)
The Master Building (310 Riverside Drive, 1929)

Other major works by Arthur C. Holden:
Williamsburg Houses (under Richmond Shreve, Brooklyn, completed in 1938)
Guggenheim Museum in New York (under Frank Lloyd Wright, 1071 5th Ave,1959)
Madison Square Boys Club (301 East 29th Street, 1924)

Other major works by Gilmore D. Clarke:
Riverside Park Shoreline and Promenade (1937-1941)
1939 New York World Fair (landscape architect)
Garden State Parkway (landscape architect and engineer)

Other major works by Michael Rapuano:
Assisted in design of Princeton University's campus
Richard Mandel House (landscape architect, Bedford Hills, NY, 1934)
Bronx River Parkway (landscape architect)


Older Photos of Amsterdam Houses
photographs by Tom Killian and Françoise Bollack