On May 1, 2000, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Historic Preservation (NY-OPRHP) issued an official determination that Lincoln Center is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, in response to a comprehensive, professional report prepared by LW! proving its exceptional significance as the nation's original cultural center. Since then, Lincoln Center enlisted architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro to renovate the public spaces of the campus and alter the Juilliard School building (Pietro Belluschi, 1969). 

As you will read below in Gregory Dietrich’s comprehensive article on the process, alterations to "eligible" properties must be reviewed by the NY-OPRHP). Since Spring 2003, LW! has met many times with Lincoln Center President Reynold Levy and members of the design team, bringing landscape architects Ken Smith and Michael Gotkin, DOCOMOMO, and other experts on the historic design of Lincoln Center to discuss preservation issues raised by the proposed scheme.

In our view, several of the proposed alterations would have an adverse impact on the historic Lincoln Center campus. Our position on the scheme is summarized in our statement to the City Planning Commission.  We continue working to persuade Lincoln Center to modify the design to preserve key architectural and landscape elements.

Other statements in response to Lincoln Center’s plans:

Ken Smith, landscape architect
Michael Gotkin, landscape architect
DOCOMOMO
Historic Districts Council
Charles Birnbaum, National Park Service Historic Landscape Initiative
Recent Past Preservation Network

 

Click on the article below to read more!