137 West 71st Street has been protected since 1990 as a building within the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. On Tuesday, May 14th, the Landmarks Preservation Commission calendared the site along with The Cafe Cino (31 Cornelia Street), the Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse (99 Wooster Street), the Women’s Liberation Center (243 West 20th Street), the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center (208 West 13th Street aka 206-218 West 13th Street) and the Adure Lorde Residence (207 St. Paul’s Avenue).
137 West 71st Street is a former rowhouse built in 1890, but altered in 1961 by H. Russell Kenyon into a Modern-style apartment house, but more importantly it was residence to author James Baldwin from 1965 to 1987, making the period with the altered white-brick facade, the new period of significance.
The LPC comments may be found HERE, and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project has coverage of the historic site HERE. Already protected under the Historic District, granting this site Individual Landmark designation would support its cultural history within the Upper West Side and means that any proposed alterations to the building’s visible features would rise to a higher level of scrutiny.
The item is expected to be heard for designation on Tuesday June 4th, and if designated, would become the 62nd individual landmark on the Upper West Side. See you on Tuesday
FURTHER COVERAGE: WEST SIDE RAG & NEW YORK TIMES
!